May 13, 2010

                SCAPEGOAT

                Cycle of abuse

                A person is angry and they put their anger
                    on innocent others —
                    provoking
                    continuing
                    until climax

JESUS WAS the SCAPEGOAT

                The innocent lamb led to the slaughter — Eucharist

                Jesus gave me a story before the Blue Books —
                    A little boy cheated on a test —
                    and the school was to expel him
                    The boy's brother said don't do that
                        to my brother — I will take the
                        punishment —

                God gives us Baptism —

                With Moses God divided the Red Sea

                The water a sign of baptism

                Water and the Spirit —

                Baptism erases original sin, but
                    we still have a wounded
                    human nature —

                At the time of Noah —
                    God flooded the earth —

                Water is used for baptism —

                God comes in the clouds —

                Christ was the innocent lamb led
                    to the slaughter —

                God came in Mary through the
                    power of the Holy Spirit

                Mary — the ark of the Covenant —

                At the time of Moses — the others made a golden calf —   

Lamb of God

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

                    The Old Testament prefigures the New Testament

                God please forgive our sins —

Psalm 67: 8-9, 20

Acts 18: 1-8

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, where he met a Jew called Aquila whose family came from Pontus. He and his wife Priscilla had recently left Italy because an edict of Claudius had expelled all the Jews from Rome. Paul went to visit them, and when he found they were tentmakers, of the same trade as himself, he lodged with them, and they worked together.  Every Sabbath he used to hold debates in the synagogues, trying to convert Jews as well as Greeks.

    After Silas and Timothy had arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted all his time to preaching, declaring to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. When they turned against him and started to insult him, he took his cloak and shook it out in front of them, saying, 'Your blood be on your own heads; from now on I will go to the gentiles with a clear conscience.' Then he left the synagogue and moved to the house next door that belonged to a worshipper of God called Justus. Crispus, president of the synagogue, and his whole household, all became believers in the Lord. Many Corinthians when they heard this became believers and were baptised.

                Paul goes to Corinth —

                His journey there is more fruitful

                Paul is depressed but he focuses on
                    the Lord to bring people to Jesus

                Paul testified that the Christ was Jesus —
                Paul said he would go to the Gentiles

                Paul went to Crispus —
                    the entire household believed

                The Lord has revealed to the Nations his saving power —

John 14: 18

I shall not leave you orphans;
    I shall come to you. 

John 16: 16-20

    In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later 
        you will see me again. 

    Then some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean, "In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again," and, "I am going to the Father"? What is this "short time"? We don’t know what he means.’ Jesus knew that they wanted to question him, so he said, ‘You are asking one another what I meant by saying, "In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again." 

'In all truth I tell you,
you will be weeping and wailing
while the world will rejoice;
you will be sorrowful,
but your sorrow will turn to joy.

                Little while —

                The troubles of this world will only last
                    a little while —

                Sometimes it feels they drag out — seems
                    so long, but a few years —
                    a few months —

                Because God wants us to go to heaven

                If we could see the whole picture —
                    really — why we are here and where
                    we are going — we could do more
                    what God wants

                God of goodness and love — we ask help
                    for all things

                The scapegoat is Christ —

                He took on all the sins of the world —

                They used to put their sins on a little
                    unblemished lamb and sacrifice it —
                    the little innocent lamb — led to the slaughter —

                God taught us about sacrifice

    e) Relationship with Members of the Church

There is but one true Church of Christ. Yet this one Church has three different states of existence. There is the pilgrim Church, the Church of this world, composed of members who have received the grace of Christ and strive for its development. They have not yet obtained the goal of their efforts, as have the members of the heavenly Church, who enjoy God in eternal happiness. The Church suffering is an intermediate state of existence necessary for those who had not achieved the required purification as members of the pilgrim Church. Although there are these three phases of the Church’s existence, there is a profound union existing between all the members. All these members possess the same basic life of grace in Christ, and this common life establishes the most intimate bonds of love. In our preceding chapter, we discussed the pilgrim Church. Let us now consider the Church suffering and the heavenly Church.

The members of the Church suffering are those who have departed from this life in an incomplete state of Christian development. Their development is incomplete in the sense that grace has not fully taken possession of them, and, as a result, they are yet closed in upon themselves to a greater or lesser degree. They as yet cannot open themselves out in complete love to the Triune God in the beatific vision. They must undergo a further purification, a purification which could have been achieved upon earth with merit. Now the purification must be achieved with no merit attached. The pain of this purification is mixed with the certain expectation of achieving the vision of God. We can hasten the advent of this vision for this people by the offering of prayers and other good works. Scripture itself refers to our action on behalf of those in purgatory in Chapter 12 of the Second Book of Maccabees beginning with verse 38.

The members of the heavenly Church are those in whom the life of grace has taken full possession and has reached its completion in the life of glory. Faith now is unnecessary, as the light of glory gives the human intellect a new strength and capacity for seeing God face-to-face. While the Christian was a wayfarer, he received the imprint of the indwelling Trinity as he shared in God’s own life. Now in heaven that grace-life and possession of God reaches its completion—the absolute completion is not achieved, however, until the resurrection of the body. The divine persons give Themselves to the beatified in a profound union far surpassing that of the indwelling of the Trinity experienced here below.

This life of heaven is still the Christ-life, for just as we possess a share in Trinitarian life here below as mediated by Christ, and exercise this grace-life as structured by Him, so also in heaven is the mediation of Christ present. In the words of Rahner, "One always sees the Father through Jesus. Just as immediately as this, for the directness of the vision of God is not a denial of the mediatorship of Christ as man."¹⁴ And not only does the humanity of Christ unite the blessed to God, but also, in some way, to the whole of creation. This is merely a completion of what is begun here below, namely, the union with Christ in His humanity establishing the Christian in a special relationship with God, with other men, and with the whole of creation. We have a glimpse, therefore, of the fullness of life which members of the heavenly Church possess.

The heavenly Church, as St. Thomas says, is the true Church.¹⁵ The Church of this earth and the Church of purgatory are, each in its own way, reaching out in loving hope for the heavenly Jerusalem. Vatican II puts it very simply: "The Church, to which we are called in Christ Jesus, and in which we acquire sanctity through the grace of God, will attain her full perfection only in the glory of heaven."¹⁶

The members of the heavenly Church can help us in living our life of grace until we too share its fullness with them. Their power of intercession on our behalf is but another ramification of the communal aspect of Christianity. We are meant to help others grow in Christ. We, in turn, are intended by God to receive aid from others—yes, from members of the heavenly Church, as well as from those with whom we dwell here below.

Not only can we be aided by the saints’ intercession, but the example of the canonized saints can also be of great value to us. They have concretely proved that full holiness is possible. Such an inspiration is of real worth when we are tempted to think that Christian sanctity in its higher degrees is impossible of attainment. Moreover, the canonized saints, in their diversity, teach us that there are many authentic versions of Christian holiness. They can be innovators in showing us that there are numerous possibilities in assimilating the mystery of Christ, although the basic assimilation remains the same for all Christians of all times. In the opinion of Rahner this is one of the chief roles the canonized saints exert in the life of the Church.¹⁷

 

---

NOTES:

 ¹⁴Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations, Vol. III (Baltimore: Helicon, 1967), p. 44.
 ¹⁵ Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, In Ad Ephes., c. 3, Lect. 3.
 ¹⁶Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, No. 48.
 ¹⁷Cf. Karl Rahner, Op. cit., pp. 100-101.

                The innocent Lamb — led to the
                    slaughter

                Oh God thank You
                We are filled with gratitude
                We love God so much
                We adore God
                We worship God
                We praise God

                We help make reparation by ourselves
                    given united to the sacrifice
                    of Jesus —

                We petition God for grace for ourselves —
                    the priests, the Church —
                    the whole world

                We pray to be holy —

                Oh God we love You so much
                Oh God we are Your people

John 10: 11-15

I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd 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
as soon as he sees a wolf coming,
   and runs away,
and then the wolf attacks
   and scatters the sheep;
he runs away
   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.

                How awful it would be to be blind —

                Think of what we don't know about
                    God, the Mass —

                We are to be grateful to learn,
                But we see imperfectly with distorted
                    vision because of our fallen
                    human nature —
                    Our vision is distorted in seeing
                        God, others, ourselves —
                    We see jealously, enviously,
                        anger — not with purity and
                    thanksgiving and love for the gifts God has
                        given to us

                We are to seek greater vision like our
                    Father —
                    Not grow in greater darkness and
                    impurity

                Mary had to be pure to carry
                    the Son of God —

                Mary under cross —
                Jesus entrusts His Mother to all
                    humanity —

                Mary is the Mother of our Redeemer —
                Mary says yes to the angel Gabriel

                Jesus suffered for our sins —
                Jesus is the Mediator

                Mary under the cross and Jesus giving her
                    to us —

                We participate in Christ's suffering —
                We help to spread these gifts we
                    have been given

                God loves us so much
                Mary is our Mother
                We have holy Mother the Church —
                A Mother is love —
                The Church is to be love
                Bringing forth her children
                    in the Holy Spirit

                We are obedient to the Church, our
                    Holy Mother the Church —

by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.

"My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You."

Then, rising he said: "Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications."

His words engraved themselves so deeply on our minds that we could never forget them (3)

During the summer of 1916, the angel again appeared to the three visionaries. He said to them:

Pray! Pray a great deal. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have merciful designs on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High. Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. Bring peace to our country in this way.... I am the Guardian Angel of Portugal Accept and bear with submission all the sufferings the Lord will send you. (4)

In the fall of the same year, the angel visited the visionaries a final time:

The angel came...bearing a golden chalice in one hand and a Host above it in the other. The amazed children noticed that drops of blood were falling from the Host into the chalice. Presently, the angel left both suspended in mid-air and prostrated himself on the ground, saying this beautiful prayer: "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and [the intercession of] the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners." (5)

Sr. Lucia relates how the angel gave them Communion:

Then, rising, he took the chalice and the Host in his hand. He gave the Sacred Host to me and shared the Blood from the chalice between Jacinta and Francisco, saying as he did so:

"Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men! Make reparation for their crimes and console your God." (6)

Reflecting upon these messages of the angel, we see how much they contain for our spiritual instruction.

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NOTES:

3. Louis Kondar, SVD, editor, Fatima in Lucia's Own Words (Fatima: Postulation Center, 1976), p.62. Distributed in the U.S.A. by the Ravengate Press, Cambridge, MA.
4. Our Lady's Peace Plan, op cit., pp.1-2.
5. Ibid., p.2 (The words in brackets are my own-added for clarification).
6. Fatima in Lucia's Own Words, op cit., pp.64-65.

                The angel of Portugal told us
                    to pray — to make reparation —
                    The angel in the 3rd apparition
                    appeared with host and chalice —

                Jesus gives us the Blue Books —
                    focused on the Eucharist —
                    adoration to God —

Excerpts from The Spirituality of Fatima

                Adore God —

                To prostrate ourselves in adoration
                    before God —

                Call of Jesus in Blue Books —
                    Go to Eucharist

                Fr. Carter — Bread of Life is
                    the Word and Eucharist —

                Fr. Joe's book — Word —

                Daily Message — the Word —

                God gives us a sharing in His life
                    in baptism —

                He feeds this life with the Bread of Life —
                Jesus is my Savior

                Song: A Song from Jesus

                Mary has given us the rosary —
                The messages of Fatima —
                Sacrifices
                Praying the Rosary
                Making Reparation to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

                Oh my Jesus forgive us our sins

                The message of the Lady of Fatima
                    is about souls —

                She shows the children a picture of
                    hell —

                Mary is reaching us with putting
                    Jesus the King and Center of
                    our Parishes, communities
                    families —

                Unity — Consecration to Jesus and Mary

                Learning to pray and praying
                Shepherds of Christ teaches us about adoration,
                    the Mass, the Rosary, the Scriptures,
                    Praying for the whole Church,
                    the whole world —

Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus

My dear fellow Associate Members,

Jesus is calling special apostles to join a new division of the Shepherds of Christ Movement. Here is a message from Jesus given to Father Carter:

    My beloved priest-companion, I am requesting that a new prayer movement be started under the direction of Shepherds of Christ Ministries. I am asking for volunteers who are willing to pray before the Blessed Sacrament for one hour, twice-weekly. Members of the Shepherds of Christ prayer chapters, as well as others, are to be invited to join this movement.

    These apostles are to pray for the intentions I am giving you. For part of the hour they are to use the prayers of the Shepherds of Christ Associates Handbook. They may spend the rest of the hour as they so choose.

    I will use this new prayer movement within My Shepherds of Christ Ministries in a powerful way to help in the renewal of My Church and the world. I will give great graces to those who join this movement. The name, Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, is to be given to this movement.

    I am inviting My beloved Rita Ring to be coordinator for this activity.

    I pour out the great love of My Sacred Heart to all. I am Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock.

    This is indeed a special calling for us to unite in one heart with His Eucharistic Heart and pray for the following intentions:

    1. For the spread of the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary culminating in the reign of the Sacred Heart and the triumph of the Immaculate Heart.
    2. For the Pope.
    3. For all bishops of the world.
    4. For all priests.
    5. For all sisters and brothers in the religious life.
    6. For all members of the Shepherds of Christ Movement, and for the spread of this movement to the world.
    7. For all members of the Catholic Church.
    8. For all members of the human family.
    9. For all souls in purgatory.

end of Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart message

                Sacrifices
                Reparation
                Reparation to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
                    growing in holiness

                Mary said many souls go to hell because of
                    sins of the flesh —

                Mary talks about clothes that offend
                    our God —

                    to make our sacrifices in love