Mary has requested that the daily message be given each day to the world. It is
read nightly at the prayer service from her Image Building in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A.
This is according to her request. All attempts will be made to publish this daily message
to the world at 11 p.m. Eastern time, U.S.A.
We acknowledge that the final authority regarding these messages
rests with the Holy See of Rome.
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June 27, 2004
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June 28th Holy Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 7 Period I.
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The Novena Rosary Mysteries
for June 28th are Sorrowful.
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Please Pray for the
Newsletter &
Delores.
Click into the radio,
it is really dynamic!
You can see China live.
Click on the picture below to
hear the radio and see China.
June 27, 2004
Jesus speaks:
I give you this message.
Until a sufficient number of people
have given their hearts to My Heart and
Mary's Heart you will not have peace
in the world.
Mary appeared the Queen of Peace
for 7 years in Clearwater.
PEACE AND LOVE
From all places and all times I
have called you to this place
to see My face.
There were 2 little children leaving the
same door —
before them were 2 things
(1) A big mud puddle (2) a mountain top —
covered with glistening snow
and the sun shining
on the face of
those who would
go there
1) one child left the door and ran for the mud pile
2) the other child ran up the mountain
1) child one had a face covered with mud in
one minute
2) child two had a face covered with the sun
Genesis 4: 1-10
The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she
conceived and gave birth to Cain. ‘I have acquired a man with the help
of Yahweh,’ she said. She gave birth to a second child, Abel, the
brother of Cain. Now Abel became a shepherd and kept flocks, while Cain
tilled the soil. Time passed and Cain brought some of the produce of the
soil as an offering for Yahweh, while Abel for his part brought the
first–born of his flock and some of their fat as well. Yahweh looked
with favour on Abel and his offering. But he did not look with favour on
Cain and his offering, and Cain was very angry and downcast. Yahweh asked
Cain, ‘Why are you angry and downcast? If you are doing right, surely
you ought to hold your head high! But if you are not doing right, Sin is
crouching at the door hungry to get you. You can still master him.’ Cain
said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out’; and while they were in the
open country, Cain set on his brother Abel and killed him.
Yahweh asked Cain, ‘Where is your
brother Abel?’ ‘I do not know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s
guardian?’ ‘What have you done?’ Yahweh asked. ‘Listen! Your
brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground.
June 27, 2004 message continues
Jesus speaks:
I have begun the Bible with the
story of Genesis, Cain and Abel —
the story of willfulness —
My face shines before you in Clearwater —
in the dark night — I come out
clearly to show you My light
April 5, 2004
June 27, 2004 message continues
Jesus speaks:
SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT
How does the devil work to block love?
How does the devil work to attack structure?
I come to unveil the workings of satan
in your lives.
Spiritual Direction —
being able to see how the evil spirit,
the good Spirit is working
Ways to combat the evil spirit —
MY BLOOD
June 27, 2004 message continues
Jesus speaks:
Praying to the Holy Spirit to flood
you with His grace.
June 27, 2004 message continues
Jesus speaks:
This is bigger than all of you.
From all time I have called
you to be My servants.
From all time and all places
Mary appeared on the building
she appeared to deliver
a message of peace to a
troubled world —
she appeared to the troubled
children of the earth to
tell them that their life
here is oh so short and
she came to tell them
Mary's
Message
from the Rosary of August 27, 1996
Mary speaks: 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
June 27, 2004 message continues
Jesus speaks:
Discernment of Spirits
The devil comes to tie you up and
to get you to do his work.
I come to give you the gift of
the Holy Spirit.
On May 27, 2004 this picture was
seen on the web camera.
June 27, 2004 message continues
Jesus speaks:
Mary's head was knocked off, but
I come out more on My image on the
building. You must pray constantly for
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
The devil will work on the weakest
link, he is sneaky, he comes in to
carry off the silver like the thief in
the night.
My site exists for the purpose of
leading the world to peace. My site
exists to lead the world into consecration
to My Heart and Mary's Heart.
Mary appeared on the building, the
Incarnation goes on. As the Holy Spirit
works within the Immaculate Heart of
the Mother to bring you forth more
and more into My image and likeness.
Pray —
Oh Spirit of God fill our hearts —
Dear Jesus spread us with your
precious Blood.
I can make all things work for you,
but you must come to Me in
peace and docility and love.
The waves were high, the water rushed
in more and more quickly to the shore,
but beneath the troubled water,
far below — the water was smooth
and unruffled.
On the outside the enemy attacks the
front line, but behind those
fighting the front line is one who sees
with clear vision.
The devil attacks, this is My Movement,
the Priestly Newsletter is a major vehicle
that will affect the world. You can question
and sit back, but the priests must be
led into a deeper life of consecration
in My Heart and the Heart of My Mother.
Spiritual discernment, how do you
tell if the Good Spirit or the evil spirit
is prompting you to act. Spiritual
directors cannot be afraid to speak
of the evil one operating in someone's
life. Spiritual directors need to know
more about the craftiness of satan.
Genesis Chapter 3
Now, the snake was the most subtle of all the wild animals
that Yahweh God had made. It asked the woman, 'Did God really say you were
not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?' The woman answered the
snake, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But of the fruit of
the tree in the middle of the garden God said, "You must not eat it,
nor touch it, under pain of death." ' Then the snake said to the woman,
'No! You will not die! God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes
will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil.' The woman
saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was
enticing for the wisdom that it could give. So she took some of its fruit
and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate
it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they
were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves
loin-cloths.
The man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking
in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Yahweh God among the
trees of the garden. But Yahweh God called to the man. 'Where are you?' he
asked. 'I heard the sound of you in the garden,' he replied. 'I was afraid
because I was naked, so I hid.' 'Who told you that you were naked?' he
asked. 'Have you been eating from the tree I forbade you to eat?' The man
replied, 'It was the woman you put with me; she gave me some fruit from the
tree, and I ate it.' Then Yahweh God said to the woman, 'Why did you do
that?' The woman replied, 'The snake tempted me and I ate.'
Then Yahweh God said to the snake, 'Because you have done
this,
Accursed be you
of all animals wild and tame!
On your belly you will go
and on dust you will feed
as long as you live.
I shall put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
it will bruise your head
and you will strike its heel.'
To the woman he said:
I shall give you intense pain
in childbearing,
you will give birth to your children
in pain.
Your yearning will be for your husband,
and he will dominate you.
To the man he said, 'Because you listened to the voice of
your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat,
Accursed be the soil because of you!
Painfully will you get your food from it
as long as you live.
It will yield you brambles and thistles,
as you eat the produce of the land.
By the sweat of your face
will you earn you food,
until you return to the ground,
as you were taken from it.
For dust you are
and to dust you shall return.
The man named his wife 'Eve' because she was the mother of
all those who live. Yahweh God made tunics of skins for the man and his wife
and clothed them. Then Yahweh God said, 'Now that the man has become like
one of us in knowing good from evil, he must not be allowed to reach out his
hand and pick from the tree of life too, and eat and live for ever!' So
Yahweh God expelled him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which
he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the garden of Eden
he posted the great winged creatures and the fiery flashing sword, to guard
the way to the tree of life.
Genesis 4: 1-10
The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she
conceived and gave birth to Cain. ‘I have acquired a man with the help
of Yahweh,’ she said. She gave birth to a second child, Abel, the
brother of Cain. Now Abel became a shepherd and kept flocks, while Cain
tilled the soil. Time passed and Cain brought some of the produce of the
soil as an offering for Yahweh, while Abel for his part brought the
first–born of his flock and some of their fat as well. Yahweh looked
with favour on Abel and his offering. But he did not look with favour on
Cain and his offering, and Cain was very angry and downcast. Yahweh asked
Cain, ‘Why are you angry and downcast? If you are doing right, surely
you ought to hold your head high! But if you are not doing right, Sin is
crouching at the door hungry to get you. You can still master him.’ Cain
said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go out’; and while they were in the
open country, Cain set on his brother Abel and killed him.
Yahweh asked Cain, ‘Where is your
brother Abel?’ ‘I do not know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s
guardian?’ ‘What have you done?’ Yahweh asked. ‘Listen! Your
brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground.
June 27, 2004 message continues
Jesus speaks:
Satan works in secret many times. He
is a slippery snake. He comes concealed —
like an innocent lamb and he is a
roaring lion. A wolf in sheep's
clothing.
How can one direct another in how
the spirit is working in their lives
when they fail to see satan working
so strongly in individuals in Churches,
families and institutions.
One can come with noisiness and
constant argumentation, turning a home,
community, church into a tether. Discernment
of spirits is vital in marriages, in
churches, in schools.
Satan knows if he can attack the
families, the churches and the schools —
He can get souls if he does this.
If he attacks these institutions —
June 27, 2004 message continues
Jesus speaks:
My prayers will help the Spirit flow
in these institutions.
Luke 9: 51-62
Now it happened that as the time drew near
for him to be taken up, he resolutely turned his face towards Jerusalem and
sent messengers ahead of him. These set out, and they went into a
Samaritan village to make preparations for him, but the people
would not receive him because he was making for Jerusalem. Seeing
this, the disciples James and John said, ‘Lord, do you want us to call
down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ But he turned and
rebuked them, and they went on to another village.
As they travelled along they met a man on the road who
said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus
answered, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.’
Another to whom he
said, ‘Follow me,’ replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ But
he answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and
spread the news of the kingdom of God.’
Another said, ‘I
will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say good–bye to my people
at home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Once the hand is laid on the
plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’
June 27, 2004 message continues
Messenger:
The devil works on the self —
trying to get us to stay focused
on us so we will not focus
on the things of God, but focus
on ourselves.
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.
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
Fire of His Heart
June 27, 2004 message continues
Messenger:
LOVE
Fires of hell —
The devil wants us to not focus on the
Fires of His Heart —
The devil wants to carry souls to
hell.
Mary gives this message —
Mary's
Message
from the Rosary of August 27, 1996
Mary speaks: 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
June 27, 2004 message continues
Messenger:
She said this same message over and
over again when she appeared —
She gave to me the same message
given at Fatima.
Excerpt from The
Spirituality of Fatima
...Tell everybody that God gives
graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask grace from
her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace from the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her. (19)
NOTES:
19. 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.9.
June 27, 2004 message continues
Messenger:
In an institution there must be a head —
God operates in structure —
this head must pray for direction to
be following the good Spirit —
to be connected to God —
to see their life for all eternity
and do what God wants them to
do — operating in love to
help the souls, not for ones
own vain glory, but doing
all actions for the honor and glory
of God.
Holding onto inordinate attachments —
keeps one stuck —
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.
June 27, 2004 message continues
Messenger:
Attitude
offering of one's self in love
for the honor and glory of God
Jesus speaks:
I speak of love.
I am God,
I am an endless source of love.
Oh My people how can you
deliver My message if
you do not love yourselves.
I deliver these messages to the world —
My messages of love —
Are you loving?
Do you know what love is?
A man was raised in an abusive home —
to him as he understood it
love was painful — he did not
know how love is kind...
1 Corinthians 13: 4-13
Love is always patient and kind; love
is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and
never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up
grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the
truth. It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to
endure whatever comes.
Love never comes to an end. But if
there are prophecies, they will be done away with; if tongues, they will
fall silent; and if knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know only
imperfectly, and we prophesy imperfectly; but once perfection comes, all
imperfect things will be done away with.
When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see
things as a child does, and think like a child; but now that I have become
an adult, I have finished with all childish ways. Now we see only
reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to
face. Now I can know only imperfectly; but then I shall know just as fully
as I am myself known.
As it is, these remain: faith, hope
and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love.
June 27, 2004 message continues
Jesus speaks:
When he related with others — he began fights —
he tried to get attention for himself —
many times he did hateful things to
get attention like sticking his hand
in a bee-hive and running afterward —
he stirred up the bees and ran away —
he was acting hurtfully and like a trouble
maker —
he continued doing the work of satan in
his life — hurting others and promoting
disharmony.
he acted as he saw others treat him,
but he began to do more evil things —
hurting others more and more —
no one could talk to him —
What happens to the person that fails to
work with others in harmony and love?
I give to you Myself in the Eucharist —
I outpour My grace to you —
I have called you to be bearers of love —
Come before the tabernacle —
I will outpour My grace —
Come to Me at Mass —
I will outpour My grace to you —
Here is a message I gave long ago about the
tabernacle
click on August 28, 1993
June 27, 2004 message continues
Messenger: On
June 26, 1995 I was sent with the Apostles
to Naples, Florida
I received the following message.
June 26, 1995
The Pain - Naples, Florida
Messenger: He spread His arms, He gave His all, Jesus,
the Son of God, the greatest sacrifice, He gave Himself entirely for the
good of all men. He opened His arms, He died on the cross.
His arms were covered with blood, His arms so weak and
filled with pain, wounded. His arms, the pain shot up His arms and the final
blow to each arm a nail through each precious hand.
All the agony He experienced, all the pain, and the
crown, to each arm, a nail hammered into the hand.
All the nerves cut and severed by the nail, the pain
shooting up His precious arms, the final blow given to His most precious
members.
The legs that carried Him, that carried the heavy
cross, the legs that were forced and cajoled, that continues to Calvary -
the legs weakened, skinned, bleeding, beaten, burned, the legs that knew
patience and perseverance, the legs connected to a sore foot that was rubbed
and gashed and bleeding, the members of Jesus, filled with such pain and
exhaustion, now is crowned with the final glory. The nail that was driven
into the foot, the pain shot up this already weakened leg, covered with
blood and wounds and pain, the final blow, the nerves severed by the
hammered nail.
A blow to each hand, a blow to each foot, a blow to
the head, a stamping that pressed down and continued in excruciating pain.
Jesus: They numbered all My bones. They gave Me vinegar
and gall to drink. They gave Me a cloth to wipe My blood-covered flesh.
What did they give to Me? Love is giving, My dear
ones. How many of you are wounded when you are not given things by your
brothers you love?
My members were in such pain, the pain shot up My
arms. My legs were so weak I could scarce move them. I was filled with pain
within them.
To all who watched, they saw a man, weakened and
covered with blood and wounds. They did not see the pain inside that shot up
My legs and arms, the nerves inside My body that sent signals of deep pain
to My central nervous system. They did not see the nerves inside sending
pain signals everywhere.
The final blow being to each hand and foot, the
severing of My nerves by the blunt and rusted nails.
An arm extended. A final blow. I beheld a nail pounded
into My hand and the pain shot up My arms, unbearable to a human mind.
Do you know of the pain within My body? Signals
sending messages of deep pain everywhere. I knew all of these sufferings in
the garden. So great were the sufferings to My mind, I sweat blood.
My flesh was covered with wounds. My arms were
stretched from their sockets. My body was beaten and bleeding, every inch of
My body covered with deep wounds. But, My loved ones, you miss the depth of
My love. My wounds were so deep, but the final wound, the pounding of the
nails in My hands and feet, a severing of the nerves, an ending of the
deepest pain, to experience even deeper pain, beyond your human
comprehension, it was done to the Almighty God, a Divine Person, I suffered
the final blow to each member.
The pounding in the hands and feet, the crown to each
member, and they numbered all My bones. My nerves a network of pain running
throughout My entire body.
The pain within the body, the pain recorded in My
loving head, the pain sent by a network of nerves in My body, now records
the final blows, the nails in the hands and feet, the pain being recorded
from every thorn that pierced My skull, every gash to My body, the pain, the
pain, the pain - a network of signals and pain, running through My body and
the final hour, the pains recorded on the cross, arms outstretched - a
surrendering to all pain. I surrendered to a body laden with pain.
You focus on your little problems, your little aches
and pains. You discuss them and show the world your pin pricks and
sufferings.
Do you want to know holiness and love? They gave Me
vinegar mixed with gall. This was their offering. They gave Me a cross. They
crowned My head with a crown of thorns.
This, My dear ones, is suffering, My beloved souls, I
gave My life for and this is their return.
A severing of My nerves, the final blows to all the
aches and pains recorded in My nervous system. This was one of the final
blows - the rusted nails pounded into My hands.
You will feel little aches and pains in your hands and
feet to remind you of this message. Your understanding of the immense pain
within will deepen. What was visible to the eye on My battered body was
nothing compared to the pains within. I gave My all. I gave My insides, My
mind, My Heart, wounded for the love of men.
All functions in the body were stopped.
The final curtain, blood and water pouring out from My
Heart, show that all functions of the body had ended.
R: All signals that carried messages of immense pain had
ended, the final act of surrender for God to die to this human body and
surrender His flesh.
Jesus: And end, a beginning, the water and blood flowed
from My Heart, the beginning of My life in the Church, life flowing into
your spirit.
R: Come give me life, abundant life. I thirst to be with
Thee.
Jesus: My blood was spent. My human flesh and blood
offered as the sacrifice, the sacrifice of Calvary is now made present at
every Mass.
An end, a beginning, and the grace and life flow
through the sacraments in the Church. My life flows to you in the Mass.
Mary, the Mediatrix of all grace, stands by the side of the altar and the
grace flows from the Father, through My body offered up as a sacrifice in
the Holy Spirit, given through the Mothership of Mary to you in the Church.
You stand under the cross with My Mother and you
receive the gift given, My Body, My Blood.
R: Man is reconciled with the Father through the Divine
Person, Jesus Christ, and you receive His life poured out to you as Calvary
is made present in the unbloody sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Do you feel the graces poured out to you at this
sacrifice of the Son of God at every Mass? Do you feel the presence of the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit and Mary, all the angels and saints, and the
souls in purgatory? Do you feel united as one at the sacrifice of Calvary
sacramentally made present upon the altar through the priest? The priest who
now puts on Christ and through Him the dispenser of this life given to man.
Jesus: Oh, My beloved ones, love so dearly your priest.
Give him such reverence. He is the chosen instrument of God and you treat
him with such ordinariness. You are so blind and so dumb in your ways.
And they numbered all My bones. Each nerve carrying a
message of My love of mankind, each member in My Church carrying a special
message, all united as one working in harmony according to the Father's
will, each carrying a message of love to one another.
The body is many members, you are the messengers of My
love. Christ is the head. The message does not flow as it should when some
are cut off from the Head.
They nailed My hands and feet and My nerves were
severed by the nails, such pain, undescribable in words, the severing of My
nerves from the body, the severing of many members from the body of Christ.
My Body given for all on the cross, the network of
nerves within carrying the messages of My love to all mankind. My body
covered on the outside with blood and wounded, the pain recorded within.
Your Church, covered with blood on the outside, the
slaughter of innocent babies, the homosexuality, the sins of the flesh, the
members that have severed themselves from the source by their sins, but the
pain is carried in the nerves inside. The blood of the Lamb shed for each
and every soul, the real pain carried within. The life is weakened in your
Church because the love of God is so weak in many members. The messages of
love are not being transmitted as they should be. Your body shows the
wounds, but your pain within is the root of the problems. The pain is from
the messages of love that are not being transmitted.
Unless you seek to fill your priests and sisters with
the fire of God's love, fill their hearts with burning love for God, your
Church will continue to show the marks of the blood shed without. I give to
you these letters as a mighty medicine for this world, directed to make
men's hearts burn with love of God and love of one another. The rosaries are
meditations and messages given from the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
These messages will make men's hearts burn with fire
for love of God.
You have ignored the importance of these letters.
I send to you the mighty medicine to heal a hurting
world.
My priests and religious need these messages. The love
of God will be transmitted to the Church from these messages when you
circulate these letters.
The devil has blocked the minds of men involved in
these messages because of their importance to the world and the Church.
I am speaking to you Fr. Carter to help to get these
messages published and circulated as soon as possible. I give to you a
mighty medicine for a sick world.
Read St. Thomas Aquinas about the medicine for the
sick Church.
You know what these messages have done for you. I am
Jesus. I give to you the mighty medicine for a sick world, for a sick
Church, rosaries and letters from the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
Your Church shows the wounds of bloodshed, abortion,
homosexuality, sins of the flesh, murder of little children's minds with sex
education in Catholic schools and you hold back the gifts of God's love I am
giving to the Church and this world.
My arms were weak and wounded but the final blow as
the nail put in My hand. It severed the nerves.
The final blow is the bloodshed in the Church, the
slaughtering of children's minds in Catholic schools. My children are pure
and innocent. They are not being taught messages of God's love, they are
being taught messages of sick sex and coldness.
Men's hearts have turned cold. They have been severed
from the life of the body. The body is decaying from within. Only with the
love of God enkindled in men's hearts will this bloodshed stop.
I beg you to publish and circulate these messages in
the Church. I am Jesus. I am giving you the mighty medicine for the world.
Your body wears the marks of the bloodshed, only with messages of My on-fire
love will it stop.
Mary leads you to Jesus. Never is she the end. The
Father has a plan. Mary's messages have led men and will lead men to Jesus.
Satan has tried to stop all efforts to publish and circulate these messages.
I am the Almighty God. The funds will come when you circulate and publish
these messages and rosaries under the Shepherds of Christ Publishing. I am
working with Fr. Carter and Rita as messenger to renew the Church and the
world. Each messenger has a very vital role in the Father's plan. The
significance of these messages are being overlooked. You are not studying
the messages as a whole and their content. There are five unpublished Blue
Books and more than four Rosary Books which I and My Mother have given to
this world in the last 14 months. I have also given 15 songs of My love. I
am begging you to see to the recording and publishing of this music. I beg
you to listen. This is the mighty medicine for the Church and the world to
draw men to the burning love of Jesus. Please harken to My call. I will send
you the money. You must study and read these messages. This is a fulfillment
of Fatima - these messages were given to bring priests to the burning love
of Jesus. I am Jesus, your beloved Savior.
end of June 26, 1995 message
June 27, 2004 message continues
Messenger: Oh
God I am sorry for the ways we offend You.
I am sorry for the pain You suffered in
the garden for our sins.
Jesus speaks:
In many places there are cancers, in many
churches, one individual works to try
to stop the productivity of the institution
the evil one prompts them to act above the
authority, argumentatively and hatefully
focusing on themselves —
they desire to be in control and in the end
over all others —
satan works this way —
he works to try to discredit the authority —
he wants the structure to collapse.
A building was built and every day a big machine
with a large tool came and shook the
corner structure —
everyone watched, but no one stopped
the man running the machine —
when he came each day he argued and did
what he wanted —
in dismay the people who owned the building
let the man do it —
When the head of the organization came
he said — hey why does this guy come
every day with this big machine and shake
the corner of the building —
soon the structure will collapse if you
do not stop it.
Almost in a stupor and with dismay at the
head they said well we can't handle
him — he argues — he acts mean —
he just runs the show.
We never liked what he did, but he was
so strong we just got used to it,
but we have no energy to work anymore,
we more or less just sit back and
deal with him feeling tired and worn
out.
Satan is a roaring lion.
If the leadership once strong is forced to
deal with a person being prompted by the
devil to get ahead and run things and
discredits authority on an hourly basis,
a daily basis —
finally it is like the big machine that comes
shakes the foundation and all lay down
putting up with their ways.
Whether an alcoholic in a family
Whether an abuser in a family —
A leader in a community
A leader in a church —
the community can be manipulated by
one who is sick and prompted by the
devil and
they all fall down as the apple bobs
higher and higher —
Ask yourselves —
is the good Spirit running the show —
or the evil spirit.
Once a retreat was given and the head
was discredited and shown as
weak.
If there is not structure, where there is
not a head connected to Me, then the
institution will become weak as the
devil works to try to take out the family,
institution wherever many are gathered
for a holy purpose.
In one branch of a religious community —
there was constant conflict — it can
be one of 2 things or both —
the person leading gives into the evil one
prompting division and control in his own
heart.
one under the head is so "head-strong"
they will do anything to get the lead —
like the motor running in a box —
it just keeps running, it is never
settled.
Leaders of religious communities must realize
that the devil will work to try to discredit
them.
I show Myself in the first station surrounded
by the men who wanted to put Me to
death.
June 27, 2004 message continues
Jesus speaks:
I am the head.
Many have made themselves the head in
many parishes, parish council people
can begin running a parish, focusing on
money, festivals etc. and argue with
the pastor while he tries to lead the church
in a spiritual way or it may be a
church that recognizes the priest's
authority and honestly in holiness try
to help him promote the spirituality
of the parish and work toward their
own spiritual growth pleasing
God and accomplishing the business
activities that need to be accomplished
for the honor and glory of God and not their
own vain glory.
When a person is dysfunctional and presses
ahead to get everyone doing their
dance in a community, when the
head gives in, when satan can
create havoc, the place is weakened,
under attack and unproductive.
Always there must be that respect
for authority. As one fights from beneath
and argues to get ahead, another may
use teasing and joking and then in the
end seize the place of the leader
after they controlled the place through
laughter.
Others may weaken the authority, by
secretly desiring the position themselves
and creating tremendous confusion
when simple directions are given.
This is how the devil works. Mary Ann was
the head of a business, a man secretly
did not like the female dominance
over him. He made Mary Ann work for
every job she had to get his help with.
That way he got control even though
he didn't like the fact he was not
doing exactly as he wanted. After a two
week dance and tears Mary Ann if
she was strong enough got the work
accomplished she knew was vital
for growth in the company.
It is what I call trash, the trash
another can put another through to
accomplish a vital task because of
the evil one working in games of jealousy
and lack of respect for the head.
My communities have diminished in
the Church, where sisters and brothers
operate in oneness for a common
purpose. There is little growth in the
world in religious orders working in
oneness as a body of people praying
as a body to promote world peace,
devotion to My Sacred Heart and Mary's
heart, Eucharistic Devotion,
the Morning Offering.
I have begun this Movement to
pray for the priests, the Church and the
world. To spread the Priestly Newsletter
to the priests that they will grow deeply
in love with the 3 Persons of the
Trinity, Devotion to the Holy Eucharist,
live lives as holy priests, live lives
with deeper devotion to My Heart and
My Mother's heart — I have
given this Newsletter to lead the priests
into a deeper realization of Mary's
role as their spiritual Mother and Mother
of the Church.
I have given the Newsletter that
priests will know more the Spiritual
Exercises, Spiritual Discernment,
living to promote the Kingdom of
God for the honor and glory of God, for
purity of intention, for awareness
of sinfulness in their own lives and
the importance of letting go of
inordinate attachments and for
living the rosary mysteries in
your lives.
Through the writings of the
Holy Father and other spiritual leaders
and the Encyclicals and documents of
the Church — the priests will be
nourished more and more to be holy
priests.
I beg for help with this endeavor.
|
 I
would be willing to
support this endeavor
with a $1.00 to $5.00
or more a week.
Contribution: __________
Name:
_________________________
Address:
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
Phone:
_______________________________
Email:
________________________________
Shepherds of Christ Ministries,
P.O. Box 193,
Morrow, OH 45152-0193 · fax: 1-513-932-6791
(toll free) 1-888-211-3041 · email: info@sofc.org
|
Given to Father Carter
on the Feast of St. Ignatius
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
Shepherds of Christ
A Spirituality Newsletter for Priests
and Others Interested in the Spiritual Life
2000 - ISSUE FOUR
CAN YOU HELP US?
As you know, we distribute the Newsletter
free of charge. We have been publishing the Newsletter for six years. Although
the fine print on the last page of each Newsletter says that donations are
always welcome, we have, to this date, only made one major appeal for
donations.
Now we come to you again and ask for your
financial assistance. It is considerably expensive to print the Newsletter and
to mail it here in the U.S.A. and to other countries around the world. With
our English and Spanish editions, we send the Newsletter to readers in about
90 countries. We soon hope to add a French edition.
With the help of God’s grace, the
Newsletter seems to be accomplishing much good. The numerous letters we
receive from around the world regarding the Newsletter’s helpfulness are one
indication of this.
If you share with us our belief that the
Newsletter is a very worthwhile ministry, we urgently ask you to seriously
consider sending us a donation. We are always struggling to obtain the funds
to continue publication of the Newsletter.
If you are financially able, we would be
extremely grateful to receive your donation -- whether it is small, large, or
medium-sized! We thank all of you who have previously sent donations.
Some of you may know of possible
benefactors who would be interested in helping a worthy cause. And we firmly
believe that a ministry which offers an aid for spiritual growth to priests
especially, but to others also, is a most worthy endeavor.
For your convenience, we have enclosed a
self-addressed donation envelope.
Very importantly, we also ask for your
prayers that we may obtain the funds necessary to continue publication of the
Newsletter and that the Newsletter will be spiritually beneficial to its
readers. We hope to continue to publish it four to six times a year. The
number of issues will depend upon various factors. Thank you very much for
your attention to our urgent plea.
WE ARE EXPANDING OUR READERSHIP!
We are expanding our circulation by
explicitly inviting to our readership those who are not priests, but who are
interested in the spiritual life.
The Newsletter will still be written
for priests in a special way. Yet we feel much of the material will also be
of interest to those who are not priests.
Chief Shepherd of the Flock
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays
down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and
the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep as soon as he sees a wolf
coming, and runs away, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; he
runs away because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep. I
am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father
knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep.
(Jn 10:11-151)
-
In his encyclical, On Human Work,
Pope John Paul II observes: "The Church is convinced that work is a
fundamental dimension of man’s existence on earth. She is confirmed in
this conviction by considering the whole heritage of the many sciences
devoted to man: anthropology, paleontology, history, sociology,
psychology, and so on; they all seem to bear witness to this reality in an
irrefutable way. But the source of the Church’s conviction is above all
the revealed word of God, and therefore what is a conviction of the
intellect is also a conviction of faith. The reason is that the Church --
and it is worthwhile stating it at this point -- believes in man: she
thinks of man and addresses herself to him not only in the light of
scientific knowledge, but in the first place in the light of the revealed
word of the living God. Relating herself to man, she seeks to express the
eternal designs and transcendent destiny which the living God, the creator
and redeemer, has linked with him.
"The Church finds in the very first
pages of the Book of Genesis the source of her conviction that work is a
fundamental dimension of human existence on earth..."2
-
Again, let us listen to the words of
Pope John Paul II: "The Church considers it her duty to speak out on
work from the viewpoint of its human value and of the moral order to which
it belongs, and she sees this as one of her important tasks within the
service that she renders to the evangelical message as a whole.
"At the same time she sees it as her
particular duty to form a spirituality of work which will help all people to
come closer, through work, to God, the creator and redeemer, to participate
in his salvific plan for man and the world and to deepen their friendship
with Christ in their lives by accepting, through faith, a living
participation in his threefold mission as priest, prophet and king, as the
Second Vatican Council so eloquently teaches."3
"Whether it is engaged in
independently or paid for by someone else, this labor comes immediately from
the person. In a sense, the person stamps the things of nature with his seal
and subdues them to his will. It is ordinarily by his labor that a man
supports himself and his family, is joined to his fellow men and serves
them, and is enabled to exercise genuine charity and be a partner in the
work of bringing God’s creation to perfection. Indeed, we hold that by
offering his labor to God a man becomes associated with the redemptive work
itself of Jesus Christ, who conferred an eminent dignity on labor when at
Nazareth He worked with His own hands.
"From all these considerations there
arise every man’s duty to labor faithfully and also his right to work. It
is the duty of society, moreover, according to the circumstances prevailing
in it, and in keeping with its proper role, to help its citizens find
opportunities for adequate employment. Finally, payment for labor must be
such as to furnish a man with the means to cultivate his own material,
social, cultural, and spiritual life worthily, and that of his dependents.
What this payment should be will vary according to each man’s assignment
and productivity, the conditions of his place of employment, and the common
good."4
-
Fr. Edward Leen, C.S.Sp., speaks to us
about Jesus and His work as a carpenter at Nazareth: "Not even after
Joseph’s death did the existence of Our Lord undergo much change, unless
that it became more laborious. For the support of the family and its care
of the poor devolved, then, entirely on His shoulders. He had to work hard
in order to keep Himself and His Mother and to have something to give to
others less favoured than themselves. Unremitting toil became His lot, and
the soft hands of the boy became roughened and hardened with the constant
pressure of the tools of His trade. Work could not have been plentiful in
the confines of that narrow village and it is likely that He had, often,
to go abroad to look for employment. He had to face rebuffs from those who
needed not His services, and discourtesy and rudeness from those who
employed Him. The Nazarenes were not a polite people. As He handed over to
His grumbling clients the accomplished tasks, He had to hold forth His
hand to receive His wages...There is something inexpressibly touching in
this picture of God receiving from His creatures the wages He earned in
their employment!...
"A monotonous life, one would say,
but this would be a very superficial judgment; monotony consists in the dull
repetition of acts, uninteresting, devoid of significance and all stamped
with the character of sameness. But there is no monotony in the soul’s
relations with God. Each act in which it expresses its love for its Creator
is fresh with the freshness of novelty; each communication of the love of
the Creator to the creature comes with all the charm of a new revelation.
Each step forward in the knowledge of God makes it seem to us as if we had
never known Him before. And the external material acts which proceed from
the soul enjoying this intimacy with the Lord partake of this quality of
freshness and novelty. Although to the senses each little task of the day
resembles in all respects that of the day before, yet, in reality, these
tasks that recur are not the same. The newness and freshness given by a
greater love in the doing far surpasses the newness given by a material
change in the occupation. The love of God is never stationary. It grows with
each act done in the fullness of actual charity possessed by the soul. Hence
for the saint the task of today, which materially resembles the task of
yesterday, is clothed with all the charm of novelty, for it is transmuted
and transfigured by a greater love. All men naturally desire to be great. To
achieve greatness it is not necessary to seek it afar or to ascend into the
heights in its pursuit. It lies at our door and is within the reach of all.
It is found by bringing a great love of God to bear on the doing of the most
ordinary of life’s tasks. Our Lord in His hidden life has shown how we may
attain to greatness and perfection in the accomplishment of the humblest of
life’s duties."5
Upon reflection, we can see the
consequences of this. When work, for whatever reason, is interfering with
our relationship with God and others, something is obviously wrong. For
example, an upward-moving professional becomes so absorbed in his work, so
taken with the idea of promotion and salary increase, that he becomes
extremely narrow-minded. Concern for God and others is relegated to the far
recesses of consciousness where it has little effect upon the person’s
thoughts and activities.
Even though we claim such an extreme
situation does not describe our own, we nevertheless can fall prey to lesser
faults. For instance, we diminish the time we should rightfully be spending
with family members and friends. Perhaps we become so absorbed with our work
that we claim we have little time for prayer. If we find ourselves in such
circumstances, we must make an effort to confront ourselves with this
question, "What is the God-given purpose of work?" Surely, if we
are honest, we must say that our work should first be done for the love of
God. If we work from this proper motive, we are acting for our own benefit
also, for what is done for God and others promotes our own good also. And
work done for God must be accomplished according to His will.
Much of our contemporary society places
great emphasis on external success, the recognition of one’s work, and the
earning of more and more money -- and all of this, in a very secularistic
manner with little regard for God and neighbor. In such an atmosphere, it is
not easy to maintain the Christian perspective of work. In many ways we must
go counter-culture. If we do so, we will be following One Who Himself was
not afraid to go against certain cultural aspects of His own times. His name
is Jesus.
-
Thomas
Merton observes: "All Christian life is meant to be at the same time
profoundly contemplative and rich in active work. This must not be
mistaken for a kind of semipelagian productivism which is obsessed with
visible results and enamoured of technological prowess. It is true that we
are called to create a better world. But we are first of all called to a
more exalted task: that of creating our own lives. In doing this, we act
as co-workers with God. We take our place in the great work of mankind,
since in effect the creation of our own destiny, in God, is impossible in
pure isolation. Each one of us works out his own destiny in inseparable
union with all those others with whom God has willed us to live. We share
with one another the creative work of living in the world. And it is
through our struggle with material reality, with nature, that we help one
another create at the same time our own destiny and a new world for our
descendants. This work of man, which is his peculiar and inescapable
vocation, is a prolongation of the creative work of God Himself. Failure
to measure up to this challenge and to meet this creative responsibility
is to fail in that response to life which is required of us by the will of
our Father and Creator."6
-
His
answer to them was, ‘My Father still goes on working, and I am at work,
too.’ (Jn 5: 17)
-
Here are
words of St. Paul: We urged you when we were with you not to let anyone
eat who refused to work. Now we hear that there are some of you who are
living lives without any discipline, doing no work themselves but
interfering with other people’s. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we urge and
call on people of this kind to go on quietly working and earning the food
that they eat. (2 Th. 3: 10-11)
- St. Paul himself was no stranger to hard work: You
remember, brothers, with what unsparing energy we used to work, slaving
night and day so as not to be a burden on any one of you while we were
proclaiming the gospel of God to you. (1 Th 2: 9)
-
Cardinal
Newman tells us: "Christ Himself vouchsafes to repeat in each of us
in figure and mystery all that He did and suffered in the flesh. He is
formed in us, born in us, suffers in us, rises again in us, lives in us;
and this not by a succession of events, but all at once."7
-
The following words emphasize the
profound union that is meant to exist between Jesus and the Christian:
"The mysteries of the life of Jesus are not dead, static, historical
happenings that have been. They are living and dynamic. They have been
lived for the members of Christ. All the states that the Saviour
traversed, all the human experiences that He willed to go through, have
for their purpose the sanctification of all that enters into a man’s
deliberate life. These mysteries of His have accumulated vast reservoirs
of merit in order to communicate this human-divine quality to the
Christian’s doings and sufferings...The events of the New Testament give
us life. Into these latter has passed the vitality of the Incarnation.
That vitality is ever ready to communicate itself to all parts of the
Mystical Body, vivifying them with the divine life of Christ.
"That this divinizing process take
place, there is required a willed contact between the individual and Christ.
This contact is effected by the activity of the virtue of faith. It is
perfected by sympathy and love. The Christian who wills to have the life of
Christ develop in himself, must consent to ‘steep’ mind, imagination and
heart in the earthly career of Jesus. He must aim at a sympathy with
the Saviour in all that He went through. He must strive to identify himself
with the Divine Master, to think with Him, to feel with Him, to judge with
Him, to see with His eyes and to speak with His tongue. He must will to be
as the Saviour was in all these incidents."8
-
Romano Guardini speaks about Jesus.
"Love proceeded from Him everywhere. We encounter love all about Him.
But we want to seek it out in the flaming, radiant center. Love is what He
shows toward the delicate blossoming of His Father’s creation, when He
speaks of the lilies of the field, and how God has clothed them more
magnificently than Solomon in all his glory. He shows love toward all
things...
"...Love is what seizes Our Lord when
He sees the obscure, abandoned masses of the people, and takes pity on
them...There is something heroic, strong, in this love for people forsaken,
in distress... It is love again when He receives the sick; when He lets that
great sea of misery wash up to Him; when He lifts up, strengthens, heals...
Oh, this tremendous Lover and the might and majesty of His heart taking up
arms against the massive world-force of sorrow, magnificently sure of His
inexhaustible power to comfort, to strengthen, to bless!"9
St. Alphonsus Ligouri, Doctor of the Church,
speaks to us concerning the Father’s love for us manifested in the gift of
His Son to us: "All holiness and perfection of soul lies in our love for
Jesus Christ our God, who is our redeemer and our supreme good. It is part of
the love of God to acquire and to nurture all the virtues which make a man
perfect.
"Has not God in fact won for himself a
claim on all of our love? From all eternity he has loved us. And it is in this
vein that he speaks to us: ‘Oh man, consider carefully that I first loved
you. You had not yet appeared in the light of day, nor did the world yet
exist, but already I loved you. From all eternity I have loved you.’
"Since God knew that man is enticed by
favors, he wished to bind him to his love by means of his gifts: ‘I want to
catch men with the snares, those chains of love in which they allow themselves
to be entrapped, so that they will love me.’ And all the gifts which he
bestowed on man were given to this end. He gave him a soul, made in his
likeness, and endowed with memory, intellect and will; he gave him a body
equipped with the senses; it was for him that he created heaven and earth and
such an abundance of things. He made all these things out of love for man, so
that all creation might serve man, and man in turn might love God out of
gratitude for so many gifts.
"But he did not wish to give us only
beautiful creatures; the truth is that to win for himself our love, he went so
far as to bestow upon us the fullness of himself. The eternal Father went so
far as to give us his only Son. When he saw that we were all dead through sin
and deprived of his grace, what did he do? Compelled, as the apostle says, by
the superabundance of his love for us, he sent his beloved Son to make
reparation for us and to call us back to a sinless life.
"By giving us his Son, whom he did not
spare precisely so that he might spare us, he bestowed on us at once every
good..."10
Archbishop Luis M. Martinez instructs us:
"Consecration to the Holy Spirit must be total: nothing must draw us away
from His loving possession. Undoubtedly vacillations and deficiencies are part
of our imperfection, but even so, our love must not be extinguished. Rather,
it must lift its divine flame toward infinite love in the midst of all human
vicissitudes.
"True devotion to the Holy Spirit,
therefore, is not something superficial and intermittent, but something
profound and constant, like Christian life itself; it is the love of the soul
that corresponds to the love of God, the gift of the creature who tries to be
grateful for the divine Gift, the human cooperation that receives the loving
and efficacious action of God. As divine love is eternal, its gift without
repentance and its action constant, it is our part to have our heart always
open to love, ready to receive the unspeakable gift, and to keep all our
powers docile to the divine movement."11
Here are inspiring words concerning Mary
from Fr. Joseph Dean, SCJ:
Blessed Virgin Mary,
by faith and the power of the Spirit,
you bore God for our salvation.
In your days on earth,
you pointed to Jesus, your Son, and said:
"Do whatever he tells you."
With your Son’s beloved disciple,
you stood at the foot of the cross.
You believed in the midst of the night.
You loved with a pierced soul.
Mary, my mother,
pray for me today.
May I follow Jesus as you did,
welcoming the Holy Spirit,
responding to your Son’s love,
living in communion with his love for the Father,
cooperating with his work of redemption in the
midst of the world.
In this way, may my heart be joined with yours.
May I follow your example of faith and love
bringing the Heart of your Son to the
heart of the world.
Amen.
-
At the
Last Supper, on the night He was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the
Eucharistic Sacrifice of His Body and Blood. He did this in order to
perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the centuries until He
should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved spouse, the Church, a
memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of
unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed,
the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to
us. (Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, No. 17) 12
-
The
Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ’s faithful, when
present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or
silent spectators. On the contrary, through a proper appreciation of the
rites and prayers they should participate knowingly, devoutly, and
actively. They should be instructed by God’s word and be refreshed at
the table of the Lord’s body; they should give thanks to God; by
offering the Immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest,
but also with him, they should learn to offer themselves too. Through
Christ the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into ever closer
union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all.
(Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, No. 48) 13
-
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) 14
-
The Sacrifice of Calvary is
sacramentally made present in the Mass. When we pray the Morning Offering
Prayer, united to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we act as intercessors,
pleading to God that great graces be released all day through our
prayerful actions as we act in love according to the Father’s will.
Whether we are eating, taking care of a sick parent, enjoying time spent
with a friend, working at our job, we can help bring down great graces for
the world.
When we pray the Morning Offering Prayer
we offer our lives to the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, with
the prayerful assistance of Mary, our Mother. Let us pray together united in
our hearts in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. There follows a Morning
Offering Prayer.
"My dear Father, I offer You this
day all my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings in union with Jesus in the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in the Holy Spirit.
"I unite with our Mother, Mary, all
the angels and saints, and all the souls in purgatory to pray to the
Father for myself, for each member of my family, for my friends, for all
the people throughout the world, for all the souls in purgatory, and for
all other intentions of the Sacred Heart.
"I love You, Jesus, and I give You
my heart. I love you, Mary, and I give you my heart. Amen."
-
From a spiritual journal we are given
these words: "When a priest is filled with the love of Jesus, he
unites more deeply with Christ in the great sacrifice being offered to the
Father. The faithful more easily see Jesus, through the priest, offering
sacrifice to the Father. They more easily experience, at this great
sacrifice, the presence of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
"At the Mass we unite in offering
sacrifice to the Father. We all unite as one and give ourselves in such
oneness with Jesus, in such love to the Father, in the Holy Spirit. We
desire to die to all the things that are not of God and join in the great
miracle taking place. The Father looks down and He sees the sacrifice of His
Son being offered through His priest. Heaven unites to earth. Earth cries
out in such jubilation at the great gift of the Almighty God, and we unite
as creatures giving ourselves as a sacrifice to our beloved Creator. Do we
experience the presence of God as His power flows through His priest, who
takes bread and wine, and changes them into the Body and Blood of our Lord?
Do we hear Jesus speak, as He did at the Last Supper, with the intensity in
His voice reflecting the knowledge of the upcoming events of His passion and
death?
"Do we hear the priest say the words
of consecration with the emotion of Jesus about to give His life for His
beloved ones? And the earth stands still. There is, at that moment, the
sacrifice of Calvary sacramentally made present through the words of the
priest. Oh, that God so loved the world to give His only Son as a sacrifice,
and that God wants us in this deep oneness with Him! I give You myself, my
Savior, my beloved Jesus, as You so willingly gave Yourself to me on
Calvary. I want to die and rise more and more with You in the deepest
possible love for You and for those for whom You died a brutal, bloody death
on the cross, and for whom You rose gloriously from the dead!"
-
The Directory on the Ministry and
Life of Priests tells us: "The command of the Lord: go to all the
nations (Mt 28: 18-20) definitively expresses the place of the priest in
front of the Church. Sent -- missus -- by the Father by means of
Christ, the priest pertains in ‘an immediate’ way to the universal
Church...
"The spiritual gift received by
priests in Ordination prepares them for a wide and universal mission of
salvation. In fact, through Orders and the ministry received, all priests
are associated with the Episcopal Body and, in hierarchical communion with
it, according to their vocation and grace, they serve the good of the entire
Church. Therefore, the membership to a particular church, through
incardination, must not enclose the priest in a restricted and
particularistic mentality, but rather should open him to the service of
other churches, because each church is the particular realization of the
only Church of Jesus Christ, such that the universal Church lives and
fulfills her mission in and from the particular churches in effective
communion with her. Thus, all the priests must have a missionary heart and
mind and be open to the needs of the Church and the world."15
-
Pope John Paul II speaks to his brother
priests: "The priest always, and in an unchangeable way, finds the
source of his identity in Christ the Priest. It is not the world which
determines his status, as though it depended on changing needs or ideas
about social roles. The priest is marked with the seal of the Priesthood
of Christ, in order to share in his function as the one Mediator and
Redeemer.
"So, because of this fundamental
bond, there opens before the priest the immense field of the service of
souls, for their salvation in Christ and in the Church.
"This service must be completely
inspired by love of souls in imitation of Christ who gives his life for
them. It is God’s wish that all people should be saved, and that none of
the little ones should be lost...
"The priest is for the laity: he
animates them and supports them in the exercise of the common Priesthood of
the baptized -- so well illustrated by the Second Vatican Council -- which
consists in their making their lives a spiritual offering, in witnessing to
the Christian spirit in the family, in taking charge of the temporal sphere
and sharing in the evangelization of their brethren. But the service of the
priest belongs to another order. He is ordained to act in the name of Christ
the Head, to bring people into the new life made accessible by Christ, to
dispense to them -- the Word, forgiveness, the Bread of Life -- to gather
them into his Body, to help them to form themselves from within, to live and
to act according to the saving plan of God. In a word, our identity as
priests is manifested in the ‘creative’ exercise of the love for souls
communicated by Christ Jesus.
"Attempts to make the priest more
like the laity are damaging to the Church. This does not mean in any way
that the priest can remain remote from the human concerns of the laity: he
must be very near to them, as John Mary Vianney was, but as a priest, always
in a perspective which is that of their salvation and of the progress of the
Kingdom of God. He is the witness and dispenser of a life other than earthly
life. It is essential to the Church that the identity of the priest be
safeguarded, with its vertical dimension. The life and personality of the
Curé of Ars are a particularly enlightening and vigorous illustration of
this."16
-
Fr. Jean Galot, S.J., gives us these
words: "By tracing our steps back to the origin of the priestly
ministry, we can find in the very words of Christ a principle of unity by
reference to which all the priestly functions can be grasped as a unity.
This is the quality of the shepherd. Jesus defines himself as a shepherd,
thus suggesting what constitutes the ministry of his own priesthood. Since
his priesthood is a new and original creation, and loftier than the Jewish
priesthood, it is the shepherd’s quality that best epitomizes the
priestly functions.
"Christ the shepherd leads the flock
by the word he speaks and guarantees the truth of his teaching by the
supreme testimony which is the gift of his own self. He offers himself in
sacrifice in order to impart to his sheep a bountiful life, especially
through the Eucharist. By leading the flock, he makes it one. The three
functions -- preaching, worship, and leadership -- become the expression of
the shepherd’s love, and from that love they draw their inspiration."17
-
Henri Nouwen,
one of the most popular spiritual writers of our times, observes:
"Prayer is often considered a weakness, a support system, which is
used when we can no longer help ourselves. But this is only true when the
God of our prayers is created in our image and adapted to our own needs
and concerns. When, however, prayer makes us reach out to God, not on our
own but on his terms, then prayer pulls us away from self-preoccupation,
encourages us to enter into a new world which cannot be contained within
the narrow boundaries of our mind and heart. Prayer, therefore, is a great
adventure because the God with whom we enter into a new relationship is
greater than we are and defies all our calculations and predictions. The
movement from illusion to prayer is hard to make since it leads from false
certainties to true uncertainties, from an easy support system to ...
surrender, and from the many ‘safe’ gods to the God whose love has no
limits."18
-
Nouwen spent a number of months in a
Trappist monastery. During his stay in the monastery, he derived this
insight concerning the life of contemplation, a life all are called to
share according to their state of life and particular occupation:
"Contemplative life is a human response to the fundamental fact that
the central things in life, although spiritually perceptible, remain
invisible in large measure and can easily be overlooked by the
inattentive, busy, distracted person that each of us can so readily
become. The contemplative looks, not so much around things, but through
them into their center."19
"I asked them, ‘Where did you get
so much money?’
"They answered, ‘We got married two
days ago. Before we got married we had decided not to celebrate the wedding,
not to buy wedding clothes, not to have a reception or a honeymoon. We
wanted to give you the money we saved.’
"I know what such a decision meant,
especially for a Hindu family.
"That is why I asked them, ‘But how
did you think of such a thing?’
" ‘We love each other so much,’
they answered, ‘that we wanted to share the joy of our love with those you
serve.’
"To share: what a beautiful
thing!"20
"Of those who have died in our
houses, I have never seen anyone die in despair or cursing. They have all
died serenely.
"I took a man I had picked up from
the street to our House for the Dying in Calcutta.
"When I was leaving, he told me, ‘I
have lived like an animal on the streets, but I am going to die like an
angel. I will die smiling.’
"He did die smiling, because he felt
loved and surrounded by care.
"That is the greatness of our
poor!"21
The well-known and respected theologian,
Avery Dulles, S.J., has rendered a distinct service to us all in summarizing
much of Pope John Paul II’s theological thought in his book, The Splendor
of Faith: The Theological Vision of Pope John Paul II. Dulles points out
the great importance for our times of John Paul II as theologian: "Among
the Catholic theologians of the second half of this century, John Paul II
holds a place of special eminence. Perhaps more than any other single
individual he has succeeded in comprehensively restating the contours of
Catholic faith in the light of Vatican II and in relation to post-conciliar
developments in the Church and in the world. With his keen interest in
contemporary culture, philosophy, economics, and international affairs, he has
been able to give fresh relevance to the Catholic tradition. Avoiding the
pitfalls of compromise and polemics, he has offered a serene and balanced
presentation of what Catholics may and should believe on a multitude of
questions. No private theologian, however brilliant, speaks with comparable
authority."22
In his concluding words to the book, Dulles
says: "This final summary, which restates themes more fully explained in
the preceding chapters, may be warranted because of the breadth and complexity
of the teaching of John Paul II. He has written so voluminously on so many
topics that it is easy to lose sight of the unity and coherence of his
thought. His theological vision reaches back to the origins of revealed
religion and outward to the furthest reaches of human communication. While
making himself the faithful guardian of the deposit of faith, this pope shows
an astonishing openness to dialogue with other churches, other religions, and
the secular worlds of science and technology. Guided by his philosophical
studies and his experience of the Second Vatican Council, he has forged a
Christocentric humanism and a dynamic personalism capable of encountering and
respectfully challenging all opposing ideologies and spiritual movements. The
Catholic Church and, I submit, the world at large have been greatly blessed by
the intellectual leadership of this brilliant, energetic, and prayerful
successor of Peter."23
Pope John Paul II tells us: "Love for
others, and in the first place love for the poor, in whom the Church sees
Christ himself, is made concrete in the promotion of justice. Justice
will never be fully attained unless people see in the poor person, who is
asking for help in order to survive, not an annoyance or a burden, but an
opportunity for showing kindness and a chance for greater enrichment. Only
such an awareness can give the courage needed to face the risk and the change
involved in every authentic attempt to come to the aid of another. It is not
merely a matter of ‘giving from one’s surplus,’ but of helping entire
peoples which are presently excluded or marginalized to enter into the sphere
of economic and human development. For this to happen, it is not enough to
draw on the surplus goods which in fact our world abundantly produces; it
requires above all a change of lifestyles, of models of production and
consumption, and of the established structures of power which today govern
societies. Nor is it a matter of eliminating instruments of social
organization which have proved useful, but rather of orienting them according
to an adequate notion of the common good in relation to the whole human
family."24
"Jesus, You show us Your Heart as
symbol of Your life of love in all its aspects, including Your most special
love for each of us as unique individuals. Out of Your great love for us, You
died a brutal death, nailed to the wood of the cross. Out of Your great love
for us, You rose gloriously from the dead.
"From Your pierced Heart the Church
with her life-giving Sacraments was born. In the Eucharist, Crown and Center
of the Church’s life, You continue to give Yourself to us with the deepest,
most tender, most on-fire, most complete love.
"Jesus, since in Your great love You
give Yourself so completely to us, it is only fitting that we make a gift to
You in return. It is entirely fitting that we give ourselves completely to
You. Yes, we consecrate ourselves to Your most loving Heart. Each of us says
to You, O Lord, our Savior and our Friend: ‘Jesus, take me wholly, take me
completely to Your magnificent Heart. Out of love I give myself to You. Live
in and through me. In love You give Yourself completely to me. In love and in
a spirit of reparation, I want to give myself, with the help of Your grace,
entirely to You. Take me, Jesus, to an ever closer union with the Father, in
the Holy Spirit, with Mary my Mother at my side. Pierced, Glorified,
Eucharistic 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, including your most special love for me as this unique individual. You
are the Mother of my Savior. You are also my Mother. 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,
Glorified, Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock."
Many of the laity pray for us priests, and
consistently so. Is it not also fitting that we priests pray for all our
brothers in the priesthood, and consistently so? There follows a prayer that
can aid us in this endeavor.
"Lord Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the
Flock, we pray that in the great love and mercy of Your Sacred Heart that
You attend to all the needs of Your priest-shepherds throughout the world.
We ask that You draw back to Your Heart all those priests who have seriously
strayed from Your path, that You rekindle the desire for holiness in the
hearts of those priests who have become lukewarm, and that You continue to
give Your fervent priests the desire for the highest holiness. United with
Your Heart and Mary’s Heart, we ask that You take this petition to Your
heavenly Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen".
The above prayer is taken from the prayer
manual of Shepherds of Christ Associates, a facet of Shepherds of Christ
Ministries. The associates are members of prayer groups which meet regularly
to pray for all the needs of the entire human family, but most especially for
priests. If you would like a copy, or copies, of this prayer manual, and
further, if you would like information on how to begin a Shepherds of Christ
prayer chapter, contact us at:
Shepherds of Christ
P.O. Box 193
Morrow, Ohio 45152-0193 U.S.A.
Phone (toll free): 1-888-211-3041,
Phone: 1-513-932-4451
Fax: 1-513-932-6791
The latest special issue of Shepherds
of Christ is very good (Issue 3, 2000). I like the idea that you are
expanding it so that although aimed for the needs of priests it is an
available resource for lay people as well. It will keep it more viable in
the long run. But the choice of articles and topics in the issue are an
excellent thematic list of the major spiritual topics of today.
My best,
Lawrence Boadt, CSP
Paulist Press
Mahwah, NJ
Please let me tell you how much I am
grateful for your "Shepherds of Christ" newsletter. I received the
Issue 3, 2000, manual from a long-time family friend and monk who handed it
along to my family. The articles are interesting and inspirational!
I am a 20-year old college student and I
attend a private, secular school. The prayers and articles in
"Shepherds of Christ" help me understand the Eucharist and live a
life focused on Jesus. I especially like the Act of Consecration prayer. It
is so beautiful! I say it daily.
Thank you again and may God bless all
those involved in the "Shepherds of Christ" ministry.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Deignan
Farmingdale, New Jersey
I just finished reading the Special Issue
"Overview of the Spiritual Life" Excellent! Please send me the
book form of the 1st 12 issues.
Thank you.
In Christ
Fr. Gerald Sherer
Hermosa, SD
Mabuhay! Greetings from the Philippines!
Please allow me to congratulate you for the expansion of your readership. It
is indeed true that even the laity would benefit from your spiritual
publication. As for my case, I am not yet a priest yet I found your notes to
be helpful in my personal spiritual journey. Thus, I am asking for a
personal copy of Shepherds of Christ. The ones that I had been reading were
given by a fellow seminarian. May I also request the audiocasette recording
of your previous issues. Thank you very much for your dedication. May
Mary’s protection never leave you in your life.
In Christ
Sem. Nono Acompanado
Holy Rosary Major Seminary
Concepcion Heights, Naga City
Philippines
Greetings in the name of the Risen Lord! I
hope you had a good Lent and a joyful celebration of Easter. Here at St.
Anne the Vigil and the Easter Sunday celebrations were memorable.
Father, since the time I started receiving
these spiritual newsletters through my Vicar General Mons. Joseph Kimu of
St. John the Baptist Major Seminary in the diocese of Mangochi here in
Malawi, I feel my spiritual life has been enriched tremendously.
On the other side, I would like to welcome
most gratefully the idea of extending the readership to the laity.
I think there could be some food for them too. We as priests, and they as
the flock need each other’s assistance.
Sincerely in the Risen Christ
Rev. Fr. Lucious Kamwana
St. Anne Catholic Parish
Balaka - Malawi - AFRICA
I have been receiving your newsletters for
over a year now and have enjoyed it immensely. Every issue I read from front
to back. I am now 48 years ordained and each newsletter renews me
spiritually.
Enclosed is a little donation. I enjoy
each issue very much.
Yours in Christ and Mary,
Father John Graham, C. SS. R
St. Cecilia’s Rectory
New York, NY
-
Scripture quotations are taken from The
New Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday.
-
Pope John Paul II, Encyclical
Letter. On Human Work, United States Catholic Conference, No. 4.
-
Ibid., No. 24.
-
The Documents of Vatican II,
"The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World",
No. 68. America Press edition.
-
Edward Leen, C.S. Sp., In the
Likeness of Christ, Sheed and Ward, pp. 126-128.
-
Thomas Merton, Love and Living,
Harcourt Brace and Company, pp. 177-178.
-
John Henry Cardinal Newman,
"Parochial and Plain Sermons", v, pp 139-40, as in The
Heart of Newman, A Synthesis Arranged by Erich Przywara, S.J.,
Ignatius Press, pp. 171- 172.
-
Edward Leen, C. S. Sp., The True
Vine and Its Branches, P. J. Kenedy & Sons, pp. 25-26.
-
Romano Guardini, Jesus Christ,
Henry Regnery Publ., as in Daily Readings in Catholic Classics,
edited by Rawley Myers, Ignatius Press, p. 85.
-
St. Alphonsus Ligouri, Tract, de
praxi amanda Jesum Christum, edit. latina, Romae, 1909, pp. 9-14, as
in the The Liturgy of the Hours, Catholic Book Publishing Co.,
Vol IV, pp. 1264-1265.
-
Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, The
Sanctifier, Pauline Books & Media, p. 48
-
The Documents of Vatican II,
"Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy", America Press edition,
No. 17.
-
Ibid., No. 48
-
Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Letter, Mystici
Corporis, AAS, XXXV, 232-233.
-
Directory on the Ministry and Life
of Priests, as in special supplement, Inside the Vatican,
November 1994, No. 14.
-
Pope John Paul II, Holy Thursday
Letters to My Brother Priests, edited by James P. Socias, Scepter
Publishers and Midwest Theological Forum, pp. 147-148.
-
Jean Galot, S.J., Theology of the
Priesthood, Ignatius Press, p. 137.
-
Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out,
Doubleday, pp. 89-90.
-
Henri Nouwen, Genesee Diary,
Doubleday, p. 361.
-
Mother Teresa, In My Own Words,
Ligouri Publications, p. 19.
-
Ibid., p. 71.
-
Avery Dulles, S.J., The Splendor of
Faith: The Theological Vision of Pope John Paul II, Crossroad
Publishing Company, pp. 1-2.
-
Ibid., p. 196.
-
Pope John Paul II, Encyclical
Letter, On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum, St. Paul
Books & Media, No. 58.
end of Priestly Newsletter 2000 - Issue 4
June 27, 2004 message continues
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All scripture quotes are from the New Jerusalem Bible, July 1990, published by Doubleday.
Revised: June 27, 2004
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