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| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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April 25, 2021
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April 26th Holy Spirit Novena |
The Novena Rosary
Mysteries |
Please Pray for Fr. Joe & Bob
Prayer for Grace for our Country
Dear Father united to Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacrifice of Calvary sacramentally made present, celebrated around the world, in the Holy Spirit. We offer up all we do united to the Mass. We unite in one mind and one heart as members of the mystical body of Christ, with Christ our head in the pure and holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary, through the powerful intercession of Mary with all the angels and saints and souls in purgatory, and we beg for the saving grace, for our country, the United States. Please help us. We further pray for unity to always do the will of God in love. We spread the Blood of Jesus on the leaders and people of the United States and cast the devil into hell. We consecrate our country to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart and all our dioceses, and beg for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. God help us. We pray for our families, the priests, the Church and the world. In the Name of Jesus please hear us, we pray. We pray for our president and leaders. We pray that we are united as one nation under God to work together in love as God wants.
April 25, 2021 - Good Shepherd Sunday
Today's Gospel
John 10: 11-18
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. And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and I must lead these too. They too will listen to my voice, and there will be only one flock, one shepherd. The Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will, and as I have power to lay it down, so I have power to take it up again; and this is the command I have received from my Father.
Through Him, With Him, In Him
Shepherds of Christ
The Sacramentary, Catholic Book Publishing Co., p. 463.MAY/JUNE 1995
Chief Shepherd of the Flock
We have all seen many pictures of the Good Shepherd. Regarding those I myself have seen, I have come to the following conclusion: creating images of the Good Shepherd seems to bring out the best in artists, at least in the majority of them. Most representations of the Good Shepherd I have seen are able to portray the love, the concern, the tenderness, and the strength of Jesus to an admirable degree.
Yes, Jesus the Good Shepherd reveals to us the above characteristics. He shows to all His love, concern, tenderness, and strength. But Jesus also reveals Himself to us on a most individual basis. He reveals Himself to me as my Savior—so loving, so concerned about me, so tender, so strong. He reveals Himself to me as the God-man Who longs to have a deep love relationship with me as this unique individual. What is my response? Is my response modeled after that of St. Paul, who realized Christ’s gift of Himself in His passion and death was made for each of us in a most personal way, and, realizing this to the depths of his being, gave himself completely to Christ in the deepest love? Notice how personalized Paul makes the redemptive suffering and death and love of Jesus. In the letter to the Galatians he does not use the plural but the singular: “I have been crucified with Christ, and I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in this body I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake.” (Gal 2:19-20).
Editor's Corner
By Edward Carter S.J.
This particular time of the year witnesses the ordination of young (and, more and more, not so young!) men to the priesthood. It is a time of happiness, when we rejoice with the newly ordained and with their parents and friends.
This time of the year, with its numerous ordinations, offers each of us who have been given the great gift of the priesthood an opportunity to reflect upon our own priestly existence. As we profusely thank God for the great gift of being a priest of Jesus Christ, we have the timely opportunity to ask ourselves how we have used our priestly existence, how we are using it now, and how we intend to use it in the future. We can ask ourselves these questions given to us by St. Ignatius Loyola: “What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I do for Christ?”
This time of the year also offers us an appropriate opportunity to resolve to begin to pray for priests on a daily basis—if we do not already do so. Here is a suggested prayer: “Lord Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the Flock, we pray that in the great love and mercy of Your Heart 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 priestly Heart and Mary’s maternal Heart, we ask that You take this petition to your heavenly Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit.”
Reflections on Union with Jesus
The above considerations easily lead us to the following reflections:
Jesus invites us but He does not coerce. He offers a religion which expands the person, not one which morbidly constricts. He offers us the fullness of life, but He does not say there will be no suffering involved. He wants us to live the human condition as His intimate friends.
Living our life with Jesus is not meant to be a part-time occupation: “Whatever you eat, whatever you drink, whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31).
To follow Jesus is not to lessen our being authentically human. Rather to follow Jesus allows us to be more human. In Christ we have a deepened, graced capacity to be human.
Jesus has died and risen. We have been baptized into His death and resurrection. Each Christian act is characterized by this Christlike pattern. Whether we work or play, experience success or failure, are admired or ridiculed, taste ecstatic happiness or feel especially afflicted by the sorrowful aspect of human existence, we are dying and rising with Jesus.
Why should the world’s harsh dimension blind the Christian concerning its basic truth, goodness, and beauty? For to travel life’s journey with this friend Jesus is to share His vision, a vision which permits us to see the world’s Christlike image, which nothing—absolutely nothing—can destroy.
Jesus loves each of us as precious, unique individuals. Allowing the realization of this simple but awesome truth to guide us is to walk the path which leads to the highest holiness.
The committed Christian must consistently ask, “Is Jesus really the focal point of my existence?”
“How many Christians really listen to Jesus’ message and live it?” is a question I can ask but cannot answer. “How do I listen to Jesus’ message and live it?” is a question I should ask and can answer.
Jesus gathers up what are otherwise the all-too-fragmented pieces of my existence—the joy and the pain, the laughter and the tears, the success and the failure—and molds these into a Christlike unity.
We are an enigma to ourselves when we seek happiness apart from the way of Jesus, knowing within the depths of our being that following such a path leads to hideous frustration.
This or that person may not realize our present suffering. But Jesus knows—and He cares.
The tender and reassuring touch of Jesus—we can vividly experience this in all sorts of situations, and sometimes when we least expect it.
Jesus chose to lead much of His life in an obscure and disparaged place called Nazareth. This tells us something if we have ears with which to hear.
It is sad but true that many Christians seem to have little or no desire for learning more about Jesus. Yet they eagerly pursue further knowledge concerning all sorts of other things. Let us pray for the grace never to be so blind.
To grow in union with Jesus is to be increasingly possessed by His love. So possessed, we eagerly want to spend ourselves in love for God and neighbor, no matter what the cost.
Jesus loved us and poured Himself out for us until there was no more to give. This is the poignant beauty of His life.
How can we refuse to love anybody, since all have been touched by Jesus’ redemptive blood?
Jesus looked at me, and His gaze was so attractive. Jesus has reached out and touched me, and brought me to His Heart. This has been by happiness.
Jesus has left His indelible imprint upon the human condition by the way He loved—in laughter and in tears, in work and in relaxation, in suffering and in rejoicing.
At times we can refuse the voice of Jesus—we do not respond, we do not give, we do not grow in selflessness, we simply do not live as we should. Is it because of fear, or laziness, or sensuality, or pride, or rationalization?
The acclaimed and the unnoticed, the lettered and the uneducated, the old and the young, the laborer and the scholar, the comely and the homely—people from all classes and situations have, over the ages, been inspired by the One called Jesus.
His enemies have tried to stamp out the memory of Jesus. Yet He and His message are still vitally present, so much so that for countless persons life is meaningless without Him.
Our own enthusiasm for Jesus can be aided by recalling the fervor of those who have preceded us in the cause of Christ. One of these, St. Ignatius of Antioch, wrote during the first ages of Christianity: “Neither the kingdoms of this world nor the bounds of the universe have any use for me. I would rather die for Jesus Christ than rule the last reaches of the earth. My search is for Him Who died for us; my love is for Him who rose for our salvation.”2
Jesus knows our weakness far better than we ourselves. Still He expects great things of us. Indeed, He has left us a unique formula, one that seems strange to the unbelieving: our weakness plus His strength can accomplish the marvelous, whether the marvelous be hidden or well-known, whether it appear to others as extremely important or seemingly insignificant.
“My one hope and trust is that I shall never have to admit defeat, but that now as always I shall have the courage for Christ to be glorified in my body, whether by my life or by my death. Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then death would bring me something more…” (Ph 1:20-21).
Thomas Merton on the Need for Silence
Here are some inspiring and insightful words of Thomas Merton on the need for prayerful silence in our lives:
“Silence does not exist in our lives for its own sake. It is ordered to something else. Silence is the mother of speech. A lifetime of silence is ordered to an ultimate declaration, which can be put into words, a declaration of all we have lived for.
“Life and death, words and silence, are given us because of Christ…In Him we die to illusion and live to truth. We speak to confess Him, and we are silent in order to meditate on Him and enter deeper into His silence, which is at once the silence of death and of eternal life—the silence of Good Friday night and the peace of Easter morning.
“We receive Christ’s silence into our hearts when first we speak from our heart the word of faith. We work out our salvation in silence and in hope. Silence is the strength of our interior life. Silence enters into the very core of our moral being, so that if we have no silence we have no morality. Silence enters mysteriously into the composition of all the virtues, and silence preserves them from corruption.
“If we fill our lives with silence, then we live in hope, and Christ lives in us and gives our virtues much substance. Then, when the time comes, we confess Him openly before men, and our confession has much meaning because it is rooted in deep silence. It awakens the silence of Christ in the hearts of those who hear us, so that they themselves fall silent and begin to wonder and to listen. For they have begun to discover their true selves.”3
The Role of Private Revelation in the Life of the Church
In these our times there have been numerous reports from around the world of events regarding alleged private revelations. Messages from alleged visionaries and locutionists abound. Many people are at least somewhat confused regarding how one should react to all this.
It seems appropriate, therefore, to offer some thoughts concerning the role of private revelation in the life of the Church.
First of all, we must realize the Church recognizes that private revelation has a role to play in the life of the Church. The Catechism says:
“Throughout the ages, there have been so-called ‘private revelations,’ some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history.”4
We would now like to offer the thoughts of some contemporary theologians regarding this role of private revelation: Harvey Egan, S.J., says: “Private revelations often presuppose the gift of prophecy. Prophetic revelations commission the mystic to address the entire Church, or a significant portion. He must deliver a message, plead for a particular devotion, call for conversion and penance, warn against certain aberrations in Church life…suggest new styles of life or spiritual doctrine, or foretell the future. Those post-apostolic, prophetic revelations, therefore, apply the faith in a practical way to daily Christian living.”5
Jordan Aumann, O.P., observes: “There have always been persons gifted with prophecy, as is testified by Scripture and the processes of canonization of the servants of God. Nevertheless, private revelations do not pertain to the deposit of faith, which consists of the truths contained in Scripture and Tradition under the vigilance of the Church.”6
Karl Rahner, S.J., offers the following regarding private revelation: “A private revelation as a mission to the Church signifies…an imperative which, within the context of a particular historical situation of the Church, points out a particular course of action from among the many possible according to the universal and public revelation as the one most urgently needing to be realized. The new feature in such a private revelation consists therefore not in its particular material elements but in the imperative marking and shifting of accentuation within the possibilities of Christianity…Hence the private revelation as a mission to the Church can be conceived as a heavenly imperative interpretation of the particular situation of the Church at this time; it answers the question as to what is most urgently to be done here and now in accordance with the general principles of the faith.”7
It would be wrong, consequently, to deny the existence and proportionate importance of private revelation in the life of the Church. Such an attitude would be in opposition to the teaching of the Church and that of reputable theologians. Private revelation is yet another sign of God’s overwhelming love towards us. In His great love He has given us the truths of faith as contained in public revelation. In His ongoing love for us He gives us private revelation to aid us in the living of public revelation. We should not, therefore, be indifferent to the role God has assigned to private revelation in the life of the Church.
It might be well at this point to offer a description of what occurs when a person receives an apparition and/or locution (message). Joseph de Guibert, S.J., one of the most eminent mystical theologians of this century, says:
“A distinction is made between corporeal, imaginative, and intellectual visions. This distinction can also be applied to locutions. In corporeal visions and locutions there is a real perception by the external senses; the person who is seen or heard may be really present, or (in corporeal visions) the body which appears may be formed in the air, or a change may be affected at the moment the light-rays impinge on the eye, or (in corporeal locutions) a real acoustical vibration may be produced in the ears. In imaginative visions and locutions there is no perception by the external senses, but, rather, a Divine action on the imagination or the internal senses…In intellectual visions and locutions the Divine action directly affects the intellect.”8
What should one’s attitude be regarding alleged instances of private revelation which have not yet been the subject of official Church investigation—and perhaps never will be? First, one should always recognize that the final authority regarding private revelations rests with the Holy See of Rome, to whose judgment we should willingly submit. Secondly, one may personally act upon these messages of private revelation if a person observes that they contain nothing contrary to faith and morals and that they help bring one closer to God. Our Lord has said: “…a sound tree produces good fruit but a rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit.” (Mt 7:17-18).
A good example of what we have just said is the situation regarding the alleged apparitions and messages at Medjugorje. The Church’s investigation of this site is ongoing. No definitive decision has been made. In the meantime, the Church is not forbidding the faithful to go to Medjugorje. She is not forbidding them to personally accept the messages, presuming, again, they contain nothing contrary to faith and morals. Millions of pilgrims have gone to Medjugorje, including thousands of priests and hundreds of bishops.
An outstanding example of the importance of the role of private revelation in the life of the Church is that of Fatima. The Church has formally approved the message of Fatima as being worthy of belief. In her July 13, 1917, message, Our Blessed Mother said: “The war (World War I, then raging) is going to end. But if people do not stop offending God, another and worse one will begin in the reign of Pius XI. When you shall see a night illuminated by an unknown light (January 2, 1938), know that this is the great sign that God gives you that He is going to punish the world for its many crimes by means of war, hunger, and persecution of the Church and the Holy Father.
“To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the five first Saturdays. If my requests are granted, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, she will scatter her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be destroyed…
“But in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph, the Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, Russia will be converted, and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world.”9
There is more to the requests of Our Lady of Fatima besides those elements contained in the above message. But these aspects of the Fatima message are obviously critical ones.
Because enough people did not respond to Mary’s requests made at Fatima, we did have World War II and all the horrors connected with the rise of Russian dominated Communism. Again, Fatima is a prime example of the importance the role of private revelation can assume in the life of the Church. Popes Pius XII and Paul VI made visits to Fatima, as has Pope John Paul II.
Concerning new apparitions, revelations, etc., there was an important decree issued under Pope Paul VI. This decree of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith A.A.S.58.1186 (approved by Pope Paul VI on October 14, 1966) states that the Imprimatur is no longer required on publications that deal with new revelations, apparitions, prophesies or miracles. It is presumed that such publications contain nothing contrary to faith and morals.
Here are some current messages of private revelation. Readers obviously are free to make up their own minds concerning them:
Jesus: “I want adoration of the Eucharist back. I want people to know I am God and I am coming to them in Holy Communion. I want the Blessed Sacrament exposed. I want My churches open. Union with Jesus, the love of Jesus, trust, faith, love for one another, love of God—I want all of these preached from the pulpit!
“You are under attack, My beloved priests, and you, in your busyness, are being led away from your union with Jesus. Bring yourselves back to Me and let Me give you My love…I wait for My beloved ones at the altar. I long for private union with My beloved ones.
“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Come and be lifted up to heights you never dreamed possible. I am God. Put your lives in My hands. Let me run your life. Bring your lives back to Jesus in the tabernacle.”10
Mary: “Dear children! Today again, I want to call you to begin to live the new life from today onward. Dear children, I want you to comprehend that God has chosen each one of you in order to use you for the great plan of salvation of mankind. You cannot comprehend how great your role is in God’s plan. Therefore, dear children, pray so that, through prayer, you may comprehend God’s plan toward you. I am with you so that you can realize it completely.”11
St. Catherine of Sienna
Ignio Giordani offers us insightful thoughts concerning Catherine of Sienna, Saint and Doctor of the Church: “All the strivings of theologians and diplomats and preachers and missionaries are to no avail if they do not lead to love. By loving, one gives the life of God to the loved one. As St. John of the Cross will say: ‘Where you do not find love, implant love and you will find love!’ And Christ said to Catherine: ‘He who knows himself to be loved cannot do otherwise than love; in loving he will put on the spirit of Christ crucified, and in the tempestuous sea of many troubles he will find himself at peace.’”12
Elsewhere, Giordani observes: “Man is like a candle to be lighted—to be lighted in God. The combustible material is love. As the heavenly Father will say to Catherine: ‘Your material is love because I have created you for love; hence without love you cannot live.’ Without love one must die: a lamp without oil goes out.
“This light is lighted day by day above all at the flame of the Eucharist, sacrament of love. ‘The soul,’ Jesus will say on another occasion to Catherine, ‘receiving this Sacrament lives in me and I in it…’”13
The Heart of Christ
June is the month especially dedicated to the Heart of Christ. In the preface of the Mass for the Solemn Feast of the Sacred Heart, the Church puts before us these words: “Lifted high on the cross, Christ gave his life for us, so much did he love us. From his wounded side flowed blood and water, the fountain of sacramental life in the Church. To his open heart the Savior invites all…to draw water in joy from the springs of salvation.”14 Who would want to refuse the Savior’s invitation?
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 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 the 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.
The Holy Spirit in Our Lives
As the closing words of the act of consecration remind us, Jesus leads us to the Father in the Holy Spirit with Mary at our side. The Holy Spirit desires to fashion us into an ever greater likeness of Christ according to Jesus’ pattern of death-resurrection. Mary our Mother cooperates with the Spirit, Whose spouse she is, in this process. Obviously, we should pray to the Holy Spirit each day. There are many ways we can do this. We can do this by simply turning our attention to the Spirit at various times during the day as we ask for His guidance. This method can also be complemented by saying certain established prayers. Here is one of these: “Come Holy Spirit, almighty Sanctifier. God of love, Who filled the Virgin Mary with grace, Who wonderfully changed the hearts of the apostles, Who endowed all your martyrs with miraculous courage, come and sanctify us. Enlighten our minds, strengthen our wills, purify our consciences, rectify our judgment, set our hearts on fire, and preserve us from the misfortunes of resisting Your inspirations. Amen.”
Letters
We thank all those who have taken the time to write us. We very much appreciate your letters. Space limitations permit us to publish only a few of these:
Dear Ed, I just wanted to take this chance to thank you for sending to me the Shepherds of Christ Newsletter. I have appreciated it very much, both to keep in touch with what you are doing and to enjoy the rich variety of topics needed for priestly reflection today—topics like friendship, prayer, and the Holy Spirit (a subject close to a Paulist’s heart) in recent issues.
Sincerely,
Larry Boadt, CSP Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ
I like your newsletter very much. Shepherds of Christ gave me plenty of food for prayer!
Fr. Michael A. Becker St. Rose of Lima, Altoona, PA.
NOTES :
Scriptural quotations are taken from The New Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday & Co.
“St. Ignatius of Antioch, The Letters,” as in The Fathers of The Church, Fathers of the Church, Inc., p. 110.
A Thomas Merton Reader, Thomas McDonnell, editor, Doubleday, p. 459.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #67, p. 23.
Harvey Egan, S.J., Christian Mysticism, Pueblo Publishing, p. 311.
Jordan Aumann, O.P., Spiritual Theology, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., p. 429.
Karl Rahner, S.J., Theological Investigations, Helicon Press, Vol. III, pp. 338-339.
Joseph de Guibert, S.J., The Theology of the Spiritual Life, Sheed & Ward, pp. 355-356.
Our Lady of Fatima’s Peace Plan from Heaven, Tan Publishers, pp. 4-5.
God’s Blue Book: The Fire of His Love, messages received by Rita Ring, Shepherds of Christ Publications, p.35.
Our Lady of Medjugorje, October 25, 1987, message as in Live the Messages by D.R. Golob, The Riehle Foundation.
Ignio Giordani, Catherine of Sienna, Bruce Publishing, p. 122.
Ibid., pp. 121-122.
I Am The Good Shepherd
January 30, 1994 6:40 a.m.
Jesus: I teach, you listen. I am Jesus, the Son of God. Do you wander a barren desert in search of treasure? Have you found any on your way? Do you ever, on this earth, say, "Oh, now I possess the true treasure and my heart is at rest?"
Restless is your heart until you rest in Me. You search a barren desert, you find a would-be treasure in the field, you possess it for an instant and it is gone. The glow, the wanting, the yearning and then it is over. You seek, you find. You are soon bored. You seek a person, "Oh, this one will make my life happy." You avidly work to attain another's love. You receive, you have, you are bored. "Is that all there is?," you ask. Only the love of Jesus is long lasting. My love is all that is not momentary. You come to Me, you seek Me, you find peace. You know your search is not in vain. You know that your journey has begun to the true treasure. Your heart is ready for what God has to give you and you are not bored. You want more. The more you seek Me, the more you want Me. You crave union with God.
Oh, to know Me a little but not enough, to want to be close, but not be as close as you desire! I am the Good Shepherd. I hold you, I comfort you, I watch you fumble around. You little lambs, I watch you follow even when you do not know where you are going. I watch you on your feeble search for your goal. You wander, you bump into each other, you go to the end of the hill, you roll over. You are little sheep. I stand by your side. I lead you. I am ever present, but you get caught up in your limited vision and you look to those around you for your lead and then you say, "Oh, how did I get so far off course?"
I am the Good Shepherd. I lead. You must follow Me. If you watch the Good Shepherd, you are not lead astray. I love you and I guide you. You watch others and they know no more than you. They are led astray by those sheep around them. Who knows the way, the Shepherd or the sheep?
Keep your eyes on Jesus. Come and find your way in front of the tabernacle. Come and be alone with Me, all day in short periods of silence. Close your eyes at your work and bring your thoughts entirely back to Me. Make a Spiritual Communion.
The sheep that surround you today are very much off their course. They wander aimlessly about and many follow roads that are directly leading to sin. Do not look to your co-workers and your TV. You need Me on your journey each day. Stop often and be in union with Me. If you do not take time to be silent and alone, even at your work, your mind gets cluttered and you may be led astray.
You must be in constant union with Me. To pray to Me is good. You need a deliberate act of silence and time to be absolutely alone with Me. It may be three minutes at work, but those three minutes may save you in such a wayward world.
I am the Good Shepherd. I know Mine and they follow Me. You need My constant care. You need My constant direction. You need constant, uninterrupted periods of silence. At lunchtime you can go somewhere alone for three minutes and feed your soul. Feed your soul as you feed your body. If all you ate were breakfast, you would become crabby. You need this little break with complete silence. It is like eating a snack. It is like eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. Your world is so wayward. Take a few moments of silent time with Me throughout the day. It will keep your focus on Me and give Me a moment to charge you.
I am so loving to you. You need to operate from My love. This is your charge. This is your way. This is to keep you on your course. I am the Good Shepherd. You follow, I lead, not in the morning, then you go it alone all day. I lead all day. Your short periods of silence with Me will keep you on course. Come and be led by the Master. I am He Who loved you to My death. I am He Who does not let you go astray. I am He Whom you seek in this endless search for happiness. I am He Who is, your God, your one, true, love!
From Mass Book II
Fr. Carter saying Mass in China
Glorious Mysteries
The Resurrection
1. Sing: Glory, Glory, Glory Lord
2. March 15, 2002 After Mass
R. I just wanted to be alone with Him after communion. I wanted
intimacy with Him. I can go so deeply in an ecstatic experience
with Him. I want to be in such deep union with Him in my heart. When
I am one with Him I feel so one with the souls of the earth.
I feel one with those in the Church. I feel one with His chosen priests.
I long for the deep oneness amongst the people of the earth, as
He desires. My oneness with Him is always in that deep connection
with the Universal Church. My oneness reaches such heights in these
ecstatic experiences where I am so one with the Father, knowing
Him so intimately as His little child and loving so deeply all souls,
wanting so deeply in my soul the Father's will for all souls of
the earth.
My very deep connection is in such oneness with God, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, I exist so deeply in God in the Mass, I want
what He wants, my prayer so deep within me is for the will
of God on this earth.
And I cannot help but constantly, incessantly tell God of my
deep, deep, burning love for Him at Mass. I am so united to God, I
know each Person so deeply and so intimately, the depth of this
union so far beyond this pen and paper. It is in knowing each
Person so intimately, in loving God more deeply every moment
of my existence here on earth that I relate so deeply with Him in
this Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
My depth of union and my knowledge of the Father ever deepens
my desire for completeness with my God is the thirsting
within my soul.
My relationship with Jesus, my beloved Spouse, my Divine Bridegroom
takes on a deeper meaning every moment of my existence. My journey
into the spiritual life ever deepens. The flooding love within my
soul for God in the Mass I cannot ever explain. The Holy Spirit
fills my soul with the deepened presence of God's love.
3. Song: Your Presence Pervades my Soul
4. March 15, 2002 After Mass continues
R. I
am one in God. I want a deeper fullness in His divine Life.
I want completeness in Him. My heart longs for the beatific vision.
My God! I love Him so much. My deep love I cannot express.
I am taken into ecstasy in Him. My burning desire
for God in the Eucharist is so strong, I want Him, I
love Him, I want His Body and His Blood. I want this
intimacy with my God.
My soul cries for mercy for all the souls of the earth -
"Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
have mercy on us."
"Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
have mercy on us."
"Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
grant us peace."
At the beginning of Mass, we beg for grace to be released,
with all my heart I cry to our God.
Oh my tongue is parched and my soul longing for God.
I cry the day long for grace to be outpoured on the hungry
souls.
I feel so much depth in my heart when I communicate with Him.
I pray for the souls of the earth and our priests and our
Church and I know He hears me.
This is the promise God gave to Fr. Carter for those who pray
the Shepherds of Christ prayers.
5. 13th Promise - July 31, 1994
"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."
6. March 15, 2002 After Mass continues
R. And
He picked a priest in good standing, author of all
these books on the spiritual life to carry the
message.
It is intimacy we all crave and
God wants this intimacy with men.
This is the message.
The sickness is this: many seek intimacy, they
crave this, but they look in the wrong places.
Jesus promised Fr. Carter greater intimacy to those
who pray the prayers.
This is about this ever deeper union with the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit our souls crave.
The following writing was written by Fr. Carter in 1967-
33 years before the end of the second millennium.
This has been translated in 3 other languages early in
the seventies.
Fr. Carter was called to deliver these messages.
7. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1
I Lay Down My Life for My Sheep
Yes, the Good Shepherd laid down His life for us. And it is in this that we must lay down our lives daily in the Morning Offering, offering all we do as a sacrifice united to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and great grace will be released for souls. We can identify with Him in this that we offer everything we do in trying to please Him and serve Him as a sacrifice united to the Mass. The more we tell others to pray the Morning Offering, the more people will lay down their lives for souls and the more grace will be released for the troubled hearts.
Jesus’ Heart is pure and holy, our hearts are tainted.
Mary’s Heart is pure and sinless. The more we unite our offering with Their pure and holy Hearts, the more pure our offering and the greatest grace will be released for the troubled souls.
Souls, it is souls He came to save. Do we want to identify with our beloved Savior? Then we must not miss an opportunity to lay down our lives as a sacrifice for His precious souls.
Oh, how His Heart burned with love for the souls when He mounted the cross, covered with Blood and gave Himself as a sacrifice for souls.
Yes, the Good Shepherd laid down His life for His flock and we as His faithful shepherds must lay down our lives for His flock today.
There are millions of elderly that cry out daily, "Oh, God why am I here today?" In giving them a small card as simple as the ones that follow, they can offer their lives for souls which can help bring down great grace for the souls of this earth.
8. Say Daily Card
9. Morning Offering
My dear Father, I offer you this day all my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings in union with Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in the Holy Spirit.
I unite with our Mother, Mary, all the angels and saints, and all the souls in purgatory to pray to the Father for myself, for each member of my family, for my friends, for all people throughout the world, for all the souls in purgatory, and for all other intentions of the Sacred Heart.
I love You, Jesus, and I give You my heart. I love you, Mary, and I give you my heart. Amen.
10. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1
Offering Our Lives to God
Written May 29, 2000:
When we come to Mass we make an offering of ourselves, all our sorrows, wounds, joys, our complete selves. We see our lives and we put ourselves in Mary’s Heart, ask to make the offering in greatest purity. In His Heart we offer the sacrifice IN HIM and WITH HIM.
We become one with Him as deeply as possible. We dwell in His most perfect Heart offering sacrifice to God for our sins and the sins of men. Our whole being is very active in the Mass as we realize more the power of this Sacrifice most worthily offered. We want to give ourselves as completely as possible, our past, all of ourselves, now become so one in the moment of sacrifice as we become one in Him pleading and begging to our God for purification, for help, for love of Him and all others. We give thanksgiving, worship and honor to Him, our whole being given as a sacrifice on the altar IN His pure and holy Heart. Being in the Immaculate Heart of our Mother, we offer sacrifice for the Church and the world.
We offer every precious moment of our lives, united to the Masses around the world, being one in Jesus. Every moment is a moment of sacrifice united to God. This is what we do in the Morning Offering.
The pages of the book of our lives are being written. These moments of our lives are so dear to God, for we offer our lives as a sacrifice for souls.
Are we spending the precious moments of our lives offering sacrifice to God for His honor and glory and giving our lives as a sacrifice for souls?
Write a short page every day or the following day, similar to an examination of conscience, seeing the good (so much good we accomplish we overlook, so many precious moments of joy we forget) and the times we were troubled.
The devil tries to keep us focused on the problems.
We are His shepherds, helping to shepherd His flock, there is so much good we can accomplish every day.
We should write a short page every day, date it, read over it when we are troubled, keep it in a book, see how many joyful moments we have every day.
Give them to God as a bouquet of flowers placed at His feet on that last day, the pages of the life of our book.
We will want all pages to be done in love, all for the honor and glory of God.
Through Him, With Him
and In HimWe should pray the prayer from Jesus before His bitter passion.
I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me. May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so perfected in unity that the world will recognise that it was you who sent me and that you have loved them as you have loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Father, Upright One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them. (Jn 17: 20-26)
The Ascension
1. John 17: 20-26
I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me. May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so perfected in unity that the world will recognise that it was you who sent me and that you have loved them as you have loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Father, Upright One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.
2. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1
Jesus’ Heart is on fire for love of us.
God the Father loves us so much, give Him the moments of our lives as a sacrifice.
Peace, Love, Oneness – One Body In Him.
3. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
Our prayers are answered. We must pray from the depth of our hearts. Giving ourselves in consecration to Jesus, consecrating our hearts to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Offer sacrifice.
Put the flowers as gifts beneath the throne of God.
4. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
Plead and beg for souls.
Offer sacrifice. Be united as a body.
And the bell tolls.
Do you hear the bells toll?
The moments of our lives we cannot live again.
5. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
We are here to love and honor God and to serve Him, to prepare ourselves for the life hereafter and to help others get there.
He is the Son of God.He showed us how to be children of the Father.
He laid down His life for His flock.
He is the Good Shepherd.
6. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
We lay down our lives in our Morning Offering.
We lay down our lives and unite to the perfect Sacrifice of the Savior.
The moments go by with such swiftness and now here is the day, the kids are grown, the grandchildren have come,
and we still say, "TOMORROW I will be about my union with God."7. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
There are so many precious moments that could have been united as a sacrifice for special grace for ourselves and others.
When He was here on earth, He merited grace by His life and death.
We need to tap into this grace our Divine Savior came to earth to gain for us.
We must tap into this sacrifice.
8. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
The moments of our lives tick away. There are millions of souls in nursing homes that could be offering up their lives for souls. We have to unite ourselves and reach them, all the souls that will hear us and unite to this Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He is the Head, we are the members of His body, the Church. We must be united in the Mass, praying every moment together, being one in Him in this Holy Sacrifice so that great grace will be released.
All our most difficult trials, when we endure them with love, can help to bring down great grace.
The moment is now.
The bell is tolling.
I can only live in this moment.
I must unite it to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, praying for souls.
9. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
Every moment, whether of joy or suffering, can be a moment of grace being released for our needs, for the salvation of souls, to make reparation to God, to honor and love Him and obey Him.
OUR LIVES ARE INDEED PRECIOUS, every moment, a moment that our Father gave us as a child of God for His honor and glory.
Alleluia – God, help us unite as a body.
Alleluia – God, help us to see ourselves all one as the family of the Father with Mary our loving Mother.10. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
How will the page of our book look for the Father? Whether we write or not, we lived it as He willed or we lived it against His will.
Were our moments, moments to give Him honor and glory, to help promote the kingdom, to help save souls and lead others to God? Did the moments help us have a higher place in heaven? Did we mature more in our love relationship with God?
The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles
1. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
The trees are barren, the trees are in full bloom – the years go by, the seasons change, a small sore, a big blockage in the heart, soon the long hard nights come to a close and the glory of the long days waited, arrives. God gives His people what is their due.
How did we love and serve our God? How did we promote the kingdom on earth?
How did we live?
How did we follow in the Good Shepherd’s footsteps and lay down our lives for our friends?
2. Sing: Come Holy Ghost
3. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 Issue 1 continues
My dear priests and sisters and all men, help all to offer their days in the Morning Offering. Special cards are available for children, youth, and adults. The more we circulate the little card to the elderly and young and to all, the more people with consecrated hearts unite to the Mass all day as they try to live according to God’s will, the more great graces will be released on the world for all souls, for our priests and the Church.
4. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
We offer every precious moment of our lives united to the Masses around the world, being one in Jesus. Every moment is a moment of sacrifice united to God. This is what we do in the Morning Offering. The pages of our lives are being written. These moments of our lives are so dear to God, for we offer our lives as a sacrifice for souls.
There is so much grace that can be released as we unite as a body and pray for the priests, the Church and the world. We are all gathered as a ministry praying at 6:30 p.m. We unite to the Mass and pray the prayers in the red prayer manual every day praying as a body for the priests, the Church and the world, followed by the rosary.
5. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
Please help lead souls to Jesus – fruit for the Kingdom! These are your children, the ones you lead to Jesus in churches, schools and nursing homes. You have so many children, lead them to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Send them to the fires of His Heart. He gave His life for their souls – they are your children, they are crying and being led astray! The print, radio, television and movie media often depict lifestyles opposed to God’s ways and the Ten Commandments.
6. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
Please help us to reach God’s people that they will consecrate their hearts to Jesus and Mary and pray as a body, united to the Mass for the priests, the Church and the world.
What will change the world? What will change hearts? God’s grace. The Mass goes on all day and we as members of the body of Christ need to unite and pray together as a body so that great grace is released for our priests, the Church and the world.
7. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
A primary mission of the Shepherds of Christ Movement is the priestly newsletter, the second most important mission is to pray for priests and the renewal of the Church and the world. Besides English, our materials are becoming available in Spanish, French, and Portuguese with the help of priest and lay translators and their bishops.
8. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
The priestly newsletter is not just for priests, but also for brothers, sisters, and laity who are interested in the spiritual life. It is centered in consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. It features writings regarding our union with Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit and Mary. The newsletter also stresses the Eucharist, the Church, prayer, and one’s responsibility regarding the social order. The newsletter stresses sound doctrine as found in Scripture, the writing of Popes, and other Church documents. It also presents selected writings from the saints and competent priest-theologians and others. If you would like it sent to you, please call and we will add your name to our mailing list free of charge.
9. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
I come to you today also to ask for your help. Will you please help to spread the priestly newsletter and tapes of Father Carter delivering the priestly newsletter to all priests possible? Could you help us to form prayer chapters to pray for the priests and the Church and souls? We need your help!
Here are the prayers that so many pray every day at 6:30, especially for the priests. Prayer chapters have helped many priests in parishes and people in these parishes to grow in greater holiness.
Will you form a prayer chapter in your parish and pray with us at 6:30?
10. From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1 continues
One priest praying the prayers can tremendously boost the prayer power.
These are the prayers Father Carter gave us to pray in the Shepherds of Christ Prayer Manual. The prayer manual is the little red book included.
Once again we remind you that this newsletter is audiotaped. Father Carter very reverently recites these prayers on tape. Fr. Mike Paraniuk reads the powerful writing of Fr. Carter on grace. Tapes are available on request from the address below.
The Assumption
1. From Tell My People by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. - Mary Our Mother
Jesus: "My beloved friend, tell My people to come to My Mother. From the cross, as I was suffering indescribable agony, I gave Mary as spiritual Mother to the world. My great love for My people prompted Me to do this. I am Lord and Master, and I want My people to come to My Mother and their Mother.
2. Mary Our Mother continues
If you wish to be close to Me, come to Mary. Consecrate yourselves to her. In this way you will grow into the closest union with Me. Through her Immaculate Heart, you will be drawn more and more into My own Heart.
3. Mary Our Mother continues
It is My desire that you allow My Mother to place you within My Heart which loves you with an unfathomable love! This is My wish--that you come to Me enfolded by Mary's mantle, cradled in her arms, pressed against her Heart."
4. Mary Our Mother continues
Reflection: It is God's will that we approach Jesus in union with Mary. Enough said!
5. From Tell My People by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. - The Riches of the Immaculate Heart
Jesus: "My beloved priest-son, how often I have pressed you to my maternal and Immaculate Heart in the greatest love! How often I allow you to taste the sweetness of this Heart. How often I make you aware that my Heart is your refuge where you feel so much loved, where you feel so secure, where you feel bathed in peace!
6. The Riches of the Immaculate Heart continues
Jesus: I desire that you tell all the people about the riches contained in my Immaculate Heart. Tell my people to come to my Heart each day.
7. The Riches of the Immaculate Heart continues
Jesus: I will caress them with my maternal love. I will lead them ever closer to the Sacred Heart of my Son.
8. The Riches of the Immaculate Heart continues
Jesus: I will tell them to listen to Jesus. I will remind them that He is their Lord and Master. I will remind them to do whatever He tells them to do.
9. The Riches of the Immaculate Heart continues
"Yes, my dearly beloved son, tell my people all these things. Keep reminding them of my great love for them. Keep reminding them how I love to draw them to my maternal and Immaculate Heart!"
10. The Riches of the Immaculate Heart continues
Reflection: Is there anyone who, listening to these words of Mary, does not long for a closer union with the loving Heart of our Mother?
The Coronation of Our Lady
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1. Sing: Immaculate Mary
2. Sing: Hail Holy Queen
3. Sing: See the Eyes That Look at Mary
4. From Tell My People by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. - Children of Mary
Mary: "My beloved priest-son, how often I have embraced you! How often I have told you how much I love you! How often, at your request, I have held you in my arms as my child.
5. Children of Mary continues
Mary: You have told me you realize how helpless you are of yourself, but how strong and secure you feel dwelling in my heart and Jesus' Heart. Your sense of your littleness and helplessness endears you to me all the more.
6. Children of Mary continues
Mary: I take you ever more securely to my maternal and Immaculate Heart. Tell all my people of the riches you have found within my heart.
7. Children of Mary continues
Mary: Tell them how I place you within my Son's Heart. Tell them that, because of my motherly action, you are now more closely united with Jesus than ever before.
8. Children of Mary continues
Mary: Tell my people to come to my heart and draw forth similar riches. Tell all my little ones that Jesus, Who is Lord and Master, bids me to lead all to His Sacred Heart.
9. Children of Mary continues
Mary: The more my little ones dwell within my Immaculate Heart, the more I place them within Jesus' Heart. Oh, how I love all my little ones! How I love to bring them to the Heart of Jesus!"
10. Children of Mary continues
Reflection: Again, let us remind ourselves that we live in the Age of the Two Hearts. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are inseparable. The more we dwell in Mary's heart, the more she places us within Jesus' Heart. Within these Two Hearts, the Holy Spirit fashions us more and more in the likeness of Christ, and the more we become like Christ, the more closely He unites us to the Father.
Healings
from
The Building of the Two Hearts
1. A gentleman from Florida called and said since he got the Fatima Statue with glass his life has been transformed.
2. After using the Jesus water, pain and non-movement (for 3 years) in my fingers was healed instantly. Now fingers are cracking and working and no pain. Has taken x-rays.
3. Ruptured ACL Ligament and PCL ligament left leg (knee) and damaged meniscus. 3-4 weeks excruciating pain. MRI showed damaged ligaments - went to do surgery and scopes revealed no damage other than meniscus injury. Day before surgery we came here to pray for healing. Wife anointed knee with Jesus water. Were told prior to surgery that would be out of work 3-6 months and surgery would be 4 hours. Surgery was only 40 minutes and recovery time is 1-2 weeks.
4. My best friend (a couple) was granted a son, which now is my godson. They've been married for a long time but never had a child until they both came to see the Virgin Mary's image.
5. I just wanted to tell you we have had so many prayers answered most especially since we have had the image statue in our home a few months ago. Prayers being miraculously answered for our children & grandchildren, our daughter's heart has literally almost healed ... she is also pregnant and that is also a miracle that she carried the baby this far, she is so thankful and also her cardiologist can't figure out how she is doing so well, and even agreed with her it must be prayers being said for her. He also told her in her 4th month to abort the baby, maybe he will have a conversion, we hope. Others in my family have changed since we got the statue. They are more understanding and patient and love being a Catholic more than ever before ...We thank Jesus, Mary, Rita and you all. Praise all of heaven. We are also so eager to have many more prayers answered. We are giving our married children a 10 inch statue each for their homes and red prayer manual if they would also like to say the prayers if they so choose to. The statue we know will help them with many graces as they pray before it as it has helped us in our home and lives. Love you all.
6. Pregnancy. (A long note about how a woman got pregnant after she came to the Virgin Mary Building.)
7. My mother was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in April 2005. She received the Jesus water of Clearwater that my brother brought to El Salvador. She was treated at Instituto Salvadoreno del Segino Social. She was expected to live 3-6 months. She lived well for 2 years. Now she rests in peace with Lord Jesus and Virgin Mary. She died of Pneumonia March 21, 2007.
8. The CAT scan showed a dark spot and they thought they would have to remove my right kidney. My family went to the Blessed Mother and asked for prayers and help. They also got the healing water. Well all our prayers were answered. There was no cancer or tumor. Thanks for all your prayers and help, and thanks to the Lord above.
9. Knees were injured from motorcycle accident July/August 2006. His mom got the water in Florida right after the accident and took it to him and he used it every day and now his knees are completely healed. He knows Jesus water did it.
10. Suspected blood clot. Pain in leg with swelling. Jesus water was used and pain went away and swelling.
11. Barretrs – My husband brought Jesus water to hospital and put on my stomach. Biopsy came back fine.
12. A man from South Carolina came to thank Jesus and Mary for his healing. His brother sent him Jesus' water when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Three doctors told him there was nothing they could do for him. He started using Jesus' water and started feeling better (He could hardly walk, he was using a wheelchair a lot). He went back to the doctor and tests showed no more cancer — gone! The doctor told him he never saw this happen before. He is around 70 years old and walks and feels normal.
13. A lady from Egypt wrote asking St. Mary for a baby for 3 years. She helped me and now I have a little daughter. Her name is Mariam after St. Mary name by my language. Thank God and Thank St. Mary. She always remembers me. - Egypt
14. This woman filled out a healing form at the site. I am so blessed by the Blessed Mother that she has been there for me on more than several occasions. She performed a miracle on all occasions, one in particular was cancer of the right leg. The doctors wanted to cut my leg off the cancer was in the bone. When I returned to New York and went to a plastic surgeon he saw the cat scan and said my chances weren't good. When he did the surgery the cancer was not in the bone. It was superficial.
15. Stroke. Healed August 2006.
16. A year ago he went to Orlando for a test on his prostate. It was positive. He came here in May and got some Jesus water out of the trough. He went back to the doctor and he was healed. - Venezuela
17. Infertility. Conceived and gave birth exactly 9 months after our first visit to Clearwater in August 2000. Our son was born exactly 9 months after our visit (May 20, 2001). I've had surgeries on both ovaries in 1998 and had very little chance of conceiving. Mother Mary gave us our blessing and wish.
18. Peter was operated on for cancer he had for 10 years on his leg and because the wound was so big, they had to take some skin from another part of his leg to be able to fix it but it did split. So Monday the doctor said that another surgery was needed but thanks to Jesus water on Wednesday on that same week he was healed. - Argentina
19. Cancer of the lungs. A friend of ours who we visit from Canada. He told us of his illness and we came and prayed at the Virgin Mary's appearance on March 28, 2006. He had Jesus' water put on him the night before his surgery. His surgery was on March 31 and the cancer was gone. Thank you for your blessings.
20. Lower back muscle strain. After straining my back I used the Jesus water before using pain crème. After putting on the water I no longer needed the crème. The strain was gone.
21. Neuropathy. He had gotten Jesus water a few days ago and went to the doctor yesterday.
22. Pregnancy. I could not become pregnant. I came here to ask Mary to extend her hands on me, to be able to have a child. The miracle happened. I did not know that other women had become pregnant by asking Mary. My son is 3 years old. I am convinced that he is called to be special in his life, he has a mission. When she went to see the doctor, specialists, they said forget it, she couldn't have a baby, and she went to many different ones. Came here to pray and became pregnant. All the doctors never understood what had happened. They said he is a miracle child.
23. Pregnancy. Became pregnant of twin girls after we prayed in 2005 and even have a statue of the Virgin Mary in our yard. After 15 years of concubinage Virgin Mary finally blessed us. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks. Jesus water was used to help conceive.
24. A woman came in today from New York and said she was here last March (2005) and got the Jesus water. Her cousin who was very healthy and had just retired at age 60 suffered a massive stroke. He was taken to the best neurological hospital in New York and the doctors said he had no chance of recovery. He had a blood clot at the base of his brain stem. He was in intensive care and the woman with the other family members were visiting him and she put Jesus water on him and they prayed over him, while he was laying in bed in a fetal position unable to talk was paralyzed. After she had left (only 30 minutes of visitation in Intensive Care) the woman received a call from her cousin's wife saying the man had sat up in bed after they left and was miraculously healed. He is back at home now. The doctors came in and said this was a miracle. This was 2 months ago.
25. Dermatomyositis (a form of Muscular Dystrophy). I was given 6 months to live. I was really depressed ready to give up when, while being in town for my girlfriends niece's Christmas Party. I heard it on the news. (December 17, 1996) Decided why not let's go, when I got here I was not expecting to see what I saw. I couldn't believe what I saw. Within an hour I put the cane down, slowly but surely got better enough where I wasn't paralyzed or dead. Thank you Jesus and Mary.
26. Small Bowel Syndrome. Infant acquired surgical intervention at birth. 4 months care at home. Healed completely as of May 2005.
27. Newborn very sick - 2 lbs. My mother came to visit me. We used to live in the post apartments by Target. I brought my Mother to the Virgin Mary Building in Clearwater and she prayed for my niece, who was in Guatemala. When my Mother returned to Guatemala she took the picture of Virgin Mary and put it in my niece's room. When my niece was born, she needed a tube feeding. She couldn't eat on her own. She was very thin and very sick. Many people told my sister and my mother (including the doctors) that my niece was so sick that she probably would died. Thank to our Lady Virgin Mary, my niece is a healthy gifted 9 year old girl. - Guatemala - Healing was at 6 months old.
28. My daughter was told she had thyroid cancer, after having one side of the thyroid removed they found the cancer was gone. This had to be due to Mary and Jesus Water and her belief in the Mother and Son.
29. Virus. He was in Egypt. His relatives came to the site and asked for prayers for healing for him. That same day they were here he was completely healed of his Liver virus. He is a physician.
30. After waiting about 8 months for the baby to get bigger for the surgery, the doctor checked him and couldn't believe it, but she said, "It just fixed itself." He was 4 months premature and this surgery would have lowered his sperm count significantly and its already been lowered by a double inguinal hernia surgery.
31. Burst tube with unexpected pregnancy. Was internal bleeding. Doctor told was miracle, surviving from this kind of operation. She (the mother) had come to the site and prayed to God if this Image (Our Lady of Clearwater) was from God to grant her a miracle. Her daughter who was in Lithuania at the time was in the hospital and the above miracle happened during the 2 hours the mother was praying at the site.
32. Heart failure. He was not breathing. Jesus water was poured on him while praying. He started breathing again.
33. When I was pregnant, my baby was sick. My baby born was well. Thanks.
34. Flu. Both sitting in car, praying rosary both sick of flu. He very sick, not getting better. Both used the water, felt pain leave body, didn't say anything, but after few minutes he said "I feel pain is gone." They drove back to tell us that they were healed.
35. Asthma. Put Jesus water on neck. Breathing much better.
36. Severe back pain. Have a bad back from laying brick for years and sometimes I bend over and the pain is severe and it takes at least 3 or 4 or more weeks for it to go away. I put Jesus water on it and it went away in 2 days. Alleluia.
37. I must admit that some days I forget to wash in the water. But I have felt the same feeling once again a few days ago as I did on March 2nd, the first time I applied it to my knees. On the movie that you took, I am walking on the beach without a cane. I don't know if you noticed. I didn't use the cane yesterday, and I have no pain. I'm still slow at climbing the stairs, but I'm seeing a tremendous improvement. I'll keep a journal, and continue updating you I pray a lot, as I'm applying the medicine. Part of my prayer is "If it be your will." Thank you. I'll be in touch soon.
38. My husband had a good friend and he was diagnosed with cancer and given less than a few weeks to live. Jesus told me to take him the Jesus water. I never really met him, but I went to the hospital. He was so sick. He bounced up and said I knew it - I will be healed. And he lived over two years longer.
39. Leukemia went into remission February 7, 2003. Her doctor can't believe how well she is doing. She has the worse kind of Leukemia there is and she is doing extremely well. He said this does not happen, so soon, we told him its because of all the prayers, everyone is saying for her. The day after we visited the Blessed Mother Building, her blood count was excellent. Thank you so much. As of 11/3/2004 she is still in remission and doing very well, a happy 10 year old little girl. We are all so thankful for all the prayers from everyone, we truly believe, if we hadn't had our faith and by going to the Virgin Mary building so often, we wouldn't have been so fortunate to have her. Prayer is still the most powerful and healing process. Thank you so much.
40. Spinal Manangitas. December 16th, 2002 we almost lost our little grandson. He was taken flight for life to Madison where they worked on him for hours. They told us he would either be blind - deaf - brain damage, or he might not walk. Today he is a happy - healthy little boy full of life. Thanks to everyone's prayers to our Blessed Virgin and our heavenly Father, without them we would not have him. Thank you. As of this date November 3, 2004 our little grandson is doing very well, a healthy happy little boy, and so full of life, and without any complications. Our prayers and by going to the Virgin Mary building truly helped this little boy. Thanks to everyone for all their prayers.
41. After my family visited the Virgin Mary and returned to hospital, I showed no sign of having a stroke. Doctors at hospital said I would not recover.
| Rita Ring | ||||
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Mass Book,
by Rita Ring: Many of the entries in the Priestly Newsletter
Volume II from a spiritual journal came from this book.
These entries |
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Rosary Meditations
for Parents and Children,
by Rita Ring, Short Meditations for both
parents and children to be used when
praying the |
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God's Blue Book IV by Rita Ring. This book is about the love Jesus has for Mary and Mary has for Jesus and Jesus and Mary have for us It is truly the Love of the Two Hearts. Mary appeared every day at the Holy Spirit Center Fr. Carter was there. Mary's first apparition July 5, 1994. $5 |
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God's Blue Book V by Rita Ring. Jesus wants to be the bridegroom of our soul He is our beloved Jesus tells us about pure love how we are to be pure of heart and love God and love others. It is a must, to hear about love from Jesus Jesus is love $5 |
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God's Blue Book 6A by Rita Ring. Rosaries from Their Hearts during apparitions. Jesus and Mary appeared every day and I received rosaries from Them and They were transcribed from a tape. Also messages of love from Jesus on days of January, 1995 About Baptism writings from Fr. Carter and the Scriptures. $10 |
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God's Blue Book 6B by Rita Ring. Jesus and Mary appeared every day in February, 1995 So beautiful transcribed from a tape the Stations, 7 Sorrows, prayers in the Prayer Manual, the Holy Spirit Novena Book and the Song Book. Pure love loving and forgiving a book about Jesus' love, baptism, grace and Fr. Carter's Newsletter. $10 |
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Apostles Manual. About the Movement — the structure of the Movement All Ministries — from the time 3 months before Mary appeared in Clearwater and 3 months after. Rosaries of the 13ths, Fr. Carter's Newsletters. Messages from God the Father Reaching the priests, the Church, the schools and the world. $20 |
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Rosaries from the Hearts of Jesus and Mary Book 1. Mary appeared in Clearwater December 17, 1996 in rainbow color and these rosaries left the printer the same day from Apparitions of Jesus and Mary transcribed from a tape. $10 |
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Rosaries from the Hearts of Jesus and Mary Book 2. This is a book of so many rosaries — transcribed from a tape. So many beautiful rosaries. pages $12 |
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Messages for the Elderly, Ill and Homebound. This is a big book of loving messages for nursing home people and homebound from Jesus and Mary Their lives are so important united to the Mass offering up their suffering, their lives for the souls of this earth. $10 |
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Short Rosary Meditations for the Elderly, Ill and Homebound. This book is so important with pictures they can open it and lay it on their laps and pray the rosary. $10 |
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Songs from Jesus Songbook. These loving songs were given from Jesus. So beautiful Love Songs from Jesus of His love — helping us have pure and loving hearts. $3 |
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| Fr. Joe Robinson |
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Guiding Light — The Word Alive in Our Hearts. — Cycle B Homilies by the Reverend Joe Robinson given at St. Boniface Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is a tremendous honor Fr. Joe has allowed us to share these great gifts with you – for greater holiness and knowing more and more about God. $10 |
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Guiding Light — The Soul Who Could. — Cycle A Homilies by the Reverend Joe Robinson given at St. Boniface Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. $10 |
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Guiding Light homily series — Reflect on the Word — Cycle B The Word leaves an impression on our souls. In my thoughts and reflections are born a more tangible understanding of these eternal concepts presented in the Gospels and the readings. Anyone can read a sentence, but not anyone can absorb it's true meaning. Truth, in this day and age, is almost a matter of opinion or individual entitlement. We believe that Christ's truth is our Roman Catholic Church. We, as priests, champion it's teachings; we are ambassadors for the Pope and Christ to those faces looking at us. We are the light by which our congregation reads to reflect upon real truth and we do it hand in hand. $10 |
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Guiding Light homily series — Steadfast to the Son — Cycle A The sunflower is a great example of how we should be steadfastly guided by light. What a powerful thought that this exceptional plant is not stuck in one pose day in and day out, yet adaptable and magnetized to the sun. We feel the same about our Son. Our heads turns to face Christ as each day presents its challenges to find light. We join together like plants in a field and soak up the Son through the pulpit. We are a warm circle of strength using the wind of our breath to carry our priests' words, Christ's words, to new rich soil. $10 |
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Guiding Light — Focusing on the Word — Cycle B At times we may feel that our path to Christ is a bit "out of focus". Like the disciples in the Book of Mark, this ordinary life clouds our vision of Christ's Divinity. We may doubt the practicality or possibility of applying His teachings and example to our modern life. Cycle B's homilies are a "guiding light" to help us realize Jesus' Messianic greatness and His promise of better things to come. $10 |
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Guiding Light — Feed My Soul — Cycle C In a world rapidly advancing and encouraging personal gain, we are faced with modern problems. There is a challenge to find time in our busy schedules for Sunday Mass or a family meal. We are able to research, shop, bank and even work without hearing one human voice. It is no wonder that we may often feel disconnected and famished at our week's end. In Fr. Joe's third book of homilies from Cycle C, we are reminded of the charity that Christ intended us to show each other. We have a calling to turn the other cheek and be the Good Samaritan to others. We are rewarded with the Father's kingdom and love when we are not worthy. We are not left alone or hungry. $10 |
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| Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. |
Here are all the products in this category:
Books written by the founder of Shepherds of Christ Ministries
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Response to God’s Love by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. In this book Fr. Carter speaks of God as the ultimate mystery. We can meditate on the interior life of the Trinity. Fr. Carter tells us about our uniqueness in the Father's Plan for us, how the individual Christian, the Church and the world are in the state of becoming. Imprimatur. $10 |
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Shepherds of Christ — Selected Writings on Spirituality for all People as Published in Shepherds of Christ Newsletter for Priests. Contains 12 issues of the newsletter from July/August 1994 to May/June 1996. $15 |
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Shepherds of Christ — Volume 2: by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. Contains issues 13—29 of the newsletter (September/October 1996 — Issue 5, 1999) $15 |
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Shepherds of Christ — Volume 3 by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. Contains Newsletter Issues 1 through 4 of 2000 including Fr. Carter’s tremendous Overview of the Spiritual Life $10 |
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Tell My People. Messages from Jesus and Mary (As given to Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.) One of Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.'s Synopsis of the Spiritual Life From Jesus to Fr. Carter "On Holy Saturday, 1994, Jesus told me that on the following day, Easter, I would also begin to receive messages for others. Our Lord also told me that some of these were eventually to be published in a book and here is that book." $10 |
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Spirituality Handbook. Fr. Edward Carter, S.J. did 3 synopsis of the spiritual life. The Spirituality Handbook, the Priestly Newsletter 20he Tell My People book. The way of spiritual life proposed to the members of Shepherds of Christ Associates is centered in consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. All aspects of the spiritual life discussed below should be viewed as means to help members develop their lives in consecration to Christ, the Sacred Heart, and to Mary, the Immaculate Heart. $3 |
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The Spirituality of Fatima by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. The Fatima apparitions and messages received official Church approval in 1930. In giving her official approval to the Fatima event, the Church tells us that what took place at Fatima involving the three young visionaries is worthy of our belief. $5 |
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Shepherds of Christ Holy Spirit Novena CD
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Statues/Religious Items
Blue Crystal Rosary
Rosary with the Image of Our Lady of Clearwater
8mm - $ 40.00 plus shipping
Red Crystal Rosary
Rosary with the Image of Our Lady of Clearwater
8mm - $ 40.00 plus shipping
Clear Crystal Rosary
Rosary with the Image of Our Lady of Clearwater
8mm - $ 40.00 plus shipping
R. Pray for These Things
1) Pray for the Pope & hierarchy to help us start prayer chapters.
3) Pray for the priests, the Church and the world!
2) Pray for Special people.
4) Pray for the spread of prayer chapters,
also for the spread of priests doing prayer chapters.
5) Pray for the spread of Blue Books.
6) People going to Florida and China.
7) Vocations to all 7 categories.
8) Pray for spread of Consecration and Rosary.
9) Pray for pope helping us.
10) Pray for Jeff.
11) Pray for the country
12) All intentions on my list, Jerry's list.
13) Priests getting Fr. Joe's book.
14) Pray for Fr. Joe's new book, cover & funds for printing & postage.
15) Donors and members and their families.
16) Healing of the Family tree.
17) Pray for the Corona Virus to go away
18) All who asked us to pray for them.
19) All we promised to pray for.
20) Rita, Doris, Sheila, Jerry, Sanja, Fr. Mike, Louie, Laverne,
Fr. Joe, all priests helping us, Ed, Jimmy, Mary,
Carol R., a special couple, Rosie & all involved.
21) All of our families.
22) Funds and insurance.
23) All of our houses.
24) In thanksgiving for gifts, graces, & blessings received.
25) Spread the Blood of Jesus on all of us here.
26) Consecrate all hearts.
27) Cast the devil out of all of us here and all in Movement.
Shepherds of Christ Ministries
P.O. Box 627 China, Indiana 47250
Telephone: (toll free) 1-888-211-3041 or (812) 273-8405
FAX: (812) 273-3182
Copyright © 2021 Shepherds of Christ.
Rights for non–commercial reproduction granted:
May be copied in its entirety, but neither re–typed nor edited.
Translations are welcome but they must be reviewed for moral and
theological accuracy by a source approved by Shepherds of Christ Ministries
before any distribution takes place. Please contact us for more information.
