Daily Writing
| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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June 8, 2009
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June 9th Holy Spirit
Novena |
The Novena Rosary
Mysteries |
China Retreat
June 10th - 13th
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Prayer Cards available
Holy Spirit Prayer Act of Consecration to
Immaculate Heart of MaryAct of Consecration to
Sacred Heart of JesusPrayer for Priests
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| Prayer before the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass |
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Prayer for Union with Jesus |
Available for .25¢ each plus postage
Call Kathleen
1-888-211-3041
The church needs to have the stucco replaced
and also the community building.
It is about $38,000 to repair it.
People pray in the church 24 hours a day.
We have prayed in there for 11 years.
The archdiocese gave the church to us
for this purpose for a small price.
Can you help us?
Available for $10.00 each plus postage
Call Kathleen
1-888-211-3041
June 8, 2009
Rita's brother
Fr. Joe Robinson
Easter Sunday
Acts 10, 25-26, 34-35, 44-48
and as Peter reached the house Cornelius went out to meet him, fell at his feet and did him reverence. But Peter helped him up. 'Stand up,' he said, ' after all, I am only a man!'
Then Peter addressed them, ‘I now really understand’, he said, ‘that God has no favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
While Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit came down on all the listeners. Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were all astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should be poured out on gentiles too, since they could hear them speaking strange languages and proclaiming the greatness of God. Peter himself then said, 'Could anyone refuse the water of baptism to these people, now they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?' He then gave orders for them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterwards they begged him to stay on for some days.
1 John 4: 7-10
My dear friends,
let us love one another,
since love is from God
and everyone who loves
is a child of God and knows God.
Whoever fails to love does not know God,
because God is love.
This is the revelation
of God’s love for us,
that God sent his only Son into the world
that we might have life through him.
Love consists in this:
it is not we who loved God,
but God loved us and sent his Son
to expiate our sins.
John 15: 9-17
I have loved you
just as the Father has loved me.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept
my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
and your joy be complete.
This is my commandment:
love one another,
as I have loved you.
No one can have greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends,
if you do what I command you.
I shall no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know
the master’s business;
I call you friends,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me,
no, I chose you;
and I commissioned you
to go out and to bear fruit,
fruit that will last;
so that the Father will give you
anything you ask him in my name.
My command to you
is to love one another.
Available $10.00 plus shipping
Call Kathleen
1-888-211-3041
Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 17, 2009
INTRODUCTION: The issue in today’s first reading (Acts 10, 25-26,34-35,44-48) is how the Apostles (who were Jews) should deal with Gentiles (who were pagans) when these Gentiles came to believe in Jesus. The Apostles believed God revealed his law to Moses. Shouldn’t pagan converts to Jesus be required to also follow all that was in the Jewish law: circumcision, strict dietary laws, special feast days, etc.?
St. Peter, the leader of the community, received the answer to this question in a most unusual way. While Peter was in prayer, God gave Peter a vision of many different birds and animals. Many of them were birds and animals the Jews were not allowed to eat, such as pork, shrimp, clams, oysters and many other creatures. (Lev. 11,1-23) God told Peter to eat them. Peter said he would never eat anything forbidden. God said to him: “What God has made clean, you are not to call unclean.” God said this three times to Peter. When the vision disappeared, God told Peter there were some men coming to see him and he was to go with them to the home of a Gentile named Cornelius, a high officer in the Roman army. A strict Jew was not allowed to enter a Gentile’s house, but God told him to, so he did. When Peter got there he spoke to Cornelius and his relatives and friends about Jesus. As Peter finished speaking, Cornelius and all who were with him were filled with the Holy Spirit. This event is the background for today’s first reading. Peter’s entire speech is not included in the reading. The liturgy wants to get right to the point - that God’s love in Jesus is meant for all people. Peter had finally understood what God had told him in his vision, and without requiring these pagans to be circumcised or requiring them to accept Jewish traditions and customs, he gave the order that they should be baptized.
HOMILY: (2nd Reading: I Jn: 4,7-10; Gospel: Jn 15,9-17) Probably for most people it may seem like we celebrated Easter two months ago. But the Church continues to celebrate it. Our daily Masses and prayers all reflect an Easter theme and they are filled with Alleluia’s. Liturgically it’s a beautiful time of the year. We will celebrate Easter for two more weeks.
Every Easter I can’t help wondering why Jesus offers us a share in his risen life, why God wants us to live with him forever. Why doesn’t God just forget us? In this immense universe God created, we are so small. Why should God go to all the trouble he did to bring us eternal life? Maybe we’ve never asked ourselves these questions. Maybe we think we are such charming, wonderful creatures that God can’t help loving us. Well, we know we humans are not always such wonderful, charming individuals, but it is true that God can’t help loving us because that’s the way God is. God is love St. John tells us in today’s second reading. Just like the sun has to shine because that’s what the sun does, God loves us because that’s what God does. Yet in spite of our imperfections, God’s love reaches out to all people. This was the big revelation we heard about in today’s first reading. The Jews presumed they had a monopoly on God’s love. Indeed, they did have a monopoly in that God gave them the special gift of his revelation before the time of Jesus, but Jesus fulfilled all that had gone before and revealed that God is calling all people to know his saving love.
We need to know that even though God can’t help loving us, because God is love, we will never know the joy he wants to share with us, unless we follow the path he has marked out for us. In today’s gospel he tells us, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete.” But just like the clouds can block the light of the sun, our sins, our indifference, our neglect can get in the way of God’s love that is there for us. He has told us what we need to do. He summed it up in his new commandment: “Love one another as I love you.” This is called a new commandment because previously he told us to love our neighbor as ourselves. That’s possible for any of us to do, but being able to love as Jesus does, to “love one another as I have loved you…,” that’s really asking a lot. Jesus is God. Can we love like God does? We can, but only with the help of his Holy Spirit who dwells in us and who seeks to transform us into being like Christ.
One of the ways he has loved us is that he laid down his life for us. Can we do that for someone? Many people do. We read about heroes all the time who have risked their lives for someone else. There are people who have dedicated their lives to a job or a vocation where they are less interested in getting rich than they are in doing good for others. I asked the school children in our upper grades yesterday “who would be willing to give up their life for another person?” Only one girl raised her hand. When I asked them if you saw a friend crossing the street and there was a car coming they didn’t see it, would you risk your life to run into the street to push them out of the way? Quite a number would. I think many of us are more Christ-like than we imagine ourselves to be. I can’t help but mention those who sacrifice their time and energy to serve those who are the most vulnerable in society - the poor, the aged and the unborn.
We have to know that when Jesus talks about “love” he’s not talking about the mating instinct, which is good but which is too often exploited in the media as the only kind of love that has any importance. Jesus is talking about giving of ourselves for the benefit of another as he did for us. When he talks about “love,” he’s not just talking about warm fuzzy feelings, which come and go, but he is talking about a dedication and commitment to serve God and others. When he’s talking about “love,” he’s not talking about always speaking of love; he’s talking about action: “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my heavenly father.” Words are important and I think married couples should tell each other they love each other and they should do it all the time, but love is more than words.
Love is the key to everything: it explains why God created us, it explains why Jesus came to earth, it explains why God wants us to live with him forever, it explains the Mass we celebrate, and it explains how we are to act toward one another. Amen.
Betty is a handmaid who has prayed in the
China Church for 11 years. To get from her
house to the church she uses a walker and
must go over a creek and a little bridge.
We wanted a little place she could rest
by the Church. We need about $1,000 to
make this happen. Can you help us?
We are trying to get
Response to God's Love
and the Mass Book out.
Anybody who wants to help us
with a donation to get these 2 books
out in the Priestly/hierarchy mailing —
Please call Kathleen 1-888-211-3041
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)
The China Church is over 140 years old
and we pray in there 24 hours a day.
It needs stucco and so does
the community building.
Can you please help us?
Call Kathleen 1-888-211-3041
Likewise the priest house
is 150 years old.
Jesus told us to repair it
which we have been doing.
We need $13,000.00 for this work.
Buying a Crucifix!
$750.00
$820.00 with stand
You can help put the Blue Book V
in the hands of 1,000 people
we need $1,200 postage for this
It is ready to go
Call Kathleen
1-888-211-3041
You can help put Fr. Joe's homily
book in the hands of
1,000 priests — it costs $1,100
This can help 1,000 parish priests
talk about Covenant for Lent
Please help us
It is ready to go
Call Kathleen 1-888-211-3041
From the Building of the 2 Hearts
All with embroidered logo
Beautiful Fleece with
embroidered logo
$25.00 plus shipping
Berri Pink
Round neck T shirts $13.00 & postage
embroidered logo
Call Kathleen for colors
Women V Neck T shirts - $16.00
Grocery Tote - $9.00
Call Kathleen to Order any of the items below
1-888-211-3041
