Mary has requested that the daily message be given each day to the world. It is read nightly at the prayer service from her Image Building in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A. This is according to her request. All attempts will be made to publish this daily message to the world at 11 p.m. Eastern time, U.S.A. We acknowledge that the final authority regarding these messages rests with the Holy See of Rome.

March 14, 2002

The 17th will be in China,
    Indiana. Special help will
    be needed. Try to come any
    time after 1:30 PM.

We will do 6:20 prayers
    before the Blessed Sacrament.

Celebrate birthdays

We are begging people to
    come Monday and help
    do the mailing.

March 15

    Pray with us on Friday

at 6:20 we will have a broadcast

from Texas.

March 19 Sidney Healing Rosary

    

---

March 14, 2002 

Jesus speaks:         I give you so many gifts and you
                            do not see.

Messenger:            Oh but if we only looked, if we
                            prayed for greater vision.  
                                        Oh the smoke bellowed so thick
                            and one could not see because it
                            was so dense.
                                The morning came and the fog
                            hung low and there was hardly
                            any vision at all.
                                A blind man cannot see with
                            his eyes, he is blind.

Jesus speaks:         The gift of Mary so very fair and I
                            give you and you turn away.

Revelation 12: 1-2

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth.

   

March 14, 2002 message continues

Jesus speaks:      Here are the prayers I give you to 
                                 pray.

end of the Shepherds of Christ Prayer Manual Prayers 

March 14, 2002 message continues

Messenger:         During these prayers on March 5, 2002, the
                                image changed from rainbow
                                to a blue-gold to gold.
                                All pictures were taken without
                                a flash or without lights.

Jesus speaks:       Pray for vision.

                            Please open your eyes and see this
                                sign.

                            In sunny Florida she comes, a
                                woman clothed with the
                                sun.

                            She is adorned in gold during
                                the prayers.

                            Your light will shine when you
                                pray as I have instructed
                                you.

                            Red
                            Yellow
                            Rosary

Psalm 90: 4

A thousand years are to you like a yesterday which has passed, like a watch of the night.

  

2 Peter 3: 8

But there is one thing, my dear friends, that you must never forget: that with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

  

March 14, 2002 message continues

Messenger:        Fr. Carter was given these messages

1. For the spread of the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary culminating in the reign of the Sacred Heart and the triumph of the Immaculate Heart.
2. For the Pope.
3. For all bishops of the world.
4. For all priests.
5. For all sisters and brothers in the religious life.
6. For all members of the Shepherds of Christ Movement, and for the spread of this movement to the world.
7. For all members of the Catholic Church.
8. For all members of the human family.
9. For all souls in purgatory.

end of Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart message

The Role of Private Revelation in the Life of the Church

by Father Carter, S.J.

In these our times there have been numerous reports from around the world of events regarding alleged private revelations. Messages from alleged visionaries and locutionists abound. Many people are at least somewhat confused regarding how one should react to all this.

It seems appropriate, therefore, to offer some thoughts concerning the role of private revelation in the life of the Church.

First of all, we must realize the Church recognizes that private revelation has a role to play in the life of the Church. The Catechism says:

Throughout the ages, there have been so-called 'private revelations,' some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history.¹

We would now like to offer the thoughts of some contemporary theologians regarding this role of private revelation: Harvey Egan, S.J., says:

Private revelations often presuppose the gift of prophecy. Prophetic revelations commission the mystic to address the entire Church, or a significant portion. He must deliver a message, plead for a particular devotion, call for conversion and penance, warn against certain aberrations in Church life...suggest new styles of life or spiritual doctrine, or foretell the future. Those post-apostolic, prophetic revelations, therefore, apply the faith in a practical way to daily Christian living.²

Jordan Aumann, O.P., observes:

There have always been persons gifted with prophecy, as is testified by Scripture and the processes of canonization of the servants of God. Nevertheless, private revelations do not pertain to the deposit of faith, which consists of the truths contained in Scripture and Tradition under the vigilance of the Church.³

Karl Rahner, S.J., offers the following regarding private revelation:

A private revelation as a mission to the Church signifies...an imperative which within the context of a particular historical situation of the Church, points out a particular course of action from among the many possible according to the universal and public revelation as the one most urgently needing to be realized. The new feature in such a private revelation consists therefore not in its particular material elements but in the imperative marking and shifting of accentuation within the possibilities of Christianity...Hence the private revelation as a mission to the Church can be conceived as a heavenly imperative interpretation of the particular situation of the Church at this time; it answers the question as to what is most urgently to be done here and now in accordance with the general principles of the faith.⁴

It would be wrong, consequently, to deny the existence and proportionate importance of private revelation in the life of the Church. Such an attitude would be in opposition to the teaching of the Church and that of reputable theologians. Private revelation is yet another sign of God's overwhelming love towards us. In His great love He has given us the truths of faith as contained in public revelation. In His ongoing love for us He gives us private revelation to aid us in the living of public revelation. We should not, therefore, be indifferent to the role God has assigned to private revelation in the life of the Church.

It might be well at this point to offer a description of what occurs when a person receives an apparition and/or locution (message). Joseph de Guibert, S.J., one of the most eminent mystical theologians of this century, says:

A distinction is made between corporeal, imaginative, and intellectual visions. This distinction can also be applied to locutions. In corporeal visions and locutions there is a real perception by the external senses; the person who is seen or heard may be really present, or (in corporeal visions) the body which appears may be formed in the air, or a change may be affected at the moment the light-rays impinge on the eye, or (in corporeal locutions) a real acoustical vibration may be produced in the ears. In imaginative visions and locutions there is no perception by the external senses, but, rather, a Divine action on the imagination or the internal senses...In intellectual visions and locutions the Divine action directly affects the intellect.⁵

What should one's attitude be regarding alleged instances of private revelation which have not yet been the subject of official Church investigation- and perhaps never will be? First, one should always recognize that the final authority regarding private revelations rests with the Holy See of Rome, to whose judgment we should willingly submit. Secondly, one may personally act upon these messages of private revelation if a person observes that they contain nothing contrary to faith and morals and that they help bring one closer to God. Our Lord has said: "...a sound tree produces good fruit but a rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit." (Mt 7:17-18).

A good example of what we have just said is the situation regarding the alleged apparitions and messages at Medjugorje. The Church's investigation of this site is ongoing. No definitive decision has been made. In the meantime, the Church is not forbidding the faithful to go to Medjugorje. She is not forbidding them to personally accept the messages, presuming, again, they contain nothing contrary to faith and morals. Millions of pilgrims have gone to Medjugorje, including thousands of priests and hundreds of bishops.

An outstanding example of the importance of the role of private revelation in the life of the Church is that of Fatima. The Church has formally approved the message of Fatima as being worthy of belief. In her July 13, 1917, message, Our Blessed Mother said:

The war (World War I, then raging) is going to end. But if people do not stop offending God, another and worse one will begin in the reign of Pius XI. When you shall see a night illuminated by an unknown light (January 2, 1938), know that this is the great sign that God gives you that He is going to punish the world for its many crimes by means of war, hunger, and persecution of the Church and the Holy Father.

To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the five first Saturdays. If my requests are granted, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, she will scatter her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be destroyed...

But in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph, the Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, Russia will be converted, and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world.⁶

There is more to the requests of Our Lady of Fatima besides those elements contained in the above message. But these aspects of the Fatima message are obviously critical ones.

Because enough people did not respond to Mary's requests made at Fatima, we did have World War II and all the horrors connected with the rise of Russian dominated Communism. Again, Fatima is a prime example of the importance the role of private revelation can assume in the life of the Church. Popes Pius XII and Paul VI made visits to Fatima, as has Pope John Paul II.

- From Shepherds of Christ, A Spirituality Newsletter for Priests by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.
May/June 1995 Issue. pp. 3-5.

---

Notes:

1. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #67, p. 23.
2. Harvey Egan, S.J., Christian Mysticism, Pueblo Publishing, p. 311.
3. Jordan Aumann, O.P., "Spiritual Theology", Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., p. 429.
4. Karl Rahner, S.J., Theological Investigations, Helicaon Press, Vol. III, pp. 338-339.
5. Joseph de Guibert, S.J., The Theology of the Spiritual Life, Sheed & Ward, pp. 355-356.
6. Our Lady of Fatima's Peace Plan from Heaven, Tan Publishers, pp. 4-5.

end of excerpt from Apostles' Manual

March 14, 2002 message continues

Messenger:          The birds are chirping, we must
                         listen and hear.

                            Despite the dark clouds that may
                        surround us, we see the beauty of
                        our Church, the sacredness of the
                        priesthood, we see Mary our Mother
                        so close to us and the loving touch
                        of the Holy Spirit guiding her (the Church).
                        Our Church is a gift from God.
                        Let us pray for her and our priests we
                        love so deeply in our hearts.
                            AND LET US SING

March 14, 2002 message continues

Messenger:        Our priests are so very precious to 
                                us.

                            Let us thank God with all our hearts
                                for His gifts, thank Him for
                                the Eucharist.

March 14, 2002 message continues

Messenger:        WE PRAY FOR THE 
                            PRIESTS, THE CHURCH
                            AND THE WORLD.

Colossians 1: 15

He is the image of the unseen God,
the first–born of all creation

    

FROM THE WORDS OF FR. CARTER, S.J.
IN HIS BOOK
RESPONSE TO GOD'S LOVE

end of excerpt from Response to God's Love

March 14, 2002 message continues

Messenger:        Thank you God for our priests
                                and the Church.

Excerpt from February 15, 2002 message 

February 15, 2002 message continues

end of excerpt from February 15, 2002

         

February 7, 2002

  

To whom it may concern,
  

    We circulate the Priestly Newsletter that goes to 75,000 priests in the world. This has been circulated since 1994 at the direction of Fr. Edward Carter, S.J. who had a doctorate in Theology and taught at Xavier University for over thirty years and author of eighteen books on the spiritual life and many other various publications.

    Our primary purpose is to circulate this Newsletter. We are now sending three years of Newsletters in a book of 342 pages to 75,000 priests in the United States and 90 foreign countries. A special Newsletter is enclosed with Father Carter's powerful writing on Grace (2001 issue 1). This writing is also available on tape and on disc.

    Our coequal purpose is to circulate prayer manuals Father Carter compiled for prayer chapters praying for the priests, the Church and
the world.

    All of our printing and postage costs so much money.

    We operate from the Virgin Mary building in Clearwater, Florida, pictures are enclosed. We use the building to spread materials and rosaries
to encourage people to pray for the priests, the Church and the world.

    We also have a church we received from the diocese in China, Indiana where we distribute our materials and pray before the Blessed Sacrament hourly and about two hours or more at 6:20 every day. Monthly adoration before the exposed Eucharist is held for our members for 48 hours on the 12th of each month to the 14th.

    We have a third center in Morrow, Ohio which is our communication center and mailing address.

    We circulate rosaries handmade to Catholic schools all over the United States and meditation sheets and consecration cards. We try to send scapulars too when we have them. We supply many beads to our rosary makers for this.

    We had difficulty all last summer securing funds for beads for our rosary makers. We were not able to send the 100,000 or more rosaries we usually send in October and May because of funds.

    We need $10,000 every month for the loan on the Virgin Mary building. We pray nightly there usually for about two hours or more at 6:20. We pray all through the day there, hourly, many times before the image. A big prayer meeting is held on the 5th of the month. Prayers are prayed for about 4 hours for the priests, the Church and the world. We broadcast to at least 8 states and all join in the prayers, including Morrow and China.

    We have a nursing home ministry and a prison ministry. We supply coloring books of the rosary mysteries and the Mass to children.

    We desperately need funds for the printing and the rosary making operation and all the postage. Bishops from foreign countries beg for rosaries and prayer sheets with the Shepherds of Christ Prayers.

    Now we are struggling with the monthly rent on the building and the postage for the foreign mailing of the Priestly Newsletter Book II.

    We always need money for the rosary beads for the schools and the Virgin Mary building.

    We also do a Holy Spirit Novena, but the little book has been out of print for some time because of lack of funds. Teachers like to use it for confirmation. We have prayer chapters using it daily all over the world.

    We want to circulate pictures of the crucifix and Mary's image on the building, we are unable to do this because of lack of funds. Enclosed are pictures of the crucifix and the Virgin Mary building.

    A very important part of our Movement is trying to get people to say the Morning Offering. Here is a card we distribute extensively, especially to Nursing Homes and school children.
   

  

  
    Here is a short form of consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary that we circulate extensively.
  

  

   
    Can you help us. It is a real shame to not even have rent on the building Mary appears on.

    We need to tell the world about the Mass. This is another important aspect of our ministry. We have so many writings about the Mass. Mass Book I with the Imprimatur—and all Fr. Carter's writings and many other writings discerned by Fr Carter before his death. 

    It is a shame with all the money in the world not to be able to get the rosary beads to the rosary makers for school children who want them to pray the rosary.

    Our movement is trying to do what Our Lady told us to do at Fatima for peace in the world.

    Can you help us?
  

                            Rita Ring
                            Shepherds of Christ Ministries

    

      

Messenger:  Jesus wishes that we give our hearts to Him and Mary. 

The following Valentine can be given to Jesus and Mary any day of the year. It is an act of love that would greatly please Him.

Use the following Valentine to fill in your name and the date you gave it to Him.
  

MY VALENTINE FOR JESUS AND MARY AND THE WORLD I _________________ give my heart to You Jesus and Mary on this day _________________ I promise to help spread the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.