Deuteronomy 4: 39-40

    ‘Hence, grasp this today and meditate on it carefully: Yahweh is the true God, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper and live long in the country that Yahweh your God is giving you for ever.’

                            Jesus is the Light of the World  —

                            God calls in this Gospel to
                                    go out

                            We are called by God  —
                                    Call
                                    Response  —

                            To establish the Kingdom  —

                            Not to sit back as spectators  —

                            To go out and to put God's
                                    message out there  —

                            To be a light in our example.

                            To be one who brings growth
                                    to the world  —

                            God goes out to call
                                    workers  —

                            Envy  — sadness at the good
                                    of another  —

                            Instead of being grateful
                                    for God's gifts  —

                            We are to give ourselves  —

                            Christ shows us to give ourselves  —

                            God calls workers to go out
                                    into the world to build
                                        God's Kingdom.

                            God is so good to us.

                            The Gift of baptism a sharing in
                                    His life  —

                            God first loved us  —

                            We give not looking at our neighbor  —

                            We give because God calls us
                                    to give  — not be
                                    envious of our brother  —

                            God gives us so much.

                            We are to give as God calls us
                                    not base it on our neighbor.

                            Read the Gospel again  —

                            That we all may be one.

                            That those who serve God in the
                                    consecrated life will give
                                    themselves as they are called
                                    generously without envy and
                                    slothfulness.

                            We can have energy for what
                                    we want and

                            Have no energy for God's will
                                    our vocation  —
                                    because we don't want anybody
                                    telling us what to do  —

                            Oh God teach us to serve You
                                    as You deserve

                            Jesus in Your generosity
                                You give us Yourself  —
                                You give us Yourself in
                                the Eucharist  —

                            One who is envious like the workers
                                in the vineyard are basing
                                what they think on what others
                                are doing  —
                                Not giving freely because

                                God calls us and
                                we are to be generous  —

                            Why do we think we deserve
                                the gift of baptism  —
                                the Eucharist  —

                            Jesus died on a cross for us  —

                            God is generous we are to thank
                                  Him for His gifts not
                                  be jealous, envious of
                                  what God has given to others.

                            God gives us because He loves
                                   us so much  —

                            Do we deserve eternal life  —

                                  How do you measure
                                        this  —

                            God shows us His generosity
                                  giving us the Church  —
                                  giving us the sacraments  —
                                  giving us our life.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

                            Given August 13, 2010

                My dear children,
                    Jesus is love —
                    Jesus died for your sins —

                Love is a choice —

                Obedience is a choice —

                The struggle can be so great to
                    do the work of building the
                    Kingdom of God, for satan
                    wants to work through those
                    opposing God's will —
                    so satan can tear down the
                    good established by others —

                A baby is so sweet

                And love and union is God's way —

                Pope John Paul II — loved and
                    suffered —
                    He affectionately taught us hope —

                He understood family life and
                    he wrote about married love —

                He suffered so much and yet his
                    life touched
                    millions of peoples lives
                    all over the world —

                Pope John Paul the II defended
                    the dignity of man —

                God has created each one of us for a
                    purpose

Cardinal Newman said

                    "... everyone who breathes, high and low,
                    educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman,
                    has a mission, has a work. We are not sent
                    into this world for nothing; we are not born at
                    random. . . God sees every one of us;
                    He creates every soul, He lodges it in
                    a body, one by one, for a purpose. He needs,
                    He deigns to need, every one of us.
                    He has an end for each of us... we are
                    placed in our different ranks and stations, not to
                    get what we can out of them for ourselves, but to
                    labor in them for Him, as He rejoiced to do His work,
                    we must rejoice in ours also."
                                        (Discourses addressed to mixed congregations)

  

                Oh God your babies are so beautiful —
                    Oh Jesus You came as a baby —
                    Oh God help me — I cry for the
                        aborted babies —
                        Oh God I cry for the
                            way many have blocked
                            what you so simply
                            asked for

                God gave men the ability to choose
                    love or to hate — to hurt
                    others with malice —

                Oh God — I see the ocean and its beauty
 

 

                Oh God — I see the children
                Oh God Help us — help us to be holy

                Oh Blessed Mother — your mantel is
                    so blue — your heart so pure —
                    your face so sweet — your love
                    for us so real

                Oh Blessed Mother whisper in the
                    ear of Jesus our great sorrow
                    for the sins of man

                Oh Blessed Mother teach us to love —
                    to share — to live as one — not to
                    be selfish — to give our hearts
                    to you and Jesus and to be in one
                    mind and one heart in purity
                    and love —

                    Oh Blessed Mother, Our Lady of
                Clearwater — tell our heavenly
                Father we are so sorry the children
                were jailed on August 13, 1917 —

                    Oh Blessed Mother help
                us not to be envious of
                others, little children, mothers,
                but pray for the people of this
                world as you have asked us in the
                Shepherds of Christ — We have been called
                to help renew the Church and the
                world — Oh My dear God help
                us please God — Help us to
                grow in holiness to do this
                mission — Oh My God, please
                help me and hear my humble
                prayer —

                    Oh God I touch life and see it
                in so much depth — moments of
                precious souls you sent to
                this earth and they do not even
                know I watch these moments
                with such depth and love connected
                to You and Your truth —

                Reality —

                    I want these moments to be
                so deeply carried in me where
                I see life — beginning here in
                such beauty on earth and
                ending in Your beloved
                embrace My God,

                    But our lives are not a
                cup-cake — easy and without
                toil, but the call You give is
                in love and forgiveness and living
                in right reason doing Your
                will in this depth of greater
                life in You —
       

                    Oh My God — it is vision —
                to see — as the world seems
                to stop and I embrace the moment
                in You and its depth far
                beyond the eye and the
                depth of love of living
                in your Heart more and more —
                Could the suffering that
                brings us so much life
                be the path we trod behind You.
                We see more and more of
                reality through God's eyes —

                    God gives us life and His
                love is so real  — His love keeps
                us in existence —

                    Oh God my God, in this
                suffering — I see the moments
                through your bloody eyes
                and know You —

                    To see beyond distorted vision
                to the vision of the human
                heart dwelling in the
                Hearts of Jesus and Mary —
                the Hearts of Pure and Holy Love —

                    On the 12th of August, 1996
                the morning of the 13th I
                saw Our Lady all night —
                lighted so bright before me and
                I laid on the floor and begged
                God the Father for help —

                    He answered my prayers
                the 13th started, October 13, 1996 and still continues —
                Our Lady of Clearwater appeared December 17, 1996
                Hear my prayer, my Lady —
                Help me for I have delivered
                the messages of the Blue Books
                and your and Jesus' Hearts and
                the Shepherds of Christ

                    Oh God I love the Eucharist,
                the Mass, the Sorrowful
                Mother I saw and knew so
                deeply as she spoke to me —
                Oh God I love Thee —
                Help me to spread the Morning Offerings,
                the Shepherds of Christ mission, the rosaries —
                Oh God I lay prostrate before
                You — My heart is laid down —
                My body at rest to give to
                you my life to spread this
                mission — please God help
                me —

                Jesus: My child sing

                    The Song from Jesus —

                I love you so much and I am
                with you — Reality is more
                and more clear as you see
                through the eyes of the Father —
                you see beyond that which
                is visible only deeply in
                your heart —

                    See the moments treasure,
                that I give you, depth of
                purity of heart —

                    Seeing with purity and
                gratitude all I have given
                to you —

                    Surrendering and knowing it
                is for My purpose, for My honor
                and glory — For the building
                of My Kingdom

                    I protect you, with angels
                at your feet —

                    I outpour My mercy — I ask
                you to live in the present moment,
                but to remember with joy
                the moments when you so
                deeply saw love and life —
                knowing you are never alone
                for I am guarding you —

                    Trust and love your fellows
                and pray for their weaknesses and
                the power of God's grace at
                work in their lives —

                R. Oh God I hear the angels
                sing a song of peace and love —
                and death comes and
                birth comes and
                ages are growing more older and
                yet the vision now is not
                    distorted, but more clear —
                    for in You I see reality
                    more and more and I taste
                    Your love in the bittersweetness
                    of life —

                The thorns on my pillow
                The love of Your Sacred Heart —
                To see that the path is to love —
                To overcome selfishness —

                To live with faith, hope and
                    love and
                To live to be more perfected
                    as our Heavenly Father
                    is perfect —

                Be that woman or man God
                    created us to be —

                Thankful for your gifts and
                    talents —

                Jesus: Praising your God

 

John 17:20-26

I pray not only for these
but also for those
who through their teaching
    will come to believe in me.
May they all be one,
just as, Father, you are in me
    and I am in you,
so that they also may be in us,
so that the world may believe
    it was you who sent me.
I have given them the glory
    you gave to me,
that they may be one as we are one.
With me in them and you in me,
may they be so perfected in unity
that the world will recognise
    that it was you who sent me
and that you have loved them
    as you have loved me.

Father,
I want those you have given me
to be with me where I am,
so that they may always see my glory
which you have given me
because you loved me
before the foundation of the world.
Father, Upright One,
the world has not known you,
but I have known you,
and these have known
that you have sent me.
I have made your name known to them a
nd will continue to make it known,
so that the love with which you loved me
may be in them,
and so that I may be in them.

 

Job 14: 10

But a human being? He dies, and dead he remains, breathes his last, and then where is he?

 

                Jesus: To live days of love and peace
                    even in suffering —
                    serving Me — Serving your God —

                Know that I am with you —
                When I died on the cross —
                    it looked as if I failed —
                    When in fact you
                    Know the Victory of
                    the Resurrection —

                From My pierced Heart
                    My Church was born

   

John 3: 27

John replied: 

    ‘No one can have anything 
    except what is given him from heaven. 

   

                R. Complete abandonment to
                    the will of God —

                Be what God wants
                    us to be —

                Teach your children to
                    be in love with me
 

May 19, 1992

                            R. Dear Jesus,

                            I can never live the moments of this day again.

                            When I go to bed tonight they will be gone forever.

                            I must treasure each moment I have right now because I can never have it back again.

                            Thanks for this thought.

                            I love You Jesus
                            I love You Holy Spirit
                            I love You God the Father 

 

                Song: Live This Day  

 

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

                I abandon my will
                    to Thee, my God

 

^{Words of Surrender of a Soul}

^{Today Lord, (today's date), I give You my entire will-}

^{I give You all my liberties, I want to love and serve You as You desire.}

^{I surrender myself to You.}

^{I ask You to run my life.}

^{I ask You to help me act like You, Jesus, and like Your Mother Mary.}

^{God, this day I consecrate myself to You.}

^{I am  (name) , Your beloved child, guide me on my way now as I go about my day (or if in Church) as I leave Your Eucharistic presence.}

 

 

Mark 8: 36

What gain, then, is it for anyone to win the whole world and forfeit his life?

   

                Self Mastery

                Thank God for your
                    gifts

                Thank God for your talents

                Use them to build the
                    Kingdom of God —

                Jesus:

                    I want to be one in you —
                    Come to Me and let Me
                    fill you with Myself and
                    I will dwell in thee
                    if you so desire Me —
                    Let go and love Me —
                    Love your neighbor as yourself

  

                From St. Thomas, edition by Walter Farrell

AGAIN, IN ANY COMMUNITY OF MEN, there must always be some who, by virtue or position, are placed over others to rule or inspire the rest. The authority they possess or the good they bring to the community merits for them the tribute of honor, respect and gratitude. Men pay them this tribute by exercising the virtue of observance.

THE VIRTUE OF OBSERVANCE includes the virtues of dulia—or veneration—and obedience. By dulia men bear witness to the dignity or power of other men. To praise the President of the United States, to bow to him as he passes in a parade, to erect a statue in his honor—all these are acts of the virtue of dulia. To venerate the saints by asking them to intercede with God for us is an act of dulia. It pays tribute to the spiritual dignity of the saints as the friends of God in heaven. Because the Virgin Mary is the greatest of all the saints and the Mother of God Himself, Christians pay to Mary the tribute of hyperdulia or superveneration.

OBEDIENCE IS THE VIRTUE by which a man submits his own will to the commands of a superior. It is natural that children should obey their parents, that citizens should obey their government, that soldiers should obey their commanders, and that all men should obey God. Without obedience to their superiors, men can never establish in society that order which is needed if they are all to obtain that share of the common good which is necessary for their own happiness. And without obedience to God, man can never attain happiness at all.

   

Excerpt from The Spirituality of Fatima

by Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.

On reaching us, he said: "Do not be afraid! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me."

Kneeling on the ground, he bowed down until his forehead touched the ground and made us repeat these words three times: "My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You."

Then, rising he said: "Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications."

His words engraved themselves so deeply on our minds that we could never forget them (3)

During the summer of 1916, the angel again appeared to the three visionaries. He said to them:

Pray! Pray a great deal. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have merciful designs on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High. Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. Bring peace to our country in this way.... I am the Guardian Angel of Portugal Accept and bear with submission all the sufferings the Lord will send you. (4)

In the fall of the same year, the angel visited the visionaries a final time:

The angel came...bearing a golden chalice in one hand and a Host above it in the other. The amazed children noticed that drops of blood were falling from the Host into the chalice. Presently, the angel left both suspended in mid-air and prostrated himself on the ground, saying this beautiful prayer: "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and [the intercession of] the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners." (5)

Sr. Lucia relates how the angel gave them Communion:

Then, rising, he took the chalice and the Host in his hand. He gave the Sacred Host to me and shared the Blood from the chalice between Jacinta and Francisco, saying as he did so:

"Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men! Make reparation for their crimes and console your God." (6)

---

NOTES:

3. Louis Kondar, SVD, editor, Fatima in Lucia's Own Words (Fatima: Postulation Center, 1976), p.62. Distributed in the U.S.A. by the Ravengate Press, Cambridge, MA.
4. Our Lady's Peace Plan, op cit., pp.1-2.
5. Ibid., p.2 (The words in brackets are my own-added for clarification).
6. Fatima in Lucia's Own Words, op cit., pp.64-65.

  

December 19, 1996

THERE IS A MAN ON THE CROSS

God wants union with us. He wants fire. Many try to love God with a cold heart. They tell Him words that they think they should say that are loving.

When one loves, they do not need to be prompted to say words. From the depth of their being they cry out their words of love. It is a cry from within, from the fire within their chest, behind the words. The words are burning in their chest and must be released because of the fire behind them.

We are as blind men. We do not see the great gifts that God gives to us. It is as if we stand by the shore of the sea and throw little words at Jesus. We must not be afraid to jump into the water and be completely immersed in His love. He was consumed with such love for us. He gave Himself to His death on the cross.

There is a man on a cross and he tells us so many things. He does not have to speak. When we study Him on the cross, He speaks to us with His pierced hands, His head covered with blood, His body withered and beaten. He speaks to us of His undying love.

Oh, beloved Savior, I am blind. I am selfish. I do not see the great reservoir of love that you give to Me. I see the man dying on the cross. How do I see Him? Do I see a figure and think, oh, is it a pretty cross, would it look good in my living room? Do I see the cross and think, oh, I guess I should have one in my house, others will think I am holy then? Holy people do have a cross in their homes.

Do I see the body of a man, a live man? Do I see His labored breath? Do I see His chest move as His Heart beats within? Do I see the real skin of a man? Do I see the real blood He shed? Do I see the light that silhouettes His withered body? Do I see the Light of the World? Do I see the tender skin of an infant laid on bare wood in the manager and then the torn, lacerated, bloodied skin of this man?

This is love! There is a man on the cross. There is a child born to us today. He is the Light of the World. His light is shining in the darkness, but people do not see. They see the wood, but they view it for the beauty it will create in their newly decorated living rooms.

The cross is not a thing of the past, the cross is with us today. We carry it on our backs as He showed us we would, but we try to take it off and throw it away.

It is in the cross there is the resurrection. It is by meditating on the crucifix, we see His undying love. We must open up our eyes and see. Pray for vision to see clearly the man Who gave Himself for love of us, Our Divine Lord.

And how do we return His love?

Love is spontaneous, love is fire in our hearts, love is alive and emitted with force. God is love.

Do we realize that His last thoughts on the cross were for us. In this agony, as He hung on the cross, He was consumed with burning love for us. When He was scourged at the pillar, He was comforted by our acts of love that we give to Him today. Our burning love for Him was sweetness to His most Sacred Heart in the moments of His bitter Passion.

Love gives and wants to give its all. A person in love does not need to be prompted and told to love. Love wants to give.

Love is given spontaneously, it is not controlled. Love is tenderness pouring forth from the heart. Love is not concerned with commitment, love by itself is committed. It pours forth from the mouth of the lover because of the fire burning deep inside.

Let us study the battered body of Christ on the cross. As I study His pierced hands and feet, His head crowned with thorns, the blood pouring forth from His Heart, as I view the lacerations covering His body, I feel His word well up in my heart. He speaks to me in the depth of my soul and I hear Him say, "I love you. I love you. I love you, to My death on the cross."

He gives, He gives, He gives to us constantly. He gives and how is He treated by us? We take and we take and we take and we don't even say thanks. Thanks for our breath, our heartbeat, the beautiful sky, the sunlit day, the moon at night, the beautiful eyes of our friends. Oh, how many things He gives to us and how ungrateful we are!

How is your day? Is your glass half-empty or half-full?

How often my glass is half empty, as I am reminded by my spiritual director, Fr. Carter. How often I do not thank Our Divine Lord for His gifts!

When I am filled with love, I see more clearly. The secret is to know God's love. We must pray for the grace to know His love more and for the grace to love Him more.

There is a man on the cross. Do we see His undying love for us? He speaks no words. He shows us the crucifix. The words are alive in our hearts.

The Father created us to love and to be loved. God is love. He wants union with us. He gives Himself to us. This is love. There is union in proportion to how I give myself to Him.

Jesus gives and gives and gives and we treat Him "nonchalantly". He gives us love, but we must give ourselves to Him to have union with Him. He wants us to be one with Him.

We must relish the great gifts He gives to us - the greatest gift being the gift of Himself. We should anticipate the great gift of receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist with such eagerness in our hearts. The words I feel in my heart are expressed in the song, "I Love You, Jesus":

Oh Burning Heart, Oh Love divine, how sweet You are to me. I see the host, I know You're here to love and care for me. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee. I cannot say. There are not words to say what my heart feels. I love You so, I scarce can breathe when You come into me. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee. Your tender Heart, Oh how it beats for love of each this day. I want to give You all my love, surrender totally. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee.

When we awake at night, we must think of Him and how we will receive Him the next day. We long to go to Communion to receive Him. We love Jesus in the Eucharist so much. A King comes to us. He enters our body and unites with our soul. He is the King of the kingdom of heaven…He is our Lover, He is the Almighty God, a Divine Person, and He comes to us. He wants us to come to Him with such longing. He wants us to think of Him all day. He wants us to long for Him.

Ps. 63:1-8:

God, you are my God, I pine for you;
my heart thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
as a land parched, dreary and waterless.
Thus I have gazed on you in the sanctuary,
seeing your power and your glory.
Better your faithful love than life itself;
my lips will praise you.
Thus I will bless you all my life,
in your name lift up my hands.
All my longings fulfilled as with fat and rich foods,
a song of joy on my lips and praise in my mouth.
On my bed when I think of you,
I muse on you in the watches of the night,
for you have always been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice;
my heart clings to you,
your right hand supports me.

The priest says in the Mass at the Offertory, "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the Divinity of Christ, Who humbled himself to share in our humanity." He gives Himself to us. He shares His Divinity with us. We are human creatures and He shares Himself with us. My heart burns when the priest puts the drop of water in the wine. This is, indeed, a great mystery that God remains with us today, truly present in His Divinity and humanity in the Holy Eucharist, that He gives Himself to us in Communion, and that He waits for us to come to the tabernacle and be with Him. He wants to outpour His divine love and His divine life to us.

We should swoon for our Lover the Almighty, Divine God, yet we go to Him with such cold hearts. He wants our burning love.

The song "I Love You, Jesus":

Oh Burning Heart, Oh Love divine, how sweet You are to me. I see the Host, I know You're here to love and care for me. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee. I cannot say. There are not words to say what my heart feels. I love You so, I scarce can breathe when You come into me. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee. Your tender Heart, Oh how it beats for love of each this day. I want to give You all my love, surrender totally. I know Your love a little now, so dear You are to me. Come give me life, abundant life, I thirst to be with Thee.

end of excerpt

 

Excerpts from The Spirituality of Fatima

by Father Carter, S.J.

   

May 13, 1917 

May 13, 1917, marks the first appearance of Our Lady of Fatima to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco. On this occasion, she said to the visionaries:

    "Do not be afraid, I will do you no harm..... I am from Heaven.

    "I have come to ask you to come here for six months in succession, on the 13th day, at the same hour. Later on, I will tell you who I am and what I want

    "Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners?

    "Pray the Rosary every day in order to obtain peace for the world, and the end of the war." ⁽⁸⁾

  

June 13, 1917

On June 13, the Blessed Virgin again appeared to the three children:

    "God wishes you to remain in the world for some time because He wants to use you to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I promise salvation to those who embrace it, and their souls will be loved by God as flowers placed by myself to adorn His throne." ⁽¹⁰⁾

  

July 13, 1917

    "During her appearance in July, Our Lady, in answer to Lucia's plea, promised that in October she would work a great miracle so that all might believe and know who she was. Again, the Mother of God told the children to sacrifice themselves for sinners and to say many times, especially when making a sacrifice, this prayer: "O my Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of poor sinners, and in reparation for all the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary." ⁽¹¹⁾

    "During this same July apparition, Mary showed the three children a vision of Hell. She told them:

    "You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish, in the world, devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.

    "The war (World War I, then raging) is going to end. But if people do not stop offending God, another and worse one will begin in the reign of Pius XI. When you shall see a night illuminated by an unknown light [January 2, 1938], know that this is the great sign that God gives you that He is going to punish the world for its many crimes by means of war, hunger, and persecution of the Church and the Holy Father. ⁽¹²⁾

    "To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the five first Saturdays. If my requests are granted, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, she will scatter her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be destroyed....

    "But in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph, the Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, Russia will be converted, and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world." ⁽¹³⁾

  

August 19, 1917

Because of the excitement caused by the apparitions, the civil authorities were so alarmed that they kidnapped the three young visionaries and put them in jail. The incarceration period included the day of August 13. Consequently, Our Lady did not appear to the children on this particular 13th.

The authorities, fearing reaction on the part of the people, quickly released the children. Mary appeared to them on August 19 near Valinhos:

She told them she was greatly displeased by the action of the mayor. As a result, the miracle promised for October would not be as impressive as originally planned. (15)

 

September 13, 1917

Next came the September appearance of Our Lady:

    More than 30,000 people were present in September, and saw a shower of mysterious white petals fall to within 10 feet of the ground before dissolving into the air. Many also saw the globe of light bearing the Lady come to rest atop the tree, and the branches bend as though someone were standing on them. Later, they saw the cloud depart into the east, from whence it had come.⁽¹⁶⁾

  

October 13, 1917

The October 13 vision was accompanied by the great Miracle of the Sun described in the previous chapter. In her message that day, Our Blessed Mother told the children:

    I am the Lady of the Rosary. I have come to warn the faithful to amend their lives and to ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend Our Lord any more, for He is already too grievously offended by the sins of men. People must say the Rosary. Let them continue saying it every day.⁽¹⁷⁾

    While the people in attendance were beholding the great Miracle of the Sun, the three young visionaries, and they alone, were privileged to see striking visions in the heavens:

    As Our Lady had promised, St. Joseph had come with the Holy Family and had blessed the world. Then, Our Lady appeared as the Mother of Sorrows, accompanied by her Divine Son, Who also blessed the world. Finally, Lucy had seen the Blessed Virgin, dressed in the brown robes of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth, holding a brown Scapular in her hand, with her infant Son upon her knee. However, in none of these visions had any of the figures spoken to the children. ⁽¹⁸⁾

    Besides the messages associated with the major Fatima apparitions, there were other revelations given by Our Lady. Before Jacinta died, she told of other messages given her (during her illness) by Mary:

    More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason.

    Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much.

    Many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord and are not of God.

    Priests must be pure, very pure. They should not busy themselves with anything except what concerns the Church and souls. The disobedience of priests, to their superiors and to the Holy Father, is very displeasing to Our Lord.

    I can no longer restrain the hand of my Divine Son from striking the world with just punishments for its many crimes.

    If the government of a country leaves the Church in peace and gives liberty to our Holy Religion, it will be blessed by God.

    Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask grace from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her. ⁽¹⁹⁾

---

NOTES:

8. Frere Michael de la Trinite', The Whole Truth about Fatima 
    (Buffalo: Immaculate Heart Publications, 1989), pp.112-114.
9. For background material on Fatima, I am particularly indebted to 
    Our Lady of Fatima's Peace Plan from Heaven (Rockford: TAN 
    Books and Publishers, Inc., 1983). p.30.
10. Ibid., p.3.
11. Ibid., pp.3-4.
12. Ibid., pp.4-5.
13. Ibid., p.5.
14. Rev. Edward Carter, S.J., Mother at Our Side: Mary's Role in 
        the Spiritual Life (1993: Faith Publishing Co., Milford, Ohio), p.21.
15. Our Lady's Peace Plan, op cit., p.6.
16. Ibid., p.6.
17. Ibid., p.7.
18. Ibid., p.8.
19. Ibid., pp.9-10.

  

                Consecration means to make holy

                Sloth is sorrow to spiritual good —
                    St. Thomas says —

                    St. Thomas says:
                    "Sin corrupts human nature —
                    stains the human soul and
                    makes man liable to punishment."

                    St. Thomas says
                    "God punishes sin in this
                        present life and even
                        after death"

                    St. Thomas says
                    "Law is the road to happiness"

 

Act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

"Lord Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock, I consecrate myself to Your most Sacred Heart. From Your pierced Heart the Church was born, the Church You have called me, as a member of Shepherds of Christ Associates, to serve in a most special way. You reveal Your Heart as a symbol of Your love in all its aspects, including Your most special love for me, whom You have chosen as Your companion in this most important work. Help me to always love You in return. Help me to give myself entirely to You. Help me always to pour out my life in love of God and neighbor! Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You!

"Dear Blessed Virgin Mary, I consecrate myself to your maternal and Immaculate Heart, this Heart which is symbol of your life of love. You are the Mother of my Savior. You are also my Mother. You love me with a most special love as a member of Shepherds of Christ Associates, a movement created by your Son as a powerful instrument for the renewal of the Church and the world. In a return of love, I give myself entirely to your motherly love and protection. You followed Jesus perfectly. You are His first and perfect disciple. Teach me to imitate you in the putting on of Christ. Be my motherly intercessor so that, through your Immaculate Heart, I may be guided to an ever closer union with the pierced Heart of Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock."

  

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                Mary appeared at Lourdes
                    1858

                Mary called for

                    Conversion

                    Lourdes
                    Fatima
                    Clearwater

                Mary called for
                    Reparation

                At the center of
                    veneration of the
                    Two hearts

 

Excerpts from The Spirituality of Fatima

by Father Carter, S.J.

Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask grace from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her. (19)
 
19. Our Lady's Peace Plan, op cit., pp.9-10.
 

 

 

Excerpts from The Spirituality of Fatima

by Father Carter, S.J.

A statement by Archbishop R. Arulappa further reveals how the message of Fatima centers in the act of consecration to the Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

In connection with the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima, Sister Lucia, one of the seers, still alive, has been saying that on the 13th June 1929, Our Lady requested (as sister herself records in Memoirs and Letters of Sister Lucia, published in 1973), as follows: "The Good Lord promises to end the persecution in Russia, if the Holy Father will himself make a solemn act of reparation and consecration of Russia... as well as ordering all the Bishops of the Catholic world to do the same."

On March 21, 1982, Sister Lucia further explained to the Apostolic Nuncio, and two other witnesses, that the Pope must select a date on which to order the bishops of the whole world to make a solemn act of reparation and consecration of Russia to the most Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, each in his own cathedral and at the same time as the act effected by the Pope.

There are actually two versions of the vision of Our Lady on 13th June 1929, but they are essentially the same. In the better known version, Our Lady says: "The moment has come for God to ask the Holy Father to make, in union with all the Bishops of the world, the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart. He promises to save Russia by this means." The special mention of "Russia" in this Act of Consecration is to be noted.

When Sister Lucia asked Our Lord why He would not convert Russia without such an act of consecration, He replied:

"Because I want my whole Church to recognize this consecration as a triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so as to extend its cult later on, and to place devotion to this Immaculate Heart beside the devotion to My Sacred Heart." (25)

25. Archbishop R. Arulappa, The Two Hearts, in The Fatima Crusader, Summer, 1992, p.3.

 

 

Excerpts from The Spirituality of Fatima

by Father Carter, S.J.

Four

The Spirituality of Consecration

Before we discuss consecration to the Heart of Christ and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we should first establish what we mean by the word consecration.

To consecrate means to make holy. Only God can make one holy. Our fundamental consecration takes place in Baptism; in Baptism we are sealed with the holiness of God. The Persons of the Trinity communicate Themselves to us in a most intimate manner. They dwell within us and give us a share in Their own holiness. Through Baptism, we truly receive a participation in the divine life, and this sharing is our life of sanctifying grace, our Christ-life.

The reference to our life of sanctifying grace as the Christ-life reminds us that our being consecrated by God in Baptism is mediated by Christ. In fact, our act of being consecrated by God in Baptism is a participation in Christ's own consecration. A. Bossard develops the idea extremely well:

By the Incarnation, in and of itself, the Humanity of Jesus is consecrated, so that in becoming Man, Jesus is ipso facto constituted Savior, Prophet, King, Priest and Victim of the One Sacrifice that was to save the world. He is the "Anointed" par excellence, the "Christ" totally belonging to God, His Humanity being that of the Word and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. When, by a free act of His human will, He accepts what He is, doing what He was sent to do, He can say that He consecrates "Himself." In Christ, therefore, what might be called His "subjective" consecration is a perfect response to the "objective" consecration produced in His humanity through the Incarnation.

And what Christ does brings with it a "consecration" for His disciples, a very special belonging to God, since He imparts to them His own life precisely by making them participate in His own consecration.

Through Baptism Christians also are consecrated and "anointed" by the power of the Spirit. They share, in their measure, in the essential consecration of Christ, in His character of King, Priest, and Prophet (cf. 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Rev. 5:9; etc.). With Christ and through Christ, they are "ordered" to the glory of God and the salvation of the world. They do not belong to themselves. They belong to Christ the Lord, who imparts His own life to them....

The vocation of those who have been baptized is to "live" this consecration by a voluntary adherence-and one that is as perfect as possible-to what it has made of them. Living as "children of God," they fulfill subjectively their objective consecration; like Jesus, they consecrate themselves. This is the deeper meaning of vows and baptismal promises, together with the actual way of life corresponding to them. The baptismal consecration is the fundamental one, constitutive of the Christian. All consecrations which come after it presuppose and are rooted in it...." (28)
 

The above details the awesome privilege and responsibility which come to us through Baptism. In Christ, we are consecrated with the holiness of God. We do not belong to ourselves. We belong to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and through Christ, we are called to help continue the work of the redemption. We have a mission to accomplish. We are called to participate in the prophetic, kingly, and priestly mission of Jesus. We are called to give an ongoing "yes" to our objective consecration-to that which has happened to us in Baptism. This "yes" is our subjective act of consecration.

To aid us in a special way in living our ongoing "yes" —our life of subjective consecration —God has given us devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At the center of these devotions is a specific act of consecration. This act of consecration is a very special and attractive way to live out our baptismal consecration.

Some may ask at this point, "Why the act of consecration to Mary? Is not the act of consecration to Christ sufficient?" Again, Bossard puts it very well:
 

If, in the strict sense in question here, consecration makes one belong to God —and Christ is God —how is it possible to speak of consecrating oneself to Mary? It is possible because, by God's will, Mary has something to do with our Christian life, with our sanctification. She is certainly not, like Christ, the source of salvation, but she is maternally ordered to our life as children of God —always, however, in perfect union with her Son and subordinate to Him. ... Hence, in the full sense of the word, a consecration to Mary includes, at least implicitly, a real and essential reference to Christ and to the Baptism that binds us to Him. (29)
 

Jesus Himself has told us that He wishes us to entrust —to consecrate —ourselves to Mary. We have that striking and touching scene on Calvary:
 

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 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" (John 19:25-26).
 

Of course, the beloved disciple is John, who represents all of us. In giving Mary to John as his spiritual Mother, Jesus also gave Mary to us as our spiritual Mother. He is entrusting us to Mary. He calls attention to the fact that Mary is the Mother of our Christ-life, our life of grace. In subordination to God, she gives us this life of grace, nourishes it, brings it to full development. As she cooperates with the Holy Spirit, she assists us in living our baptismal consecration-the consecration which makes us belong entirely to God in Christ.

Pope John Paul II has put before us the meaning of Mary's spiritual motherhood on many occasions —in his homilies, his acts of consecration, and in his writings. In his encyclical letter, "The Mother of the Redeemer" (Redemptoris Mater), he comments on the above Scripture passage:

It can also be said that these same words fully show the reason for the Marian dimension of the life of Christ's disciples. This is true not only of John, who at that hour stood at the foot of the Cross together with his Master's Mother, but it is also true of every disciple of Christ, of every Christian. The Redeemer entrusts his mother to the disciple, and, at the same time, he gives her to him as his mother. Mary's motherhood, which becomes man's inheritance, is a gift: a gift which Christ himself makes personally to every individual. The Redeemer entrusts Mary to John because he entrusts John to Mary. At the foot of the Cross there begins that special entrusting of humanity to the Mother of Christ, which in the history of the Church has been practiced and expressed in different ways. (30)
 

Yes, Jesus has given Mary to each of us as our spiritual Mother. He wants us to grow in our appreciation of this great gift by allowing Mary to be more and more Mother to us. He wants us to grow in our entrustruent to her, in our consecration to her, so that she may lead us ever closer to Himself. All this reminds us that Jesus has willed that Mary be our Mediatrix with Him. Perhaps no other devotee of Mary has emphasized this truth more than St. Louis de Montfort. In speaking of this Marian Saint, Fr. Authur Collings observes: "Perhaps, in the final analysis, the greatest contribution of this Breton saint to the theology of Marian consecration is precisely in his insistence on Mary's mediation as willed by God." (31)

St. Louis de Montfort, himself, emphatically reminds us why we consecrate ourselves to Mary: "The more one is consecrated to Mary, the more one is consecrated to Jesus." (32)

At both Fatima and Medjugorje Mary has asked us to consecrate ourselves to her in a particular way —consecration to her Immaculate Heart. Mary, our Mother, shows us her Heart as the symbol of her love. She tells us that she loves us with an overwhelming love and asks that we respond to this love by loving her in return, by making a total gift of ourselves —a total entrustment of ourselves —to her Immaculate Heart. She asks this of us so that she may be able to exercise her motherhood toward us as fully as possible. She wants us to imitate her own great love for Jesus, for the Father, and for the Holy Spirit. Her love for the Persons of the Trinity is symbolized by her Heart, as is her love for us.

A great sign of our consecration to Mary the Immaculate Heart, is the wearing of the Brown Scapular. Sr. Lucia, one of the Fatima visionaries, has said that we should wear the scapular as part of living the Fatima message. She tells us that "the Rosary and the scapular are inseparable." Our Lady, when she gave the scapular to St. Simon Stock in 1251, said, "Whoever dies clothed in this shall never suffer eternal fire." Only a properly authorized priest can validly enroll one in the Brown Scapular. (33)

How can we refuse the love and the loving request of our Mother? If we respond by consecrating ourselves to her Immaculate Heart, we can experience a remarkable sense of being loved, a sense of peace and joy, a sense of security and warmth. Resting secure within the Heart of our Mother, we are strengthened in all circumstances "to be for Christ'' — to live out our baptismal consecration. Amid laughter and tears, success and failure, times of exhilaration and times of sorrowful disappointment, we can rest secure in the maternal heart of a Mother who loves us with an unfathomable love. If we can remain within the refuge of Mary's Immaculate Heart, nothing can prevent us from also growing in our consecration to the Heart of Christ. And this, indeed, is why Mary wants us to consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart —so that she may lead us ever closer to the Heart of Jesus. This was emphatic at Fatima, and most certainly at Medjugorje.

In speaking of our consecration to the Immaculate Heart, Pope John Paul II stated:
 

Our act of consecration refers ultimately to the Heart of her Son, for as the Mother of Christ, she is wholly united to His redemptive mission. As at the marriage feast of Cana, when she said, "Do whatever He tells you," Mary directs all things to her Son, who answers our prayers and forgives our sins. Thus by dedicating ourselves to the Heart of Mary we discover a sure way to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, symbol of the merciful love of Our Savior. (34) (emphasis added)
 

Yes, Mary the Immaculate Heart points to the Heart of Jesus and she wants us to immerse ourselves in the flames of this Heart. She wants us, in her company, to seek our refuge in Jesus' Heart. She asks us to dwell within her own Immaculate Heart more and more so that she may more and more place us deeply within the Heart of Christ. In all this, Mary cooperates with the Holy Spirit in forming Christ in us in ever greater measure. Her desire for us is that we grow in the likeness of Jesus, that we become, to an ever greater degree, Christians according to the Heart of Christ.

Devotion to the Heart of Christ is rooted in what took place upon Calvary:

It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath —since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity —the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Him, and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found He was already dead, and so, instead of breaking His legs, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water (John 19:31-34).
 

It is interesting to note that St. John is the only one of the four evangelists to record this piercing of Jesus' Heart upon Calvary. How fitting! Jesus loved John with a most special love. John was the one who placed his head against Jesus' Heart at the Last Supper. John was the one to whom Jesus entrusted Mary and the one whom Christ entrusted to Mary as his spiritual Mother; John represented all of us. John, special recipient of Jesus' love, witnessed and recorded the piercing of Jesus' Heart, this heart which is symbol of Christ's love.

St. Bonaventure, a doctor of the Church, comments on how the Church was born from the pierced Heart of Jesus:
 

Then, in order that the Church might be formed out of the side of Christ sleeping on the cross... the divine plan permitted that one of the soldiers should pierce open His sacred side with a lance. While blood mixed with water flowed, the price of our salvation was poured forth, which gushing forth from the sacred fountain of the Heart, gave power to the sacraments of the Church.... (35)
 

>From its roots on Calvary, devotion to the Heart of Christ has developed down through the ages. Numerous popes of recent times have highly recommended devotion to the Heart of Christ. One of the highlights of these papal affirmations has been Pope Pius XII's encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart, Haurietis Aquas. In speaking of the greatness of this devotion, Pius XII states:
 

Indeed, if the evidence on which devotion to the wounded Heart of Jesus rests is rightly weighed, it is clear to all that we are dealing here, not with an ordinary form of piety, which anyone may, at his discretion, slight in favor of other devotions, or esteem lightly, but with a duty of religion most conducive to Christian perfection. For if devotion, according to the common theological definition which the Angelic Doctor gives, "is apparently nothing else but the will to give oneself readily to things concerning the service of God," can there be a service to God more required and necessary-and at the same time nobler and more pleasant —than that which pays homage to His love? (36)
 

Pope Pius XII also speaks to us concerning Christ's Heart as symbol of love:
 

Wherefore, the Heart of the Incarnate Word is rightly considered the chief index and symbol of the threefold love with which the Divine Redeemer continuously loves the Eternal Father and the whole human race. It is the symbol of that divine love which He shares with the Father and the Holy Ghost, but which in Him alone, in the Word, namely, that was made Flesh, is it manifested to us through His mortal human body, since "in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead, bodily." It is, moreover, the symbol of that most ardent love which, infused into His soul, sanctifies the human will of Christ and whose action is enlightened and directed by a twofold most perfect knowledge, namely the beatific and infused. Finally, in a more direct and natural manner, it is a symbol also of sensible love, since the body of Jesus Christ, formed through the operation of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary, has a most perfect capacity for feeling and perception, much more than the bodies of all other men. (37)
 

Jesus shows us His Heart as symbol of His great love for us. This love is directed at each of us in a most precious, unique way, for He knows each of us by name. He knows each of us much, much better than we know ourselves. He loves each of us in our uniqueness with an incomprehensible love. In the greatness of this love for us, He hung upon a cross, His body racked with the indescribable pain of crucifixion; a body which had already been greatly weakened by the agony in the garden, by the cruel scourging, and by the carrying of the Cross. Besides the overwhelming physical pain, there was the agonizing suffering of His Heart. Part of this anguished suffering of His Heart was the knowledge that His love would be refused by so many down through the centuries. He knew that this love would be rejected so many times, even scorned and laughed at.

What is our response to Christ's love for us? With St.Ignatius Loyola, let us ask, "What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What am I going to do for Christ?"

28. A. Bossard, in Dictionary of Mary (New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1985), pp.54-55.
29. Ibid., p.55.
30. Pope John Paul II, The Mother of the Redeemer (Redemptoris Mater) (Washington: United States Catholic Conference, 1987), No.45.
31. Totus Tuus, op cit., p.63.
32. St. Louis de Montfort, God Alone: The Collected Writings of St. Louis de Montfort (Bay Shore: Montfort Publications, 1987), p.327.
33. Our Lady's Peace Plan, op cit., p.23.
34. Pope John Paul II, as quoted in Totus Tuus, op cit., p.255.
35. Bonaventure, translated by Evert Collins (New York: Paulist Press, 1978), pp.154-155.
36. Pope Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas (New York: Paulist Press, 1956), No.119.
37. Ibid., No.65.

end of excerpt

   

Promises of Our Lord to those devoted to His Sacred Heart: 

    1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
    2. I will establish peace in their homes.
    3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
    4. I will be their refuge during life and above all in death.
    5. I will bestow a large blessing on all their undertakings.
    6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.
    7. Tepid souls shall grow fervent.
    8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
    9. I will bless every place where a picture of My Heart shall be set up and honored.
    10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
    11. Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
    12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who communicate on the
        first Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving
        their sacraments; My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

 

 

 

Excerpts from The Spirituality of Fatima

by Father Carter, S.J.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque sheds further light on what is involved in consecration to the Heart of Jesus. St. Margaret Mary, to whom Christ revealed the secrets of His Sacred Heart, serves as a most eminent teacher for instructing us on how to live out our consecration. In a letter to a friend, the Saint says:
 

... I shall simply tell you, as a true friend in the adorable Heart of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, that when I pray to Him for you, this thought occurs to me: If you want to live wholly for Him and attain that perfection He desires of you, you must make a complete sacrifice of yourself and of all that you have, without reserve, to His Sacred Heart. You must no longer will anything, but with the will of this most loving Heart, love nothing except with His love, act only according to the lights He gives you, undertake nothing without first asking His counsel and help. All the glory must be His. You must thank Him for the ill as well as for the good success of your undertakings, always satisfied, never worrying about anything. As long as this divine Heart is satisfied, loved, and glorified, that must be enough for us. (38)
 

That we should give special attention to St. Margaret Mary's teaching concerning the Sacred Heart is confirmed by the following words of Pope Pius XII:
 

We mention, by way of example, the names of those who achieved special distinction in establishing and promoting devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: St. Bonaventure, St. Albert the Great, St. Gertrude, St. Catherine of Siena, Blessed Henry Suso, St. Peter Canisius, St. Francis de Sales, and St. John Eudes....

Among those who have promoted this most excellent devotion, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque occupies the chief place of honor. (39)
 

Yes, St. Margaret Mary holds a preeminent place in the history of devotion to the Heart of Jesus. I consider myself very privileged to have been able to make a recent pilgrimage to Paray-le-Monial. This is the French town where St. Margaret Mary lived out her religious life at the Convent of the Sisters of the Visitation. I was privileged to make a holy hour in the Chapel of Apparitions, the place where St. Margaret Mary received apparitions and revelations from the Sacred Heart. This was one of the most special experiences of my entire life.

St. Margaret Mary stated that Jesus has given twelve promises to those who are devoted to His Sacred Heart:
 

1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.

2. I will establish peace in their homes.

3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.

4. I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.

5. I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.

9. I will bless every place in which an image of My Heart is exposed and honored.

10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.

12. I promise you, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace, nor without receiving their Sacraments. My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment. (40)

38. The Letters of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, translated by Clarence A. Herbst, S.J. (Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1954), pp.37-38.
39. Pope Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas, op cit., Nos. 92-93.
|40. Alban Dachauer, S.J., The Sacred Heart (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1959), pp.147-148.

end of excerpt
 

                CONVERSION

                HOLINESS

                Purity of Heart

                Faith

   

Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19

   Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of realities that are unseen. It is for their faith that our ancestors are acknowledged.

   It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing where he was going. By faith he sojourned in the Promised Land as though it were not his, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. He looked forward to the well-founded city, designed and built by God.

   It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise was faithful to it.

Because of this, there came from one man, and one who already had the mark of death on him, descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore which cannot be counted.

   All these died in faith, before receiving any of the things that had been promised, but they saw them in the far distance and welcomed them, recognising that they were only strangers and nomads on earth. People who use such terms about themselves make it quite plain that they are in search of a homeland. If they had meant the country they came from, they would have had the opportunity to return to it; but in fact they were longing for a better homeland, their heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, since he has founded the city for them.

   It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though he had yet to receive what had been promised, and he had been told: Isaac is the one through whom your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back Isaac from the dead.

   

 

Excerpts from The Spirituality of Fatima

by Father Carter, S.J.

Hope

Hope gives us both the desire to live according to the vision of faith and the trust that God will aid us in living that life of faith. Trust is a very important aspect of the virtue of hope. The more we progress in the spiritual life, the more we must trust in God. God has given us Mary as our Mother, to help us grow in trust. When we trust in Mary, we are ultimately trusting in God. At Medjugorje, Mary speaks to us about this trust in her:

Dear children, I invite you to prayer now when Satan is strong and wishes to make as many souls as possible his own. Pray, dear children, and have more trust in me, because I am here in order to help you and to guide you on a new path toward a new life. Therefore, dear little children, listen and live what I tell you, because it is important for you, when I shall not be with you any longer, that you remember my words and all that I told you. I call you to begin to change your life from the beginning and that you decide for conversion, not with words, but with your life. Thank you for having responded to my call (October 25, 1992).

 

                Love

Set me like a seal on your heart,
like a seal on your arm.
For love is strong as Death,
passion as relentless as Sheol.
The flash of it is a flash of fire,
a flame of Yahweh himself.
Love no flood can quench,
no torrents drown.
Were a man to offer all his family wealth
to buy love,
contempt is all that he would gain.

end of excerpt of August 12, 2010

                Humility —

                Excerpt from Response in Christ by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. - Other Christian Virtues, pp. 177-182

We live out our life of consecration to the Heart of Christ and to the Immaculate Heart within the Church. Let's remember a very important point we established earlier. Our original and fundamental consecration occurs in Baptism. All other consecrations are means for living out our baptismal consecration. The call of Jesus and Mary to consecrate ourselves to Their Hearts is an extraordinary gift given to us so that we may live out —ideally to the heights of sanctify —our baptismal consecration.

Our baptismal consecration has incorporated us into the Church. We are members of the Mystical Body of Christ. Christ, the Head, has established His Church as His Mystical Body in order to carry out His mission on earth until the end of time. The Church, drawing Her life from Christ, Her Head, prolongs upon earth the priestly, prophetic and kingly offices of Jesus.

In the above quoted messages, Mary reminds us that we each have a role in the Church's life. She wants us to do our share in the life of the Church because she deeply loves the Church and deeply loves each of us who are members of the Mystical Body. Mary is Mother of the Church and Mother of each of us within the Church. She is also Model of the Church. Pope John Paul II combines all these truths about Mary:

Mary is present in the Church as the Mother of Christ, and at the same time as that Mother whom Christ, in the mystery of the Redemption, gave to humanity in the person of the Apostle John. Thus, in her new motherhood, in the Spirit, Mary embraces each and every one in the Church, and embraces each and every one through the Church. In this sense, Mary, Mother of the Church, is also the Church's model. Indeed, as Paul VI hopes and asks, the Church must draw from the Virgin Mother of God the most authentic form of perfect imitation of Christ. (46)

46. Pope, John Paul II, The Mother of the Redeemer, op cit., No.47.

end of excerpt

                The Mass

A Prayer before the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

    Let me be a holy sacrifice and unite with God in the sacrament of His greatest love.

    I want to be one in Him in this act of love, where He gives Himself to me and I give myself as a sacrifice to Him. Let me be a holy sacrifice as I become one with Him in this my act of greatest love to Him.

    Let me unite with Him more, that I may more deeply love Him. May I help make reparation to His adorable Heart and the heart of His Mother, Mary. With greatest love, I offer myself to You and pray that You will accept my sacrifice of greatest love. I give myself to You and unite in Your gift of Yourself to me. Come and possess my soul.

    Cleanse me, strengthen me, heal me. Dear Holy Spirit act in the heart of Mary to make me more and more like Jesus.

    Father, I offer this my sacrifice, myself united to Jesus in the Holy Spirit to You. Help me to love God more deeply in this act of my greatest love.

    Give me the grace to grow in my knowledge, love and service of You and for this to be my greatest participation in the Mass. Give me the greatest graces to love You so deeply in this Mass, You who are so worthy of my love.

-Mass Book, December 27, 1995

During the summer of 1916, the angel again appeared to the three visionaries. He said to them:

Pray! Pray a great deal. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have merciful designs on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices continually to the Most High. Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended, and as a petition for the conversion of sinners. Bring peace to our country in this way.... I am the Guardian Angel of Portugal Accept and bear with submission all the sufferings the Lord will send you. (4)

4. Our Lady's Peace Plan, op cit., pp.1-2.
 

                The Word —

                Peace

                Gratitude

                Joy and Happiness

I am a Real Person

March 2, 1994 5:15 a.m.

Jesus: Dear child, I love you so much I died and gave My life for you. If you tell anyone anything, tell them I am a person. When people realize how I am truly a person on fire for love of them, then they will be able to get closer to Me.

I am truly a person. The same Jesus Who died on the cross lives in the little host in the tabernacle.

The world is so blind! My heart is aching so! I come to tell you in this message of My love for them. Please tell them I am aching so for I love them!

Your job is to preach of My intense, intimate love. You live for love of Me alone. Do not think about what you are doing. You operate for My love only.

You need to spend time with your children, being alone and playing with them. This is My work for you. Others never come before your children. Talk to your children every day. Pray alone with them. Go to Mass and Communion with them. You must be alone with each child every day and have time to play with them. If others call you, tell them you have to be alone with your children. I am calling you to this commitment. Read them My letters every day. You are spending too much time with others and not enough alone with your children. Every day you must have some time alone with them. Their lives are very important to Me.

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. I will make things so clear to you, but your mind must be totally free to receive My messages. You must focus on Me and Me alone.

I am Jesus, Son of the Living God. I will aid you in distributing these messages. They are My messages of love and I want them out. You worry about our love affair. This is Number One in your life. Everything else takes a back seat to your time alone with Me. No time is enough time. I want your constant union with Me.

I am Jesus, Son of the Living God. I know all you need. You must remain selfless and unattached. Forget yourself entirely. Live your life for Me. Do not think, do not fret, do not fume, do not try hard. Let go and let Me operate you! Pray the Prayer for Union with Me. I will act in you and you will do this work with ease. I am the Almighty God. I do the work. You remain selfless and unattached to anything you do. Live only for love of Me. Act only as I prompt you. Your life you spend promoting My love. This is why you live: to speak of My love, to love God, to love your brothers. Do all you do for love of Me. Every act of surrender is the greatest gift of love you can give Me!

Surrender and be selfless. Concentrate on My love affair with you and you will do what I am telling you to do. I want total union with you. I want your life to be in harmony with Me. You operate only as I do in you. This takes constant prayer and selflessness. You must pray the Prayer for Union with Me constantly. This keeps you away from yourself.

I am your ardent lover. I am a true person. My person comes forth in these letters. They will circulate. Do not worry about anything but our love affair. When I act in you, do not think of what you did. Offer up to Me any temptation to evaluate your behavior. When I act in you, you do not need to evaluate what you did. If I am doing it, then you should not worry. I will do as I need to do to accomplish what I intend to accomplish. Remain this selfless: be My empty vessel, be the windup toy and let Me have full reign over you!

Your job is to let Me possess your soul. Do not worry about what you have done. Focus only on Me and how I love you. All your actions are actions from your greatest love for Me. I am on fire for love of you. You will not stumble. I need you to accomplish this work. I will guard your every action. Just remain selfless and in constant Union with Me!

I love you. Jesus.

end of excerpt

                Deep Spirituality

                    Shepherds of Christ Movement

                Our Call and Our Roll

February 1, 1998 (excerpt)

                            August 18, 2010 continues

                            God is the
                                    ultimate truth  —

                            Anything that takes us
                                    from the truth drives
                                    us away from God  —

                            The devil is death  —
                                   thus the deadly sins  —

                            First to thine own self
                                    be true.

                            As Fr. Carter says  — humility is
                                    truth  — to know and admit
                                    the evil as well as the good in  us  —

                            Satan is the Father
                                of lies  —

                            God is TRUTH

                            NOT LIES
                            NOR DARKNESS

                            A false man  —

                            denies truth  — he

                            is unjust and
                            thus is not peaceful
                            for the scripture says  —
                            justice and peace will kiss  —

                           
                           Man has a free will.