Daily Writing
| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
|
March 22, 2009
|
March 23rd Holy
Spirit Novena |
The Novena Rosary
Mysteries |
The church needs to have the stucco replaced
and also the community building.
It is about $38,000 to repair it.
People pray in the church 24 hours a day.
We have prayed in there for 11 years.
The archdiocese gave the church to us
for this purpose for a small price.
Can you help us?
Retreat in Florida
April 2, 3, 4, 5th
March 22, 2009
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell
in the graced, baptized soul —
what makes one person vibrantly
on fire — loving their vocation
and another almost drag something
negatively out of you —
I pray to the Holy Spirit all day —
I know Him as a Person who dwells
in me — Jesus gave me the Holy
Spirit Novena —
Holy Spirit Novena
DAILY NOVENA PRAYERS
Opening Prayer
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus, in union with Him in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in the Holy Spirit. We come to You united to the Child Jesus of Good Health and the Infant of Prague. We come to You in the perfect, sinless heart of Our Mother Mary, asking her powerful intercession, uniting ourselves to her holy tears. We come to You united to all the angels and saints, and the souls in purgatory.
Prayer for Holy Spirit
We pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on us, to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, that He will descend mightily on us as He did on the Apostles at Pentecost. That the Holy Spirit will transform us from fear to fearlessness and that He will give us courage to do all the Father is asking of us to help bring about the Reign of the Sacred Heart and the triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart. We pray for the Holy Spirit to descend mightily on the Jesuits and the Poor Clares on the Shepherds of Christ leaders and members and on the whole Body of Christ and the world.
Protection by the Blood of Jesus
We pray that the Blood of Jesus will be spread on us, everyone in our families, and the Shepherds of Christ Movement, that we will be able to move steadfastly ahead and be protected from the evil one.
Healing
We pray for healing in body, mind, and soul and generational healing in ourselves, in all members in our families, and in all members of the Shepherds of Christ Movement, the Jesuit Community, the Poor Clares, the Body of Christ, and the world.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
end of Holy Spirit Novena
What is it to have a heart soft
and supple in which one knows
that dependency on God — as a potter
waiting the hand of the artist —
as a child waiting to see the Plan
of their Father for their life
that day —
There are as many different
hearts as faces — God created
us all unique — I beg for His
grace — His life to permeate
my soul — In struggles —
God is still the motor force
in me —
Habits of turning our lives
over to Him — of knowing His
constant direction in my life —
of knowing how God works in
my life in little things — I
let go to Him —
My heart free to be soft
and supple begging God to help
me to be the empty vessel as
He said 16 years ago in this
prayer —
Prayer for Union with Jesus
Come to me, Lord, and possess my soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul. Help me to sit in silence with You and let You work in my heart.
I am Yours to possess. I am Yours to use. I want to be selfless and only exist in You. Help me to spoon out all that is me and be an empty vessel ready to be filled by You. Help me to die to myself and live only for You. Use me as You will. Let me never draw my attention back to myself. I only want to operate as You do, dwelling within me.
I am Yours, Lord. I want to have my life in You. I want to do the will of the Father. Give me the strength to put aside the world and let You operate my very being. Help me to act as You desire. Strengthen me against the distractions of the devil to take me from Your work.
When I worry, I have taken my focus off of You and placed it on myself. Help me not to give in to the promptings of others to change what in my heart You are making very clear to me. I worship You, I adore You and I love You. Come and dwell in me now.
-God's Blue Book, January 17, 1994
In the scriptures we hear
The Spirit of God is upon me
Knowing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
in my graced soul
The devil wants us uptight —
pulled tight —
acting from unloving
habits —
God calls us —
I Respond to God's love
God gives to me a free will —
I am uniquely created to
do His work in this world —
with my heart —
in only the way I can do it
Love is giving
Love is being open
Did you ever take a glass from
the closet — to say fill
with a certain beverage —
Well - if you were talking
and not looking - you could
take it out upside down
Then pour the orange juice
or whatever
None goes in — you have the
glass upside down
You need the opening UP
How open are we to let the
spirit of God — fill us
How about this heart
Oh Holy Spirit Open
my heart and fill it
with the fire of
Your love —
Letting go to God
Letting go of tension in the body
How do you move in your
heart
A priest told me —
when a person has hidden
anger and
cannot release anger —
never did it —
but allowed it to get
stuffed and stuffed
since they never expressed
anger —
they are one angry person
and they passively-provoke
others to act out their anger
they do not know how to express and
have stuffed it, but it
can become a constant cycle
of trying to provoke others —
watch them get angry —
then they laugh because
of the release of
having someone else
act out their anger
The abuse cycle is like
this
After the explosion there is
the honey moon cycle —
unless at an advanced
stage —
this lasts about 24 hours —
you ask yourself how
you misjudged them
They make false promises
never again they say
it will never happen
again —
Their anger begins to build
They are angry inside —
reaching boiling point
They don't know how to
act out anger
stuffed
They provoke others in
the abuse cycle to
get relief from
their anger
Abuse cycle repeats —
Constant cycle
They don't feel themselves
They can get at a point where
the cycle is always
going
No honeymoon cycle
They just provoke constantly
another because they
feel bad — constantly
It is not living
It is dysfunction
It is an angry person to
the core
Using something to keep
another stuck
The withholding needed
information is
passive-aggressive
They provoke another's
anger by making it
impossible to get
information —
get needed things for life
money —
a pay check
for a person needing
money from another
It is far from the Spirit of God —
active and in love
within us —
God loves us so much
He gives us a free will
We are free —
God allows men to be free
so they can freely
choose love
Satan wants people
enslaved
One controlling others
ABUSE - provoking
withholding
God is love
harmony
promoting God's Kingdom
The devil
enslaved
controlled for control sake
disobedience to God
projection
blaming
agitation
tension
disharmonious
A person caught in sin can
have so much tension —
they cannot be with
others in peace
ISOLATION
Mary
Queen of Peace
Love
HARMONY
Self-lessness
Filled with God
Full of Grace —
Spouse of the Holy Spirit
(not filled with self-
filled with God)
Come Holy Spirit Fill
our hearts —
Come renew the face of
the earth —
Let our hearts be free —
See Jesus beaten —
bloodied for our sins
See the wounds on His
body for the wounds
of our sins —
Our sinful lives are written
on His Bloodied flesh —
Come Holy Spirit renew
the face of the earth
The Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass is the Sacrifice
of Calvary — Sacramentally
made present
He fills us with His
life,
His grace
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit
dwell in our baptized soul
His life is in us
We are not bandaged by
old anger
sins we held back
guilt from sins we did
and never admitted to
We are not slaves of sin
We are not blinded by our sins —
The devil to keep a person
locked in sin —
tries to get them to
cover up the truth
about their sins
STAY STUCK
Like in a tomb —
wrapped in lies about
their sins and unloving
ways —
We must push that
bolder of guilt and
lies out and
be free
see the sun —
not be enslaved to the
dark tomb —
trying to prove we are
perfect
wear a mask of lies about ourselves
Confession
nudity of the soul
tell the truth —
have sins forgiven —
Some use their perfection
as a god to them
No one can give them directions
a spiritual father —
they are right — never wrong
they think — even in disobedience
They can punish, provoke,
withhold — passive
aggressive to force
others or try to force
others to live by their
dysfunctional behavior
Fr. Mike says:
to the one wanting to force
their behavior (which is
dysfunctional) —
there are 2 roads to Columbus
both — used to force behavior
Forcing dysfunctional
behavior
Readings Fourth Sunday of Lent
2 Chronicles 36: 14-16, 19-23
Furthermore, all the leaders of Judah, the priests and the people too, added infidelity to infidelity, copying all the shameful practices of the nations and defiling the Temple of Yahweh which he himself had consecrated in Jerusalem. Yahweh, God of their ancestors, continuously sent them word through his messengers because he felt sorry for his people and his dwelling, but they ridiculed the messengers of God, they despised his words, they laughed at his prophets, until Yahweh's wrath with his people became so fierce that there was no further remedy.
He burned down the temple of God, demolished the walls of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces to the ground and destroyed everything of value in it. And those who had escaped the sword he deported to Babylon, where they were enslaved by him and his descendants until the rise of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfil Yahweh's prophecy through Jeremiah: Until the country has paid off its Sabbaths, it will lie fallow for all the days of its desolation--until the seventy years are complete.
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia--to fulfil the word of Yahweh through Jeremiah--Yahweh roused the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to issue a proclamation and to have it publicly displayed throughout his kingdom: 'Cyrus king of Persia says this, "Yahweh, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him! Let him go up." '
Psalm 137: 1-6
By the rivers of Babylon
we sat and wept
at the memory of Zion.
On the poplars there
we had hung up our harps.For there our gaolers had asked us
to sing them a song,
our captors to make merry,
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion.’How could we sing a song of Yahweh
on alien soil?If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand wither!May my tongue remain stuck to my palate
if I do not keep you in mind,
if I do not count Jerusalem
the greatest of my joys.
Ephesians 2: 4-10
But God, being rich in faithful love, through the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, brought us to life with Christ—it is through grace that you have been saved—and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus.
This was to show for all ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how extraordinarily rich he is in grace. Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit. We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has already designated to make up our way of life.
John 3: 14-21
as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert,
so must the Son of man be lifted up
so that everyone who believes
may have eternal life in him.
For this is how God loved the world:
he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish
but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world
not to judge the world,
but so that through him
the world might be saved.
No one who believes in him
will be judged;
but whoever does not believe
is judged already,
because that person does not believe
in the Name of God’s only Son.
And the judgement is this:
though the light has come into the world
people have preferred
darkness to the light
because their deeds were evil.
And indeed, everybody who does wrong
hates the light and avoids it,
to prevent his actions
from being shown up;
but whoever does the truth
comes out into the light,
so that what he is doing
may plainly appear as done in God.’
Jesus was speaking about Nicodemus
Nicodemus was a Pharisee
and a Jewish leader
John 3: 14-15
as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert,
So must the Son of man be lifted up
so that everyone who believes
may have eternal life in him.
Nicodemus came up at end
when Jesus was put in His tomb —
Nicodemus came out of darkness
Nicodemus came at night — coming to
Jesus — coming into light
At end of Jesus' life — Nicodemus had courage —
Nicodemus was wide open — Nicodemus had courage —
Nicodemus made sure Jesus had a good burial
John 3: 5-6
Jesus replied:
In all truth I tell you,
no one can enter the kingdom of God
without being born
through water and the Spirit;
what is born of human nature is human;
what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
1st part of 3rd Chapter of John
Jesus says —
Son of man must be raised up —
John means
(1) raised up on cross
(2) raised up at resurrection
Jesus tells of snake bites in desert —
God told Moses
take a bronze serpent and put it on a
pole and look at it
Jesus has come to save us because of God's love
We must open our lives and
our hearts to Jesus —
We can live in the light —
open our lives
We can live in the dark —
go into our house
close the drapes
stay in the dark
The New Covenant God makes with us and His
people
John 3: 16
For this is how God loved the world:
he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish
but may have eternal life.
4th
Sunday of Lent
March 26, 2006
INTRODUCTION – (2 Chronicles 36, 14-16.19-23; Eph. 2, 4-10; John 3, 14-21) Our first reading last Sunday was about the covenant God made with his people as they were traveling through the desert on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land. In that covenant God promised his people liberty, land, prosperity and he promised them they would be his special people. What God demanded of his people in return was obedience to his commandments, especially the ones we call "The Ten Commandments." Our first reading this week skips over seven centuries, centuries marked with religious fervor at times, but mostly characterized by indifference to God and to his laws. This indifference took its toll on their strength as a nation and when the powerful Babylonians came against God’s people around 600 B.C. they were unable to defend themselves. As a result their land was destroyed and those who managed to survive the Babylonian invasion were enslaved and deported to Babylon. Today’s first reading describes this calamity and how God freed them from their Babylonian captivity almost two generations later. Their liberation from Babylon took place when the Persian king, Cyrus, conquered the Babylonians. Just to help you visualize this, Persia was the land now occupied by Iran and Babylonia was in modern day Iraq. One last thought: next week we will hear Jeremiah promise that God would make a new covenant with his people since the old one was so poorly kept. We celebrate and renew God's new covenant as always as we celebrate the Eucharist today.
HOMILY – One of the central elements of our relationship with God is the idea of covenant. The word "covenant" is not a word we use everyday. It is a solemn and serious agreement, but it is more that that. It is a committed relationship between two people or two groups of people. About the only time we hear the word "covenant" today is in relation to marriage. But in the Bible we hear the word a lot. Last Sunday, this Sunday and next Sunday, in our first reading, we hear passages that referred to the covenant God made with his people. The author of the first reading tells us this covenant was broken more often than it was observed. Instead of giving up on us, however, God offered us a new covenant, sealed in the blood of his Son. It’s a covenant we renew and God renews with us every time we come to Mass.
God offers this new covenant to all people. As Jesus said: "God gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life." But not all people want to enter into a covenant of love with this God who sent his son. Again he tells us: "The light came into the world, but people preferred the darkness to light…"
God is our creator who knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what is for our good, he knows what will lead us to peace and life, eternal life, but he also gave us a free will. He gave us a free will so we would be capable of returning his love. Only a free person can love. But with our free will we can also choose not to love. And making that choice not to love our God points us in a direction that leads away from eternal life and eternal happiness.
People with a concept of "covenant" (even if they’ve never heard the word "covenant," but who know they are in a relationship of love with God) know a God whom we can call Father, lover, spouse, friend, protector or savior. Without a notion of "covenant" we cannot really know God in a personal way. Without a notion of "covenant" God is seen perhaps as indifferent, overly punitive or overly permissive. I think most people today, who have no notion of "covenant," see God as some kind of indulgent parent who doesn’t know how to say "no" and who is so soft hearted he’s going to get everyone into heaven no matter how evil they may have been. Jesus did say "God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world," but he also said that whoever does not believe in him is already condemned because they preferred darkness to light. Jesus has done all that is possible, even to the extent of dying for us, so that we can discover the light, the life, the joy that his love can bring, but he cannot force it on us if we are closed to it.
I want to say something about baptism because that’s when we begin to live a new life, when we receive the light of Christ, when we enter into a covenant relationship with God. Often I have asked people when they come for the baptism of their child why they want their child baptized. The most common answer is because it washes away original sin. Those who have a deeper understanding of baptism tell me it is because baptism gives their child a sharing in Christ’s life. But even that answer is incomplete. Let me draw a comparison between baptism and natural birth. When a child is born, we say they are given the gift of life (although they had already received that gift at conception). But we also know that there’s a lot more to being born than simply receiving the gift of life. Natural birth is the beginning of a lengthy, complex process of growth, development, learning and maturation. So too is baptism the beginning of a process of growing in God’s love, learning to recognize God as our Father, learning to obey him, worship him, love him, pray to him. That describes a loving relationship with our God that is meant to continue into eternity. One word for that relationship is "covenant." When we come to Mass each week, we come so we don’t forget our covenant, that we are sharers in God’s life; so we don’t forget what Christ has done for us and what he asks of us in this relationship of love. We all know and God knows too how easily we forget things, so he gave us a way to remember: "Do this in memory of me." Thank you for being here today to hear once more of God’s love and to express your own love in prayer and praise. Amen.
God came to lead us to the light —
God helped His people
You must come into the light Jesus told Nicodemus
We must take up cross
Give up selfishness
To make ourselves aware
Jesus has called us to witness
to His light —
God has the words of eternal life
God has the words that can give us life now
Betty is a handmaid who has prayed in the
China Church for 11 years. To get from her
house to the church she uses a walker and
must go over a creek and a little bridge.
We wanted a little place she could rest
by the Church. We need about $1,000 to
make this happen. Can you help us?
We are trying to get
Response to God's Love
and the Mass Book out.
Anybody who wants to help us
with a donation to get these 2 books
out in the Priestly/hierarchy mailing —
Please call Kathleen 1-888-211-3041
July 31, 1994
Words of Jesus to Members of
Shepherds of Christ Associates:"My beloved priest-companion, I intend to use the priestly newsletter, Shepherds of Christ, and the movement, Shepherds of Christ Associates, in a powerful way for the renewal of My Church and the world.
"I will use the newsletter and the chapters of Shepherds of Christ Associates as a powerful instrument for spreading devotion to My Heart and My Mother's Heart.
"I am calling many to become members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. To all of them I will give great blessings. I will use them as instruments to help bring about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My Sacred Heart. I will give great graces to the members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. I will call them to be deeply united to My Heart and to Mary's Heart as I lead them ever closer to My Father in the Holy Spirit."
- Message from Jesus to Father Edward J. Carter, S.J., Founder, as given on July 31, 1994,
feast of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits)
The China Church is over 140 years old
and we pray in there 24 hours a day.
It needs stucco and so does
the community building.
Can you please help us?
Call Kathleen 1-888-211-3041
Likewise the priest house
is 150 years old.
Jesus told us to repair it
which we have been doing.
We need $13,000.00 for this work.
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
