Mary has requested that the daily message be given each day to the world. It is
read nightly at the prayer service from her Image Building in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A.
This is according to her request. All attempts will be made to publish this daily message
to the world at 11 p.m. Eastern time, U.S.A.
We acknowledge that the final authority regarding these messages
rests with the Holy See of Rome.
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May 11, 1999
A Prayer for Intimacy with the Lamb, the
Bridegroom of the Soul
Oh Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, come and act on my soul most
intimately. I surrender myself, as I ask for the grace to let go, to just be as I exist in
You and You act most intimately on my soul. You are the Initiator. I am the soul waiting
Your favors as You act in me. I love You. I adore You. I worship You. Come and possess my
soul with Your Divine Grace, as I experience You most intimately.
Jesus speaks: Freedom is found in doing My will.
All actions must be directed from that inner desire to serve Me and walk
in My name.
You cannot worry what other people think. Some children are so shamed by
their parents they spend their lives focusing on themselves, their performance and how
they are pleasing or impressing others.
Do you operate to do God's will or are your actions determined by those
around you and what they may think of you?
How aware are you of the God that watches you and wants you to serve
Him?
Freedom. You wish to be free, the devil wants you enslaved,
focused on self, secured in bonds. They secured Me at the pillar. I was tied securely and
beaten with whips, but I was more free than any man that ever lived.
You will be free when you die to self and selfish ways and focus on Me
and My Father's will for you.
Now look at your thoughts. Are they filled with desires for self, are
they filled with thoughts of making yourself look good to others, that you will be
accepted and loved? Are they focused on yourself and how you are being accepted in the
world?
Now look at God-made-Man. I gave My all for My beloved souls. I took on
flesh and came stripped of all riches. I died stripped naked hanging on the tree, the tree
of life from which the flowing water of salvation flows through My pierced Heart to the
hungry souls beneath. The tree of life! "I am the Way; I am Truth and Life...."
(Jn 14:6) I am God, holy and true, I am God, made man for you.
The story of the man who did his own will and disobeyed God's will, the
story of Adam and the story of the New Adam, the One Who died to bring you life.
I took all sin to Myself. I, the Almighty, all-pure God died to give you
life.
The pain was more than you could ever know for the loss of My precious
souls. Oh the pain, you will never know the depth of My love and the pain to My Sacred
all-loving Heart.
Freedom is found in having freedom from attachments. Satan will work in
the one attachment you still have, you must surrender everything to God. That is freedom.
With this freedom you do not worry what others are thinking of you.
One who acts like Me acts because it is God's will. You love for the
good of the other, not with a selfish love to get love for yourself.
You love to draw souls closer to God.
This is your focus: to help lead souls closer to God.
You are not in control. The more you surrender to Me and let Me operate
in you, the more you will accomplish great feats with My might.
Let go of the control. You must realize My power and might and strive to
be more identified with Me at every moment.
My beloved priests, you do not know the power of your life lived in
union with Me, uniting your life as a sacrifice united to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
offered to the Father in the Holy Spirit. Be united with all the angels and saints and
souls in purgatory. You must realize the power in your priesthood, the power in the Mass
you celebrate daily and its relationship to the whole body of Christ. Quit worrying about
pleasing the people, do what God wants, focus on His will for you. Live to please God at
every moment. Please help Me, My priests. Give yourselves to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,
the pure Hearts so that your offerings will be holy, oh so holy, as you dwell in Our
Hearts. Pray as I have instructed. Beg for grace and mercy for the Church and the world.
Give yourself completely to Me.
I am the Chief Shepherd, you have been ordained My priests to act as My
shepherds in this world, to minister to My flock.
Shepherds of Christ
A Spirituality Newsletter for Priests
CONTENTS
Chief Shepherd of the Flock
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd is one who lays
down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do
not belong to him, abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and
then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; this is because he is only a hired man and
has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep.
(Jn 10:11-151)
Yes, the Good Shepherd laid down His life for us in His brutal and
agonizing death on the cross and rose gloriously from the dead so that we might have
abundant life in Him.
One of the most important aspects of the life Jesus came to give us is
peace. We have the following account of Jesus' appearance to the disciples after His
resurrection:
"In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the
doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came
and stood among them. He said to them, 'Peace be with you,' and showed them his hands and
his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them
again, 'Peace be with you'" (Jn 20:19-21).
- The world needs peace. Individual nations need peace and families need
peace. The Church needs peace. Each of us individually needs peace. We must work for peace
through prayer, fasting, and other Christ-like activities.
And just what do we mean by peace? St. Augustine says peace is the tranquility of order.
God has put order into His creation and this order must be respected and promoted if peace
is to prevail. To the extent that the human family lives according to God's will--lives
according to the order or the plan God has established for creation--to that extent does
peace exist in the various segments of human society. To the extent there are violations
of God's plan, of His will, to that extent peace is absent.
If we are to be instruments of peace, we ourselves must be at peace. Our personal peace is
that tranquility of order which results from our doing God's will. The more we are united
through love with God in the doing of His will, the more we experience peace.
Sometimes the sense of peace we experience is so strong that we can "feel" it
pulsating throughout our being. These are periods of what we may call the experience of
extraordinary peace. This type of peace usually is not an everyday occurrence.
Most of the time we live immersed in a more subdued kind of peace which results from our
daily attempts to do God's will in love. It is that peace which is a welcome and
sustaining companion as we walk the path of everyday life with its usual assortments of
joys and disappointments, successes and failures, laughter and tears.
Occasionally, very deep suffering may enter our lives. It is during these times that we
need special determination to preserve ourselves in a basic peace of spirit despite the
very significant pain. One may wonder how a person can be at peace amidst the experience
of great suffering. St. Francis de Sales in one of his writings--and I have not been able
to locate the exact place--offers an analogy which I think is very helpful. He asks us to
picture an ocean body of water at the time of a violent storm. The surface of the water
becomes extremely turbulent. Francis asks us, as we use our imagination , to descend
beneath the surface of the water into its depth. What do we find? The more deeply one
descends away from the turbulent surface, the calmer the water becomes. Likewise, says the
saint and doctor of the Church, should it be with us during times of profound suffering.
Although the surface of the spirit may be very agitated, one can still maintain basic
peace of spirit by going deep down to one's center where God is more directly experienced.
Here the person experiences a calm, a basic peace, although the suffering remains.
If we are trying to do God's will in love, God intends us to be at peace. The more we
conform to God's will, the more we are living according to the order He intends for us. In
turn, the more our lives are in harmony with the order established by God, the more we
experience peace--peace being the tranquility of order. The more we ourselves live in this
manner, the more fit instruments we become for promoting God's order and consequent peace
throughout the various segments of society.
- St. Dominic was an outstanding witness to the peace of the Lord:
"Dominic possessed such great integrity and was so strongly motivated by divine love,
that without doubt he proved to be a bearer of honor and grace. He was a man of great
equanimity, except when moved to compassion and mercy. And since a joyful heart animates
the face, he displayed the peaceful composure of a spiritual man in the kindness he
manifested outwardly and by the cheerfulness of his countenance."2
- Shortly before he was to die from cancer, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin left
us these inspiring words about peace: "It is the first day of November, and fall is
giving way to winter. Soon the trees will lose the vibrant colors of their leaves and snow
will cover the ground. The earth will shut down, and people will race to and from their
destinations bundled up for warmth. Chicago winters are harsh. It is a time of dying.
"But we know that spring will soon come with all its new life and wonder.
"It is quite clear that I will not be alive in the spring. But I will soon experience
new life in a different way...
"What I would like to leave behind is a simple prayer that each of you may find what
I have found--God's special gift to us all: the gift of peace. When we are at peace, we
find the freedom to be most fully who we are, even in the worst of times. We let go of
what is non-essential and embrace what is essential. We empty ourselves so that God may
more fully work within us. And we become instruments in the hands of the Lord."3
- Here is the beautiful prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument of
your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, life.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
- St. Paul speaks to us about the peace of the Lord: "I want you to be
happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your
tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near. There is no need to worry; but if
there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving,
and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your
hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:4-7)
- Speaking of Eucharistic participation, Vatican II tells us: "The
Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ's faithful, when present at this mystery
of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators. On the contrary, through
a proper appreciation of the rites and prayers they should participate knowingly,
devoutly, and actively. They should be instructed by God's word and be refreshed at the
table of the Lord's body; they should give thanks to God; by offering the Immaculate
Victim, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him, they should learn to
offer themselves too. Through Christ the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into
ever closer union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in
all."4
The above words remind us that the universal priesthood gives the faithful a real priestly
power of offering the Eucharistic sacrifice. This capacity of offering, of course, differs
from that power of offering which the priest receives through ordination. Nevertheless,
all of us do participate in the priesthood and victimhood of Jesus, who is chief priest
and victim in the Mass.
- Pope John-Paul II, in one of his writings prior to his becoming Pope,
points out that the truth of our sharing in the priesthood of Christ is central to the
entire teaching of Vatican II: "...the attitude which derives from sharing in the
priesthood of Christ is seen as one which contains in a special way all the richness of
faith, both as regards content and as regards subjective commitment. The Conciliary
teaching, which lays so much emphasis on this attitude, also shows us its proper place in
the inner life of every Christian and the life of every Christian community, in which all
the wealth of faith must be sought and developed. It can in a sense be said that the
doctrine concerning Christ's priesthood and man's share in it is at the very centre of the
teaching of Vatican II and contains in a certain manner all that the Council wished to say
about the Church, mankind and the world.
"Only against the background of the truth concerning Christ's priesthood, in which
all the People of God share, does the Council delineate the mutual 'subordination' between
the priesthood of all the faithful and the hierarchical priesthood."5
- The following words of Fr. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O., are closely connected
with the above. His words emphasize the great importance regarding personal holiness and
one's participation in the Mass. "Mass, insomuch as it is Christ's offering, is not
only always acceptable to God, but is of infinite value as well. But, inasmuch as it is
your offering and mine, and that of every other member of the Mystical Body...we can limit
the effectiveness of God's great Act of Love; we finite beings can set bounds to the
veritable flood of God-life made possible by the Infinite Son of the Infinite
Father."6
- Yes, the effectiveness of each Mass, which makes the sacrifice of Calvary
sacramentally present, depends in part on the holiness of the entire Church offering it
with Christ to the Father in the Holy Spirit, including the holiness of the individual
priest offering the Mass and the holiness of his participating congregation.
Fr. Maurice de la Taille, S.J., formerly professor of Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian
University, and a universally recognized authority on the Mass, points out the great
importance of personal holiness in the Church relative to the effectiveness of the
Eucharistic sacrifice: "It is, then, of greatest importance that there should be in
the Church many holy, many very holy persons. Devout people, men and woman, who should be
urged by every means to higher sanctity, so that through them the value of our Masses
may be increased and the tireless voice of the Blood of Christ, crying from the
earth, may ring with greater clearness and insistence in the ears of God. His Blood cries
on the altars of the Church, but, since it cries through us, it follows that the warmer
the heart, the purer the lips, the more clearly will its cry be heard at the Throne of
God. Would you wish to know why for so many years after the first Pentecost the Gospel was
so marvelously propagated; why there was so much sanctity amongst the Christian people;
why such purity in heart and mind, such charity, the sum of all perfections? You will find
the answer when you recall that in those times the Mother of God was still on earth giving
her precious aid in all the Masses celebrated by the Church, and you will cease to wonder
that never since has there been such expansion of Christianity, and such spiritual
progress."7
If all, then, have a responsibility to grow in holiness in order to render the Mass more
efficacious, the priest has a special duty to do so. His goal must always be to grow in
holiness--to grow in union with Christ the priest, this Christ Who leads us to the Father
in the Holy Spirit with Mary at our side.
- Let us continue to build upon the thought of Fr. de la Taille. He states
that the Masses which took place while Our Blessed Mother was still upon earth were
extraordinarily effective because of her great holiness.
We can, therefore, make our own participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice much more
effective by striving to develop within us those dispositions of Mary which she brought to
her own participation in the Eucharist sacrifice while she was upon earth.
Let us ask Mary to help us participate in the Eucharistic sacrifice as perfectly as
possible. She is the perfect model for us in the putting on of Christ crucified and Christ
glorified. Mary has been given great insight into how one is to participate more and more
in Christ's paschal mystery of death and resurrection, this paschal mystery which becomes
sacramentally present upon our altars at the Eucharistic sacrifice.
Mary is the Sorrowful Mother who has cried. She is also the one who is totally wrapped in
victory as she stands above the altar of sacrifice. Mary is the Lady of Victory, the Lady
of Peace and Joy, the Lady Clothed with the Sun. Through her Immaculate Heart she brings
the crying children of Eve into greater light so that grace will flow in great torrents
from the altars of sacrifice.
Let us pray that we ourselves will contribute more and more in helping the waters of
salvation flow more copiously from our altars to the thirsty earth.
As we have indicated, the fruitfulness of each Mass depends greatly on the holiness of the
priest offering the Eucharistic sacrifice. An aspect of the priest's holiness is his
coming to the altar with that presence of being which allows him to have the greatest
appreciation of the awesome event which is to take place. The priest attains the proper
presence at the Mass proportionate to his oneness with Christ. In turn, his oneness with
Jesus is in proportion to his union with Mary. For it is Mary's God-given role to
cooperate with the Holy Spirit in producing the deepening of the image of Jesus within us.
Consequently, the more one is united to Mary, the more the Holy Spirit, Whose spouse Mary
is, forms us in Christ.
Besides having a duty to grow in appreciation of the greatness of the Mass himself, the
priest has a great privilege and responsibility to teach the faithful how to participate
more fruitfully in the Mass. Many seem to come to the Mass knowing little regarding the
greatness of the event about to occur. Many seem to come to the altar lacking in that
proper knowledge and proper overall disposition which would allow for a proper
participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice.
In childlike trust, let us ask the Father to grant us through Christ and in the Holy
Spirit with the assistance of Mary our Mother, ever greater knowledge and love of the
Eucharist: "At that time Jesus exclaimed, 'I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere
children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been
entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one
knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (Mt
11:25-27)
- Not all agree with everything Joseph Cardinal Bernardin said and did
during his tenure as head of the Chicago archdiocese. I think all, though, will agree that
he gave an outstanding witness concerning how a Christian should face and accept death.
During his final months as a cancer patient, he gave inspiration to millions. There is
another aspect of the Cardinal's life that I also think all would voice agreement on--that
the Cardinal, as Archbishop of one of the Church's largest archdioceses, was an extremely
busy man. Yet, he tells us, in one of his final comments to us before his death, that he
gave one hour each day to prayer, and that he treasured this early morning time with the
Lord. "I learned many years ago that the only way I could give quality time to prayer
was by getting up early in the morning (I must add parenthetically that I didn't have a
great desire to get up so early--I usually tried to stay in bed as late as I could.) The
early hours of the morning, before the phones and doorbells started to ring, before the
mail arrived, seemed to me to be the best for spending quality time with the Lord. So I
promised God and myself that I would give the first hour of each day to prayer. Though not
knowing then whether I would keep the promise, I'm happy to say that I have kept it for
nearly twenty years. This doesn't mean that I've learned how to pray perfectly. It doesn't
mean that I have not experienced the struggles that other people have faced. Quite the
contrary. But early on, I made another decision. I said, 'Lord, I know that I spend a
certain amount of that morning hour of prayer day dreaming, problem-solving, and I'm not
sure that I can cut that out. I'll try, but the important thing is, I'm not going to give
that time to anybody else. So even though it may not unite me as much with you as it
should, nobody else is going to get that time'.
"What I have found as time has gone on is that the effect of that first hour doesn't
end when the hour is up. That hour certainly unites me with the Lord in the early part of
the day, but it keeps me connected to him throughout the rest of the day as well.
Frequently, as I face issues, whether positive or negative, I think of my relationship to
the Lord and ask for his help. So these are two important points, at least for me. Namely,
even if it's not used right, you shouldn't give that time to somebody else; you should
just keep plugging away. And secondly, if you do give the time, little by little you
become united with the Lord throughout your life, which is very important.
"What do I do during my morning prayer? I pray some of the Liturgy of the Hours. For
me, that's a very important prayer. It's a prayer of the Church, and I feel connected with
all the people, especially clerics and religious, who are reciting or praying the Liturgy
of the Hours throughout the world. And so it gives me not only the feeling but also the
conviction that I'm part of something that is much greater. And, secondly, a major portion
of the prayers of the various hours are from the Psalms. I have found the Psalms to be
very special because they relate in a very direct way, human way, the joys and sorrows of
life, the virtues, the sins. They convey the message that good ultimately wins out. And as
you see the people who are mentioned in the Psalms struggling to be united with the Lord,
it gives you a certain amount of encouragement knowing that even thousands of years ago
this same thing was happening.
"I also pray the Rosary because it brings into vivid images some of the high points
in the Lord's life and ministry as well as that of his Blessed Mother. It's a real help.
Some people think it may be repetitious, and in a sense it is. But it keeps you focused on
the mysteries of the Lord, Joyful Mysteries, Sorrowful Mysteries, Glorious Mysteries.
"And then I spend part of my time in mental prayer, reflection. I try to enrich that
as much as I can prayerfully reflecting on the Scriptures and other good spiritual
books...Without prayer, you cannot be connected or you cannot remain united with the Lord.
It's absolutely essential."8
- Thomas Merton has left us these words concerning prayer and
self-knowledge:"The sincerity of all prayer, whether liturgical or private, depends
on the fundamental acknowledgment of our actual spiritual state. We have to have some
realization of what we are supposed to be, of what we are not, and of what we are. The
first step towards a liberty that is a free gift of God's grace, is the free
acknowledgment of our own need for His grace. Or, in other words, if our liberty aspires
to a union with the supreme freedom of the Spirit Who is Liberty itself, it must begin by
freely accepting the truth about ourselves. For without truth we cannot see to make
choices, and if freedom cannot see to choose, it is not fully free. We must see and accept
the mystery of God's love in our own apparently inconsequential lives."9
- Vatican II tells us: "Priestly holiness itself contributes very
greatly to a fruitful fulfillment of the priestly ministry. True, the grace of God can
complete the work of salvation even through unworthy ministries. Yet ordinarily God
desires to manifest His wonders through those who have been made particularly docile to
the impulse and guidance of the Holy Spirit."10
- The priest can obviously appropriately apply to himself what Vatican II
says concerning the spiritual formation of seminarians: "Spiritual formation should
be closely linked with doctrinal and pastoral training. Especially with the help of the
spiritual director, such formation should help seminarians learn to live in familiar and
constant companionship with the Father, through Jesus Christ His Son, in the Holy Spirit.
By sacred ordination they will be molded in the likeness of Christ the Priest. As friends
they should be used to loyal association with Him through a profound identification of
their whole lives with His. They should live His paschal mystery in such a way that they
know how to initiate into it the people entrusted to them.
"They should be taught to look for Christ in many places: in faithful meditation on
God's word, in active communion with the most holy mysteries of the Church, especially in
the Eucharist and the divine Office, in the bishop who sends them, and in the people to
whom they are sent, especially the poor, the young, the sick, the sinful, and the
unbelieving. With the trust of a son, they should love and honor the most Blessed Virgin
Mary, who was given as a mother to His disciple by Christ Jesus as He hung dying on the
cross."11
- The Directory on the Ministry and the Life of Priests tells us:
"The priests, as collaborators of the Episcopal Order, form with their Bishop a sole
presbyterate and participate, in a subordinate degree, in the only priesthood of Christ.
Similar to the Bishop, they participate in that espousal dimension in relation to the
Church which is well expressed in the Rite of the episcopal ordination when the ring is
entrusted to them...
"By this communion with Christ the Spouse, the ministerial priesthood is also
founded--as Christ, with Christ, and in Christ--in that mystery of transcendent
supernatural love of which the marriage among Christians is an image and a participation.
"Called to the act of supernatural love, absolutely gratuitous, the priest should
love the Church as Christ has loved her, consecrating to her all his energies and giving
himself with pastoral charity in a continous act of generosity."12
Friendship is a process of self-liberation. As I give myself to another
in friendship, I am aided in the process of escape from my false self. I am aided in the
process of growing in true self-identity. The facade which the false self has erected
around the authentic self gradually dissolves through the dynamics of true friendship. Thy
is this? When another receives me in friendship, that other receives me as I am. The
friend loves me in my good points, loves me despite my bad points. In the warmth of this
receptive love, I am encouraged to be and to become my authentic self. I do not have to
project a false self in the hopes that such an image might be more acceptable to the
other. I am encouraged to take the risk of being my true self, since I know the other will
not reject me. As a matter of fact, my true self is more attractive to the friend and to
others precisely because it is my authentic self--the self God destines me to be.
Friendship, then, increases my freedom--the freedom to be my real self. The deeper the
friendship, the more I am encouraged by the other's love to be and to become, to exercise
my talents and to bring them to ever greater maturation for love of God and neighbor.
If my possibilities of growing according to my authentic self are
enhanced as I give myself to a human-person friend, much more are the possibilities
enhanced as I give myself to Jesus in friendship. The more I am aware of Jesus' tremendous
and personal love for me, the more secure I feel in developing my real self. Being
accepted by Jesus as an intimate friend should really change my life--as it changed the
life of St. Paul and many others. As Jesus has given himself entirely to me, so I should
give myself entirely to Him. This deep and intense friendship accomplishes my ongoing
transformation, my ongoing conversion. This friend Jesus, through the strength and the
tenderness of his love, gradually draws me out of my selfish self, gradually makes me
freer to really be, gradually allows my Christic, divinized self to emerge more and more
in expressions of love of God and neighbor.
Sharing the pleasant experiences of life with this friend Jesus enhances
their joy. Being loved and accepted by others, enjoying the challenge and success of work,
experiencing simple joys as well as moments of overwhelming happiness, drinking in the
breathless beauties of nature, these and all other such experiences take on deeper meaning
to the extent I share them with Jesus. His presence, far from lessening our joy, increases
it, and makes us want to thank God all the more for the beauty, the awesomeness, the
grandeur, and the tenderness of life.
Sharing with Jesus the difficult aspects life within the human condition
lessens their burden. If Jesus is my friend, should a sense of failure ever snuff out my
determination to struggle on? If Jesus is my friend, should fear ever paralyze me? If
Jesus is my friend, is there any cross which I can claim is too heavy? If Jesus is my
friend, can I ever allow suffering to make me bitter?
This friend Jesus always wants to be so near. He is strong, tender, understanding, gentle,
loving. He sympathizes, encourages, challenges, inspires. He leads, but does not force. He
admonishes us when we are wrong, but He does not reject us. He is overjoyed at a good
deed, and gently but firmly reminds us that there is more to do and to accomplish. This
friend Jesus is the perfect friend. He is your friend, and my friend.
Pope John-Paul II tells us: "The more the Church's mission is
centered upon man--the more it is, so to speak, anthropocentric--the more it must be
confirmed and actualized theocentrically, that is to say, be directed in Jesus Christ to
the Father...Today I wish to say that openness to Christ, who as the Redeemer of the world
fully 'reveals man to himself', can only be achieved through an ever more mature reference
to the Father and his love...Making the Father present as love and mercy is, in
Christ's own consciousness, the fundamental touchstone of his mission as the
Messiah..."13
Archbishop Luis M. Martinez instructs us: "Consecration to the Holy
Spirit must be total: nothing must draw us away from His loving possession. Undoubtedly
vacillations and deficiencies are part of our imperfection, but even so, our love must not
be extinguished. Rather, it must lift its divine flame toward infinite love in the midst
of all human vicissitudes.
True devotion to the Holy spirit, therefore, is not something
superficial and intermittent, but something profound and constant, like Christian life
itself; it is the love of the soul that corresponds to the love of God, the gift of the
creature who tries to be grateful for the divine Gift, the human cooperation that receives
the loving and efficacious action of God. As divine love is eternal, its gift without
repentance and its action constant, it is our part to have our heart always open to love,
ready to receive the unspeakable gift, and to keep all our powers docile to the divine
movement."14
St. Paul tells us: "Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then
death would bring me something more; but then again, if living in this body means doing
work which is having good results--I do not know what I should choose. I am caught in the
dilemma: I want to be gone and be with Christ, which would be very much the better, but
for me to stay alive in this body is a more urgent need for your sake." (Phil
l:21-24)
We should all be inspired by these words of Paul to stimulate our own
personal love and enthusiasm for Jesus. After all, for us, to live should mean Christ.
What else does the word Christian mean? If we reflect on the meaning of the word Christian,
we realize that it ideally means a follower of Christ, one totally committed to Christ,
one for whom life has no real meaning without Jesus, one who is willing to live and to die
for Jesus and His cause. Why is it at times that we do not allow Jesus to influence our
lives as He should? Why at times do we tend to relegate Him to the back of our
consciousness and go off in various self-centered directions? Why, apparently, do so many
Christians become enthusiastic about all kinds of projects, and yet have such faint
enthusiasm for that all-important project which is the work of Jesus? As committed
Christians, we should take the appropriate means which will prevent us from succumbing to
such an attitude.
We have the privilege and the responsibility of allowing Jesus to live
through us. Jesus wants to live in us. He wants us to help Him continue His redemptive
mission in and through us. Some two thousand years ago Jesus walked the earth teaching,
healing the sick, forgiving sins, extending His love and mercy, choosing His apostles,
forming His Church. In all this He was achieving what theologians call the objective
redemption. We had no part in this. However, we now live in the stage of subjective
redemption--the application of the fruits of Jesus' objective redemption to individual
subjects or persons. In this phase of redemption, Jesus asks our help. He asks us to lend
Him our hands, our speech, our minds, our wills, our hearts.
In this work of ongoing redemption, each of us has a special mission, a
special role to fulfill. No one can fulfill another's mission. Each of us, being a unique
person, has a unique mission to carry out. John Cardinal Newman reminds 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 everyone of us; He creates every soul, He lodges it in the
body, one by one, for a purpose. He needs, He deigns to need, every one of us. He has an
end for each of us; we are all equal in His sight, and we are placed in our different
ranks and stations, not to get what we can out of them for ourselves, but to labor in them
for Him. As Christ has His work, we too have ours; as He rejoiced to do His work, we must
rejoice in ours also."15
We accomplish our mission in, with, through, and for Jesus. He is with
us showing the way, gently teaching us how to live according to the pattern of His own
life. He encourages us when the days become bleak. He constantly reminds us of His tender
and concerned love for each of us. He inspires us to greater things. He tells us that He
wants us, that He needs us, that He thinks so much of us, that He values so highly what
each of us has to contribute. This is the Jesus we follow. To live is Christ.
Vatican II states: "Coming down to practical and particularly
urgent consequences, this Council lays stress on reverence for man; everyone must consider
his every neighbor without exception as another self, taking into account first of all his
life and the means necessary to living it with dignity, so as not to imitate the rich man
who had no concern for the poor man Lazarus.
"In our times a special obligation binds us to make ourselves the
neighbor of absolutely every person...whether he be an old man abandoned by all, a foreign
laborer unjustly looked down upon, a refugee, a child born of an unlawful union and
wrongfully suffering for a sin he did not commit, or a hungry person...
"Furthermore, whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type
of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction; whatever violates
the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind,
attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman
living conditions...as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as
mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and
others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm
to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. Moreover, they are a
supreme dishonor to the Creator."16
Many of the laity pray for us priests, and consistently so. Is it not
also fitting that we priests pray for all our brothers in the priesthood, and consistently
so? There follows a prayer that can aid us in this endeavor.
"Lord Jesus, Chief
Shepherd of the Flock, we pray that in the great love and mercy of Your Heart that You
attend to all the needs of your priest-shepherds throughout the world. We ask that you
draw back to your Heart all those priests who have seriously strayed from your path, that
you rekindle the desire for holiness in the hearts of those priests who have become
lukewarm, and that you continue to give your fervent priests the desire for the highest
holiness. United with Your Heart and Mary's Heart, we ask that you take this petition to
your heavenly Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen".
The above prayer is taken from the prayer manual of Shepherds of
Christ Associates, a facet of Shepherds of Christ Ministries. The associates are members
of prayer groups which meet regularly to pray for all the needs of the entire human
family, but most especially for priests. If you would like a copy, or copies, of this
prayer manual, and, further, if you would like information on how to begin a Shepherds of
Christ prayer chapter, contact us at:
Shepherds of Christ, P.O. Box 193, Morrow, Ohio
45152-0193, U.S.A.
Phone (toll free): 1-888-211-3041
Phone 1-513-932-4451
Fax: 1-513-932-6791
J. Patrick Gaffney, S.M.M., writes of St. Louis de Montfort:
"Montfort's intense devotion to Mary is clearly Christocentric. So strongly does the
saint insist upon the point that he forcefully teaches that if devotion to Mary alienated
us from Jesus it would have to be rejected as a diabolical temptation...With Mary we enter
into a more intense and more immediate union with the Incarnate Wisdom. To wrench Mary
from salvation history and therefore from Christian life is, for Montfort, to reject the
plan of salvation as decreed by the Father.
"The total, lived-out acceptance of the reality of our faith is
what Montfort calls 'Consecration to the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom.' This loving, free
surrender to God's plan renews us in the Spirit so that we may 'carry out great things for
God and for the salvation of souls' (cf. The True Devotion, 214)...and all must be done in
the 'milieu' of Mary's maternal influence so that we may, like her, be temples of the Holy
Spirit and thereby renew the face of the earth."17
And here are words from St. Louis himself: "The more one is
consecrated to Mary, the more one is consecrated to Jesus."18
Lord, Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the Flock, I consecrate my priestly life
to Your Heart, pierced on Calvary for love of us. From Your pierced Heart the Church was
born, the Church You have called me as a priest, to serve in a most special way. You
reveal Your Heart as symbol of Your love in all its aspects, including Your most special
love for me, whom you have chosen as your priest-companion. Help me always to pour out my
life in love of God and neighbor. Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in you.
Dear Blessed Virgin Mary, I consecrate myself to your maternal and
Immaculate Heart, this Heart which is symbol of your life of love. You are the Mother of
my Savior. You are also my Mother. You love me with a most special love as this unique
priest-son. In a return of love I give myself entirely to your motherly love and
protection. You followed Jesus perfectly. You are His first and perfect disciple. Teach me
to imitate you in the putting on of Christ. Be my motherly intercessor so that, through
your Immaculate Heart, I may be guided to an ever closer union with the pierced Heart of
Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the Flock, Who leads me to the Father in the Holy Spirit.
Here are a few of the many letters we have been receiving, a number of
which are increasingly coming from countries outside the U.S.A. This is indicative of the
expanding international circulation of the Newsletter.
Dear Father,
This date two copies of your Catholic newsletter reached my desk. I put
other mail aside and read your publication.
It sold itself. Therefore I would ask for 60 copies that can be spread
among our priests, brothers, sisters, deacons and catechists.
I am sure they will appreciate what you send.
Blessings and best wishes.
Your servant in Christ,
Cardinal Pio Taofinu'u
Archbishop of Samoa-Apia
Dear Fr. Edward:
Thank you for the Shepherds of Christ Newsletter. You are putting in the
hands of our priests timely materials for spiritual reading and for allocutions and
homilies. I myself will find this helpful for my apostolate of giving recollections and
retreats to seminarians and priests.
I will be glad to have 60 copies of each issue of the Newsletter
starting with the forthcoming newsletter.
Permit me to extend to you and your companions in the apostolate my
appreciation and gratitude for extending your help to your fellow priests in the ministry.
God bless you.
Sincerely yours,
Angel N. Lagdameo
Bishop of Dumaguete, Philippines
Dear Fr. Carter,
I have just finished reading issue Two, 1998 of Shepherds of Christ.
I really enjoyed it. It had real spiritual depth. I especially enjoyed
the piece on Spiritual Freedom and John of the Cross. Really all the pieces were
worthwhile. I liked the mix of traditional pieces (the two consecration prayers and Anima
Christi) and your quoting of contemporary writers like Henri Nouwen and Robert Schwartz.
It was an act of the Holy Spirit--divine intervention--that I even read
the newsletter. Like all priests, I receive so much unsolicited mail that I automatically
toss out a lot of it without looking at it. Somehow, I looked at your newsletter on May
21, my birthday. Your newsletter was my best birthday gift. Keep up the good work.
In Christ,
Fr. Eamon Tobin, Cocoa Beach, Florida
Dear Fr. Carter,
Thank you for your newsletter of priestly spirituality, "Shepherds
of Christ". It is both informative and inspirational.
In the peace of Christ,
Fr. Austin Green, O.P. University of Dallas
- Scriptural quotations are taken from The Jerusalem Bible,
Doubleday & Co.
- "From the Various Writings of the History of the Order of
Preachers," as in The Liturgy of the Hours, Catholic Book Publishing Co.,
Vol lV, p. 1302.
- Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, The Gift of Peace, Loyola University
Press, pp. 151-153.
- The Documents of Vatican II, "Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy", American Press Edition, No. 48.
- John Paul II, Sources of Renewal: The Implementation of Vatican II,
translated by P.S. Falla, Harper & Row, p. 225.
- M. Raymond, O.C.S.O., This Is Love, Bruce, p. 106.
- Maurice de la Taille, S.J., The Mystery of Faith: Book 2,
"The Sacrifice of the Church", translated by Joseph Carroll and P.J. Dalton,
Sheed & Ward, p. 240.
- Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, The Gift of Peace, Loyola Press,
University Press, pp. 96-100.
- Thomas Merton, The New Man, Farrar, Straus and Cudaby, p. 231.
- The Documents of Vatican II, op. cit., "Decree on the
Ministry and Life of Priests", No. 12.
- Ibid, "The Decree on Priestly Formation," No. 8.
- Directory on the Ministry and the Life of Priests as in Inside the
Vatican, Special Supplement, Nov., 1994, No. 13.
- Pope John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia as in The Encyclicals of
John Paul II, edited with introductions by J. Michael Miller, C.S.R., Our Sunday
Visitor Publishing Division, Nos 1.4 and 3.4.
- Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, The Sanctifier, Pauline Books and
Media, p. 48.
- John Cardinal Newman, Discourses Addressed to Mixed Congregations,
Longmans, Green, and Co., p. 111-112.
- The Documents of Vatican II, op. cit., "The Church in the
Modern World", No. 27.
- God Alone, The Collected Works of St. Luis de Montfort, p. xv.
- St. Luis de Montfort, True Devotion as in God Alone,
op. cit., p. 327.Scriptural quotations are taken from The Jerusalem Bible,
Doubleday & Co.
website: http://www.SofC.org
E-Mail: info@SofC.org
1998, ISSUE FOUR
Shepherds of Christ
Shepherds of Christ Ministries
P.O. Box 193
Morrow, Ohio 45152-0193
U.S.A.
Shepherds of Christ, a spirituality newsletter for priests, is published
bi-monthly by Shepherds of Christ Ministries, P.O. Box 193, Morrow, Ohio 45152-0193. While
distribution is free of charge to all priests in the U.S., and growing internationally,
donations are still very much appreciated. Inquiries and comments are welcome, as are
address changes and addresses of the newly ordained. Permission to reproduce intact is
granted for non-commercial use. Editor Father Edward Carter S.J. is Professor of Theology
at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. John Weickert is President. Good Shepherd
illustration is by Brother Jerome Pryor, S.J. Layout and design are by Cathy Ring. Also
dedicated to the spiritual advancement of priests is a worldwide network of lay/religious
prayer chapters, Shepherds of Christ Associates, headquartered at 2919 Shawhan Road,
Morrow, Ohio 45152, telephone toll free 1-888-211-3041, fax 513-932-6791.
Jesus speaks: This newsletter is available on tape, free of
charge to be used by religious, priests and laity, recorded by Father Carter.
May 11, 1996 - Mary Queen of Apostles pray for us. The rosary from this
date is an important rosary.
Rosaries from the
Hearts of Jesus and Mary
This rosary was received
in Toledo, Ohio on Saturday, May 11, 1996, the
feast of Mary, Queen of the Apostles. The meditations and messages were given to Rita Ring
during the rosary. This rosary was received live and transcribed from the recording. This
live recording can be obtained by writing Shepherds of Christ Publications. All of these
meditations have been discerned by Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J.
THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES
The Resurrection
- Messenger: Let us focus on our hearts. God is the source
of all life. It is from the Father in the Holy Spirit, through the pierced Heart of Jesus
and through the heart of Mary that life flows into our hearts and we act as a channel of
this life to all those we touch. God wishes to fill us with His life at this moment. But
our hearts must be open to receive His grace that He wishes to give to us.
Jesus speaks: Open wide your hearts, My beloved
ones. I am Jesus, the Son of God. I come to you in a special way in this rosary, to fill
you with My life. You must open wide your heart that I may penetrate your heart and come
deeply into your soul. I am the Almighty God, My power is endless. Look around you at the
world that surrounds you. You see the sun as it comes up and the moon in the sky. You see
the change of seasons. You see the life in a blade of grass and the life in the leaves of
the tree, but you do not see the power of the Almighty God as it surrounds you. I am the
Almighty God, all powerful, without limits. I am there with you at this moment and I will
help you. You must open your heart and let Me come into your heart. I am Jesus and I love
you with the most burning love.
- Messenger: We do not fully comprehend the fire of the
Heart of Jesus. We are so limited in our vision. We must pray to the Holy Spirit to give
us more and more this vision of God that we may see with eyes unveiled. What is really
real on this earth is that God truly exists, that God is alive and that He lives in a
graced soul in a special, special way. Who are we that the Almighty God lives within us.
This is a rosary about life, the life that He came to give to us, that we may be channels
of this life as we operate and we touch each other.
- See vividly before your eyes the body of Jesus as He hung on the cross,
covered with blood and withered. Picture this in your mind, so clear. See His body so
battered and so bruised, and next to this picture see the Almighty God as He rose
victorious on the third day. See Him adorned in the brightest light beyond all human
comprehension, a light that we cannot even imagine or describe. The Almighty God comes
forth from the tomb, the stone is rolled back and Jesus, the Son of God rises victorious
from the dead.
- It is through His life, and mostly His death, that He merited for us the
grace for our salvation. It is through His Resurrection and Ascension into heaven that we
receive this life, this grace within us. Let us open our heart and realize that in this
rosary He wishes to give to us a deeper sharing in His Divine Life. He is the source of
all life. He is giving to us such grace at this moment, but we must open our hearts and
let Him fill us.
- Song: Spirit Song..
There will be one flock and one Shepherd. We must unite in one heart, in the Hearts of
Jesus and Mary. Mary said at Fatima that until a sufficient number of people are
consecrating their hearts to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, giving their hearts to the
Hearts of Jesus and Mary, we will NOT have peace in this world. It is in this consecration
that we will have peace. Let us give our hearts to Jesus and Mary, and as I give my heart
to Jesus and Mary and you give your heart to Jesus and Mary, we will be one in Their
Hearts and the love of God will shine to this darkened world.
- This rosary is a story about life, the life of the Almighty God as He
lives in each one of us, each one of us uniquely created by the Father, with a special
plan to help in the work of redemption. What a calling, that the Almighty God has created
us with such uniqueness and such talent and that we help in the work of redemption through
our lives, that God lives in us and He touches those that we come in contact with.
Jesus speaks: You are My hands. You are My feet.
You are My Heart, the heart that loves in this world today. I want to unite to your heart
that I will love through you. I am calling each one of you present to let Me come so close
to you, to fill you with My life and My love, that I will live in this world this day in
you. I am Jesus, the Son of God, and I am calling you to come to My Heart.
- Song: Come Holy Ghost...
- Messenger: Souls are being lost at this very moment. On
the edge of death, is my brother. If my sister or my husband or my child was standing on
the edge of death, I would pray so fervently for God to release His grace. Yet, Mary told
me, almost every day for nine months, how souls are going into hell like rain. This was
part of the message of Fatima: that souls are being lost and God is offended, that we must
change our lives. Mary said at Fatima that if we do not heed her words, a war will happen
and communism will spread its errors throughout the world. As a sign that she was truly
speaking, there was the miracle of the sun and it came crashing to the earth, but people
still did not listen to the message of our heavenly Mother that God is offended and we are
being called to give our hearts to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. And there was WWII. Our
heavenly Mother is speaking this day. She has spoken to me every day for fourteen months,
and the message is for you. Mary is calling to you, her beloved children. Jesus is calling
you as apostles, to go out into this world and to carry the message of His love in your
heart, for He is alive, and He lives in us this very day.
- He walked with the disciples on the way to Emmaus and they did not
recognize Him, and He interpreted for them all the Scriptures from the time of Moses that
pertained to Him. When they got to Emmaus, He broke the bread and they recognized Him, and
then He vanished. "Then they said to each other, 'Did not our hearts burn within us
as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?'"(Lk. 24:32)1
Are not our hearts burning within us for He is alive. In every word of the Scriptures life
is delivered to us. In every word of the Mass, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, God gives
Himself as a gift to us. Are not our hearts burning within us, that God gives Himself to
us? The Almighty, all powerful God, loves us so much that He came to this earth and He
rose on the third day that we would share in His life, and He gives Himself to us this day
in the Holy Eucharist. Are not our hearts burning within us for this is what is really
real! The unseen is really real. He no longer walks the earth, but He lives in each one of
us.
- Song: Are not our hearts burning within us..
The Ascension
- Messenger: Mary said on October 13th, the final message
of Fatima, "I am the Lady of the Rosary. I have come to warn the faithful to amend
their lives and to ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend Our Lord any more, for
He is already too grievously offended by the sins of men. People must say the Rosary. Let
them continue saying it every day."2
- To prove that Mary was really speaking from May 13, 1917 until October
13, 1917, Mary gave this sign: "As the Lady was about to leave, she pointed to the
sun. Lucy excitedly repeated the gesture, and the people looked into the sky. The rain had
ceased, the clouds parted, and the sun shone forth, but not in its usual brilliance.
Instead, it appeared like a silver disk, pale as the moon, at which all could gaze without
straining their eyes. Suddenly, impelled by some mysterious force, the disk began to whirl
in the sky, casting off great shafts of multi-colored light. Red, green, blue, yellow,
violet - the enormous rays shot across the sky at all angles, lighting up the entire
countryside for many miles around, but particularly the upturned faces of those 70,000
spellbound people. After a few moments the wonders stopped, but resumed again a second and
a third time, three times in all, within about twelve minutes. It seemed that the whole
world was on fire, with the sun spinning at a greater speed each time. Then a gasp of
terror rose from the crowd, for the sun seemed to tear itself from the heavens and come
crashing down upon the horrified multitude...Just when it seemed that the ball of fire
would fall upon and destroy them, the miracle ceased, and the sun resumed its normal place
in the sky, shining forth as peacefully as ever. When the people arose from the ground,
cries of astonishment were heard on all sides. Their clothes, which had been soaking wet
and muddy, now were clean and dry. Many of the sick and crippled had been cured of their
afflictions."3
- On May the 13th, 1917, Mary said to the children of Fatima, "Do not
be afraid, I will do you no harm...I am from Heaven. I have come to ask you to come here
for six month in succession, on the 13th day, at the same hour. Later on, I will tell you
who I am and what I want. Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the
sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is
offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners? Pray the rosary every day in
order to obtain peace for the world, and the end of the war."4
- Jesus took the apostles out near the town of Bethany. He raised His arms
and He ascended into heaven, and they were awe struck as they looked from the field below,
and a cloud took the Almighty God out of sight.
- God gives to us a sharing in His Divine Life. He opens wide the vision of
the Almighty God and we see more as we are filled with His life. Let us pray fervently for
this grace, this life, that we will be filled, to comprehend more the divine mysteries.
- Are not our hearts burning within us that God has chosen us as His
apostles? There will be the reign of the Sacred Heart and the triumph of the Immaculate
Heart throughout this world. There will be an era of peace in which all men will love God
as fervently as each one of us in this room. He has given to us great graces to understand
His love and to draw closer to His Heart, that we may be the lights that are shining in
this darkened world, that we will lead others to His life. We have truly been called as
His apostles. He ascended into heaven, but He left behind His apostles to carry out the
work He had begun.
- Jesus speaks: You are My apostles this day that I have
called to this room. I am sending you into the world but you must open wide your heart for
the world is suffering and in pain. It is in darkness but I have called you for I knew you
would answer this call and carry My light into the darkness. I am Jesus, the Almighty God
and I love you with the deepest love. Please, My dear ones, listen to this urgent cry for
the souls are dropping into hell like rain. It is through your prayers and other acts of
your love of God that you will help in the work of redemption.
- Messenger: We do not fully comprehend the mystery of
God's love. He reveals this to us more and more each day. Our vision is so limited, but
Jesus writes to me these messages, these messages that are given to you, each and every
word He speaks. He cried out, two days ago after Communion, "Bring Me souls, bring Me
souls." It felt as if He said this 500 times, "Bring me souls, the souls of the
priests, the souls of the religious, the souls of the youth. I long and I thirst for
souls." When we unite in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, when He lives in us and we
unite to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we help save souls.
- The bell tolls. Do you hear the bell toll at every moment? When you hear
the bell toll, be united deeply to the Almighty God for He is in the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass. The Sacrifice of Calvary is sacramentally made present throughout the world. When we
unite our activity, whatever it is, if it is sleeping or eating, if I unite my activity to
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, if it is what the Father is willing me to do and I am
doing it in love, I can help those souls, at this moment, on the edge of death. Mary, our
heavenly Mother, said to me for nine months, every day, how sorrowful she was for her
little lost children that were going to hell, going as drops of rain, into hell. But the
good news is that when we unite in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, united to the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass, grace is spilled out upon this earth, and we help in the act of
redemption. What a heroic deed, at every moment, when we are united to the Almighty God,
in this sacrifice and grace is released.
- Jesus speaks: Come to Me, My beloved ones, and give Me
your heart. Consecrate your hearts to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Let Me live in you and
as you move and as you breathe, I will operate in this world. You are My channels of this
life. I am sending you out into the dark world that this life may flow through you.
Song: From the Day You Were Born...
Messenger: Our days of greatest torment, think of
this magnified, forever and ever, and never ending! The souls in hell are tormented by
knowing they will never possess the Almighty God. The souls in heaven are embraced forever
and ever by the presence of God. We do not have a full knowledge what it is to be wrapped
by the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, where there is not wanting, where
there is completeness in all love, where our humanity is elevated to such heights!
Jesus speaks: I put before you, My dear ones, life or death. Many of your
brothers, at this very moment, are dropping into the fires of hell. I am calling you to
come to My Heart, unite to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and offer every deed that you
do as a sacrifice to help save the souls. Bring Me souls, My dear ones, bring Me souls,
for I long and I thirst for souls.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit
- During this same July apparition, Mary showed 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 (Jan. 2, 1938), know that this is a great sign that God gives you that He is
going to punish the world for its many crimes by means of war, hunger, and persecution of
the Church and the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration
of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the five first
Saturdays. If my requests are granted, Russia will be converted and there will be peace.
If not, she will scatter her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions
of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and
various nations will be destroyed...But in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph, the
Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, Russia will be converted, and a certain period
of peace will be granted to the world."5
- Messenger: The apostles were filled with fear after the
Ascension, and they locked themselves in the upper room. There was a gigantic wind and
there appeared over their heads, parted tongues of fire, and they were filled with the
Holy Spirit.
- "When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when
suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house
in which they were sitting; and there appeared to them tongues as of fire; these separated
and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express
themselves." (Acts 2:1-4)6
- Jesus speaks: You are My apostles this day, and I am
calling to you. Do you see the world? Do you see the sin? Do you see the darkness? Do you
see the children and how their minds are being poisoned with the vileness of this world?
Do you see the hatred and the anger? I come to you with a kind and generous Heart, with a
Heart that is filled with love, and I am giving to you My life and My love in your heart.
I am giving to you abundant graces that you will see, with eyes unveiled, many wonders
that many do not see, for I have called you and I have chosen you to come to this place
this day that I may speak to you and tell you how I have called you and want you to spread
My love to the hurting world. You are My apostles this day that I send forth into the
world.
- Messenger: They went forth in one mind and one heart to
preach the Gospel and many were converted. They were locked in prison, but they were not
afraid. They got out and they were singing for they knew the love of God. Whereas before,
they would bump heads and they would be afraid and they would worry who was first. When
they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they proceeded ahead fearlessly to carry out the
love of God for this is the greatest message that there is: that God is alive and He lives
this day in the hearts of men.
- Many hearts this day are in darkness and in need of conversion. Many
souls are on the edge of death that will go to hell for all eternity. You are My soldiers
that I am sending into the darkened world to carry the light of My love to the nations.
- Jesus speaks: I call you to consecration, to give your
hearts to My Mother's Heart and to My Heart that we will be one with you, My beloved ones,
that you will be one, one, one body, one body.
- Song: One Bread, One Body...
- Messenger: Let us see the tragedy, the hideousness of
the souls that are dropping into hell, but let us see the glory of the vision of this life
where grace is being spilled out on the earth. On March 26, 1996 I saw with eyes unveiled
a vision that started with the bell tolling at 8 o'clock in the morning and ended with the
bell tolling at 9 o'clock. I saw a light that was beyond all comprehension, beyond all
that I had ever seen before as if the earth cracked open and I could see into eternity, a
wide band of light. Another vision on Holy Saturday: the light was on the whole wall of
the church at Holy Saturday Mass, and it rained on the flowers around the statue of the
risen Jesus, which came alive. And the light went up and surrounded St. Joseph, and the
Child Jesus looked as if He was coming out from his arms. And surrounded by me, were many
young people that Jesus told me would be the leaders into this new era where there will be
the reign of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We see with such limited
vision. We do not comprehend that grace is truly being spilled out on this earth and that
we help in salvation. When we unite in one heart with Jesus and Mary, so much grace is
released, and many souls will be saved through our sacrifices united to the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass.
- The apostles proceeded fearlessly into the world. They went from town to
town. Many were converted. O Holy Spirit, descend upon us and fill us with this
fearlessness. Fill us with the fire of God's love. Give us the vision to see that what is
important, the reason for which we were created: to be with God forever in heaven. Our job
here is to love God, love one another and help each other to be in heaven forever. We are
fighting a battle constantly. The battle is against us, that we will not get to heaven.
The battle is waged against us, against the souls so that they will fall forever and ever
to the fires of hell. We must go to the Heart of Jesus and the heart of Mary and dwell
there that we will be saturated with this life and that His life will flow through us
today to help in the salvation of souls. Jesus no longer walks the earth. He lives in us.
The Assumption
- Jesus speaks: I see the sweet face of Jesus before me,
the sweet, beautiful face, and this is what is really real. If we realize that the sun
comes up and then darkness covers the earth, if we realize that there is life in every
blade of grass, we must realize that this is really real and that He is truly talking to
us!
- The Fatima message will reach completion soon. We are part of this
completion. These messages are given from the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, that hearts will
be converted and turned to the Almighty God.
- We see a movie on a screen about three children and the Blessed mother
appearing, and we think, "Isn't that a nice movie." These messages are a main
source of communication to help bring forth the completion of the Fatima message. Let us
thank the Almighty God that He has called us as His special apostles to help bring about
the light shining on this earth.
- Mary said at Fatima that we will have peace or war, depending on three
things: 1) If hearts consecrate their hearts to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary; 2) if people
pray the rosary, and 3) if people make reparation, including the First Saturday practices,
then we will have peace in the world. If not, we will have war. This message is so simple.
Why do we not listen to our heavenly Mother? This is the message in 1917. She has appeared
to me, over and over again, every day for l4 months, delivering this same message. The
time is near. There will be a time when the Sacred Heart of Jesus will reign and the
Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph, but we must pray fervently with all our hearts,
that hearts will unite to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
- Mary said that we must pray the rosary every day.
- Lucia received a vision. The Father was above the Holy Spirit, and then
Jesus on the cross with His pierced Heart, with a cup and Mary beneath Him. These are the
visions that I have received, (3 in number). The vision is similar to this of Fatima and
what He speaks of during the Mass: that life flows from the Father, in the Holy Spirit,
through the pierced Heart of Jesus, through the heart of Mary, to us and it is released
through us. When we unite in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, an immense amount of grace is
released. I have seen the light as it shines on the flowers, a light beyond all
description, a thickness, a depth far beyond that I cannot even describe. I know this day
that grace is being spilled out on the earth when hearts are united to the Hearts of Jesus
and Mary and united to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This is what Mary has called the
urgent message: to offer everything that we do as a sacrifice.
- Sacrifice is an offering. Love is the giving of oneself to the other. He
wants us to give ourselves entirely to Him, not just the good parts, the total gift of
self, all of our thoughts, all of our actions, all of our being, for He wants us, all of
us.
- As grace rains on this earth through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the
Sacred Heart of Jesus will reign in the hearts of those united to the Hearts of Jesus and
Mary.
- He took me to the deepest chamber of His Heart and I felt the embrace of
the Almighty God. Nothing feeds the starved soul but the love of God. We do not fully
comprehend what it is to be embraced by Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There is no wanting.
There is a feeling of completeness, a feeling that our humanity is elevated to such
heights. He gives Himself to us in such intimacy in the Holy Eucharist. Let us give our
hearts, give ourselves to Him, that we may share in this act of love with the Almighty
God.
- He is love. God is love. "My dear friends, let us love each other,
since love is from God and everyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever
fails to love does not know God, because God is love. This is the revelation of God's love
for us, that God sent his only Son into the world that we might have life through him.
Love consists in this: it is not we who loved God, but God loved us and sent his Son to
expiate our sins. My dear friends, if God loved us so much, we too should love each
other." (1 John 4: 7-11)7
The Coronation
- "Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun,
standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." (Rev. 12:1)8
- Messenger: Mary is always bringing forth her children in
their Christ-life. It is through Mary that we will join in deepest intimacy into Jesus'
Heart. Jesus came into this world in the womb of His Mother, through the power of the Holy
Spirit. It is today, in the womb of Mary, in the heart of Mary, that we are transformed
through the Holy Spirit, more and more to the image and likeness of Jesus. Let us go to
the heart of our Mother and ask the Holy Spirit to sanctify us that we may go deeper and
deeper into the Heart of Jesus, the Heart of endless love, endless love. We do not
comprehend, fully, the love of God. We are so limited in our vision. We do not fully know
how His Heart is truly burning and on fire. Do we know what it is to feel love burning in
our heart? This is what Jesus felt when He allowed Himself to suffer during His Passion
and to die on the cross. His heart was on fire.
Jesus speaks: As you feel love in your heart for one another, you know a
little of the intensity of My love for you. My heart burned so in my chest for love of you
that I gave Myself on the cross. I was consumed with this burning love, this radiating
love for you, for you, My chosen one, for you, for you are so precious to Me. Every
thought that you have, I ponder. Every desire and every wish, I know. I know your heart
far more than you yourself know your heart. I am with you this day. I am with you because
I have called you here to tell you how I love you and want to be so close to you. Do not
hide from Me. Do not close your heart. Your every breath and heartbeat depends on Me, but
I give you a free will because I love you so. I want you to freely love Me as I freely
gave My all for love of you.
- Jesus speaks: Sweet love of Mine, sweet tender one, I
love you with the most intimate love, but you must give yourself to Me that we can unite
in the deepest love. Love is the gift of self to the other. We cannot join in this deep
love, if you do not give yourself to Me. When you give yourself, our love will become ever
deeper. I am Jesus. I am waiting for you to come, to be with Me.
- So few souls come to Me and tell Me of their love. So few say, "Oh,
I love Jesus." You say how you love pie, but you do not tell Me how you love Me! How
My heart aches for your love, for the love of one precious devout soul pleases Me far more
than thousands who come with a cold, indifferent love. I am waiting for the love of your
soul, the love that you will give to Me.
- Song: I come to you with greatest love...
- Jesus speaks: This is serious, My beloved ones. Souls
that are dead in sin will go to hell. You must pray with all your hearts for the souls of
your brothers.
Song: I have set before you life or death...choose life.
- Messenger: The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and asked
her to be the Mother of God. She always complied to the will of the Father and now we see
Mary crowned "Queen of Heaven and Earth". The Father has a unique plan for each
one of us, a plan just for us, and someday we will be with Him forever and ever in heaven
if we know, love, and serve Him. As we see the plan of Mary's life, we should know that
the Father has this unique plan for each one of us, and the salvation of many depend on
whether or not I stay rooted in God and allow God to live and act in me. He no longer
walks the earth. He lives in us this day and touches His beloved ones through us. He gives
Himself in love, to others, through us. I see the priest, at Mass, hold the Body of Jesus,
and I see that Christ, acting in the priest, gives us the Almighty God. This is the way
that Jesus chose to come to us, through the hands of the priest. God comes to us also
today, through the hearts of each other. He lives in us. What honor is given to us. If we
saw our own graced soul, we would fall on our face from the beauty of His life, alive
within us!
- Jesus speaks: Many secrets of My love, I have revealed
to you in this rosary. They are seeds that I plant in your heart. You must open your heart
and let Me fill you with My life that they will grow to full maturity. I am Jesus. I love
you with the most burning love.
- Messenger: God so loved this world that He gave His only
begotten Son. He loved us first. We are to respond to God's love. To have an intimate
relationship takes both parties giving to one another. We cannot have intimacy with Jesus
if we do not give. Divinity unites with humanity. Who are we that God loves us this much?
If we want this intimacy with Him, we must give ourselves in love to Him. Let us give our
hearts to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary for the fastest way to holiness is in consecrating
our hearts to Jesus and Mary and dwelling in Their Hearts.
Jesus speaks: I give to you My Mother, and she will
lead you to the deepest chamber of My Heart. I am Jesus and I am waiting for you. Please
do not say "no." I long for souls that love Me with this deep, deep love!
- Song: Eye has not seen, ear has not heard...
Song: You are the voice of the living God...
Jesus speaks: I have told you many secrets of My
Heart. I ask you to read the messages in the Blue Book II, for I long for you to come to
be with Me in the Holy Eucharist and before the tabernacle. When you read these love
letters, I will live more in your heart, and you will know the great grace that I give to
you through the Eucharist.
Notes:
1. Scripture quotations are taken from The New American Bible,
Saint Joseph Edition, Catholic Book Publishing Co.
2. Edward J. Carter, S.J., Spirituality of Fatima and
Medjugorje, Faith Publishing Co. p. 16.
3. Edward J. Carter, S.J., Spirituality of Fatima and
Medjugorje, Faith Publishing Co. pp. 3-4
4. Edward J. Carter, S.J., Spirituality of Fatima and Medjugorje,
Faith Publishing Co. pp. 12-13.
5. Edward J. Carter, S.J., Spirituality of Fatima and Medjugorje,
Faith Publishing Co. pp. 14-15.
6. Scripture quotations are taken from The New American Bible,
Saint Joseph Edition, Catholic Book Publishing Co.
7. Scripture quotations are taken from The New American Bible,
Saint Joseph Edition, Catholic Book Publishing Co.
8. Scripture quotations are taken from The New American Bible,
Saint Joseph Edition, Catholic Book Publishing Co.
Jesus speaks: This rosary was transcribed from a live tape on
this date. This is included for your use as apostles of My Sacred Heart committed to
furthering the mission My Mother began at Fatima.
(Note: Jesus said the priestly newsletter and rosary do not need to be
faxed to the apostles. The reference should be made and apostles should read some parts of
the priestly newsletter or listen to the tape and pray the rosary as soon as possible.)
I love you so much, Jesus.
Thank you for serving Me as My apostles.
Question for married couples and others in intimate relationships:
Q: How does my love for Jesus help me love you more?
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All scripture quotes are from the New Jerusalem Bible, July 1990, published by Doubleday.
Revised: May 11, 1999
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