Daily Writing
| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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April 29, 2009
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April 30th Holy
Spirit Novena |
The Novena Rosary
Mysteries |
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May 2nd - May 5th
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May 11th thru May 14th
May 13th is the 92nd Anniversary
of Our Lady of Fatima's
first apparition
Please try to come.
Mass at 12 noon.
Help us with the repairs on the Crucifix outside.
We need to sell a Crucifix a week.
Help us by - Buying a Crucifix!
Please come and buy a
crucifix
and have it signed by Felix and
have your picture taken with him.
$750.00 with stand
$820.00
The Crucifix needs work.
This is how it did look --
The church needs to have the stucco replaced
and also the community building.
It is about $38,000 to repair it.
People pray in the church 24 hours a day.
We have prayed in there for 11 years.
The archdiocese gave the church to us
for this purpose for a small price.
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April 29, 2009
We are at war — We are to fight for
what God wants with hearts of love,
obeying God's commandments and laws.
Oh Jesus I know if men made You
the King of their hearts as Mary said —
we needed to spread the devotion to Your
Heart and Mary's Heart and there would be peace
in the world.
We have peace when we are making
Jesus the King of our hearts and Mary
is the Arc of the Covenant —
Listen to this message Mary gave
July 13, 1917 to the Fatima children about
her Immaculate Heart —
Excerpt from The Spirituality of Fatima
by Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.
July 13, 1917
"During this same July apparition, Mary showed the three children a vision of Hell. She told them:
"You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish, in the world, devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.
"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. (12)
"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." (13)
______________________________
12. For background material on Fatima, I am particularly
indebted to
Our Lady of Fatima's Peace Plan from Heaven
(Rockford: TAN
Books and Publishers, Inc., 1983). pp.4-5.
13. Ibid., p.5.
It is strongly stated how important it
is to have this devotion to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. Mary's Heart is pure and
sinless and we can give our lives more
purely — united to the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass going on around the world —
Morning Offering (For Shepherds of Christ Members)
My dear Father, I offer You this day all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings, my every breath, my every heartbeat, my every thought, all my actions, in union with Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in the Holy Spirit. I pray the Holy Spirit is with me every second today, enlightening me to do the will of the Father and filling me with the fire of God's love.
I ask Jesus and Mary to be one in me in all that I do and I unite with all the angels and saints and souls in purgatory to pray continually to the Father for these intercessions, in this prayer, for this day.
For myself, I pray for grace-abundant grace, to know and love God more and more and to follow the will of the Father. I pray to the Holy Spirit to transform me in the heart of Mary to be more and more like Jesus. I pray that I can forever dwell in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. I pray for conversion of all those I hold dear who need conversion. I pray for each member of my family that they will be filled with Your abundant grace to grow in their knowledge and love of God.
I pray for all my friends that they will receive abundant grace to carry out the great plan of the Father, that they will grow forever closer to Jesus' Heart through Mary's heart, that we will all be led by the Holy Spirit to do His work, that we will, together, carry out the plan of the Father as He intends us to, to spread the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary's heart to this world.
Jesus, I pray for myself so the Holy Spirit descends upon me and opens my heart to Your love so I will grow more and more deeply in union with You. I pray that I do not worry what other people think but try always to please the Father and do His will. I pray that I may help lead many to Your burning love.
I pray for the following people in particular that they will be filled with the Spirit and grow deeply in their union with You, that they will receive abundant graces to know, love and serve You more. (Include special friends by name...)
I pray for priests the world over, for the success of the Priestly Newsletter, the Chapters and for the finances needed for the Newsletter. I pray for the circulation of the Blue Book messages, rosary meditations and tapes. I pray for all those involved in the publication of these messages.
I pray that You will shower Your abundant graces onto the priests reading the Newsletter the people reading and hearing the Blue Book messages and Rosary Meditations and all of Fr. Carter's publications.
We pray for the intentions we hold deep within our hearts, for our families and friends, for those requesting our prayers. We pray for children the world over and for the souls in purgatory. We ask God to shower His abundant grace on us and the members of our Shepherds of Christ chapter so that we may grow more and more in our knowledge and love of God.
We consecrate ourselves to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. We pray for Father Carter, for Father Smith, for Rita Ring, and for John Weickert, for all leaders and helpers in the Shepherds of Christ Movement, for Shepherds of Christ Ministries, and Our Lady of Light Ministry. We pray for all those who are working in these ministries.
We bind ourselves and our children and our friends to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We place the precious blood of Jesus on ourselves, and all we touch, so that we will be protected from the evil one. We pray to St. Michael to cast the devil into hell.
We love You, God, we love You, we love You. We beg that we may receive the grace to love You more and more deeply. We adore You, we praise You, our beloved Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
end of prayer
God intends us to walk hand-in-hand
with others —
Available for $10.00 plus postage
1-888-211-3041
Call Kathleen
From Response to God's Love by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.
Chapter 8
The Christian Encounters Others and the World
(excerpt)
In various ways, we have already discussed the Christian's encounter with others and the world (see chapter 3, for example). We now wish to continue this theme of encounter with greater specificity and extensiveness.
The true Christian is imbued with consciousness of others. That is to say, the true Christian is keenly aware that, to a great degree, God intends each of us to press on toward maturity in the spiritual life through a proper encounter with others. Indeed, the Christian imperative reminds us that we are to walk life's path, not in isolation, but hand in hand with our fellow human beings.
To authentically encounter others we must be properly aware of who they really are; we must, in short, be able to penetrate beyond surface appearances, which may or may not be appealing to us, and contact others in their core existence. When we are truly in touch with others at the core of their beings, we are simultaneously aware of their awesome dignity. We are conscious that these persons are created and redeemed by God in his love. Fortified with this proper awareness, we are thus in a position to relate to them as we should.
In order to be in touch with the inner self of others, we must be aware of or in touch with our own inner or true self. This awareness, in turn, is an awareness that our self is likewise made in the image of God, that it has been divinized in Christ and is to be oriented toward God and neighbor. Here, then, we see the profound interaction between the three awarenesses and loves—awareness and love of God, self, and neighbor. As Christians, consequently, we should have a maturing sense of how our existence is, in varied ways, profoundly interlinked with the existence of others. This feeling of union with others is not limited to those we directly encounter, but, in some sense, is directed to all members of the human family.
Let us now consider some of the main attitudes that the Christian should maintain and develop in his or her dealings with others. We will build upon the very basic attitude we have already mentioned—that we must always try to be aware of the true self of others, the self that has been created and redeemed by God's love. This awareness, in turn, calls forth our own love for them.
In dealing with others, we must strive to maintain the balance, so delicate at times, between independence from others and dependence on them. We must, on the one hand, humbly realize that in so many varied ways we consistently depend on others. Have you ever tried to analyze the many, many people you depend on to make it through a very ordinary day? Have you ever tried to enumerate all the people involved—most of whom you don't even know—in putting a simple meal before you?
The consciousness of our dependence on others narrows into much sharper focus, of course, regarding those we encounter daily in a more direct fashion. The members of our families, our friends, our coworkers—these are some of the people we immediately think of as we reflect upon the mutual interdependence that exists among fellow human beings. We depend on such people in a special way for the growth opportunities of loving and being loved, of serving and being ministered to, of affirming and being affirmed—in short, for all the opportunities of variously giving and receiving.
If, however, we must, on the one hand, strive to maintain a sense of proper need for others, we must, on the other hand, couple this with a thrust toward independence. To have an attitude of healthy dependence on others is a main ingredient for true personality growth; to maintain a morbid need for others, however, is a serious obstacle in becoming the persons we are destined to be. We should never become slavishly dependent on the company of others, their love, the attention they give us, the approval they give to us, our ideas, or our work. It is, of course, always very pleasant to receive love, attention, and approval; all this, however, must occur within the framework of God's will for us. We must constantly strive to lovingly do his will at all times and in all circumstances. This is the all-embracing and all-necessary imperative that permeates every facet of our being. When we live according to this imperative, we gladly and gratefully receive love, attention, and affirmation from others when it is forthcoming; what is more, we realize that to be offered this is a part of God's plan for us. If, however, it is not forthcoming at any one time, we courageously continue to live as we think God intends, aware that, in his loving faithfulness, God will compensate for what currently appears to be a lack of human support.
Early in our discussion of the Christian's encounter with others, we should obviously say a few direct things concerning the core attitude of love, a trait that should permeate all other attitudes. It is well to begin by observing a phenomenon of our culture concerning love: Many persons who choose marriage say they do so out of a desire to be loved. Notice, they say that they marry out of a desire to be loved, not to love. In fairness to these persons, perhaps we should presume that they realize they in turn must also offer love. Yet, is it not revealing that they explicitly mention as the reason for marrying a desire to be loved? Could there be a close correlation between this phenomenon and the extraordinarily high divorce rate that prevails in our culture? If it is common that both partners enter marriage more from a need to receive love than from a desire to give it, do we have to look further for the reason to explain why so many marriages are plagued with various degrees of unhappiness?
We should realize that all of us are in danger of falling into the above temptation. Whether we are married people, celibates in the priestly and religious life, or single persons in the world, all of us have to be aware lest we be more concerned with receiving love than in giving it. God wants us to receive love, and we have a need to receive love; however, we must not allow this legitimate desire to degenerate into a morbid preoccupation whereby we always enumerate all the different ways that others should be manifesting love toward us while, at the same time, we ourselves might be guilty of neglecting numerous opportunities for loving them. If our main concern is to love others rather than to be loved by them, I think we will more often than not be surprised at the love others show us over a lifetime. Nonetheless, even in the event that we might feel slighted in this regard, our vocation as Christians is eminently clear: we ourselves must continue to love even when it is extremely difficult to do so, thus following the example of Jesus who loved even those who nailed him to the cross.
As maturing Christians we should be assimilative individuals. In various ways, we must be able to absorb from others, not in an artificial way that does violence to our uniqueness, but in a manner that actually enhances our uniqueness. Our wonderful privilege is to assimilate ever more and more the truth, the goodness, the beauty of God himself by, among other ways, realizing that God is variously reflected through all the human persons he has created. Just as we are created in God's image—and thereby are reflective of his perfections—so also are all others. When all humans are true to God's designs, all do indeed provide various opportunities to one another for personality growth. All of us, I am sure, can recall more than one instance in which we felt especially inspired to become better persons because we have encountered certain individuals.
end of excerpt
We see a person who is self focused —
thinking of what they are getting in a
relationship can see only themselves —
Giving is the lesson Jesus teaches us —
His whole life a lesson in pure giving
of Himself — Jesus took flesh — coming
into the world in the womb of His
Mother — GIVING
GIVING — Jesus lived the Father's will —
Jesus - the Almighty pure God — worked with
men with wounded human natures —
so they would learn about Him —
so they would continue His work in the
Church —
Jesus taught GIVING
The man focused on himself —
with a bag of wounds is always
looking inward —
And he is saying "What is in this for me?"
He has problems giving —
In relationships of love — which call
us to go to our core and
to know ourselves and to try to heal
to be children of the light —
The man who is locked, like a frozen
cube — has all the hurt and anger
of the past relationships, but sees
himself dealing with today —
acting out that anger like a blind
man on others
When a man stays angry and cannot act
for a long period of time over spilled
milk — his reaction does not match —
the fury he carried within
he is acting out from past wounds
that can only be healed by admitting
to himself the truth about the
ice cube of frozen years
We need to heal past relationships
heal old wounds in all old relationships
until we can forgive and let go
so they don't hold us bound
We are here to be team players and focus
on the work and vocation God gives us —
not punish each other because of our lack
of love for ourselves and living in the
truth about our anger built up —
like hungry dogs in the basement —
John 1: 14-16
The Word became flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that he has from the Father
as only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.John witnesses to him. He proclaims:
‘This is the one of whom I said:
He who comes after me
has passed ahead of me
because he existed before me.’Indeed, from his fullness
we have, all of us, received—
one gift replacing another,
From Response to God's Love by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.
Chapter 2
The Christian's Personal Uniqueness (excerpt)
Obviously, we all assimilate the mystery of Christ in basically the same way. There are, however, significant differences in how each person puts on Christ that result from the uniqueness of each individual. Each person is a unique expression of God's creative love. Each person can truthfully say that there has never before been anyone like himself or herself, there is now no one like him or her, and there never will be.
The personal uniqueness of each human being increases in proportion to one's assimilation to Jesus. That is to say, the more I put on Christ, the more I lose myself in Christ, the more I become myself. This is true because grace perfects nature, and, consequently, the more I grow in grace, the more perfect all dimensions of my person become—and this includes uniqueness. We see, then, how fallacious is the reasoning of those who think that the more they give themselves to the practice of religion, the more their personalities will be subdued. Actually, the opposite is true—the more one grows in Christ, the more his or her unique personality emerges in all its attractiveness.
As I grow in the realization of my own uniqueness, I should also grow in developing a sense of self-identity and self-acceptance. If God in his tremendous love for me has created the uniqueness that I am, should I not rejoice in who I am and avoid morbidly comparing myself to others? Should I not have a healthy self-image? Of course, self-acceptance does not mean self-complacency. Honest self-reflection will always reveal to me that there are weaknesses that must be further curbed and strengths that must be further developed.
As God gives each person his or her uniqueness, he attaches to it a unique mission or role that is to be accomplished. Cardinal Newman tells us: "Everyone who breathes, high and low, educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random. . . . God sees every one of us; He creates every soul, He lodges it in a body, one by one, for a purpose. He needs, He deigns to need, every one of us" (Discourses Addressed to Mixed Congregations, pp. 111-112).
Because of the uniqueness of each Christian's existence, he or she presents Christ with a unique opportunity. Each Christian has the vocation to offer Christ his or her humanity so that Jesus can re-incarnate himself in a new way. Jesus wants to continue his redemptive work through the not-to-be-repeated newness that is each Christian's uniqueness. To the extent that an individual Christian offers his or her humanity to Jesus, he or she has a unique opportunity to continue the redemption—an opportunity that no one else can offer him or her. Likewise, to the extent that an individual Christian fails to offer his or her humanity to Christ, Jesus loses the opportunity that is this Christian's uniqueness.
Each of us, consequently, no matter what his or her occupation or status in life might be, has both the great privilege and the great responsibility to properly utilize his or her life according to God's Christic design. No one else can fulfill your unique mission, and, in turn, you cannot accomplish the unique mission of another. At times we can become somewhat fearful or anxious about the task that God has entrusted to us as we more deeply realize what it demands. We can feel the same reluctance that Jeremiah the prophet voiced when Yahweh called him:
The word of the LORD came to me thus:
"Before I formed you in the womb I
knew you,
before you were born I dedicated
you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed
you."
"Ah, LORD GOD!" I said,
"I know not how to speak; I am too
young."
But the LORD answered me,
"Say not, 'I am too young.'
To whomever I send you, you shall
go;
Whatever I command you, you shall
speak.
Have no fear before them,
because I am with you to deliver
you, says the LORD."
—Jer 1:4-8Jeremiah initially shrank back from the mission that God was giving him. He complained that he was not capable of accomplishing it. God answered him, however, and told Jeremiah that he was perfectly capable of fulfilling his appointed role, for he, Yahweh, would be with Jeremiah. God would work through Jeremiah, and Jeremiah, for his part, was to be open to God, allowing Yahweh to work through him according to the divine will.
We, too, can be guilty of reacting to God's call in the same way that Jeremiah had originally reacted. This can happen as God calls one to a basic state of life. Once a person is within a fundamental vocation, one can be tempted to resist God's call to higher things, to a more complete accomplishment of his or her mission, and to a greater Christian maturity. When so tempted, a person must control his or her fears and trustingly give himself or herself to God's will. Only then will the person become convinced that God never requests anything without granting abundant grace to accomplish his design, and that, moreover, to answer God's call as consistently as possible is the only true path to peace, happiness, and fulfillment, despite the pain that is necessarily involved.
We are aided in remaining faithful to the unique role in life that God has given us if we strive to remain aware of the great value that one life has to Christ, to the Church, and to the world. History tells us of the great difference that just one life can have regarding Christ's work; there are outstanding examples from all walks of life. Surely the Church has been enriched, and countless lay people have been inspired because of the life of a man named Thomas More. He was a layman who realized the deepest meaning of life—and he did not fail to confront the true purpose of human existence, even when that confrontation meant sacrificing his life for what he believed. Surely this life—the one life of St. Thomas More—has made a difference. In our own times, we have been enriched and inspired by an outstanding lay witness—the beloved Dorothy Day. What an inspiration she has been! Surely her life, though it was only one life, made a difference—and such a great difference. There are, too, the examples of men and women who have established religious orders and congregations. Surely the life of each of them has made an overwhelming contribution toward a better Church and a better world. Consider also the life of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, a person from a peasant background who eventually came to be called Pope John XXIII. Surely the world is so much better for Pope John's having given it his love, kindness, joy, and constant concern. Of course one life does make a difference.
At this point, however, many will object that the above examples highlight the lives of persons who have achieved outstanding recognition in the external order of things and have commanded great public attention. People who voice this objection often say that their own lives are so mundane, so hidden, so incapable of making headlines. Surely, they continue, this rather too ordinary kind of life makes little difference to Christ, to the Church, and to the world. Surely it does not much matter whether a person living this kind of existence fulfills his or her God-given mission. At first glance, many of us would tend to agree with this reasoning, a reasoning that is really the exact opposite temptation of what we considered when we likened ourselves to Jeremiah. In that context there was a question of being tempted to do nothing because we feared the greatness to which we were called; in the present context, however, it is a question of being tempted to do nothing because we think we really have nothing to contribute. Yet, as we begin to reflect in mature faith, we soon see the fallacy of this objection. We realize that great external accomplishments or a life that attracts public attention do not, in and of themselves, make that life great and truly worthwhile. If a Christian life that is characterized by notable external achievement is truly great and meaningful for mankind, we know that it is so because the external achievement has sprung forth from an attitude of deep faith, hope, and love. This, then, is the ultimate answer to the above objection—every Christian's life, no matter how ordinary it might be in its external framework, can be tremendously important and can make an outstanding contribution toward the work of ongoing redemption as long as it is increasingly consistent with God's will.
God's ways are not always our ways, and his thoughts are not always our thoughts. God can take a life that seems so ordinary, so prosaic, so uneventful, and achieve wonders with it as long as the person is striving to fulfill his or her role in life according to God's designs. We cannot, then, use the ordinariness of our lives as an excuse for not making our existence truly great, truly significant for both Christ and humanity—a life that truly makes a difference. Karl Rahner has advice for us when the ordinariness of our lives tempts us to think that our existence is unimportant and almost useless: "Let us take a good look at Jesus who had the courage to lead an apparently useless life for thirty years. We should ask him for the grace to give us to understand what his hidden life means for our religious existence" (Spiritual Exercises, p. 160). Notice that Rahner describes the first thirty years of Jesus' life as "apparently useless." In reality, of course, Christ's very ordinary existence at Nazareth was not actually useless but was, on the contrary, tremendously important—it was part of his redemptive effort. No, it is not the ordinary setting of our lives that is an obstacle to our making a unique and important contribution to the cause of Christ. The real obstacle, if we allow it, is our failure to relate to life's ordinariness as God intends.
end of excerpt
When we give to others our wealth is
not lessened —
Genesis 1: 26-27
God said, 'Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.'
God created man in the image of himself,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.
All men believe what they seek will ultimately
give them happiness —
Man looks beyond the present moment to the
goal for his actions —
The ultimate end of our actions
is happiness —
We seek happiness —
Many men look for happiness in the
wrong places.
Our Father
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. * Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
What is on earth can never
completely satisfy us —
Wealth, food - fame - power - over
control - pleasure —
┌ people loving our performance —
│ a king among men —
│ every one admiring us for how
│ smart we are
│ being right
│
└─> WILL NEVER SATISFY US
Genuine happiness is concerned with good
Even a great wife, husband, body cannot
bring us real happiness —
God is all good
The body exists for the soul —
The body is the soul's instrument
to do God's work in the world —
Sing: refrain
Prayer for Union with Jesus
Come to me, Lord, and possess my soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul. Help me to sit in silence with You and let You work in my heart.
I am Yours to possess. I am Yours to use. I want to be selfless and only exist in You. Help me to spoon out all that is me and be an empty vessel ready to be filled by You. Help me to die to myself and live only for You. Use me as You will. Let me never draw my attention back to myself. I only want to operate as You do, dwelling within me.
I am Yours, Lord. I want to have my life in You. I want to do the will of the Father. Give me the strength to put aside the world and let You operate my very being. Help me to act as You desire. Strengthen me against the distractions of the devil to take me from Your work.
When I worry, I have taken my focus off of You and placed it on myself. Help me not to give in to the promptings of others to change what in my heart You are making very clear to me. I worship You, I adore You and I love You. Come and dwell in me now.
-God's Blue Book, January 17, 1994
Only God — the vision of God in
heaven can bring us real
happiness
Man's intelligence is so limited —
Man was created to know and seek and
love God and by this to attain
his eternal salvation and to
love our neighbors as ourselves.
1 John 3: 2
My dear friends,
we are already God’s children,
but what we shall be in the future
has not yet been revealed.
We are well aware that when he appears
we shall be like him,
because we shall see him as he really is.
We hope for the vision of God.
To see God — this is our desire —
in this lies our happiness —
We are to work in friendship with
each other to help us to reach God.
Our wills are to seek God's will
in love — in this lies our happiness —
Song: Your Presence Pervades My Soul
1 Corinthians 15: 20-58
In fact, however, Christ has been raised from the dead, as the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. As it was by one man that death came, so through one man has come the resurrection of the dead. Just as all die in Adam, so in Christ all will be brought to life; but all of them in their proper order: Christ the first-fruits, and next, at his coming, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, having abolished every principality, every ruling force and power. For he is to be king until he has made his enemies his footstool, and the last of the enemies to be done away with is death, for he has put all things under his feet. But when it is said everything is subjected, this obviously cannot include the One who subjected everything to him. When everything has been subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the One who has subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.
Otherwise, what are people up to who have themselves baptised on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, what is the point of being baptised on their behalf? And what about us? Why should we endanger ourselves every hour of our lives? I swear by the pride that I take in you, in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I face death every day. If I fought wild animals at Ephesus in a purely human perspective, what had I to gain by it? If the dead are not going to be raised, then Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall be dead. So do not let anyone lead you astray, 'Bad company corrupts good ways.' Wake up from your stupor as you should and leave sin alone; some of you have no understanding of God; I tell you this to instil some shame in you.
Someone may ask: How are dead people raised, and what sort of body do they have when they come? How foolish! What you sow must die before it is given new life; and what you sow is not the body that is to be, but only a bare grain, of wheat I dare say, or some other kind; it is God who gives it the sort of body that he has chosen for it, and for each kind of seed its own kind of body.
Not all flesh is the same flesh: there is human flesh; animals have another kind of flesh, birds another and fish yet another. Then there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; the heavenly have a splendour of their own, and the earthly a different splendour. The sun has its own splendour, the moon another splendour, and the stars yet another splendour; and the stars differ among themselves in splendour. It is the same too with the resurrection of the dead: what is sown is perishable, but what is raised is imperishable; what is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious; what is sown is weak, but what is raised is powerful; what is sown is a natural body, and what is raised is a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is a spiritual body too. So the first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; and the last Adam has become a life–giving spirit. But first came the natural body, not the spiritual one; that came only afterwards. The first man, being made of earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. The earthly man is the pattern for earthly people, the heavenly man for heavenly ones. And as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so we shall bear the likeness of the heavenly one.
What I am saying, brothers, is that mere human nature cannot inherit the kingdom of God: what is perishable cannot inherit what is imperishable. Now I am going to tell you a mystery: we are not all going to fall asleep, but we are all going to be changed, instantly, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet is going to sound, and then the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed, because this perishable nature of ours must put on imperishability, this mortal nature must put on immortality.
And after this perishable nature has put on imperishability and this mortal nature has put on immortality, then will the words of scripture come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin comes from the Law. Thank God, then, for giving us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So, my dear brothers, keep firm and immovable, always abounding in energy for the Lord’s work, being sure that in the Lord none of your labours is wasted.
Perfect happiness can be achieved
only in the next life,
only in eternity —
A little child may try to throw a
temper tantrum to get his own way —
isn't it foolish for us to not seek
the vision of our Father — to live
by His Plan and to spread the Good News
to all the earth
February 5, 2009
while Jesus appeared in Clearwater, Florida
Transcribed from a tape Recorded live
NOT EDITED
R. For faith, hope and charity.
Sorrowful Mysteries
The Agony in the Garden
R. We want to meditate on the Sorrowful Mysteries.
1. R. We see Jesus in the garden and the greatest wounds were not the wounds that He would suffer to His body, but the wounds that He would suffer to His Heart, because when you love deeply, you suffer in the heart. The sensitivity of being the greatest lover, the most perfect Heart of love, to know how so many, even in this world today, would ignore Him and would not love Him, would hurt others, would murder babies, would live in such disorder, would have such violence on screens for people to watch, when God is love. God knew all things and He suffered so, that He sweat blood for the precious souls that He loved.
Oh God help us in this life, to say 'yes", when we are called to do things that are difficult, but we know are Your will. Not to take the easy road out, when we know that God calls us to be strong. For it is in living according to the Father's will the way that He wants in saying 'yes' to those things that are difficult and in suffering, that we can help to bring down great gifts for the rest of the world. Look at Jesus, look at the suffering that we see in that movie, that He went through. That is the lesson that God is teaching us, in the paschal mystery of death/resurrection.
But there is that peace within our hearts, that assurance, the more that we live every day, every minute of the day, seeking the will of God, seeking to love, seeking to do what God is calling us to do. For me as head of the Movement, since Fr. Carter died 9 years ago, to say 'yes', when He said "sell the houses" and watch the money come, send out the newsletter. And then the housing movement crashed, which we would have been in a terrible shape had I not obeyed that message.
It is the faith that we must have when we hear, God, in our hearts, telling us to live a more holy life, instead of giving into our feelings - hating, whatever it is — when God puts us, in a family, God intends us to work in love. And someone will say, "Oh, you shouldn't be treated like that" or satan will say "You shouldn't put up with that." "You need your freedom." "It's okay to cheat on your wife." "You are not getting what you need." We have a free will.
With right reasoning, we will walk the path behind Our Lord. We beg the Holy Spirit to fill us with the knowledge to do the will of God in love, and we walk the path behind Jesus carrying our cross and saying "yes". In the days of our lives, there are tremendous joys and there are sufferings, and that's how it comes to us. In being obedient to the Church, to the commandments — to loving the souls that Jesus died for, that we pray for them like we do in the Shepherds of Christ prayers, praying for the priests, and the Church and the world.
And the more that we pray, the more that we realize when we go to Mass, seeing ourselves under the cross with Mary, being united to the Sacrifice of Calvary sacramentally made present, and when the priest raises up the host, we are saying "Father, in the name of Jesus, outpour Your grace on the world to be the way that You want it to be.
It is etched in every cell of my body, the love of the Mass, the emptying of myself at the consecration, uniting with Christ in those sacrifices that are just there in following our vocation. It's not about getting more and more our own way. It's about seeking the will of God in every thing we do, when it's hard and when it's easy. Like Jesus who carried His cross and sweat blood in the garden. Not like Adam but like the New Adam, who obeyed His Father's will to His death on the cross. It's about structure, the Church that gives us the rules to follow as Catholics.
2. R. And we pray for our beloved Pope Benedict XVI, with all the love that we have for him in our hearts. And for our cardinals and the archbishops, and we thank God for this great gift of the descendent of the apostles, to be here today to guide us, to love us, in a very, very troubled world. We pray for our bishops, that they will consecrate their dioceses to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart as Mary said at Fatima, and to make reparation to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary for the offenses against Them.
We tell God we are sorry for our sins and the sins of the world. And we want to do this mission. We want to do this mission because Mary asked us to do this. Jesus asked Fr. Carter to do this. It's not a little thing that this image appeared on this building here. And even in the terrible destruction of the glass that was destroyed, Jesus told us to put that little piece of glass in the statue so that people could take the statue to their homes, and pray in their own homes, with that little piece of glass from Mary's image, all that network of prayer before that image glass.
Jesus has molded our hearts and their hearts in the Shepherds of Christ Movement, and if we let go and we realize how important, what ever level that we are, if it's the Apostles of the Eucharist Heart, if it's apostles, if it's servants, if it's handmaids, if it's associates, whatever level we are, to realize how important it is to God the Father, that He has called us to help to bring to completion this mission Mary began at Fatima, and to spread this consecration, especially, and this love to our hierarchy and our prayers, and to the whole world.
3. R. This is not about selfishness and us. It's about giving as Christ gave on the cross. We give in our lives united to the Mass, as members of the mystical body of Christ, offering our lives in the little things that we do with much love, united to the Mass, praying for the priests, the Church and the world. That's what He ask — doing the simple things with much love.
4. Jesus: And I hung on the cross for 3 agonizing hours, and My thoughts were of you, My beloved shepherds, for I have called you to be intercessors to pray, for the priests and the Church and the world. Unite now, in Our Hearts, that you will live lives of holiness in love. And in your daily struggle, when you carry the cross, praise Your heavenly Father, and say thank You for the gifts that you are given. For so many are so ungrateful and they have been so richly blessed.
I have blessed you My beloved shepherds. I have given you great insight and revealed to you deep insight into the mysteries, the mystery especially of the love of My Sacred Heart, that you will be filled with such love, that you will be strengthened, to keep the focus on the Father's vision for the Shepherds of Christ, which is to spread the devotion to Our Hearts, to pray for the priests, the Church and the world, to spread the letters of My love in the Blue Books, that more and more, men will know greater intimacy with Me as they go to the Eucharist.
I love you so. Spread My love. Tell the people today, that I died for them, and I would die for them today, because I love them so much. But I am with you truly present in the Eucharist, no less present than the day I carried My cross. Come to Me. I am longing and waiting for you to come. You are My chosen ones. Your lives can help the lives of so many. Love Me, and I will outpour, more and more, My richest love to you.
5. Sing: Come unto Me all who are weary and find rest for your soul. Come unto Me all who are burdened, I will comfort thee.
6. Hail Mary
7. Hail Mary8. R. Dear God, we love our beloved Pope so much. Help him to help us. Help the cardinals and the hierarchy to see the importance of this message from Our Lady of Clearwater, from You Our Beloved Sacred Heart, for we have struggled long, and we believe. We want the world to be the way that You want it to be. For the souls to go to heaven for all eternity, to stop the violence in the movies, and the things that are out there that are so unlike you. It hurts us to know that these things are there, because we want to please You God.
Won't you please help us, please? It is only by Your might that we can do the things that You have asked. And as imperfectly as we serve You, it is the desire of my soul to say "yes", "yes evermore." Love for you Our Lady, who prays with us, who is with us in this building, who wants us to spread the mission of Our Lady of Fatima to the world.
Lovely Lady dressed in blue,
teach us how to pray
God was once your little boy
and you know the way.9. Sing: Come unto Me all who are weary and find rest for your soul. Come unto Me all who are burdened, I will comfort thee.
10. Hail Mary
Jesus is Whipped at the Pillar
R. He wore the sins that we committed on His body — the grave sins, the deeper the wound He endured. Oh precious Savior, how deeply we love You and we want to serve You. And we want the grace that only You can give to us. Please help us. Help us in this mission. Help us to love our Holy Father and the cardinals and the bishops. Help us not to be afraid. Dear God hear this prayer.
1. Jesus: And I stood at the pillar, and My thoughts were of you, My shepherds, and how you would work so many hours in trying to do what I have asked you to do. I love being with you. And I love the prayer here and in China. Continue to pray daily as you do. Do not lose hope, for you have pleased Me. I knew your fervor when they whipped My back, I could see you this day.
2. R. Oh Jesus, we are so sorry for so many things. For we lose heart many times and focus on ourselves. And it becomes hard and we want so to serve You. Give us Your grace to strengthen us, to help us to be holy, to help us to say "yes", in the deepest struggle, to know that the power is in You, and that You expect us to rely on Your Might and not our own, to follow Your plan and not our own, to look at You at the pillar, whipped, and to know that You did that, for the souls You love. God help us to spread what You have asked us to, to the far ends of the earth, selflessly and without the selfishness, or the seeking of things for ourselves, but to be empowered by the willing spirit within us. Holy Spirit come to us, fill us with the fire of God's love. He is appearing and He is so beautiful.
3. Hail Mary
4. Sing: Come unto Me all who are weary and find rest for your soul. Come unto Me all who are burdened, I will comfort thee.
R. He's so beautiful. The light is — I can not describe this —
Come to Me, He (Jesus) says. Come to My Heart and let go. Drop the hardness from dealing with the things in the world, that you can let go and know that I am always with you, that you were an instrument in every breath that you take, and in everything that you do, that you are not caught in a bind of stiffness and tension, hurting others you do not even know — when I am so close right by your side.
R. Oh to behold You our beloved God, to know the reality of You, so close to us, to go to the Eucharist and receive You. Such a gift! Precious God! Our love for Thee must increase and our selfishness decrease, for we have a big job to do, in these few years that we are here. And we want to, we want to Jesus. He is so beautiful.
5. Hail Mary
6. Hail Mary
7. Hail Mary
8. Hail Mary9. Sing: Come unto Me all who are weary and find rest for your soul. Come unto Me all who are burdened, I will comfort thee.
10. R. It feels as if the 18 years in which He has written to me, always comes to such a pinnacle when I see Him appear again, and the reality is so keen of all that I have spoken to you here this night. And His desire for us to work with a willing heart, filled with a spirit - pure, our motive - one of service and love for Him and others. And yet as I speak I can only say the words that are etched in every tissue of my being. And it seems so hollow.
Jesus is Crowned with Thorns
1. Jesus: And they pounded into My precious head a crown of thorns, so deep, for the hatred in many men's hearts, becomes deeper as they give in to the habits in their lives every day. And I paid the price, because I wanted these men to be with Me forever in eternity. Can you not give of yourselves this day to reach them when I send them to you? And I ask you to pray, and I have taught you to pray with great fervor and love. I have shared with you the secrets of My Heart and you do not comprehend, and yet the reality is there — if you could see with eyes unveiled. But your faith is waning and your bodies stiff, and I come and I speak and I cry to you.
The world is passing away, My sweat ones, be attentive to those that are with you this day, that you will pray with all your heart, for the era of peace is at hand. Do the work I have called you to, that many will be saved, because of your love and commitment. I am Jesus. My Heart is on fire for love of you. Do not wane in and out, like a candle that flickers and then is extinguished and it must be relit again and again.
The energy that I have called you to, that you would do the work, and yet you draw so much energy for fruitless endeavors, when you could make the commitment in your heart to pray for the souls that I shed My Blood for. Listen to Me here, for I am with you this day and I am calling out to you from this place, that the Father has given to this earth, but many will not comprehend for they do not want to listen to Me.
I am Jesus. My Heart is on fire for My precious souls. Hear Me and be glad, for what you do with your lives can make a tremendous difference. I am all Powerful and Almighty. I am calling you to faithfulness, commitment and love. Will you answer My call? For it will bring you happiness and joy, deep within your soul — happiness and joy, that you have sought in so many places and not found. Serving Me in your vocation will bring you joy.
2. Hail Mary
3. Hail Mary4. R. And Jesus told me especially to pray for our donors, because this is a calling from Him too — a calling to help us to get the newsletter out there, to the hierarchy and the priests, to spread the mission of Our Lady of Fatima. It is a calling in whatever way God has called each one of us, to say "yes" — "yes" for the souls that Jesus shed His blood for. For we are here this day, and He has called us to reach them, reaching the hierarchy, reaches so many souls of the earth.
5. Hail Mary
6. R. And I feel like Peter walking on the water, because when he focused on himself He started to fall in. And Jesus says
Jesus: Do not focus on yourself. Focus on Me. Listen to Me, My child, that you will carry the message that I have given to you, that those I have called will be empowered to speak what I have told you in the Blue Books, and spread the prayer chapters throughout the world.
7. Hail Mary
8. Hail Mary
9. Hail Mary
10. Hail Mary
Jesus Carries His Cross to the Hill of Calvary
1. R. And He met His Mother on the way. This was the little boy that she once carried. He was covered with blood and He fell under the cross and she watched Him. And she has called us here today, to think of the sufferings of her Son, and how good our God is to us, that we realize that in being called in the Shepherds of Christ, God will magnify the efforts that we put forth, but we must live holy lives, lives committed in love and unity, to be a strong unit, to reach the ends of the earth, with the message that she gave at Fatima.
Believe, she (Mary) says, believe, for I am with you too. And I am guarding you my children, I am guarding you for I love you so.
2. Hail Mary
3. Hail Mary
4. Hail Mary
5. Hail Mary
6. Hail Mary
7. Hail Mary
8. Hail Mary
9. Hail Mary
10. Hail MaryR. And He (Jesus) says our faith is weak, that's why we don't do the things that we need to do. Because we are always looking for a sure thing, checking Him out over and over again, when the message that He gave to us is so simple — to spread the Blue Books, the spread the prayer chapters, to spread the Priestly Newsletter and the books. He wants our faith.
He wants us to grow this Lent to be more and more holy, not to give in to those bad habits that drive us away from Him, because He loves us so much and wants us close — to relish the time we have with Him before the Blessed Sacrament and at night to quiet our mind and to know that presence of the Trinity within our baptized, graced soul — to be in love, in love with God, that we will be strengthened to do this mission, for He has called us to this vocation.
The vocation to love and the vocation of the Shepherds of Christ, the vocation of helping to bring to completion Mary's mission at Fatima, the vocation that we have to help in spreading the Priestly Newsletter, and loving and praying for our priests, and the hierarchy and the Church and the whole world. What a vocation! And He has so tenderly outpoured His love in the letters of Jesus in the Blue Book, for the souls to know how He is truly present in the Eucharist and waiting for them — awesome!
The Crucifixion
1. Hail Mary
2. Hail Mary
3. Hail Mary4. Jesus: And the cross was so heavy and I carried it, I carried it anyway. I have given to you over the years, so many different blessings, but you have had trials, and these were blessings too, for in the trials came the growth, and in the trials came the way of knowing how to do things. You must let go now to the Holy Spirit that He will come and strengthen you and turn your scars into stars.
5. Jesus: Your scars into stars that you will become wounded healers for others, rather than using the wounds that you have within to hurt others. But you must let go and ask the Holy Spirit to come and to heal you, to be more holy, to live your vocation as intercessors, to realize how important this is to Me. I am Jesus, the Son of God. I have taught you about Myself in the Blue Books. Read the Blue Books. They are the letters of My love.
6. Jesus: And I died for you, I died for you, what more do you want? I died for you and I remain with you today in the Eucharist. Tell them, shout it from the highest mountain! Let them know of My love for them. The souls are hungry and they need the medicine.
7. Jesus: Spread the second Blue Book to priests and religious.
8. Jesus: They are hungry for greater intimacy with Me.
9. R. He actually said to spread it to the hierarchy.
10. R. Only spreading the Blue Book II, that was the message I got, nothing else.
R. He said to spread the image wallets, to just make sure that the address is right.
Hail Holy Queen
R. I know Fernando really suffered, and I think he suffered a lot because he was translating that Mass Book and the Blue Books. I want to pray for him especially. And pray for all of the people that have helped us to do this work, and be in this building, and our donors, Kathleen and her family and her mother that there may be peace on this earth, we pray.
The Memorare
R. In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
R. We do need a donation if you have any for that Response to God's Love book. We would like to send that as soon as possible. We are trying to send the cards out that advertise the other books, so that the priests will get the books, but at a really cheap price. Amen. And money to reprint the Mass Book. Amen.
Felix is at the site
Please come and get a
signed crucifix by
Felix and your picture
Betty is a handmaid who has prayed in the
China Church for 11 years. To get from her
house to the church she uses a walker and
must go over a creek and a little bridge.
We wanted a little place she could rest
by the Church. We need about $1,000 to
make this happen. Can you help us?
We are trying to get
Response to God's Love
and the Mass Book out.
Anybody who wants to help us
with a donation to get these 2 books
out in the Priestly/hierarchy mailing —
Please call Kathleen 1-888-211-3041
July 31, 1994
Words of Jesus to Members of
Shepherds of Christ Associates:"My beloved priest-companion, I intend to use the priestly newsletter, Shepherds of Christ, and the movement, Shepherds of Christ Associates, in a powerful way for the renewal of My Church and the world.
"I will use the newsletter and the chapters of Shepherds of Christ Associates as a powerful instrument for spreading devotion to My Heart and My Mother's Heart.
"I am calling many to become members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. To all of them I will give great blessings. I will use them as instruments to help bring about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My Sacred Heart. I will give great graces to the members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. I will call them to be deeply united to My Heart and to Mary's Heart as I lead them ever closer to My Father in the Holy Spirit."
- Message from Jesus to Father Edward J. Carter, S.J., Founder, as given on July 31, 1994,
feast of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits)
The China Church is over 140 years old
and we pray in there 24 hours a day.
It needs stucco and so does
the community building.
Can you please help us?
Call Kathleen 1-888-211-3041
Likewise the priest house
is 150 years old.
Jesus told us to repair it
which we have been doing.
We need $13,000.00 for this work.
You can help put the Blue Book V
in the hands of 1,000 people
we need $1,200 postage for this
It is ready to go
Call Kathleen
1-888-211-3041
You can help put Fr. Joe's homily
book in the hands of
1,000 priests — it costs $1,100
This can help 1,000 parish priests
talk about Covenant for Lent
Please help us
It is ready to go
Call Kathleen 1-888-211-3041
Call Kathleen to Order any of the items below
1-888-211-3041
