Click picture to hear the retreat from today

July 10, 2006

Messenger:            I want to write of the top
                        of the mountain — about
                        God —

                            God is awesome
                            about His Word
                            about the Eucharist, but
                            since we are imperfect
                            human creatures we must
                            deal with these imperfections.
                            We are imperfect.
                            To tell ourselves
                                "We are perfect"

                        and to try to cover up this fact
                            is to lie —

                        We have habitual ways that
                            are impure —

                        We hurt others, sometimes without
                            even realizing it

                        But the fault is in not being
                            open to correcting our
                            imperfections, saying we
                            are sorry when we hurt others and
                            not forgiving when someone
                            genuinely wants forgiveness.

                        I know some day I will be
                            called from this life and I
                            will have to meet God and face
                            the truth —

                        My eternity depends on my
                            life here —

                        I am responsible for my sins —
                        I was put here to learn to be
                            more perfected as my heavenly
                            Father is perfect.

                        I was created in God's image and
                            likeness.

                        In this retreat I want to spend
                            each day —

                            praying, singing — honoring
                            God the Father — Son and Holy Spirit —
                            loving Mary and moving to a place of
                            deeper unity with our beloved God
                            with a book
                            of prayers from the priest
                            writing the Newsletter —

                        We are so blessed to be so close to
                            our Divine God, but we can
                            pray to love more —

                            to put aside the imperfections
                                that hurt ourselves and others
                                and keep us from growing to
                                be more perfected —
                                loving God and others more
                                purely and deeper —

                         Our focus in the Shepherds of Christ is to
                            lead the world into greater
                            oneness — greater love —

                        To do this we must strive to be
                            more holy — likened to Jesus —

                        In yesterday's message — we see
                            how important the religious
                            orders are praying united for the
                            priests, the Church and the world —

                        Unity is achieved more when we are
                            more pure — holy and one with
                            our Divine God —

                        In today's retreat we pray as this
                            priest directs — through gentle
                            humble prayers to our
                            heavenly Father —
                            loving Him deeply —
                            respecting and honoring Him —
                            praising Him in song —

                        May God's grace fill us — as
                            we grow more deeply one
                            in God — living
                            Rooted in Him —
                            Being In Him —

                            Let us Pray

                        This book of prayers will very
                            soon be available from
                            Shepherds of Christ Publications — you can
                            order it.

                        Today as always during this retreat
                            we will say the Shepherds of Christ Prayers —
                            the Holy Spirit Novena —
                            Make a prayer of commitment
                                to our vocation

                            And be blessed deeply with the
                                Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
                                here in China by a holy
                                priest.

                        Our focus today is the Joyful
                            mysteries —

                        These prayers from this morning's
                            retreat can be heard on the
                            Shepherds of Christ Radio —

                        Please pray with us — or
                            tune in and pray later —
                        6:20 prayers are live

                        On July 11, 2006 —
                            our focus will be on Jesus, the
                            Son of God —

                        Honoring and loving Him —
                            Praying to Him —
                            Singing to Him

                        Through the whole retreat —
                            we sing and pray to the
                            Holy Spirit to let us
                            see our imperfections —
                            give us the grace to change and
                            pray to be filled with the
                            fire of God's love —

                        To love God more deeply and
                            to have the grace to
                            love our brothers deeply

                        God can give us the grace to be
                            more loving — to see with
                            the eyes of love —
                            our brothers —
                            to love as He desires —

                        God is love and
                            we are to be people of love —
                            healing can begin when we
                            recognize we are not perfect —
                            and come in docility to
                            God begging for grace.

                        We are in the state of becoming —
                        The world is in the state of becoming —
                        The Church is in the state of becoming.

                        Father fill us with Your love —

                        Sing:  The Our Father —

                        Sing:  Dwelling Place
                        Sing:  Let There Be Peace on Earth
                        Sing:  Abba Father
                        Sing:  "Father we adore you"
                                  "Jesus we adore you"
                                  "Holy Spirit we adore you"
                                  "Mary we adore you"

                        Sing:  Miracle of Life

Joyful Mysteries

                        Song between decades:  The Rosary Song
                                                            A Song from Jesus

Annunciation

1.  God so loved the world He sent His
    only Son —

2.  God loved us first.

3.  It is our response to God's love.

4.  Mary said yes to the angel.

5.  Mary always complied to the
    Father's will.

6.  Mary loved the Father so
    very much.

7.  We are the sons and daughters of
    God.
8. 

Mary said, ‘You see before you the Lord’s servant, let it happen to me as you have said.’ And the angel left her.  Luke 1: 38

9.  Living according to God's will
    in love — will bring us
    to the mountain top.

10.  Loving God, loving one another —
    living to be more perfected
    as our heavenly Father —
    is our goal in life.

  

  

 

Visitation

1.  Mary went to visit her cousin
    Elizabeth.

2.  Elizabeth was considered
    barren —

3.  A barren land can bring forth
    fruit —
    All things are possible with
    God

4.  Sing:  You Are Mine

5. 

And Mary said:

My soul proclaims
    the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices
    in God my Saviour;    Luke 1: 46-47

6. 

because he has looked upon
    the humiliation of his servant.
Yes, from now onwards
    all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty
    has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,   Luke 1: 48-49

7. 

and his faithful love extends age after age
    to those who fear him.
He has used the power of his arm,
he has routed the arrogant of heart.
He has pulled down princes
    from their thrones
        and raised high the lowly.   Luke 1: 50-52

8. 

He has filled the starving with good things,
    sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help
    of Israel his servant,
        mindful of his faithful love   Luke 1: 53-54

9. 

—according to the promise
    he made to our ancestors—
of his mercy to Abraham
    and to his descendants for ever.   Luke 1: 55

 

10. 

  

  

  

Nativity

1. 

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

 

2.  John 3: 16

For this is how God loved the world: 
he gave his only Son, 
so that everyone who believes in him 
    may not perish 
but may have eternal life.

3.  God loved us first.

4.  It is our response to God's love.

5.  Luke 2: 6-7

Now it happened that, while they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first–born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the living–space.

6.  Sing:  Silent Night

7.  Sing:  What Child is This

8.  Sing:  A Song from Jesus

9.  Sing:  O Come, O Come Emmanuel

10.  Sing:  Holy God We Praise Thy Name

  

  

Presentation

1.  Luke 2: 25-26

Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to the restoration of Israel and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. 

 

2.  Luke 2: 33-34

As the child’s father and mother were wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed—

 

3.  Sing:  Little Baby Hands and Feet

4.  And a sword too will pierce your heart O Mary.

5.  The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

First Sorrow

The Prophecy of Simeon
Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus went to the temple. Simeon, the prophet, inspired by the Holy Spirit, met them and told Joseph and Mary of the great sufferings of Jesus and Mary. He told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart. From that point on, Mary ever remembered the prophecy of Simeon whenever she beheld her child. When she looked at His little body, even as an infant, she knew He would suffer. Every time she clothed Him and watched Him at play, her heart was torn in her chest as she knew what He would suffer. And a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary!

6.  Second Sorrow

The Flight into Egypt
Joseph was told by the angel to flee. Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus had to flee because of what might happen to Jesus. They had to pack for a long stay. The child Jesus was so small! They left on their journey, hearts full of fear, trying to protect Jesus. They were forced to flee into Egypt.

7.  Third Sorrow

Jesus Is Lost, In the Temple
Imagine the sufferings in Mary's heart when she realized the child Jesus was not with them. Think of how it would be to lose your child and not know where he was or if anything happened to him. With sorrow in their hearts, Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem to look for the child Jesus. And a sword, too, shall pierce your heart, O Mary!

 

8.  Fourth Sorrow

Jesus Carries His Cross
Song: See the eyes that look at Mary, her tender infant child. See the child's Heart beat so tenderly, the Savior of the world!
See the eyes of Jesus and Mary as they met on Calvary. Mary's Heart knew Jesus' Heart so well! From the first moment of conception and throughout His life, Mary was so connected with Jesus and now she peered into His eyes. The crown of thorns adorned His Head! Blood ran down His face! A heavy cross on His back! Wounded, His whole body covered with bleeding wounds! And her whole life flashed before her, the life that she had spent with Jesus. This was the beloved child that she had held in her arms when Simeon told Mary that 'a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary!'

 

9.  Fifth Sorrow

Jesus Dies on the Cross
Mary stood under Jesus' cross as He was put to death. The child that she had held in her arms as Simeon prophesied, And a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary! Now Jesus is dead on the cross! He gave His flesh, He gave His blood so that we might be with Him forever in heaven. He held not back. He gave His all. He calls out to us this day to see through the eyes of His mother as she appears and calls out with a Heart of great love, "Return to the love of my Son! He is with you this day. He remains with you, no less present than the day that He hung on the cross, in the Eucharist. He longs for you to come and be with Him. He is in your brother. How can you not love your brother when Jesus died for your brother?"

Her Heart was pierced with a sword. His Heart was pierced with a lance. What came forth was blood and water, the sacramental life of the church. He lives with us this day in the Church. He gives to us His sacraments, the source of His life! He gives to us the Sacrament of Penance whereby any sin that we commit can be taken away through the priest. He wants us to be so close to Him! He gives us everything to be close to Him. But we see with such limited vision only those things that are right before our face, when the true reality is that which we don't see with our eyes, the reality of the invisible divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the consecrated Host! This is reality! This is our life! This is our power! This is God! And a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary!

10.  Sixth Sorrow

Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross
If we ever doubted for one second that we were loved, we could visualize the picture of Mary as she sat beneath the cross with the lifeless, battered, bruised and bloodied body of her Son in her arms, the same child that she held when Simeon prophesied her suffering. He gave His last breath. He gave the last beat of His Heart. He gave His all! This is the way He complied with the Will of the Father. He came to show us the way. He died in perfect peace. To His death He was in peace because He knew the Father's love. The Father loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son for love of us! The Spirit descended upon the Virgin Mary and the Word was made flesh! The love of the Two Hearts! Such immense love beating for us!

In all love there is suffering. Her Heart was pierced with a sword. His Heart was pierced with a lance. And a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary!
 

Seventh Sorrow

Jesus Is Locked in the Tomb
And now Jesus, His body lifeless, is locked in a tomb! What cold reality for Mary to realize that His body is now gone! A stone separated her from her Son!

He gave His last breath! He gave the last beat of His Heart for love of each one of us! And she comes to us this day with her sweet, beautiful voice and she asks us to go to her Son and love Him! How can we refuse Jesus who spread His arms and gave His life for each and every one of us? How can we not trust Him when He loved us so much that He allowed them to tear His flesh, to crown Him with piercing thorns and, lastly, to hang Him on a cross? He truly gave His life for us! He, truly God, is with us this day, the same as the day He died on the cross, in the tabernacle! And we take it so lightly! Death has no power over Him! Locked in the tomb for three days, He rose triumphant on the third day as He had foretold. He comes to give us life. He gives us the sacrament of Baptism that initiates us into His life, that makes us children of God and heirs of heaven if we remain in the state of grace. He asks two things: love of God and love of one another! He came to show us the way and His way is love. To His death on the cross He loved each one of us! He calls out to each one of us here today to be His soldiers, to march on a world that has forgotten God, that has forgotten what it is like to love! It is a battle to live in this world. But the battle is won with hearts that are filled with His love, empowered by the grace and might that He pours out in the Eucharist. He calls out for us to come to the Eucharist and to the tabernacle and be fed with His very flesh and blood. To feed on Divine Life, the greatest nourishment, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God! This is the love He gives. This is the love He asks us to share.

  

  

Finding in the Temple

1.  Luke 2: 46-47

    It happened that, three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies.

 

2.  Luke 2: 48-49

They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’ He replied, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’

3. 

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

 

4.  Excerpt from Response to God's Love, by Father Edward Carter, S.J.

   ...In reference to Christianity, God himself is the ultimate mystery. Radically, God is completely other and transcendent, hidden from man in his inner life, unless he chooses to reveal himself. Let us briefly look at this inner life of God.

    The Father, in a perfect act of self-expression, in a perfect act of knowing, generates his son. The Son, the Word, is, then, the immanent expression of God's fullness, the reflection of the Father. Likewise, from all eternity, the Father and the Son bring forth the Holy Spirit in a perfect act of loving.

    At the destined moment in human history, God's self-expression, the Word, immersed himself into man's world. God's inner self-expression now had also become God's outer self-expression. Consequently, the mystery of God becomes the mystery of Christ. In Christ, God tells us about himself, about his inner life, about his plan of creation and redemption. He tells us how Father, Son, and Holy Spirit desire to dwell within us in the most intimate fashion, how they wish to share with us their own life through grace. All this he has accomplished and does accomplish through Christ. St. Paul tells us: "I became a minister of this Church through the commission God gave me to preach among you his word in its fullness, that mystery hidden from ages and generations past but now revealed to his holy ones. God has willed to make known to them the glory beyond price which this mystery brings to the Gentiles—the mystery of Christ in you, your hope of glory. This is the Christ we proclaim while we admonish all men and teach them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make every man complete in Christ" (Col 1:25-28).

 

5.  Excerpt from Response in Christ by Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J.

Relationship with Members of the Church

e) Relationship with Members of the Church

There is but one true Church of Christ. Yet this one Church has three different states of existence. There is the pilgrim Church, the Church of this world, composed of members who have received the grace of Christ and strive for its development. They have not yet obtained the goal of their efforts, as have the members of the heavenly Church, who enjoy God in eternal happiness. The Church suffering is an intermediate state of existence necessary for those who had not achieved the required purification as members of the pilgrim Church. Although there are these three phases of the Church’s existence, there is a profound union existing between all the members. All these members possess the same basic life of grace in Christ, and this common life establishes the most intimate bonds of love. In our preceding chapter, we discussed the pilgrim Church. Let us now consider the Church suffering and the heavenly Church.

The members of the Church suffering are those who have departed from this life in an incomplete state of Christian development. Their development is incomplete in the sense that grace has not fully taken possession of them, and, as a result, they are yet closed in upon themselves to a greater or lesser degree. They as yet cannot open themselves out in complete love to the Triune God in the beatific vision. They must undergo a further purification, a purification which could have been achieved upon earth with merit. Now the purification must be achieved with no merit attached. The pain of this purification is mixed with the certain expectation of achieving the vision of God. We can hasten the advent of this vision for this people by the offering of prayers and other good works. Scripture itself refers to our action on behalf of those in purgatory in Chapter 12 of the Second Book of Maccabees beginning with verse 38.

The members of the heavenly Church are those in whom the life of grace has taken full possession and has reached its completion in the life of glory. Faith now is unnecessary, as the light of glory gives the human intellect a new strength and capacity for seeing God face-to-face. While the Christian was a wayfarer, he received the imprint of the indwelling Trinity as he shared in God’s own life. Now in heaven that grace-life and possession of God reaches its completion—the absolute completion is not achieved, however, until the resurrection of the body. The divine persons give Themselves to the beatified in a profound union far surpassing that of the indwelling of the Trinity experienced here below.

This life of heaven is still the Christ-life, for just as we possess a share in Trinitarian life here below as mediated by Christ, and exercise this grace-life as structured by Him, so also in heaven is the mediation of Christ present. In the words of Rahner, "One always sees the Father through Jesus. Just as immediately as this, for the directness of the vision of God is not a denial of the mediatorship of Christ as man."¹⁴ And not only does the humanity of Christ unite the blessed to God, but also, in some way, to the whole of creation. This is merely a completion of what is begun here below, namely, the union with Christ in His humanity establishing the Christian in a special relationship with God, with other men, and with the whole of creation. We have a glimpse, therefore, of the fullness of life which members of the heavenly Church possess.

The heavenly Church, as St. Thomas says, is the true Church.¹⁵ The Church of this earth and the Church of purgatory are, each in its own way, reaching out in loving hope for the heavenly Jerusalem. Vatican II puts it very simply: "The Church, to which we are called in Christ Jesus, and in which we acquire sanctity through the grace of God, will attain her full perfection only in the glory of heaven."¹⁶

The members of the heavenly Church can help us in living our life of grace until we too share its fullness with them. Their power of intercession on our behalf is but another ramification of the communal aspect of Christianity. We are meant to help others grow in Christ. We, in turn, are intended by God to receive aid from others—yes, from members of the heavenly Church, as well as from those with whom we dwell here below.

Not only can we be aided by the saints’ intercession, but the example of the canonized saints can also be of great value to us. They have concretely proved that full holiness is possible. Such an inspiration is of real worth when we are tempted to think that Christian sanctity in its higher degrees is impossible of attainment. Moreover, the canonized saints, in their diversity, teach us that there are many authentic versions of Christian holiness. They can be innovators in showing us that there are numerous possibilities in assimilating the mystery of Christ, although the basic assimilation remains the same for all Christians of all times. In the opinion of Rahner this is one of the chief roles the canonized saints exert in the life of the Church.¹⁷

 

---

NOTES:

16. Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, No. 48.
17. Cf. Karl Rahner, Op. cit., pp. 100-101.

 

6.  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.

 

7.  From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, by Louis J. Puhl, S.J. p. 11

21.                     SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

    Which have as their purpose the conquest of self
    and the regulation of one's life in such a way that
    no decision is made under the influence of any
    inordinate attachment

 

8.  From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, by Louis J. Puhl, S.J. p. 25

46. PRAYER.  In the preparatory prayer I will beg God
our Lord for grace that all my intentions, actions, 
and operations may be directed purely to the 
praise and service of His Divine Majesty. 

 

9.  Sing:  Take Lord Receive

10.  May 16, 1998 - Prayer to the Father

My Father,

        With my whole heart I desire to consecrate the whole world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I wish with my whole being for the salvation of souls and that man live according to Thy Holy Will. I pray my Father that we may be one in You and Your Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit that we may intercede to You for this cause.

        It is this burning desire within my soul to spread the consecration to the far ends of the earth, that the cries of Your children are cries of glory and honor and adoration, praising God as their God.

        My Father, at this moment a soul hangs on the edge of death. For all eternity they will go to a place. It is not the plot of this soul as it trods this barren land to decide on the edge of death. You created us that we would grow in our oneness with God, that we would mature more and more in our image and likeness to God.

        And so My Father, I pray with every cell in my body for this earth. In the name of Your Son Jesus I consecrate all the souls of this earth to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the Holy Spirit in union with the Holy sacrifice of the Mass with all the angels and saints and the souls in Purgatory.

        I beg You Father for mercy.
        I beg You Father for assistance.
        I beg You Father to help us to spread this consecration to the far ends of the earth.

        Please help us. We are helpless little ones coming in the heart of our Mother, bleeding from our wounds and our sins.

        Your Son, Jesus Christ, shed the last drop of His Blood for the salvation of mankind. We wish to unite in this sacrifice, sacramentally made present in the Mass all over the world at every moment. Help us to make reparation to You for the sins of men.

        Please my Father, help us. Held in the heart of Mary and the Heart of Jesus we come as the children of Eve to beg for the Reign of the Sacred Heart and the Triumph of Mary's heart. Look upon our love, Your shepherds in the Shepherds of Christ, our sacrifices and devotion to You Our Beloved Father. Come by the means of the Holy Spirit and sanctify us and make us whole, that we are one in Your Son Jesus, praying to You, Father, in the name of Your Son Jesus in the Holy Spirit united with all the angels and saints, in the heart of Mary. We beg for help for special intentions concerning the Movement. We beg for help to reach the Churches to give these prayers of Jesus to them, to reach the schools and the family. Help we cry as poor banished children of Eve. Help us Father to do this work the Good Shepherd has entrusted to us. Help us to be one in You that we act as intercessors to help this world to be turned to God as their God, loving, honoring and adoring Him as the Lord of Host is truly present on His throne.

        We are Your children Father, we implore You to answer our prayer.
        We love You, we worship You, we adore You, we thank you and we sing from the bottom of our hearts, Holy God we Praise Your Name. Alleluia

end of prayer to the Father