Ecclesiastes 3: 1-11
There is a season for
everything, a time for every occupation under heaven:
A time for giving birth,
a time for dying;
a time for planting,
a time for uprooting what has been planted.
A time for killing,
a time for healing;
a time for knocking down,
a time for building.
A time for tears,
a time for laughter;
a time for mourning,
a time for dancing.
A time for throwing stones away,
a time for gathering them;
a time for embracing,
a time to refrain from embracing.
A time for searching,
a time for losing;
a time for keeping,
a time for discarding.
A time for tearing,
a time for sewing;
a time for keeping silent,
a time for speaking.
A time for loving,
a time for hating;
a time for war,
a time for peace.
What do people
gain from the efforts they make? I contemplate the task that God
gives humanity to labour at. All that he does is apt for its
time; but although he has given us an awareness of the passage
of time, we can grasp neither the beginning nor the end of what
God does.
Wisdom 3: 1-9
But the souls of the upright are
in the hands of God,
and no torment can touch them.
To the unenlightened, they appeared to die,
their departure was regarded as disaster,
their leaving us like annihilation;
but they are at peace.
If, as it seemed to us, they suffered punishment,
their hope was rich with immortality;
slight was their correction, great will their blessings be.
God was putting them to the test
and has proved them worthy to be with him;
he has tested them like gold in a furnace,
and accepted them as a perfect burnt offering.
At their time of visitation, they will shine out;
as sparks run through the stubble, so will they.
They will judge nations, rule over peoples,
and the Lord will be their king for ever.
Those who trust in him will understand the truth,
those who are faithful will live with him in love;
for grace and mercy await his holy ones,
and he intervenes on behalf of his chosen.
R. Jesus wants us to meditate on this picture.
R. When Fr. Carter was dying Jesus gave me this writing –
Identify this with Mary and Jesus.
I Had a Dream
R. Identify this with Mary under the cross –
Mary suffered so –
November 4, 2013
Written September 24, 2000
Messenger: I
watched by his bed.
A book for those who help cancer patients, for their
relatives and friends who need to cope with the suffering of losing a
loved one.
It was a quiet day or so it seemed, the long months of
watching John go "down hill" had come to an end.
I did not know that the end was indeed so near, but the
story had been written in the days that went before, but I really never read
the message given in the days that led up to that final page.
There were months of warnings, but I just lived every day
coping with that day’s events and when the final page was about to be
written, I felt shocked, empty and afraid.
The days before were all telling the story, but like anyone
in love with a family member, who wants to think that days of parting might be
so soon? Oh, but they were so soon. As I look back now, I see I just didn’t
recognize them.
Every person can only do so much, but out of love those we
love deeply and love us, sometimes, cover up their real conditions in an
attempt to live life as usual.
Cancer is a mighty menace. It attacks the weak and the
strong. It acts like an aggressive machine growing and growing inside
someone’s body and they may not notice the gradual sucking of their life
from the other parts of the body until it almost leaves them dead.
I was a little girl of five years old when the deadly
disease ate away the cells in my mother’s body as it took over her body and
she soon died.
But I am not here to make you feel sorry for me or to tell
you about anything new, but to write of the dying and rising of my dear
friend, Fr. Carter.
The signs were there, for in January he became very sick and
even though he wanted to go to the Virgin Mary building to say a private Mass
there, he could not go and the once held plane reservations were cancelled.
He remained sick and on February 5, 2000, when we opened the
Rosary Factory in Clearwater, Florida at Mary’s Image site, he did attend,
but he didn’t feel good and he continued trying really hard to serve us as a
ministry.
Now, I don’t know, in September after they opened him up
and told us what they did, how he ever did all he did, being so sick. It was
September 22, 2000, when they operated on him and it was January 22, 2000,
when we were supposed to go to Clearwater, Florida, exactly eight months
later.
Father Carter continued to keep a hectic schedule.
Jesus told him to write the lengthy spirituality newsletter
in which he summed up a great deal about the spiritual life. We could all
study it for our entire life.
As I write this, I don’t know if he will ever tape record
this 20 page newsletter or the next newsletter.
I do know this, the signs were there and Father worked
really hard to continue doing all he did despite his sickness, weakness. His
faith in the Movement never wavered. He had a burning desire to serve Jesus
and help renew the priesthood, the Church and the world.
Father worked and worked because he loved us all so much and
loved the world and he didn’t complain, ever.
His faith in this Movement and the messages of Jesus is
shown in his life given to this.
Father showed us the message of Jesus in his life. He lived
in such union with Him. He offered Mass every day praying so fervently for
souls and for all of us.
I see the signs especially on the trips. Mary was adorned in
gold on the building July 5, 2000, during the evening prayer service.
R. Father was in the motel and he didn’t
feel good.
After the Mass he had to sit and he didn’t think he would
make it during the Mass because he was weak.
I watched a lot of Masses that way, between his blood sugar
levels and he seemed to just sigh sometimes to do ordinary motions, but he
kept serving God and loving us all.
I watched him look up to the Father and say, “through him,
with him and in him”.
Through Him, with Him and in Him
R. He lived for the Mass. He offered it for
the Movement and for all of us, the whole Church and the world, to help bring
about the Reign of Jesus’ Sacred Heart.
I can show you the picture taken on my birthday, August 8,
2000, he looked really bad and I worried about him so much I cried as I spoke
to him, but in his calm, peaceful attitude, he assured me everything was okay
as God wanted it and he was getting proper care.
R. Every day he looked weaker and he coughed
whenever he talked and we all prayed more.
He was determined to say Mass in China on the Feast of
Mary’s birthday, September 8, 2000, and he paid a big price for it.
For about 4 months he struggled with the cough and he walked
slower and slower and he looked sicker every day, but he knew what God was
telling him and about his mission.
Written September 24, 2000
R.
Mary
stood beneath the cross of her Son and she was in such anguish, of this I
write.
She saw the anguish of her
beloved Son. She watched, she heard Him sigh, breath, she endured the time,
knowing the time was near for His death.
There was the intensity of
waiting during the passion. Think of her anguish watching him as He hung on
the cross.
Mary knew things from the
prophecy of Simeon. She knew of a deep sorrow to pierce her heart.
Think of the anguish of
her heart.
Think of Mary holding the
lifeless body of Jesus under the cross. Meditate on the sufferings she
endured.
Think of how she felt at
the tomb where they laid her Son.
Pray for light to know
more fully the heart of Mary in these sufferings.
Mary had such a deep
connection in her heart to Jesus. They were so united.
Death by crucifixion was
used to kill criminals. They crucified Jesus, the Son of God.
July
5, 2001
R. It is
painful to see injustices in the world.
We go through sufferings
concerning injustices in the world. Mary cries out about the sins of her
children. We identify with Jesus. He knew all the souls that would be lost
despite His suffering.
Be with Jesus in the
garden of Gethsemane and see the sins of the world. Pray for knowledge to know
more about the souls being lost. We must pray more fervently. Beg for mercy
from God for our sins and the sins of the world.
I could write forever of
those moments of Mary as she stood beneath the cross or when she held the
lifeless body of her Son in her lap.
She shared in His Passion.
She stood and watched Him suffer. She did not take a pill to numb her pain,
nor was there any mechanism used to dull it. Every moment was with full
intensity as she watched His mutilated body be drained more and more of fluid
and blood until He took His last breath, giving His life for His precious
souls.
A person watching someone
linger with cancer can identify with Mary as she watched her beloved Son die.
We will die.
We must keep our focus on
the life hereafter.
A woman of beauty, our
Mother Mary, God allowed Mary to suffer.
Luke 2: 35
and a sword will
pierce your soul too—so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid
bare.’
~ The Seven Sorrows of Mary ~
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1. The Prophecy of
Simeon
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2. The Flight into Egypt
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3. The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple
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4. Jesus and Mary Meet on the Way to the Cross
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5. Jesus Dies on the Cross
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6. Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross and Laid in Mary's Arms
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7. The Burial of Jesus
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end of the Seven Sorrows
R. Many
times we try to alleviate suffering from our lives.
Suffering was a major part
of the life of Mary.
Her heart was filled with
such knowledge. She knew joy and suffering. She watched her Son die a pitiable
death. Jesus is the Lamb of God.
We think we are so smart
here. Do we really know the ways of our God? We think the way it is at present
may go on and on. The flower eventually withers and fades and the beauty of
the full blossoming flower goes with time. A flower, once an instrument of awe
because of its beauty, may soon be thrown on a dung heap pile.
Our bodies may deteriorate
and decay, but God promises eternal life to those who love and serve Him.
Be with Mary outside the
tomb of Christ. Feel the emotion in Mary’s heart.
Pray for sorrow for our
sins and light to know God more and more.
Contemplate the joy of
Mary to know Christ has risen.
She saw her little baby
born in Bethlehem. Now she sees Him die on the cross. Christ her beloved Son,
rose victorious. We receive a sharing in His Divine life through baptism.
The rosary is so
beautiful. We meditate on the lives of Jesus and Mary.
We identify our lives with
Theirs. We live His life, death and resurrection in our lives. We ask God to
help us grow in a greater likeness to the New Adam and the New Eve.
Many times we take our
health for granted. God can call us from this life at any moment.
end of September 24, 2000
Excerpt from Priestly Newsletter 1998 - ISSUE FOUR
Shortly before he was to die from
cancer, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin left us these inspiring words about peace:
"It is the first day of November, and fall is giving way to winter.
Soon the trees will lose the vibrant colors of their leaves and snow will
cover the ground. The earth will shut down, and people will race to and from
their destinations bundled up for warmth. Chicago winters are harsh. It is a
time of dying.
"But we know that spring will soon come with all its
new life and wonder.
"It is quite clear that I will not be alive in the
spring. But I will soon experience new life in a different way...
"What I would like to leave behind is a simple
prayer that each of you may find what I have found—God's
special gift to us all: the gift of peace. When we are at peace, we find the
freedom to be most fully who we are, even in the worst of times. We let go
of what is non-essential and embrace what is essential. We empty ourselves
so that God may more fully work within us. And we become instruments in the
hands of the Lord."
3
Notes:
3. Joseph Cardinal Bernardin,
The Gift of
Peace, Loyola University Press, pp. 151-153.
R. In the Gospel in Holy Wednesday Mass we
see the Last Supper and Jesus tells
of Judas' betrayal –
We are being prepared for Holy Thursday –
Really the dying of any man, a suffering
death, can be identified with Jesus' death –
It can be a lingering disease like Parkinson's.
It can be a disease someone knows they have –
Jesus was scourged - then marched through the
streets a bloody mess, to make a spectacle
out of the criminal before He was crucified
to His death –
They did it that way with criminals that day –
We deserve to suffer for our sins –
Jesus suffered a heroic death for us –
Jesus did not sin.
Jesus and Mary ask us to help make reparation
for the awful sins in the world –
Jesus suffered so much in the Garden for the sins of all
men, He knew, He sweat blood.
Disease is like this, I don't remember a lot when
my mom died, but she suffered, they
removed her breast and grafted skin from
her leg, I remember seeing this –
It was a bloody mess, like Christ - who
suffered so and then went to the crucifixion –
Mental torments, sickness at night, pain
from a disease can be identified with
Christ in His bitter passion and can
help bring down great grace –
Christ was not a criminal, but He suffered
for men's sins –
We go to Mass and the Mass is the sacrifice of Calvary
sacramentally made present. Our whole life, identified
with Christ, is a dying and rising in Him –
Disease before death can be identified with
Christ's bitter passion –
He did no wrong and He suffered for our
sins.
God has asked us to put on Christ –
The world ways
"Oh you are suffering, that shouldn't
be"
God has shown us martyrs who suffered
so much –
Padre Pio with the stigmata suffered –
God pours down grace when people suffer
and identify it with Jesus.
Waiting can be great suffering –
People suffering from loss of a job and
their family could not have what
they need – Suffering and love
Suffering of Churches, Schools, even
the people in the Vatican have
to pay bills – Suffering –
The body of Christ lives the life, death
and resurrection in their lives –
I am sure my step-mom went through suffering
to live to 95 as her friends died and less
and less things worked, she had to let
people take care of her, give up her home
and go to a Nursing Home –
How are we doing identifying our lives with
His life, death and resurrection –
That is what God wants - to live, in our lives,
the life, death and resurrection of Christ
and this can bring down great grace –
Decision making, is suffering –
Diseases are sufferings –
The children being sick –
The cleaning up to live in a nice house –
Whatever it is we have to do, that is suffering –
let us identify with the bloody body of
Jesus as He carried the cross to Calvary –
And see Mary and her 7 sorrows, how
she said "yes".
Mary was the perfect handmaid of
the Lord. Mary lived most perfectly
by Christ's side.
Revelation 1: 5-8
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First–born
from the dead, the
highest of earthly kings. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and
made us a Kingdom of Priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory
and power for ever and ever. Amen. Look, he is coming on the clouds; everyone will
see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn
over him. Indeed this shall be so. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’
says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
R. In this Gospel we see the young Jesus
in the synagogue Luke 4: 16-21.
Luke 4: 16-21
He came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and
went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day as he usually did. He
stood up to read, and they handed him the scroll of the prophet
Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:
The spirit of the Lord is on me,
for he has anointed me
to bring the good news to the afflicted.
He has sent me
to proclaim liberty to captives,
sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim a year of favour
from the Lord.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the
assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the
synagogue were fixed on him. Then
he began to speak to them, 'This text is being fulfilled today even
while you are listening.'
R. We see Jesus' Apostles, that they were not
perfect – Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss –
his heart was not as it should be –
Peter denied Jesus 3 times, but he was
sorry and was made the Vicar of the Church –
We see the Apostles, except John were not there
at the Crucifixion – they were afraid –
how could they do that to Jesus –
How when the body of Christ is suffering
can we be so selfish and not help and
pray, when the world is the way it
is and Jesus asked Fr. Carter to do this!
July 31, 1994
Words of Jesus to
Members of
Shepherds of Christ Associates:
"My beloved
priest-companion, I intend to use the priestly newsletter, Shepherds
of Christ, and the movement, Shepherds of Christ Associates,
in a powerful way for the renewal of My Church and the world.
"I will use the newsletter
and the chapters of Shepherds of Christ Associates as a powerful
instrument for spreading devotion to My Heart and My Mother's Heart.
"I am calling many to
become members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. To all of them
I will give great blessings. I will use them as instruments to help
bring about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My
Sacred Heart. I will give great graces to the members of Shepherds of
Christ Associates. I will call them to be deeply united to My Heart
and to Mary's Heart as I lead them ever closer to My Father in the Holy
Spirit."
- Message from
Jesus to Father Edward J. Carter, S.J., Founder, as given on July 31,
1994,
feast of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus
(The Jesuits)
A message for the Earth from Jesus
January 22, 1998
I am the Good Shepherd, these are My
prayers, the prayers I give to help renew the Church and the world, all
prayer chapters are asked to include these prayers (found in the Shepherds
of Christ Prayer Manual). As My Apostles and Shepherds I ask you to
encourage all existing Chapters to try to encourage all existing prayer
groups to pray the Shepherds of Christ prayers. Encourage all Churches to
pray these prayers. It is most urgent that the people of this earth concur
with the Father's wishes to begin Prayer Chapters. This is an urgent request
from the Good Shepherd. The flock will become one when they have given their
hearts to Jesus and Mary. Encourage all priests to pray the Shepherds of
Christ prayers. Your world will be lighted with great light as the people of
this earth pray these prayers.
My promise is this to you My beloved
earth: When you give your heart to Me and spread the devotion to My Sacred
Heart, I will write your name In My Heart. I promise to give the greatest
graces when you pray these prayers for renewal of the Church and the world
and take all who pray them deeply into My Heart. The prayers I give will
bring about the reign of My Sacred Heart and the triumph of Mary's
Immaculate Heart. I am Jesus Christ, this is My message of January 22, 1998,
Please circulate this message to your world. I am the Good Shepherd, I know
Mine and Mine know Me and they follow Me. Grace My Shepherds, I will give
you the greatest graces for spreading these words to this earth and to your
Church. I love you, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, it is the Plan of the
Father that Prayer Chapters are begun immediately and the Priestly
Newsletter is given to all priests. The Voice of the Good Shepherd speaks
through it.
end of January 22, 1998
R. Jesus went through a trial and He was
not guilty, but He suffered for our
sins.
R. Fr. Carter use to say –
From Priestly Newsletter March/April 1995
The great tragedy
concerning human suffering is not that there is so much of it.
The real tragedy is that apparently so much of it is wasted. So
much of it apparently is not coped with according to God’s will.
R. God made a covenant with us –
He gives us baptism –
We live out Christ's mysteries in our lives –
We live His life, death and resurrection in
our lives –
We are to be rich in Jesus Christ –
John 14: 23
When that day comes,
you will not ask me any questions.
In all truth I tell you,
anything you ask from the Father
he will grant in my name.
R. Jesus is the suffering Messiah –
and this is God's Plan.
April 5, 2001
September 4, 2004
Mark 8: 27-33
Jesus and his disciples left for the villages
round Caesarea Philippi. On the way he put this question to his
disciples, 'Who do people say I am?' And they told him, 'John
the Baptist, others Elijah, others again, one of the prophets.'
'But you,' he asked them, 'who do you say I am?' Peter spoke up
and said to him, 'You are the Christ.' And he gave them strict
orders not to tell anyone about him.
Then he began to teach them that the Son of
man was destined to suffer
grievously, and to be rejected by the elders and the chief
priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three
days to rise again; and he said all this quite openly. Then,
taking him aside, Peter tried to rebuke him. But, turning and
seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to him, 'Get
behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as
God thinks, but as human beings
do.'
R. When we convert - we turn to God –
We live for God and not for self –
We can selfishly serve ourselves for
most of our life –
then have a conversion –
LIVE for Christ –
Giving ourselves totally to Christ!
We work to purify ourselves of
faults and sins!
We seek the virtues!
We can wander around for years working
our own plan - trying to make our
selfishness work –
Remember the tower of Babel –
Remember the pride of the king who
wouldn't listen and then there
was the Babylonian exile –
The nations are scattered, because
men are scattered from God and
selfish in their hearts –
On their throne is their selfish
ways - they need to consecrate
their hearts to Jesus and Mary –
Give themselves to God –
Conversion – a change of heart –
a turning to God –
giving oneself to God –
not living selfishly serving oneself –
Selfishness in the heart –
Give oneself totally to Christ
James 2: 14-16
How does it help, my brothers,
when someone who has never done a single good act claims to have
faith? Will that faith bring salvation? If one of the brothers
or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not enough
food to live on, and one of you says to them, 'I wish you well;
keep yourself warm and eat plenty,' without giving them these
bare necessities of life, then what good is that?
Mark 8: 34 - 9:1
He called the people and his
disciples to him and said, 'If anyone wants to be a follower
of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and
follow me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it;
but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake
of the gospel, will save it. What gain, then, is it for
anyone to win the whole world and forfeit his life? And
indeed what can anyone offer in exchange for his life? For
if anyone in this sinful and adulterous generation is
ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of man will also be
ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with
the holy angels.'
And he said to them, 'In
truth I tell you, there are some standing here who will not
taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with
power.'
R. The Lord suffered and so must we!
Conversion is in our hearts
R.
The root of good and evil is in the
depth of our hearts –
To love God with our whole heart, our
whole soul and our whole being –
from the depth of our heart –
Living the consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary –
wanting to turn from our selfish ways
and have a heart like Mary –
perfect handmaid of the Lord –
The Blue Books and the Shepherds of Christ is to help us
change our hearts to be like the Hearts of Jesus and Mary –
It is a way of life –
We must seek conversion - to change our
hearts deeply for good –
to turn our lives toward Jesus and
put away self-centeredness –
To see through our eyes –
seeing Jesus first –
not bad selfish habits, pride, jealousy,
greed, envy, pride, affections,
lust
We need virtue –
We see the faith of our forefathers –
who did what God called them to do!
Man must be renewed from inside!
Not seek pleasures serving oneself in
pride and power and affections –
Man must turn away from selfish bad habits
and turn and change these ways –
serving God, not his bad prideful, envious
habits any longer - that give him a moments
pleasure, serve satan and corrupts the heart.
It is a process of dying to the selfish pleasures,
controls, ugliness and having a rebirth
spiritually to putting on Christ, turning
to Christ, putting Christ first in their
lives –
False hearts brings darkness inside,
lying, pride, anger, envy,
jealousy are the ways satan
wants the person to not love
their brothers, but see them as
an enemy. Satan is the enemy –
They must seek conversion –
turning one's heart to conversion –
Consecrating their hearts to Jesus and Mary –
INTERIOR RENEWAL
This is the purpose of the Shepherds of Christ –
Putting Christ on the throne –
Living His life, death and resurrection
in our lives –
Dying to selfish pleasures from pride and
jealousy and envy, gluttony, power,
greed, seeking affections for self glory –
Be unselfish –
Be persons of peace
Mary is the Queen of Peace –
James 3: 13-18
Anyone who is wise or understanding among you should
from a good life give evidence of deeds done in the gentleness of
wisdom. But if at heart you have the bitterness of jealousy, or
selfish ambition, do not be boastful or hide the truth with lies;
this is not the wisdom that comes from above, but earthly, human and
devilish. Wherever there are jealousy and ambition, there are also
disharmony and wickedness of every kind; whereas the wisdom that
comes down from above is essentially something pure; it is also
peaceable, kindly and considerate; it is full of mercy and shows
itself by doing good; nor is there any trace of partiality or
hypocrisy in it. The peace sown by peacemakers brings a harvest of
justice.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus we place our trust
in You
R. TRUST, TRUST and LOVE
People who cause conflicts, must be
converted and turn their hearts
to God – Conflicts come from selfish
jealous, envious, angry, prideful
hearts –
How can you expect anything but that,
to come from dark hearts –
Conversion –
Focusing on God's presence in us –
Loving Hearts –
Consecrated hearts to Jesus and Mary
Following Jesus
Putting on Christ
Imitating Christ who died for
our sins in loving us so much.
Our whole life should be to do
God's will in love –
Jesus doesn't want jealous hearts,
envious hearts, prideful
hearts –
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life –
Jesus took flesh to teach us how
to be –
Jesus is attractive in His ways –
loving in His Heart –
God is all just!
We were created to know, love and serve God –
Be upright in heart –
Be like the Heart of Jesus –
Discern the Spirits
Sing: Give me Your Heart oh Jesus
Copyright
© 2014 Shepherds of Christ.