Daily Writing
| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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April 30, 2009
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May 1st Holy
Spirit Novena |
The Novena Rosary
Mysteries |
Florida Retreat
May 2nd - May 5th
1:30pm and 6:20pm each day
Please tune in and pray with us.
China Retreat
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
$820.00 with stand
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.
Can you help us?
Available for $10.00 plus postage
1-888-211-3041
April 30, 2009
God looks to the earth — what He wants
to see is obedience to His laws, His commandments,
God wants us to follow in the footprints of
Jesus.
My children used to have books with
different things on them. They would have,
say for example, a page with all beach things,
a sand shovel for kids, swimming suits,
floats, beach ball, and then amongst all
the beach things was an Eskimo — the
children were to circle the Eskimo because
he didn't belong with the beach things —
likewise an igloo would not belong with
the beach things.
What do you think God sees looking
to the earth — abortion clinics —
among churches and good people —
not good night clubs etc. —
We make choices, God can send
someone into our lives to help us
get closer to Him — Jesus gave us the
Shepherds of Christ Movement — Jesus gave us
the Daily Message, Jesus gave us the Blue Book —
The devil it says in the scripture goes about
as a roaring lion —
We have a free will —
We must choose to follow Jesus —
The devil tries to trick people
into thinking wrong is right — God
gives us a conscience — we can keep
choosing wrong things because of
rebelliousness and willfulness and
Fr. Pasquini says we can have an
uninformed conscience
Fr. Carter always told me that God
gives us the grace to be saved —
We must cooperate with that grace —
For those who can't get baptized they
can have baptism of desire —
To those who have been baptized —
cradle Catholics — we have been given
a beautiful gift —
The people who raised us were raised
by imperfect others and back and
back — generations back — we have
wounded human nature we have
tendencies toward evil —
When I got the Blue Books I realized
how much that hour before the Blessed
Sacrament meant to my daily life —
this was in the summer of 1993 - August —
where you can see a message about how
Jesus says to me I need to go to adoration
every day —
I get so much grace — it
lifts me up like a hot air balloon above
the muck and things that can really bother
you don't seem to bother you at all and
I knew I was united in love, more, to
Jesus and others —
Here is an excerpt from Blue Book I
Come to My Tabernacle
August 28, 1993 (excerpt)
Jesus: ... You feel so bad inside when you are not alone with Me in church. That is where your comfort comes from. You are so upset inside when you do not spend it here. Don't you know these things? Being home is not the same. I am truly present in the tabernacle. You needn't run anywhere. You have a key to the church. I love you. I don't want to remind you that this is where it all is. I want you to love Me so much you don't even think you can function without time alone with Me in church. Come to Me every day. You do not go a day without food. You can't go a day without time absolutely alone with Me. If you do, it will be a disaster. Have you not felt the gnawing in your heart when you didn't do it yesterday? You crave this time alone and your tears are from not being alone with Him Whom you truly love.
end of excerpt
But it is grace more and more — being filled
with His grace that helps me really see more and more
with His eyes and know more and more with His
Heart and act as He acts in me —
Grace — I hunger after it —
Fr. Carter and Jesus made me realize
the richest source of His grace is
given in the Holy Eucharist — reception
every day and adoration because He
is truly present — (unless God decides to give a special grace)
I love that place where I know that
deep intimacy with Him — I am so one
with Him. Going to confession gives
us a lot of grace and really cleanses
our soul, but being there daily for
Mass helps us to be cleansed
of venial sins with the right heart —
I must spend my time — praying —
asking for His grace — I love to be filled
with His grace, His life —
I spent a lot of time with Jesus when
He gave me the Blue Books, I didn't
want to leave — He told me about Himself
and it was so real —
like when I got the stations February 22, 1995
I cried in front of the Eucharist while
He told me about His passion and
gave me the stations.
February 22, 1995
Stations of the Cross
1. Jesus Is Condemned to Death
Jesus: My dear child, with angry hearts and hatred on their faces, they poked at Me and condemned Me to death. I stood so silent, My hands tied, in perfect peace, because I knew the Father's love. I knew the Father's Will. You too will stand your trials in perfect peace, the more you realize the immense love the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have for you. Pray to the Spirit to transform you more and more into My image and, through this transformation, you will be led ever closer to the Father. Oh, how I love you!
2. They Give Jesus the Cross
Jesus: They gave Me a heavy cross, laden with the sins of the world. They placed it on My shoulder. It was so heavy I felt as if My shoulder would break. I ask you to carry little crosses, to experience little pains. I could not remove this cross from My shoulder. The weight was unbearable. It is through My suffering and death that you receive new life. It is through your sufferings this day that you will grow in your life with Me. Oh, child, I loved you so much that I took up the cross of salvation. I love you. Please realize that I am talking to you here. To My death I loved you. Oh, how I love you!
3. Jesus Falls the First Time
Jesus: The cross was so heavy
I could hardly walk. I held on to My cross for greatest love of you and in
compliance with the Will of My Father. It became so hard to walk! The
cross was so heavy! I fell. I fell and the cross fell on Me. They poked at
Me, they struck Me, they demanded I get up. The pain from the instruments
they used to poke Me and strike Me was so great! I somehow managed to get
up.
When you fall under the weight of your cross, come to My Eucharistic
Heart. I am no less present in the tabernacle and in the Eucharist than on
the day I carried My cross. I wait with the same love that I had for you
when I carried this cross and suffered such agony. Oh, how I love you!
4. Jesus and Mary Meet
Jesus: I saw the face of My
beautiful Mother. She was weak, her face reddened and full of tears. I saw
her tender heart, her love, her anguish, her pain. I saw My dear Mother
Mary. My Heart was comforted by the sight of her, but torn by her
suffering.
Mary: As I looked into the eyes of my beloved Son, I saw His
love. His head, bleeding and wounded. His body weak. His clothes covered
with blood. I looked into His eyes and I saw His love for you. I call out
to you today. I appear today with a face full of anguish and tears. I
appear to call you back to the love of my Son. See through my eyes, as I
peer into His eyes, the love He has for you this day to give of Himself
for you. Oh, He loves you so much, my little children. See through my eyes
the love of my Son. Oh, how He loves you!
5. Simon of Cyrene Is Forced to Help Jesus Carry His Cross
Jesus: The cross was so heavy I could not move. My persecutors became angry and forced a man to help Me. The cross was so heavy the two of us could barely move it. How is your cross today? Does it seem so heavy you cannot go on? I am forever watching you. When you are suffering the greatest, I am very close to you. It is in immense suffering that you realize My great love for you. Pray for grace to do always the Father's Will. Pray for grace to grow in your knowledge and love of Me.
6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
Jesus: My face was covered
with blood. From the crowd Veronica came forward with a cloth to wipe My
face. On the cloth I gave to you an imprint of My bloodied face. This, My
children, remains with you this day as a sign of My immense love for you.
But more than any cloth, look beyond the visible consecrated host. I,
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, remain with you, Body, Blood, Soul and
Divinity, in the Eucharist this day, waiting and longing to be with you.
Oh, how I love you!
7. Jesus Falls the Second Time
Jesus: Oh, dear ones, the
road became harder and harder to walk. The cross was becoming heavier, My
body weaker and weaker. My shoulders and arms hurt so much! My head
throbbed as I walked. The blood came from My body, from My head to My
feet. I was covered with open wounds. I could not go any farther. I
stumbled and fell. Again they poked at Me, only harder, and with such
hatred they kicked Me. Such vileness in the hearts of men! My greatest
agony was not the agonies of My body, but the agonies of My heart for the
love I have for all My precious souls. I loved them so dearly. I loved
those who persecuted Me. Oh, how I love you!
8. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
Jesus: The women came to Me with their children, their tender hearts crying and wanting to comfort Me. I saw their love, their care. I saw the coldness of men's hearts for all time, the hatred, the anger, the sins, all the souls that, despite all of My sufferings and death, would be condemned to eternal damnation. I told the women to weep not for Me, but for themselves and their children. My greatest agonies were the agonies of My Most Sacred Heart. Oh, how I love you!
9. Jesus Falls the Third Time
Jesus: I fell hard the third time. I was so weakened I could not go on. My body collapsed under the cross from such exhaustion! My child, My child, My greatest agonies were not the wounds to the body. They were the wounds I experienced to My heart. Do you know a little more now how I love you? It is in meditating on My Passion and death that you will realize My immense love for you. When you fall, when you struggle, I give you the grace to get up. I never give you more than you can handle. Your strength will come from Me. Come to My Eucharistic Heart. I am waiting for you this day. Oh, how I love you!
10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments
Jesus: They took Me to the hill to crucify Me. They angrily stripped Me of My garments. They took off My clothes to whip Me. They had covered My bloody wounds with a dirty purple robe. Now, total surrender-they took off My clothes. I showed you the way to surrender, always complying with the Will of the Father. It is in living in His Will that you will have peace and joy, and life eternal some day. Oh, how I love you!
11. They Nail Him to the Cross
R. See Mary as she holds the little Baby Jesus. See her as she washes His tender hands and feet. See her now as she watches as they pound into those same hands and feet the gigantic nails that fix Jesus to the cross.
Mary: Oh, my dear ones, my heart was torn in my chest as they nailed His hands and feet to the cross. I ask you this day to walk the Passion with me and see through my eyes the love He has for you. He truly was nailed to the cross.
Jesus: They pounded the nails into My first hand, then they stretched My body and nailed My other hand. The blood poured from these wounds that went totally through My hands. My pain was so immense, but then they nailed My feet! You do not know what pain I suffered, My child. My children, My children, for each one of you I suffered this pain. Oh, how I loved you!
12. Jesus Dies on the Cross
(Silence.)
R. He hung for three agonizing hours on the cross against the
darkened sky. His greatest agonies were not the agonies of His body, but
those of His Heart for the great love He has for each and every soul.
Jesus: I gave Myself to you, My dear ones. I gave My all. I
hung with My arms spread in total surrender. My head was punctured; My
hands and feet were nailed to the cross. I gave Myself to you. I give
Myself to you this day in the Eucharist. I give Myself to you. I, God,
give you Myself! What more do you want?
Song: Oh, burning Heart, oh, Love divine, etc.
R. They pierced His Heart with a lance and what flowed forth
was blood and water, the sacramental life of the Church, water for Baptism
and blood for the Eucharist. His life, death and resurrection live on in
the Church this day.
13. Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross and Placed in the Arms of His Mother
R. His totally lifeless body
was placed in the arms of His most loving Mother. As she had held the
little baby body in her arms, she now received His bloodied, bruised body
in her arms. This is how He obeyed the Father's Will. Jesus gave His life
for us. The Father gave His only Son because He loves us so much. Mary,
His Mother, our Mother and the Mother of the Church, is forever by His
side. See Jesus in the arms of His loving Mother under the cross. This is
love.
Mary: I held His lifeless body in my arms. See through my eyes
the love He has for you this day. He gives Himself to you today in the
Eucharist. He loves you so much!
14. Jesus Is Locked in the Tomb
R. His enemies rolled the stone up to the tomb and were pleased to have buried Jesus. Mary, outside the tomb, wept bitterly. The cold reality that He was dead! But death has no power over Jesus for on the third day He rose, triumphant, from the tomb! We are partakers in His divine life. Death has no power over Jesus. He is with us this day. He comes to bring us life to the full. He loves us so much!
end of stations
I united deeply to Him in 1994 and 1995 or
whenever I get rosaries from the
Hearts of Jesus and Mary —
When Mary appeared daily and then Jesus
and Mary in 1995 I was in a church with
the tabernacle —
I know Jesus, truly present and
with me in the Church with the
Eucharist exposed or in the tabernacle —
I need the Mass — every day, sometimes
I go twice — I want His grace to permeate
my soul — God comes to us in the Holy
Eucharist — We receive Jesus,
Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity —
I love, I love to see the priest
raise the host at Mass —
I unite to Mary under the cross —
go to her pure and sinless Heart — I see
myself standing next to her —
but I unite my heart deeply to
Jesus' Heart — so one with Him
And I see the crucifixion — I
unite to Him, His pierced hands,
His aching body and crowned head —
dying for our sins —
I know His love for His
precious souls and I want the grace to
flow out so the world will be as
He wants it to be —
The reason He came to earth —
So we could share in His life —
So we, the souls of this earth, can be
changed by His grace
So we can be more like Jesus,
the Son of God
So the precious souls He died for
will cooperate with this
grace to get to heaven —
I pray to the Father, at every Mass like this,
united to the sacrifice of Jesus,
in the Holy Spirit —
through the intercession of Mary and
the intercession of the angels and
saints —
because the Mass is the sacrifice
of Calvary —
Sacramentally made present —
And I beg for grace for me and
the priests and the world —
I beg for grace to be released
for the souls Jesus died
for
Song: A Song from Jesus
Song: I Love You Jesus
But then we can see why we
need to be one with the
pure and holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary
so we can make a more
pure offering —
We are begging for grace
We are begging for grace for the
souls of this earth
Then we are united to all the
Masses going on around the world
because we are members of the
mystical body of Christ —
So our lives are an offering
united to the Mass
We want a most pure offering
so we live our lives of
consecration to the pure and
holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary —
our little heaven on earth
We say our Morning Offering
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.
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.
We are the bride of Christ —
God has called us in the Shepherds of Christ at
the end of this century to spread this
message.
The Spirituality of Consecration
Before we discuss consecration to the Heart of Christ and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we should first establish what we mean by the word consecration.
To consecrate means to make holy. Only God can make one holy. Our fundamental consecration takes place in Baptism; in Baptism we are sealed with the holiness of God. The Persons of the Trinity communicate Themselves to us in a most intimate manner. They dwell within us and give us a share in Their own holiness. Through Baptism, we truly receive a participation in the divine life, and this sharing is our life of sanctifying grace, our Christ-life.
The reference to our life of sanctifying grace as the Christ-life reminds us that our being consecrated by God in Baptism is mediated by Christ. In fact, our act of being consecrated by God in Baptism is a participation in Christ's own consecration. A. Bossard develops the idea extremely well:
By the Incarnation, in and of itself, the Humanity of Jesus is consecrated, so that in becoming Man, Jesus is ipso facto constituted Savior, Prophet, King, Priest and Victim of the One Sacrifice that was to save the world. He is the "Anointed" par excellence, the "Christ" totally belonging to God, His Humanity being that of the Word and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. When, by a free act of His human will, He accepts what He is, doing what He was sent to do, He can say that He consecrates "Himself." In Christ, therefore, what might be called His "subjective" consecration is a perfect response to the "objective" consecration produced in His humanity through the Incarnation.
And what Christ does brings with it a "consecration" for His disciples, a very special belonging to God, since He imparts to them His own life precisely by making them participate in His own consecration.
Through Baptism Christians also are consecrated and "anointed" by the power of the Spirit. They share, in their measure, in the essential consecration of Christ, in His character of King, Priest, and Prophet (cf. 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Rev. 5:9; etc.). With Christ and through Christ, they are "ordered" to the glory of God and the salvation of the world. They do not belong to themselves. They belong to Christ the Lord, who imparts His own life to them....
The vocation of those who have been baptized is to "live" this consecration by a voluntary adherence-and one that is as perfect as possible-to what it has made of them. Living as "children of God," they fulfill subjectively their objective consecration; like Jesus, they consecrate themselves. This is the deeper meaning of vows and baptismal promises, together with the actual way of life corresponding to them. The baptismal consecration is the fundamental one, constitutive of the Christian. All consecrations which come after it presuppose and are rooted in it...." (28)
The above details the awesome privilege and responsibility which come to us through Baptism. In Christ, we are consecrated with the holiness of God. We do not belong to ourselves. We belong to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and through Christ, we are called to help continue the work of the redemption. We have a mission to accomplish. We are called to participate in the prophetic, kingly, and priestly mission of Jesus. We are called to give an ongoing "yes" to our objective consecration-to that which has happened to us in Baptism. This "yes" is our subjective act of consecration.
To aid us in a special way in living our ongoing "yes"--our life of subjective consecration--God has given us devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At the center of these devotions is a specific act of consecration. This act of consecration is a very special and attractive way to live out our baptismal consecration.
Some may ask at this point, "Why the act of consecration to Mary? Is not the act of consecration to Christ sufficient?" Again, Bossard puts it very well:
If, in the strict sense in question here, consecration makes one belong to God--and Christ is God--how is it possible to speak of consecrating oneself to Mary? It is possible because, by God's will, Mary has something to do with our Christian life, with our sanctification. She is certainly not, like Christ, the source of salvation, but she is maternally ordered to our life as children of God--always, however, in perfect union with her Son and subordinate to Him. ... Hence, in the full sense of the word, a consecration to Mary includes, at least implicitly, a real and essential reference to Christ and to the Baptism that binds us to Him. (29)
Jesus Himself has told us that He wishes us to entrust--to consecrate--ourselves to Mary. We have that striking and touching scene on Calvary:
Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother and His mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing His mother and the disciple He loved standing near her, Jesus said to His mother, "Woman, this is your son." Then to the disciple He said, "This is your mother" (John 19:25-26).
Of course, the beloved disciple is John, who represents all of us. In giving Mary to John as his spiritual Mother, Jesus also gave Mary to us as our spiritual Mother. He is entrusting us to Mary. He calls attention to the fact that Mary is the Mother of our Christ-life, our life of grace. In subordination to God, she gives us this life of grace, nourishes it, brings it to full development. As she cooperates with the Holy Spirit, she assists us in living our baptismal consecration-the consecration which makes us belong entirely to God in Christ.
Pope John Paul II has put before us the meaning of Mary's spiritual motherhood on many occasions--in his homilies, his acts of consecration, and in his writings. In his encyclical letter, "The Mother of the Redeemer" (Redemptoris Mater), he comments on the above Scripture passage:
It can also be said that these same words fully show the reason for the Marian dimension of the life of Christ's disciples. This is true not only of John, who at that hour stood at the foot of the Cross together with his Master's Mother, but it is also true of every disciple of Christ, of every Christian. The Redeemer entrusts his mother to the disciple, and, at the same time, he gives her to him as his mother. Mary's motherhood, which becomes man's inheritance, is a gift: a gift which Christ himself makes personally to every individual. The Redeemer entrusts Mary to John because he entrusts John to Mary. At the foot of the Cross there begins that special entrusting of humanity to the Mother of Christ, which in the history of the Church has been practiced and expressed in different ways. (30)
Yes, Jesus has given Mary to each of us as our spiritual Mother. He wants us to grow in our appreciation of this great gift by allowing Mary to be more and more Mother to us. He wants us to grow in our entrustruent to her, in our consecration to her, so that she may lead us ever closer to Himself. All this reminds us that Jesus has willed that Mary be our Mediatrix with Him. Perhaps no other devotee of Mary has emphasized this truth more than St. Louis de Montfort. In speaking of this Marian Saint, Fr. Authur Collings observes: "Perhaps, in the final analysis, the greatest contribution of this Breton saint to the theology of Marian consecration is precisely in his insistence on Mary's mediation as willed by God." (31)
St. Louis de Montfort, himself, emphatically reminds us why we consecrate ourselves to Mary: "The more one is consecrated to Mary, the more one is consecrated to Jesus." (32)
At both Fatima and Medjugorje Mary has asked us to consecrate ourselves to her in a particular way--consecration to her Immaculate Heart. Mary, our Mother, shows us her Heart as the symbol of her love. She tells us that she loves us with an overwhelming love and asks that we respond to this love by loving her in return, by making a total gift of ourselves--a total entrustment of ourselves--to her Immaculate Heart. She asks this of us so that she may be able to exercise her motherhood toward us as fully as possible. She wants us to imitate her own great love for Jesus, for the Father, and for the Holy Spirit. Her love for the Persons of the Trinity is symbolized by her Heart, as is her love for us.
A great sign of our consecration to Mary the Immaculate Heart, is the wearing of the Brown Scapular. Sr. Lucia, one of the Fatima visionaries, has said that we should wear the scapular as part of living the Fatima message. She tells us that "the Rosary and the scapular are inseparable." Our Lady, when she gave the scapular to St. Simon Stock in 1251, said, "Whoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire." Only a properly authorized priest can validly enroll one in the Brown Scapular. (33)
How can we refuse the love and the loving request of our Mother? If we respond by consecrating ourselves to her Immaculate Heart, we can experience a remarkable sense of being loved, a sense of peace and joy, a sense of security and warmth. Resting secure within the Heart of our Mother, we are strengthened in all circumstances "to be for Christ''-- to live out our baptismal consecration. Amid laughter and tears, success and failure, times of exhilaration and times of sorrowful disappointment, we can rest secure in the maternal heart of a Mother who loves us with an unfathomable love. If we can remain within the refuge of Mary's Immaculate Heart, nothing can prevent us from also growing in our consecration to the Heart of Christ. And this, indeed, is why Mary wants us to consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart--so that she may lead us ever closer to the Heart of Jesus. This was emphatic at Fatima, and most certainly at Medjugorje.
In speaking of our consecration to the Immaculate Heart, Pope John Paul II stated:
Our act of consecration refers ultimately to the Heart of her Son, for as the Mother of Christ, she is wholly united to His redemptive mission. As at the marriage feast of Cana, when she said, "Do whatever He tells you," Mary directs all things to her Son, who answers our prayers and forgives our sins. Thus by dedicating ourselves to the Heart of Mary we discover a sure way to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, symbol of the merciful love of Our Savior. (34) (emphasis added)
Yes, Mary the Immaculate Heart points to the Heart of Jesus and she wants us to immerse ourselves in the flames of this Heart. She wants us, in her company, to seek our refuge in Jesus' Heart. She asks us to dwell within her own Immaculate Heart more and more so that she may more and more place us deeply within the Heart of Christ. In all this, Mary cooperates with the Holy Spirit in forming Christ in us in ever greater measure. Her desire for us is that we grow in the likeness of Jesus, that we become, to an ever greater degree, Christians according to the Heart of Christ.
Devotion to the Heart of Christ is rooted in what took place upon Calvary:
It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath--since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity--the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Him, and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found He was already dead, and so, instead of breaking His legs, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water (John 19:31-34).
It is interesting to note that St. John is the only one of the four evangelists to record this piercing of Jesus' Heart upon Calvary. How fitting! Jesus loved John with a most special love. John was the one who placed his head against Jesus' Heart at the Last Supper. John was the one to whom Jesus entrusted Mary and the one whom Christ entrusted to Mary as his spiritual Mother; John represented all of us. John, special recipient of Jesus' love, witnessed and recorded the piercing of Jesus' Heart, this heart which is symbol of Christ's love.
St. Bonaventure, a doctor of the Church, comments on how the Church was born from the pierced Heart of Jesus:
Then, in order that the Church might be formed out of the side of Christ sleeping on the cross... the divine plan permitted that one of the soldiers should pierce open His sacred side with a lance. While blood mixed with water flowed, the price of our salvation was poured forth, which gushing forth from the sacred fountain of the Heart, gave power to the sacraments of the Church.... (35)
>From its roots on Calvary, devotion to the Heart of Christ has developed down through the ages. Numerous popes of recent times have highly recommended devotion to the Heart of Christ. One of the highlights of these papal affirmations has been Pope Pius XII's encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart, Haurietis Aquas. In speaking of the greatness of this devotion, Pius XII states:
Indeed, if the evidence on which devotion to the wounded Heart of Jesus rests is rightly weighed, it is clear to all that we are dealing here, not with an ordinary form of piety, which anyone may, at his discretion, slight in favor of other devotions, or esteem lightly, but with a duty of religion most conducive to Christian perfection. For if devotion, according to the common theological definition which the Angelic Doctor gives, "is apparently nothing else but the will to give oneself readily to things concerning the service of God," can there be a service to God more required and necessary-and at the same time nobler and more pleasant--than that which pays homage to His love? (36)
Pope Pius XII also speaks to us concerning Christ's Heart as symbol of love:
Wherefore, the Heart of the Incarnate Word is rightly considered the chief index and symbol of the threefold love with which the Divine Redeemer continuously loves the Eternal Father and the whole human race. It is the symbol of that divine love which He shares with the Father and the Holy Ghost, but which in Him alone, in the Word, namely, that was made Flesh, is it manifested to us through His mortal human body, since "in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead, bodily." It is, moreover, the symbol of that most ardent love which, infused into His soul, sanctifies the human will of Christ and whose action is enlightened and directed by a twofold most perfect knowledge, namely the beatific and infused. Finally, in a more direct and natural manner, it is a symbol also of sensible love, since the body of Jesus Christ, formed through the operation of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary, has a most perfect capacity for feeling and perception, much more than the bodies of all other men. (37)
Jesus shows us His Heart as symbol of His great love for us. This love is directed at each of us in a most precious, unique way, for He knows each of us by name. He knows each of us much, much better than we know ourselves. He loves each of us in our uniqueness with an incomprehensible love. In the greatness of this love for us, He hung upon a cross, His body racked with the indescribable pain of crucifixion; a body which had already been greatly weakened by the agony in the garden, by the cruel scourging, and by the carrying of the Cross. Besides the overwhelming physical pain, there was the agonizing suffering of His Heart. Part of this anguished suffering of His Heart was the knowledge that His love would be refused by so many down through the centuries. He knew that this love would be rejected so many times, even scorned and laughed at.
What is our response to Christ's love for us? With St.Ignatius Loyola, let us ask, "What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What am I going to do for Christ?"
It is our privilege and duty to give ourselves to Christ. It is our privilege and duty, each day, to say "yes" to our baptismal consecration. Each day we have a renewed opportunity to realize that we do not belong to ourselves, but that we belong to God, in Christ. ...
Each day is a precious opportunity "to be for Christ and others." Each day is a precious opportunity to renew that consecration to the Heart of Christ. In renewing that consecration, we can speak to Jesus in words such as these:
Jesus, You have loved me so much. You continue to love me with a love whose depths I cannot fully comprehend. You have given and do give Yourself completely to me. Help me give myself entirely to You. In myself, I am so weak and helpless. But in You, I am so strong. With Your grace, I make this gift of myself joyfully and gratefully. I make this gift of myself through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Heart of my Mother, this Mother who loves me so much, who has such a great desire for me to daily approach Your Heart. How much Mary desires that I immerse myself in the love of Your Heart! How eager she is to help me draw strength from Your Heart, in order to pour myself out anew in love for God and neighbor!
Jesus, I love You so much, and how much I want to grow in love for You! You are my salvation, You are my reconciliation, You are my happiness, my peace, my joy. You are my perfect Friend!
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque sheds further light on what is involved in consecration to the Heart of Jesus. St. Margaret Mary, to whom Christ revealed the secrets of His Sacred Heart, serves as a most eminent teacher for instructing us on how to live out our consecration. In a letter to a friend, the Saint says:
... I shall simply tell you, as a true friend in the adorable Heart of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, that when I pray to Him for you, this thought occurs to me: If you want to live wholly for Him and attain that perfection He desires of you, you must make a complete sacrifice of yourself and of all that you have, without reserve, to His Sacred Heart. You must no longer will anything, but with the will of this most loving Heart, love nothing except with His love, act only according to the lights He gives you, undertake nothing without first asking His counsel and help. All the glory must be His. You must thank Him for the ill as well as for the good success of your undertakings, always satisfied, never worrying about anything. As long as this divine Heart is satisfied, loved, and glorified, that must be enough for us. (38)
That we should give special attention to St. Margaret Mary's teaching concerning the Sacred Heart is confirmed by the following words of Pope Pius XII:
We mention, by way of example, the names of those who achieved special distinction in establishing and promoting devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: St. Bonaventure, St. Albert the Great, St. Gertrude, St. Catherine of Siena, Blessed Henry Suso, St. Peter Canisius, St. Francis de Sales, and St. John Eudes....
Among those who have promoted this most excellent devotion, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque occupies the chief place of honor. (39)
Yes, St. Margaret Mary holds a preeminent place in the history of devotion to the Heart of Jesus. I consider myself very privileged to have been able to make a recent pilgrimage to Paray-le-Monial. This is the French town where St. Margaret Mary lived out her religious life at the Convent of the Sisters of the Visitation. I was privileged to make a holy hour in the Chapel of Apparitions, the place where St. Margaret Mary received apparitions and revelations from the Sacred Heart. This was one of the most special experiences of my entire life.
St. Margaret Mary stated that Jesus has given twelve promises to those who are devoted to His Sacred Heart:
1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes.
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
5. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all th
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place in which an image of My Heart is exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
12. I promise you, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace, nor without receiving their Sacraments. My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment. (40)
In conclusion, we restate the fundamental idea of Part II of this book: the point of convergence of the message of Fatima and that of Medjugorje is the call to conversion through consecration to the Heart of Christ and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The spirituality of Fatima and Medjugorje is a spirituality of Hearts and hearts--one which involves the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and our own hearts.
Christ, the Sacred Heart, and Mary, the Immaculate Heart, manifest their great and unfathomable love for us. They reveal Their Hearts as symbols of this love, and They ask for our consecration in return. To say ""yes" is to live out our baptismal consecration in a most special way. To say "yes" to Their request is our salvation. To say "yes" is to find the substantial and ongoing happiness we all seek. To say ""yes" is to dwell secure in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, where we feel loved and protected, where we find peace and joy, where we are fired with the determination to pour ourselves out in love for God and neighbor. To say ""yes" is to go to the Father, with and through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, with Mary, our Mother, at our side.
end of excerpt
A. Boussard gives an extremely fine and concise sketch of the theology of consecration: "By the Incarnation, in and of itself, the Humanity of Jesus is consecrated, so that in becoming Man, Jesus is ipso facto constituted Savior. Prophet, King, Priest, and Victim of the One Sacrifice that was to save the world. He is the 'Anointed', par excellence, the 'Christ' totally belonging to God, His Humanity being that of the Word and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. When, by a free act of His human will, He accepts what He is, doing what He was sent to do, He can say that He consecrates 'Himself'. In Christ, therefore, what might be called His 'subjective' consecration is a perfect response to the 'objective' consecration produced in His Humanity through the Incarnation.
"And what Christ does brings with it a 'consecration' for His disciples, a very special belonging to God, since He imparts to them His own life precisely by making them participate in His own consecration.
"Through Baptism Christians also are consecrated and 'anointed' by the power of the Spirit. They share, in their measure, in the essential consecration of Christ, in His character of King, Priest, and Prophet (cf. 1 Pt 2:9; 2 Pt 1:3-4; Rv 5:9; etc.) With Christ and through Christ, they are 'ordered' to the glory of God and the salvation of the world. They do not belong to themselves. They belong to the Lord, who imparts His own life to them....
"The vocation of those who have been baptized is to 'live' this consecration by a voluntary adherence-and one that is as perfect as possible-to what it has made of them. Living as 'children of God', they fulfill subjectively their objective consecration; like Jesus, they consecrate themselves. This is the deeper meaning of vows and baptismal promises, together with the actual way of life corresponding to them. The baptismal consecration is the fundamental one, constitutive of the Christian. All consecrations which come after it presuppose it and are rooted in it...."19
In this Month of May help me get
the Mass Book reprinted —
Jesus told me to mail this and
Response to God's Love by May 13, 2009 —
92nd anniversary of Mary's
apparition at Fatima
Help me —
Please help me do what Jesus
asked for
All the evil in the world cannot
snuff out the love of the Sacred Heart
on fire for men —
God has given us the Church,
the sacraments
Help me spread the Mass Book and
these prayers, Morning Offering,
Prayer for Union — Holy Spirit Novena —
Jesus told Fr. Carter to compile these
prayers
Mary was sent by the Father at
Fatima to warn us to amend our
lives she gave us her peace plan and
said
until a sufficient number of people have
consecrated their lives to Jesus and Mary
we won't have peace in the world
This disorder we have today
came from disobedience
Romans 8: 5-9
Those who are living by their natural inclinations have their minds on the things human nature desires; those who live in the Spirit have their minds on spiritual things. And human nature has nothing to look forward to but death, while the Spirit looks forward to life and peace, because the outlook of disordered human nature is opposed to God, since it does not submit to God's Law, and indeed it cannot, and those who live by their natural inclinations can never be pleasing to God. You, however, live not by your natural inclinations, but by the Spirit, since the Spirit of God has made a home in you. Indeed, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Mary by day |
by night |
Mary gave Fr. Carter these messages
to pray for the priests, the
Church and the world —
to encourage bishops, archbishops to
consecrate their dioceses to the Hearts
of Jesus and Mary
Help me
We must make Jesus the King and
Center of our Hearts
This will bring peace —
this era of peace Mary
promised at Fatima —
The Reign of the Sacred Heart and Triumph
of the Immaculate Heart if we pray these
prayers
and follow the messages
Mary and Jesus still appear to me inside
the building in Clearwater —
Their messages received live
are transcribed from the tape
on the Daily Writings
Help me do what Mary and Jesus
said we are to do to bring
peace to the world —
Love in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Rita Ring
We will pray
Saturday May 2nd - 5th in the
Clearwater building —
the usual 5th prayer service
We will pray in our church
St. Anthony's
May 11th - 14th
May 13, 2009 — 92nd anniversary
of Fatima —
Mass 12:00 noon
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
