Shepherds of Christ          Daily Writing

March 10, 2009

 

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March 10, 2009

                    You are special

                God said "Let there be light"
                    and there was light

                All creation bears the handprint
                    of God

                God is the 1st principle and
                    the last end

                God gives us His vision if
                    we seek it

                God teaches us through
                    creation —

                We are God's

                He created us

                He has the Plan

                We are His creatures

                Why would we fight His Plan —

                God gave us this body

                God gave us a soul

                God created us in His image and
                    likeness

                All we do should be for the
                    honor and glory of God —

                Our life should be lived
                    according to His rule —

                He created the world
                He created us to live here —

                God creates by his command —

                But out of love for us — He gives
                    us a free will

                We were created with purpose and
                    meaning

                To be more and more perfect like our
                    heavenly Father is perfect

                God calls — We are to respond —

                God creates the world out of
                    nothing

                God is the Master

                God breaths life into that which
                    was without life — the
                    human person —

                God put man in a garden

                Adam and Eve were put on the
                    earth —

                The serpent makes good look evil and
                    evil look good.

                    The devil is cunning.

Genesis Chapter 3

Now, the snake was the most subtle of all the wild animals that Yahweh God had made. It asked the woman, 'Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?' The woman answered the snake, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, "You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death." ' Then the snake said to the woman, 'No! You will not die! God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil.' The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was enticing for the wisdom that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths.

The man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. But Yahweh God called to the man. 'Where are you?' he asked. 'I heard the sound of you in the garden,' he replied. 'I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.' 'Who told you that you were naked?' he asked. 'Have you been eating from the tree I forbade you to eat?' The man replied, 'It was the woman you put with me; she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.' Then Yahweh God said to the woman, 'Why did you do that?' The woman replied, 'The snake tempted me and I ate.'

Then Yahweh God said to the snake, 'Because you have done this,

    Accursed be you
    of all animals wild and tame!
    On your belly you will go
    and on dust you will feed
    as long as you live.
    I shall put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
    it will bruise your head
    and you will strike its heel.'

    To the woman he said:

    I shall give you intense pain
        in childbearing,
    you will give birth to your children
        in pain.
    Your yearning will be for your husband,
    and he will dominate you.

To the man he said, 'Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat,

    Accursed be the soil because of you!
    Painfully will you get your food from it
    as long as you live.
    It will yield you brambles and thistles,
    as you eat the produce of the land.
    By the sweat of your face
    will you earn you food,
    until you return to the ground,
    as you were taken from it.
    For dust you are
    and to dust you shall return.

The man named his wife 'Eve' because she was the mother of all those who live. Yahweh God made tunics of skins for the man and his wife and clothed them. Then Yahweh God said, 'Now that the man has become like one of us in knowing good from evil, he must not be allowed to reach out his hand and pick from the tree of life too, and eat and live for ever!' So Yahweh God expelled him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the garden of Eden he posted the great winged creatures and the fiery flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.

                The woman ate in disobedience —

                Humanity disobeys God's command

                The core of sin seeks to live
                    independent of God

                Harmony is distorted

                Man chose Himself over God —
                    against his own good

                Jesus came and died to bring us
                    new life

                Jesus is the way, the truth and
                    the life

                God is a God of mercy

                God washes away our sins in
                    water —

                God uses water —

                We see the Noah scripture and the
                    flood and the rainbow

Genesis 9: 8-17

    God spoke as follows to Noah and his sons, ‘I am now establishing my covenant with you and with your descendants to come, and with every living creature that was with you: birds, cattle and every wild animal with you; everything that came out of the ark, every living thing on earth. And I shall maintain my covenant with you: that never again shall all living things be destroyed by the waters of a flood, nor shall there ever again be a flood to devastate the earth.’ 

    ‘And this’, God said, ‘is the sign of the covenant which I now make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come: I now set my bow in the clouds and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I gather the clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I shall recall the covenant between myself and you and every living creature, in a word all living things, and never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all living things. When the bow is in the clouds I shall see it and call to mind the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth, that is, all living things.’ 

    ‘That’, God told Noah, ‘is the sign of the covenant I have established between myself and all living things on earth.’

                Jesus gave us the building to
                    tell them His message

                To help to bring to completion the
                    Fatima message —

                To give them His letters of love
                    in the Blue Books about
                    the Eucharist —
                    Blue Book 6 about baptism —
                    His love —
                    to see through the eyes of God

                The Red Rosary Book
                    with Rainbow

                    Rosaries from the Hearts
                        of Jesus and Mary —

                Priestly Newsletter

                Books

                Fr. Carter's writings

                Fr. John's writings

                Fr. Joe's homilies

                Consecration to the 2 Hearts

                Teaching them to be intercessors

                Teaching about the Mass

                Teaching about Response to God's
                        love

2 Timothy 3: 10-17

You, though, have followed my teaching, my way of life, my aims, my faith, my patience and my love, my perseverance and the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in places like Antioch, Iconium and Lystra-all the persecutions I have endured; and the Lord has rescued me from every one of them. But anybody who tries to live in devotion to Christ is certain to be persecuted; while these wicked impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others, and themselves deceived. You must keep to what you have been taught and know to be true; remember who your teachers were, and how, ever since you were a child, you have known the holy scriptures—from these you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be upright. This is how someone who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for any good work.

Joyful Mysteries
 

                The Annunciation

Luke 1: 26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favour! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ Mary said, ‘You see before you the Lord’s servant, let it happen to me as you have said.’ And the angel left her.

                (1)  

                (2) From the Priestly Newsletter Book III 2000 Issue I p. 7

The Church

• Avery Dulles, S.J., the well-known theologian who has written much about the Church, observes: "The Church, as I have already contended, is essentially a mystery of grace, a wonderful encounter between the divine and the human. Even in its visible structures, the Church is not a mere organization to be judged on grounds of efficiency, but a sacrament of God’s saving deed in Jesus Christ. From this it follows, in my judgment, that the Church’s forms of speech and life, and indeed its entire corporate existence, must be such as to mediate a vital communion with Christ the Lord. The Church must be a place of prayer and worship, praise and witness. Any institutional change in the Church must be carefully assessed for its effect on the spiritual life of the members. Does it intensify their faith, their hope, their charity? Does it help them to center their lives on Christ and to ground their existence in the God who raised him from the dead?"¹¹

• There has been much written about the Church in these our times. Regarding those writings which have dealt with reform in the Church, some of these, even while pointing out shortcomings in the life of the Church, have been put forth in a positive, constructive way. Others, sad to say, have done more harm than good and have contributed considerably to polarization in the Church. We again refer to Avery Dulles, S.J., in reference to this polarization: "Polarization, in my opinion, is more deleterious to the Church than any external opposition. When the Church suffers persecution from hostile powers, it often reacts with heroism and energy. Polarization, however, produces lethargy and disgust." ¹²

11. Avery Dulles, S.J., The Resilient Church, Doubleday & Company, p. 39.
12. Ibid., p. 37.

                (3) From the Priestly Newsletter Book III 2000 Issue I p. 6

From a spiritual journal: "I struggle intently to do His work, and I am weary from running the race. I am tired, I am truly human, but the unquenchable love I have for Him in my heart is at the core of my existence. It is in Him I exist and in Him I love. I love Him so intently and yet I am so unworthy of His gifts given to me. I long more for the desire to help souls, and His desires become mine through my deep union with Him especially after the reception of the Eucharist. On this day (Feast of the Assumption), I felt the unquenchable purity of the Heart of Mary and the joy of dwelling deeply in His Heart in her pure love. It was a special gift He gave to me, to be wrapped in Mary’s Heart despite my faults. He gave Himself so completely to me. I only long for this, knowing this presence."

                (4) From the Priestly Newsletter Book III 2000 Issue I p. 3

The Father and Mary

In his Encyclical, Redemptor Hominis (Redeemer of Man) Pope John Paul II states: "The special characteristic of the motherly love that the Mother of God inserts in the mystery of the Redemption and the life of the Church finds expression in its exceptional closeness to man and all that happens to him. It is in this that the mystery of the Mother consists. The Church, which looks to her with altogether special love and hope, wishes to make this mystery her own in an ever deeper manner...

"The Father’s eternal love, which has been manifested in the history of mankind through the Son whom the Father gave... comes close to each of us through this Mother and thus takes on tokens that are of more easy understanding and access by each person." ³

3. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Redemptor Hominis, (Redeemer of Man), United States Catholic Conference, No. 22.

                (5) From Tell My People

                (6) Sing the song the Angel Gabriel
 

                (7) From the Priestly Newsletter Book III 2000 Issue I p. 3-4

The Holy Spirit in Our Lives

Archbishop Luis Martinez gives us these words of wisdom: "Our love for the Father is tender and confident like that of children; eager to glorify Him as His only-begotten Son taught us to do by word and example. Love for the Father is the intense desire to have His will fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven. Our love for the Son, who willed to become flesh for us, is characterized by the tendency to union with Him and transformation into Him...

"Love for the Holy Spirit also has its special character, which we should study in order completely to understand devotion to Him. We have explained how the Holy Spirit loves us, how He moves us like a divine breath that draws us to the bosom of God, like a sacred fire that transforms us into fire, like a divine artist who forms Jesus in us. Surely, then, our love for the Holy Spirit should be marked by loving docility, by full surrender, and by a constant fidelity that permits us to be moved, directed, and transformed by His sanctifying action." ⁴

4. Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, The Sanctifier, Pauline Books and Media, pp. 67-68.

                (8) From the Priestly Newsletter Book III 2000 Issue 3 p. 47-48

The Holy Spirit and Mary

The late Archbishop Luis M. Martinez of Mexico strikingly speaks of the ongoing cooperation of Mary with the Holy Spirit regarding the reproduction of Jesus within us: "Christian life is the reproduction of Jesus in souls…

"Now, how will this mystical reproduction be brought about in souls? In the same way in which Jesus was brought into the world, for God gives a wonderful mark of unity to all His works. Divine acts have a wealth of variety because they are the work of omnipotence; nevertheless, a most perfect unity always shines forth from them because they are the fruit of wisdom; and this divine contrast of unity and variety stamps the works of God with sublime and unutterable beauty.

"In His miraculous birth, Jesus was the fruit of heaven and earth…The Holy Spirit conveyed the divine fruitfulness of the Father to Mary, and the virginal soil brought forth in an ineffable manner our most loving Savior, the divine Seed, as the prophets called Him…

"That is the way He is reproduced in souls. He is always the fruit of heaven and earth.

"Two artisans must concur in the work that is at once God’s masterpiece and humanity’s supreme product: the Holy Spirit and the most holy Virgin Mary. Two sanctifiers are necessary to souls, the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, for they are the only ones who can reproduce Christ.

"Undoubtedly, the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary sanctify us in different ways. The first is the Sanctifier by essence; because He is God, who is infinite sanctity; because He is the personal Love that completes, so to speak, the sanctity of God, consummating His life and His unity, and it belongs to Him to communicate to souls the mystery of that sanctity. The Virgin Mary, for her part, is the co-operator, the indispensable instrument in and by God’s design. From Mary’s maternal relation to the human body of Christ is derived her relation to His Mystical Body which is being formed through all the centuries until the end of time, when it will be lifted up to the heavens, beautiful, splendid, complete, and glorious.

                (9) From the Priestly Newsletter Book III 2000 Issue 3 p. 48

                    The Holy Spirit and Mary continued

"These two, then, the Holy Spirit and Mary, are the indispensable artificers of Jesus, the indispensable sanctifiers of souls. Any saint in heaven can co-operate in the sanctification of a soul, but his co-operation is not necessary, not profound, not constant: while the co-operation of these two artisans of Jesus of whom we have just been speaking is so necessary that without it souls are not sanctified (and this by the actual design of Providence), and so intimate that it reaches to the very depths of our soul. For the Holy Spirit pours charity into our heart, makes a habitation of our soul, and directs our spiritual life by means of His gifts. The Virgin Mary has the efficacious influence of Mediatrix in the most profound and delicate operations of grace in our souls. And, finally, the action of the Holy Spirit and the co-operation of the most holy Virgin Mary are constant; without them, not one single character of Jesus would be traced on our souls, no virtue grow, no gift be developed, no grace increased, no bond of union with God be strengthened in the rich flowering of the spiritual life.

"Such is the place that the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary have in the order of sanctification. Therefore, Christian piety should put these two artisans of Christ in their true place, making devotion to them something necessary, profound, and constant." ¹⁸

                                    18. Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, The Sanctifier, op. cit. pp. 5-7.

                (10) From the Priestly Newsletter Book III 2000 Issue 3 p. 48

Henri de Lubac states: "The Church is a mysterious extension in time of the Trinity, not only preparing us for the life of unity but bringing about even now our participation in it. She comes from and is full of the Trinity. She is for us -- in a favourite phrase of Bossuet -- ‘Jesus Christ … communicated’. She is ‘the Incarnation continued.’ She is, as Dietrick Bonhoeffer used to say, ‘the presence of Christ on earth’ --- she speaks with ‘the authority of Christ living and present in her.’… St. Paul applies to her this same word ‘mystery’ which he had first used of Christ. She is after all, the spouse of Christ and his body." ¹⁹

19. Henri de Lubac, S. J., The Church: Paradox and Mystery, translated by James R. Dunne, Alba House, p. 24.

                The Visitation

Luke 1: 46-56

The Magnificat

And Mary said:
My soul proclaims
    the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices
    in God my Saviour;
because he has looked upon
    the humiliation of his servant.
Yes, from now onwards
    all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty
    has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his faithful love extends age after age
    to those who fear him.
He has used the power of his arm,
he has routed the arrogant of heart.
He has pulled down princes
    from their thrones
        and raised high the lowly.
He has filled the starving with good things,
    sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help
    of Israel his servant,
        mindful of his faithful love
—according to the promise
    he made to our ancestors—
of his mercy to Abraham
    and to his descendants for ever.

    Mary stayed with her some three months
and then went home.

                (1) Sing Song: Holy is His Name

                (2) We see the barren women of
                        the bible —

                    God began with Adam —
                        then Adam and Eve —
                        2 people

                    We see Noah — God flooded the
                        earth —
                        8 survived the flood —
                        Now look at the earth

                    We see how God tested Abraham and
                        then made his descendants as
                        numerous as the stars of the sky

                    Elizabeth was considered barren

                    Look how God chose
                        12 Apostles —
                        one betrayed him —
                        he brought nothing, but pain

                (3) Romans 8: 16-17

The Spirit himself joins with our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God. And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, provided that we share his suffering, so as to share his glory.

                (4) All things are possible with
                        God —

                (5) Elizabeth conceived in her
                        old age and bore a son
                        John the Baptist

                (6)     The Purpose of Man's Existence

                        Baltimore Catechism #2

                        God is the Supreme Being, that is,
                    He is above all things else in heaven
                    and on earth. He made everything.
                    Not a man or a woman, a tree or
                    a bird, or anything could keep on
                    existing unless God wills it. He especially
                    made you and me to show forth His
                    goodness and to have us enjoy
                    His everlasting happiness in heaven.
                    But to gain heaven we must know,
                    love and serve God in this world.
                    Jesus Christ, the Son of God, teaches
                    us how to do this, through the
                    Catholic Church. In the Apostles
                    Creed we shall find the chief
                    truths which Jesus Christ teaches us.

                    Say the Apostles Creed —

                (7) In saying this Apostles Creed —
                    we show love to God —
                    we show God we trust in God —
                    we show God we believe in Him.

                (8) From the Messages of Fatima
                    Mary told the children —
 

                (9) John the Baptist was the voice
                    of one crying in the desert —
                    God has called us in the Shepherds of
                    Christ to be the voice of Mary —
                    spreading the consecration to
                    the priests and hierarchy
                    being the voice of one
                    crying in the desert.

                (10)  

Jesus: "My beloved priest-companion, I have allowed you to experience in extraordinary fashion the riches contained in My Heart and My Mother's Heart. I desire that you tell all My people about these riches. I desire that My people consecrate themselves to My Sacred Heart and to Mary's Immaculate Heart. My people are living in the beginnings of the age of the Two Hearts.

"After the time of the purification is completed, this new era of the Church and the world will become firmly established. This era will be characterized by the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My Sacred Heart. All those who consecrate themselves to My Heart and to My Mother's Heart will help to establish this glorious new age. I am Lord and Master. Please listen to My urgent request. Within Our Hearts you will experience the love and security, the peace and the joy, which you all desire. I love My people with a tremendous love, and in My love I give them this message!"

Reflection: This is the Age of the Two Hearts! The surest road to sanctity in these our times is through consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. In making this consecration, and striving with God's grace to live it as best we can each day, we are contributing to the establishment of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and to the arrival of the reign of the Sacred Heart.

end of excerpt from Tell My People

                The Birth of Jesus

Luke 2: 1-14

Now it happened that at this time Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be made of the whole inhabited world. This census—the first—took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee for Judaea, to David’s town called Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. Now it happened that, while they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first–born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the living–space. In the countryside close by there were shepherds out in the fields keeping guard over their sheep during the watches of the night. An angel of the Lord stood over them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Look, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And all at once with the angel there was a great throng of the hosts of heaven, praising God with the words: 

    Glory to God in the highest heaven, 
    and on earth peace for those he favours. 

                (1)

Luke 2: 15-20

    Now it happened that when the angels had gone from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go to Bethlehem and see this event which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds said to them. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as they had been told.

                (2) The incarnation goes on in us --

                        From the Holy Spirit Novena -      

Prayer for Strength and Light

We adore You, oh Holy Spirit. Give us strength, give us light, console us. We give ourselves entirely to You. Oh Spirit of light and grace, we want to only do the will of the Father. Enlighten us that we may live always in the Father's will.

Eternal Spirit fill us with Your Divine Wisdom that we may comprehend more fully insight into Your Divine Mysteries.

Give us lights, Oh Holy Spirit that we may know God. Work within the heart, the spiritual womb of the Virgin Mary, to form us more and more into the image of Jesus.

                (3) From the Holy Spirit Novena   

Prayer to Be One with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit

We long for You, Oh Spirit of Light, we long to know God, we want to be one with Him, our Divine God. We want to be one with the Father, know Him as a Person most intimately. We want to know the beloved One, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and live and dwell in Him at all times, every moment of our lives. We want to be one with You, Oh Spirit of Light, that You move in us in our every breath.

(4) From the Holy Spirit Novena   

Prayer to Be One in Jesus

Let us experience life in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so we can say as Saint Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me...." Let us live, united to the Mass, all through the day being one in Him. Let us be able to love and know in this elevated state of oneness with our God. We long for Thee, oh beauteous God, we love You, we love You, we love You. We praise You, worship You, honor You, adore You, and thank You, our beloved God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

(5) From the Holy Spirit Novena   

Prayer to Dwell in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

We seek to be one in God, to live and dwell in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, our little heaven on earth, to experience life in the all perfect, pure, sinless heart of our Mother. We want the Holy Spirit to move in us and to be united to Jesus as the Bridegroom of our souls and be a most perfect sacrifice offered to the Father at every moment as we unite in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass around the world to help in the salvation of souls.

 

(6) From the Holy Spirit Novena   

Prayer for the Holy Spirit and His Gifts

Come Holy Spirit, come, come into our hearts, inflame all people with the fire of Your love.

Leader: Send forth Your Spirit and all will be reborn.
All:  And You will renew the face of the earth.

We pray for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, we ask for perfection in our souls to make us holy, holy souls likened to God.

Dear Holy Spirit, we give ourselves to You soul and body. We ask You to give us the Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.

 

(7) From the Holy Spirit Novena   

Prayer for the Word Alive in Our Hearts

We know, dear Holy Spirit, the Word in His human nature was brought forth within the womb of the woman. We pray that His word will be brought forth in our hearts as He lives and dwells in us. We want the incarnation to go on in our lives. Dear Holy Spirit, work in us.

 

(8) From the Holy Spirit Novena   

Little Prayers to the Holy Spirit

Dear Holy Spirit, help us not to be ignorant or indifferent or weak, help us to be strong with the love of God.

Dear Holy Spirit, please pray for our needs for us.

Dear Holy Spirit, help us to respect God and to avoid sin. Help us to live in the Father's will.

Dear Holy Spirit, help us to keep Your commandments and to respect authority. Help us to love all things as You will us to love them. Help us to want to pray and always serve God with the greatest love. Help us to know the truth. Help us to have the gift of faith, hope, and love. Help us to know what is right and what is wrong.

 

(9) From the Holy Spirit Novena   

A Prayer for Intimacy with the Lamb, the Bridegroom of the Soul

Oh Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, come and act on my soul most intimately. I surrender myself, as I ask for the grace to let go, to just be as I exist in You and You act most intimately on my soul. You are the Initiator. I am the soul waiting Your favors as You act in me. I love You. I adore You. I worship You. Come and possess my soul with Your Divine Grace, as I experience You most intimately.

 

(10) Song: See the Eyes that Look at Mary

        Song: A Song from Jesus

        Sing: Silent Night

        Sing: What Child Is This

   

Presentation in the Temple

(1) Circumcision

Luke 2: 21

    When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.

(2)

  Luke 2: 22-39

And when the day came for them to be purified in keeping with the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord—observing what is written in the Law of the Lord: Every first–born male must be consecrated to the Lord—and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is prescribed in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to the restoration of Israel and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:

    Now, Master, you are letting 
        your servant go in peace 
    as you promised; 
    for my eyes have seen the salvation 
    which you have made ready 
        in the sight of the nations; 
    a light of revelation for the gentiles 
    and glory for your people Israel.

As the child’s father and mother were wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed—and a sword will pierce your soul too—so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’

There was a prophetess, too, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty–four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came up just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem. 

When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

 

(3) Flight into Egypt

Matthew 2: 13-18

After they had left, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him.’ So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I called my son out of Egypt. Herod was furious on realising that he had been fooled by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or less, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men. Then were fulfilled the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamenting and weeping bitterly: it is Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more.

    

 

(4) From the Red Rosary Book  

 

            The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995

1. The Prophecy of Simeon
Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus went to the temple. Simeon, the prophet, inspired by the Holy Spirit, met them and told Joseph and Mary of the great sufferings of Jesus and Mary. He told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart. From that point on, Mary ever remembered the prophecy of Simeon whenever she beheld her child. When she looked at His little body, even as an infant, she knew He would suffer. Every time she clothed Him and watched Him at play, her heart was torn in her chest as she knew what He would suffer. And a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary!

(5) From the Red Rosary Book

            The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995

2. The Flight into Egypt
Joseph was told by the angel to flee. Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus had to flee because of what might happen to Jesus. They had to pack for a long stay. The child Jesus was so small! They left on their journey, hearts full of fear, trying to protect Jesus. They were forced to flee into Egypt.

(6) From the Red Rosary Book

            The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995

3. Jesus Is Lost, In the Temple
Imagine the sufferings in Mary's heart when she realized the child Jesus was not with them. Think of how it would be to lose your child and not know where he was or if anything happened to him. With sorrow in their hearts, Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem to look for the child Jesus. And a sword, too, shall pierce your heart, O Mary!

(7) From the Red Rosary Book

            The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995

4. Jesus Carries His Cross
Song: See the eyes that look at Mary, her tender infant child. See the child's Heart beat so tenderly, the Savior of the world!
See the eyes of Jesus and Mary as they met on Calvary. Mary's Heart knew Jesus' Heart so well! From the first moment of conception and throughout His life, Mary was so connected with Jesus and now she peered into His eyes. The crown of thorns adorned His Head! Blood ran down His face! A heavy cross on His back! Wounded, His whole body covered with bleeding wounds! And her whole life flashed before her, the life that she had spent with Jesus. This was the beloved child that she had held in her arms when Simeon told Mary that 'a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary!'

(8) From the Red Rosary Book

            The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995

5. Jesus Dies on the Cross
Mary stood under Jesus' cross as He was put to death. The child that she had held in her arms as Simeon prophesied, And a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary! Now Jesus is dead on the cross! He gave His flesh, He gave His blood so that we might be with Him forever in heaven. He held not back. He gave His all. He calls out to us this day to see through the eyes of His mother as she appears and calls out with a Heart of great love, "Return to the love of my Son! He is with you this day. He remains with you, no less present than the day that He hung on the cross, in the Eucharist. He longs for you to come and be with Him. He is in your brother. How can you not love your brother when Jesus died for your brother?"

Her Heart was pierced with a sword. His Heart was pierced with a lance. What came forth was blood and water, the sacramental life of the church. He lives with us this day in the Church. He gives to us His sacraments, the source of His life! He gives to us the Sacrament of Penance whereby any sin that we commit can be taken away through the priest. He wants us to be so close to Him! He gives us everything to be close to Him. But we see with such limited vision only those things that are right before our face, when the true reality is that which we don't see with our eyes, the reality of the invisible divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the consecrated Host! This is reality! This is our life! This is our power! This is God! And a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary!

(9) From the Red Rosary Book

            The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995

6. Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross
If we ever doubted for one second that we were loved, we could visualize the picture of Mary as she sat beneath the cross with the lifeless, battered, bruised and bloodied body of her Son in her arms, the same child that she held when Simeon prophesied her suffering. He gave His last breath. He gave the last beat of His Heart. He gave His all! This is the way He complied with the Will of the Father. He came to show us the way. He died in perfect peace. To His death He was in peace because He knew the Father's love. The Father loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son for love of us! The Spirit descended upon the Virgin Mary and the Word was made flesh! The love of the Two Hearts! Such immense love beating for us!

In all love there is suffering. Her Heart was pierced with a sword. His Heart was pierced with a lance. And a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary!

(10) From the Red Rosary Book

            The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995

7. Jesus Is Locked in the Tomb
And now Jesus, His body lifeless, is locked in a tomb! What cold reality for Mary to realize that His body is now gone! A stone separated her from her Son!

He gave His last breath! He gave the last beat of His Heart for love of each one of us! And she comes to us this day with her sweet, beautiful voice and she asks us to go to her Son and love Him! How can we refuse Jesus who spread His arms and gave His life for each and every one of us? How can we not trust Him when He loved us so much that He allowed them to tear His flesh, to crown Him with piercing thorns and, lastly, to hang Him on a cross? He truly gave His life for us! He, truly God, is with us this day, the same as the day He died on the cross, in the tabernacle! And we take it so lightly! Death has no power over Him! Locked in the tomb for three days, He rose triumphant on the third day as He had foretold. He comes to give us life. He gives us the sacrament of Baptism that initiates us into His life, that makes us children of God and heirs of heaven if we remain in the state of grace. He asks two things: love of God and love of one another! He came to show us the way and His way is love. To His death on the cross He loved each one of us! He calls out to each one of us here today to be His soldiers, to march on a world that has forgotten God, that has forgotten what it is like to love! It is a battle to live in this world. But the battle is won with hearts that are filled with His love, empowered by the grace and might that He pours out in the Eucharist. He calls out for us to come to the Eucharist and to the tabernacle and be fed with His very flesh and blood. To feed on Divine Life, the greatest nourishment, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God! This is the love He gives. This is the love He asks us to share.

    

 

Jesus Goes up to the Temple at the Age of 12

Luke 2: 41-50

Every year his parents used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When the days of the feast were over and they set off home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was somewhere in the party, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere. 

    It happened that, three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’ He replied, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he meant.

 

(1) From the Red Rosary Book - April 20, 1995 - Mary and Joseph Find Jesus in the Temple

1. R. The Child Jesus, when He was twelve years old, was taken to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Passover.

2. R. When the Passover celebration was over, Joseph and Mary left with the caravan and the Child Jesus was left behind.

3. R. When they realized that Jesus had been left behind, they went back to Jerusalem, their hearts in such sorrow in search of the Child Jesus.

4. R. Jesus was talking to the doctors in the Temple.

5. Mary: Jesus wants to fill your hearts and your souls with His life. The Holy Spirit wants to release in you the gift of His wisdom. Open up your hearts, my beloved children. Pray to the Spirit to lead you into closer union with my Son. Pray to the Child Jesus!

6. Mary: Jesus lived on this earth as a little child. He lived as you live on this earth. This was God, the Son of Man! Out of greatest love for you, my little children, my Son came and lived on this earth.

7. Mary: Think, my little children, how close you are to your mother. Stay close to me. Stay rooted in my Immaculate Heart. Know that I am forever by your side, guarding and protecting you. I place my mantle securely around your shoulders. Do you feel the protection that I give you? You are children living in a troubled world. How you are wounded by the sin in this world! I am your Mother and I will protect you. You must turn to me. You must pray to me. Pray the rosary, my children. This is your weapon against Satan, for the world is evil. Satan wants to trip you up, my children. Children, listen to your heavenly Mother, for I love you with the deepest love.

8. Mary: This rosary I have given especially to you, my children. Pray this rosary with your friends for it truly comes from my tender Heart to your heart.

9. Mary: If you ever wander from Jesus, turn to me! As I searched for the Child Jesus, know that I am here and I will lead you back to the Heart of my Son.

10. Mary: My dear little children, pray to me and to the child Jesus for your friends that are lost. I truly love each and every precious one of my little children. Turn your lives to my Son, Jesus. He waits and longs for you. He loves you. When this world is cold, turn to the child Jesus.

Song after the last decade: Ave, ave, ave Maria. Ave, ave, ave Maria.

Mary: This is a rosary from my Most Immaculate Heart for my beloved children. I ask you to circulate this rosary to my dear children, for they are being taught lies in this world. If they are being taught lies, is it not your duty to teach them the truth? If you have received this rosary, I ask you to spread it to the children. For my little children are my dear, dear little ones. They need to pray. Children are not praying. Please, I beg you. Spread this rosary to all little children for I love them so much. How powerful are the prayers of little children! I am Mary, your Mother. Thank you for responding to my call.

  

 

December 29, 1995

NOTES

The Holy Spirit moved in the womb of Mary to form the Christ Child. Let Him move now in me, sanctifying me, and leading me to have a heart of burning love in this cold, dark world.

I experience the oneness of the Trinity alive in me.

It is in that action and presence in all of us that we unite as we dwell in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. I experience the presence in me and my heart burns. You experience the presence in you and your heart burns. We are one in these holy Hearts. The whole world is united in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. A mother protects her children. We are enveloped in her heart. We are such sinners. How could we dare dwell in His Heart with our sins? Through the action of the Holy Spirit, in her pure and tender heart, we are able to enter into His Heart, into the deepest recesses of His burning Heart. She is full of grace. We enter into her heart . She places us in His Heart. We are saturated with His life.

 

December 31, 1995

MARY'S SORROWS

She stood under the cross, and she wept. This was the final separation here on earth. His soul now left His body.

"My Son, my Son," Mary cries out in her heart - for in that moment she knew such anguish and pain for all those that would reject His grace, merited by His life and death on the cross. She knew the souls that would go to hell despite the giving of Himself on the cross.

I love the mysteries of the rosary, for they are the times I meditate on the lives of Jesus and Mary, Their oneness with each other.

She lost her Son in Jerusalem when He was twelve. Within her Immaculate Heart, she knew God from carrying Him in her body and in her arms. She held in her heart the prophecy of Simeon. She knew of sufferings to come recorded in her heart. She knew in her heart the flight into Egypt and the love of her beloved husband Joseph. She knew so much about Jesus in her heart. She watched Him comply to the will of His Father.

How many of her little children this day have separated themselves from God?

(I smelled gardenias the whole time I was in front of the tabernacle at the Holy Spirit Center.)

   

 

December 29, 1995

HE BREATHES HIS DIVINE LOVE
AND OUR SOUL IS MADE CLEAN

Written at 3:45 p.m. at Holy Cross-Immaculata Church:

I now know how I can dwell in her heart. It was in this moment I experienced eternity. The embrace of the divine love of God. I was enclosed in the heart of my loving Mother.

I experience the presence of the Father.

The Holy Spirit is so alive in this action, filling me with the fire of God's love, sanctifying me. The more I am made holy, the more I unite to Jesus and the Father.

It is the breath of His divine love, acting on me. He breathed His love into my soul, and my soul was made clean. I was purified more and more in the heart of my loving Mother. I go more and more deeply into the endless cavern of the fire of God's love. It is the Heart of Jesus, the great abyss of love, an abyss that is endless. It is there, I unite deeply to the Father and all at once. I experience the presence of God as I exist in the heart of Mary. I am in God and in Mary's heart, but there are no lines, no beginnings, no endings. The action is all at once, simultaneously. It is the state of being in God, in the heart of Mary. There is nothing but a feeling of presence, a completeness, a fullness, to embrace love itself and have no fear.

On December 13th, He plunged me into the deepest sufferings of Their Hearts for the injustices done to children and the pain suffered from the neglect and sins of the religious. Then, two days later, He took me to the great abyss of His love. I existed in Him, and I touched eternity.

This is the love He wants to share with us. He loves the religious with the deepest love. This is what wounded His Heart so much during His Passion. When we love another so much, our heart is wounded the most by that person's indifference.

I will forever see the fiery abyss of His love and dwell in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. This is our little heaven on earth.

The Kingdom of God is within us. We go to our interior dwelling place, and we dwell in the endless abyss of the love of God.

In the deepest chamber I am embraced by the Almighty God, and there is no fear, for in that moment, I am united with Love itself.

Mary is, indeed, the vehicle. Her heart - the way we go to the deepest chambers is through her pure and tender heart.

The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are our gateway to heaven on earth.

    

 

December 29, 1995

FUSED WITH THE SON AND OUR FATHER

At Holy Cross-Immaculata Church:

Two weeks ago, I had the experience where I was united in deepest love under the cross at Holy Cross-Immaculata Church. I touched eternity. I was hurled into a red cavern of immense love. I saw myself as being contained in a red circle. I was in this moment embraced by God. I felt no fear. I felt His presence as never before. I was empowered with this union (read Dec. 18 - an account of this event). I saw as it were two circles: both red with a yellow glow. I believe today that the second heart was the heart of my Mother.

At 12:01 today, as I was praying the Angelus, I was overwhelmed by the love I had for Mary and her role as Mother of God. I cried all the way, feeling this love for Mary as Mother of God. When I arrived at Holy Cross-Immaculata Catholic Church, I was overwhelmed by the immense love I felt for God, and I cried so hard, telling Him how I loved Him. I saw nothing else, I felt nothing else, but my great love for Him and my need to profess it so deeply within me, outpouring my love.

Today after Communion, I believe the second circle to be the heart of my dear Mother. I am enclosed in her loving heart and filled with the fire of God's love as the action of the Holy Spirit works on me and sanctifies me to make me holy. I am then hurled in the Heart of Jesus with this fire of the love of God, the action of the Spirit radiating around me, and in this moment, I am fused with the Son and the Father Who is one with Him, although I know I remain distinct.

On December 15, I felt satisfied and complete. I knew the love of God. I existed In Him. I could not even define my position. I was enveloped and embraced by the Almighty God. I had touched eternity, united with love itself.

I now believe it was in the heart of Mary, surrounded by the action of the Spirit, united in the cavern of God's love, which centers in the Heart of Jesus, that I was united with the Father.

This is what I had. There was nothing wanting in that moment - I felt complete, existing in God, in the heart of Mary!

    

 

December 29, 1995

MOTHER OF GOD

Written between 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.:

I was filled with such love for God. At the words, "Mother of God", I cried. I love those words. I love her. I love God so much. I love the Angelus. I love the relationship between Jesus and Mary. I realized how she is truly at our side - she spreads her mantle over us!

 

 

Sing: Oh Holy Mary

Sing: Ave Maria

   

December 27, 1995

THEY COME WITH THORNS IN THEIR HEARTS

Written after Communion:

He emptied Himself. He poured out His Heart, literally blood and water poured out of His Heart. He gives to us this Heart this day in the Holy Eucharist, and He is rejected.

How hard it is when we pour out our hearts to someone we love, when we give love and are rejected by those we want to love us most. This is the hardest to endure.

Jesus, Who is love, gives His all, this magnificent Heart of love, gives Himself to us in the Holy Eucharist and look how He is treated by some of those He loves. This was one of the greatest agonies in the Garden. The Eucharist is the sacrament of His greatest love, given to us. He is treated with disrespect, irreverence, indifference, and neglect in this gift in which God literally gives Himself!

He poured out His Heart to us and He was rejected by many. Today, He pours out Himself in the Holy Eucharist, and He is treated so badly by so many. He asks us, especially in the reception of the Eucharist and in front of the tabernacle, to help make reparation to His adorable Heart for the offenses against Him.

Mary asks us, in the reception of the Eucharist, to help make reparation to her Immaculate Heart for the blasphemies against her heart. They come with the thorns surrounding Their Hearts. I have experienced such agonies in my heart. I feel as if I have had ridges in my heart because it has happened so many times, over and over again and so deep.

These agonies, I believe, are from the thorns piercing Their Hearts for the injustices against Their Hearts. With each act of love I give to Mary, loving her as the Mother of God, loving her in her Immaculate Conception, loving her as the virgin who gave birth to the Son of God, loving her images and statues, I see each thorn turned into a flower, a garland surrounding her Immaculate Heart of love.

I want to love Him with the deepest love, to make reparation for the indifferences, offenses, negligences, disrespect, and irreverence shown to Him in His sacrament of greatest love. I ask Mary, with her pure and Immaculate Heart, to let me love Him more through her heart, that I may love Him with greater love. My greatest desire in life is to give love to my precious and beloved God. I beg Him to help me to unite to Him, to more worthily love Him with the deepest love.

It is in carrying His cross in our hearts, accepting the thorns in life graciously, outpouring our abundant love to Him, that we help make reparation to His Heart which suffered so much during the bitter Passion.

Let us help make reparation to these adorable Hearts in the sacrament of His greatest love, the Holy Eucharist. It is there we can more greatly love Them when we are united to Him in deepest love.

 

 

December 27, 1995

IT IS IN THE CROSS WE WILL BE RAISED TO NEW LIFE

His anguish was so great in the garden for the endless hours He would remain in the tabernacle, neglected by so many. I see the Host and a cup plainly, above the agony and the angel. See Jesus in such agony in the garden.

An angel appeared at Fatima - what did he say?

The angel came…bearing a golden chalice in one hand and a Host above it in the other. The amazed children noticed that drops of blood were falling from the Host into the chalice. Presently, the angel left both suspended in mid-air and prostrated himself on the ground, saying this beautiful prayer: "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and [the intercession of] the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners."⁵¹

This is the greatest agony I have experienced over the rejection and indifference given to Him by His chosen ones. We were called to the Catholic faith - it is a great honor to be baptized and receive divine life! Election to be called a Catholic, election to receive the Holy Eucharist, our First Communion!

The thorns around His Heart are for the indifference and rejection given to Him. Think of it, to give Himself to us in the deepest intimacy and be rejected by us creatures. His Heart filled with love - He is Love Himself - and He is rejected by many of His Catholic elect!

Mary is treated without respect and honor, even by many Catholics.

It is the faithful that help make reparation in the reception of the Eucharist that comfort Their Hearts.

Mary's heart is surrounded by thorns from the blasphemies against her Immaculate Heart, Her Immaculate Conception, against her as the Mother of God, against her images.

Jesus' Heart is surrounded by thorns for the injustices and neglect against Him. It is our devotion and adorable reception of the Holy Eucharist that was sweetness to His bitter pain in the Garden.

I cried so hard at Holy Cross-Immaculata Catholic Church under the cross and by the Lourdes Grotto because I so deeply wanted to love God, Who is worthy of all my love. I cried because I love God so much and want to give Him great love. In Mary's heart, I can love Him more. She loves Him more than any human person. Her heart is pure and sinless. I want to unite to Him in deepest love. By dwelling in her heart, I am dwelling more deeply in His Heart.

Oh heart of Mary, place me in the deepest recesses of His Heart that I may love Him more and more and love my adorable Father and the Holy Spirit, my beloved, beloved friend.

I just love God so much it makes me cry to talk to Him.

I carry with me the cross of Christ forever in my heart as He carried His cross. I carry His cross in my heart. I love His adorable wounds in His hands and feet and with the tenderest love I love the wound in His side. I love His body as He hangs on the cross- this is love. This is how He loves me, this is how He loves each person-to His death.

The sun shines, and as it shines I behold the cross of Christ. He is the Light to this world. By carrying His cross in our hearts, we share in His life. It is in the cross that we will be raised to new life in Him!

I could write pages on the words "In Him." These are my favorite words as they denote my relationship with Him. I am one in the Word of God. He is the Word. He is living in this world. I feel every word, for it is in me as Christ is in me. His Word is in me and lives in me.

I exist in Him, and His Word lives in me. I love Him. I love the Word of God. I am fed by His Body and Blood. I am fed by His Word. My heart burns to hear it - to read it - I feel it alive in me because He is alive in me!

Think of how it would be to stand tied at the pillar and be slapped by instruments that burned your flesh and tore it, to be slapped on the arms and the face and the back and to hear the loud laughs of the men whipping you. How cruel were the hearts of those who whipped Him, and how His Heart ached for they were loved so by Him!

    

 

December 27, 1995

LET US LOVE THE TWO HEARTS OF JESUS AND MARY
IN THE RECEPTION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST.

HE GAVE HIMSELF TO US ON THE CROSS. HE GIVES HIMSELF TO US IN THE EUCHARIST.

How great was the act of love, God gave to this world, when He gave Himself and died on the cross. He gives Himself to us this day in the Holy Eucharist.

The greatest commandment is that we must love God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole being. This is a commandment. If we are to enter heaven, we must follow the commandments. They are commands given by God for us to follow.

The greatest act we can do on this earth is an act of loving God. The reason for our existence is to love God. In the sacrament of His greatest love, He gives Himself to us. This is an act of love on His part. We are called to respond by giving ourselves in love to Him.

This is the purpose of the Holy Eucharist: to unite in such oneness with our Holy, Loving God. Our all consuming passion should be that of loving God. How many go to the Eucharist with the sole purpose of giving great love to God? He wants us to love Him. He wants souls to tell Him how much they truly love Him. This is the most intimate act of love when Jesus gives Himself-Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity to man. If it is such an act of love, how are we receiving Him in Communion? We should beg God, in this most intimate union with Him, to help us to love Him with greatest love.

Jesus is a Person. He wants our love. The Holy Spirit wants such intimacy with us. Our Father wants us to love Him. In the Eucharist, we unite with God. In this intimate act of uniting with our beloved God, with Divinity, we must pour out our love to God. We must pour out our heart to the most adorable Heart of Jesus. Jesus is so unjustly treated by many of His beloved souls He loves so much. Let us help make reparation to the Almighty God by loving God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole being in the sacrament of His greatest love. This is the Gift of Himself.

Think of how it is to love someone and give your all for that person, to pour out your heart to him or her and then be treated with coldness and neglect. It hurts our heart so much more when we deeply love someone to be rejected by that person. Jesus loves us with the deepest love. We cannot fully comprehend this love. Let us love Him with the deepest love. Let us love Mary and her Immaculate Heart. Let us love her as the Mother of God. Let us love her as the virgin who bore the Son of God. May we, in the reception of the Eucharist pour out our love to Him, to this adorable Heart. May we pour out our love to His Holy Mother.

Mary said at Fatima that Jesus wants His Heart venerated next to the heart of His Mother. Let us love these two Hearts as we receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Then we are so deeply united with God. We see Their two Hearts surrounded with thorns for the injustices against Their Hearts. Let us help make reparation daily as we receive Him in the Eucharist. This is a special time to help make reparation to Their wounded Hearts.

Let us remember how He poured His love out to us on the cross and how He pours out His love to us now when He gives us Himself in the Eucharist, the Eucharist which contains His Heart of burning love. His Heart was pierced with a lance. Her heart was invisibly pierced with a sword. As the wounds in Their Hearts are deep, so too is Their love so deep.

He does not want "surface love". He wants hearts filled with deep burning love.

 

 

  

A Prayer before the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

    Let me be a holy sacrifice and unite with God in the sacrament of His greatest love.

    I want to be one in Him in this act of love, where He gives Himself to me and I give myself as a sacrifice to Him. Let me be a holy sacrifice as I become one with Him in this my act of greatest love to Him.

    Let me unite with Him more, that I may more deeply love Him. May I help make reparation to His adorable Heart and the heart of His Mother, Mary. With greatest love, I offer myself to You and pray that You will accept my sacrifice of greatest love. I give myself to You and unite in Your gift of Yourself to me. Come and possess my soul.

    Cleanse me, strengthen me, heal me. Dear Holy Spirit act in the heart of Mary to make me more and more like Jesus.

    Father, I offer this my sacrifice, myself united to Jesus in the Holy Spirit to You. Help me to love God more deeply in this act of my greatest love.

    Give me the grace to grow in my knowledge, love and service of You and for this to be my greatest participation in the Mass. Give me the greatest graces to love You so deeply in this Mass, You who are so worthy of my love.

-God's Blue Book, December 27, 1995

 

  From the Prayer Manual   

 

Act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Lord Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock, I consecrate myself to Your most Sacred Heart. From Your pierced Heart the Church was born, the Church You have called me, as a member of Shepherds of Christ Associates, to serve in a most special way. You reveal Your Heart as a symbol of Your love in all its aspects, including Your most special love for me, whom You have chosen as Your companion in this most important work. Help me to always love You in return. Help me to give myself entirely to You. Help me always to pour out my life in love of God and neighbor! Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You!

"Dear Blessed Virgin Mary, I consecrate myself to your maternal and Immaculate Heart, this Heart which is symbol of your life of love. You are the Mother of my Savior. You are also my Mother. You love me with a most special love as a member of Shepherds of Christ Associates, a movement created by your Son as a powerful instrument for the renewal of the Church and the world. In a return of love, I give myself entirely to your motherly love and protection. You followed Jesus perfectly. You are His first and perfect disciple. Teach me to imitate you in the putting on of Christ. Be my motherly intercessor so that, through your Immaculate Heart, I may be guided to an ever closer union with the pierced Heart of Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock.

 

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us (repeat after each invocation).
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of the Church,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Savior,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honor,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the Covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of angels,
Queen of patriarchs,
Queen of prophets,
Queen of apostles,
Queen of martyrs,
Queen of confessors,
Queen of virgins,
Queen of all saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most holy rosary,
Queen of families,
Queen of peace,

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Grant, we beseech You, O Lord God, that we Your servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body and, by the glorious intercession of the blessed Mary, ever virgin, be delivered from present sorrow, and obtain eternal joy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God. Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

 

Litany of the Sacred Heart

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us (repeat after each invocation).
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty,
Heart of Jesus, sacred temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke You,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient even to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim of sin,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in You,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in You,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the saints,
Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Yours.

Let us pray: O almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Your dearly beloved Son and upon the praise and satisfaction He offers You in behalf of sinners and, being appeased, grant pardon to those who seek Your mercy, in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.

You can help put the Blue Book V

in the hands of 1,000 people

we need $1,200 postage for this

It is ready to go

Call Kathleen

1-888-211-3041

You can help put Fr. Joe's homily

book in the hands of

1,000 priests — it costs $1,100

This can help 1,000 parish priests

talk about Covenant for Lent 

Please help us

It is ready to go

Call Kathleen  1-888-211-3041

Call Kathleen to Order any of the items below

1-888-211-3041

Fr. John J. Pasquini Light, Happiness, & Peace Journeying Through Traditional Catholic Spirituality Author: Fr. John J. Pasquini $ 10.00 plus postage In Imitation of Two Hearts Prayers for Consolation, Renewal and Peace in Times of Suffering Author: Fr. John J. Pasquini $ 10.00  plus postage Authenticity Authenticity - Prayers and Meditations Author: Fr. John J. Pasquini $ 10.00  plus postage Medicine of Immortality Prayers and Meditations for Mass and Eucharistic Adoration Author: Fr. John J. Pasquini $ 10.00  plus postage Ecce Fides Pillar of Truth - Dedicated to defending Catholic beliefs through reason, Scripture, and the life of the Holy Spirit $ 10.00  plus postage Authenticity Ocean DVD The Authenticity Prayer Book is read with the Ocean as a backdrop. $ 10.00  plus postage Nursing Home Mass DVD A special mass by Fr. John J. Pasquini for those in nursing homes or homebound. $ 10.00  plus postage Consolation DVD Give this DVD as a sympathy present. $ 10.00  plus postage

 

Books written by the cofounder of Shepherds of Christ Ministries Writings by Rita Ring Mass Book A Journey Into the Heart of Jesus - Author: Rita Ring. Discerned by: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. Imprimatur $ 12.00 plus postage Rosary Meditations for Parents and Children From the Hearts of Jesus and Mary Author: Rita Ring. Discerned by: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. Imprimatur $ 10.00  plus postage God's Blue Book I Teachings to Lift You Up. Author: Rita Ring. Discerned by: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. $ 10.00  plus postage God's Blue Book II The Fire of His Love. Author: Rita Ring. Discerned by Fr. Edward J. Carter S. J. $ 10.00  plus postage God's Blue Book III Love God, Love One Another. Author: Rita Ring. Discerned by Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. $ 10.00  plus postage God's Blue Book 4 The Love of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary Author: Rita Ring $ 5.00  plus postage God's Blue Book 5 So Deep Is the Love of His Heart. Author: Rita Ring. $ 5.00  plus postage God's Blue Book 6A He Calls Us to Action Author: Rita Ring. $ 10.00  plus postage Rosaries From the Hearts of Jesus and Mary - Volume I Red Rosary Book - Author: Rita Ring. Discerned by: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. $ 10.00  plus postage Blue Rosary Book Rosaries From the Hearts of Jesus and Mary - Volume II $ 12.00  plus postage Short Rosary Meditations for the Ederly, Ill, and Homebound From the Hearts of Jesus and Mary: Author: Rita Ring. Discerned by: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. Imprimatur This book is 8 1/2" by 11" and you can open it up and sit it on your lap. $ 10.00  plus postage Messages From Jesus Given by Jesus to His Messenger Author: Rita Ring. Discerned by: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. This book is 8 1/2" by 11" and you can open it up and sit it on your lap. $ 10.00  plus postage Daily Messages From Heaven From the Florida Apparition Site Author: Rita Ring. Discerned by: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. $ 10.00  plus postage Rosary Meditations for Little People and Elderly Short Meditations for the Rosary $ 3.00  plus postage Color the Lives of Jesus and Mary, Book 5 A Coloring Book with Short Meditations on the 15 mysteries of the rosary. Author: Rita Ring. Discerned by: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. $ 5.00 plus postage

Fr. Edward J. Carter

Books written by the founder of Shepherds of Christ Ministries Shepherds of Christ Spirituality Newsletters 1 Selected Writings on Spirituality—for All People Editor: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. Imprimatur $ 10.00  plus postage Spirituality Newsletters 2 Selected Writings on Spirituality — for All People Editor: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. Imprimatur $ 12.00  plus postage Shepherds of Christ Spirituality Newsletters 3 Selected Writings on Spirituality — for All People Editor: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. $ 10.00  plus postage Tell My People Messages from Jesus and Mary Author: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. Imprimi Potest (spiral bound) $ 10.00  plus postage Spirituality Handbook Shepherds of Christ Associates Spirituality Handbook - A Way of Spiritual Life Author: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. Imprimi Potest $ 3.00  plus postage The Spirituality of Fatima Fatima: The Setting, The Message, The Spirituality of Consecration $ 5.00  plus postage Shepherds of Christ 6:20 Prayers CD Holy Spirit Novena, Associates Prayer Manual and the Rosary Led by: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. $ 10.00  plus postage Priestly Newsletter 2000 Issue 1 Audio CD - Read by Father Edward J. Carter $ 10.00  plus postage

Statues/Religious Items Statues, Crucifixes, and Religious Artwork These items are very special additions to your home or place of worship. Special 27" Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima/Clearwater Statue with Glass 27" Statue with crown $ 450.00 plus shipping Special 18" Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima/Clearwater Statue with Glass   Includes Crown $ 250.00 plus shipping Special 15" Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima/Clearwater Statue with Glass White gown with gold trim around mantel $ 200.00 plus shipping Special 12" Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima/Clearwater Statue with Glass White gown with gold trim around mantel $ 165.00 plus shipping Special 18" Our Lady of Fatima/Clearwater Statue with Glass   Blue and Pink gown with a rosary over her hand. $ 250.00 plus shipping Special 11" Our Lady of Fatima/Clearwater Statue with Glass Blue and Pink gown. $ 150.00 plus shipping Crucifix by Felix - Hand Carved Crucifix with incredible detail! $ 750.00 plus shipping Imitation of Two Hearts Giclee Art Print on Canvas $ 150.00 plus shipping Lucia's Vision Giclee Art Print on Canvas by Harold Kellner $ 150.00 plus shipping

 

Yes — All the ends of the earth have seen the power of God.        God has called us to be united as a family in the Shepherds of Christ.      This is a vocation — to pray deeply for the priests, the Church and the world and to help support the Newsletter and the Ministries.      Remember the image of Our Lady of Clearwater on the building. We have very special Fatima statues so you can have a special place of prayer in your homes, praying the rosary for your family and for the priests, the Church and the world. If you are interested in these very special Fatima/Clearwater statues e-mail me with your phone number and address  info@sofc.org.      Those using the special statues will be united to us in a special way — We want you to pray the Shepherds of Christ prayers for the priests, the Church and the world from your special place in your home.      When people have set up a prayer corner/niche with this statue, Fatima/Clearwater glass, they have reported that their families have received special blessings. With this statue it is important to pray the prayers in the red prayer manual and consecrate your home and family to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart. Call Sheila or Doris about statues or go to China or Clearwater.  1-888-211-3041 or 1-812-273-8405

27” - $450.00 18” - $250.00 15” - $200.00 12” - $160.00 11” - $150.00 plus shipping We send these.  They are good for people in the family for Christmas, give with a prayer manual.

 

Statues

 

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel	Our Lady of Lourdes	Our Lady of Grace
Sorrowful Mother	Immaculate Heart - Ivory	Immaculate Heart of Mary
Limpias	Sacred Heart of Jesus -Blessing	Sacred Heart of Jesus
Infant of Prague	Divine Mercy	Holy Family
St. Jude	Our Lady of Guadalupe	Holy Family
St. Therese	St. Francis	St. Anthony
St. Claire	St. Padre Pio	St. Joseph
Angel	St. Philomena	St. Rita - 18
Immaculate Heart of Mary - 18	Immaculate Heart - Ivory - 18	Sacred Heart of Jesus - 18
Our Lady of Lourdes - 18	Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - 18	Our Lady of Grace - 18
St. Francis - 18	St. Anthony - 18	St. Joseph - 18
St. Therese - 18	Our Lady of Guadalupe - 12	St. Clare - 12
St. Padre Pio - 12	St. Rita - 12	Divine Mercy - 12
Pieta - Color	Pieta - Marble	Limpias - 8
Fatima w/glass - 11	Pilgrim Virgin w/glass - 12	Pilgrim Virgin w/glass - 15
Fatima w/glass - 18	Pilgrim Virgin w/glass - 18	Pilgrim Virgin w/glass - 27

       

Shepherds of Christ Ministries P. O. Box 627 China, IN  47250

Toll free - 1-888-211-3041 Local - 1-812-273-8405 fax - 1-812-273-3182 web: www.sofc.org e-mail: info@sofc.org

	Size	Price	Quantity
Holy Family	24"	$180
Immaculate Heart of Mary	24"	$125
Immaculate Heart - Ivory	24"	$125
Infant of Prague	24"	$125
Limpias	24"	$125
Our Lady of Grace	24"	$125
Our Lady of Guadalupe	24"	$125
Our Lady of Lourdes	24"	$125
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel	24"	$125
Sacred Heart of Jesus	24"	$125
Sacred Heart of Jesus -Blessing	24"	$125
Sorrowful Mother	24"	$125
St. Anthony	24"	$125
St. Claire	24"	$125
St. Francis	24"	$125
St. Joseph	24"	$125
St. Jude	24"	$125
St. Padre Pio	24"	$125
St. Therese	24"	$125
Divine Mercy	22"	$125
Angel	22"	$100
St. Philomena	20"	$100
St. Philomena	16"	$65
Immaculate Heart of Mary	18"	$65
Immaculate Heart - Ivory	18"	$65
Sacred Heart of Jesus	18"	$65
Our Lady of Lourdes	18"	$65
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel	18"	$65
Our Lady of Grace	18"	$65
St. Joseph	18"	$65
St. Francis	18"	$65
St. Anthony	18"	$65
St. Rita	18"	$65
St. Therese	18"	$65
Pieta - Color	15"	$75
Pieta - Marble	15"	$75
Holy Family	12"	$60
Our Lady of Guadalupe	12"	$40
St. Padre Pio	12"	$40
St. Rita	12"	$40
Divine Mercy	12"	$40
St. Claire	12"	$40
Limpias	8"	$25
Fatima w/glass	11"	$150
Fatima w/glass	18"	$250
Pilgrim Virgin w/glass	12"	$160
Pilgrim Virgin w/glass	15"	$200
Pilgrim Virgin w/glass	18"	$250
Pilgrim Virgin w/glass	27"	$450

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