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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July 30, 2005
July 31st Holy Spirit Novena |
The Novena Rosary Mysteries |
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
Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus
My dear fellow Associate Members,
Jesus is calling special apostles to join a new division of the Shepherds of Christ Movement. Here is a message from Jesus given to Father Carter:
My beloved priest-companion, I am requesting that a new prayer movement be started under the direction of Shepherds of Christ Ministries. I am asking for volunteers who are willing to pray before the Blessed Sacrament for one hour, twice-weekly. Members of the Shepherds of Christ prayer chapters, as well as others, are to be invited to join this movement.
These apostles are to pray for the intentions I am giving you. For part of the hour they are to use the prayers of the Shepherds of Christ Associates Handbook. They may spend the rest of the hour as they so choose.
I will use this new prayer movement within My Shepherds of Christ Ministries in a powerful way to help in the renewal of My Church and the world. I will give great graces to those who join this movement. The name, Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, is to be given to this movement.
I am inviting My beloved Rita Ring to be coordinator for this activity.
I pour out the great love of My Sacred Heart to all. I am Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock.
This is indeed a special calling for us to unite in one heart with His Eucharistic Heart and pray for the following intentions:
- For the spread of the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary culminating in the reign of the Sacred Heart and the triumph of the Immaculate Heart.
- For the Pope.
- For all bishops of the world.
- For all priests.
- For all sisters and brothers in the religious life.
- For all members of the Shepherds of Christ Movement, and for the spread of this movement to the world.
- For all members of the Catholic Church.
- For all members of the human family.
- For all souls in purgatory.
end of Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart message
October 13, 1994
The Birth of the Full Ministries
of the Shepherds of Christ
"I wish to share with you part of a message which Jesus gave us on October 13, 1994. The message tells us about the expansion of the Shepherds of Christ movement:
'My beloved priest-companion, today I come to you with another mission. I am asking you to establish Shepherds of Christ Ministries. At My request you have already begun the priestly newsletter, "Shepherds of Christ", and the prayer chapters, Shepherds of Christ Associates...
'I am giving you this message on this day, the 77th Anniversary of the Great Apparition at Fatima, because of the close connection between the Shepherds of Christ movement and the Fatima message. The Fatima message is centered in devotion to My Heart and My Mother's Heart, especially in consecration to Our Hearts. Shepherds of Christ Ministries is also centered in devotion to Our Hearts. I will use Shepherds of Christ Ministries as a great instrument in helping to bring about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My Sacred Heart. When this occurs, My Church and the world will be experiencing the great era of peace promised by My Mother at Fatima.
'Today, then, October 13, 1994, the 77th Anniversary of the Great Apparition at Fatima, marks the birth of Shepherds of Christ Ministries. I pour forth the great love of My Sacred Heart to all. I am Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock.'
end of October 13, 1994 message given to Fr. Carter
July 30, 2005
Jesus speaks: To see
with eyes unveiled the workings
of satan in the lives of the people,
I write to you
that you will know this profound wisdom
to learn what it means
to say from the heart,
"forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us".
Where the flowers once bloomed
and the beauty flourished,
the fields are now trampled
and the sun ceases to shine
for the light comes across the sky
but they could not go from the darkness,
like the winged creatures
caught in the trap
their foot unable to escape.
They hung to the darkness
like bats against a vaulted ceiling.
Many lights had been given --
the instruction on how to discipline
the will,
but the agonizing grip of the evil one
like a black cloud hanging low
wrapping them as a web.
They could not escape
because their wills were undisciplined,
weak as termites
eating at the house.
Soon the walls caved in.
What My child have I given to you
in My instruction in My Blue Books
to be one in Me
or to be annihilated as one
giving in to the paralyzing, grip of satan.
Revelation Chapter 12
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. Then a second sign appeared in the sky: there was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Its tail swept a third of the stars from the sky and hurled them to the ground, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was at the point of giving birth, so that it could eat the child as soon as it was born. The woman was delivered of a boy, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron scepter, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had prepared a place for her to be looked after for twelve hundred and sixty days.
And now war broke out in heaven, when Michael with his angels attacked the dragon. The dragon fought back with his angels, but they were defeated and driven out of heaven. The great dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan, who had led all the world astray, was hurled down to the earth and his angels were hurled down with him. Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, 'Salvation and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that the accuser, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been brought down. They have triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word to which they bore witness, because even in the face of death they did not cling to life. So let the heavens rejoice and all who live there; but for you, earth and sea, disaster is coming-- because the devil has gone down to you in a rage, knowing that he has little time left.'
As soon as the dragon found himself hurled down to the earth, he sprang in pursuit of the woman, the mother of the male child, but she was given a pair of the great eagle's wings to fly away from the serpent into the desert, to the place where she was to be looked after for a time, two times and half a time. So the serpent vomited water from his mouth, like a river, after the woman, to sweep her away in the current, but the earth came to her rescue; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river spewed from the dragon's mouth. Then the dragon was enraged with the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, who obey God's commandments and have in themselves the witness of Jesus.
July 30, 2005 message continues
Jesus speaks: And the
tail swept the sky
and the stars fell
for their roots are not the roots
of the Divine God.
Stars hanging aimlessly
twinkling like the beautiful bodies
that adorn your earth
and yet the twinkle
lacked real depth and precision.
They were like washed dishes,
dirty pots inside.
One star can give such marvelous light
but the intensity of a star
deeply rooted in Me
will not fall
from the sky.
The seeds of time move exceedingly slow
little by little the devil creeps in
to finally rape and steal the sheep
in the night.
And when his attacks were getting closer,
they were playing their fiddle
in the night
to the tune of
Eat, drink and be merry.
Why one so richly blessed
could not see
but be deceived by the great deceiver.
A garden of rockets
satan plants.
Rockets he launches
in his attack
to up seat the camp
in one swift squall.
The bottom line is this:
you are weak-willed
and frivolous in your ways
of acting, because of your
failure to be rooted in My mission.
It is docility I seek and humility.
"Bend the stubborn heart and will
Melt the frozen, warm the chill
Guide the steps that go astray."
Here are new entries from God's Blue Book 4
September 13, 1994
Title: To Know Him is to Love Him
R. Mary pondered the ways of Jesus' Heart. She kept all these things in her Heart. She knows Jesus' Heart.
If I want to know someone, I want someone who knows them well to instruct me all about that person. I am thirsty. Mary knows the ways of His Heart. She instructs me in the ways of His Heart. She lived His sorrows and His joys. His Heart was formed in her womb. She is and was so close to Him.
To love someone, I just love them. I accept them as they are, I just love them. I love their heart. I love all the things I do not touch. I grow in love the more I know them.
To know God is to love Him. He is love. He is all good. How do I know Him more? Someone can tell me about Him. I am hungry for His love but it takes the gifts of the Spirit working in me to understand, to know, to be wise, to thirst after this love. It takes grace that He gives to me to know Him. Ultimately, it is a gift from Him whereby I know Him more. He gives me the knowledge to understand.
Oh, God, how I thirst with all my heart to know, love and serve You more. I live for this union with You. Open me, oh Spirit, to know the things of God, to grow in deepest love of God. Impart to me all the graces I need for such union with You. I am Yours, Lord, mold me, fashion me into the creation the Father wants me to be.
I am fullest when I am deeply united to my God and aware of my relationship with Him, spending time with Him. He fills me. I am more like the Father intended me to be. I become more one in Him. I love you more as I see God living within you. I must look for Christ in every living being.
The gifts of the Spirit come from God. I need the gifts of the Spirit. I cannot explain the love of God in words. He gives me graces to comprehend this love. I know His love in my heart. I cannot describe this love in words. He ultimately releases gifts whereby I grow in my knowledge and love of Him.
Note: I stopped at the Center to be with Him for 20 minutes.
I just want to be with Him. To live in this world is a cross, I want to stay here in front of the tabernacle.
I realize His presence within constantly, but it is so joyful for me, so exciting for me to be with Him in front of the tabernacle--words do not express my feeling. I realize more and more the Father and the Holy Spirit.
I saw a ball of fire, I saw hearts merging.
September 14, 1994
Title: He Gives Us His Gifts
R. He has created us in His own image and likeness.
Mary's heart: More and more I experience her heart. She carried Him as a baby, she held Him as a child, she held Him under the cross, she wept outside the tomb, see her after the resurrection and experience Him through her heart. She knew Him more than anyone, she shows me her sorrowful face, her joyful face and old face and a young face. The Rosary is their life - it becomes so alive in my heart.
I unite in my heart. I saw hearts with doors going upward, a ball of fire, then I saw Their Hearts. It is Their Hearts, powered by the love of the Holy Spirit that sends our hearts upward.
It is through the Spirit, He leads us to God. He knows exactly what we need to go to God. He gives us His gifts.
I can have all knowledge in the world. God gives me the grace to more understand deeply His mysteries. His life must live in my heart, it is more than knowledge and words. He gives me the ability to understand and love. Pray for His gifts - grace is poured out before the tabernacle.
September 17, 1994
Holy Spirit Center 7:00 a.m.
Looking At The Pieta
R. My dear Jesus, I ask to become closer to You, to grow so much more deeper in union with You.
Jesus: This is My great desire, My precious loved one, and you feel so much further away.
Messenger: I know how close You are, Jesus. It is in suffering I am drawn ever closer to Your loving arms. It is so much harder to seek You when You feel further away.
Jesus, I hear Your gentle voice say, "I will never abandon you" and I see your lifeless Body held by Your Mother.
(Looking at the Pieta):
This, Jesus, is true love. You gave Your very own life for me. I see Your dead Body. This is a reality. You died for love of Me. I see Your Body strung out in Your Mother's arms. I see her weeping face holding her beloved Son. I see You, Jesus. You gave Your all, even to death. You, Oh Jesus, gave Yourself to Your very own death for love of me!
Jesus speaks: I give you life in Me child. It is through this life you are raised to new life. I am the Way. I am the Truth. I am the Life. This period of dryness is ended by this period of realization. I am God. I am Jesus. I gave My Life for love of you, My dear, dear child. Come and be with Me, alone with Me My beloved one. Be alone with Me in your heart. When you wonder and worry, I am forever with you alive in your heart, loving you with such love that you do not fully know.
I never abandon you, My beloved one. I never go from your side. I am forever loving you with the most intense love at this moment.
Oh, My child, let go of it all and let Me caress you. I will hold you forever in a pocket in My most tender Heart. I am He Who loved you to My death. Hearken to Me and love Me. I never ever leave you. I love you consistently with the same intense love as the day I died for you. This, child, is My love for you.
September 17, 1994
This Is A Special Day For The Blue Book
Jesus speaks: This, child, is the 17th. No meeting today? I want you to have a meeting whenever possible on the 17th. It may be changed for a good reason, but I would like the 17th.
This is a special day for the Blue Book. I pour out My special gifts to all who work on these messages. I want My beloved ones to read My intense letters of love.
Anyone who helps My letters to get out will be blessed abundantly by Me. I love each child so dearly.
Tell all to pray every day in union with the Mass. Pray for all your brothers living and dead. It is your prayers that will make the difference. Pray for all who read My messages that they will grow in their knowledge and love of God. Pray for them, pray for your brothers.
Strive to be more like Christ in all your actions. Meditate on My rosary as We have shown you. Lead others to pray the rosary with such fervor and love.
Your hearts will grow in peace and joy as you grow in your union with God. This is the purpose of your life, to be forever drawn closer to My most Sacred Heart through the tender Heart of My Mother.
I love you each so much, My beloved ones. I am with you in a special way this day. I love you with the most tender Heart. I am the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so closely joined in love with My beloved Mother. It is through her Heart and the leading of the Holy Spirit that you will be led so closely to My heart and to the Father.
This is the mystery of life. Union with Father, Son and Holy Spirit through Mary's tender Heart. The more you grow in this union, the more your peace and joy increase.
Pray to God to release all the gifts you need to have greater knowledge and love of Him.
Pray to the Holy Spirit to lead you through Mary's Heart.
Pray, pray, pray. I love you so. I am Your loving Jesus.
September 18, 1994
Title: Comfort in the Father's Love
R. The Father loves me so much. He loves me unconditionally. He created me. He wants me to do His will. He asks for two things: love God and love one another. He looks on me with the greatest love. If my children are "not nice", it is hard not to love them. I still love them no matter what and they are still my "cute" beloved children!
God, the Father, just loves us. If I am struggling and not very Christ-like, He still loves me. I find such great comfort in His love. He gives me what I need. I need to run to my Father when I feel frightened. He pours out His love to me as no earthly father could!
September 18, 1994
Prayer
My Father, I need You so much. Come and pour out Your love to me. Help me to grow in my relationship with You.
I love You so much, my dear Father. I am Your little child.
Mold me, fashion me, into Your little one.
I am Yours, Father, Your creation. I want to live according to Your plan for me and do Your will.
Help me to be an instrument of love, help my heart to be loving - pour out your grace to me this day that I may know and love God more. I love You so much!
September 18, 1994
Mother Teresa's Prayer:
Mary, Mother of Jesus, give me your heart, so beautiful, so pure, so Immaculate, so full of love and humility, that I may be able to receive Jesus in the Bread of Life, love Him as you loved Him and serve Him in the distressing disguise of the Poorest of the Poor.
September 20, 1994
Title: You Are My Little Flower
Jesus: I am the way, the truth and the life. I call you, My sweet one, to total surrender. I want your all, give yourself to Me. To hold onto things is to hold on. Your children will be taken care of. As you let go, you will grow more in your union with Me. You must let go of the old life to be given the new life. Your new life is rooted in Me. I call you to total surrender.
Do you want this union? If you do, you will let go of those things that you hold on to that take you away from Me.
I love you with the dearest love. You are My most precious child. You must be willing to let go. I am tending to your life. I want you in constant prayer and tending to your family.
The people you talk to are your brothers and sisters. I am using you to tell them of My tremendous love. There are special gifts I give you to draw you closer to My Mother and Myself. Your Father is forever loving you and guarding you. You are His precious creation. The Holy Spirit is forever leading you to such love of God. Be alone with Me. Realize God's presence in your heart. God is forever within your very breast.
I am the Sacred Heart of Jesus. My Heart is on fire for love of you. You are My chosen one and I love you so much. You are My little flower. Oh, how I love you.
Alleluia, Alleluia.
September 22, Thursday, 1994 (Father Carter was diagnosed with cancer
6 years later on September 22, 2000)God the Father speaks: My little child, I speak to you as I have in
the past and you would not receive My messages,
you told yourself God the Father speaks to
no man. I have spoken to you many
times in the past and you were afraid
to write it.I am your Father my beloved child, I
speak to you to tell you My love. I am
the most loving Father, come and sit
on My lap and be close to Me.I want to hold you as My little
child and pour My love out to you.Do not be afraid, for I am forever
in your heart, loving you.I am your Father I come to give you
the love you need most.I am your Father little one, come
to Me.Messenger: Saw a vision of trees -
so peaceful and calm -
ready to bloom, light,
but no bright light.The Father created the glistening
trees, in the spring they are ready
to bud.God the Father speaks: You My child are ready
to bud with such love of the one
Triune God. Look at the trees glistening
in the light, not too much light, not
bright light, just light and glistening
trees. Calmness, subdued light,
a feeling of immense peace and joy.Peace and joy will be yours My child,
be wrapped in the embrace of the one
Triune God. Look at the trees, soft,
created by the hand of God.
A little budding on the branches.
Room for so much growth.
What glory to watch these trees grow
in the glory of the Lord. They will be
in full bloom. They will turn their
leaves and grow in the love of the
Father who created each tree with
such love. He loves you as His very
own special child. Look at the trees,
so peaceful, so calm, so young in their
life. Such potential to grow. Such
potential to be full of the life that
makes them grow. Come to the living
waters of your faith. Feed on the water
and bathe in the sunlight. Your days
of prosperity are at hand. As you grow
in the love of God your heart is
quieted and you know the peace and joy
that only His love can bring.Look at yourself as the little trees
ready to sprout into fullness. The fullness
of the life of God flowing in its very roots.
As your roots are nourished, as your branches
bake in the basking sun, as you grow
more and more in our love, you will be this
mighty oak. You will grow to such heights
and strength you will not topple in the wind,
you will not lose your leaves to the frost,
you will bask in My sun and grow to full
maturity in My love. I am the Almighty
God and I have chosen you to full
nurturing in My love.Jesus speaks: Bathe before Me in front of My tabernacle
and soak in My light. It feeds you and
makes you grow. As you bathe in My
light you drink and eat of My
Body and Blood. Daily, you come and
you are fed on My very own flesh.This child is life for the soul, this is
participation in My life. It is in
My life you are made whole. Nothing
provides this life, but God. Pray for
the grace to know and love Me. Pray,
pray, pray, be empty, be open,
Come and bake in the sunlight of My
Heart. I shine from the tabernacle,
sweet one, I wait there for you.Do not think you do not need to come,
though I dwell deep in your soul, you
are nourished by My Body and Blood, My
presence is forever with you, but
I am waiting for you to sit with
Me in front of the tabernacle.Your interior union will grow
with Me as the mighty oak that is rooted
so strongly in the ground. Your life in Me
is alive and vibrant, but it will be
enhanced by the fire of the love of
God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Mary
forever with you and leading you into
such loving union with all Three
Persons.Oh child such joy I have to share with
you. I give you so freely My life and My gifts.
I long to be forever united in such
union with you. Let go of the world and
your fears and focus only on Me.I am the way, the truth and the life.
I never leave you My beloved child. Place
all you love in My Heart. I will never
abandon you. You must trust
totally in Me.I am Jesus, Savior of this world and
life to your soul. Feast on My Body
and Blood for I come to you.Do not look only My children, for gifts in
this world, come to Me and let Me pour out
the gifts only God can give you. I give
you a sharing in My life. This life
is a vibrant force within your soul,
it is not dry and inactive, it is alive and
well formed in Me. Oh sweet one, do
not ever lose heart, I move not an
inch from you. I watch you daily,
minute by minute. Live in Me
that your life will be made whole.
I am your God. I love you with
the most enduring love. Come and
let Me give you My life.Messenger: And He gave them new life inside their
souls. Their hearts were quieted, their
bodies surrendered and they lived
in the love of God. Alleluia.
September 23, 1994
Title: Live Your Life for Me
Jesus:
I come that you might have life and have it to the full. What matters child? I am with you at this moment and your heart is thinking about other things. Come to Me and release yourself to My presence. I am God and I am totally with you this day. You wonder, you search, you become very lost and before you, is He Who knows the way. I know all things, not some, - all! Come to Me and release yourself into My loving arms. I am He Who sustains you.
Messenger: The thirst in my soul for God's love. I see His love ever present in you this day. I seek with my whole heart the love of God. He has given us to one another to be reflections of His love. In our darkest hour each person is still a reflection of God who created them.
Each person was divinely created by God the Father. We were created in love, we are the product of His love. To be more like Christ we must seek the life of Christ alive in our souls. This is a gift from God! At baptism we are given new life. This life is given to us from God. This is a gift - the sacraments of the Church. This is a gift from God.
-- At baptism we receive a special sharing in His life.
-- Our knowing and loving capacity is elevated.
-- This life is not sterile, dry and inactive.
-- This life is the vibrant love of God, active in our very being. God lives and dwells in our soul.
This presence is more or less intense, depending on our union with Him.
He is forever present in a special way when we are baptized and in the state of grace.
We must be Christ-like.
His life is active.
We receive special grace through the sacraments.
We get very much grace when we go to the Eucharist and sit before the Blessed Sacrament.
I thirst after His love. I see God in you.
September 23, 1994
After Communion
Title: To Know Him is To Love
R. The more I love God, the more time I want to be with Him. God's love is infinite. I can forever grow in my love of Him. It is through His outpouring of His life I partake more and more in His divine life. He gives me the gift to know and love Him more.
The more I know Him, the more I love Him, the more I thirst after this love of Him. To know Him is to seek Him, to want to love Him more. He gives us a share in His life. He gives us greater grace to share more deeply in His life. He is the gift giver, I am the recipient. To be more saturated with His grace that is my desire. His grace is a gift to me. I can accept His grace. I can reject His grace.
His grace is given - I am the recipient. I respond to grow in greater love and knowledge. I pray for this grace to know and love Him more. I thirst after knowledge of Him. I am drawn to Him as steel to the magnet. The pull becomes greater, the closer I get. The more I know and love Him, the more I see His life present in my fellow beings. This is what I seek to know Him and love Him more. How can I not love you, my brother, when you are created by God? To love God is to love you! I want to love Him. I see you more through His eyes. I see you more as the Divine creation of the Father. I see you as the person Jesus died for and know how He loves you.
You are my brother. God is my Father, God is your Father. God is Jesus' Father, Mary is my Mother, Mary is your Mother, Mary is Jesus' Mother.
The Spirit is the love between the Father and Son. How can I not love the Spirit more and more!
God is love. He loved us first that we might share in this life of love. Who are we that He loves us so much? We are His divine creation, a product of His love. We were created in love. We are so loved. Let us then love one another as true brothers in Christ.
Song: Let There Be Peace On Earth
I must love God above all things. I must strive to love all those God created more and more.
Father Carter's writing on grace from Response in Christ
1. WHAT IS GRACE?
Grace is first and foremost the lavish self-giving or self-communication of God to man through the person Christ. This is the stress of St. Paul. Contemporary theology therefore is correct in describing grace first of all in terms of the special presence of the Triune God. The divine persons are present to give us a participation in their own life, to be a guide of our actions, and to be known and loved by us. This special presence is variously named: the divine indwelling, the indwelling of the Trinity, uncreated grace. "If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him." (Jn 14:23).
Through this special presence, Father, Son and Holy Spirit unite themselves so intimately to us in personal love that their image is left upon us. This image of the Trinity is sanctifying grace. There are, then, two great realities of grace: God’s personal self-communication, or uncreated grace, and created grace, or the life of sanctifying grace.
As we have just mentioned, God’s gift of Himself in a special loving presence is the aspect of grace which should be stressed. But the reality of created grace—the life God gives us—should also receive its due attention. Scripture so bids us. The eminent biblical scholar, John L. McKenzie, after commenting on numerous New Testament passages, observes: "Wide as may seem to be the range of these passages, they have in common the conception of grace as something given, received, a reality in the Christian and in the world in which the Christian lives."4 Also, looking at the thought of St. Paul, we have the words of Rondet: "In First Corinthians, Paul’s theology of grace takes a big step forward. He continues to speak of grace as a special mercy, a special goodness of God (1 Cor 1,3). But grace now also appears as a created gift, a permanent favor. It is a kind of supernatural power, and charisms in some way embody various aspects of it."5 Rondet speaks further about Paul’s theology of grace: "In chapter 4 of Second Corinthians, grace appears clearly as an interior principle of spiritual life. It is no accident that Paul goes on to talk about the interior man, the ‘inner nature which is being renewed every day’ (4,16)...."6 Consequently, the reality of the life of sanctifying or created grace is very clear in the New Testament.
Created grace, or the life of sanctifying grace, actually inheres in us. On the other hand, the persons of the Trinity specially present to us (uncreated grace), despite their mysteriously close union with us, never become a part of our natures. Although the special presence of the divine persons and sanctifying grace always coexist, these two realities are nevertheless distinct.
Sanctifying grace is best described as a life. It is a sharing in divine life. This life is one of the great themes of St. John. In the theology of John the purpose of the Incarnation is precisely this—to reveal and communicate divine life to men.7 "I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full." (Jn 10:10).
God is bold and daring. Without God’s revelation, who would dare to think that God offers man a share in His own divine life? In Their self-communication to us, and in their sharing of divine life with us, the Trinity truly offers us a daring challenge. They bid us to live life at its fullest, to live a life patterned after their own. Through the new powers which grace gives us, they inexorably call us to go out of our self-centeredness and live a life of dynamic love-relationships with Themselves and man. Through this life of love They ask us to continue the work of Their love, the work of creation and redemption. Through this life of love They ask us to help change the face of the earth. Summarily, our life in Christ is a call to the greatness of love.
To talk of grace, then, is primarily to talk of the personal relationships in love which are established by our Christ-life. These personal relationships we wish to stress in our treatment of grace. First of all, however, we should briefly discuss basic ideas concerning the life of sanctifying grace, which is the foundation for ability to enter into these personal relationships. All things being equal, the more we know about sanctifying grace, the better we can understand and appreciate the nature of these personal relationships in Christ.
Although the life of sanctifying grace is a reality distinct from our natural life, it is not something superimposed upon our nature as icing is added to a cake. Rahner states: "The nature of a spiritual being and its supernatural elevation are not opposed to each other like two things which lie side by side, so that they must be either kept separate or confused. The supernatural elevation of man is, though not due to him, the absolute fulfillment of his being...."8
Our Christ-life permeates our persons completely. Nothing which is good is destroyed. All is elevated to a new level of existence, for through grace we enter a new life. St. Paul affirms: "And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here." (2 Co 5:17)
Why are we able to live on a new level of existence through grace? The answer lies in the fact that we receive a created sharing in the divine nature. Nature, we know, is a principle or capacity of operation according to a certain level of existence. An angel can perform acts of an angel because he has an angelic nature. A man can know intellectually because he has a rational nature. Likewise, through our Christ-life of grace we can perform God-like acts because we have received a new nature. Scripture speaks to us about our participation in the nature of God. In one of the most noted passages of the New Testament on the life of grace, we read: "By His divine power, he has given us all the things we need for life and for true devotion, bringing us to know God himself, who has called us by his own glory and goodness. In making these gifts, he has given us the guarantee of something very great and wonderful to come: through them you will be able to share the divine nature and to escape corruption in a world that is sunk in vice." (2 P 1:3-4).
It is not sufficient that we possess this Christ-life, this new vital principle. Also we need the supernatural faculties through which this Christ-life can both express itself and grow. This is evident if we consider our natural life as an analogy. It is not sufficient to possess a human nature. The life of this nature has to express itself and grow through various sense and spiritual faculties. For instance, one expresses his life as a man when he uses his intellect or when he walks.
What are the supernatural faculties through which my Christ-life expresses itself and grows? These faculties are the supernaturally infused virtues, chief of which are faith, hope and love. These virtues give the Christian the capacity to channel his Christ-life into the various areas of his total existence. Or to put it in a slightly different manner, we can say that these virtues allow the Christian to relate properly to God, man and the rest of creation. They are positive modifications of the person, allowing him to act with various Christian attitudes. The virtues, in turn, are activated by actual grace which affects both our intellects and our wills.
God has given the Christian still another gift of grace. We refer here to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are capacities which allow the Christian in a special manner to be receptive to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. These gifts, in turn, have as their purpose the perfecting of the infused virtues. Theologians teach that the virtues do not achieve a mature stage of development without the simultaneous activity of the gifts.
Another important aspect of grace is that which is termed external. External actual grace is a person, place or thing which serves as an occasion for internal grace. We must realize the extreme importance of external grace, especially concerning persons. There are many examples. A wife can receive God’s grace through the loving presence of her husband. The witness of a dedicated Christian can inspire us to greater things. The love and encouragement of a friend can spur us to a more generous self-giving in the work of Christ. Yes, persons are extremely important in God’s plan.
How does our Christ-life grow? This growth centers around the themes of love. Our Christ-life grows as we open ourselves up to God’s love in the sacraments, especially the eucharist. We grow in Christ through the love of God and man which is expressed in various types of meritorious actions performed in the state of grace. We grow in Christ when God in His love graciously answers our prayers through which we have petitioned Him to take deeper possession of us through, for instance, an increase of faith, hope and love. In summary, we grow in our Christ-life through the various dimensions of loving relationships with God and others. Love is all important. The other virtues are important to the degree that they are influenced by love and serve love.
end of excerpt
September 24, 1994
Title: Grace
R. Our Catholic Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic instituted by Christ to give grace. Sanctifying grace is a sharing in His life, life is in Him. It is freely given to us by God out of His great love for us. We have a human nature. God gives His grace.
God gives us grace in His goodness. We have a free will to accept it or reject God's grace. God can give us special graces to help us avoid sin.
His grace is released in the sacraments. Man is happy when he is following God's will and in a state of grace. If we are to be happy we must follow the will of the Father.
September 24, 1994
Saturday - 6:30 - 9:30
Title: I Never Leave You
Jesus: I am your sweet one, My beloved. I never leave you. Your heart experiences Me during the day. I never ever leave you. Your jobs are many, you must be free to go wherever I send you. I am forever connected in such intense love, constantly in your heart. You never go from Me.
(Vision)
Your dark times are those times when you are not doing your private prayer with Me. I am still with you, you see Me, you love Me, you feel Me, but you do not have that intense intimacy as we do when you are spending time with Me.
Oh, how I love you, My dear, dear child! I am forever united in such intimate union with you. I forever operate in your being. Your surrender will draw you closer to Me.
September 24, 1994
Title: Trust Me
To Father Carter and Rita
Jesus: I call you to be united and working together in intimacy. This will help My work be done, as you grow in greater oneness - as you work as one mind and one heart with the same plan I give you. The devil will try to divide you, he will plant thoughts of division in your mind. Trust Me. You are both to lead one another to greater intimacy with Me through My Mother's most tender heart. Your support for one another is crucial to the deeds you must both accomplish. I am leading you both, separately, and jointly, to accomplish My task, to promote devotion to My Heart through My Mother's Heart.
Your support and love of each other is important for this endeavor. Your love of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit will grow as you trust one another and open up to the experiences you are having, growing in your relationship with Me. Each person will help the other see the whole picture you need to do this work. Hold not back your experiences with Me. Tell one another your intimate experiences with God. You will both grow in your relationship with Me as you share your experiences with Me. You will lead so many to My Most Sacred Heart. Trust one another and do not give into any promptings of Satan to divide you. Come to My Heart and rest forever there. I am your most loving Jesus, through My Mother's tender Heart you will accomplish this task and lead so many to My Heart.
I love you so much. I am the Sacred Heart of Jesus. You are My apostles. I will lead you to such intense union with Me, the Father and Holy Spirit. I love you so much.
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