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 7, 2002

Come to China, Indiana March 13, 2002 
           Rosary - 12:00 PM
            Exposition - March 12, 2002 (noon) thru
                                  March 14, 2002 (noon)

Note from the President:           

    With the permission of the donor, we reallocated funds which were intended for reprinting 50,000 God's Blue book II to make the building payment on time. Within two weeks, we need to replace these funds which total approximately $10,000 or we will not receive the Blue Books which help so many souls to draw closer to God. Please help us with funds or by any means available.

    

---

     

Genesis 3: 9-15, 20

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.’

The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.

  

---

   

Ephesians 1: 3-6, 11-12 

God’s plan of salvation

Blessed be God 
    the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who has blessed us 
    with all the spiritual blessings of heaven 
        in Christ. 
Thus he chose us in Christ 
    before the world was made 
to be holy and faultless 
    before him in love, 
marking us out for himself beforehand, 
    to be adopted sons, 
        through Jesus Christ. 
Such was his purpose and good pleasure, 
to the praise of the glory of his grace, 
his free gift to us in the Beloved,

And it is in him 
    that we have received our heritage, 
marked out beforehand as we were, 
under the plan of the One 
    who guides all things 
as he decides by his own will, 
chosen to be, 
for the praise of his glory, 
the people who 
    would put their hopes in Christ 
        before he came.  

 

  

Luke 1: 26-38

The annunciation

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.

  

 March 7, 2002

These two writings were written about
the same time.

The first writing was written by
Father Carter for the Newsletter
at the end of 1996.

November/December 1996
 

The Word of God

    "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; this is because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep." (Jn 10:11-15¹)

    A faithful shepherd takes care of his sheep in all their needs. This includes providing them with the proper food. Jesus, the perfect Shepherd, abundantly provides for the nourishment of His flock. In the Eucharist, He gives Himself in His body, blood, soul, and divinity, for our spiritual growth. He also feeds us through His word, through His teaching. The gospel of John, in Chapter 6:35-59, combines both of these ways, Christ nourishing us through His teaching and through the Eucharist. This particular section of John's gospel gives us Jesus' great discourse on the Bread of Life. The first part, verses 35-50, speaks of the teaching of Jesus as nourishment. This first part contains, therefore, the so-called sapiential theme. The second part, verses 51-59, speaks of the Eucharist as our heavenly nourishment. This part, therefore, contains the sacramental theme.

    Concerning the teaching of Jesus which has been left to His Church, the Second Vatican Council states: "But in order to keep the gospel forever whole and alive within the Church, the apostles left bishops as their successors, 'handing over their own teaching role' to them. This sacred tradition, therefore, and sacred Scripture of both the Old and the New Testament are like a mirror in which the pilgrim Church on earth looks at God, from whom she has received everything, until she is brought finally to see Him as He is, face to face."²

    We priests have a special privilege and responsibility to nourish ourselves with the teachings of Jesus. The more we meditate on this teaching, the more we love it, the more we ourselves live it, the more apt instruments we become in assisting the Good Shepherd in the feeding of His flock.

Reflections on the Word of God

• Getting to Know Jesus

"Philip said, 'Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.' 'Have I been with you all this time, Philip,' said Jesus to him, 'and you still do not know me?'"(Jn 14:8-9)

    We can come to know Jesus in various ways. To hear about Jesus during the Scriptural readings of the liturgy, or to hear about him in a homily, or to experience Jesus in other ways through life within the Christian community-these are all means by which we can meet Jesus and come to know Him better.

    We should also realize that prayer is a very effective and necessary means for growing in knowledge and love of Jesus. Some apparently think that, if they meet Jesus by experiencing Him in and with their neighbor in various ways, this is sufficient. We should not underestimate this communitarian manner of experiencing Jesus. It is extremely important, and we cannot do without it. But in order to know and love Jesus as we should, we also need the one-to-one situation which prayerful quiet offers. At times we need to be alone with Jesus.

    We can see the necessity of this by considering how a friendship with a human person develops and grows. We can certainly grow in knowledge and live with a friend as we experience him or her in the company of others. But I think we all admit that at times we must also be alone with the other if the friendship is properly to be and to grow. I can never get to know a friend as I should merely by being with him or her in the company of other people. I also need the one-to-one experience so that I and my friend can share on a more personal and intimate basis. If this holds true for my personal relationship with a human person friend, it also holds true for my friendship with Jesus. And it is especially as I receive Jesus in the Eucharist and pray before the tabernacle at other times that the one-to-one, intimate experience of Jesus is greatly nourished. It is at such moments that Jesus offers me a supreme opportunity to grow in knowledge and love of Him-this Jesus who is God, my teacher, my friend, my Savior, who died a brutal death for love of me.

• Longing for God

"God, you are my God, I am seeking you, my soul is thirsting for you." (Ps 63:1)

God is the one who gives ultimate meaning to our lives. He reveals to us how the laughter and the tears, the work and the play, the pain and the joy, all fit together. As we live in Him, He gathers up what would otherwise be the all-too-fragmented pieces of our lives and arranges them into a harmonious unity. This unity emanates from our living according to His plan, a plan embodying a way of existence that leads us to an ever greater experience of the true, the good, and the beautiful.

    As we long for God and draw nearer to Him, we may possibly experience a certain fear. We realize that the closer we come to Him, the more He will ask of us, gently but firmly. We fear the white heat of His love. Such episodes along the spiritual journey are crucial. If we keep pulling back from the intensity of His love, if we keep refusing what this love wants to accomplish in us and through us, then we live on a rather superficial level. We can still be friends with our God but we are refusing to live deeper down where the really real is more intensely experienced. We have to resist this fear which, if succumbed to, prevents us from achieving a closer union with God. God's love for us wants our happiness; God's love for us also brings about our happiness-if we are open to what He wants to do for us.

    When we experience a greater yearning and thirst for God, we should, then, abandon ourselves to this desire. In doing so we will experience in greater measure the warmth and security of God's love,this God Who is the ground of our being, the goal of our existence, the source of our happiness.

• It's God's Work More Than Ours

"The word of Yahweh was addressed to me, saying,
        'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
        before you came to birth I consecrated you;
        I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.'
        I said, 'ah, Lord Yahweh; look, I do not know
        how to speak; I am a child!'
"But Yahweh replied,
        'Do not say, "I am a child."
        Go now to those to whom I send you
        and say whatever I command you.
        Do not be afraid of them,
        for I am with you to protect you-
        it is Yahweh who speaks!'" (Jer 1:4-8)

    At certain points along the journey of life, we become rather overwhelmed with a certain kind of fear. It is a fear emanating from the realization that God is asking something very special of us. We are afraid because of the effort required, or because we feel that we have only mediocre talent for the task to which we are being summoned.

    Whatever the case may be, we can all profit by reflecting on the above scripture passage dealing with God's call to Jeremiah. Jeremiah told God, in so many words, that he was not capable of the task he was being asked to accomplish. God replied, telling Jeremiah that he surely could perform the task he was being assigned-not because of what he was in himself, but because He, God, would be with Jeremiah.

    To live the Christian calling in all its myriad aspects certainly demands our own effort. But this is an effort assisted mightily by God's grace. God calls, invites, inspires. We are meant to respond, to cooperate, to open ourselves to the Spirit's touch and guidance. We have a part, obviously, in accomplishing our Christian destiny. Yet God has the greater part. Whatever He asks of us, we can accomplish. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is beyond us if God calls us to it. Why, then, at times, do we tend to think and feel and act differently?

• We Are Called to Serve

"If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other's feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you." (Jn 13:14-15)

    There are two basic ways according to which we can go about the performance of work. One way focuses attention on the self; the other directs attention outward toward the God-appointed service of others.

    A person who assumes the first attitude is being driven by a basic selfishness. During the years of formal education, such a person studies to acquire knowledge primarily so that his or her intellectual acquisition will later make possible various kinds of personal benefits and aggrandizements. Such a person works primarily to make money, or for the personal satisfaction involved. Such a person seeks out positions of authority, power, and status, primarily in order to be looked up to and to be ministered to.
    A person who performs according to the other attitude projects a different image. If one pursues knowledge, it is not only for one's personal benefits. It is that he or she might also be variously capable of greater service to God and one's fellow human beings. When one works, it is not only for the money and personal satisfaction involved. It is that he or she might also be of service to others. If one attains positions of authority and influence, the person is motivated, not by illusions of grandeur, but rather by the desire to labor for others, to be for others, to serve others.

    The attitude the true Christian should assume is obvious. The true Christian may sometimes find it difficult and wearisome to live according to such an attitude. But he or she has no doubt it is the correct attitude. He or she has no doubt it is Jesus' attitude, this Jesus who girt Himself with a towel and washed and dried His disciples' feet.

• Jesus and His Church

"So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it." (Mat 16:18)

    The Church is experiencing trying times. Over the ages the Church has always received various kinds of criticism from those outside her fold. Currently she is also experiencing much criticism from within. Some of this criticism is bad-negative and unrealistic. During this period of the Church's transition, a time which has seen more than its share of pain, turmoil, confusion, and anguish, the question, "why the institutional Church?" has been raised more than once. The ultimate answer, of course, is because this is the way God wants it. God has established the Church through Christ, and, as we say, that's the way it is and that's the way it's going to be.

    We help one another in the Church in many different ways, in many different circumstances. We do this not sporadically, but consistently. We live the Gospel, not as isolated individuals, but as the People of God whose members are meant to be united through the closest bonds of love.

    Yes, there are many good things about the Church. But there are also things which should not be. There is jealously and pettiness. Such attitudes, unbecoming people who claim to be followers of Jesus, consistently hinder the Church's work. There is also on the part of some the exercise of power politics which makes one want to cry out that this is the Christian community, not a ruthless political machine. There are also injustices perpetrated against innocent individuals, impersonalism, mediocrity. These are some of the faults existent within the Church. We should do all we can to lessen these. We should labor at diminishing these failings so that the Church's Christic image may be more apparent. Yet we also have to realize that there will always be things wrong with the Church. We are a Pilgrim Church. This means we have not yet arrived at perfection-this is the state of the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church of heaven. Here below the Church will always be marred with blemishes even as she reaches out in a spirit of ongoing conversion for a greater assimilation of the Gospel ideal.

    We should, then, view the Church realistically. We should remind ourselves that it was established by God, not by any human person or persons. We should rejoice over the Church's good points, sorrow over her failings. We should contribute our share to making the Church's goodness more dynamic, more evident, more sensitive to the needs of the times, while being consumed with a holy dissatisfaction which allows us no respite concerning the evils which plague the Church, and which should not be. And, very importantly, we should mightily love the Church despite her failings. We should love the Church deeply, consistently, tenderly. The Church belongs to Jesus; it is His body. It was born from His pierced side as He hung upon the cross. The Church is Jesus' great gift to us, a gift born of the magnificent love of His Heart.

• Suffering and Happiness

"We are in difficulties on all sides, but never cornered; we see no answer to our problems, but never despair; we have been persecuted, but never deserted; knocked down, but never killed; always, wherever we may be, we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may always be seen in our body." (2 Cor 4:8-10)

"I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near. There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:4-7)

    Certain people look upon religion as a type of enslavement. Religion, claim these people, puts shackles on one's desires for full living, pleasure, and happiness. Religion, they continue, makes one fearful, forces one into a rigid pattern of do's and don'ts which restricts and even suffocates a person's thrust toward full personality development. Whatever the causes may be for arriving at this view, such an attitude grossly misrepresents the nature of true religion.

    Jesus has come to make us happy, not to make us participate in a religion which destroys the joy-dimension of human life. Jesus has come to increase our capacity for true self-fulfillment, not to restrict us with a religion which, while encouraging morbid self-enclosements, destroys possibilities for healthy self-expansiveness. Jesus has come to show us the way to real pleasures, not to prevent us with a religion which looks askance at such. And the happiness and fulfillment Jesus has come to give us is meant for this life, not only for eternal life. Christianity is a religion which gives a here-and-now happiness which develops into a future and eternal happiness which satisfies our deepest desires to be fully alive.

    Jesus has not promised us that the process of achieving happiness is without pain and suffering. Jesus was the happiest man who ever walked this earth. He was also the man who suffered the most. Observing the life of Jesus Himself, then, we come face to face with this undeniable Christian truth: suffering, even deep suffering, is not incompatible with deep happiness. On the contrary, whether we experience suffering or whatever, such an encounter is a means to further happiness, providing we are living in Christ Jesus.

    The Christian who is not fundamentally happy presents, then, a contradiction. He or she claims to be a follower of the Jesus who has promised more abundant life and happiness. To remove the contradiction, such a Christian must look to himself or herself. Such a person does not lack a basic happiness because there is anything wanting in Jesus' message. This person lacks happiness because there is something wanting in the self. In some way or another, for some reason or another, this person has failed to assimilate properly the Gospel message. The Gospel is the good news. Jesus invites us to listen to His Gospel, to respond to it, to live it ever more fully and dynamically. Jesus tells us that, if we do, we will experience a peace and happiness beyond comprehension. We know that Jesus does not lie, that Jesus does not deceive, that Jesus does not cruelly excite the expectations of His followers and then fail to fulfill them. Again, then, if a Christian is unhappy, he or she has to look at the self and ask why. But such a person should not ask the question in isolation. It should be asked in the company of Jesus. Jesus will help the person find the answer. Jesus will help remedy the situation.

• The Love Dimension

"If I have all the eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love, I am simply a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. If I have the gift of prophecy, understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything, and if I have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am nothing at all. If I give away all that I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let them take my body to burn it, but am without love, it will do me no good whatever." (1 Cor 13:1-3)

    Jesus has told us love is what it's all about. Christianity, the religion of Jesus, is a religion of love. This is what Jesus wants us to realize. This is what we must realize. We understand the work of the Incarnation when we consider it in terms of love. We ourselves live Jesus when we live the love ethic He came to preach. Love marks the beginning of a truly Christian life. Love is also its main inspiration and motivation. Love is no less its goal. To be a Christian is to be a follower of Jesus. To be a follower of Jesus is to assimilate His message of love. To be a Christian, then, is to be a lover-in imitation of Jesus Who is the tremendous lover.

    Jesus shows us His Heart as symbol of His life of love, including His mighty and tender love for each of us individually. His Heart calls for our return of love. His Heart invites us to pour out our lives in love of God and neighbor.

    As we do so, love expands us, makes us grow, develops our capacity to be authentically and to become authentically. Love brings to mature expression the various potentialities of Christian personhood. It makes us what Jesus wants us to be. Christian love is meant to express itself at all times in all kinds of circumstances. It is truly a virtue for all seasons. Whether it is a time to laugh or a time to cry, it is a time to love. Whether it is a time to rejoice or a time to be sorrowful, it is a time to love. Whether it is a time to experience exhilarating success or to suffer the anguish of crushing failure, it is still a time to love. Whether it is a time to work on despite boredom, monotony, and lethargy, or a time to be carried along riding the crest of enthusiasm, it is a time for love. Love's labor is never done; there is no day which is not meant to be a love-day. Love should be as constant and as certain as the never-failing cycle of night following day and and day following night.

• The Eucharist

"Then he took some bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body which will be given for you; do this as a memorial of me.' He did the same with the cup after supper, and said, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood which will be poured out for you.'" (Lk 22:19-20)

    In the Eucharist, through the humanity of Jesus, Father, Son and Holy Spirit communicate themselves to us anew. Through the intimate gift of the Eucharist, they strikingly manifest their love for us and ask for our response of love. In, with, and through Jesus we respond. Each experience of the Eucharist is meant to strengthen our love-bond with Jesus, so that we can say with increased meaning along with St. Paul, "For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 8:38-39)

    The Eucharist not only deepens our union with God in Christ. In receiving the Eucharist we pledge ourselves to deepen our love-union with all members of the Body which is the Church. We pledge to use those means which foster union. We determine to avoid that which causes selfish divisiveness.

    The Eucharist also reminds us of our relationship with all members of the human family. Jesus died and rose for all. The Eucharistic making present of this paschal mystery nourishes our determination to assist in the work of ongoing redemption. The light we receive from the Eucharist points to what we should be doing. The strength of the Eucharist assists us to act according to the light we receive.

    The Eucharist, then, possesses the rich capacity to help us maintain and develop our personal relationship with God, with members of the Church, and with all other members of the human family. And it will do just this-if we so allow it.

• To Choose Jesus

"Then Jesus said to the Twelve, 'What about you, do you want to go away too?' Simon Peter answered, 'Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.'" (Jn 6:67-69)

    Even after years of close friendship with Jesus, a Christian can decide to make a radical break and go his or her way. In the mysterious depths of one's free will, a person decides, for whatever reason, no longer to walk side by side with Jesus. This Jesus, who was once such an inspiration, who so often manifested His mercy, who offered a challenging goal to achieve the true, the good, and the beautiful, who whispered His loving and tender concern-this Jesus is now rejected.

    On a lesser scale, a Christian can variously reject a deep intimacy with Jesus while still fundamentally maintaining the friendship. It may be a case of superficial living in general. Jesus keeps calling to a more dynamic Christian existence, but the person keeps resisting, because he or she is fearful, or perhaps just too lazy, or whatever. Or it may be the barrier between the person and Jesus is more pin-pointed: Jesus is asking a very definite something, and He is refused. Such a Christian presents a paradox. The person knows there is no other way but Jesus, and, therefore, he or she basically commits one's life to Christ. On the other hand, the person does not commit oneself as fully as one could, and thus seems to be saying, "You are the only one, Jesus, who can lead me to real happiness here and hereafter-but I don't want to follow you too closely."

    The only mature Christian attitude, we know, is to choose Jesus once and for all, and to live out the full implications of this choice. Of course, there will be failings on the part of the Christian who makes this option for Jesus. But he or she will strive to avoid developing that attitude which says, "I will go so far with you, Jesus, but no farther. I want to come close to you, Jesus, but not too close." To choose Jesus, then, and to live this choice consistently, dynamically, lovingly, and without reserve, is true Christian logic. It is to realize with Peter that Jesus is the one and the only one.

end of excerpt from Newsletter November/December 1996

   

From the Mass Book
  

August 20, 1996

ROSARY MEDITATIONS
FOR SORROWFUL MYSTERIES

The Agony in the Garden

1. Always in compliance to the Father's will, we see this as we mediate on all the mysteries of the rosary, how Jesus and Mary always complied to the will of the Father. To have peace and joy in our lives, we must always comply to the will of the Father. We see Jesus in the garden, His face covered with a bloody sweat, and at any moment He could have stopped everything. He could have withdrawn. He, the Almighty God, all powerful and almighty, about to undergo the cruel Passion and His death, and He sees this before Him. He sees all the sins of men and all the men that would reject the grace that He merited for them, but what did He think of? He saw us. He saw us here this night praying, and it filled His Heart with immense joy. It gave Him so much pleasure in His Heart to know that we would love Him so much, for He is a Person and He longs to be loved by His beloved creatures. We do not comprehend and we do not understand how much Jesus is waiting and longing for our love. Let us, in this rosary, give our love to Him by giving our complete attention to Him and listening to the words that He speaks to our hearts. Let us hear Jesus as He outpours His love to us and teaches us about Himself.
2. How many times have we felt like we have gone through this Passion too in our lives? Have we felt buckled over and filled with pain? It is so hard sometimes. We are trying so hard in this world, that does not recognize God as it should, to please the Almighty God, and it seems like we are pressed on and pressed on, and we say, "God please help us. Take this cross away." But He allows us to continue to suffer, and we do not understand. It is in the death that there is the resurrection. Constantly in our lives, we live this Paschal mystery of death - resurrection. Let us mediate on the mysteries of this rosary, His suffering and His death, and let us think all through these mysteries how He rose victorious on the third day, how it is through His death that we share in His Divine life. Let us think of how it is to know God and to love Him. It is because of Jesus, because of His Passion and His death, that we are able to partake in His Divine life. Through our little deaths, there is always the resurrection. As we go through our lives, we grow more and more in this life in Him. Mary, the Mother of our Christ-life, is there with us, is leading us deeply into the Heart of her Son.
3. Treasure beyond all treasures is the Heart of Jesus. The Heart filled with endless, Divine love, the Heart from which the life of God flows. They pierced His Heart with a lance and what came forth was blood and water. Water - a symbol of Baptism whereby we partake in His Divine life. Blood - a symbol of the Eucharist by which we are fed with the Bread of Life. Oh God, how we love You! Let our hearts be focused only on You in this rosary. As we see Your face covered with blood, as we see the blood drop to the ground, as we know the immense mental agony that You suffered in the garden, the suffering to know how You would be rejected and forgotten by those that You gave Your life for, may we know a little bit, just a little, of how much You truly love us. We love You. We love You. We love You, Jesus Christ the Savior of the world.
4. Song:
   "I come to you with greatest love, I am your loving Savior. I am your God, I died for you, I come to you this day."
   He has come to set brother against brother, mother against son, husband against wife. He is Jesus Christ the Son of God. He gives us His life, and He gives us His love. We must focus totally on His love for us. We must come to Him and give Him our love and give love to one another. This is the commandment that He gives to us - that we love God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole being, and we love one another as we love ourselves.
5. Mental torment, how He suffered mental torment in the garden, but His thoughts were comforted by the love that we give to Him this evening. Put aside all of the thoughts in our hearts that do not pertain to Him, and focus totally on our beloved Savior. He gave His life for us. Will we give Him our minds and our hearts at this moment, and let Him fill us with His grace that we will share more and more in His life? He is giving to us a great treasure at this moment. We must open our hearts and let Him pour His grace into our hearts and into our souls. He is Jesus. He loves us with the most burning love we do not even comprehend. Our souls are thirsty for the love of God. We were created for this love. Nothing on this earth will satisfy this craving, this appetite within. We must put aside all of the thoughts in our minds, in our hearts and focus on Him, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is Jesus the Son of God, our Savior, our Redeemer, our King, our Lover. Open our hearts, and He will fill our hearts with Divine love. He loves us. He loves us. He loves us.
6. Hail Mary…
7. Much of the world is asleep. They are walking in darkness. They are covered with a cloud. Their eyes do not see, and their ears do not hear. He has lifted the veil for us, His chosen ones, and He is giving to us a great grace that we will see with eyes unveiled and hear with ears that are open to His Word. We have been called, and we have been chosen. We will walk into the dark night as lights shining, and His light will radiate from our hearts and from our souls. We must go to Him and let Him bathe us in His love, in His most Sacred Heart.
8. He is alive. He is alive. He is alive and He lives in our hearts, and He lives in this world as we walk the streets. It is through us that His grace will touch many hearts. We must surrender totally and give ourselves to Him. Give ourselves. Give our hearts to His Mother for she will turn our cold hearts into warm hearts that will unite with His Heart. He loves us, His dear ones. He is telling us the secrets of His Heart, that we will know the true treasure, the treasure that this world has cast aside and is suffering for its ignorance and neglect. See with eyes unveiled He is giving to us great graces. We are His apostles that will carry the flag across this earth, that will carry His flag, full of love, to the world that is hurting and in pain.
9. And He saw it all. He saw the whole Passion before Him. He knew vividly every pain. He knew every beating, every thorn prick. He knew all that He would suffer. He knew the pain on the cross and three agonizing hours that He would suffer. He knew all the souls that would go to hell despite His suffering. But despite all of this, He gave Himself. He gave Himself for me and He gave Himself for you, knowing full well everything that He would suffer, because of His great love for us, that we would be saved, that we would share in His Divine life, that we might be with Him forever and ever in heaven.
10. Oh Heart of Jesus, Treasure beyond all treasures, give me the grace to dwell forever in Your Heart.
    Song:
    Oh Burning Heart, Oh Love divine, how sweet You are to me. I see the Host, I know You're here to love and care for me.

The Scourging at the Pillar

1. They took Him away and they tied Him to the pillar, and they began to beat Him. They took turns beating our beloved Savior. Stand there. Let us picture ourselves tied to the pillar. Picture us. How is the love in our hearts? Would we stand at the pillar and allow men that we loved to tear our flesh, knowing full well that we could stop it at any moment? He stood at the pillar and they tore His flesh, and His blood fell to the ground. He withstood this for our sins. Do we know how He suffered for our sins, the sins that we commit towards our brothers, when we talk about our brothers, those that He loves? His way is love. We are His apostles of love. We must be holy. Our hearts must be filled with holiness. We must go into the world and always show others how to love. We cannot talk about others. We must have hearts filled with love. Only in love will our hearts unite to His Heart. People are watching us. We are the stars against the darkest night. Will we shine or will we be dull? In order to shine, our hearts must be likened to His Heart. We must give Him our hearts, and He will turn our hearts to hearts of love.
2. How we insist and insist to do it our way and try and try and try. Do we know that He is with us at every moment? We must admit our dependency on Him. We must surrender and say, "Jesus, I am totally dependent on You. I want to be loving, but I fall. I am a little baby. I need You to help me to love like You. I cannot do it on my own." We must go to confession, and tell the priest of the times when we talked about our beloved brothers, for He stood at the pillar and He was beaten for our sins, and He was beaten for our brothers that He loves. He is teaching us in the Shepherds of Christ Movement to be of one mind and one heart. Our hearts will unite in the deepest union with His Heart, but we must surrender. We must not let thoughts of bitterness and hatred toward one another creep into our hearts. He is allowing us to suffer, and He is allowing us to watch ourselves fall, for we will come crawling on our knees and beg Him, "to help me." "Help me, God," you will say. "Help me. I want to love like You, but I cannot do it myself."
3. He was beaten for us. We do not know how sins against our brothers offend Him and hurt Him. How He was beaten for those words that we speak in hatred toward one another. We are the stars that will shine against the darkness. We are His apostles, but our hearts must be pure. We must come to Him for we cannot do this on our own. He will give us the grace to love, to love as He loved, as He loved each and every soul. We are dependent on Him. Watch ourselves fall on our faces and know that we need Him to help us.
4. Hearts that are haughty and prideful cannot unite to His Heart. There are many this day that are in control, that continue to control with proud hearts. He gives to many authority and power. It is to be used only according to the Father's will. Our hearts must be soft and gentle as His Heart. We must not let power and control go to our heads. We have authority only as the Father gives us authority.
   This is from the reading today:
   "Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'The Lord Yahweh says this:
   Because your heart has grown proud,
   you thought: I am a god;
   I am divinely enthroned
   far out to sea.
   Though you are human, not divine,
   you have allowed yourself
   to think like God.
   So, you are wiser than Daniel;
   no sage as wise as you!
   By your wisdom and your intelligence
   you have made yourself a fortune,
   you have put gold and silver
   into your treasuries.
   Such is your skill in trading,
   your fortune has continued to increase,
   and your fortune has made your heart
   grow prouder.
   'And so, the Lord Yahweh says this:
   Since you have allowed yourself
   to think like God,
   very well, I am going to bring foreigners
   against you,
   the most barbarous of the nations.
   They will draw sword against
   your fine wisdom,
   they will desecrate your splendour,
   they will throw you down into the grave
   and you will die a violent death
   far out to sea.
   Will you still think: I am a god,
   when your slaughterers confront you?
   But you will be human, not divine,
   in the clutches of the ones
   who strike you down!
   You will die like the uncircumcised at the hand of foreigners.
   'For I have spoken-declares the Lord Yahweh.'" (Ezk. 28:2-10)
5. He is gentle, and He is kind of Heart. He has made men the head of their homes. He has given to the priests authority and a great gift to be called a priest and to offer sacrifice. He has bestowed on men great honor, but within the heart of every man that is given power must be the heart of gentleness and love. He stood at the pillar, and He was beaten and His skin was torn because of the haughty hearts, because of the pride, because of men that wanted their will and not the will of the Father. Everything that we do must be in accordance with the Father's will. He showed us the way. He stood at the pillar and was beaten because it was the Father's will. We must strive always to do the will of the Father with love. Love is our primary purpose, to love God above all things and love one another as we love ourselves.
6. We have been called here. He teaches us. We are called to live the Scriptures and we must answer this call. He is giving to us His grace. Praise and thank our God for the gifts that we are given.
7. We carry His word into the world. We will be the lights that shine in the darkest night. He stood at the pillar, and He was beaten. He was beaten because of the haughty hearts. Our hearts must be likened to His. We are His apostles that will carry this message into this world. We do not comprehend this great mission. Each one of us have been called here. We must respond to the call for He is asking us to help in the salvation of many souls. What we do will help many souls to be saved. He stood at the pillar, and they tore His flesh. He loves each soul with the most burning love that He allowed them to put Him to death. Will you go into this world? Will we walk fearlessly ahead despite the persecution and the verbal battering that we receive? Will we say to this world, "This is the Almighty God. He is alive this day, and He loves us. He loves us. He loves us. Come. Come to Him, and He will give to us what our hearts desires."?
8. 1 Co. 12:12-26:
   For as with the human body which is a unity although it has many parts-all the parts of the body, though many, still making up one single body-so it is with Christ. We were baptized into one body in a single Spirit, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as free men, and we were all given the same Spirit to drink. And indeed the body consists not of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, "I am not a hand and so I do not belong to the body," it does not belong to the body any the less for that. Or if the ear were to say, "I am not an eye, and so I do not belong to the body," that would not stop its belonging to the body. If the whole body were just an eye, how would there be any hearing? If the whole body were hearing, how would there be any smelling?
   As it is, God has put all the separate parts into the body as he chose. If they were all the same part, how could it be a body? As it is, the parts are many but the body is one. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," and nor can the head say to the feet, "I have no need of you."
   What is more, it is precisely the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest which are the indispensable ones. It is the parts of the body which we consider least dignified that we surround with the greatest dignity; and our less presentable parts are given greater presentability which our presentable parts do not need. God has composed the body so that greater dignity is given to the parts which were without it, and so that there may not be disagreements inside the body but each part may be equally concerned for all the others. If one part is hurt, all the parts share its pain. And if one part is honoured, all the parts share its joy.
9. We cannot be divided with any person and have peace in our hearts. Our hearts must be hearts of love. We must give up any bitterness and division in our hearts towards any person, for He is God and in His Heart there is not division. He is calling us His apostles of love, His little army that He has called and brought to this room this evening. We must be as the brightest stars shining against the darkened night, for He is Jesus; He is the Almighty God, and He has called us to carry the messages of His burning love to this world, to the priests, to the sisters, to all those that are hurting and in pain. As He stood at the pillar and He was whipped for the sins of men, He knew that we would answer this call. And it was joy to His Heart as the blood ran down His body. His Heart was comforted, and He was filled with such pleasure because of the work and love that we would give to others, because of the souls that we would help to be saved. We are His stars that will shine in the darkest night. We have been called. We have been chosen, and He has given to us such grace that we can carry out this mission. We can say "no" to Him, but it was there when He was scourged that our "yes" comforted Him. In His greatest agony, He saw us as He hung on the cross. His body withered and in pain, He saw us, and He saw the love that would go forth from our hearts into this world. He loves us with such love. He gave Himself for love of us and for all souls. Will we help our brothers to know His love?
10. There will be peace and joy in our hearts when we comply always to the Father's will. The Father has a plan for us. Jesus is the Way. He is the Truth. He is the Life. We have been called. We have been chosen. Will we answer His call, His apostles of love?

The Crowning with Thorns

1. Think of the minds of men, and think of how Satan presses on the minds of men. Think of how our thoughts can be so influenced by the evil one, how we can worry about what other people think, how we can think others are talking about us, how we can make ourselves miserable by giving in to our thoughts. Jesus showed us His head crowned with thorns. How He suffered such pain to His head, yet we cannot discipline our thoughts. Let us pray for the grace to ask God to help us to keep our thoughts always thoughts of love, of harmony, of oneness with one another.
2. We must not give in to the seeds of division that Satan plants in our minds. We must say, "I love that person. I love that person." But do we know that we cannot do this on our own? Do we know that we depend totally on Him? He has allowed us to fall on our faces many times. We would be wretched if it was not for His grace. We are dependent on His grace. If we are holy, it is because of the grace that He is giving to us. He is Jesus. We are dependent on Him, His loved ones. We must come to Him and ask for the grace to love. He wants to love through us in this world.
3. We must come to the Father as the little, dependent child. We must tell Him of our love and tell Him of our needs.
4. I picture myself in a chair surrounded by those people that I love the most. Do I see all the people I love? And then watch, as those I love the most come to me and pound a crown of thorns into my head, and I feel the blood come from my head and fall on my body.
5. How many times have we crowned Him with thorns by our thoughts of hatred and anger toward one another. He suffered immense pain because of the thoughts of men. We are His chosen ones. Pray that we do not wound His Heart with thoughts of hatred and bitterness for He loves us. He loves us so much, and it wounds His Heart when we hate one another.
6. We must model our lives after our Mother. We must look at our Mother, her heart pure and sinless. It is only in purity that we will unite to Their Hearts.
7. I go to the heart of His Mother and mine, and ask the Holy Spirit to sanctify me that I may unite in the deepest union in His Heart.
8. We do not know the hatred and the bitterness, the thoughts in the hearts and minds of some men. How He suffered so much pain to His head for the ugly, horrible thoughts of mankind. God is offended by the acts of man this day. Help make reparation to Him for our sins and the sins of mankind. Reparation given to His Heart delights Him, His dear ones. God is offended by sinful men.
9. Song:
   "Oh Burning Heart, Oh Love divine, how sweet You are to me. I see the host, I know You're here to love and care for me."
   Jesus is alive. Jesus is alive. Jesus is alive, and He lives within our hearts.
10. Song:
    "Give me Your Heart Oh Jesus, Give me a heart like Yours. Teach me to love You with this new heart, Oh I know little of how to love You. Create in me Oh precious Saviour this special heart."
    He loves you. He loves you. He loves you.

The Carrying of the Cross

1. We must carry our crosses. He watches us as we walk, and He places that cross on our backs, but He knows that it is in carrying the cross that we will be given much life. We want to put the cross aside, but it is in carrying the cross that we will grow more and more in our knowledge and love of Him.
2. He watches us carry the cross, and He watches us move it from shoulder to shoulder. He watches as it slips down our arms and we fall to the ground, and He is so close to us. He stands beside us and He says, "Carry it a little while longer. Carry it a little longer." His dear ones, for we do not know the great gift that we will receive. At the end of the darkest tunnel, there is the brightest light. He is Jesus. He gives to us according to our needs. He gives to us suffering. We must learn to endure the suffering and realize that it is a gift in which we will grow more and more in our life in Him.
3. My Jesus, I carried the cross and carried the cross and the tunnel was so dark and so black, and I felt as if I would never smile again. But I remember those times, and it was so hard. It was so hard when I felt as if I was dying on the cross with You, and then the light began to steal across the sky, and the glory was beyond all suffering. For after the death, there is the resurrection, our lives, a constant dying and rising in Him.
4. Help me realize that we are given suffering and that we must endure the suffering until He lifts the suffering. When we are backed up against a wall, we must surrender and accept all that He gives to us and give ourselves to Him, for He is breathing on our necks when we are wrapped up in pain. He is looking in our eyes when we are down under the cross. He is holding our hands when we think He is so far away, and He knows all things. He knows of the great gifts that will come when we endure the sufferings that He is giving to us. There is always the life after the death when we stay rooted in Him. We must carry the cross on our backs, and remember that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
5. It's a rocky road that He trod on the way to Calvary, and He knew that it would end in His death, but He knew of the Resurrection. He carried the cross and it bumped along, and He saw into the eyes of His Mother that comforted Him. Look into His eyes. Be wrapped in the embrace of the love of Their two Hearts. In the suffering, we must go to Their Hearts and know that we are never alone and He will never abandon us. He is almighty, all powerful. He is God, and He is with us to the end of time.
6. And there will come the day when we are lifted into heaven, and we will be wrapped in the Divine embrace, that we will know the embrace of the Almighty God. We must carry our crosses on our backs. Each day, carry the cross and share in the Resurrection. Our lives are this dying and rising, each day.
7. The world tells us that we should not suffer, but He shows us the way. Look at Him, His face covered with blood, His head crowned with thorns, the cross bearing down on His back. He could barely move and He fell to the ground, but on the third day He rose victorious.
8. Thump. Thump. Thump. Hear the cross of Jesus. See the stress on His face. See the blood as it pours from His body. See Him fall under the cross. Do you hear the crowd? Do you hear them holler at our beloved Savior? He withstood all of this in silence. Mary, knowing that He was the Almighty God, stood by, her heart torn within her chest watching her Son suffer. And They are appearing to us this day. They are appearing to tell us of Their love. This is love that Jesus carried the cross, that He gave His Body and His Blood, that He wants the world to know that He is alive and that He loves and wants to be loved by man.
9. Song:
   "Give me Your Heart Oh Jesus, Give me a heart like Yours. Teach me to love You with this new heart, Oh I know little of how to love You. Create in me Oh precious Saviour this special heart."
10. Hail Mary…

The Crucifixion

1. The greatest sacrifice of all, the Son of God comes to this earth, and He gives Himself as a sacrifice for love of us that we will be saved.
2. The sacrifice is sacramentally made present at every Mass, the priest offers this sacrifice. We must unite in this sacrifice and give ourselves. As Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross, we sacrifice ourselves in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in union with Him. It is in uniting in this oneness with Christ that the grace will be released on this earth and that many souls will be saved. This is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We are not there as spectators. We are there to offer sacrifice, to give ourselves. It is when we give ourselves that grace is outpoured on the earth.
3. We must pray for holy priests, that priests will be holy in their hearts and unite in such oneness with the Heart of Jesus, that as they celebrate the Mass and offer sacrifice, that they too offer themselves as a sacrifice in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The sacrifice of Calvary is sacramentally made present at every Mass.
4. The grace that was merited by Christ through His life and death on the cross is released in abundant proportion in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The more we unite in this oneness with the Mass, the more this grace is released. Our world is in a desperate state. We must unite in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in our morning offering, every morning, uniting each one of our activities with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
5. All of our actions are magnified, and immense amount of grace is released on us and on this world when we unite to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in all of our actions.
6. Each one of our actions, when performed in accordance with the Father's will with love, are heroic actions when we unite them to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, for grace rains on the earth and the people on this earth. Many will be saved as we unite to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in all of our actions and as we become one in Their Hearts. This is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the fountain of God's life outpoured on the earth. Jesus gave Himself. "This is My Body. This is My Blood." Let us tap into this fountain of His life at every second as we unite every action to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
7. And they pierced His Heart, and the sacramental life of the Church was born.
8. His life is a fountain of life pouring out on the earth from the side of Christ.
9. We must pray for grace. We must unite every morning, in the morning offering, to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that all our actions are magnified, for His grace will spill upon this earth and it will be lighted with the brightest light. We are His fervent souls that He has called and that He is joining to His Heart. In this oneness, the grace will be released on the earth, and many souls will be saved. Do not underestimate the value of every action we perform when we unite to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the morning offering. He is Jesus. He came to this world to save each and every soul. Bring Him souls! Bring Him souls! We are His apostles. We will help save many souls. Many will know the fire of His burning love. We cannot underestimate the importance of our lives. We will struggle, and we will suffer. Look at Him as He hung on the cross. He showed us the way. He showed us His way. But in the death there is the resurrection, and His life will spill out on the earth. We must give Him ourselves. He wants our love. He wants us to talk to Him all through the day. When we are worried and troubled, He wants us to say in our hearts, "Jesus, I love You. Jesus, I love You." We must put aside the thoughts that Satan is planting in our heads, the seeds of doubt and division, and say, "Jesus, I love You." Take that moment to spend time with Him, loving Him, and He will strengthen us. He wants our love. He wants us to long and to thirst for His love. He wants us to tell Him we love Him. He is a Person. He wants us to love Him. He gave His life for us. Will we give our hearts to Him?
10. It is in complying to the will of the Father that we will have peace and joy in our lives. We see Jesus in the arms of His Mother. Jesus complied to the will of His Father to His death, and Mary complied to the will of the Father. She did not shout all through the Passion and holler, "This is God! What is the matter with you?" She was silent and she accepted the suffering, for she knew the Father had a plan, and she knew that she must endure the suffering. She knew that Jesus must die. She complied always to the will of the Father. Jesus complied to the will of the Father to His death. He shows us the way. His way is suffering and life. The world shows us another way. They show us a way that leads our hearts to hunger and to pain. His way is the way to joy, peace, and love. He loves us. He loves us. He loves us. He is Jesus. He gives Himself to us. It is in giving ourselves to Him that we will unite. He gives Himself to us in love, but to become one with Him, we must give ourselves to Him. We will share in His Divine love. Nothing on the face of this earth can compare to this love relationship with His Divine Heart. Love is relationship. He gives Himself to us. We will share in accordance to how much of ourselves we give to Him. He wants our all. He will give us peace, love, and joy in our hearts when we give our hearts to Him. He loves us. To His death, He loved us. He would die for us this day. Will we give Him our hearts?

end of August 20, 1996 from Mass Book

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.