Mary has requested that the daily message be given each day to the world. It is read nightly at the prayer service from her Image Building in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A. This is according to her request. All attempts will be made to publish this daily message to the world at 11 p.m. Eastern time, U.S.A. We acknowledge that the final authority regarding these messages rests with the Holy See of Rome.

June 15, 2006

June 16th Holy Spirit Novena Scripture selection is Day 5 Period I.

The Novena Rosary Mysteries   for June 16th are Joyful.

June 15, 2006

Jesus told Rita -- 

Jesus:  The fact every time people pray the prayer manual they are praying for the priestly newsletter is your proof that I want it to continue as I have recently delegated.

Only through the newsletter can I reach the priests and do what I desire to help renew the Church and the world through My movement culminating in the reign of My Sacred Heart and triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart. The prayer chapters have a co-equal purpose in the different languages.

Prayer from the Prayer Manual for the Priestly Newsletter.

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"

June 15, 2006 message continues

Messenger:         Today is right in the
                        middle of the month of the
                        Sacred Heart.

                         We can still honor Him especially
                        this half of the month -- Jesus
                        likes this.

                            I opened Blue Book V and I read
                        September 9, 1994.

Excerpt from September 9, 1994.

Jesus:  Oh, you blind world, oh you senseless ones, I am, Who Am. God created you. Many of your hearts have turned cold and forgotten your God! I come as a thief in the night. Many souls will be lost forever. What more do you want Me to do? I give you a free will, I love you so very much, and you do not come to Me. Do not live your life in vain. You wandered down roads that led you to your own destruction.

    My Mother appears to lead you to My most Sacred Heart.

My children, My Heart waits for you. I am forever loving you with the same burning love. Turn not your backs to Me. I am the Almighty God.  It is through Me you will be saved. If you love and serve Me, you will live in heaven forever and ever.

Alleluia.

* Vision: (I saw a door twice, saw His face twice in an interior vision.)  Mary is the door we must go through to be placed in the inner recesses of His Heart. She carried our Beloved Savior in her womb. She taught Him how to be gentle, how to have a kind Heart. Now she is our spiritual mother, she molds us and leads us to her Son.

* Jesus wants us to pray the Prayer for Union with Him.

December 31, 1994

 

  

Jesus Appearing as the Resurrected Lord, All White, Sitting Next to Where Mary Appeared.

So by our baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glorious power, we too should begin living a new life.

    But we believe that, if we died with Christ, then we shall live with him too. We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. Romans 6: 4, 9

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. 1 Corinthians 15: 54 -58

Messenger:  I love my son so dearly, there is such a connection in my heart to him. He is ten years old. I know him in my heart from a little baby, when I carried him in my womb. His whole life is recorded in my memory.

    Mary's heart knew her Son. The anguish at losing Him in the temple, the anguish, how her heart was in such pain, it is inexpressible in words.

    As is the joy, inexpressible for me of the resurrected Lord to appear to me next to the Sorrowful Mother. It is such joy for me to meditate on this mystery to remember the vision, to see Him clothed in white, His body so beautiful. I saw Him so beautiful, sitting all in white next to where Mary appeared triumphant! Jesus rose from the dead. I cannot express this magnificent sight of Jesus in His resurrected beauty as I saw Him.

    Note today December 28, 2005: (I recalled the vision of December 5th, 96 when He appeared to me at the point of death hanging on the cross.)

    Death - Resurrection

    Why do we worry about so many things Jesus is with us. He shows us His death and resurrection.

    God took the nature of a slave, He put on a human body, He was born a baby, He died by crucifixion.

Jesus:  Do not fear, there is fear in your heart, I am with you, surrender totally to the will of the Father.

Messenger:  I see the risen Lord as He sits all in white in a chair, here, next to the Sorrowful Mother. When I saw Jesus in the parking lot He was wearing a white tunic looking like the resurrected Lord with His hands outstretched.

    I want to get in touch with Jesus. He took on a human body, He lived, He died, He rose.

    Jesus is God, He is Lord over all the earth and He took on a human form for greatest love of us. He was born a baby. He was carried in His Mother's womb. Oh Holy dwelling place of God, Mary's womb, Oh Holy Mary, Mother of God.

Sing: Oh Holy Mary

Philippians 2: 7-8

But he emptied himself, 
taking the form of a slave, 
becoming as human beings are; 
and being in every way 
    like a human being, 
he was humbler yet, 
even to accepting death, 
    death on a cross. 

 

Sing the Song of Jesus Christ

Now having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come for you to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to earth’s remotest end.’ 

    As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky as he went, when suddenly two men in white were standing beside them, and they said, ‘Why are you Galileans standing here looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him go to heaven.’  Acts 1: 6-11

Messenger:  The Apostles' hearts were in such sorrow to see Jesus go, their eyes in awe to see Jesus go to heaven.

God the Father:  I am pleased, My daughter, with the work you are doing, how I love you, My beloved one.

    Do not focus on yourself, focus on the other, always the other, Jesus focused on the other.

Messenger:  Think of the love of the Trinity -- it is a mystery -- the love of the Trinity.
       

Excerpt from Response to God's Love Chapter 1   by Father 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).

  

Messenger:  The more I realize the love of the Triune God, love of Mary, the love of the angels and saints -- I am in awe!!

    Jesus takes care of my needs. Why should I talk about myself or anyone else when we could be talking about the mystery of God.

    Why talk about incidentals when I could be talking about God.

    He is Divine, He is who I love, that is it, when people are discussing the napkins, I want to talk about Jesus.

    

Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles

When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and there appeared to them tongues as of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves. Acts 2: 1-4

Messenger:  The Apostles were transformed from fear to fearlessness. 

Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, and each one was bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely,’ they said, ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language?  Acts 2: 5-8

 

Mary Went Up into Heaven

Sing:  Immaculate Mary

Sing:  On This Day Oh Beautiful Mother   

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favour! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ Mary said, ‘You see before you the Lord’s servant, let it happen to me as you have said.’ And the angel left her.  Luke 1: 26-38

Now it happened that at this time Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be made of the whole inhabited world. This census—the first—took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee for Judaea, to David’s town called Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. Now it happened that, while they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first–born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the living–space.  Luke 2:1-7

 

   

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.  John 19: 25-27

     

From the Glorious Rosary Aves

3.  R. Imagine her joy to hear the choirs of angelic voices! Imagine her joy to see the angels and saints praising God!

4.  R. She-who carried the baby Jesus in her womb, who held Him in her arms, who walked by His side during the Passion, who stood under His cross, who held His lifeless body and watched Him locked in the tomb-was now crowned Queen of Heaven, forever to reign in the court of heaven with her beloved Son.

   

 

        Mary is Crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Revelation 12: 1 

        Sing:  Hail Holy Queen 

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, 'Look, here God lives among human beings. He will make his home among them; they will be his people, and he will be their God, God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness or pain. The world of the past has gone.'

Then the One sitting on the throne spoke. 'Look, I am making the whole of creation new. Write this, "What I am saying is trustworthy and will come true."' Then he said to me, 'It has already happened. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water from the well of life free to anybody who is thirsty; anyone who proves victorious will inherit these things; and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the legacy for cowards, for those who break their word, or worship obscenities, for murderers and the sexually immoral, and for sorcerers, worshippers of false gods or any other sort of liars, is the second death in the burning lake of sulphur.'

One of the seven angels that had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came to speak to me and said, 'Come here and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.' In the spirit, he carried me to the top of a very high mountain, and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God.  Revelation 21: 1-10

The one who attests these things says: I am indeed coming soon. Amen; come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20

Sing: A Song from Jesus 

end of December 31, 1994

   

From the Priestly Newsletter 1999 Issue 3

Personal Uniqueness

    I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; this is because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. (Jn 10:11-15¹)

    Yes, the Good Shepherd has laid down His life for us. And He did so being aware of each of us in a most special way. Joseph Chorpenning, O.S.F., in commenting on the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales, doctor of the Church, says in one of his observations, "In human relationships one seeks to awaken in others an awareness of their divine dignity by the respect and reverence one demonstrates for their person, individuality, and liberty. In Salesian thought each person is unique and unrepeatable. For example, Francis says that when Jesus accomplished our redemption on the day of His passion and death, he 'knew all of us by name and by surname' (Treatise on the Love of God, 2 vols., Tan Books. Vol. 2, p. 280)²"

    This realization of how precious each of us is to Jesus as this special unique person should be deeply imbedded in our consciousness. Much of our growth in the spiritual life depends on this awareness.

    St. Francis de Sales is not the only spiritual master who greatly stresses the uniqueness of each person. There are others, including John Henry Cardinal Newman: "...Newman saw the need for a theology and philosophy of the individual person. We have seen individuals trampled on by totalitarian governments, and we have known educationalists who would lead us away from the field of personal responsibility into the realm of mass-psychology. Materialism, behaviorism, totalitarianism, Marxism -- these are a few of the 'isms' that have been attacking human personality in our time. No wonder there has been a crop of personalist and existentialist philosophies and theologies; and no wonder these aspects in Newman have become so deeply appreciated and studied...

    "Put into the kind of definition we enjoy, Newman's contribution to thought could be called a theology and philosophy of human individuality. Most of the aspects of his message could probably be included under these terms. Sometimes he was content to underline the divine and human importance of the individual, and the personal significance of the concrete circumstances in which his life was passed. The fact that each individual is so bound up with particular parents and belongs to a particular town or village, in a particular country, is part of the loving design of a Providence that orders each one's life specially for His own special purpose and our special good..."³

    Given Newman's concern for the individual, it is not surprising that he was attracted to the person of St. John Chrysostom. Newman says, "I consider St. Chrysostom's charm to be in his intimate sympathy and compassionateness for the whole world, not only in its strength, but in its weakness; in the lively regard with which he views everything that comes before him, taken in the concrete, whether as made after its own kind or as gifted with a nature higher than its own...{It is} the interest which he takes in all things, not so far as God has made them alike, but as He has made them different from each other. I speak of the discriminating affectionateness with which he accepts everyone for what is personal in him and unlike others. I speak of his versatile recognition of men, one by one, for the sake of that portion of good, be it more or less, of a lower order or a higher, which has severally been lodged in them."⁴

    Given Newman's great interest in the individual person, it is no wonder that he has left us the following words: "Everyone who breathes, high and low, educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a work. We are not born at random... God sees every one of us; He creates every soul, He lodges it in a body, one by one, for a purpose. He needs, He deigns to need, every one of us."⁵

    Because of the uniqueness of each Christian's existence, he or she presents Christ with a unique opportunity. Each Christian has the vocation to offer Christ his or her humanity so that Jesus can live in that individual in a special way. To the extent that an individual Christian offers his or her humanity to Jesus, that person has an unique opportunity to help to continue the work of the redemption--an opportunity that no one else can fulfill. Likewise, to the extent that an individual fails to offer his or her humanity to Christ, Jesus loses the opportunity to continue His redemptive work according to that person's uniqueness.

    Each one of us, consequently, has both the great privilege and the great responsibility to properly utilize his or her life according to God's Christ-like design. No one else can fulfill your unique mission, and, in turn, you cannot accomplish the unique mission of another. At times we can become fearful and anxious concerning the task that God has entrusted to us as we more deeply realize what it demands. We can feel the same reluctance that Jeremiah the prophet voiced when Yahweh called him: The word of Yahweh came to me, saying: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I appointed you as prophet to the nations.'

    I then said, 'Ah, ah, ah, Lord Yahweh; you see, I do not know how to speak: I am only a child!’

    But Yahweh replied, 'Do not say, "I am only a child," for you must go to all to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of confronting them, for I am with you to rescue you, Yahweh declares.' {Jr 1:4-8}

    Jeremiah initially shrank back from the mission that God was giving him. He complained that he was not capable of accomplishing it. God answered him, however, and told Jeremiah that he was perfectly capable of fulfilling his appointed role, for He, Yahweh, would be with Jeremiah. God would work through Jeremiah, and Jeremiah, for his part, was to be open to God, allowing Yahweh to work through him according to the divine will.

    We, too, can be guilty of reacting to God's call in the way that Jeremiah originally reacted. This can happen as God calls one to a basic state of life. Once a person is within a fundamental vocation, one can be tempted to resist God's call to higher things, to a greater accomplishment of one's mission, to a greater spiritual maturity.

    When so tempted, we must control our fears and trustingly give ourselves to God's will. Only then will we become fully convinced that God never requests anything without granting abundant grace to accomplish His design, and that to answer God's call as consistently as possible is the only true path to peace, happiness, and fulfillment, despite the pain that is necessarily involved.

    The realization of the greatness of our missions must be balanced with a realization of the limitations attached to that greatness. We are finite creatures who have various limitations which emanate from our finitude. A sense of limitations, then, should accompany the fulfillment of our missions in life.

    What are some of these limitations? First, it is important to realize there are false limitations--limitations that need not be--as opposed to limitations that are inevitable, limitations that spring forth from the fact that we are finite creatures who are immersed in the human condition. An example of a false limitation is demonstrated by the person who succumbs to the temptation of wanting to be someone else. This person looks at the physical and intellectual gifts of one person, the pleasing personality of another, and so forth and so on, and tells oneself that, if only he or she were endowed with such qualities, well, yes, then it would be possible to really accomplish something with one's life. In other words, such a person fails to accept the self which God has created. The person fails to accept his or her God-given uniqueness and wastes precious time looking at what one does not have, rather than appreciating that which God has given. Such a person must strive to accept the self in his or her fundamental uniqueness. Moreover, the person must develop the gifts, strengths, and capacities of one's uniqueness and strive to control as much as possible the weaknesses which hinder the development of this uniqueness. The person should realize that only by accepting one's uniqueness as coming forth from God's creative love and constantly striving to allow that same love to bring one's uniqueness to fulfillment, will one achieve real peace and happiness.

    If there are limitations which should not be, there are also limitations which are inevitable as a person strives to fulfill one's unique mission in life. We possess certain special talents, for example, but present circumstances do not allow us to exercise these talents here and now. Even at those times when we can exercise our special talents, we often feel limited because we realize that there are only a certain number of concrete opportunities and a certain amount of time for us to use our special talents. At other times we feel limited because the very persons we are trying to serve are hostile to our efforts and shut themselves off from what we desire to so generously offer.

    These, then, are some examples of limitations we can experience in our efforts to fulfill our unique missions. To balance the realization of the greatness of our call with the realization that we will be variously limited-- sometimes painfully so--in our striving to carry out our mission in life is as necessary as it is challenging.

    A Christian accomplishes his or her unique mission in proportion to one's realization of Christ's tremendous, unique love for him or her, and in proportion to the person's surrender in love to Jesus. The more the person surrenders to Jesus, the more Jesus lives through that person's uniqueness. Let us always strive to live according to the words of St. Paul: I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me. The life that I am now living, subject to the limitation of human nature, I am living in faith, faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. {Ga 2:19-20}

1.  Scripture quotations are taken from The New Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday.
2.  Joseph Chorpenning, O.S.F.S., as in The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality, Michael Donney, editor, The Liturgical Press, p. 853.
3.  The Heart of Newman, A Synthesis arranged by Erich Przwara, S.J., Ignatius Press. pp. 11-14.
4.  Ibid, pp. 276-277
5.  John Henry Cardinal Newman, Discourses Addressed to Mixed Congregations, Longmans, Green and Co., pp. 111-112.

  

  

Heart of Jesus, 
we place our trust in you.

     

From the Priestly Newsletter 1999 Issue 4

Priesthood

• Here are words for the priest from Fr. Nicholas Cachia: "This sense of the belonging of the priest to his community is essential both for his personal life and for his pastoral work. He is not a stranger to that community. This is particularly true of diocesan priests. A group of diocesan priests in South Africa stated in a document they published on the spirituality of the diocesan priest: ‘By virtue of his diocesan vocation... the diocesan priest belongs in a primary, immediate, and undifferentiated sense to the people of the diocese, and to the parish to which he is sent.’

    "This being with others and for others is made concrete through service. Jesus presented himself as the Son of Man who came to serve others (cf. Matt. 20,28; Mark 10,45). John presents Jesus as laying aside his garments in order to wash the feet of his disciples, asking them to follow his example (cf. John 13, 4-16)... As the German Bishops say in a document on the priestly service: ‘in all these and many other New Testament texts, there is no trace of either hierarchical triumphalism or authoritarian arrogance. On the contrary, these texts speak of a special mission of devoted and unity-oriented leadership, and of an assumption of service for the Gospel’

    "The note of service immediately corrects any misunderstandings which could be connected to the authority aspect which the priest receives over his community. We have to distinguish between authority and power. Jesus taught with authority. But his teachings like his actions were always aimed at the liberation of persons. The same should be true of the Christian pastor. He receives authority with his priestly ministry, but ‘this is something very different from a license to lord it over those under his care. Rather his authority always exists for the sake of service. Christ has given us the example: his ultimate service was the laying down of his life for his friends’ ."¹³

• Here is an excerpt from reflections of a priest regarding his relationship with God: "As I reflect on my own inconsistent relationship with God, I am keenly aware that I have loved best when I have felt most loved by God, and I have been most open to others when I have been most open to God. Conversely, I have loved least when I have shut myself off from God...

    "But I also know that God initiated my relationship with him. God started me on this Jesuit journey by gracing me with a profound and compelling experience of his presence and love. Then, having felt that experience, I could hardly resist, and I said my ‘yes’ wholeheartedly...

    "But as time has passed and the relationship has developed, I have discovered a resistance. I have encountered the limits of my love. Ideologies and principles not underlain by a constant love are inadequate bases for fidelity. And so I pray for a renewed experience of God’s presence and love".¹⁴

13.  Mark Horack, S.J., Pleading for the Lord, as in National Jesuit News, June, 1999, p. 20.

14.  Pope John Paul II, as in The Pope Speaks, 37/5, 1992, 305, as in Celebrate 2000!, Servant Publications, p. 149.

   

From the Spirituality Handbook

1  Introduction: How It All Began

During the summer of 1993, Father Edward J. Carter, S.J., Professor of Theology at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio, began to receive mystical locutions (messages) from Jesus and Mary on a regular basis.

In a message given on May 31, 1994, Jesus asked Father Carter to begin the publication of a spirituality newsletter for priests. To be sent to more than 60,000 priests in the U.S.A., and also to priests in other countries, the newsletter is published by Shepherds of Christ Publications, an arm of Shepherds of Christ Ministries, and will be distributed bi-monthly. The title of the newsletter is Shepherds of Christ.

Jesus has asked that chapters be formed to pray for the needs of priests around the world. The chapters are to pray in a special way for the spiritual success of the priestly newsletter, as well as to aid in the financial support of this publication. The chapters and members are to be called Shepherds of Christ Associates.

Our Lord has stressed that Shepherds of Christ Associates become an international movement.

   

---

2  Chapter Guidelines for Shepherds of Christ Associates

1. A primary purpose of the chapters of Shepherds of Christ Associates is to pray for all priests throughout the world in all their needs. A coequal purpose is to provide a spiritual way of life for members of the chapters. The chapters are to pray in a special way for the spiritual success of the priestly newsletter, Shepherds of Christ. Prayer for the acquisition of monetary funds to publish the letter is also in order. The chapters are to meet on a regular basis, with the members of each chapter to determine the exact frequency of meetings. All chapters are encouraged to meet on a weekly basis. If for various other reasons certain chapters cannot meet weekly, they should meet at least once a month.
     
2. All persons--lay persons, diocesan clergy, and priests, brothers, and sisters in religious life--are invited to become members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. Those who are already committed to a certain way of spiritual life may adapt the spirituality of Shepherds of Christ Associates to their own particular spirituality.
     
3. In addition to the purpose of the chapters as put forth above, the members of each chapter are encouraged to help raise money to defray some of the newsletter publication costs and some of the financial needs of the Shepherds of Christ Associates movement. One way for chapters to financially aid the newsletter is to pledge to pay for a certain number of newsletters each year. Our Lord has asked that the newsletter be sent to the priests free of charge, although donations may be requested in the newsletter itself.
    
4. A further purpose of the chapters is to undertake those activities which Jesus, through the Spiritual Director, further reveals to be His will.
    
5. The formation of as many chapters as is reasonably possible is to be encouraged. Multiple chapters may exist in the same city or area. Each chapter is to have its own local coordinator, and each country its own national coordinator.
    
6. A periodic newsletter for associates will be published to help establish the desired bond or union between all chapters and all members.
    
7. Members of Shepherds of Christ Associates pledge their loyal support to the Holy Father, the Pope, and to the teaching authority of the Church.
    
8. Shepherds of Christ Associates exists under Church law as provided in canons 298 and 299.
    
9. The existence and activity of all chapters is to be placed under the special protection and guidance of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Chapters exist so that they may, according to the mission of Shepherds of Christ Associates, help to establish the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. All chapter members are strongly encouraged to consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

 

   

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)

        

  

August 1, 1994

Pray For The Success Of The Priestly Newsletter - Shepherds of Christ

Messenger: The following is the first official message I received before the statue of Mary at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center. It is a personal message for Father Carter.

Mary speaks: (in front of the glowing statue of Our Lady of Sorrows) I am the Immaculate Heart. My Heart is glowing for love of all my beloved children. I am your most loving Mother. I am with you this day. Pray for the success of the priestly newsletter Shepherds of Christ. I am guarding your way. You will receive such graces to accomplish this task! Grace from God is so abundantly bestowed on you and will lead to the success of this endeavor! Pray for this cause at the Center. The priests will lead the people to the love of My beloved Son. This is no little task. It will take many prayers and graces. Pray hard, little one. Your prayers will change many hearts.

I am Mary, your Immaculate Mother. I bring this message to My beloved priest-son.

end of August 1, 1994 message

  

 

Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus

  
My dear fellow Associate Members,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 15, 2006 message continues

Messenger:            Please begin Prayer

                            Chapters.

English

French

Spanish

Portuguese

From the Mass in China, Indiana Today During the Retreat.
June 10, 2006, Anniversary of Fr. Carter's Ordination
Homily by a very Holy Priest at the Saturday Mass He Celebrated in China.

    On a regular basis, my dear friends in Christ, I give God thanks for the gift of you. Seriously.

    There are times in priestly ministry when - why, I once even said to a community of faith, it is more likely for a priest to hear what he has done wrong or how he has fallen short of the expectations someone might have, than to hear a word of encouragement or to hear a word of thanks.

    That's just part of what it is to be a public person and to be in public ministry. So, I mean, one needs to have - well as some priests say - a thicker skin, in order to weather being a priest within our community of faith within our Church.

    But sometimes, sometimes, when one is trying as hard as they can to do as much as they are able, sometimes every once in a while, one too many discouraging words, either from news on the television or radio, or just a matter of people asking for one more thing that is really beyond one's capabilities or whatever, that it begins to lay low, those who are priests within our Church, and yes, myself included.

    But at moments like that, you all come to my mind, that you gather here faithfully, unwaveringly, continuously, to pray for priests and priestly vocations. And in that, I find courage and strength to continue on.

    So one of the things, well, the thing that the Lord laid on my heart to speak to you today in this Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, from these readings, is that word of encouragement for your ministry. Your ministry is bearing fruit. I, myself, can attest to that. I hope that's not a word of a discouragement to you!

    But I think that, you know, it's not just those who know the ministry that you do who are encouraged and upheld in their priestly ministry, but even those who don't know about you all. Your ministry is still bearing fruit in them and for them, and ultimately for the Church, and for the glory of God. And that's really why we do it all, isn't it?

    I think about the studies that have been done regarding prayer. Have you ever heard these studies? They took a group of people who were seriously ill and some of them were prayed for, unknown and known to them, and some of them were not prayed for, as far as they know. What was interesting is that, first of all, the group who was being prayed for, healed much more rapidly than those who were not being prayed for. And of the group who were being prayed for, whether they knew it or not, they both progressed at that more rapid rate.

    And so there's some scientific proof for you that the ministry that you do, whether somebody knows about it and then therefore can say thank you, because your ministry is bearing fruit, or whether they don't know about it so they can't say thank you, they are still being supported by your ministry and being upheld.

    The ministry of praying for priests. How is that connected then to our readings this day? St. Paul is writing to Timothy. St. Paul, of course, is an apostle called by Christ - yes, post-Resurrection. St. Paul is a bishop within the Church and he has been establishing churches and calling others to priestly ministry - Timothy is one of those. And so St. Paul, bishop and apostle, apostle and bishop, is writing to Timothy to give him a little instruction, to encourage him, to pre-warn him and to strengthen him to continue on.

    Does that sound familiar to you? Because I think it ought. Because isn't that part of what's in your mind and in your spirit, in the ministry that you do in praying for priests: to encourage, to uphold, and also if you will, living, by reading the times, those warnings that are out there to try to protect - because that's ultimately why Paul writes to Timothy, is to protect him so that he might not fall into the pit of destruction.

    Paul writes to Timothy, "Proclaim the word. Be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient." I think that could be a part of the way that you pray for priests.

    See, you know what? Priests are human beings, I don't know if you have ever noticed that or not, but they are. And so like any other human being, you know what? We want to be liked and loved. Do you have that need in your life? I think you all are human beings. And so just like you have that need in your life, so do priests. And so sometimes when you are in this space, you know you're up here, you're thinking, "Oh, I really should say this because there needs to be a challenge issue to the community of faith. But I don't want to be not liked." So sometimes a priest can shrink from that duty. And so they need to be strengthened so that indeed they can proclaim the Word and be persistent in it whether it's convenient or inconvenient. Something for your prayers.

    Sometimes a matter of, that convenience and inconvenience is a matter of pressures of ministry. You know, it's not rare for a need for me to not just bi-locate but sometimes tri-locate or deca-locate or whatever. You know, trying to be in two, three, four, ten places at a time, because the need is great.

    And so sometimes I want to shrink from saying something - and I think this is true for other priests - because it's not convenient, because you know what? Someone else is knocking at the door and opportunities are missed because we are pressed by the next thing. So another thing for your prayers as you pray for priests, that they might be able to deliver the word both when it is convenient or inconvenient.

    The thing is, is we also need to remember that the Word is not just a printed page in text that we find anywhere, whether it's an arrangement of the Scriptures so that it's arranged to proclaim at the Holy Liturgy, or whether it's all put together in the form of the Bible. The Word is not that. The Word is not a what, it is a Who. And the Word, Who is Jesus Christ, comes to us - yes, in the Scriptures that are proclaimed in one another, but also preeminently in the sacraments, and this sacrament of the Eucharist most especially.

    So in this proclamation of the Word, it's not just preaching, it's not just reading or proclaiming the Scriptures, but it's also being with the community of faith and celebrating the Sacraments, most especially the Eucharist for them.

    I'm reminded - ____ (a young man) who is from St. ____ and is going to be, God willing, entering the seminary, not this Fall but next. He's got to finish high school first. And ____ who I think you also know, who is in seminary now. They once heard me say as I was walking across the parking lot for the Spanish Mass on a Sunday, after having two other Masses and five baptisms, and then two in English - the five were in Spanish, saying, "But I don't want to go to church again!" I said it half to be silly, but also I was tired.
    And so sometimes the convenience and the inconvenience is a matter of weariness, and so it's a matter of praying for priests that they have just the physical strength.

    Because my dear friends in Christ, it's different on this side of the altar than on that side of the altar. See, when one presides at liturgy, one needs to be watchful and mindful of all that's happening, most especially the way that the Spirit is moving in this presence or gathering of the Church.

    My dear friends in Christ, in order to have that openness, it is an absolutely exhausting attentiveness. That's the reason why the Church says that a priest is to have only two Masses on a Sunday, one on a weekday. And by special permission he can have three on Sunday and two on a weekday. It's not because, oh well, it's too much. But in order to be attentive to the Spirit at the level that one ought to be, that becomes too much to do over and over again in a good, holy and complete way. So another reason to pray for priests.

    Please don't hear me up here as whining. I was once an engineer. And never as an engineer, the five years that I worked as an engineer, did I ever say these words that I'm now going to say. God, I love my life. But once I entered priestly ministry, it has crossed my lips more times than I can tell you. And sometimes even after leaving a place where my heart was broken for the people of God with whom I was with, because of a death in the family, an announcement of some other type of hardship that was pressing in upon a family or person - but being able to be present to them, striving to be Christ for them, when I leave those places, more often than not what crosses my lips is a prayer of thanks, and a prayer of thanks for the gift of my priestly life.

    And so, what I am sharing with you is a matter of fodder, if you will, for your priestly ministry of prayer life of praying for priests and the places where they need to be prayed for.

    It says here, Paul to Timothy, says he should proclaim the Word to convince, to reprimand, to encourage through all patience and teaching. All of that needs to be done, but here is the trick to pasturing. You know, it's not enough to know what to say. I'm sure we all have had this experience - we tell somebody what they need to know, right, but it's to no avail. Have you had that experience?

    See, so the trick in pasturing is not just to know what to say, whether that word is to convince, to reprimand, to encourage - but to know how to say it as well, such that it can be received. That's, that's the art, that's the gift, that's the Spirit working in a priest's life. One, to know what to say. Two, and probably in many ways more importantly, how to say it so it might be received. So another thing for your ministry of praying for priests, what to pray for, that priests might truly be pastors, after the Shepherd's Heart, the Good Shepherd's Heart, so that he might indeed be able to not just know what to say, but know how to say it.

    And then Paul tells Timothy, this is what's going to happen, there's going to come a time when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but following their own desires and insatiable curiosity will accumulate teachers, will stop listening to the truth, and will be diverted to the myths. Can I give you an example? How about the DaVinci Code? If you've never seen it, if you've never read it, you just can't believe how transparently it is fiction, and yet people are carried off by this myth, thinking that it's fact. And it carries them off in thoughts that are contrary to the truth, and yet then priests need to deal with that.

    And you know what, the thing is, is sometimes when you deal with things, it just exasperates it. Sometime it's better to, sshh, be quiet about it, and let it die a death that it deserves. And so it's the art of knowing how to handle that.

    And so here, Paul is telling Timothy this is the things that happen, and you need to be pre-warned about them so you don't lose heart, but you also need to know that you need to deal with those things. And once again, here are things, then, for which you might pray, as you pray for priests. "But you, " he says, Paul to Timothy, "Be self-possessed in all circumstances. Put up with hardships, perform the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." And that's the other thing that you might pray for priests.

    You know, sometimes priests - because people, there are those who take very good care of us, as our expanding waistlines sometime attest. But sometimes because of that, they want to be in a place of cushiness, if you will, and they forget like many in the world, because it's not just priests who do this, but they don't want to put up with hardship. But life is hard, my friends, and sometimes we just need to weather hardships, in order that we might come through the death to the resurrection. Because it happens not just at the ends of our days, and at the end of time, but it happens throughout our lives.

    And so pray that priests might be able to do that, to be self-possessed, to put up with hardship, to do the work of an evangelist and to fulfill their ministry, because it's easy to shrink away from it for all kinds of reasons. So other things for which you could pray, as you pray for priests, that they might have the spirit to fulfill their ministry, our ministry.

    Lastly from Paul, he talks to Timothy about how he is being poured out like a libation, and I think sometimes that is also something that happens to priests, in the sense that they forget that that's what it's about.

    I hate telling stories of myself, but I think this is an example. The first time that my bishop, Bishop ____ came to visit St. _____ where I was pastor in _____, he asked me, "Well, how many Masses do you have, and you know, how many in what language and what's going on," and I was sharing that with him.

    As Fr. ______, _____ (the priest who followed him) who is there now, fondly says, "You know, on a given weekend, on Sunday, one has four Masses in two different places for three different communities and two different languages." And that kind of gives you the spin of what that parish is like. And Bishop ____ looked at me and he said, "____, don't kill yourself." And I said to him, I suppose somewhat in a flippant way, so I asked the Lord's forgiveness for that, but I said to him, "Bishop, we're supposed to spend our lives for the Lord."

    It's true, and so Paul says he's being poured out like a libation, because he recognizes that his life is not about himself and he is supposed to spend it on the Lord. And you know, bishops speak the word of God to their priests. And so it's true, priests are supposed to spend their lives on the Lord and in their ministry to the Body of Christ, the Church. And so we need to pray that priests have the courage and the strength to do that, to allow themselves to be poured out like a libation. The Bishop ____ turned to me and said, "Spend, yes, but not close the account."

    So sometimes priests don't take care of themselves, because there are those priests out there who spend themselves all too much, and they don't become revitalized by times of retreat and rest. And sometimes that's because they think they themselves are not important, believe it or not. And so pray for priests that they might spend their lives, but not close out the account, and that they do it all to the glory of God.

    And lastly on this Saturday, as we celebrate this liturgy in praise and thanksgiving for the wondrous work that God has accomplished through Jesus Christ, Who was born of the Virgin Mary. As we pray the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary on this Saturday, let us not forget, then most of all, also, along this long list of things to do for priests, is to commend them to the loving hands of our Mother Mary, that she might guide them and protect them and draw them ever closer to her Son, and through her Son to the Father, in the Holy Spirit.

    And so my dear friends, on behalf of the priests of the world, I thank you for your ministry, and I exhort you to continue to pray for priests, because we need your prayers, that we might be upheld. And please also, continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood, because the people of God, the Body of Christ need priests, that we might be nourished by the Word of God, both proclaimed and in sacrament.

    It's always easier to pray for such when we have faces and names to put on those. So, I commend to you those who are striving towards priesthood, people like ____, people like _____ who you have also met. And also people like ____ who is from _____, who you will probably be meeting in the coming week. Those who are striving towards priesthood, that the Holy Spirit might continue to draw them, that they might be open to that tether pulling them, that they might say yes to their calling, and to persevere in it.

end of homily

From June 14, 2006 message

Mary speaks:        Please pray for your priests
                        as my Son Jesus wants --

                            Your priests are such a gift.

                            A precious gift --

                            Your priests are precious.

                        Song:  A Priest is a Gift from God

June 15, 2006 message continues

Messenger:             Please help us

                            1) Circulate the Newsletter

                            2) Begin Prayer Services

 ^{From the Priestly Newsletter} 

^{January/February 1997}

St. Therese on Surrender to God

    The Saint of the Little Way, St. Therese of Lisieux, gives us her words on abandonment to God's will: "Neither do I any longer desire suffering or death, and still I love them both; it is love alone that attracts me, however. I desired them for a long time; I possessed suffering and believed I had touched the shores of heaven, that the little flower would be gathered in the spring time of her life. Now, abandonment alone guides me. I have no other compass! I can no longer ask for anything with fervor except the accomplishment of God's will in my soul without any creature being able to set obstacles in the way."¹⁷

17.  Story of a Soul, The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, ICS Publications, p. 280.

The Holy Spirit and the Priest

    The Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests reminds us of how closely the Holy Spirit is united to priests to lead us along the path of total self-giving: 'In Priestly Ordination, the priest has received the seal of the Holy Spirit which has marked him by the sacramental character in order to always be the minister of Christ and the Church. Assured of the promise that the Consoler will abide 'with him forever' (Jn 14:16-17), the priest knows that he will never lose the presence and the effective power of the Holy Spirit in order to exercise his ministry and live with clarity his pastoral office as a total gift of self for the salvation of his own brothers."¹⁶

16.  "Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests," as in special supplement, Inside the Vatican, p. 18.

 

 

                        Song:  A Priest is a Gift from God

 

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."

  

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"

  

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"

  

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"  

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"

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"

     

June 15, 2006 message continues

Messenger:        This tells you Jesus intended this 
                                Newsletter to continue, it
                                is an important prayer in the
                                Prayer Manual.

                            Our mission is major to the
                                completion Mary began at
                                        Fatima --

Mary by day
July 5, 2000

From Mary's Peace Plan

Until a sufficient number of people have consecrated their hearts to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, we will not have peace in the world.

  

   
Shepherds of Christ Ministries

WE PRAY FOR PRIESTS, THE RENEWAL OF
THE CHURCH, AND THE WORLD.

We join as a body united to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offering our lives to the Father as intercessors praying for our priests, the Church, and the world.
   

WILL YOU PRAY WITH US?

Your prayers united to ours will help the priests,
the Church, and the world.
  

Our Focus

WE HAVE PRAYER CHAPTERS PRAYING ALL OVER THE WORLD for the priests, the Church, and the world.

OUR PRIMARY FOCUS is the circulation of a newsletter.

WE CIRCULATE A SPIRITUALITY NEWSLETTER written by Fr. Edward Carter, S.J., a Jesuit Theologian with a Doctor's degree in Theology and author of 17 books, to about 75,000 priests in the world in both English and Spanish. Father Carter has been a professor of Theology for over 30 years.

Besides being sent to about 75,000 priests and bishops in the U.S.A., the newsletter is sent internationally to about 225 bishops, including 4 cardinals, who distribute copies to all of their priests, and also, in some cases, to their deacons and seminarians.

The newsletter is centered in consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. It features writings regarding our union with Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit and Mary. The newsletter also stresses the Eucharist, the Church, prayer, and one's responsibility regarding the social order. The newsletter stresses sound doctrine as found in Scripture, the writings of the Popes and other Church documents. It also presents selected writings from the saints and competent priest-theologians and others.

The newsletter can be used by all for development in the spiritual life centered in consecration.

 

About Shepherds of Christ Ministries

MINISTRIES

1. PRIMARY MINISTRY - CIRCULATING PRIESTLY NEWSLETTERS TO PRIESTS ALL OVER THE WORLD IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH to promote priestly holiness.
2. PRAYER CHAPTERS praying for the priests and the renewal of the Church and the world.
3. School Rosary Program and Junior Shepherds of Christ Ministry.
4. Nursing Home Ministry.
5. Special retreats and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.
6. Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
7. Promoting the rosary to all, rosary meditations.
8. Prison Ministry to promote prayer and spiritual renewal.
9. Handmaids and Servants of the Good Shepherd.
10. Audio/Video Departments (priestly newsletters on tape).
11. Prayer books, newsletters, newsletter books, and other spiritual aids.

WE WANT TO BE INTERCESSORS PROMOTING UNITY IN PRAYER WITH ALL PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, PRAYING FOR THE PRIESTS, THE CHURCH, AND THE WORLD.

   We have described above the primary ministry of the Movement, the spirituality newsletter for priests, Shepherds of Christ. The 2nd most important ministry is the prayer chapters, whose members pray for the needs of priests and for the needs of all others also. Other ministries include promoting the act of consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary as widely as possible. Promoting this act of consecration permeates all of our ministries. We also promote the praying of the rosary, and we have a special program regarding the rosary and the act of consecration for school children. We have programs for prisons and nursing homes to encourage the residents to pray for priests, the Church, and the world. We also publish various books, cassette tapes, and other materials to help in the ongoing work of spiritual renewal.

   The mission of the Shepherds of Christ Movement is closely connected to Our Lady of Fatima's mission. We hope to play a major role in helping to bring fulfillment of the Peace Plan of Our Lady of Fatima. This plan includes:

1. Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary—until a sufficient number of people make and live the consecration, we will not have peace in the world.

2. Praying the rosary.

3. Observing the First Saturday Devotion.

4. Making reparation to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

   In helping to bring the Fatima message to completion, the Shepherds of Christ Movement is helping to bring about the Reign of the Sacred Heart and the triumph of the Immaculate Heart. This is a great privilege and a great responsibility! We ask for your prayers and help in other ways also. May God bless you abundantly!
  

---

  
LEVELS OF COMMITMENT

There are seven levels of commitment in the Shepherds of Christ Movement.

1. There are Associates who gather and pray at least once monthly as a group and also help with donations to support the Shepherds of Christ priestly newsletter. They can be tremendously involved. They give as they feel they are able.

2. Apostles are members who have restricted their apostolic activity to the Shepherds of Christ. They literally act as a body of lay people who have given their lives in their present living situation to do all that they can to bring about the Reign of the Sacred Heart and the triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart.

3. Prayer Apostles are often shut-ins, some are able to go to church and pray. They spend much of their lives praying for the Movement.

4. Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus are those who spend at least two separate hours weekly before the Blessed Sacrament praying for the following:

1. For the spread of the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary culminating in the reign of the Sacred Heart and the triumph of the Immaculate Heart.

2. For the Pope.

3. For all bishops of the world.

4. For all priests.

5. For all sisters and brothers in the religious life.

6. For all members of the Shepherds of Christ Movement, and for the spread of this Movement to the world.

7. For all members of the Catholic Church.

8. For all members of the human family.

9. For all souls in purgatory.

5. Handmaids of the Good Shepherd are young and older women who have given their lives in community primarily to pray for the Shepherds of Christ Movement and intentions and to be special spouses of Jesus. Some have more duties than others. All have the primary duty of prayer and the desire to be a special spouse of our Lord. One of the functions of the handmaids is the involvement in praying for and helping to circulate the priestly newsletter. The handmaids are not members of a religious order.
     
     
     

6. Servants of the Good Shepherd are men who live in community with a lifestyle and purpose similar to that of the handmaids. The servants are not members of a religious order.
     
    
    

7. We wish to form a special congregation of priests who will realize their great oneness with Christ. They will be consecrated deeply to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and support the Shepherds of Christ Movement as holy priests.

   Whatever one's level of commitment in the Shepherds of Christ Movement, all share in promoting the overall goal of the Movement. This goal is to help in the spiritual renewal of the Church and the world. All varied ministries of the Movement are directed toward this purpose. The spirituality which the Shepherds of Christ Movement presents to its members and to those outside the Movement through its various ministries is very basic. This spirituality is explicitly Trinitarian and Christocentric. Our spirituality helps others, especially priests, to develop a very deep union with Jesus, this Jesus Who leads us to the Father in the Holy Spirit with Mary at our side. Our spirituality is deeply Eucharistic. We stress very much participation in the Mass and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. We also emphasize the extremely important role of prayer in the spiritual life. Devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, especially consecration to Their Hearts, is also a most important and central element. We are very much interested in helping to bring the Fatima message to completion, a message which has consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary at its very core.

         

  

Father Edward J. Carter, S.J.

Father Edward Carter, S.J. was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. A graduate of St. Xavier High School and Xavier University, both in Cincinnati, he was ordained a priest in 1962 and received his doctorate in theology from Catholic University of America four years later. He was a professor of theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati for over 30 years. He has authored 17 books in the area of Catholic spirituality. His two latest books are the priestly newsletter books, which include the newsletters from almost six years. He is devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

   

Be Part Of It!

PLEASE HELP US THROUGH YOUR PRAYERS UNITED TO OURS.

PRIESTS PRAYING WITH US WILL INCREASE THE PRAYER POWER; THEY ARE ANOINTED BY CHRIST AS HOLY PRIESTS.

PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD offering up their lives in the Morning Offering for the priests, the Church, the world, and for the work of the Shepherds of Christ will help so much.

LITTLE PRAYER BOOKS OF SHORT PRAYERS CALLED THE SHEPHERDS OF CHRIST PRAYER MANUAL ARE AVAILABLE. Praying these short prayers together with us as a body united to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being celebrated around the world can help great grace be released on the souls of the earth.

PLEASE UNITE WITH US.

These cards are available in large print for nursing homes. Please circulate to all.

Front

Back

Call Glaci for prayer manuals.     

Be Apostles of the Eucharist
Heart - God calls you
to be Shepherds of Christ Associates

1.  Associates
2.  Apostles
3.  Prayer Apostles
4.  Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus
5.  Handmaids of the Good Shepherd
6.  Servants of the Good Shepherd
7.  Congregation of priests

Shepherds of Christ Associates

Prayer Chapters

Here are the steps for forming a Shepherds of Christ Associates Prayer Chapter:

Bring together family, friends, or parish members to answer this call of the Lord.
Follow the format in the Shepherds of Christ Associates Prayer Manual. The steps are simple:

1. Designate a coordinator for the chapter.
2. Have everyone sign the membership form and return to our Morrow Center.
3. Give everyone a Shepherds of Christ Prayer Manual..
4. Choose a regular time and place (at church or in the home) to meet.
5. You may meet daily, once a week or at least monthly.
6. It only takes two people to form a prayer chapter.
   

Please call our Morrow, Ohio Center We would be happy to answer any questions. We can also send you a prayer chapter information packet, Shepherds of Christ Spirituality Handbooks, or Shepherds of Christ Prayer Manuals. We may be reached by electronic mail at info@SofC.org or by postal mail.

Shepherds of Christ Ministries
PO BOX 193
Morrow, Ohio 45152-0193

Telephone: (toll free) 1-888-211-3041 
          or international (513) 932-4451
FAX: (513) 932-6791

   

Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus

    We are 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 given. For part of the hour they are to use the prayers of the Shepherds of Christ Associates Prayer Manual. They may spend the rest of the hour as they so choose.

    This new prayer movement within the Shepherds of Christ Ministries is a powerful way to help in the renewal of the Church and the world. 

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

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

    

            He had a dream. 

            His life given to help bring about the Reign of 
                the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Triumph 
                of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

            He loved his brother priests. He founded the 
                Movement Shepherds of Christ to pray for 
                the priests and the renewal of the Church 
                and the world.

     

From the Priestly Newsletter

September/October 1997

Words from Henri Nouwen

    Although death has recently taken him from us in one way, Henri Nouwen will always remain with us through his written words. There follow a few excerpts from these writings.

• "I vividly remember how I had, at one time, become totally dependent on the affection and friendship of one person. This dependency threw me into a pit of great anguish and brought me to the verge of a very self-destructive depression. But from the moment I was helped to experience my interpersonal addiction as an expression of a need for total surrender to a living God who would fulfill the deepest desires of my heart, I started to live my dependency in a radically new way. Instead of living it in shame and embarrassment, I was able to live it as an urgent invitation to claim God's unconditional love for myself, a love I can depend on without any fear."¹³
   
• "The joy that Jesus offers his disciples is his own joy, which flows from his intimate communion with the One who sent him. It is a joy that does not separate happy days from sad days, successful moments from moments of failure, experiences of honor from experiences of dishonor, passion from resurrection. This joy is a divine gift that does not leave us during times of illness, poverty, oppression, or persecution. It is present even when the world laughs or tortures, robs or maims, fights or kills. It is truly ecstatic, always moving us away from the house of fear into the house of love, and always proclaiming that death no longer has the final say, though its noise remains loud and its devastation visible."¹⁴
   
• "But it is exactly in this willingness to know the other fully that we can really reach out to him or her and become healers. Therefore, healing means, first of all, the creation of an empty but friendly space where those who suffer can tell their story to someone who can listen with real attention. It is sad that often this listening is interpreted as technique. We say, 'Give him a chance to talk it out. It will do him good.' And we speak about the 'cathartic' effect of listening, suggesting that 'getting it out of your system', or 'getting it out in the open' will in itself have a purging effect. But listening is an act that must be developed, not a technique that can be applied as a monkey wrench to nut and bolts. It needs the full and real presence to each other. It is indeed one of the highest forms of hospitality."¹⁵
   
• "Who thinks that he is immortal?-Every time we search anxiously for another human being who can break the chains of our loneliness, and every time we build new defenses to protect our life as an inalienable property, we find ourselves caught in that tenacious illusion of immortality. Although we keep telling each other and ourselves that we will not live forever and that we are going to die soon, our daily actions, thoughts and concerns keep revealing to us how hard it is to fully accept the reality of our own statements.
  
      "Small, seemingly innocent events keep telling us how easily we externalize ourselves and our world. It takes only a hostile word to make us feel sad and lonely. It takes only a rejecting gesture to plunge us into self-complaint. It takes only a substantial failure in our work to lead us into a self-destructive depression. Although we have learned from parents, teachers, friends and many books, sacred as well as profane, that we are worth more than what the world makes us, we keep giving an eternal value to the things we own, the people we know, the plans we have, and the successes we 'collect'. Indeed, it takes only a small disruption to lay our illusion of immortality bare and to reveal how much we have become victimized by our surrounding world suggesting we are 'in control'. Aren't the many feelings of sadness, heaviness of heart and even dark despair, often intimately connected with the exaggerated seriousness with which we have clothed the people we know, the ideas to which we are exposed and the events we are part of? The lack of distance, which ex-cludes the humor in life, can create a suffocating depression which prevents us from lifting our heads above the horizon of our own limited existence."¹⁶
  

13. Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved, Crossroads, pp. 80-81.
14. Henri Nouwen, Lifesigns, Doubleday, pp. 98-99.
15. Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out, Doubleday, p. 67.
16. Ibid, p. 82.

    

Jesus told Rita -- 

Jesus:  The fact every time people pray the prayer manual they are praying for the priestly newsletter is your proof that I want it to continue as I have recently delegated.

Only through the newsletter can I reach the priests and do what I desire to help renew the Church and the world through My movement culminating in the reign of My Sacred Heart and triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart. The prayer chapters have a co-equal purpose in the different languages.

Prayer from the Prayer Manual for the Priestly Newsletter.

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"

Prière pour le succès spirituel et financier de la Lettre aux Prêtres. "Père, nous implorons tes bénédictions spéciales pour notre Bulletin aux prêtres, Pasteurs du Christ. Nous te prions d’accorder aux prêtres qui le lisent les grâces que tu leur destines par l’intermédiaire de cet instrument de choix de ton Fils. Nous te prions également de pouvoir être assurés du support financier nécessaire pour le maintien de notre Bulletin et du mouvement Associés des Pasteurs du Christ. Nous te prions par Jésus Christ et l’Esprit Saint, en union avec la Vierge Marie. Amen."

Oración por el éxito espiritual y financiero del Boletín Sacerdotal. "Padre, te pedimos tu bendición especial sobre el Boletín Sacerdotal, Pastores de Cristo. Te pedimos que abras los corazones de los sacerdotes que lo lean a las gracias que deseas concederles a través de este instrumento escogido de Tu Hijo. También te pedimos que nos proporciones los medios económicos necesarios para editar el boletín y Asociados de los Pastores de Cristo. Hacemos nuestra oración por Jesús, en el Espíritu Santo con María a nuestro lado. Amén."

Oração pelo sucesso espiritual e financeiro do boletim informativo sacerdotal. "Pai, nós Vos pedimos Vossas bênçãos especiais sobre o boletim informativo sacerdotal, Pastores de Cristo. Nós Vos pedimos que o Senhor abra os sacerdotes-leitores às graças que o Senhor quereis lhes dar através deste instrumento escolhido de Vosso Filho. Nós, também, Vos pedimos que Vós providencieis pelas necessidades financeiras do boletim informativo e dos Associados dos Pastores de Cristo. Nós Vos pedimos por Jesus, no Espírito Santo, com Maria ao nosso lado. Amém."