June
12th - Rita will do Prayer Service
from China at 1:30pm
and 6:20pm.
And June 13th at Noon.
China will not be open.
Please listen on the internet.
Please tune in to the radio
and pray with us.
Pray for Dan N. & Fr. Joe.
Pray for Fr. Joe, Dan, Melanie, Mary, Sanja, Rita,
Jim, Rosie, Louie's family, Carol R.
& Family –
Madonna, Christopher, a special
couple,
all Shepherds of Christ intentions on
lists.
Pray for China and the mailing.
Also pray for Urgent intention
Prayer for Grace for our Country
Dear Father united to Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass, the Sacrifice of Calvary sacramentally made
present, celebrated around the world, in the Holy Spirit. We
offer up all we do united to the Mass. We unite in one mind and
one heart as members of the mystical body of Christ, with Christ
our head in the pure and holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary, through
the powerful intercession of Mary with all the angels and saints
and souls in purgatory, and we beg for the saving grace, for our
country, the United States. Please help us. We further pray for
unity to always do the will of God in love. We spread the Blood
of Jesus on the leaders and people of the United States and cast
the devil into hell. We consecrate our country to the Sacred
Heart and Immaculate Heart and all our dioceses, and beg for an
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. God help us. We pray for our
families, the priests, the Church and the world.
In the Name of Jesus please hear us, we pray. We pray for our
president and leaders. We pray that we are united as one nation
under God to work together in love as God wants.
Crucifixes with the image
glass are available.
8" - $45 plus tax and shipping
10" - $50
12" - $65
18" - $75
June 12, 2020
R. We are called
to shine like lights in the world.
Today's Readings
1 Kings 19: 9, 11-16
There he
went into a cave and spent the night
there. Then the word of
Yahweh
came to him saying, 'What are you doing
here, Elijah?'
Then he was
told, 'Go out and stand on the mountain
before Yahweh.' For at that moment
Yahweh
was going by. A mighty hurricane split
the mountains and shattered the rocks
before Yahweh. But
Yahweh
was not in the hurricane. And after the
hurricane, an earthquake. But Yahweh was
not in the earthquake. And after the
earthquake, fire. But
Yahweh
was not in the fire. And after the fire,
a light murmuring sound. And when
Elijah
heard this, he covered his face with his
cloak and went out and stood at the
entrance of the cave. Then a voice came
to him, which said, 'What are you doing
here, Elijah?' He replied, 'I am full of
jealous
zeal
for Yahweh,
God
Sabaoth, because the
Israelites
have abandoned your covenant, have torn
down your altars and put your prophets
to the sword. I am the only one left and
now they want to kill me.' 'Go,'
Yahweh
said, 'go back by the same way to the
desert
of Damascus. You must go and anoint
Hazael as king of Aram. You must anoint
Jehu
son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and
anoint
Elisha
son of Shaphat, of Abel-Meholah, as
prophet
to succeed you.
Psalm 27: 7-9, 13-14
Yahweh,
hear my voice as I cry,
pity me, answer me!
Of you my heart has said,
'Seek his face!'
Your face, Yahweh, I seek;
do not turn away from me.
Do not
thrust aside your servant in anger,
without you I am helpless.
Never leave me, never forsake me,
God, my Saviour.
This I believe: I shall see the
goodness of Yahweh,
in the land of the living.
Put your hope in Yahweh, be strong, let your heart be bold,
put your hope in Yahweh.
Matthew 5: 27-32
‘You have heard how it was said,
You shall not commit adultery. But I say this to you, if a man
looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with
her in his heart. If your right eye should be your downfall, tear it
out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part
of yourself than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if
your right hand should be your downfall, cut it off and throw it
away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of yourself than
to have your whole body go to hell.
‘It has also been said, Anyone
who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I
say this to you, everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case
of an illicit marriage, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who
marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
September 11, 2015
Call – Response
R. For 3 years Christ taught the Apostles
and disciples too -
He prepared them, taught them; He formed
them and He sent them into the whole world
to preach the Gospel to all men –
The Gospel is the Good News –
Think of all Christ has done for us –
Think of all that salvation means –
Christ did these teachings and miracles
week after week – so the Apostles
remembered these things being
taught by Jesus and
they pass it down
This is Tradition as it was preserved
treasured, developed in the early
community and is pass down
Christ taught them as they lived what
He taught them –
A living message – about
the Eucharist, about resurrection,
etc. –
Galatians 1: 8-9
But even if we ourselves or an
angel from
heaven preaches to you a gospel
other than the one we preached to you, let God's curse be on
him. I repeat again what we declared before: anyone who preaches
to you a gospel other than the one you were first given is to be
under God's curse.
R. Eventually this message was written down –
letters to the Apostles first – Gospels –
The Scriptures grew from
Tradition
The Gospel according to Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John
The Church is the official
interpreter of Tradition –
The Church is Catholic
Universal –
Christ's Church must grow and
spread and be preached to all men –
Go out
→
Always growing
→
Men – Lay People
Are to live good Christian lives –
The Church is Holy
Holiness means close to God –
We are the Church –
the people of Christ –
Christ has given us the means to be
holy –
We have the hierarchy as guides –
We have the sacraments –
We have the Gospel
We have the saints
We have the devotions
We have the religious orders etc. –
Sometimes the Church is strong
Sometimes the Church is weak
We are to be faithful to Christ
We are to be close to Christ
The Church is made up of
imperfect people –
wounded men –
Because of this there is sin in the Church –
There can be sin in members –
sin in priests –
We recall even Peter denied Christ –
Judas betrayed Christ
Christ came for sinners –
Christ talks about hypocrites –
Some people say they quit going
to Church because it is
full of sinners and hypocrites –
Some say they quit going to Church because
of how priests and nuns act
toward them –
Christ predicted His Church would
be good and bad!
A mixture of good and bad –
Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43
He put another parable
before them, ‘The kingdom of Heaven may
be compared to a man who sowed good seed
in his field. While everybody was asleep
his enemy came, sowed darnel all among
the wheat, and made off. When the new
wheat sprouted and ripened, then the
darnel appeared as well. The owner’s
labourers went to him and said, "Sir,
was it not good seed that you sowed in
your field? If so, where does the darnel
come from?" He said to them, "Some enemy
has done this." And the labourers said,
"Do you want us to go and weed it out?"
But he said, "No, because when you weed
out the darnel you might pull up the
wheat with it. Let them both grow till
the harvest; and at harvest time I shall
say to the reapers: First collect the
darnel and tie it in bundles to be
burnt, then gather the wheat into my
barn." ’
In all this Jesus spoke
to the crowds in parables; indeed, he
would never speak to them except in
parables. This was to fulfil what was
spoken by the prophet:
I will speak to you
in parables,
unfold what has been hidden
since the foundation of the world.
Then, leaving the crowds,
he went to the house; and his disciples
came to him and said, 'Explain to us the
parable about the darnel in the field.'
He said in reply, ' The sower of the
good seed is the Son of man. The field
is the world; the good seed is the
subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the
subjects of the Evil One; the enemy who
sowed it, the devil; the harvest is the
end of the world; the reapers are the
angels. Well then, just as the darnel is
gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it
will be at the end of time. The Son of
man will send his angels and they will
gather out of his kingdom all causes of
falling and all who do evil, and throw
them into the blazing furnace, where
there will be weeping and grinding of
teeth. The the upright will shine like
the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Anyone who has ears should listen!
Matthew 22: 1-14
Parable
of the wedding feast
Jesus began
to speak to them in parables once again, ‘The kingdom of
Heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his
son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had
been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some
more servants with the words, “Tell those who have been
invited: Look, my banquet is all prepared, my oxen and
fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready.
Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went
off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest
seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The
king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those
murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his
servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were
invited proved to be unworthy, go to the main crossroads and
invite everyone you can find to come to the wedding.” So
these servants went out onto the roads and collected
together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and
the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came
in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not
wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get
in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man
was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him
hand and foot and throw him into the darkness outside, where
there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are
invited but not all are chosen.’
R. The Church will be holy
when men are united with
Christ –
Weeds must be separated from wheat.
We must get rid of bad fish –
R. Mary is the Mother of Jesus
Mary is our Mother
Mary is the New Eve
Jesus, the New Adam
We see Mary in the crucial areas
of Christ's life –
Mary prays for us –
On September 5, 2015 – Mary prayed with us
the whole rosary –
I felt Mary so close to us –
I knew her presence with us!
Mary is a powerful intercessor –
she can obtain many favors
for us –
God expects us to help each other to
gain salvation –
We see the Apostles, priests,
bishops worked to help us
Priestly Newsletter Book II -
September/October 1997
Scriptural Reflections
In all
this Mary offers an example. Selfishness was totally foreign to
her. She did not belong to herself. She belonged to God. She was
not closed in upon herself. She was completely open to God. When
God spoke, she listened. When God pointed the way, she followed.
She realized that life is not a process a person masters by
carefully mapping out one's own self-conceived plans of
conquest, but a mystery to be gradually experienced by being
open to God's personal and loving guidance.
Selfishness, then, did not close Mary off from God's call.
Neither did fear. God asked her to assume a tremendous
responsibility. He asked her to be the Mother of Jesus. Mary did
not engage in a process of false humility and say that such a
great role was above her. She did not say that she did not have
the proper qualifications for this awesome mission. Briefly, she
did not waste time looking at herself, making pleas that she was
not worthy, telling the angel he had better go look for someone
else. No, Mary did not look at herself. Her gaze was absorbed in
God. She fully realized that whatever God asked of her, His
grace would accomplish. She fully realized that although she
herself had to cooperate, this work was much more God's than
hers.
Mary's words, then, truly sum up what is the authentic Christian
response at any point of life, in any kind of situation: "I am
the handmaid of the Lord," said Mary, "let what you have said be
done to me".
Prayer of St. Francis
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.
Excerpt from May 21, 2001 message
Mary speaks: I
am Mary your Mother, please help me
spread the rosary. Beads and Rosary
Makers are needed.
end
of excerpt from May 21,
2001 message
Excerpt from May 26, 2001 message
Mary speaks: ...I desire rosaries be
made for my school
children....
end of excerpt fro
m
May 26, 2001 message
Excerpt from June 18, 2001 message
Mary speaks: I appear and beg you help me to
get
the rosaries in the hands of
my children....
...Oh my children, I am Mary your
Mother and I come to warn
you. You must listen. Please
pray the rosary and help me
distribute the rosaries to those
wanting to pray.
end of excerpt from June 18, 2001
Excerpt from June 18, 2001 message
Mary speaks: ...I want my children praying
the rosary in schools. I
want you to help me get
my rosaries and supplies
in the schools. Please help
me now. Please ask people
you know that may help
you.
This is my rosary factory.
I appear and beg you help me to get
the rosaries in the hands of
my children.
There are people wanting to make
rosaries and there are no beads.
Oh my children, now they want them
in the schools.
This program has been formed in the
schools over 6 years.
Now it too will stop because
of lack of supplies....
end of excerpt from June
18, 2001 message
Excerpt from July 21, 2001
message
Mary speaks: I stood beneath the cross
of My Son
and I cried. I cried for my children that
would not listen to me and would
be lost to the fires of hell.
Oh my children, you must pray. We are
teaching you how to pray so that great
grace will be released on your world....
...Your world is contributing to corrupting
youth and you allow it. You support such
things with your money and you will
not even help me get my rosaries in
the schools, your world will suffer. You
are thinking more and more "slanted" you
do not even recognize how FAR OFF you
have become.
You must obey the commandments,
My Son gives you His Word.
The truth will be found in living according
to the Word. You must obey the
commandments.
You will not even help me to circulate
My Son's Priestly Newsletter.
Oh the heat you say, oh my children,
the heat of hell.
end of excerpt from July 21, 2001
Excerpt from June 23, 2001
message
Mary speaks: ...I ask you to please
help me get
the rosary in all the hands
of my children of the earth.
I ask you to help me....
Please pray for my
school children.
Please get the rosary in
their hands.
end of excerpt from June
23, 2001 message
Messenger:
These messages were
given from Mary on her
birthday September 8, 2001
3 days before September 11, 2001.
Excerpt from September
8, 2001 message
Mary speaks: I want you to help
me.
Do you see the gift your God has given in my
appearance in Florida.
My children would any sign move your hearts?
After I appeared at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center
you would not believe me.
Now I give you these gifts, given from your
Father in heaven.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| July 5, 2001 |
July 5, 2001 |
July 5, 2001 |
July 5, 2001 |
September 8,
2001 message continues
Mary speaks:
You want a sign, you are given a sign and you
still won't believe.
My children these messages we give to you to
help renew the Church and the world.
You must pray for your priests....
I am the handmaid of the Lord.
I appeared at Fatima and my message is greatly ignored.
I appear to you today.
I appear as Our Lady of Fatima in the Americas.
I have appeared every day for almost five
years.
Will you take notice.
My Son's Movement Shepherds of Christ has operated from
the beginning from this apparition site in Florida.
I want you to do what I asked for at Fatima.
I am the Queen of Peace.
The Father has sent me with this message.
Excerpt from The Spirituality of Fatima
by Father Carter, S.J.
October 13, 1917
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.(17)
NOTE:
17. For background material on Fatima, I am particularly
indebted to
Our Lady of Fatima's Peace Plan from Heaven (Rockford:
TAN
Books and Publishers, Inc., 1983). p.7.
end of excerpt from The Spirituality of Fatima
September 8, 2001
message continues
Mary speaks: I
tell you that you need to consecrate your
hearts to Our two Hearts.
I tell you to listen.
For those who block the message, they block
me and my Son Jesus.
These messages and visions are gifts given
by God.
They are given to help lead the souls to heaven.
The messages given to Father Carter to begin
Shepherds of Christ was to help renew the
Church and the world....
Mary speaks: I
want the Bishops to consecrate their dioceses
to my Immaculate Heart. My Son Jesus
wants the Bishops to consecrate their dioceses
to His Sacred Heart.
Jesus speaks: It
is My desire that the Bishops of America and
the Bishops of the world entrust their dioceses
to My Most Sacred Heart and the Heart of My
Mother Mary. I desire they encourage
the devotion to Our two Hearts in all
dioceses and all Churches. I desire
this with all My Heart. I am the Sacred
Heart of Jesus, you will not have peace
in the world until more listen to Me
and comply to these wishes. I want to
be the King and Center of all Hearts.
I desire the picture of My Heart and My Mother's
heart and or statues be placed in the churches.
When a Church is consecrated/enthroned to
Our two Hearts they will grow in greater
holiness.
I am the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
I will Reign on the earth.
Why are you so resistant to listen to Me
and follow My requests.
How do I deliver a message to you?
You will not even take notice of the
sign given on the building in
Florida.
The Fatima message must be observed.
You must make reparation to Our
two Hearts.
I give to you the Shepherds of Christ Prayers.
I directed Father Carter how to compile
these prayers for the priests, and the
renewal of the Church and the world.
Here is a message I sent on December 20, 1993.
I came knocking, with the following writing.
"Angels will read the Message"
I came in light.
I deliver this message, but you do not hear
Me.
. . .
 |
 |
 |
 |
| May 5, 2001 |
May 5, 2001 |
May 5, 2001 |
May 5, 2001 |
September 8, 2001 message continues
Mary speaks: ...My
children my message is the same.
My heart is pierced with sorrow
for my children.
My Red Rosary book is a gift given
to you from the Hearts of Jesus
and Mary.
Oh children, use it, it will help you
to love your God more and know
more my love for you.
Mary speaks:
A
special rosary I give is March 30, 1995.
Circulate this rosary. Listen to it.
A rosary I want to give to youth is
March 20, 1997.
I appeared as Our Lady of Fatima
delivering this rosary.
The Rosary meditations we give from
Our Hearts will help change
the hearts of men.
Meditating on the rosary will help
you to know the truth.
I write to you on my birthday September 8, 2001.
I want these videos circulated to the
Nursing homes.
My Son Jesus wants the Shepherds of Christ
Movement
to own the Virgin Mary building
free and clear to help bring to
Completion the Mission I began at
Fatima.
I appear Our Lady of Fatima in
the Americas.
My Son Jesus wants to use this
Movement He began Shepherds of Christ
to help to renew His Church
and the world.
The Priestly Newsletter and these
writings are important to do
this.
You must want to walk in the truth.
I beg you to consecrate your hearts.
Come to me, I love you,
I want these videos (nursing home videos) given to
nursing home residents to be
shown in groups.
I want these videos given to Elderly
so they will become
Prayer Apostles for the Shepherds of Christ
Movement.
I want the videos shown to the
terminally ill and all ill.
I want them shown to children
and to all.
They are short approximately 20-30 minutes
from my image site in
Florida.
Please help me.
In this day of celebration for
my birthday I speak to
the world.
I am Mary your Mother, we will
teach the world to pray
from My image site in
Florida.
March 5, 2001
September
8, 2001 message continues
Mary speaks:
Please
help me.
I am Mary, Mother of the
Universe
end
of September 8, 2001 message
|
Death
 |
Resurrection
 |
February 22, 1995
Stations of the Cross
Sing: Song from Jesus
Sing: New Life
1. Jesus Is Condemned to Death
Jesus: My dear
child, with angry hearts and hatred on their faces, they poked at Me and
condemned Me to death. I stood so silent, My hands tied, in perfect peace,
because I knew the Father's love. I knew the Father's Will. You too will
stand your trials in perfect peace, the more you realize the immense love
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have for you. Pray to the Spirit to
transform you more and more into My image and, through this
transformation, you will be led ever closer to the Father. Oh, how I love
you!
2. They Give Jesus the Cross
Jesus: They gave Me a heavy
cross, laden with the sins of the world. They placed it on My shoulder. It
was so heavy I felt as if My shoulder would break. I ask you to carry
little crosses, to experience little pains. I could not remove this cross
from My shoulder. The weight was unbearable. It is through My suffering
and death that you receive new life. It is through your sufferings this
day that you will grow in your life with Me. Oh, child, I loved you so
much that I took up the cross of salvation. I love you. Please realize
that I am talking to you here. To My death I loved you. Oh, how I love
you!
3. Jesus Falls the First Time
Jesus: The cross was so heavy
I could hardly walk. I held on to My cross for greatest love of you and in
compliance with the Will of My Father. It became so hard to walk! The
cross was so heavy! I fell. I fell and the cross fell on Me. They poked at
Me, they struck Me, they demanded I get up. The pain from the instruments
they used to poke Me and strike Me was so great! I somehow managed to get
up.
When you fall under the weight of your cross, come to My Eucharistic
Heart. I am no less present in the tabernacle and in the Eucharist than on
the day I carried My cross. I wait with the same love that I had for you
when I carried this cross and suffered such agony. Oh, how I love you!
4. Jesus and Mary Meet
Jesus: I saw the face of My
beautiful Mother. She was weak, her face reddened and full of tears. I saw
her tender heart, her love, her anguish, her pain. I saw My dear Mother
Mary. My Heart was comforted by the sight of her, but torn by her
suffering.
Mary: As I looked into the eyes of my beloved Son, I saw His
love. His head, bleeding and wounded. His body weak. His clothes covered
with blood. I looked into His eyes and I saw His love for you. I call out
to you today. I appear today with a face full of anguish and tears. I
appear to call you back to the love of my Son. See through my eyes, as I
peer into His eyes, the love He has for you this day to give of Himself
for you. Oh, He loves you so much, my little children. See through my eyes
the love of my Son. Oh, how He loves you!
5. Simon of Cyrene Is Forced to Help
Jesus
Carry His Cross
Jesus: The cross was so heavy
I could not move. My persecutors became angry and forced a man to help Me.
The cross was so heavy the two of us could barely move it. How is your
cross today? Does it seem so heavy you cannot go on? I am forever watching
you. When you are suffering the greatest, I am very close to you. It is in
immense suffering that you realize My great love for you. Pray for grace
to do always the Father's Will. Pray for grace to grow in your knowledge
and love of Me.
6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
Jesus: My face was covered
with blood. From the crowd Veronica came forward with a cloth to wipe My
face. On the cloth I gave to you an imprint of My bloodied face. This, My
children, remains with you this day as a sign of My immense love for you.
But more than any cloth, look beyond the visible consecrated host. I,
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, remain with you, Body, Blood, Soul and
Divinity, in the Eucharist this day, waiting and longing to be with you.
Oh, how I love you!
7. Jesus Falls the Second Time
Jesus: Oh, dear ones, the
road became harder and harder to walk. The cross was becoming heavier, My
body weaker and weaker. My shoulders and arms hurt so much! My head
throbbed as I walked. The blood came from My body, from My head to My
feet. I was covered with open wounds. I could not go any farther. I
stumbled and fell. Again they poked at Me, only harder, and with such
hatred they kicked Me. Such vileness in the hearts of men! My greatest
agony was not the agonies of My body, but the agonies of My heart for the
love I have for all My precious souls. I loved them so dearly. I loved
those who persecuted Me. Oh, how I love you!
8. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
Jesus: The women came to Me
with their children, their tender hearts crying and wanting to comfort Me.
I saw their love, their care. I saw the coldness of men's hearts for all
time, the hatred, the anger, the sins, all the souls that, despite all of
My sufferings and death, would be condemned to eternal damnation. I told
the women to weep not for Me, but for themselves and their children. My
greatest agonies were the agonies of My Most Sacred Heart. Oh, how I love
you!
9. Jesus Falls the Third Time
Jesus: I fell hard the third
time. I was so weakened I could not go on. My body collapsed under the
cross from such exhaustion! My child, My child, My greatest agonies were
not the wounds to the body. They were the wounds I experienced to My
heart. Do you know a little more now how I love you? It is in meditating
on My Passion and death that you will realize My immense love for you.
When you fall, when you struggle, I give you the grace to get up. I never
give you more than you can handle. Your strength will come from Me. Come
to My Eucharistic Heart. I am waiting for you this day. Oh, how I love
you!
10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments
Jesus: They took Me to the
hill to crucify Me. They angrily stripped Me of My garments. They took off
My clothes to whip Me. They had covered My bloody wounds with a dirty
purple robe. Now, total surrender-they took off My clothes. I showed you
the way to surrender, always complying with the Will of the Father. It is
in living in His Will that you will have peace and joy, and life eternal
some day. Oh, how I love you!
11. They Nail Him to the Cross
R. See Mary as she holds the
little Baby Jesus. See her as she washes His tender hands and feet. See
her now as she watches as they pound into those same hands and feet the
gigantic nails that fix Jesus to the cross.
Mary: Oh, my dear ones, my heart was torn in my chest as they
nailed His hands and feet to the cross. I ask you this day to walk the
Passion with me and see through my eyes the love He has for you. He truly
was nailed to the cross.
Jesus: They pounded the nails into My first hand, then they
stretched My body and nailed My other hand. The blood poured from these
wounds that went totally through My hands. My pain was so immense, but
then they nailed My feet! You do not know what pain I suffered, My child.
My children, My children, for each one of you I suffered this pain. Oh,
how I loved you!
12. Jesus Dies on the Cross
(Silence.)
R.
He hung for three agonizing hours on the cross against the
darkened sky. His greatest agonies were not the agonies of His body, but
those of His Heart for the great love He has for each and every soul.
Jesus: I gave Myself to you, My dear ones. I gave My all. I
hung with My arms spread in total surrender. My head was punctured; My
hands and feet were nailed to the cross. I gave Myself to you. I give
Myself to you this day in the Eucharist. I give Myself to you. I, God,
give you Myself! What more do you want?
Song: Oh, burning Heart, oh, Love divine, etc.
R.
They pierced His Heart with a lance and what flowed forth
was blood and water, the sacramental life of the Church, water for Baptism
and blood for the Eucharist. His life, death and resurrection live on in
the Church this day.
13. Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross
and
Placed in the Arms of His Mother
R.
His totally lifeless body
was placed in the arms of His most loving Mother. As she had held the
little baby body in her arms, she now received His bloodied, bruised body
in her arms. This is how He obeyed the Father's Will. Jesus gave His life
for us. The Father gave His only Son because He loves us so much. Mary,
His Mother, our Mother and the Mother of the Church, is forever by His
side. See Jesus in the arms of His loving Mother under the cross. This is
love.
Mary: I held His lifeless body in my arms. See through my eyes
the love He has for you this day. He gives Himself to you today in the
Eucharist. He loves you so much!
14. Jesus Is Locked in the Tomb
R.
His enemies rolled the
stone up to the tomb and were pleased to have buried Jesus. Mary, outside
the tomb, wept bitterly. The cold reality that He was dead! But death has
no power over Jesus for on the third day He rose, triumphant, from the
tomb! We are partakers in His divine life. Death has no power over Jesus.
He is with us this day. He comes to bring us life to the full. He loves us
so much!
Mary's
Message
from the Rosary of August 27, 1996
Mary: I stood beneath the cross of
my Son, and my Heart was in such pain for I saw Him before my eyes. I saw
Him covered with blood. I saw Him die. My Heart, my children, my Heart to
watch my Son, but my Heart, my Heart, how I suffered for my little children
of the world that give in to this world and give up the love of my Son. O my
little children of light, I give you this message. Carry this light into the
darkness for your Mother Mary, for I stood beneath the cross and I cried. I
cried for the little ones. I cried for the young ones, the ones that do not
care and will lose their souls. How do I make you see for you will not
listen to me? What can I do? I come. I appear. I beg. I plead. I give you
these gifts from my Son, and you reject me. I do not deliver messages very
often anymore for I have been ignored. The message is the same. You do not
read the messages I have given to you. Please help me. Help the little
children. I appear. I appear. I appear, and I am ignored. I stood beneath
the cross, and I cried. I cried, and my Heart was in such anguish for my
little children, for I am searching for them this day as I searched for the
Child Jesus. Please, please help me. I cannot hold back the hand of my Son
any longer. I am Mary, your Mother. I ask you to help my children. You are
my children of light.
end of Mary's Message,
August 27, 1996
Sing: Spirit Song
Sing: Night Is Over
1 Corinthians 15: 20-28
In fact, however, Christ has been
raised from the dead, as the first–fruits of all who have fallen asleep.
As it was by one man that death came, so through one man has come the
resurrection of the dead. Just as all die in Adam, so in Christ all will
be brought to life; but all of them in their proper order: Christ the
first–fruits, and next, at his coming, those who belong to him. After
that will come the end, when he will hand over the kingdom to God the
Father, having abolished every principality, every ruling force and power.
For he is to be king until he has made his enemies his footstool, and the
last of the enemies to be done away with is death, for he has put all
things under his feet. But when it is said everything is subjected, this
obviously cannot include the One who subjected everything to him. When
everything has been subjected to him, then the Son himself will be
subjected to the One who has subjected everything to him, so that God may
be all in all.
1 Corinthians 15: 29-58
Otherwise, what are people up to who
have themselves baptised on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised
at all, what is the point of being baptised on their behalf? And what
about us? Why should we endanger ourselves every hour of our lives? I
swear by the pride that I take in you, in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I
face death every day. If I fought wild animals at Ephesus in a purely
human perspective, what had I to gain by it? If the dead are not going to
be raised, then Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall be dead.
So do not let anyone lead you astray, ‘Bad company corrupts good
ways.’ Wake up from your stupor as you should and leave sin alone; some
of you have no understanding of God; I tell you this to instil some shame
in you.
Someone may ask: How are dead people raised, and what sort
of body do they have when they come? How foolish! What you sow must die
before it is given new life; and what you sow is not the body that is to
be, but only a bare grain, of wheat I dare say, or some other kind; it is
God who gives it the sort of body that he has chosen for it, and for each
kind of seed its own kind of body.
Not all flesh is the same flesh: there
is human flesh; animals have another kind of flesh, birds another and fish
yet another. Then there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; the
heavenly have a splendour of their own, and the earthly a different
splendour. The sun has its own splendour, the moon another splendour, and
the stars yet another splendour; and the stars differ among themselves in
splendour. It is the same too with the resurrection of the dead: what is
sown is perishable, but what is raised is imperishable; what is sown is
contemptible but what is raised is glorious; what is sown is weak, but
what is raised is powerful; what is sown is a natural body, and what is
raised is a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is a
spiritual body too. So the first man, Adam, as scripture says, became
a living soul; and the last Adam has become a life–giving spirit.
But first came the natural body, not the spiritual one; that came only
afterwards. The first man, being made of earth, is earthly by nature; the
second man is from heaven. The earthly man is the pattern for earthly
people, the heavenly man for heavenly ones. And as we have borne the
likeness of the earthly man, so we shall bear the likeness of the heavenly
one.
What I am saying, brothers, is that
mere human nature cannot inherit the kingdom of God: what is perishable
cannot inherit what is imperishable. Now I am going to tell you a mystery:
we are not all going to fall asleep, but we are all going to be changed,
instantly, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds. The
trumpet is going to sound, and then the dead will be raised imperishable,
and we shall be changed, because this perishable nature of ours must put
on imperishability, this mortal nature must put on immortality.
And after this perishable nature has put on imperishability and this
mortal nature has put on immortality, then will the words of scripture
come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your
victory? Death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and
the power of sin comes from the Law. Thank God, then, for giving us the
victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So, my dear brothers, keep firm and immovable,
always abounding in energy for the Lord’s work, being sure that in the
Lord none of your labours is wasted.
. . .
April 13, 2004
April 13, 2004
10 Years Ago
April 17, 1994
I
Love You
(Letter for Front of B.B. II)
April 13, 1994
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 on earth know how
I love you.
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 that 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 on 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 you, My
beloved one. Come to Me for I am the tenderest of all hearts. I am the
Sacred Heart of Jesus.
end of April 13, 1994
Cling to Me
May
13, 1993
Jesus: My dear child, if you stay close to Me, then
I live in you and you live in Me. I am He Who created you and I love you
with such an intensity that you will never know. My words are your truth.
You must abide in My heart in all things. There is no room for doubt. My
ways are steadfast, direct, and without error.
You must stay rooted in Me to ward off the power of
the evil one. His grip is paralyzing and crippling. His power is stronger
every day.
When you live in Me, I am in your heart and he has
no power over Me. I am your God. I am your true lover. I want to protect
you. I want to guard you from this force. Stay rooted firmly in Me and he
will have no power.
I am He Who comforts you. My hand is upon you. Hold
tight to Me, My child. My eyes are fixed right on you. You are My most
precious child. I love you as no other can. My arms are about you. My
tenderness surrounds you. My love is in your heart. You go not alone. I
walk with you.
I share every aspect of your life with you. Cling to
Me, feel My presence. It is warm and secure within your chest. There is no
room for fear, for I cast out fear and bring you comfort and joy.
end of May 13, 1993 message
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)
end of July 31, 1994 message given to
Fr. Carter
October 13, 1994
The Birth of the Full Ministries
of the Shepherds of Christ
"I wish to share with you part of a message
which Jesus gave us on October 13, 1994. The message tells us about the
expansion of the Shepherds of Christ movement:
'My
beloved priest-companion, today I come to you with another mission. I am
asking you to establish Shepherds of Christ Ministries. At My request you
have already begun the priestly newsletter, "Shepherds of Christ",
and the prayer chapters, Shepherds of Christ Associates...
'I
am giving you this message on this day, the 77th Anniversary of the Great
Apparition at Fatima, because of the close connection between the Shepherds
of Christ movement and the Fatima message. The Fatima message is centered in
devotion to My Heart and My Mother's Heart, especially in consecration to
Our Hearts. Shepherds of Christ Ministries is also centered in devotion to
Our Hearts. I will use Shepherds of Christ Ministries as a great instrument
in helping to bring about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign
of My Sacred Heart. When this occurs, My Church and the world will be
experiencing the great era of peace promised by My Mother at Fatima.
'Today, then, October 13, 1994, the 77th Anniversary of the Great Apparition
at Fatima, marks the birth of Shepherds of Christ Ministries. I pour forth
the great love of My Sacred Heart to all. I am Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the
flock.'
end of October 13, 1994 message
given to Fr. Carter
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:
-
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.
-
For the Pope.
-
For all bishops of the world.
-
For all priests.
-
For all sisters and brothers in the religious life.
-
For all members of the Shepherds of Christ Movement,
and for the spread of this movement to the world.
-
For all members of the Catholic Church.
-
For all members of the human family.
-
For all souls in purgatory.
end of Apostles of the Eucharistic
Heart message
Act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
"Lord Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock, I
consecrate myself to Your most Sacred Heart. From Your pierced Heart the
Church was born, the Church You have called me, as a member of Shepherds
of Christ Associates, to serve in a most special way. You
reveal Your Heart as a symbol of Your love in all its aspects, including
Your most special love for me, whom You have chosen as Your companion in
this most important work. Help me to always love You in return. Help me to
give myself entirely to You. 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 a member of Shepherds
of Christ Associates, a movement created by your Son as a
powerful instrument for the renewal of the Church and the world. 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."
Shepherds of Christ Associates
PRAYER MANUAL
Chapter Meeting Prayer Format
The prayer format below should be followed at chapter meetings of Shepherds
of Christ Associates. All prayers, not just those said specifically for
priests, should include the intention of praying for all the needs of
priests the world over.
1. Hymns. Hymns may be sung at any point of the prayer part
of the meeting.
2. Holy Spirit Prayer. Come, Holy Spirit, almighty
Sanctifier, God of love, who filled the Virgin Mary with grace, who
wonderfully changed the hearts of the apostles, who endowed all Your martyrs
with miraculous courage, come and sanctify us. Enlighten our minds,
strengthen our wills, purify our consciences, rectify our judgment, set our
hearts on fire, and preserve us from the misfortunes of resisting Your
inspirations. Amen.
3. The Rosary.
4. Salve Regina. "Hail Holy Queen, Mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you do we cry, poor banished
children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs, our mourning, our weeping
in this vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of
mercy toward us and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of
your womb, Jesus, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary."
5. The Memorare. "Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that
never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your
help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this
confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you I come,
before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions, but, in your mercy, hear and answer me.
Amen."
6. Seven Hail Marys in honor of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.
Mary has promised very special graces to those who do this on a daily basis.
Included in the promises of Our Lady for those who practice this devotion is
her pledge to give special assistance at the hour of death, including the
sight of her face. The seven sorrows are:
(1) The first sorrow: the prophecy of Simeon (Hail Mary).
(2) The second sorrow: the flight into Egypt (Hail Mary).
(3) The third sorrow: the loss of the Child Jesus in the temple (Hail
Mary).
(4) The fourth sorrow: Jesus and Mary meet on the way to the cross
(Hail Mary).
(5) The fifth sorrow: Jesus dies on the cross (Hail Mary).
(6) The sixth sorrow: Jesus is taken down from the cross and laid in
Mary's arms (Hail Mary).
(7) The seventh sorrow: the burial of Jesus (Hail Mary).
7. Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us (repeat after each invocation).
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of the Church,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Savior,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honor,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the Covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of angels,
Queen of patriarchs,
Queen of prophets,
Queen of apostles,
Queen of martyrs,
Queen of confessors,
Queen of virgins,
Queen of all saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most holy rosary,
Queen of families,
Queen of peace,
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear
us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of
the promises of Christ.
Let us pray: Grant, we beseech You, O Lord God, that we Your servants
may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body and, by the glorious
intercession of the blessed Mary, ever virgin, be delivered from present
sorrow, and obtain eternal joy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God. Despise not our
petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O
glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.
8. Prayer to St. Joseph. St. Joseph,
guardian of Jesus and chaste spouse of Mary, you passed your life in perfect
fulfillment of duty. You supported the Holy Family of Nazareth with the work
of your hands. Kindly protect those who trustingly turn to you. You know
their aspirations, their hardships, their hopes; and they turn to you
because they know you will understand and protect them. You too have known
trial, labor, and weariness. But, even amid the worries of material life,
your soul was filled with deep peace and sang out in true joy through
intimacy with the Son of God entrusted to you, and with Mary, His tender
Mother. Amen. –(Pope John
XXIII)
9. Litany of the Sacred Heart, promises of the
Sacred Heart.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us (repeat after each
invocation).
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin
Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty,
Heart of Jesus, sacred temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke You,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient even to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim of sin,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in You,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in You,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the saints,
Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O
Lord.
Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Yours.
Let us pray: O almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Your
dearly beloved Son and upon the praise and satisfaction He offers You in
behalf of sinners and, being appeased, grant pardon to those who seek Your
mercy, in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and
reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen.
Promises of Our Lord to those devoted to His Sacred Heart
(these should be read by the prayer leader):
(1) I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
(2) I will establish peace in their homes.
(3) I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
(4) I will be their refuge during life and above all in death.
(5) I will bestow a large blessing on all their undertakings.
(6) Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of
mercy.
(7) Tepid souls shall grow fervent.
(8) Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
(9) I will bless every place where a picture of My Heart shall be set
up and honored.
(10) I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened
hearts.
(11) Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written in
My Heart, never to be blotted out.
(12) I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My
all-powerful love will grant to all those who communicate on the first
Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall
not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My divine
Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
10. Prayer for Priests. "Lord Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the
Flock, we pray that in the great love and mercy of Your Sacred Heart 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"
11. Prayer for all members of the Shepherds of Christ Associates.
"Dear Jesus, we ask Your special blessings on all members of Shepherds
of Christ Associates. Continue to enlighten them regarding the
very special privilege and responsibility you have given them as members of
Your movement, Shepherds of Christ Associates. Draw them ever
closer to Your Heart and to Your Mother's Heart. Allow them to more and more
realize the great and special love of Your Hearts for each of them as unique
individuals. Give them the grace to respond to Your love and Mary's love
with an increased love of their own. As they dwell in Your Heart and Mary's
Heart, abundantly care for all their needs and those of their loved ones. We
make our prayer through You to the Father, in the Holy Spirit, with Mary our
Mother at our side. Amen"
12. Prayer for the spiritual and financial success of the priestly
newsletter. "Father, we ask Your special blessings upon the
priestly newsletter, Shepherds of Christ. We ask that You open the
priest-readers to the graces You wish to give them through this chosen
instrument of Your Son. We also ask that You provide for the financial needs
of the newsletter and the Shepherds of Christ Associates. We
make our prayer through Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, with Mary at our side.
Amen"
13. Prayer for all members of the human family. "Heavenly
Father, we ask Your blessings on all Your children the world over. Attend to
all their needs. We ask Your special assistance for all those marginalized
people, all those who are so neglected and forgotten. United with our Mother
Mary, we make this petition to You through Jesus and in the Holy
Spirit."
14. Prayer to St. Michael and our Guardian Angels:
"St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard
against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we
humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of
God, cast into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits who prowl about the
world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."
"Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen."
15. Pause for silent, personal prayer. This should last at least
five minutes.
16. Act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the
Immaculate Heart of Mary.
"Lord Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock, I consecrate myself to
Your most Sacred Heart. From Your pierced Heart the Church was born, the
Church You have called me, as a member of Shepherds of Christ Associates,
to serve in a most special way. You reveal Your Heart as a symbol of Your
love in all its aspects, including Your most special love for me, whom You
have chosen as Your companion in this most important work. Help me to always
love You in return. Help me to give myself entirely to You. 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 a member of Shepherds of Christ Associates, a
movement created by your Son as a powerful instrument for the renewal of the
Church and the world. 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."
17. Daily Prayers. All members should say the Holy Spirit prayer
daily and make the act of consecration daily. They should also pray the
rosary each day. They are encouraged to use the other above prayers as time
allows.
end of prayer manual
Mary's
Message
from the Rosary of August 27, 1996
Mary: I stood beneath the cross of
my Son, and my Heart was in such pain for I saw Him before my eyes. I saw
Him covered with blood. I saw Him die. My Heart, my children, my Heart to
watch my Son, but my Heart, my Heart, how I suffered for my little children
of the world that give in to this world and give up the love of my Son. O my
little children of light, I give you this message. Carry this light into the
darkness for your Mother Mary, for I stood beneath the cross and I cried. I
cried for the little ones. I cried for the young ones, the ones that do not
care and will lose their souls. How do I make you see for you will not
listen to me? What can I do? I come. I appear. I beg. I plead. I give you
these gifts from my Son, and you reject me. I do not deliver messages very
often anymore for I have been ignored. The message is the same. You do not
read the messages I have given to you. Please help me. Help the little
children. I appear. I appear. I appear, and I am ignored. I stood beneath
the cross, and I cried. I cried, and my Heart was in such anguish for my
little children, for I am searching for them this day as I searched for the
Child Jesus. Please, please help me. I cannot hold back the hand of my Son
any longer. I am Mary, your Mother. I ask you to help my children. You are
my children of light.
end of Mary's Message,
August 27, 1996
September 12, 2015
R. The sacraments are signs or symbols
through which Christ acts to give
us His life or increase and deepen
it in us.
John 9
A man was born blind – Christ
used mud and put it over
his eyes and he washed
it off and he saw –
The important part of the sacraments
is Christ acts – Christ chooses
to act in a certain way using
certain things instruments –
The priest, water, bread, wine,
oil –
The blind man put faith in
Christ
Water or bread or wine or
oil cannot do anything
to us by themselves –
but through Christ –
they become an instrument
of Divine Life –
Thus it is important to realize
the sacraments are acts of Christ
an encounter with Christ –
they are not magic or automatic
(like a candy machine)
Their value can be increased
by how God decides to give
grace, but we should
have a holy attitude –
especially believing and
loving as God intends
us to do
God gives grace –
Faith, hope and love are theological
virtues –
God gives the grace –
We respond to His grace –
Fresh air in a room does not depend on
the window, but whether
the window is open –
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell in
the graced baptized soul
The Holy Spirit moves as a breathe in the
man that opens to Him and
the Holy Spirit comes in –
The voice of the Holy Spirit is with the
gentle touch –
The fruits of the Holy Spirit are
charity, joy, peace, patience,
benignity (kindness), goodness,
long-suffering, mildness,
faith, modesty, continency,
and chastity.
The Holy Spirit wants to lead us, as a
breathe
He does not come in when a
person is focused on provoking
and manipulating others
in mean and angry pranks –
The soul needs silence and peace
for the Holy Spirit to enter and
rest and work there –
The man addicted to anger and
jealousy and envy and pride –
is not hearing the breathe of the Holy Spirit.
The deadly sins – deaden a man's
perception –- his vision is
distorted –
He holds on – when he needs to
let go and know his
dependence on God for
greater faith, hope and love –
Fr. Carter always told me – we need
relationships of loving and
trusting one another and this
helps us grow in our
relationship with God –
Knowing and loving and trusting God helps
us with intimate relationships
with others –
If a person is not trustworthy
in any relationships with
others – how can they trust
God or even learn about
friendship –
Living with others in family and
friends helps us work on
problems and still live
in love and unity with others –
Living our whole life deciding
"I will avoid problems – so
I can decide what to do
first is wrong"
Jesus: I see this – the man who tries
to do his own will under
authority because he wants –
no problems –
he wants control –
and he hasn't learned about
dependence on God –
nor does he ever even let
the Holy Spirit move in him –
Living in a vacuum against
the people you were called
to work with –
Doesn't work –
God is God –
When a person acts from the
wounded place of their
human nature – they
do not grow and their
advancements do not
last –
Leaders are to be focused on God's
people –
A person closing in – where they
decide, where they do not
open up – where there is
not unity and working
together –
is just that –
a person closing down –
Where do you go - when you
built nothing and you
need help in your old age –
The fool doesn't see tomorrow –
A person addicted to anger can
be enslaved to his darkness –
To know Divine Things, a person
must be pure –
A person is open to the Holy Spirit
who is working in their
life –
Not closed down because they
have found a place in
life where they can
operate, control and
never change their ways!
You either grow or go backward
in the spiritual life –
You don't stay the same.
Purity, love, growth in the
spiritual life comes
from the Holy Spirit working in
a soul – open and knowing
their dependence on God.
A man went to the window
and it was closed. He
then began to talk of the
fresh air circulating through
the window –
What a fool – a window
closed does not have fresh
air coming through the
window.
How can a soul be open
to the Holy Spirit when
it is controlled by anger
and pride, envy, jealousy,
slothfulness – addictions
and selfishness in a stubborn
controlling will?
3. Remember to keep holy the
Sabbath day.
September 13, 2015
R. The Holy Spirit wants to Posses our soul.
Love is the foundation of
Christian Perfection –
God is love –
How can we measure the
depth of God's love –
the depth of God's
unfathomable love?
the white heat of God's love?
Love is harmonious with
God's plan –
Love brings unity –
The Holy Spirit brings unity to the Church –
The Holy Spirit brings unity to the family
The Holy Spirit brings unity to the world
R. God loves us first – we respond.
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. To know Divine things the
soul must be pure –
purity is produced by love –
Love unites the soul to God –
Negative behavior is not of God –
God is not dark –
God is light and love
Love breaks down the barrier
between men and they
unite in God –
To see God –
We must be pure –
The more pure we are –
The more we know and see Him –
The loving soul is open to
the Divine inspiration –
The soul steeped in deadly
sins is closed-in
and the Holy Spirit needs to
move in a soul
open to His delicate
touch!
God is love!
A person who loves God
abandons the self to this
delicate action of the Holy Spirit
to lead them in the ways
of the beloved –
It helps the soul lose
its own grasp of
dominance for dominance
sake and to surrender
itself to love –
God is the Master of the
soul –
God is love –
The soul seeks the mystery
of God's love –
the Divine Mystery –
the soul seeks its
expression in God –
is not closed in and
self-focused –
In the rosary on September 5th
the message was "Focus
on Jesus" –
The heart of the man who loves
God is focused on Jesus –
Jesus is the King and Center
of the man's life –
To love God is to be united
more and more like Him –
to live in Him –
to let go of self –
The abandonment of self
to the will of God as
Mary has shown us –
Priestly Newsletter Book II -
September/October 1997
Scriptural Reflections
In all
this Mary offers an example. Selfishness was totally foreign to
her. She did not belong to herself. She belonged to God. She was
not closed in upon herself. She was completely open to God. When
God spoke, she listened. When God pointed the way, she followed.
She realized that life is not a process a person masters by
carefully mapping out one's own self-conceived plans of
conquest, but a mystery to be gradually experienced by being
open to God's personal and loving guidance.
Selfishness, then, did not close Mary off from God's call.
Neither did fear. God asked her to assume a tremendous
responsibility. He asked her to be the Mother of Jesus. Mary did
not engage in a process of false humility and say that such a
great role was above her. She did not say that she did not have
the proper qualifications for this awesome mission. Briefly, she
did not waste time looking at herself, making pleas that she was
not worthy, telling the angel he had better go look for someone
else. No, Mary did not look at herself. Her gaze was absorbed in
God. She fully realized that whatever God asked of her, His
grace would accomplish. She fully realized that although she
herself had to cooperate, this work was much more God's than
hers.
Mary's words, then, truly sum up what is the authentic Christian
response at any point of life, in any kind of situation: "I am
the handmaid of the Lord," said Mary, "let what you have said be
done to me".
R. We love the Holy Spirit –
We love the Divine God –
We are docile to the touch
of the Holy Spirit
As a leaf blowing in the
wind –
We surrender our will to
God's will –
We let ourselves be possessed
by God
Prayer for Union
with Jesus
Come to me, Lord, and possess my
soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul. Help me to sit in silence
with You and let You work in my heart.
I am Yours to possess. I am Yours to
use. I want to be selfless and only exist in You. Help me to spoon out all
that is me and be an empty vessel ready to be filled by You. Help me to
die to myself and live only for You. Use me as You will. Let me never draw
my attention back to myself. I only want to operate as You do, dwelling
within me.F
I am Yours, Lord. I want to have my
life in You. I want to do the will of the Father. Give me the strength to
put aside the world and let You operate my very being. Help me to act as
You desire. Strengthen me against the distractions of the devil to take me
from Your work.
When I worry, I have taken my focus
off of You and placed it on myself. Help me not to give in to the
promptings of others to change what in my heart You are making very clear
to me. I worship You, I adore You and I love You. Come and dwell in me
now.
-God's Blue Book, January 17, 1994
R. The more pure we are – the more
we let go to this possession
by God and God can move
in us – operating in us
to do His work
The closed down person is caved
in
controlling –
wanting their space
wanting their bad habits to
be the rule of their
lives and
trying to force others to their
dysfunction –
As soon as a man and woman
marries there is a community
and with each child this
community grows –
In the Movement
I have watched couples
who have been responsible
for purity in their families
while they give to one another,
in love in unity with their children,
grandchildren, great grandchildren
united in love to God –
Religious life in communities
must be under the supervision
of a superior who has
authority. Those under
in religious life must
live in obedience and
chastity or the playing
out of dysfunction
and closing down by
isolated individuals
can almost take out the
institution –
Life is not a battle of a
man trying to form their
life situation into their
wounded human image and likeness.
People can be filled with envy
and pride, anger and
jealousy to take down
the house and keep
going so they can
control, have power,
seek negative attention
and live in argumentation
turning a holy place into
their private dysfunctional
battlefield – if a person already
choosing an isolated life
tries to force their stilted
vision on others –
Life is to be lived in peace
and joy and harmony
with Life in God –
Structure under God –
Love is the ruling force.
God is the Master!
The will of God is the Plan!
A person fixed on inordinate
attachments can try to
take down the house for
their attachments –
St. Ignatius tells us about the
Purpose of the Spiritual
Exercises.
From The Spiritual
Exercises of St. Ignatius,
by Louis J. Puhl, S.J. p. 11
21.
SPIRITUAL EXERCISES
Which have as their purpose the
conquest of self
and the regulation of one's life in such a way that
no decision is made under the influence of any
inordinate attachment
R. Love of the Holy Spirit is found
in abandoning oneself
to be possessed by Him –
in complete surrender and
living purely and seeking
perfection –
Love consists in union –
Did you ever hear it takes
2 to tango –
How could an isolated
person shut down and
in darkness tango
with anyone
satan
Love is
God first loved us
and we abandon ourselves
to God
Give and take –
Working out problems in
love and still loving –
Living in obedience and
structure
The Holy Spirit is the Gift of God
From the Priestly Newsletter Book III by Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.
The Holy Spirit And Mary
The late
Archbishop Luis M. Martinez of Mexico strikingly
speaks of the ongoing cooperation of Mary with
the Holy Spirit regarding the reproduction of
Jesus within us: "Christian life is the
reproduction of Jesus in souls…
"Now, how will
this mystical reproduction be brought about in
souls? In the same way in which Jesus was
brought into the world, for God gives a
wonderful mark of unity to all His works. Divine
acts have a wealth of variety because they are
the work of omnipotence; nevertheless, a most
perfect unity always shines forth from them
because they are the fruit of wisdom; and this
divine contrast of unity and variety stamps the
works of God with sublime and unutterable
beauty.
"In His
miraculous birth, Jesus was the fruit of heaven
and earth…The Holy Spirit conveyed the divine
fruitfulness of the Father to Mary, and the
virginal soil brought forth in an ineffable
manner our most loving Savior, the divine Seed,
as the prophets called Him…
"That is the
way He is reproduced in souls. He is always the
fruit of heaven and earth.
"Two artisans
must concur in the work that is at once God’s
masterpiece and humanity’s supreme product: the
Holy Spirit and the most holy Virgin Mary. Two
sanctifiers are necessary to souls, the Holy
Spirit and the Virgin Mary, for they are the
only ones who can reproduce Christ.
"Undoubtedly,
the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary sanctify us
in different ways. The first is the Sanctifier
by essence; because He is God, who is infinite
sanctity; because He is the personal Love that
completes, so to speak, the sanctity of God,
consummating His life and His unity, and it
belongs to Him to communicate to souls the
mystery of that sanctity. The Virgin Mary, for
her part, is the co-operator, the indispensable
instrument in and by God’s design. From Mary’s
maternal relation to the human body of Christ is
derived her relation to His Mystical Body which
is being formed through all the centuries until
the end of time, when it will be lifted up to
the heavens, beautiful, splendid, complete, and
glorious.
"These two,
then, the Holy Spirit and Mary, are the
indispensable artificers of Jesus, the
indispensable sanctifiers of souls. Any saint in
heaven can co-operate in the sanctification of a
soul, but his co-operation is not necessary, not
profound, not constant: while the co-operation
of these two artisans of Jesus of whom we have
just been speaking is so necessary that without
it souls are not sanctified (and this by the
actual design of Providence), and so intimate
that it reaches to the very depths of our soul.
For the Holy Spirit pours charity into our
heart, makes a habitation of our soul, and
directs our spiritual life by means of His
gifts. The Virgin Mary has the efficacious
influence of Mediatrix in the most profound and
delicate operations of grace in our souls. And,
finally, the action of the Holy Spirit and the
co-operation of the most holy Virgin Mary are
constant; without them, not one single character
of Jesus would be traced on our souls, no virtue
grow, no gift be developed, no grace increased,
no bond of union with God be strengthened in the
rich flowering of the spiritual life.
"Such is the
place that the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
have in the order of sanctification. Therefore,
Christian piety should put these two artisans of
Christ in their true place, making devotion to
them something necessary, profound, and
constant." 18
18. Archbishop Luis M.
Martinez, The Sanctifier, op. cit. pp. 5-7.
From Tell My People by Fr. Edward J. Carter,
S.J.
The Holy Spirit
Jesus: "My beloved friend, tell My people to pray daily to
the Holy Spirit. They are to pray for an increase in His gifts. My people
must realize that the Holy Spirit comes to transform them. The Spirit
desires to transform you more and more according to My image. Those who are
docile to His touch become increasingly shaped in My likeness. He performs
this marvel within Mary's Immaculate Heart. The more one dwells in My
Mother's Heart, the more active are the workings of the Spirit. The Spirit
leads Mary to place you within My own Heart. In both Our Hearts, then, your
transformation continues. The more you are formed after My own Heart, the
more I lead you to the bosom of My Father. Tell My people all this. Tell
them to pray daily for a greater appreciation of these wondrous gifts. I am
Lord and Master. All who come to My Heart will be on fire to receive the
gifts of the Spirit in ever greater measure! I love and bless My
people!"
Reflection:
The Holy Spirit is given to us to fashion us ever
more according to the likeness of Jesus. And the more we are like Jesus,
the more Jesus leads us to the Father. Do we, each day, pray to the Holy
Spirit to be more open to His transforming influence? Do we strive each
day to grow in union with Mary? The greater our union with our Mother,
the spouse of the Holy Spirit, the greater is the transforming action of
the Holy Spirit within us.
end of excerpt
R. We are commanded to love God
first, with our whole
mind, our whole soul
and our whole being and
love our neighbor as
ourselves –
The Holy Spirit infuses virtue into
our heart –
We receive a SUPERNATURAL
gift to love –
likened to God –
to love in a God-like way!
The Holy Spirit moves in the soul
like a docile breathe,
but the window
must be open –
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.
R. The person who is closed down
has control –
he never lets go of
control –
It can be his actions
of pride, envy and jealousy
from his wounded
human nature and
He can try to force his dysfunction
in controlling, punishing
ways on others –
Who wants to live their
angry ways of pride
and darkness –
It's like thorns on a
rose bush –
Do you want the thorns
and stems or
Do you want the beautiful
rose – designed by
the Divine Creator?
We want God to come to us and
penetrate and possess
our heart and soul –
In this we will be
consumed with Divine Love and
we will know joy for
which we were,
created –
The selfish man - seeks himself
and gets himself – usually
strung in a life of darkness
and misery – he seems to
idolize and wants others to
let him force this sickness
on them –
Jesus: What a fool to turn to sin
and to throw supernatural
love away; purity is
the key to happiness –
purity brings joy!
You can give yourself freely
to God and know
Divine Love.
To be advancing in the
mystical life one must
be letting go more and more
to the possession of one's
soul by the Holy Spirit.
This unifies the group
when the Holy Spirit is working
in their hearts –
this brings perfection
and peace and love in souls –
This brings profound simplicity
in serving God and loving
God –
You can live eternal peace
in heaven –
but it is a reward
for those who love and
serve the Lord.
The Divine artist working
in the soul – more and
more being molded
in My image and
likeness is the Holy Spirit –
When the people were lead in parishes
and communities by the Holy Spirit they flowered
and grew – their fruits numbered so
many –
When men forced their dysfunction,
isolation on institutions –
the institutions finally
withered like the withered
branch and then died off –
living the deadly sins –
ends in darkness and
thwartedness, isolation
and utter pandemonium
while satan rules in the
enslavement of the one
who forces the dysfunction.
I bled for their sins – souls suffered.
R. Baptism gives us a sharing in God's
life –
A baby is baptized a lot of times –
A baby is beginning his life so
therefore it is beautiful to
think of a baby being given
this beautiful gift of sharing
in Divine life in baptism –
Our knowing and loving capacity is
elevated in baptism –
God can give to us the gift of
supernatural prudence in
baptism – even children –
How foolish it is indeed for man
to operate in envy of those who God
has chosen to teach them about
Himself.
A man has a wounded human nature
and tendencies toward the deadly sins:
pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust,
gluttony,
and sloth
How foolish it is for a man
to be so envious of others to
try to block teachings given
by God through men helping others
to know about God –
How foolish to think supernatural
gifts are not to be looked upon
with great gratitude for
God's goodness.
A man who is prideful seeks
dominance for dominance
sake like Eve in the Garden –
We see how far reaching was
the sin of Adam and Eve in
effecting the souls of the human race –
What a fool a man is who
puts his desire and actions
of pride in thinking he is
equal to God –
Man in sinning is not
equal to supernatural gifts
of knowing and loving likened
to God.
Every time we go to Mass
we renew our covenant of
love to God –
Mass is a gift of God's
love for man
and Man in return should
unite in deepest love to God.
We can compare our union with
God at Mass as the love we
have with Jesus as the bridegroom
of the soul.
The idea of sacrifice may seem
"irksome" to a person – The idea of
sacrifice is a gift we give to God –
It should be the opposite of "irksome"
A sacrifice means to make
something 'holy'.
To take something out of
this world and put it in
God's world –
Sanctify – Consecrate
If I am sacrificing my day in
the Morning Offering – I am
giving it to God –
It is going from my possession
to God's world –
A religious sacrifice is an attempt
to give something to God –
The Jews sacrificed Lambs and
Oxen – pigeons – grain –
first fruits etc. –
In sacrifice they burned these
things as a sacrifice to God –
They couldn't just throw them
around – so they burned them
and they envisioned God taking
the gifts.
Fire was a symbol for God –
God owns all of creation, birds,
animals, fruits of the earth.
God does not own man's heart.
Man has a free will to chose
to love – Man has a free
will to give himself to God freely.
In giving these gifts to God in
sacrifice he was trying to tell
God he was giving God himself.
This is why food was offered.
This is why lambs were offered to God –
Sometimes the food was totally
consumed – sometimes offers
would eat the food –
This was sacred food – so they
considered themselves as taking
place in a sacred banquet –
eating a meal with God –
Passover
Christ' sacrifice was a perfect
act of love. Christ offered Himself
as a sacrifice –
Christ gave Himself as a gift to God!
This was the perfect sacrifice –
since Christ was fully open to God!
Christ offered His Heart and will
totally to His Father!
For love of men, Christ gave
Himself to God – it was
a gift of love –
John 17: 19
and for their sake I consecrate
myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.
R. And Christ did this so we, too,
can be sanctified in truth.
By being made part of this
sacrifice, we too are sanctified –
We hear God's word at Mass
We put our faith in Him –
Faith in God!
We are united with God in this!
We are made holy –
We adore God –
We show love to God
We thank God
We ask God to outpour
goodness to us –
We show repentance to God –
We turn to God –
The bread and wine at Mass is
changed into the Body and
Blood of Christ!
The Mass is the Sacrifice of Calvary,
sacramentally made present.
We are united to the offering of Christ!
Our prayers and sacrifices are
lifted up and made part
of His prayer and sacrifice!
"We come to you Father, with praise
and thanksgiving - through Jesus Christ,
your Son" –
From the Priestly Newsletter
•
Through the
Eucharistic Sacrifice Christ the Lord desired to set before us in a
very special way this remarkable union whereby we are united one
with another and with our divine Head, a union that no word of
praise can ever sufficiently express. For in this sacrifice the
sacred ministers act not only as the representative of our Saviour,
but as the representative of the whole Mystical Body and of each one
of the faithful. Again, in this act of sacrifice, the faithful of
Christ, united by the common bond of devotion and prayer, offer to
the eternal Father through the hands of the priest, whose prayer
alone has made it present on the altar, the Immaculate Lamb, the
most acceptable victim of praise and propitiation for the Church’s
universal need. Moreover, just as the divine Redeemer, while dying
on the Cross, offered Himself to the eternal Father as Head of the
whole human race, so now, ‘in this clean oblation’ He not only
offers Himself as Head of the Church to His heavenly Father but in
Himself His mystical members as well. He embraces them all, yes,
even the weaker and more ailing members, with the deepest love of
His Heart. (Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis AAS, XXXV, 232-233)28
28. Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Letter,
Mystici Corporis,
AAS XXXV, pp. 232-233.
R. At baptism we dedicate ourselves to God –
God gives us a sharing in His life –
At Mass we offer ourselves to God –
God gives Himself to us –
We receive a greater sharing
in His life –
A Prayer before the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass
Let me be a holy sacrifice and unite
with God in the sacrament of His greatest love.
I want to be one in Him in this act of
love, where He gives Himself to me and I give myself as a sacrifice to Him.
Let me be a holy sacrifice as I become one with Him in this my act of
greatest love to Him.
Let me unite with Him more, that I may
more deeply love Him. May I help make reparation to His adorable Heart and
the heart of His Mother, Mary. With greatest love, I offer myself to You and
pray that You will accept my sacrifice of greatest love. I give myself to
You and unite in Your gift of Yourself to me. Come and possess my soul.
Cleanse me, strengthen me, heal me.
Dear Holy Spirit act in the heart of Mary to make me more and more like
Jesus.
Father, I offer this my sacrifice,
myself united to Jesus in the Holy Spirit to You. Help me to love God more
deeply in this act of my greatest love.
Give me the grace to grow in my
knowledge, love and service of You and for this to be my greatest
participation in the Mass. Give me the greatest graces to love You so deeply
in this Mass, You who are so worthy of my love.
-Mass Book, December 27, 1995
R. When we don't go to communion
it's like saying –
God I want You to accept me,
but I don't need You!
Holy Communion
Love desires union
Love gives of itself –
Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament
Body, Blood, soul and Divinity –
We believe Christ is really
and truly present that the
bread and wine become
the risen Christ!!
Christ showed us power in His
words – Christ calmed the storm
R. Christ raised Lazarus from the dead!
When Christ said
"This is My body given for
you we take Him at
His word"
The appearance of bread and
wine remain!
John 6: 57
As the living Father
sent me
and I draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me
will also draw life from me.
R. Jesus gave power to the Apostles
to continue the
memorial supper –
The Mass is the Sacrifice of Calvary
sacramentally made present –
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
Song: I Love You Jesus
R. Many grains make ONE Bread
Many grapes make ONE Wine
Many people receive
one bread – the
Body and Blood of Jesus
This union unites us to Christ –
The symbol of food is important –
We need food for our body –
We need Christ for our spiritual life –
Without Christ we grow weak
and we could die –
We are told to fast one hour
before communion –
How does communion
work –
It will not work automatically –
We need to be open –
It depends on our attitude
toward Christ –
We should reverence the Eucharist –
Jesus is truly present in His
Divinity and humanity –
no less present than when
He walked the earth
R. Teresa Neumann
Born Good Friday April 18, 1898
1918 she had a back injury –
it lasted 7 years –
she suffered several falls and
became totally blind in a year,
along with abscesses on
her body and lung disease,
and no cures available,
she was cured miraculously –
1926 she received the stigmata –
she had visions of the passion –
many people came to
see her
1927 a full investigation by the
bishop and 2 doctors (one an
atheist), 4 nuns and
nurses
she lived without food and drink –
15 days sister watching
no food, only the Eucharist –
She lost 11 lbs during ecstasies.
She gained it back
without nourishment!
This weight gain would
have required a lot of food!
They checked everything –
no nourishment –
except 1/8 of a host –
less than a teaspoon of water –
She weighed the same at the
end of the investigation
as at the beginning –
Since Christmas 1922 – went without
food
Since Christmas 1926 – went without food
and a few drops of
water –
Since September 1927 – even went
without this
She had little or no sleep
She still remained active and
healthy –
Why should we offer Mass
We publically honor God – Our Father
(it would be most ungrateful for a
son to ignore their Father)
(we publically honor others –
president, kings - men of honor)
To be good and holy - we need God –
holiness is God's creation in us –
not our own!
We need to realize we need God.
The Mass is a sign of our love for God!
The Mass is our dependence on God!
God is our friend –
Married people need to express their
love for each other –
God gives us the Mass to show
love to Him and receive
Him –
God has made us His children and
brothers to each other –
The Mass helps us lead good
lives if we are sincere
in our worship.
If we do not perform acts of worship
to God – we will gradually
get away from God –
forget about God –
grow indifferent to God –
We need to remind ourselves
that faith is a gift from
God and pray for an increase
of the faith, hope and love we
received in baptism!
God dwells in our graced baptized
soul –
God wants to work in us
transforming us –
we must be open to God!
The Holy Spirit wants to make us holy –
The Mass is a sacrament –
Christ works in us in the Mass –
We receive grace to grow
in friendship with God –
God expects us to have a
holy interior disposition –
Mass gives us the liturgy of the Word
Mass gives us the liturgy of the Eucharist
The Word and the Eucharist is
the Bread of Life!
We give ourselves to God in
sacrifice in the Mass –
united to the sacrifice
of Jesus –
This is an act of great love –
December 27, 1995
L
ET US
LOVE THE TWO
HEARTS OF JESUS AND
MARY
IN THE RECEPTION OF THE
HOLY EUCHARIST.
HE GAVE HIMSELF TO US ON THE CROSS. HE GIVES
HIMSELF TO US IN THE EUCHARIST.
How great was the act of
love, God gave to this world, when He gave Himself and
died on the cross. He gives Himself to us this day in
the Holy Eucharist.
The greatest commandment
is that we must love God with our whole heart, our whole
soul, and our whole being. This is a commandment. If we
are to enter heaven, we must follow the commandments.
They are commands given by God for us to follow.
The greatest act we can
do on this earth is an act of loving God. The reason for
our existence is to love God. In the sacrament of His
greatest love, He gives Himself to us. This is an act of
love on His part. We are called to respond by giving
ourselves in love to Him.
This is the purpose of
the Holy Eucharist: to unite in such oneness with our
Holy, Loving God. Our all consuming passion should be
that of loving God. How many go to the Eucharist with
the sole purpose of giving great love to God? He wants
us to love Him. He wants souls to tell Him how much they
truly love Him. This is the most intimate act of love
when Jesus gives Himself-Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity
to man. If it is such an act of love, how are we
receiving Him in Communion? We should beg God, in this
most intimate union with Him, to help us to love Him
with greatest love.
Jesus is a Person. He
wants our love. The Holy Spirit wants such intimacy with
us. Our Father wants us to love Him. In the Eucharist,
we unite with God. In this intimate act of uniting with
our beloved God, with Divinity, we must pour out our
love to God. We must pour out our heart to the most
adorable Heart of Jesus. Jesus is so unjustly treated by
many of His beloved souls He loves so much. Let us help
make reparation to the Almighty God by loving God with
our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole being in
the sacrament of His greatest love. This is the Gift of
Himself.
Think of how it is to
love someone and give your all for that person, to pour
out your heart to him or her and then be treated with
coldness and neglect. It hurts our heart so much more
when we deeply love someone to be rejected by that
person. Jesus loves us with the deepest love. We cannot
fully comprehend this love. Let us love Him with the
deepest love. Let us love Mary and her Immaculate Heart.
Let us love her as the Mother of God. Let us love her as
the virgin who bore the Son of God. May we, in the
reception of the Eucharist pour out our love to Him, to
this adorable Heart. May we pour out our love to His
Holy Mother.
Mary said at Fatima that
Jesus wants His Heart venerated next to the heart of His
Mother. Let us love these two Hearts as we receive the
Sacrament of the Eucharist. Then we are so deeply united
with God. We see Their two Hearts surrounded with thorns
for the injustices against Their Hearts. Let us help
make reparation daily as we receive Him in the
Eucharist. This is a special time to help make
reparation to Their wounded Hearts.
Let us remember how He
poured His love out to us on the cross and how He pours
out His love to us now when He gives us Himself in the
Eucharist, the Eucharist which contains His Heart of
burning love. His Heart was pierced with a lance. Her
heart was invisibly pierced with a sword. As the wounds
in Their Hearts are deep, so too is Their love so deep.
He does not want "surface
love". He wants hearts filled with deep burning love.
end of December 27,
1995
R. We help in the work of
redemption being
united to Christ with a
proper disposition at Mass –
We offer ourselves to God
in the Mass –
In sin we say "no" to God –
We turn away from God –
Mortal sin is serious –
(destroys God's life in us)
Venial sin is less serious –
(failure to love, but
not complete turning away)
We can see in the relationship
in a marriage –
where a man is unkind to his wife –
where he is completely unfaithful to his wife –
Sin can be doing something we
shouldn't
Sin can be not doing
something we should –
If we make up our mind to sin and
something prevents us –
we still sin –
We are liars if we say we love
God and love
serious sin – like a man
who says he loves his
wife but continues
to remain unfaithful with
another person –
God has given us Confession –
Temptations are not sin until
we accept it –
ie. bad thoughts are not sins
until we decide we want
to keep them!
The Commandments of God are
for our good and our happiness –
like instructions for a car –
The Ten Commandments
1. I, the Lord, am your God. You
shall not have other gods besides me.
2. You shall not take the name
of the Lord, your God, in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the
Sabbath day.
4. Honor your father and your
mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit
adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false
witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your
neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not covet anything
that belongs to your neighbor.
R. Think of the mess we would
be in – if all society
broke the 10 Commandments –
Matthew 22: 36-40
'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?' Jesus
said to him, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the
greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You
must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments
hang the whole Law, and the Prophets too.'
R. God commands us to love –
The only answer to the world –
to unity –
to growth is
to love!!
God is love!
God created us to love!
Most evils we suffer are
due to our failure to
not keep Christ's commandments.
Prayer from the heart is essential
if we are to find God –
We can't make friends with
people without communication,
talking to them –
working on problems and moving
ahead in the relationship –
We need communication with
God – if we want friendship
with God –
We must spend time talking to God!
R. A little boy was drawing a picture
in art class –
The teacher asked –
"What are you drawing?"
He said, "A picture of God."
She said, "Nobody has seen God
and knows what He really
looks like."
The little boy said, "When I get done you
will know."
R. Readings – read scripture every
day to see a picture of Jesus!
Gospels of
Luke and John
Acts of the Apostles
Chapters 5 to 12
I Corinthians
James
1 Peter
1 John
II John
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© 2014 Shepherds of Christ.