| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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June 9
, 2014|
June 10th Holy Spirit
Novena |
The Novena Rosary
Mysteries |
Please pray for Rosie, Dan, Special Intention, Blue Book 13
Given March 21, 2014
R. Pray for These Things
1)
Sally Jo, Richard, Carol, Margaret, Sue, Jack & Jean.
Special intentions
2) Pray for the priests, the Church and the world!
3) Pray for the spread of prayer chapters,
also for the spread of priests doing prayer chapters.
4) Pray for the spread of Blue Books.
5) People going to Florida and China.
6) Vocations to all 7 categories.
7) Pray for spread of Consecration and Rosary.
8) Pray for pope helping us.
9) Pray for Jeff and sales. Pray for Nick.
10) Blue Book 13 cover; Blue Book 12, Blue Book 13 – all involved.
For our Publisher and all involved
11) All intentions on my list, Jerry's list.
12) Priests getting Fr. Joe's book.
13) Donors and members and their families.
14) Healing of the Family tree.
15) Dan & Melanie, Catherine & mom, Gary, Mary Jo,
Jim & statues, Fr. Ken, Monsignor, Kerry, Tom & wife.
16) All who asked us to pray for them.
17) All we promised to pray for.
18) Rita, John, Doris, Sheila, Jerry, Regina, Sanja,
Betty, Sophie, Lisa, Eileen, Fr. Mike, Louie,
2 Dons, Mary Ellen, Fr. Joe, all priests helping us,
Ed, Jimmy, a special couple,
Rosie & all involved.
19) 2 babies and moms.
20) Funds and insurance.
21) Jerry's garage.
22) In thanksgiving for gifts, graces, & blessings received.
23) Spread the Blood of Jesus on all of us here.
24) Consecrate all hearts.
25) Cast the devil out of all of us here and all in Movement.
June 9, 2014
Jesus: A person is given great blessings from God
for obedience to God. Living in the Father's will.
Loving the Father's will, wanting to give God
what He asks for in love, can bring down
tremendous blessings.
Satan wants a person to rebel against
the Father's will. God has a plan for you. So
you show Me how you can oppose My Plan
and show Me how you argue and disobey
when I have called you to show Me how
you live to do the Father's will, but instead
you show Me how you rebel against God's
Plan for you.
A person may be given a great grace to
be called to a certain mission and argue
and argue with those over them, test
and try them to discredit the authority
before others.
Do you think I like willfulness and
rebellion of any religious person before
their superiors?
All through the Bible it is shown
how the rebellion of some hurt so many
people of the human race.
Are you not part of salvation history,
that you see your rebellion to God's Plan
is not effecting souls and the future
generations to come in salvation history?
You see yourself as autonomous, and I see
little man rebelling against God, not
learning or following in My footprints.
I am the New Adam, I came to teach
men about My ways of obedience to
the Father's will. I came to teach you
how I sweat blood in the garden (not
like Adam and Eve who rebelled against God);
I died doing the Father's will.
I am God, I lived the Father's will, I
loved the Father's will, to My death on
the cross.
Pure hearts are the whole mission
of the Shepherds of Christ Movement,
Dwelling in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and
living according to the Father's will.
I have given the Shepherds of Christ Movement
that men would dwell in Our Hearts
and live in one mind and one
heart in unity according to the
Father's will –
ONE MIND and ONE HEART
IN HARMONY WITH GOD'S WILL
IN PURITY
R. Joseph shows his purity –
Joseph shows his obedience to God's will –
We see those who rebelled against God –
they wanted their will –
not God's –
They wanted to build a tower at Babel
to reach the sky
They wanted equality with God
They worshipped themselves, not God –
They were full of pride and self will –
arrogance –
Me – Me – Me approach –
God confused their language at the
tower of Babel –
We see on Pentecost - when the Holy Spirit came
upon them –
every one understood them –
A city divided against itself will not
stand –
Satan wants argumentation from
those under the authority –
dividing those underneath –
discrediting the top so it will fall –
argumentation with authority –
Satan attempts to divide the whole
structure under the head if he
can get away with it –
Being in one mind and one heart in the Hearts
of Jesus and Mary brings unity –
the Holy Spirit brings unity –
the Holy Spirit brings unity to the Church
when men are one in God –
Concupiscence - rebellion against God –
We see what happened at the time of
Noah – men moving further and
further from God –
rebellion to God's laws
Genesis 9: 11-17
And I shall maintain my covenant with you: that never again shall all living things be destroyed by the waters of a flood, nor shall there ever again be a flood to devastate the earth.’
‘And this’, God said, ‘is the sign of the covenant which I now make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come: I now set my bow in the clouds and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I gather the clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I shall recall the covenant between myself and you and every living creature, in a word all living things, and never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all living things. When the bow is in the clouds I shall see it and call to mind the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth, that is, all living things.’ ‘That’, God told Noah, ‘is the sign of the covenant I have established between myself and all living things on earth.’
R.
Mary appeared in Clearwater in
rainbow color –
R.
Abraham shows great faith –
Abraham is the Father of many nations –
We see how God was forming His people
under Moses –
The Jews were the chosen people –
We become graphed onto the
chosen people –
God molds us in grace –
We become a new creation in Christ.
We see the barren women in the
Bible and God brings fruit from
them in the end –
Sarah, Isaac –
Abraham – led the way
– was faithful
From the Apostles Manual
February 23, 1997
SacrificeR. When I go to Mass I offer a sacrifice. God wants our all. He wants to be first in our life. He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son.
Gen. 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18:
It happened some time later that God put Abraham to the test. 'Abraham, Abraham!' he called. 'Here I am,' he replied. God said, 'Take your son, your only son, your beloved Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, where you are to offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall point out to you. '
When they arrived at the place which God had indicated to him, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son and put him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.
But the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven. 'Abraham, Abraham!' he said. 'Here I am,' he replied. 'Do not raise your hand against the boy,' the angel said. 'Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your own beloved son.' Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
The angel of Yahweh called Abraham a second time from heaven. 'I swear by my own self, Yahweh declares, that because you have done this, because you have not refused me your own beloved son, I will shower blessings on you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All nations on earth will bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed my command.'
R. The Father gave His Son for us. This is how great the Father's love is for us.
When we go to the altar many times we are suffering. We want something really bad, but we know we love God the most. What the Father asks for us is to offer that which we are so attached to as a sacrifice, united to the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. If we offer this sacrifice to Him, the Father will pour out blessings that will be divine blessings, greater than anything we could have here on earth.
The Mass is the perfect sacrifice we offer to the Father, in which God pours out His blessings and we are one with Him and with all others in a profound expression of love. God shares His divine love with us and we partake in an intense way in His divine loving capacity. In order to become one in Him and to feel His love like this, we must surrender ourselves and be open.
He told Abraham to offer his son. God gave him his son back. He wanted Abraham to love God above all things and people.
Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice to the Father. This is the most pleasing sacrifice to the Father. If He gave His Son Who died for love of us, will He deny us when we unite our petitions with Jesus and offer these at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?
He took them to the highest mountain and He was transfigured before them in the greatest light.
Mark 9:2-10:
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain on their own by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured: his clothes became brilliantly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. Then Peter spoke to Jesus, 'Rabbi,' he said, 'it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.' He did not know what to say; they were so frightened. And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and from the cloud there came a voice, 'This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.' Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.
As they were coming down from the mountain he warned them to tell no one what they had seen, until after the Son of man had risen from the dead. They observed the warning faithfully, though among themselves they discussed what 'rising from the dead' could mean.
R. We go to the altar of sacrifice. The mountain to come, in which so many graces will flow, is the altar of sacrifice where the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered through the hands of consecrated priests.
We hear the Father say, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, listen to Him." He is speaking to us. He is the Word. He is speaking in these messages. He is unveiling the Scriptures and speaking to us in plain talk. This is a great gift He is giving to us.
We are transformed in the Mass. We unite with the greatest sacrifice offered in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We have the most perfect sacrifice to offer to the Father when we offer this sacrifice. He gives us great blessings. We die to ourselves, we become white.
We must unite all of our sacrifices to this Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being said all over the world. This is the greatest way to magnify all of our offerings - by uniting everything we do as an offering, a sacrifice to the Father in union with His Son.
end of February 23, 1997
R.
Truly Abraham was a person of
faith –
He was willing to sacrifice his son.
Abraham made an offering to God –
Abraham wanted God's will –
Abraham loved God's will –
Abraham ––> faith
Tower of Babel – rebellion –
they wanted their name to be great.
they wanted their supremacy
without God –
Genesis 12: 1-3
Yahweh said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your kindred and your father’s house for a country which I shall show you; and I shall make you a great nation, I shall bless you and make your name famous; you are to be a blessing!
I shall bless those who bless you,
and shall curse those who curse you,
and all clans on earth
will bless themselves by you.’
R. Abraham wanted God's will
Abraham wanted to do what God wanted –
Abraham let God decide
Abraham followed God's Plan
Abraham and Sarah didn't know
where they were going –
they followed God's Plan
They were faithful to God and
God blessed them –
We see famine in the Old Testament.
We see them struggle for food to live –
We see Joseph in Egypt giving food
to his brothers –
Do we see the spiritual hunger
today from men who have
so much food in today's
world,
but are starving spiritually –
and Jesus gives us Himself in
the Holy Eucharist.
R.
Look at China, Indiana –
the focus is God is truly present there.
Jesus is truly present in the
Eucharist.
Abraham lived to serve God –
With the sin of Adam and Eve –
sin entered the world –
BLAME – ARGUMENTATION
DIVISION
God gave man a vision
God gave man such gifts
Adam and Eve wanted their will –
Eve was tempted by satan
Eve wanted her will –
Eve wanted to be equal to God –
Despite the fall of Adam and Eve
our God is so good –
He never abandons us –
God loves us
Jesus comes and Jesus took flesh
because He loves us so much.
God created a good and beautiful
world –
Man has a responsibility before
God for his sin and the
effects of sin on others –
God makes a Covenant with
Man –
God loves us so much –
God created us in His image and likeness –
Genesis 1: 26-27
God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.’
God created man in the image of himself,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.
R.
All of creation bears the handprint
of God –
Christ is the Light of the world.
Christ is the Savior of the human race.
We are here to help in the work
of redemption, besides trying
to obey God and get to heaven
ourselves.
God creates with purpose and
meaning!
Cardinal Newman said
"... everyone who breathes, high and low,
educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman,
has a mission, has a work. We are not sent
into this world for nothing; we are not born at
random. . . God sees every one of us;
He creates every soul, He lodges it in
a body, one by one, for a purpose. He needs,
He deigns to need, every one of us.
He has an end for each of us... we are
placed in our different ranks and stations, not to
get what we can out of them for ourselves, but to
labor in them for Him, as He rejoiced to do His work,
we must rejoice in ours also."
(Discourses addressed to mixed congregations)
R.
God says –
"Let there be light"
God calls –
We are to respond to God!
CALL <––> RESPONSE
Only the fool lives in division,
darkness, argumentation,
anger, opposing and rebelling
against God's plan.
God is the "Master" over Creation.
God created the world, the sun and the
moon, the rain and snow,
the hail,
God keeps things in motion.
God created vegetables, plants and
fruits and the way things
can propagate themselves.
God made the waters, the seas,
the oceans, the rivers,
the land.
God made the birds and fish
and their ability to
increase and multiply.
God made animals and
God made man –
Genesis 1: 26-27
God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.’
God created man in the image of himself,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.
R. Man is the apex of creation.
God intends men and women to live
in love and propagate –
On the 7th day Creation is complete
The day 7 will be the Sabbath –
God created a peaceful, harmonious
world –
The world reflected the love between
God and His creatures –
There is no disease, not war, not violence –
The world has all it needs –
God's world was ordered –
Adam and Eve sin
DISORDER
Man seeks independence from God
Man tries to turn right into wrong and
wrong into right.
Romans 8: 5-9
Those who are living by their natural inclinations have their minds on the things human nature desires; those who live in the Spirit have their minds on spiritual things. And human nature has nothing to look forward to but death, while the Spirit looks forward to life and peace, because the outlook of disordered human nature is opposed to God, since it does not submit to God's Law, and indeed it cannot, and those who live by their natural inclinations can never be pleasing to God. You, however, live not by your natural inclinations, but by the Spirit, since the Spirit of God has made a home in you. Indeed, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
From the Priestly Newsletter Book III - 2000 Issue 3 p. 44-45
The Father's Will for Us - Our Source of Peace
Pope John Paul II instructs us: "The Church, as a reconciled and reconciling community, cannot forget that at the source of her gift and mission of reconciliation is the initiative, full of compassionate love and mercy, of that God who is love (see 1 John 4:8) and who out of love created human beings (see Wisdom 11:23-26; Genesis 1:27: Psalms 8:4-8)…He created them so that they might live in friendship with Him and in communion with one another.
"God is faithful to His eternal plan even when man, under the impulse of the evil one (see Wisdom 2:24) and carried away by his own pride, abuses the freedom given to him in order to love and generously seek what is good, and (instead) refuses to obey his Lord and Father. God is faithful even when man, instead of responding with love to God’s love, opposes Him and treats Him like a rival, deluding himself and relying on his own power, with the resulting break of relationship with the One who created him. In spite of this transgression on man’s part, God remains faithful in love.
"It is certainly true that the story of the Garden of Eden makes us think about the tragic consequences of rejecting the Father, which becomes evident in man’s inner disorder and in the breakdown of harmony between man and woman, brother and brother (see Genesis 3:12 ff; 4:1-16). Also significant is the Gospel parable of the two brothers (the parable of the ‘prodigal son’; see Luke 15:11-32) who, in different ways, distance themselves from their father and cause a rift between them. Refusal of God’s fatherly love and of His loving gifts is always at the root of humanity’s divisions.
"But we know that God…like the father in the parable (of the prodigal son), does not close His heart to any of His children. He waits for them, looks for them, goes to meet them at the place where the refusal of communion imprisons them in isolation and division. He calls them to gather about His table in the joy of the feast of forgiveness and reconciliation.
"This initiative on God’s part is made concrete and manifest in the redemptive act of Christ, which radiates through the world by means of the ministry of the Church." 13
___________
13. Pope John Paul II, as in Celebrate 2000!, Servant Publications, pp. 140-141.
Excerpt from January 8, 2010
R. Man has a distorted image of God,
others and self after the fall
CONCUPISCENCE — an inclination
to sin
Blame enters the world
Loss of personal responsibility for sin
ACCOUNTABILITY
7 deadly sins
Pride, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth
*Grace moves one to God
*Concupiscence moves one toward sin
Sin upsets the order willed by God
Suffering
Death
Humanity lost intimacy with God
Romans 5: 5-11
and a hope which will not let us down, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. When we were still helpless, at the appointed time, Christ died for the godless. You could hardly find anyone ready to die even for someone upright; though it is just possible that, for a really good person, someone might undertake to die. So it is proof of God’s own love for us, that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. How much more can we be sure, therefore, that, now that we have been justified by his death, we shall be saved through him from the retribution of God. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more can we be sure that, being now reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. What is more, we are filled with exultant trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.
Romans 5: 15-21
There is no comparison between the free gift and the offence. If death came to many through the offence of one man, how much greater an effect the grace of God has had, coming to so many and so plentifully as a free gift through the one man Jesus Christ! Again, there is no comparison between the gift and the offence of one man. One single offence brought condemnation, but now, after many offences, have come the free gift and so acquittal! It was by one man’s offence that death came to reign over all, but how much greater the reign in life of those who receive the fullness of grace and the gift of saving justice, through the one man, Jesus Christ. One man’s offence brought condemnation on all humanity; and one man’s good act has brought justification and life to all humanity. Just as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience are many to be made upright. When law came on the scene, it was to multiply the offences. But however much sin increased, grace was always greater; so that as sin’s reign brought death, so grace was to rule through saving justice that leads to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Doing good should be a sufficient
reason for why we act
God is good
Cain murdered Abel
His sin was premeditated
Evil becomes more grave
Cain lies to God
Human beings act in anger, envy, wickedness
Jesus shed His blood for our sins —
Sacrifice of Calvary brought us to greater
life
Pride, arrogance, revenge, vengeance
Man and woman want to be like God without God —
Adam and Eve have Seth —
God wants a pure heart —
not a wicked heart — rebellious heart —
Corruption in the human race
God finds favor with Noah —
Descendant of Seth
Adam and Eve start a trend in which each
generation adds more sin to
the world
God flooded the earth — it
was loving to man
God wants holiness, not corruption
God used water to cleanse --
WASHING
Humans are slaves to sin
Humans have become disorderly
Noah is pleasing to God
Noah is obedient to God
Noah walks with God
Men's hearts can be toward evil
look into his heart
a wounded human nature
Men because of willfulness refuse to recognize
God as his source
Man can rupture his relationship with
God by willfulness
Man can hurt his relationship with
others because of willfulness,
selfishness
Man gives into his fallen human nature
Pride, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth
To be likened to God we must love
God with our whole heart —
our whole soul and our whole
being and
love our neighbor as ourselves
God calls us to relationship —
God calls us to a vocation
God calls us to obedience
God is the Creator
We are the creatures —
Our hearts are the focus
We are to love according to God's will
In that lies our happiness
We see all things through God's eyes —
The devil wants power —
God told Cain — the devil was lurking at
his door, but he could have power
over him —
Cain gave in — his crime was premeditated —
he did not heed the warning of God
Cain slayed his brother
Cain hated
Cain was prideful
Cain was jealous
Cain was angry
Cain was greedy —
He gave in —
By the time of Noah — the human race
was corrupt — each generation growing
more grave in sin —
God did a loving thing destroying this
corruption from sinful, willful men —
Sin is sin —
Sin is being unloving —
Sin takes us away from intimacy with
God deeply in our hearts
We must fall into the arms of God —
God is the builder —
Our whims and fancies do not bend the truths
Jesus is the truth —
We are to live by God's truth —
God has a plan He is the Creator
After the flood God commanded the animals
and Noah and his family to go out
and renew the world, recreate
the world —
Only God knows the pure heart —
The heart is the core of the person —
The heart is the seat of spontaneity,
faculties and personality,
our thoughts and decisions,
feelings, expression need to
pass through the heart
Genesis 6: 5
Yahweh saw that human wickedness was great on earth and that human hearts contrived nothing but wicked schemes all day long.
1 Samuel 16: 7
but Yahweh said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him; God does not see as human beings see; they look at appearances but Yahweh looks at the heart.
Job 16: 13
he shoots his arrows at me from all sides, pitilessly pierces my loins, and pours my gall out on the ground.
Psalm 101: 5
One who secretly slanders a comrade,
I reduce to silence;
haughty looks, proud heart,
these I cannot abide.I look to the faithful of the land
to be my companions,
only he who walks in the path of the blameless
Psalm 111: 1
Alleluia!
I give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart,
in the meeting–place of honest people, in the assembly.
Ezekiel 11: 19
I shall give them a single heart and I shall put a new spirit in them; I shall remove the heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh,
The heart is the center of religious and moral
awareness — the home of conscience —
It is from the heart we serve and love and praise God.
Noah was offering God gratitude, reconciliation
by serving Him —
Noah made a sacrifice
Jesus sacrificed Himself to His death on the
cross to save us —
We were told in the beginning of Genesis
to be fruitful and multiply —
Adam and Eve sinned
sin entered the world
God created the world
Adam and Eve were gifted
Man was created in the image and likeness of God
the devil tempted Adam and Eve and they fell
the devil is a fallen angel —
one who said we won't serve God
Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden
Abel is murdered by Cain —
Cain is jealous
Tension between first born and Abel
Seth is born — Noah came from Seth
Cain killed his brother — he would
receive the wrath of God
God told Noah to preach repentance
It rained on the earth for 40 days
The waters continue 150 days
Noah was given the sign of the rainbow —
The rainbow appears as a symbol of
God's covenant with the people
left on the earth —
Abram was called by God
Sarah was his wife
God made a covenant with Abram —
Abram will be blessed by God with
greatness —
Blessings and curses will come to the
world through Abraham —
Those who imitate Abraham's faith
will be blessed —
Abraham is promised by God that
he will be the Father of many
nations —
Moses and Aaron announce God's demand to Pharaoh
Plagues of Egypt under Moses
1) River to Blood
2) Frogs
3) Lice
4) Flies
5) Murrain of animals
6) Boils
7) Hail
8) Darkness 3 days
9) Death of first born
Moses parts the waters to let the Hebrews
cross
The Red Sea allows them to pass —
Pharaoh witnesses the closing of
the sea
Moses came down the mountains with
the Tablets and they were
dancing around a golden calf
and Moses throws the tablets
of stone to the ground and
they break —
He destroys the calf
Moses goes up again
Moses gets God's forgiveness and the
commandments
Moses and the serpent
Samson slays 1,000 Philistines
Throughout salvation history —
man rebels — God lets him suffer —
Man repents —
God sends a King —
A prophet to help them —
The Philistines worshiped false gods
The Philistines sacrificed children
(human sacrifice)
The Philistines are defeated by Samuel —
Saul defeats the Philistines —
Saul is anointed by the prophet Samuel
But Saul is rejected by God for
disobedience
David was 22 when anointed
by Samuel
Saul is totally defeated by the Philistines
Saul was bad
David anointed King
David eliminates Philistines
David commits adultery
Solomon born
David had lots of children
Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
‘Disaster for the shepherds who lose and scatter the sheep of my pasture, Yahweh declares. This, therefore, is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd my people, "You have scattered my flock, you have driven them away and have not taken care of them. Right, I shall take care of you for your misdeeds, Yahweh declares! But the remnant of my flock I myself shall gather from all the countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; they will be fruitful and increase in numbers. For them I shall raise up shepherds to shepherd them and pasture them. No fear, no terror for them any more; not one shall be lost, Yahweh declares!
Look, the days are coming,
Yahweh declares,
when I shall raise an upright Branch
for David;
he will reign as king and be wise,
doing what is just and upright
in the country.
In his days Judah will triumph
and Israel live in safety.
And this is the name he will be called,
‘Yahweh–is–our–Saving–Justice.’ "
Psalm 23
Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
In grassy meadows he lets me lie.By tranquil streams he leads me
to restore my spirit.
He guides me in paths of saving justice
as befits his name.Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death
I should fear no danger, for you are at my side.
Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me.You prepare a table for me
under the eyes of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup brims over.Kindness and faithful love pursue me
every day of my life.
I make my home in the house of Yahweh
for all time to come.
Ephesians 2: 13-18
But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far off have been brought close, by the blood of Christ. For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one entity and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, by destroying in his own person the hostility, that is, the Law of commandments with its decrees. His purpose in this was, by restoring peace, to create a single New Man out of the two of them, and through the cross, to reconcile them both to God in one Body; in his own person he killed the hostility. He came to bring the good news of peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. Through him, then, we both in the one Spirit have free access to the Father.
Mark 6: 30-34
The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. And he said to them, ‘Come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that there was no time for them even to eat. So they went off in the boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many recognised them; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.
July 19, 2009
HOMILY: There was a man who worked in a museum whose job it was to explain the different exhibits. On one occasion he pointed to the bones of a dinosaur saying the bones were 100 million and 9 years old. Someone asked how they could date those bones so accurately. He said “well, when I started working here, I was told these bones were 100 million years old and I’ve worked here for nine years.”
Today I want to give everyone a little history lesson. I’m not going back to the dinosaurs, but I am going back pretty far – to King David, 1000 years before Christ. When I was in school, I hated history. It wasn’t until we studied the history of the Old Testament in the seminary that I began to appreciate it. I cannot cram 1000 years of history into a couple of minutes. I just want to touch on the parts of Jewish history that are mentioned in today’s reading. If you want to learn more, read everything in the Old Testament, but be sure you have a commentary to help you. Otherwise, you’ll give up in despair because you won’t know what it’s all about - especially the prophets and the historical books.
When David was king 1000 years before Christ, David wanted to build a house for God, since there was no Temple for God at that time. God did not give David permission to do so, however God promised David through the prophet Nathan that he would bless him and build David a house in the sense that David’s kingdom would continue forever and one of his descendants would always rule. This blessing lasted through the reign of David’s son, Solomon; but we humans somehow have the ability to sabotage God’s blessings. Solomon turned to pagan gods and over-extended the country financially by elaborate building projects and exorbitant taxes, so when Solomon died there was a rebellion and most of Israel broke away from Solomon’s successor, David’s grandson, Rehoboam. Rehoboam continued to rule over the southern part of Israel, the area we know as Judaea . For 400 years (and this is amazing) the kings of Judaea were descendants of King David. The northern kingdom that rebelled against David’s successors suffered under a succession of kings and rebellions. In less than 300 years the northern kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians, people from northern Iraq. About 100 years after that, the Babylonians from southern Iraq conquered the Assyrians and took control of the entire Middle East. The conquest of the Babylonians brings us up to Jeremiah whom we heard in today’s first reading. At the time of Jeremiah, here was the situation: the northern kingdom no longer existed. The southern kingdom, Judaea, was still being ruled by David’s descendants but they were not loyal to God or to God’s laws. Jeremiah spoke to these kings as they came into power, the last four being: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoikin and Zedekiah. Zedikiah, the last reigning king, died in disgrace. After the Babylonians captured him, his sons were slaughtered before his eyes, he was then blinded and led off to Babylon in chains where he presumably died. You can read how Jeremiah spoke with them in great detail in the book of Jeremiah. He told them exactly what they needed to do to survive the invading forces of Babylon. His messages were ignored. He blames them and their leadership for the destruction that came upon God’s people. As we heard in today’s first reading, God speaks through Jeremiah: “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture.” God said he would take over shepherding his people; he would bring them back from exile; he would appoint leaders over them who would serve them well and lead them to peace and security. It took 600 years before God thought the world was ready for this king who would reign and govern wisely, who would do what is just and right in the land.
But then he came, through the announcement of an angel to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel said to her “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
In last week’s gospel, Jesus sent his apostles out to heal and cast out demons and to call people to repentance. In today’s gospel we are told of their return, excited over their experience and tired. Jesus wanted to some time off, but he couldn’t. The mission of Jesus and his apostles apparently was so successful that a great crowd caught up with them before they had chance to catch their breath. Mark describes Jesus taking compassion on them (his heart was moved with deep sympathy for them would probably be a better translation). He saw them as sheep without a shepherd, - people without leadership, and he began to teach them.
One of the important messages in today’s readings is that in love our Lord leads us, by teaching us and appointing others to teach us. But we need to listen, and we need to keep on listening. We’ll never be finished listening and learning as long as our world suffers from injustice, poverty, hunger, discrimination, war, hatred and killing of innocent people. Christ would be put to death before he would stop teaching. It is to our own great loss when we stop listening. That’s one of the reasons we are here each weekend, to listen and to learn. We call ourselves disciples. The word disciple means learner. When we’ve quit learning, we’ve quit being a disciple.
Rehoborm, son of Solomon born
Temple of Solomon
Devil can come, but we have power
over the devil —
Genesis 4: 6-7
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.’
We can conquer the devil
We have a free will
We have spiritual blindness —
Pray to see through God's eyes —
God open our eyes
God open our hearts
God help our hearts to be pure
Don't have a hard heart
Don't have a bitter heart
Stay one with Jesus
Stay attached to the vine
Jesus heals the whole person
Pray to be healed
1) spiritually
2) physically
Have abundant living in God
The devil wants to make good look
evil and evil look good
We can have everything it looks
like —
money —
fame —
talent —
then some actresses commit suicide
John 3: 30
He must grow greater,
I must grow less.
We have to stand up for what is
right
John the Baptist is our model
for this
Concupiscence
7 deadly sins
Pride, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony,
Sloth
rebellion
turn in on self
SELF-CENTERED
God's grace to lead us to be holy
God's grace can heal rebelliousness
We can have controversy
argument
accept vision of the world
We are to grow in Christ —
be meek in heart not combatal
We grow in Christ
We see the world as it really is
see through God's eyes
We live in humility
We put aside hardened hearts and
we beg for open - soft hearts
God gives us the sacraments
Confession chance to conquer our woundedness
God's grace — Forgiveness of sins —
We must admit our sins
Concupiscence — turn in selfishness
on ourselves
rebellion
We can have an ill-informed conscience
from lying to ourselves —
choosing vices — bad habits
inner - conscience can become such that
a person has no problem doing anything
They won't admit they are ever wrong —
They say they are right when they are wrong —
We live in a society of many ill - informed
consciences
Sin becomes common place to them — A just person
with a good conscience thinks sin is awful —
The more we sin we diminish our humanity
The Good Shepherd leads to abundant life
Since you have been raised up to be with Christ, you must look for the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on things above, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed-and he is your life-you, too, will be revealed with him in glory. That is why you must kill everything in you that is earthly: sexual vice, impurity, uncontrolled passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god;
and do not lie to each other. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its Creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised and uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.
God is order
Everything in creation bears the
handprint of God
There is an evil shepherd
Those obedient to the Good Shepherd
hear His voice and follow Him
Galatians 2: 19-20
...I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me.
Do we look like Christ - so people
see Christ in us like Mother Teresa?
Happy life is one who is living
in harmony — living
according to the will of God
Live life abundantly
Not giving into self —
selfish
controlling
See people in the nursing home —
PAIN of HELL IS
eternity without God
Peace for person rooted in God
even when dying
The Father and Jesus are one
John 15: 1-8
I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away,
and every branch that does bear fruit
God prunes the branches
Deeply rooted in the vine
Stay attached to Christ
Father is the vine grower —
Live united to Christ — more we will
flourish
If we are cut off from God we die
Only in God will I find rest
Without God we are chasers
Looking for perfect spouse —
3 years down the line — might
not fill you
GOD MUST BE THE CENTER
From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius,
by Louis J. Puhl, S.J. p. 12
23. FIRST PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION
Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God
our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.
Adam and Eve
blamed everybody, but themselves
worse sin
premeditated sin
bigger sin
planning to kill your brother out
of jealousy —
end of January 8, 2010
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