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.

 I appear my children on this former bank building in Florida, Our Lady Clothed with the Sun.

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

April 11, 1999

How to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet

  Begin with:

  Our Father..., Hail Mary..., The Creed.

  On the five large beads:

  Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity
  of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement
  for our sins and those of the whole world.

  On the ten small beads:

  For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us
  and on the whole world.

  Conclude with repeating three times:

  Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,
  have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Jesus speaks: You must hate the sin but love the sinner. I call you to tenderly embrace one another. Because of fear of sexual sins, many do not tenderly support one another through holy embraces. The purity of living in the Father's will and wanting only to please your God should keep loving embraces holy. You need to support one another. Touching in a family, holding hands as a family at the Our Father at Mass is very powerful. Hugging your children in the morning and evening is important, as is hugging when you are parting and telling one another of your love.

Begin each meeting with the phrase,

"I give my heart to Jesus and Mary with you in love."

You need to support and love one another in holy love.

The problem with the world is that so many are numb to problems. If a problem exists in the family, they say, "Oh, Uncle Joe is sick". If Joe is sick, it affects the whole family. Because you are all members of the Father's family, the ills in society affect the whole body (family). You must recognize the truth, not hide the problem or deny it. You must realize your dependence on God to handle the problem.

There are two modes of handling dysfunction in the family that are not correct. One is denial, denying the problem exists or separating your family from any connection to it. The other is admitting the problem exists and being overly attached to it so that your life is consumed with the problem and you fail to do the Father's will.

The way to handle it correctly is to admit the truth, to deal with it according to the Father's will, to realize your dependence is on God, that only He can ultimately give the grace to deal with the situation. But you must do all you can to help deal with the problem. You must not ignore the problem, this is to not live in the truth. But you must act according to the Father's will. That might mean detaching from the problem and allowing Me to work. You must do the Father's will. Satan will create problems to misdirect your focus so you do not do the things God wants you to do.

I am Jesus, I am with you.

I ask the writing from the Mass Book be placed on the Internet. December 26, 1996 - "The Priest and the Mass".

December 26, 1996

THE PRIEST AND THE MASS

I know this mystical union with Christ through the holy priest.

It is there, in the Mass, I encounter Him. I know Him in deepest intimacy.

It is through the hands of the holy priest, the ones consecrated to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, that we receive an immense outpouring of His grace, His divine life.

Oh, not only through the holy priest; through the hands of any priest His great life flows.

But, oh, when a priest is so holy, in his oneness with Christ, the grace flows and flows.

To be at a Mass where the priest is so one with Christ is to be at a Mass where I really feel Christ's presence in the priest. At every Mass, I am so aware of Christ celebrating the Mass through the priest. But when a very holy priest celebrates the Mass, I feel an immense presence of Christ there. I feel the flow of His grace and I am moved deeply within my heart and I cry from this immense presence of God. I am in awe. I unite to Jesus in every move of the priest, every word, when he is so united to Christ. I feel Christ so alive in Him. Every gesture, every word spoken, is as though Christ is present offering the sacrifice and I am fed with His divine life.

I love God so much. Through the hands of His holiest priests, I am taken into ecstasy in the Mass for I am so wrapped in His divine love.

Oh, I want Him so much. I yearn for this intense oneness I get in the Mass, when I receive Him in the Eucharist. My heart burns to receive my Divine King.

I see the hands, the hands of a man, a priest, and I see Christ celebrating the Mass in the priest. Oh, the merger of Christ and the priest in this Holy Sacrifice is one that takes me to the heights of heaven.

I am in awe of the Almighty God truly present through the hands of the priest. Oh, God, I love You. If you would ever take away the gift of the Mass, of the Eucharist, I would be in such suffering. Oh, this gift I love so much. I live each day to attend the Mass and receive the Eucharist. I am yearning for this. My whole day is centered around the Mass, and my reception of the Holy Eucharist. Oh I love Him, my beloved, in the Eucharist. I see this merger between Our Divine Lord and the priest and I love God so much.

God comes to me in the hands of a man, but I see this immense merger in every action of the priest, in every word between him and Jesus. It is a place I go to in the Mass, a place as heaven to me.

The Mass starts and my soul is filled with such love of God, and I long for Him so much to unite and be one with Him. This place I know, as no other on the earth, a place with intense presence of God, flowing from the priest to me. I love Him, my God, so much. So much of this love has come from attending the Mass, celebrated by a holy priest, one who has consecrated his heart to Jesus and Mary and has a very deep union with Christ.

My heart burns for this Mass. When he, His holy priest, celebrates Mass, I see this merger between Our Divine Lord and the priest and I love God so much. The Sacraments are special encounters with Christ to give divine life.

Oh life, Oh, divine life, Oh, fountain of His divine life that flows through the hands of a holy priest! I long, I thirst, I want this great gift given from God.

He shares His life with me and I know Him.

I have developed this immense love affair with My God through the hands of a holy priest celebrating Mass and through adoration before the tabernacle.

I fell in love with Jesus in these most intimate moments in the Mass, especially after Communion when He gives Himself to me.

I fell in love with my precious One as He remained hidden behind the tabernacle, but oh, His presence and His life! He poured out His life to me and I fell in love with my Divine God.

Oh, how to write, for to write is to limit this great gift of God Himself to a paper and pen, and it is nothing as how it truly is.

Oh, I want Him so much. I want these precious moments in the Mass when I encounter Christ so vividly as He gives Himself to me.

How Our Lord is treated, and He gives us Himself and He gives us His love!

Oh, the Mass, from the beginning to the end, I love it so much. I long for the Mass. I want to be there and I pray for the greatest grace to unite so deeply with Our Lord.

Why are there not more vocations, with such a great honor God gives to his priest?

Being a priest is the greatest honor God gives to a man. God gives a man the power to change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.

God gives to a priest the power to Baptize, to elevate a human nature to one in which the person shares divine life.

God gives to a priest the power to take away sins, which makes the difference to a soul dead in sin.

God gives such power to a priest, such a great gift given to a priest.

Why are not more young men priests?

Many priests do not realize the great gift that God gives them.

I sit in the pew and I am fed by Christ, Who celebrates the Mass through the priest. I am taken into ecstasy as I see the priest merge with Christ and feel Christ celebrating the Mass through the priest.

Oh, I am fed. Oh, I am so sensitive to every gesture, every way he speaks the Word of God. I feel Christ speak to me as the priest reads the Gospel. The Word feeds me. The words spoken by a holy priest penetrate my heart and my soul. It is as a two-edged sword. I feel all the words in my being, every word in the depth of my soul.

I love God so much and I love the priest. I love the Eucharist. I love the hands that give my God to me. The Mass is the greatest gift of God's love!

So why are there not vocations? The priest must give himself in consecration to Jesus and Mary to be so one with Christ.

When the priest is in love with Jesus with his whole heart, his whole mind and his whole soul, the man being called to the priesthood will see the great honor it is to be a priest and men will flock to the seminary. The modeling isn't there.

Oh, priests wear your priesthood proudly. You are given the greatest honor bestowed to a man-the title of a priest!

The priest must love God with a burning heart and love his people with the Heart of Jesus.

It is powerful to be loved by the priest in the Mass. The priest must love his flock, that he would die for them. He must love Christ so much he gives himself totally to Him and holds nothing back.

Love is giving. The priest must give himself completely to God to have proper union with Him.

Oh, how the Mass unites us in one body, in the Body of Christ. I become one in Him. You become one in Him. We are one body in Him. His life flows through His body, the Church.

Oh, fountain of life, the Church - flowing on God's people. His abundant grace flows through the Mass.

Life flows from the Father, in the Holy Spirit, through the pierced Heart of Jesus, through the heart of Mary, to us.

We are one body. The life flows through us. It feeds us and makes us whole.

His life flows in His Church through the Mass and the Sacraments. Oh, God, protect what your right hand has planted.

Ps. 80:14-18:

God Sabaoth, come back, we pray,
look down from heaven and see,
visit this vine;
protect what your own hand has planted.
They have thrown it on the fire like dung,
the frown of your rebuke will destroy them.
May your hand protect those at your side,
the child of Adam you have strengthened for yourself!
Never again will we turn away from you,
give us life and we will call upon your name.

Jn. 15:5-6:

I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is thrown away like a branch
-and withers;
these branches are collected
and thrown on the fire
and are burnt.

God is the vine, we are the branches. We need His life or we wither and die.

The people feast copiously on His divine life abundantly flowing through the hands of the holy priest in the Mass.

His life flows as a fountain on His holy people.

The priest is like the opening through which this spring pours forth.

When a priest has given his heart to Mary, this divine life flows as a shower through her Immaculate Heart, watering the earth with His glistening grace.

Oh, how abundantly doth your grace flow, Lord.

It will flow in proportion to our giving ourselves to Jesus and Mary.

At Fatima Mary told Jacinta: "Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask grace from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary."1

1Our Lady of Fatima's Peace Plan from Heaven [Rockford: TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., 1983], pp. 9-10. [The words in brackets are added for clarification].

(End of December 26, 1996 Mass Book message.)

Jesus speaks: I further ask the priestly newsletter on the Priesthood be placed on the Internet.

Shepherds of Christ

A Spirituality Newsletter for Priests

1999 - ISSUE ONE

CONTENTS

Chief Shepherd of the Flock

Priesthood

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)

Yes, the Good Shepherd has given His all for us. Through His life, His brutal and agonizing suffering and death on the cross, and His glorious resurrection, He has achieved new life for us. Through the sacrament of Holy Orders, Jesus has provided His Church with priests who play a major role in the dispensing of this life which Jesus has come to give and to give most abundantly. There follow various thoughts on the priesthood.

Jesus, the Friend

Here is one author's reflections on Jesus' friendship with St. John. It offers us an occasion to reflect upon our own friendship with Jesus. Fr. Jean Galot, S.J. says of Jesus and John:

"Christ's friendship assumes different forms. His love for Peter and John appear to have been outstanding in the case of his disciples, but he loved them in different ways. His love for John is more tender, and John will be known 'as the disciple whom Jesus loved.' All the disciples were, of course, disciples whom Jesus loved, but the words indicate that he had a particularly tender love for John, a love corresponding to John's sensitive nature. John is attracted by Christ from the first moment he meets him. Until then, apparently, he had been a follower of John the Baptist in his search for an ideal way of life and a spiritual master. It is not difficult to understand that the gentle ways of Jesus must have made an immediate impression on him, compared with the harsh asceticism of the Baptist. He therefore abandons the company of the austere prophet who threatens the people with divine wrath to follow the 'lamb of God,' who has come to take away the sins of the world. He feels a special need for affection himself and is drawn to a Master whose preaching is so obviously inspired by his pity for the crowds and whose miraculous cures show that he is constantly moved by goodness. Hence he is the disciple who becomes the closest follower of Jesus, in the sense that he is the nearest to him and most sensitive to all the manifestations of his friendship. Along with Peter and James he witnesses the Transfiguration on Tabor and the agony in the garden at Gethsemane. But above all he has the good fortune to lie on Christ's breast at the Last Supper. The physical heart of Jesus has a particular meaning for him, and he abandons himself to it, so to speak. This action marks the climax of his friendship and expresses the full measure of his love; it is also destined to remain the permanent symbol of his love, for John will be called 'the disciple who leaned upon the breast of the Lord.' At Calvary John takes his place at the foot of the cross along with the woman, and Christ confides to him the one he holds dearest in this world, his own mother. He gives the most loving of his disciples his most tender gift. The friendship John has formed with the Son was destined to be continued with his mother in the same atmosphere of gentle affection. At Calvary John also witnesses something destined to make a profound impression upon him, the piercing of the side of Jesus by the spear of the soldier. The spear of course only pierces a dead body, but it reaches the human heart on which the beloved apostle has been leaning less than twenty-four hours before in a transport of love. In the same way that the gift of his heart on the previous evening had been a symbol of his great friendship for him, so the piercing of his side now appears to John as a symbol of a love which has suffered to the bitter end. This spectacle serves to bind him to Christ more than ever and puts the seal, as it were, on their friendship.

John is the first of the apostles to arrive at the empty tomb on the morning of Easter. He is also the first one to recognize the Lord on the shore of the sea of Tiberias, because his love is more tender and therefore more perceptive. Finally, Christ promises John that his death shall be a prolongation of their friendship. The chief of the apostles is destined to undergo martyrdom, but John will only have to remain here until the Lord comes. His death will recall their intimacy at the Supper; Christ will simply come and allow the apostle's head to rest on his breast. The beautiful expression often used to describe a Christian death, 'going to sleep in the Lord', is especially applicable in the case of John, because he learned so well to know the meaning of that rest." 10

The Father's Merciful Love

Pope John Paul II tells us: "The Church professes the mercy of God, the Church lives by it in her wide experience of faith and also in her teaching, constantly contemplating Christ, concentrating on him, on his life and on his Gospel, on his cross and resurrection, on his whole mystery. Everything that forms the 'vision' of Christ in the Church's living faith and teaching brings us nearer to the 'vision of the Father' in the holiness of his mercy. The Church seems in a particular way to profess the mercy of God and to venerate it when she directs herself to the heart of Christ. In fact, it is precisely this drawing close to Christ in the mystery of his heart which enables us to dwell on this point-a point in a sense central and also most accessible on the human level-of the revelation of the merciful love of the Father, a revelation which constituted the central content of the messianic mission of the Son of Man." 11

The Spirit is with Us

The Resurrected Christ has sent the
Holy Spirit to sanctify the world:
Still, I am telling you the truth:
it is for your own good that I am going,
because unless I go,
the Paraclete will not come to you;
but if I go,
I will send him to you (Jn 16:7)

The task of the Holy Spirit is to imprint the mystery of Christ ever more deeply upon the whole of creation. The Spirit is gradually leading us to full communion with the Father through Christ.

As this process evolves, the Holy Spirit concentrates His action upon the Church.

The Church progressively evolves by assimilating more perfectly the mystery of Christ. The Holy Spirit guides this process. He is the soul of the Church. He constantly labors to unite the diversified elements of the Church so that she is constantly being formed more and more according to the image of Christ.

The Holy Spirit as Sanctifier not only guides the entire Church, but He also guides each member of the Church. He strives to deepen the image of Christ which has been indelibly imprinted upon the Christian through Baptism and Confirmation. He labors to guide the Christian so that his or her activity becomes increasingly Christ-like. In this regard we notice the biblical distinction between living according to the Spirit rather than according to the flesh. To live according to the flesh does not refer only to sins against chastity. It refers to anything in one's life which is not according to the Spirit. Therefore, capitulating to intellectual pride, something "spiritual," would be living according to the flesh.

On the other hand, to live according to the Spirit can include the most intense involvement with material creation. This is Christ-like activity as long as one is following the lead of the Holy Spirit.

In summary, the Holy Spirit promotes the process of our growing as sons and daughters of the Father in Christ: "All who are guided by the Spirit of God are sons of God; for what you received was not the spirit of slavery to bring you back into fear; you received the Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, 'Abba, Father!' The Spirit himself joins with our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God. And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, provided that we share his suffering, so as to share his glory." (Rom 8:14-17).

Mary's Presence

Fr. René Laurentin, one of the world's foremost Mariologists, speaks to us concerning Mary's presence to Christ: "Mary is present throughout the life of Christ...She introduced him into the human family, unfolded his humanity, accompanied him throughout his hidden life until he reached the age of thirty. She became involved in his ministry by suggesting to him the sign of Cana (John 2:1-22). During the three years of separation, her spiritual communion deepened further. She was one with him physically and morally during his suffering and death on Calvary, through compassion with his passion. She prepared for and accompanied, through her prayer, the birth of the Church (Acts 1:14). Finally, she rejoined her son in the glory of the Assumption."

Laurentin also speaks about the presence of Mary in the life of the Church: "Mary's discreet and universal presence continues throughout the life of the Church: visible and invisible, in history, its churches, its religious art. The call for her intercession appears throughout the dogmatic history of the Councils and the various complex struggles within the Church which, during the Carolingian era, inspired the famous anthiphon: 'You have conquered all heresies throughout the world.'

"She was also the inspiration for the initiatives and victories of the Church. Many feasts were instituted in order to commemorate her efficacious assistance. From the earliest centuries, the most ancient churches were dedicated to her since she was the first temple of God and remains the model of all others. Mary, model of the Church, is also the model of the churches where the eucharistic presence of the Lord is renewed and where prayer takes place continuously."

Present to the universal Church, Mary is also present to the individual Christian. Laurentin quotes from the writings of numerous holy men and women who give witness concerning this personal presence of Mary. There follow some of Laurentin's quotations regarding this testimony.

He refers to St. Anthony of Padua: "And St. Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church, whose canonization broke all records, taking place less than two years after his death, concluded one of his principal homilies with this prayer: 'We beseech you, Our Lady, our hope, tossed about as we are by the storm. You, Star of the Sea, bright ray, direct us towards safe harbour, assist our arrival by the protection of your presence. (Sermon 3 in Praise of the Virgin, op. 1, p 163.)"

Laurentin also refers to Jean Jacques Olier, founder of the Sulpicians, and one of the most prominent figures of the French School of Spirituality. He quotes Olier: "One Saturday Mary became interiorly present to my soul...She recalled to me that her dear son had told me that he would only live in me through her...as if she were a sacrament by which he wished to communicate his life to me. (Brettonvillers, L'esprit de Monsieur Olier, t. 1, 1, 9 pp. 396-397)."

And it is not surprising that Laurentin, in his discussion of Mary's presence to us, refers to St. Louis de Montfort, one of the greatest apostles of devotion to Mary. Laurentin says: "Let us not pick any further from the petals of the dossier (Laurentin refers to the list of citations he has made concerning Mary's presence to us) which stretches over the centuries and which seems to justify de Montfort's prediction in his Treatise on True Devotion (no 46): 'At the end of the world, the greatest saints will be those who are most devoted to praying to the most Holy Virgin, and who have had her always present... in order... to have her as their powerful helper in their time of need '' " 12

Let us remind ourselves, regarding St. Louis de Montfort, that his Marian devotion is deeply Christocentric. J. Patrick Gaffney, S. S. M., tells us: "Montfort's intense devotion to Mary is clearly Christocentric. So strongly does the saint insist upon the point that he forcefully teaches that if devotion to Mary alienated us from Jesus it would have to be rejected as a diabolical temptation...with Mary we enter into a more intense and more immediate union with the Incarnate Wisdom. To wrench Mary from salvation history and therefore from Christian life is, for Montfort, to reject the plan of salvation as decreed by the Father." 13

The Eucharist

The Trinity and the Church

Three Great Teachers of Prayer

St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Ignatius of Loyola have all spoken with great spiritual insight on prayer. Fr. Thomas McKenna, C.M., offers some astute observations concerning their spiritual doctrine: "Confessing that the approach to God happens only in God's terms, Teresa nonetheless painted the way there in warm and welcoming colors. Her chronicle of the journey through a series of successively enclosed chambers (mansions) is classic among the descriptions of the mystical path. Sparkling as it does with images of emerging butterflies and bubbling artesian wells, it depicts her move from active to passive contemplation. Hardly a passive personality, Teresa initiated a prodigious reform within the Carmelites and this also testified to the synergy between genuine interior life and effective apostolic action."

"If Teresa sketched resting points along the spiritual ascent, her prodigy, John of the Cross, fixed his gaze on the summit. Compactly in his poetry but also in interpretive prose, John detailed the melting-down and recasting of human desire as it draws near the Divine. His is a shadowy passage through a twilight of the senses and spirit, an intensely dark nocturne, and out into a dawn streaked with the divine light. Over the course of that night, the darkness that blinded the traveler is revealed as the radiance of God, which at the earlier stage could not be recognized for the light it was...

"Ignatius of Loyola took a different tact as he found intimacy with God in the press of active service. As he interacted with his times and circumstances, he discovered certain patterns of divine guidance embedded within his experience and subsequently constructed an imaginatively rich method to help others appropriate theirs. Basic to his logic was a conviction that the Spirit of Jesus is 'afoot in the universe,' particularly within each individual, and that therefore the Spirit-filled person is able to know by both interior and exterior signs which activities are the genuine works of Christ. Such a mystical perception of the world ties the closest of bonds between prayer and ministry, providing the apostle to view all activities in their relation to their divine ground, and conversely to find that source in all things." 19

Special Days

There are certain days which make us especially glad to be alive. Sometimes,-but not always-the weather is consonant with our inner feelings. If it happens to be fall (I speak as a resident of the mid-west in the U.S.A.), the air is crisp, quickened with October freshness. The leaves spellbind us with their rich and varied colors-their golds, and reds, and browns. The sky is autumn blue, clear blue, crowned with a golden sun. Or, if it happens to be spring, a deep and fresh greenness seems to cover everything, breathing forth new signs of hope for the world. A gentle breeze mixed with the sun's warmth in a perfect mixture makes us eagerly seek the out-of-doors.

Regardless of what the weather may be, special days, in the ultimate meaning of our present use of the word special, awaken us in an unique way regarding the beauty of life. We feel an inner glow. Life has a mysterious freshness on these days, making us especially aware of its grandeur, its tenderness, its expansiveness, its capacity to call us forth to greatness. On such days the splendid drama of life deeply attracts us, takes hold of us in those inner depths where we are most alive, where we are most ourselves.

We need these days on which we feel deeply alive. If such days do not periodically refresh us with their pleasant arrival, then boredom and the monotonous aspect of daily living, the drudgery of life, would be too much for us. As the little child needs to be especially refreshed on occasion by a surprise gift of candy or a toy, so all of us need periodic excursions into the realm of these special kind of days. They, too, are often pleasant surprises, for usually we cannot forecast their advent with any degree of precision.

We should make the most of these special days. They are precious gifts which God lovingly offers us. Through them God enlivens the awareness of our lives, and gives us the desire to refurbish what may have become a rather lethargic type of existence. We can fall into a rut of wasting many of the opportunities which each day presents. Our lethargic condition can cause us to squander much of life's precious moments. We must allow the beauty of the special kind of day we have been describing to once again enliven our appreciation of the value of life. We must determine not to squander existence, but to drink in its preciousness from the depths of our being in Christ Jesus Our Lord, Who leads us to the Father, in the Holy Spirit,with Mary our Mother at our side.

Words of Therese

St. Therese of Lisieux, recently declared to be a doctor of the Church, was given special insight by God into spiritual matters. Here are some excerpts from her writings:

Various Thoughts

The Christian and the Social Order

Pope John Paul II instructs us: "In order to overcome today's widespread individualistic mentality, what is required is a concrete commitment to solidarity and charity, beginning in the family with the mutual support of husband and wife and the care which the different generations give to one another. In this sense the family too can be called a community of work and solidarity. It can happen, however, that when a family does decide to live up fully to its vocation, it finds itself without the necessary support from the State and without sufficient resources. It is urgent therefore to promote not only family policies, but also those social policies which have the family as their principal object, policies which assist the family by providing adequate resources and efficient means of support, both for bringing up children and for looking after the elderly, so as to avoid distancing the latter from the family unit and in order to strengthen relations between generations.

"Apart from the family, other intermediate communities exercise primary functions and give life to specific networks of solidarity. These develop as real communities of persons and strengthen the social fabric, preventing society from becoming an anonymous and impersonal mass, as unfortunately often happens today. It is in inter-relationships on many levels that a person lives, and that society becomes more 'personalized.' The individual today is often suffocated between two poles represented by the State and the marketplace. At times it seems as though he exists only as a producer and consumer of goods, or as an object of state administration. People lose sight of the fact that life in society has neither the market nor the State as its final purpose, since life itself has a unique value which the State and the market must serve. Man remains above all a being who seeks the truth and strives to live in that truth, deepening his understanding of it through a dialogue which involves past and future generations." 25 

A Prayer for Priests

Many of the laity pray for us priests, and consistently so. Is it not also fitting that we priests pray for all our brothers in the priesthood, and consistently so? There follows a prayer that can aid us in this endeavor.

"Lord Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the Flock, we pray that in the great love and mercy of Your Heart that You attend to all the needs of your priest-shepherds throughout the world. We ask that you draw back to your Heart all those priests who have seriously strayed from your path, that you rekindle the desire for holiness in the hearts of those priests who have become lukewarm, and that you continue to give your fervent priests the desire for the highest holiness. United with Your Heart and Mary's Heart, we ask that you take this petition to your heavenly Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen".

The above prayer is taken from the prayer manual of Shepherds of Christ Associates, a facet of Shepherds of Christ Ministries. The associates are members of prayer groups which meet regularly to pray for all the needs of the entire human family, but most especially for priests. If you would like a copy, or copies, of this prayer manual, and, further, if you would like information on how to begin a Shepherds of Christ prayer chapter, contact us at:

Shepherds of Christ
P.O. Box 193
Morrow, Ohio 45152-0193
U.S.A.

Phone (toll free): 1-888-211-3041
Phone 1-513-932-4451
Fax: 1-513-932-6791

Act of Consecration

Lord, Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the Flock, I consecrate my priestly life to your Heart, pierced on Calvary for love of us. From your pierced Heart the Church was born, the Church you have called me, as a priest, to serve in a most special way. You reveal Your Heart as a symbol of Your love in all its aspects, including Your most special love for me, whom you have chosen as Your priest-companion. Help me always to pour out my life in love of God and neighbor. Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You!

Dear Blessed Virgin Mary, I consecrate myself to your maternal and Immaculate Heart, this Heart which is symbol of your life of love. You are the Mother of my Savior. You are also My Mother. You love me with a most special love as this unique priest-son. In a return of love I give myself entirely to your motherly love and protection. You followed Jesus perfectly. You are His first and perfect disciple. Teach me to imitate you in the putting on of Christ. Be my motherly intercessor so that, through your Immaculate Heart, I may be guided to an ever closer union with the pierced Heart of Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the Flock, Who leads me to the Father in the Holy Spirit.

Letters

Dear Ed,

Thank you for Shepherds of Christ which I treasure and read as spiritual reading. It contains a volume of practical recommendations.

Let's pray for each other...

Rev. Msgr. James J. Rugel
Oak Ridge, New Jersey

Dear Fr. Edward,

The peace of the Lord be always with you. Recently I received your newsletter, Shepherds of Christ from my Bishop. It is very interesting for me and the priests who are working with me in this parish.

I would like to ask you for the cassettes (Newsletters on cassettes).

Could you please supply me with these cassettes, which will be of great help to priests and the thirty catechists working in the same parish.

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

Yours in Christ,
Fr. Hilary Abela
Mpiketoni
Kenya

NOTES:

  1. Scriptural quotations are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday & Co.
  2. Pope John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, I Will Give You Shepherds, St. Paul Books & Media, No. 12.
  3. Ibid., No. 12.
  4. Fr. Richard Nahman, O.S.A., "I Am a Priest-What Am I?" Homiletic and Pastoral Review, January, 1971, pp. 272-273.
  5. The Documents of Vatican II, "Decree on Priestly Formation", American Press edition, No. 8.
  6. Jean Galot, S.J., Theology of the Priesthood, Ignatius Press, p. 144.
  7. Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests as in Inside the Vatican, November 1994, Special Supplement. For quotations within the excerpt, see C.I.C. can. 929; Missale Romanum, Instituto generalis, nn 81; 298; S. Congregation for the Divine Cult, Instruction Liturgical instaurationes (5 September 1970, 8 c: AAS62 (1970), 701).
  8. Ibid , No. 13.
  9. Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R., A Priest Forever, Our Sunday Visitor Pub., pp 106-107
  10. Jean Galot, S.J., The Heart of Christ, Newman Press. pp. 137-139.
  11. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Rich in Mercy, United States Catholic Conference, No. 13.
  12. Fr. René Laurentin, A Year of Grace with Mary, translated by Monsignor Michael J. Wrenn, Veritas, pp l13-l19.
  13. God Alone, The Collected Works of St. Louis de Montfort, Montfort Publication, p. xv.
  14. The Documents of Vatican II, "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, " American Press edition, No. 47.
  15. Ibid., No. 48.
  16. Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Letter, Mystici Corporis, AAS, XXXV, pp 232-233.
  17. Fr. Bruno Forte, He Loved Them to the End, St. Paul Books & Media, p. 97.
  18. Ibid., pp. 74-75.
  19. Fr. Thomas McKenna, C.M., as in The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality, The Liturgical Press, p. 662
  20. Story of a Soul, The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, ICS Publications, p. 180.
  21. Ibid.., p. 188.
  22. Ibid.., p. 188.
  23. Ibid., p. 189.
  24. Jean de Fabrégues, Edith Stein, St. Paul Books and Media, p. 72.
  25. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, On the Hundreth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum. St. Paul Books and Media, No. 49
    26.

Masthead

(End of Priestly Newsletter Issue No 1 of 1999.)

Messenger: We must honor His holy name.

We do not fully know the power of His name.

JESUS CHRIST, OUR BELOVED.

We act always in His name. This is the question, "Does one act in his own name or in Jesus' name?"

Jesus speaks: I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.

I AM JESUS, I LOVE YOU.

Question for married couples and others in intimate relationships:

Q: How do I feel I can more intimately share with you in always greeting you lovingly with a kiss or hug or a means of loving affection appropriate for the occasion?

Q: How do I feel I can be more sensitive in my words of connecting with you in love before discussing problems and the day's events?

Jesus speaks: I come to teach to you to LOVE!!  I WANT LOVE BETWEEN YOU!  KINDNESS AND MERCY.

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