Messenger: Father went to China to say Mass despite
his sickness.
On September 22, 2000 he was opened up, found
out he had cancer and died
December 18, 2000.
Father Carter realized the importance of his
trips to China.
He went September 1, 2000 and September 8, 2000.
September 8, 2000 was his last trip,
when we celebrated Mary's birthday.
I didn't know how he made the trip.
On the way to China
Front of St. Anthony's - our church in China
Front door of St. Anthony's - our church in China
Mural over the altar in China
China, Indiana
China, Indiana
China, Indiana
China, Indiana
Father Carter's Homily
John 6:51-58
"'I am the living bread which has come down from
heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that
I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’ Then the Jews
started arguing among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to
eat?’ Jesus replied to them: In all truth I tell you, if you do not eat
the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I
shall raise that person up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and
my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in
me and I live in that person. As the living Father sent me and I draw life
from the Father, so whoever eats me will also draw life from me. This is
the bread which has come down from heaven; it is not like the bread our
ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live for
ever."
Fr. Carter's homily:
Again, as we have the Votive Mass of the
Holy Eucharist, we have occasion to
dwell on the great gift which is ours in
the Eucharist and to deepen our spirit of thanksgiving. We have the Eucharist
in the Mass as sacrifice, in which Jesus invites us as we share in His
priestly power to offer sacrifice to the Father in the Spirit. And then we
have the Eucharist as Sacrament, as we receive Jesus in His Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity at Communion time. And then we have the ongoing opportunity
of visiting, of worshipping, of praying to Jesus present in the Blessed
Sacrament as that is reserved in the tabernacle.
Some years ago, not too many—was early
part of 1989—had the opportunity to visit Versailles, the palatial complex
at Versailles in France where the French kings lived for some 100 years before
the French Revolution, and it is an amazing sight, even these hundreds of
years later has been very well preserved, and it is like a little city in
itself. There was apparently room to house some hundreds or at least about a
thousand servants plus the royal family itself, and as you went through that,
as one goes through that palatial palace, palatial surroundings, you are
overwhelmed by the earthly splendor of the whole thing.
I also had the opportunity to visit another
place in France, the little house and the little church which was home to the
Cure of Ars, St. John Vianney, for so many years; and what a difference
between the palatial complex of Versailles and the humble dwelling of this
great saint of God. They have preserved his original living quarters more or
less as they were at his time, and so simple, so simple to the standpoint of
certain degree of poverty, and yet he was rich, he was rich beyond our wildest
imagination. Why? Because each day he had the Eucharist. He offered Sacrifice
in that little church which now has become a basilica, and also he spent many,
many hours before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. What a difference—Versailles, the residence, and the church of the Cure of Ars at Ars. And I
don't think it's stretching the comparison too much to compare your dwelling
here at China, so very, very simple and humble, and yet you too are rich
beyond your imaginations because from time to time we have the Eucharist here
together in Sacrifice. But always, you have the Eucharist, Jesus present with
you, 24 hours a day in the tabernacle.
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the
wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he
loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your
son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that
hour the disciple took her into his home.
This is Our Lady and the Child Jesus
from China, Indiana |
Fr. Carter's homily:
This certainly is one of my favorite scenes in all of
Scripture, and I'm sure it is relative to yourselves. Jesus, near the point of
death, so tenderly gives Mary to us as our spiritual Mother, John representing
all of us. We know in the natural order of things, according to natural
motherhood, no matter how many children a mother has, she has a very, very
special relationship with each of her children. So it is with Mary. Despite the
fact that she is Mother of the whole human race, and this is so hard for us to
grasp but it is so true—she has that most tender, special, unique love for
each of us. If you could imagine the most loving mother possible here upon earth
in the natural order of motherhood, the great love of that mother for her
children would fade into just a tiny, tiny measure of the love which Mary has
for each of us. In other words, she loves us much, much, much, much more than
the most loving mother in the natural order of motherhood loves her children.
And what a consoling thought this is. We always have to remember that God chose
Mary as the human person instrument through which to give us Jesus, and her
Fiat, in her saying yes at the scene of the Annunciation, she pledged that she
would cooperate with the Holy Spirit in bringing Jesus into this world. That
same pattern repeats itself in a different order now of course, but the pattern
repeats itself in the sense that God the Father still gives us Jesus through
Mary, as she cooperates with the divine action of the Holy Spirit. And so these
two: the Holy Spirit in using the cooperation of Mary, His spouse, are always
forming Jesus within us in a deeper fashion. What a great gift, of Mary to us as
our spiritual Mother. We can never thank our Lord enough for this.
This is Father Carter delivering
homily |
St. Bernard, Doctor of the Church, which means he is not
only outstanding for his holiness but for his spiritual wisdom, gives us some
very, very tender and moving words concerning Mary in our life. He says,
"If you will not be submerged by tempests, do not turn away your eyes from
the splendor of this star. If the storms of temptation arise, if you crash
against the rocks of tribulation, look to the star [that star, of course, is
Mary], call upon Mary. If you are tossed about on the waves of pride, of
ambition, of slander, of hostility, look to the star, call upon Mary. If wrath
or avarice or the enticements of the flesh upset the boat of your mind, look to
Mary. If you are disturbed by the immensity of your crimes...If you begin to be
swallowed up by the abyss of depression and despair, think of Mary! In danger,
in anxieties, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her name not leave
your lips, nor your heart, and that you may receive the help of her prayer, do
not cease to follow the example of her conduct...If she holds you, you will not
fall, if she protects you, you need not fear."
1
Note:
1. St. Bernard, as in Hilda Graef, Mary: A History of Doctrine
and Devotion, Christian Classics, Vol. I, p. 237.
end of August 12, 2000 homily
August 1
4,
2000
Father Carter's Homily
Matthew 17: 22-27
Second prophecy of the Passion
When they were together in Galilee, Jesus said to them,
‘The Son of man is going to be delivered into the power of men; they
will put him to death, and on the third day he will be raised up again.’
And a great sadness came over them.
The Temple tax paid by Jesus and Peter
When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the
half–shekel came to Peter and said, ‘Does your master not pay the
half–shekel?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied, and went into the house. But
before he could speak, Jesus said, ‘Simon, what is your opinion? From
whom do earthly kings take toll or tribute? From their sons or from
foreigners?’ And when he replied, ‘From foreigners,’ Jesus said,
‘Well then, the sons are exempt. However, so that we shall not be the
downfall of others, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish
that rises, open its mouth and there you will find a shekel; take it and
give it to them for me and for yourself.’
Fr. Carter's homily:
‘The Son of man is going to be delivered
into the power of men; they will put him to death, and on the third
day he will be raised up again.’ (Matthew 17: 22-23)— words towards
the beginning of today's Gospel. Jesus paved the way in a very special way for
all His disciples but in also a unique way for those who were to be martyred,
and today we celebrate the memory of one of those martyrs, St. Maximilian
Kolbe. So for the cause of the Father as Jesus gave Himself up to death—so
the martyrs for the cause of the Father, in Christ, gave themselves up to
martyrdom. They realized that this life here upon earth is only a relative
good. They 
would not trade it in a million years in denial of Christ for the
saving of that life, trading it for eternal life. Their whole being shuddered
at this idea. They realize that this life—good as it is—is not the
ultimate life, eternal life is. And yet paradoxically in a type of
contradiction according to the minds of some, the ones who think in a worldly
way, they cannot realize that these very martyrs who gave up life upon this
earth took it with utter seriousness, much more, with much more seriousness
than do those who do not believe in eternal life. And why do they take it with
utter seriousness, this life which they gave up in martyrdom? Because they
realized it was a preparation for eternal life and they made the most of it.
They knew that each day of their lives their eternity was being shaped, and
that's why the saints who even died at an early age, for instance St. Theresa
of Lisieux, died at the age I believe it was 24, St. Claude de
Columbiere, the great apostle of the Sacred Heart, died at the age of 41. His
great partner in spreading the devotion of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, St.
Margaret Mary Alacoque died at the age of 43. Two of the young Jesuit saints,
seminarians, died in their twenties. So these saints who died at a relatively early age, we know how much
importance they put upon each day, because they knew each day was shaping
their eternities and those whom they were called to help on the way to eternal
life.
So let us not waste our days, each day is
so precious. We speak of the age old mountains, the deathless stars, the
eternal hills. And yet these expressions we have for timelessness are only a
faint indication of the timelessness of eternity. So let us look upon each day
as a precious opportunity to help shape our eternities according to God's will
and help others to shape their eternities according to God's will. Even the
longest life passes so quickly. Our days are numbered—let us remember that.
Let us make the most of them. The Book of Sirach reminds us, in relationship
to this earth time-span and the timelessness of eternity, we read, "The
length of his life: a hundred years at most. Like a drop of water
from the sea, or a grain of sand, such are these few years compared with
eternity."
(Sirach 18: 9-10)
end of August 14, 2000 homily
August
23,
2000
Father Carter's Homily
John 6:51-58
"'I am the living bread which has come down from
heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that
I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’ Then the Jews
started arguing among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to
eat?’ Jesus replied to them: In all truth I tell you, if you do not eat
the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I
shall raise that person up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and
my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in
me and I live in that person. As the living Father sent me and I draw life
from the Father, so whoever eats me will also draw life from me. This is
the bread which has come down from heaven; it is not like the bread our
ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live for
ever."
Fr. Carter's homily:
In this beautiful section from John's
Gospel, Jesus speaks to us of the Eucharist, that most loving gift of Himself
in the Eucharist.
It is easy for a star athlete to fall into
the trap of making his or her sport the center of his or her existence. All
one's thoughts and so much of one's activity is given to excelling in that
particular sport. Sport can, unless the athlete takes proper precautions, be
all consuming. It becomes the center of his or her existence. The same with an
actor or an actress. The field is so competitive and the artistic drive 
within
a person in this field of endeavor can take over in a wrong way and make an
acting career the all-be of that person's existence, the end for which that
person exists, the center of that person's existence. The same with a research
scientist, he or she can become so absorbed in scientific research and
reaching a solution to scientific inquiry in this or that respect that again,
the science becomes the center of that person's existence. And a
businessman—business success and the making of more and more money can
become the center of that person's existence. Or even another human person,
for another person can become the center of that person's existence. These, of
course, are all misdirected approaches regarding the center of life, the
center of one's life, the center of one's existence. And the center of
existence for the committed Christian, it is the Eucharistic Christ. It is the
Eucharistic Christ.
end of August 23, 2000 homily
August 15, 2001 message continues
Messenger: Here are some letters received.
We are sending the Apostles of the Eucharistic
Heart material to the priests in the 90 countries.
We still need about $9,000 for the postage.
The bags are sitting in China ready
to go.
Here is some letters of the overwhelming
response we have already received
from the Foreign mailing.
Archbishop's House
Pakistan
6 August 2001
Dear Rev. _____
I am not sure if you are a
priest or a layman, but for safety's
sake I addressing you as Rev. _____
It is my task to expose the
Blessed Sacrament every afternoon
for adoration in the St. _____ Cathedral, so I spend at least half
an hour in adoration every weekday quite regularly. I do not know
if this entitles me to obtain membership of the Apostles of the
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, but that is not necessary.
On Sundays, we do not expose
the Blessed Sacrament, as there
are 5 regular Masses, and as a priest I myself have about three Masses
each Sunday. If I get time, I make my meditation in the afternoon in
the private Chapel.
Some other Parishes too have
regular adoration in their
churches, and I will ask them if they wish to be enrolled as Apostles
of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
With kind regards,
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Archbishop of _____
Diocese of ______
2 August 2001
Dear John,
Loving greetings and prayerful wishes to you from Bishop _____ of
the diocese of _____, A.P. India. Received your membership form to
join the Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. Thank you for the
same and herewith I am filling the form and sending to you for the
membership. Please send more forms for my priests and religious. Happy
also to hear that you are getting ready with the Newsletter Book II. I
wish all success for the same. Let us all learn to love the Eucharistic
Heart of Jesus and draw more graces from it.
With blessings,
+ _______
Bishop of ______
Diocese of ______
2 August 2001
Dear John,
Loving greetings and prayerful wishes to you from Bishop _____ of
the diocese of _____, A.P. India.
I received a parcel of the Audio Cassettes of the Shepherds of Christ
Ministries. But they are only enough for some of my priests only.
Therefore I request you to send me another parcel of 30 sets of cassettes
more for my priests and religious in the diocese. You can send them
directly to my address and I shall make it available for the priests.
Wishing you all the best and prayers, I remain
Yours in the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus,
+ _______
Ghana
July 24, 2001
Dear Rev. Ed. Carter,
APPRECIATION
I am most grateful for the additional materials. I have been away
for some time now. The external assignment is virtually over, at
least for now.
I am glad to inform you that some of the groups to which I first
introduced this spiritual exercise have become conversant with the
procedure. They are now at home with the prayers and have
willingly accepted the program. Here we are with the list of three
Chapters; 1. ______ chapter with (11) eleven members: _____
Chapter with (5) five, and _________ with (4) four. I
hope every indication here is satisfactory.
There are some other groups that I need to observe and assist
for some time. In due course their would be sent accordingly;
and again I am still looking for more avenues for the expansion
of the program. It is my prayer that these will work hard and that
we will be able to win more Associates to pray these intentions.
Thanks and May the Lord bless you.
Fraternally Yours
Rev. S.A.
To: info@SofC.org
Sent: Saturday, August 11, 2001 2:49 AM
Subject: Membership Form
Dear John,
Thank you for the Newsletter, July 18, 2001, which I received a few days
ago, and I want to submit with all my heart my application for Membership to
the "Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus". The particulars,
as asked by the form, are as follows:
Fr. M.
C.
India.
To: info@SofC.org
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 10:58 PM
Subject: Request from Philippines Dear Rev. Edward Carter, S.J. Editor
Shepherds of Christ Ministries
Greetings of peace & joy!
I am Sr. _______, a Novice Directress from the congregation of the
__________, Philippines. I have read one of the copies of
your Shepherds of Christ, a spirituality newsletter for Priests and others
interested in the spiritual life (Issue 3) 2000. I borrowed it from a
friend. I was very much impressed & nourished with this Special Issue,
so I shared it to my formandees and they like it very much. It is really a
great help in building up spiritual knowledge & life. In connection to
this I would like to ask your generous heart if you could send us a copy
of your next issues & so on in the future. I'd like also to know more
information about this newsletters, books & cassettes.
Thank you & God bless!
In Christ,
Sr. ___,
Philippines
To: info@SofC.org
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 7:11 PM
Subject: Permission to Print Article
Dear Shepherds of Christ
Last evening when reading God's Blue Book I came across the message
February 18, 1994 "Come to My Tabernacle" that I would like to
receive permission to publish.
I am the Chairman of the Society of __________ in New
Zealand which is a body that has been running for two years now and which
was set up with the approval of the NZ Catholic Bishops Conference to whom
we are annually accountable. This year we will be publishing four
newsletters that are photocopied onto two A3 size sheets or alternatively
fold into eight A4 pages. We tend to run articles from overseas
Eucharistic Adoration Society newsletters, the Internet, local stories and
general interest items. We only have about 250 members and ran off about
1000 copies of our last issue.
We would be happy to post you a copy of our last issue so you can see
the quality of our presentation.
If you give your consent, we would be happy to list out the source and
any other particulars you may wish.
Yesterday we ordered a draft for $95 for the initial order that has
been placed.
May the Holy Spirit help you to spread these messages. Pat
To: info@SofC.org
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 10:43 AM
Subject: letter
Dear Father,
I am ____ ____, a graduate of philosophy from
the University of _____, I am Baptized and confirmed
in the catholic church, I love to be a catholic priest
and I have been trying to get in touch with any
diocese that will accept me until a friend of mine
came to visit me and I saw a copy of the shepherds of
christ newsletter.
In that newsletter, I saw a letter where Fr. ___________
of ______ in Sri Lanka said he has 72 seminarians and
he has received 60 applications out of which he will select
30 students. I also know that his Bishop is His Lordship,
Bishop F. _____. Fr. ____ also requested that some
copies of the newsletter be sent to him for his seminarians
and that gives me the confidence that you have his address.
Please, I sincerely want to apply to that diocese and I
want you to please, kindly help me to get in touch
with him. I also want to sincerely appeal to you, If
you can not get in touch, please, kindly send me their
e-mail address and postal address too, but preferably
their e-mail address, please.
I want to sincerely state that I am not requesting for
any financial assistance and if I am accepted, I can
come over on my own. Apart from the zeal to work
outside my country as a priest, I have strong family
opposition to my vocation.
Please father, apart from the diocese of Sir Lanka, if
there is any other diocese that can accept me,
please, kindly send me their e-mail and postal
addresses. I want to thank you for the newsletter. It
has totally renew my spirituality. May God continue to
assist you people. I hope I am not asking too much. I
would have love to get a copy of the newsletter.
I am anxiously expecting your favourable reply, I
strongly appeal to you to please help me out. Looking
forward to hearing from you soon.
Bye,
Yours in christ
Tony.
Nigeria.
To: info@SofC.org
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 8:29 AM
Subject: Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus
Dear John,
Greetings of peace and Joy in the Lord from New Delhi
- INDIA.
Thank you for the membership form which I am also sending by post.
Congratulations for spreading the devotion and Love for the Eucharistic
Lord. His presence in our Life makes all the difference.
I certainly would count it a privilege to be a member
of the
Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
Kindly include my name too.
Please note my new address:
Wishing you a very happy feast of the Assumption of
our Blessed Mother,
In our Eucharistic Lord,
Fr. M.V. S.D.B.
To: info@SofC.org
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 5:07 AM
Subject: Membership Form
Dear Rev. Fr. ___
I am from Sri Lanka and I receive your Shepherds of Christ continuously. I
gain so much of valuable blessings by them and I give copies of the
newsletter to priests in Sri Lanka too.
I am so happy to be part of the movement of the Eucharistic Heart of
Jesus.
I make it a point to daily visit the Blessed Sacrament and pray before
Jesus
who is alive. I am so glad now I can pray the chaplet of the Shepherds of
Christ as a volunteer. I will get more members enrolled from our local
church who would volunteer to pray before the Blessed Sacrament and fax
you
details.
I strongly believe that prayers said before the Blessed Sacrament never go
unanswered. Please do let me know if you need any help from Sri Lanka and
with God's help I will do all I could to spread this devotion amongst the
local people.
May God bless all the wonderful work you are doing.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs. A. E.
To: info@SofC.org
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2001 7:41 AM
Subject: greetings from ______
I am regular reader of your book let. Yours is a wonderful site in the web
Fr. M. K.
Secretary to the bishop
To: info@SofC.org
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2001 1:39 PM
Subject: Change of Address
Medjugorje
Mon Aug 6, 2001
Dear Mr. _____, Peace!
I am an American born Franciscan of Croatian descent. I served here for
confessions etc 13 years during which time I used to receive your mailings
under the name:
Rev. P., O.F.M.
While visiting here recently, your mailing of July 18, 2001 arrived.
However,
since last October I am back in the USA, so would like to inform you about
my
change of address. But if you would like to continue sending your mailings
to
Medjugorje, put in the name of this priest instead and make the
corresponding
corrections.
Rev S. K., O.F.M.
I was surprised and sorry to learn of Fr Carter's death last December.
May the Eternal Shepherd now fully reveal himself to Fr. Carter and bring
all
the rest of us home safely forever too. May He reward you and bless your
work
on behalf of his priests.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. P. OFM
Table of
Contents
Previous Daily Message
Main Shepherds of Christ Page
Copyright © 2001 Shepherds of
Christ.