| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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May 24
, 2014|
May 25th Holy Spirit
Novena |
The Novena Rosary
Mysteries |
Given March 21, 2014
R. Pray for These Things
1)
Special intentions.
2) Pray for the priests, the Church and the world!
3) Pray for the spread of prayer chapters,
also for the spread of priests doing prayer chapters.
4) Pray for the spread of Blue Books.
5) People going to Florida and China.
6) Vocations to all 7 categories.
7) Pray for spread of Consecration and Rosary.
8) Pray for pope helping us.
9) Pray for Jeff and sales. Pray for Nick.
10) Blue Book 13 cover; Blue Book 12, Blue Book 13 – all involved.
For our Publisher and all involved
11) All intentions on my list, Jerry's list.
12) Priests getting Fr. Joe's book.
13) Donors and members and their families.
14) Healing of the Family tree.
15) Dan & Melanie, Catherine & mom, Gary, Mary Jo,
Jim & statues, Fr. Ken, Monsignor, Kerry, Tom & wife.
16) All who asked us to pray for them.
17) All we promised to pray for.
18) Rita, John, Doris, Sheila, Jerry, Regina, Sanja,
Betty, Sophie, Lisa, Eileen, Fr. Mike, Louie,
2 Dons, Mary Ellen, Fr. Joe, all priests helping us,
Ed, Jimmy, a special couple,
Rosie & all involved.
19) 2 babies and moms.
20) Funds and insurance.
21) Jerry's garage.
22) In thanksgiving for gifts, graces, & blessings received.
23) Spread the Blood of Jesus on all of us here.
24) Consecrate all hearts.
25) Cast the devil out of all of us here and all in Movement.
May 24, 2014
R. Little children are such a gift, we can see
the beauty God gives us in the little children.
Watching a little child learn to talk and to
learn about everything is very exciting –
They come and can't do almost anything
and they learn so much, so quickly – They
need the love of their parents – children
have needs.
We were created by God to grow more
and more likened to Him in our ways.
We need the love of God in our lives.
God gives us the sacrament of baptism
and we receive a sharing in His life –
we are to be more and more abundantly
filled with this life and our knowing and
loving capacity in baptism is elevated
to share in God's knowing and loving activity.
We have such a gift given to us in baptism
and we have our whole life to grow in
this gift of this graced life.
Through our baptism we are initiated
into such a life, a new life of grace,
a "new creation" and consequently we
exist as new creatures. We share in
the Mystery of God.
Excerpt from Response to God's Love by Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.
... In reference to Christianity, God himself is the ultimate mystery. Radically, God is completely other and transcendent, hidden from man in his inner life, unless he chooses to reveal himself. Let us briefly look at this inner life of God.
The Father, in a perfect act of self-expression, in a perfect act of knowing, generates his son. The Son, the Word, is, then, the immanent expression of God's fullness, the reflection of the Father. Likewise, from all eternity, the Father and the Son bring forth the Holy Spirit in a perfect act of loving.
At the destined moment in human history, God's self-expression, the Word, immersed himself into man's world. God's inner self-expression now had also become God's outer self-expression. Consequently, the mystery of God becomes the mystery of Christ. In Christ, God tells us about himself, about his inner life, about his plan of creation and redemption. He tells us how Father, Son, and Holy Spirit desire to dwell within us in the most intimate fashion, how they wish to share with us their own life through grace. All this he has accomplished and does accomplish through Christ. St. Paul tells us: "I became a minister of this Church through the commission God gave me to preach among you his word in its fullness, that mystery hidden from ages and generations past but now revealed to his holy ones. God has willed to make known to them the glory beyond price which this mystery brings to the Gentiles—the mystery of Christ in you, your hope of glory. This is the Christ we proclaim while we admonish all men and teach them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make every man complete in Christ" (Col 1:25-28).
R. This mystery is hidden to us. We
are to grow more and more in our acts
to be likened to God. We are to re-live
the Mystery of Christ in our life.
We know Adam and Eve disobeyed the
will of God. We are to die to self-will
and live more the resurrected life
in God the Father's will in love. We are
to imitate Christ in our lives – in
growing in our hearts in greater love
likened to Jesus and living according
to the Father's will for us in our vocation.
Jesus came to this earth, took on
flesh, lived a hidden life for
so many years and lived as an
ordinary man. Why did God the Father
have Jesus, His Son live such a life?
Is not our religious life hidden
in our hearts and we are to grow
more and more in our Christ-life.
To grow more and more in our life of
grace.
Christ lived the hidden life
and His public life. God has called
us in our vocation to re-live the
mysteries of Christ-life centered
in death/resurrection.
We are to die to self-will and
grow in living and loving
the will of the Father. Mary
our Mother lived and loved the
will of the Heavenly Father.
Jesus was the perfect witness
in His public life to the Father's
Truth and Love. We are called
to witness to the truth and to
witness in life by our lives
of love likened to Christ –
We are teachers by our example.
Christ taught us by His life,
death and resurrection – we
are to teach others as we die to
our selfish attachments, pride,
anger, jealousies, envy, lust,
gluttony, slothfulness and
bear witness to the purity of Christ,
as we live virtuously.
To speak or to give the words
to men and to not bear witness
is to not understand the
way we are to re-live a new life
in Christ.
We are to be transformed –
We are to put on Christ –
We are to be more and more Christ-like –
We are to conform our will to the
Father's will.
As the individual members of the
body of Christ re-live the mystery
of Death/Resurrection – the mystical body of
Christ becomes more what God
intends it to be – Christic –
living the Mysteries of Christ –
There are different vocations in
the Church and men are to
live their vocation according
to the Father's will in love –
We are to project the Mystery of
Christ to the world, as we live
our lives, in our vocation, as
the Father intended us to do in
our vocation, in that Christ-likeness –
helping in the work of redemption
in our way as God has called us.
We are to be holy in giving
witness to Christ in our vocation,
in our lives, wherever we
are, we bear witness.
Our whole lives are to be
lived, as members of the
mystical body, united to the Mass –
all day, in all we do.
Response in Christ - Chapter 4 by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.Excerpt from
In schematic outline we have discussed the manner in which the baptized Christian extends his Mass to his daily existence. As he so lives out his Mass, he is becoming more Christlike. He becomes a more perfect priest and victim for his next participation in the eucharistic sacrifice.
42 The beautiful cycle which the Mass contains lies exposed before us. As part of this cycle the Christian is intimately involved in the process of continued redemption. The Mass is the center of the Christian life: “. . . the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the fount from which all her power flows.” 4342. For a current treatment of the varied richness of the Eucharist, cf. J. Wicks, “The Movement of Eucharistic Theology” in
Chicago Studies, Vol. 10 (1971), pp. 267-284.
November 21, 2013
Jesus:
I call you to live your lives as devout members of the mystical body of Christ. I have given these writings that men will realize that they are to live united deeply to the Mass going on around the world. Your lives, given as an offering, a sacrifice every moment in union with the Mass going on around the world. Your life, a sacrifice, offered to the Father, in union with the Mass in oneness with Me, in the Holy Spirit through the intercession of the Blessed Mother with all the angels and saints and the souls in purgatory.Your lives given as members of My mystical body can help to bring down great graces for the priest, the Church and the world.
Excerpt from
Response in Christ - Chapter 4 by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.“How does the Christian help Christ redeem the world? (Henceforth the term “world” is to be understood as including both rational and nonrational creation.) As previously stated, the Christian helps Christ redeem the world by reliving Christ’s mysteries. The same “events” or mysteries which accomplished the objective redemption further the subjective redemption also. Since at the heart of Christ’s mysteries are His death and Resurrection, it is especially these that the Christian must relive. As the Christian dies mystically with Christ through loving conformity with the Father’s will, he rises with Christ to an ever greater share in the Resurrection, in the newness of life, in the life of grace. As the Christian in this manner relives the paschal mystery of Christ, he is accomplishing not only his own redemption, but he is also, in a mysterious yet real manner, helping Christ redeem the world.”
Song: A Priest is a Gift from God
July 31, 1994
Words of Jesus to Members of
Shepherds of Christ Associates:"My beloved priest-companion, I intend to use the priestly newsletter, Shepherds of Christ, and the movement, Shepherds of Christ Associates, in a powerful way for the renewal of My Church and the world.
"I will use the newsletter and the chapters of Shepherds of Christ Associates as a powerful instrument for spreading devotion to My Heart and My Mother's Heart.
"I am calling many to become members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. To all of them I will give great blessings. I will use them as instruments to help bring about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My Sacred Heart. I will give great graces to the members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. I will call them to be deeply united to My Heart and to Mary's Heart as I lead them ever closer to My Father in the Holy Spirit."
- Message from Jesus to Father Edward J. Carter, S.J., Founder, as given on July 31, 1994,
feast of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits)
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Given May 23, 2014
R. Pope John Paul II told us to meditate
on the Mysteries of Light. This was a
great joy for me because I loved
these mysteries.
Mysteries of Light
Baptism of Jesus in the Jordon
1) From Fr. Joe's Homily Book - Centered in Christ - Cycle C, p. 26
Baptism of the Lord -
January 10, 2010– (Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts 10:34-38; Luke 3:15-16, 21-22) Many kings, prophets, and holy people served God in Old Testament times, and must have pleased God by their holy lives; however, in four places in the book of the prophet Isaiah, God speaks of someone with whom he is especially pleased. This servant is not identified by name and, because the passages are poetic in form, they are usually referred to as the servant songs. They were written about 500 years before Christ. Perhaps the passages refer to someone who was alive at the time of the prophet, but what is amazing is how perfectly they describe Jesus – even 500 years before he was born.INTRODUCTION
2) Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7
First song of the servant
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one
in whom my soul delights.
I have sent my spirit upon him,
he will bring fair judgement to the nations.
He does not cry out or raise his voice,
his voice is not heard in the street;
he does not break the crushed reed
or snuff the faltering wick.
Faithfully he presents fair judgement;
he will not grow faint,
he will not be crushed
until he has established
fair judgement on earth,
and the coasts and islands
are waiting for his instruction.
I, Yahweh, have called you
in saving justice,
I have grasped you by the hand
and shaped you;
I have made you a covenant of the people
and light to the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to free captives from prison,
and those who live in darkness
from the dungeon.
3) From Fr. Joe's Homily Book - Centered in Christ - Cycle C, p. 26-27
Baptism of the Lord - January 10, 2010
– I’m sure everyone has their Christmas decorations down by now – except the Church. The Church continues to celebrate the feast of Christmas and Epiphany until the feast of the Baptism of our Lord, which is today. The word Epiphany means to reveal or to show something. God began to reveal his Son to the world with the coming of the magi, but for those who came to Mass during this past week, each day’s gospel tried to show the uniqueness of Jesus. Today with the baptism of Jesus, God reveals that Jesus is filled with the Spirit and is God’s beloved Son with whom God is greatly pleased.HOMILY
4) Matthew 3: 13-17
Then Jesus appeared: he came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John. John tried to dissuade him, with the words, ‘It is I who need baptism from you, and yet you come to me!’ But Jesus replied, ‘Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that uprightness demands.’ Then John gave in to him. And when Jesus had been baptised he at once came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And suddenly there was a voice from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.’
5) Baptism of the Lord - January 10, 2010 - homily continues
The image that most caught my attention in reading today’s gospel is when St. Luke tells us “heaven was opened.” This has great symbolic meaning. St. Mark uses a stronger term in his account of the baptism of Jesus when he says, “the heavens tore apart.” The Greek word Mark used is (schidzo), a word that means “to divide by use of force, split, tear off or tear apart. This word is part of our English words: schism, schismatic, schizoid and schizophrenia.
6) Baptism of the Lord - January 10, 2010 - homily continues
This is why this image struck me. When we think of God, we think of him being up there and we’re down here and there is always a cloud that seems to hide him from us. The clouds symbolically formed a barrier between God and us. And in many ways that’s true. God is so far beyond our ability to know or understand. When the Second person of the Blessed Trinity took on our human flesh in the incarnation, the heavens were torn open. Earth was united with heaven, the barrier between God and ourselves no longer existed. When the Son of God took on our human nature, he became like us in every way except sin (as St. Paul tells us). He came to bridge the distance between God and us, and to make it possible for us to know him in a close and intimate way. We still have a long way to go in our relationship with God, but the way has been opened up for us to keep growing closer and closer. That way is Jesus.
7) Baptism of the Lord - January 10, 2010 - homily continues
Let me talk about how our own baptism fits into this picture. Human life begins approximately nine months prior to the birth of a child, from the moment a human egg is fertilized. Not knowing exactly when this event might occur, for millennia we have celebrated the beginning of a child’s life on its day of birth. A child prior to birth is just as human as a child who has just been born, but many people refuse to accept this. Nonetheless, when human life begins, that life is the highest form of life on this planet, endowed with unalienable rights among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
8) Baptism of the Lord - January 10, 2010 - homily continues
When a person is baptized, something really marvelous happens. The baptized person is lifted up to a higher level of life. He or she remains human but is made more than human. God reaches out and makes this human person his own child. We use the term “reborn.” That word is literally true. God could say over the person newly baptized, “you are my beloved child. On you my favor rests.” St. John says it clearly in his epistle, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” (1 Jn 3,1) At baptism the heavens are torn open, heaven is joined to earth and the barrier between God and the one who was baptized in essence no longer exists. I say “in essence” because “in everyday experience” there is still quite a distance between God and us. The word “reborn” can help explain that reality. When a child is born, there is a lot of work ahead for the child and its parents before a person attains full maturity as a human being. Also, when we’re reborn into God’s life, there is a lot of work ahead for the person who has been reborn and its parents before that person attains full maturity in Christ. Birth and baptism are both indeed miracles, but both are just a beginning.
9) Baptism of the Lord - January 10, 2010 - homily continues
Probably most of us seldom think of baptism and what a wonderful gift of life God gave us in baptism except on a feast like we are celebrating today or at an occasional baptism of a relative. But there are things to remind us of the sacrament, such as blessing ourselves with holy water when we enter church or the baptistery and Paschal Candle here in the sanctuary. Often we do not think of this but what we do every time we come to Mass is to renew the grace of baptism, to accept again the privilege of sharing God’s life, to have that life be nourished and strengthened by God’s word and by receiving Jesus’ body and blood in Communion. At Mass we renew our desire to live faithfully as God’s son or daughter.
10) Baptism of the Lord - January 10, 2010 - homily continues
The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God, was God from all eternity and when the Son of God took on human flesh in Jesus, he was God’s Son from the moment of his conception. So Jesus’ baptism did not make him any more God’s Son or any more filled with the Holy Spirit than he already was. When Jesus was baptized, the Father and the Spirit demonstrated what had always been. But when we are baptized we are significantly changed, we are made infinitely more than what we were. May God help us live up to our high calling. Amen.
Marriage at Cana
1) John 2: 1-11
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. And they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the feast had all been used, and the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said, ‘Woman, what do you want from me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water,’ and they filled them to the brim. Then he said to them, ‘Draw some out now and take it to the president of the feast.’ They did this; the president tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew—the president of the feast called the bridegroom and said, ‘Everyone serves good wine first and the worse wine when the guests are well wined; but you have kept the best wine till now.’
This was the first of Jesus’ signs: it was at Cana in Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.?
2) From Fr. Joe's Homily Book - Centered in Christ - Cycle C, pp. 31-32
January 17, 2010 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Making wine is a lengthy process; the miracle, of course, is that Jesus made the wine instantaneously, made it of such excellent quality and in such great abundance (120 to 150 gallons). What is the point of his doing that and what is the point of this story for us? John tells us it was a sign. So it’s meant to tell us something. Let us explore what the sign tells us. It was not a sign that Jesus was opening up a new wine shop in the neighborhood. His mission would not be limited to time or place. As we sang in the psalm refrain, his mission was to all nations. God’s people were always praying for and looking for the day when God would come to save his people. That day was often expressed in wedding imagery (as we heard in today’s first reading) and an abundance of wine would mark the arrival of that day. I would like to quote from several places in the Old Testament where an abundance of wine would be a sign of God’s coming as our savior. We read in Isaiah: “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines; he will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces. On that day it will be said: ‘behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!’” (Is 25:6, 9) Or again from Isaiah: “you who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!” (Is. 55:1) Amos tells us: “The days are coming says the Lord, when the juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains and all the hills shall run with it.” (Amos 9:13) In Proverbs we read about wisdom, personified as a woman who has built her house, dressed her meat, mixed her wine and has spread her table. She sends out her maidens and calls out to the city to all who would be wise and understanding: “come, eat my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed!” (Prov. 9:1-5) Overindulgence in alcohol is foolishness and destructive, but the Jewish people have always had one of the lowest percentages of alcoholism of all nationalities. They respect its power and thus it is for them a symbol of joy and celebration and, according to their Scriptures, it is a sign of the abundance of joy with which God would bless his people on the day of salvation.
3) January 17, 2010 - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time homily continues
But that’s not all that the miracle
tells us, for, as a sign it tells us a lot of other things, such as, it
was a sign of who Jesus is. It was a sign of his unique person – as
John’s gospel tells us: “he revealed his glory and his disciples began
to believe in him.” It was a sign that he was the messiah who would
bring God’s blessing of salvation to all God’s people. Since he would be
a light to all nations, as is often spoken of him, it is not just the
Jewish people who would share in God’s blessings. He would be a blessing
for all people who would follow him. Another meaning to this sign is
that this would be the beginning of Jesus’ saving work, a term described
as his “hour.” His work would lead to his execution and his resurrection
as he well knew. Perhaps knowing what was ahead for him, Jesus wasn’t in
a hurry to begin his work. So when his mother, Mary, described the
difficult problem of not having enough wine, his response was, “my hour
has not yet come.” Notice she didn’t push him into anything, but she
probably knew he would want to help this young couple who would have
been dreadfully embarrassed if their celebration came to a rapid end.
Mary just said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (Good advice
for any and all of us.) Another sign here for me is his interest in
every detail of our own lives. Did he not tell us in another place: “Are
not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the
ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head
are counted. (Mt. 10:29) It was a sign he came to change things: he
changed sick people into people who were well, he changed sinners into
saints, he changed death into a pathway into everlasting life, he
changed bread and wine into his body and blood. Finally, the miracle at
Cana was a sign of the Eucharist, in which he would give his blood for
us, his blood, which represents his life and his blessings that are
offered to those who come to be nourished by him. Amen.
4) Isaiah 62: 1-5
The splendour of Jerusalem
About Zion I will not be
silent,
about Jerusalem I shall not rest
until saving justice dawns for her
like a bright light
and her salvation like a blazing torch.
The nations will then see
your saving justice,
and all kings your glory,
and you will be called a new name
which Yahweh's mouth will reveal.
You will be a crown of splendour
in Yahweh's hand,
a princely diadem in the hand of your God.
No more will you be known as 'Forsaken'
or your country be known as 'Desolation';
instead, you will be called
'My Delight is in her'
and your country 'The Wedded';
for Yahweh will take delight in you
and your country will have its wedding.
Like a young man marrying a virgin,
your rebuilder will wed you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices in his bride,
so will your God rejoice in you.
5) From Fr. Joe's Homily Book - Centered in Christ - Cycle C, pp. 29-30
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - January 17, 2010
INTRODUCTION
– (Isaiah 62:1-5; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; John 2:1-11) For almost fifty years the Jews were captives and exiles in Babylon (modern day Iraq). But then the Persians (modern day Iran) conquered the Babylonians, and they allowed God’s people to return home. The Persians were even willing to give them financial aid to rebuild their Temple, their homes, their cities and their farms. The prophet in today’s first reading announces this wonderful event that God would bring his people back home. During their exile God had not forgotten his people and would take his people back to himself as his bride. The image of God marrying his people is an important biblical image, found in several of the prophets, and is the best symbol from our human experience that can be used to describe the affection God has for us. This wedding image prepares the way for the gospel account of Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding feast of Cana.6) 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11
There are many different gifts, but it is always the same Spirit; there are many different ways of serving, but it is always the same Lord. There are many different forms of activity, but in everybody it is the same God who is at work in them all. The particular manifestation of the Spirit granted to each one is to be used for the general good. To one is given from the Spirit the gift of utterance expressing wisdom; to another the gift of utterance expressing knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit; to another, faith, from the same Spirit; and to another, the gifts of healing, through this one Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the power of distinguishing spirits; to one, the gift of different tongues and to another, the interpretation of tongues. But at work in all these is one and the same Spirit, distributing them at will to each individual.
7)
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
8) R. The Church is the Spouse of Christ.
9) R. Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit.
10. Song: I Love You Jesus
The Kingdom of God
1) Song: Glory, Glory, Glory Lord
2) From Fr. Joe's Homily Book - Centered in Christ - Cycle C, p. 177
Christ the King - November 21, 2010
The Jews, by and large, couldn’t picture Jesus as their Messiah and King and they didn’t think it was funny when the Apostles preached that he was. The Jews thought they knew what the Messiah was supposed to be: a glorious military and political leader, an idealized kind of King David who would overcome all their enemies, restore the kingship to Israel and initiate a reign of peace and prosperity. They also knew their Scriptures for they listened to them every week and they knew Deuteronomy 21:23 which said, “God’s curse rests on him who hangs on a tree.” They could not conceive of Jesus, a convicted criminal, crucified and hanging on a cross, as their Messiah. Pilate might have thought it some kind of a twisted joke that would embarrass the Jewish people to put a sign above Jesus’ head, which said he was the King of the Jews. But, by and large, especially among the Jewish leaders, the idea of Jesus as Messiah was not only offensive, but blasphemous, and they were ready to punish anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was their Messiah, their king.
3) Christ the King - November 21, 2010 homily continues
Jesus tried to tell them that his kingdom would be different from any kingdom they had ever known: “My kingdom is not of this world.” Perhaps some of them could see how different his kingdom would be when they challenged him to save himself and he didn’t. They knew of his amazing powers, but he chose not to use them to save himself. Instead he was willing to suffer extraordinary pain and humiliation to save us.
4) Christ the King - November 21, 2010 homily continues
Think for a moment how great a faith the “good thief” had to be able to have to recognize Jesus as a king: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Nowhere in any of the literature of that time do we find anyone who anticipated their Messiah would have to suffer. Their Messiah would be a glorious, powerful figure. The “good thief” had to be able to see through all the expectations of the Jewish people; he had to be able to see through the weakness and failure that he was able to observe in Jesus and to affirm that Jesus was indeed a king. It is an act of faith that each of us must make individually if he is to be our king, and if we wish to be with him in his kingdom, a kingdom that will be for each of us the fullness of life that he came to bring us.
5) Christ the King - November 21, 2010 homily continues
The Collegeville Bible Commentary, pg 1182) It proclaims that Christ existed before all creation and is preeminent among all creatures and that all things were created through his mediation. Therefore, he existed before all creation and is preeminent among all creatures. One verse is especially appropriate for this week of Thanksgiving as we read: “Let us give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.” “Let us give thanks,” the letter to the Colossians says, it doesn’t suggest we just say thanks. Giving thanks involves more than just saying it.It is interesting that is was only 85 years ago that the Church established this feast of Our Lord, Jesus Christ the King. It was instituted as a corrective to the secular atmosphere of the times. However, as we can see in today’s second reading. honoring Jesus as king has been part of the tradition of the Church from the beginning. This passage is “one of the most important theological statements about the person of Christ in the New Testament.” (
6) Christ the King - November 21, 2010 homily continues
That brings us to why we are here today, to give thanks for God’s many blessings, especially for bringing us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. Being part of his kingdom is an honor and a privilege that, although we do not appreciate it as much as we should now, we will praise God for all of eternity, and we will never grow tired of doing so. So let us give thanks to the Lord our God. Amen.
7) Luke 23: 35-43
The crucified Christ is mocked
The people stayed there watching. As for the leaders, they jeered at him with the words, 'He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.' The soldiers mocked him too, coming up to him, offering him vinegar, and saying, 'If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.' Above him there was an inscription: 'This is the King of the Jews'.
The good thief
One of the criminals hanging there abused him:
'Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us as well.' But the
other spoke up and rebuked him. 'Have you no fear of God at
all?' he said. 'You got the same sentence as he did, but in our
case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this
man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me
when you come into your kingdom.' He answered him, 'In truth I
tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.'
8) Song: The King of Glory
9) Song: To Jesus Christ Our Sovereign King
10) Song: Holy God We Praise Thy Name
The Transfiguration
1) Mark 9: 2-10
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain on their own by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured: his clothes became brilliantly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. Then Peter spoke to Jesus, ‘Rabbi,’ he said, ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say; they were so frightened. And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’ Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.
2) Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14
While I was watching,
thrones were set in place
and one most venerable took his seat.
His robe was white as snow,
the hair of his head as pure as wool.
His throne was a blaze of flames,
its wheels were a burning fire.
A stream of fire poured out,
issuing from his presence.
A thousand thousand waited on him,
ten thousand times ten thousand
stood before him.
The court was in session
and the books lay open.I was gazing into the visions of the night,
when I saw,
coming on the clouds of heaven,
as it were a son of man.
He came to the One most venerable
and was led into his presence.
On him was conferred rule,
honour and kingship,
and all peoples, nations and languages
became his servants.
His rule is an everlasting rule
which will never pass away,
and his kingship will never come to an end.
3) From Guiding Light - Reflect on the Word - Vol. II
Transfiguration - August 6, 2006
INTRODUCTION – Our first reading is from the book of Daniel (Dn. 7, 7-10.13-14). The author of this book lived during the time the Greeks dominated most of the known world. The Greeks were trying to get everyone to follow their religion (paganism) and any Jew who remained faithful to his or her Jewish faith was put to death. This was the first time in the history of the world that people were persecuted for their beliefs. The book of Daniel tried to offer the Jewish people hope: hope of a savior. This salvation comes from one like a “son of man” whom God endows with kingship and power. Our reading is one of Daniel’s visions and it first describes God who is called the Ancient One - indicating God’s eternity. The term “son of man” means simply a human being, but this “son of man” would be unique and would be the savior of God’s people. This was the favorite title Jesus used in referring to himself. The glory of God is described in today’s first reading. It is shown through Christ in his Transfiguration, which is described in today’s gospel (Mk. 9, 2-10), and in today’s second reading from the Second Letter of St. Peter (1, 16-19).
4) 2 Peter 1: 16-19
When we told you about the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not slavishly repeating cleverly invented myths; no, we had seen his majesty with our own eyes. He was honoured and glorified by God the Father, when a voice came to him from the transcendent Glory, This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. We ourselves heard this voice from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.
So we have confirmation of the words of the prophets; and you will be right to pay attention to it as to a lamp for lighting a way through the dark, until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds.
5) From Guiding Light - Reflect on the Word - Vol. II
Transfiguration - August 6, 2006
HOMILY – Last Sunday I said that for the next four weeks we would be hearing from the sixth chapter of St. John on the Eucharist. I hadn’t looked ahead to see that this Sunday fell on August 6th which is the feast of the Transfiguration. Although we hear about the Transfiguration every year on the second Sunday of Lent, the actual feast of the Transfiguration is on August 6. It is an important enough feast that it replaces the normal Sunday liturgy.
6) Transfiguration - August 6, 2006 homily continues
Tradition identifies Mt. Tabor as the mountain of the Transfiguration. It’s quite a climb to get to the top. There is a chapel on top of the mountain commemorating the occasion of the Transfiguration. I said Mass there sixteen years ago when I went with a study group to the Holy Land. They had cars and buses to take us up the mountain. I’m not surprised that Peter, James and John fell asleep, as St. Luke tells us in his gospel, when they went there with Jesus. They didn’t have cars and buses and they would have been very tired when they got to the top. But when they woke up their efforts to make it up to the top of that mountain with Jesus were well rewarded. “It is good that we are here,” Peter said. “Let us make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” It sounds to me as if they were ready to stay there for several weeks, it was such an awesome experience. As wonderful as it was, Jesus’ work wasn’t finished and neither was theirs. They had to come back down to earth.
7) Transfiguration - August 6, 2006 homily continues
Most of us, I’m sure, have had moments when we’ve felt God’s presence and closeness and special love, or when we knew God was helping us with some problem. But I’m sure there are few, if any of us, who have experienced anything like the Transfiguration. We may be a mystic and have ecstatic experiences in prayer or we may be a saint who receives visions of Jesus or Mary. Other than that, we’ve probably not experienced anything like the Transfiguration and may find it difficult to relate to. But we can learn from it.
(1) We can learn that God has great glory reserved for us until, as the second reading tells us, “day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
8) Transfiguration - August 6, 2006 homily continues
(2) We can learn from what God spoke on the holy mountain about Jesus: “this is my beloved Son, listen to him.” This is not something new, of course, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded once again that we must listen to him.
9) Transfiguration - August 6, 2006 homily continues
(3) We can learn that we cannot expect mountaintop experiences every day when we pray, when we receive the sacraments, when we keep the Commandments. There are those moments when we get a lot of consolation and good feelings from our faith and our prayers. Then there are those moments when prayer is dry, when our faith is exactly what that word means, believing only on the word of another and not feeling anything except that we’re in a desert. The apostles were with Jesus three years and there was only one experience like the Transfiguration, and only three of them experienced it. Our religion can’t be based on feelings. It’s based on faith in God and love for God and for one another. Sometimes we feel it and sometimes we don’t. It’s not how we feel it that counts, but how we live it.
10) Transfiguration - August 6, 2006 homily continues
(4) Another thing we can learn from the Transfiguration is that we can’t always trust appearances. In appearance Jesus looked pretty much like the rest of us. Artists have pictured him with a halo, but I’m sure there was no halo when people saw him every day. The gospels would have remarked about it if there were. For a brief moment on Mt. Tabor, the apostles saw and heard things that indicated there was a lot more to Jesus than they ever imagined.
The Institution of the Eucharist
1) From Blue Book I
I Love You
April 13, 1994
Words of Jesus. Read before the Tabernacle.
Jesus: How, child, do I, Jesus, tell you I love you? You hold on to silly things when God is in your midst and is ardently loving you. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am writing to each precious child this day. I am on fire for love of you. I remain in the Eucharist to be with you with My ardent love. I did not want to leave My beloved ones at the Last Supper. I love you so, My dear and ardently loved children. I remain with you this day in the Blessed Sacrament, the same Jesus Who died a brutal death on the Cross.
Do you know I am truly present there? Do you know that God waits every day for you in the tabernacle? Do you comprehend even a minute amount of My love? You will never know of how I love you on earth.
I, Jesus, truly the Son of God, came to earth a man and suffered a brutal death for love of you. I love you so much! I remain with you this day. I long for your love. I want you to come and be with Me in front of the tabernacle. I wait, I yearn for you to come and whisper your love to Me. I am a person and I love you this day, with such an ardent on-fire love! No human could ever compare a speck to My love for you.
I wait, little ones, in the tabernacle. I wait for you to come and receive Me in Communion. I want you to want Me so much you cannot wait to come and receive Me. I want to be the love, the center of your life!
I am Jesus. I am the Son of God. I am writing to you this day. I want to possess your very soul and live in you. I have all you need, sweet ones. Oh, you are so blind! I long for your union with Me. I wrote the book of love. I instituted it, yet you go to the world for your love and do not even come to Me! Oh, I love you, little ones. Little ones, beloved of the Father, loved by the Holy Spirit, mothered by My very own mother! What more can I say? The rest is up to you!
I give you your will with such love and I want your love freely given. I am God. What do you think you could ever need that I do not give you? I am the Savior of this world. I am Jesus, the Son of God. I am waiting for you. I am longing for you. I am yearning for you. I am God. I have all you ever will need!
Surrender this life to Me. Pray My Prayer for Union with Me. I want to possess your soul and operate from your very being. I am Jesus. I am the Son of God. I am the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I am Who am. I died and rose on the third day.
Harken to My call, harken to My pleading. Spend your days in love with Me. Nothing matters unless it is rooted in Me and rooted in My love. I am the Son of God. I am the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I love you with the tenderest love. I am waiting this day for just you, My beloved one. Come to Me for I am the tenderest of all hearts. I am the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
- God's Blue Book, Volume 2 April 13, 1994
2) Luke 22: 14-20
When the time came he took his place at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, ‘I have ardently longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; because, I tell you, I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’
Then, taking a cup, he gave thanks and said, ‘Take this and share it among you, because from now on, I tell you, I shall never again drink wine until the kingdom of God comes.’The institution of the Eucharist
Then he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ He did the same with the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood poured out for you.
3) 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26
For the tradition I received from the Lord and also handed on to you is that on the night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and after he had given thanks, he broke it, and he said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' And in the same way, with the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.' Whenever you eat this bread, then, and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes.
4) From Blue Book 11 p. 42-46
April 6, 1996
The Mass is the Sacrifice of Calvary Sacramentally made Present
Holy Saturday
R.
Let us celebrate the mystery of God’s love. The Mass is the Sacrifice of Calvary sacramentally made present. At the Consecration the priest says: “This is My Body” over the bread and it is changed into the Body of Christ. He says, “This is My Blood” over the wine and it is changed into the Blood of Christ. Christ is truly present in the Eucharist.At the beginning of Mass we tell Jesus how sorry we are for all our sins. We die to our selfish ways, we give God ourselves as an offering. We offer ourselves to the Father, united to Jesus in the Holy Spirit through the powerful intercession of Mary with all the angels and saints and the souls in purgatory. The Father has great things in store for us, we surrender and live according to His will in love.
In the beginning of Mass, we say we are sorry for our sins, we say, Lord have mercy; Christ have mercy; Lord have mercy. Note: We offer up all we do. It does not mean I am giving up and doing hard things. I give Him my joy, my sorrow, my life that I will live loving God and my brothers. Then we are spiritually fed by His Word. The Liturgy of the Word. He teaches us. On Sunday there are two readings. We have His Word. On Sunday we have the first reading, usually from the Old Testament and the second reading from the New Testament.
Then we say Alleluia, a verse of the Bible and then the Gospel. The Gospel is given from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Then the priest gives a homily.
Next we pray the Creed –
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
Preparation of the Altar and the Gifts
Holy Holy
Eucharistic Prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Breaking of Bread
Communion Rite
Receiving Communion
Concluding Rite
Blessing
5) From the Response in Christ by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.
2) The Mass lived out
As the Christian lives out the Mass, he is consequently daily laboring with Christ in furthering the work of the subjective redemption. This is so because Christ's sacrifice was a redemptive act, and the Church's reliving of this act in the Mass is also redemptive. In this regard we must remember that the entire universe – not merely man – has been redeemed. The nonrational and rational world alike await the furthering of the redemption. St. Paul tells us: "From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free." (Rm 8:22-23).
6) From the Response in Christ by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. continues
How does the Christian help Christ redeem the world? (Henceforth the term "world" is to be understood as including both rational and nonrational creation.) As previously stated, the Christian helps Christ redeem the world by reliving Christ's mysteries. The same "events" or mysteries which accomplished the objective redemption further the subjective redemption also. Since at the heart of Christ's mysteries are His death and Resurrection, it is especially these that the Christian must relive. As the Christian dies mystically with Christ through loving conformity with the Father's will, he rises with Christ to an ever greater share in the Resurrection, in the newness of life, in the life of grace. As the Christian in this manner relives the paschal mystery of Christ, he is accomplishing not only his own redemption, but he is also, in a mysterious yet real manner, helping Christ redeem the world.
7) From the Response in Christ by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. continues
Although Christ's life was summed up in death-resurrection, it also included various other "events" or mysteries. Each of these in its own manner contributed to the redemption. So it is with the Christian's life. His participation in Christ's death-resurrection must be "broken down" into the other mysteries of Christ's life.
8) From the Response in Christ by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. continues
The Christian must always remember that he carries away from the Mass not only the Christ of the death and the Resurrection, but also, for example, the Christ of the hidden life and the Christ of the public life. As the Christian lives out his Mass in the exercise of his Christ-life, all these various mysteries should therefore be present.
9) From the Introduction of Blue Book 11
Response in Christ - Chapter 4 by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.Excerpt from
In schematic outline we have discussed the manner in which the baptized Christian extends his Mass to his daily existence. As he so lives out his Mass, he is becoming more Christlike. He becomes a more perfect priest and victim for his next participation in the eucharistic sacrifice.
42 The beautiful cycle which the Mass contains lies exposed before us. As part of this cycle the Christian is intimately involved in the process of continued redemption. The Mass is the center of the Christian life: “. . . the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the fount from which all her power flows.” 4342. For a current treatment of the varied richness of the Eucharist, cf. J. Wicks, “The Movement of Eucharistic Theology” in
Chicago Studies, Vol. 10 (1971), pp. 267-284.
10) From the Introduction of Blue Book 11
November 21, 2013
Jesus:
I call you to live your lives as devout members of the mystical body of Christ. I have given these writings that men will realize that they are to live united deeply to the Mass going on around the world. Your lives, given as an offering, a sacrifice every moment in union with the Mass going on around the world. Your life, a sacrifice, offered to the Father, in union with the Mass in oneness with Me, in the Holy Spirit through the intercession of the Blessed Mother with all the angels and saints and the souls in purgatory.Your lives given as members of My mystical body can help to bring down great graces for the priest, the Church and the world.
Excerpt from
Response in Christ - Chapter 4 by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.“How does the Christian help Christ redeem the world? (Henceforth the term “world” is to be understood as including both rational and nonrational creation.) As previously stated, the Christian helps Christ redeem the world by reliving Christ’s mysteries. The same “events” or mysteries which accomplished the objective redemption further the subjective redemption also. Since at the heart of Christ’s mysteries are His death and Resurrection, it is especially these that the Christian must relive. As the Christian dies mystically with Christ through loving conformity with the Father’s will, he rises with Christ to an ever greater share in the Resurrection, in the newness of life, in the life of grace. As the Christian in this manner relives the paschal mystery of Christ, he is accomplishing not only his own redemption, but he is also, in a mysterious yet real manner, helping Christ redeem the world.”
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