August 12, 2024

Mysteries of Light
 

The Baptism of Jesus

1. Mark 1: 9-11

It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John. And at once, as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.’

2. God the Father revealed His Son by the star and
    the coming of the Magi.
3. In the Baptism of Jesus, God the Father revealed
    His Son.
4. "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."

5. John's baptism was a baptism of repentance.
6. Father Joe says “It’s hard for us to understand
    why Jesus, the sinless one, God’s son, came to
    John for a baptism of repentance.”
7. John said, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet
    you are coming to me?”
8. Water is life-giving through the sacrament of Baptism.
9. We see the Holy Spirit at Jesus’ baptism by John.
10. Sing: A Voice Cries out in the Wilderness

 

The Marriage at Cana

1. John 2: 1-10  

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. And they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the feast had all been used, and the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said, ‘Woman, what do you want from me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’  There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water,’ and they filled them to the brim. Then he said to them, ‘Draw some out now and take it to the president of the feast.’ They did this; the president tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew—the president of the feast called the bridegroom and said, ‘Everyone serves good wine first and the worse wine when the guests are well wined; but you have kept the best wine till now.’ 

2. Jesus began His public life at the Baptism of
    Jesus.
3. Jesus was ready to proclaim the Gospel, the
    Good News, that for those who turned their
    hearts to God, God’s Kingdom was there for
    them.
4. The Father and the Spirit put their approval
    on Jesus and would guide Him in this ministry
    to the world, Father Joe says.
5. Apostle means, one who has been sent.

6. Matthew 28: 18-20

“All Power in heaven, and on earth, has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

7. “and behold, I am with you always, until the
    end of the age. “

8. Jesus changed water into wine at the wedding
    feast of Cana.
9. Jesus’ first miracle was at the wedding feast
    of Cana.
10. Baptism for us is a tremendous gift, we
    receive a sharing in Divine life.

 

Building the Kingdom of God

1. John 18: 36-37

Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. As it is, my kingdom does not belong here.’ Pilate said, ‘So, then you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘It is you who say that I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.’

2. “His kingdom would be ruled by one who is
    described as the son of man.”
3. He has all the power.

4. Galatians 3:15

Dedicate yourselves to thankfulness, sing gratefully to God from your hearts and psalms, hymns, and inspired songs. Whatever you do, whether in speech or in action, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Thanks to God, the Father through him.”

5. Thank You, God.
6. Honor God, love God, give praise to God, adore
    God, God is worthy of this.
7. How awful it is to treat God disrespectfully
    because of one’s own anger.
8. We build up God’s Kingdom by how we live
    according to God’s will and love.
9. Come to me Lord and possess my soul.
10. Sing: The King of Glory

 

The Transfiguration

1. Mark 9: 2-8

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain on their own by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured: his clothes became brilliantly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. Then Peter spoke to Jesus, ‘Rabbi,’ he said, ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say; they were so frightened. And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’ Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.

2. "This is my beloved son in whom I am well
    pleased, listen to him."
3. Jesus says “I Am the Bread of Life”
4. Sing: Eye Has Not Seen

5. John 10: 11-15

I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd lays down his life
   for his sheep.
The hired man,
   since he is not the shepherd
and the sheep do not belong to him,
abandons the sheep
as soon as he sees a wolf coming,
   and runs away,
and then the wolf attacks
   and scatters the sheep;
he runs away
   because he is only a hired man
and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd;
I know my own
and my own know me,
just as the Father knows me
and I know the Father;
and I lay down my life for my sheep.

6. Jesus wants us to be disciples,
    disciples of Jesus listen to Jesus.
7. Jesus says: I am the way, the truth, and
    the life.
8. God is to be loved, to be honored, and
    to be obeyed.
9. God gives us so many gifts in the Church.

10. Sing: Glory, Glory, Glory Lord

 

The Institution of the Eucharist

1. Mark 14: 22-25

And as they were eating he took bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them. ‘Take it,’ he said, ‘this is my  body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he handed it to them, and all drank from it, and he said to them, ‘This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, poured out for many. In truth I tell you, I shall never drink wine any more until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God.’

2. A Prayer for Intimacy with the Lamb the Bridegroom of the Soul

     Oh Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, come and act on my soul most intimately. I surrender myself, as I ask for the grace to let go, to just be as I exist in You and You act most intimately on my soul. You are the Initiator. I am the soul waiting Your favors as You act in me. I love You. I adore You. I worship You. Come and possess my soul with Your Divine Grace, as I experience You most intimately.
 

     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

 

3. From the Priestly Newsletter Book II

Thoughts on the Eucharist

In his recent book, Gift and Mystery, Pope John Paul II speaks of the Eucharist and the priest: “In the Eucharist, the Son, who is of one being with the Father…offers himself in sacrifice to the Father for humanity and for all creation. In the Eucharist Christ gives back to the Father everything that has come from him. Thus there is brought about a profound mystery of justice on the part of the creature toward the Creator. Man needs to honor his Creator by offering to him, in an act of thanksgiving and praise, all that he has received. Man must never lose sight of the debt, which he alone, among all other earthly realities, is capable of acknowledging and paying back as the one creature made in God’s own image and likeness. At the same time, given his creaturely limitations and sinful condition, man would be incapable of making this act of justice toward the Creator, had not Christ himself, the Son who is of one being with the Father and also true man, first given us the Eucharist.

“The priesthood, in its deepest reality, is the priesthood of Christ. It is Christ who offers himself, his Body and Blood, in sacrifice to God the Father, and by this sacrifice makes righteous in the Father’s eyes all mankind and, indirectly, all creation. The priest, in his daily celebration of the Eucharist, goes to the very heart of this mystery. For this reason the celebration of the Eucharist must be the most important moment of the priest’s day, the center of his life.”4

4. Pope John Paul II, Gift and Mystery, Doubleday, pp. 74-75.

4. June 16, 2024

     Happy Father’s Day to you and to our Heavenly Father. Thank you for all you do for us.

     Fr. Carter, S.J., our founder, wrote the Priestly Newsletter before his death – he loved this quote from Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis AAS, XXXV, 232-233:

     “Through the Eucharistic Sacrifice Christ the Lord desired to set before us in a very special way this remarkable union whereby we are united one with another and with our divine Head, a union that no word of praise can ever sufficiently express. For in this sacrifice the sacred ministers act not only as the representative of our Saviour, but as the representative of the whole Mystical Body and of each one of the faithful. Again, in this act of sacrifice, the faithful of Christ, united by the common bond of devotion and prayer, offer to the eternal Father through the hands of the priest, whose prayer alone has made it present on the altar, the Immaculate Lamb, the most acceptable victim of praise and propitiation for the Church's universal need. Moreover, just as the divine Redeemer,
while dying on the Cross, offered Himself to the eternal Father as Head of the whole human race, so now, 'in this clean oblation' He not only offers Himself as Head of the Church to His heavenly Father but in Himself His mystical members as well. He embraces them all, yes, even the weaker and more ailing members, with the deepest love of His Heart.”

     In the Morning Offering we unite all our prayers, works, joys and sufferings to the Mass and offer our lives to our Heavenly Father, in the Holy Spirit, through the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for love of the Trinity and all our needs.

    In the Mass we know that the Father accepts the sacrifice of Jesus. As members of the mystical body of Christ we are united to the Mass going on around the world.

    Dear Heavenly Father, we are Your little ones and want to be united to You all day offering up what we do as an offering united to the Mass.

    From the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy … “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows.”

    The Heavenly Father created us in love. We are so precious to Him. We can be faithful little children of our Heavenly Father, all day, offering what we do, united to the Mass.

    At the Baptism of Jesus the Father tells us about Jesus His Son “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3

    He tells us about Sonship to our Father. We want to please Him.

    At the Transfiguration, He says:
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, listen to Him.” Luke 9

    Again, we want our lives to be united to Jesus and our lives to be pleasing to the Father.

    The Father tells us to listen to Jesus, disciples of Jesus listen to Him.

    Oh Heavenly Father, we want to do Your will and live in love to please You, please help us, outpour Your grace.

    In the Mass, we die to our self-will more and more to live more the life of Resurrection.

    Death/Resurrection are so linked, dying to our selfish will to be more and more in the image of Jesus and live more and more, the life of resurrection.

    We may have tried in Lent to have a more pure interior disposition at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and unite more in pleasing our Father in unity with Jesus.

    What we did in Lent should be working more and more now as we seek greater holiness in these days after Easter living more the life of Resurrection.

Mark 3:31-35

Now his mother and his brothers arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Look, your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those sitting in a circle round him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’

    We see what Jesus says here, how important it is living the Father’s will.

    The Father’s family living in the Father’s will.

    We can live the Mass out every day, in our lives, dying to self-will and rising in Him.

    The pascal mystery.

    We live the life, death and resurrection of Christ in our lives lovingly, according to the Father’s will and the Father is pleased.

    The more we die to selfish-will, the more we live the life of resurrection.

    We see death and resurrection as linked, if I die to my selfish ways, I grow more in the life of resurrection.

    We as Christians should live constantly dying to ways not like Jesus to rise in the life of resurrection and greater likened to Jesus.

    We constantly seek greater life in Him, day by day, to be greater filled with His life.

    His grace is His life in us.

    We live the Mystery of Christ in our lives.

    In the Mass, we die more and more to self-will.

     We seek the interior disposition of greater purity at Mass, dying to bad habits of sinfulness to rise to greater purity in Him and offer a more pleasing sacrifice in oneness with Jesus, to the Father in the Mass.

    Death / Resurrection!!

    We are fed by the Bread of Life in the Mass, we are fed with the Word and eat His Body and drink His Blood.

    God is the ultimate mystery, we seek for greater understanding of this by living more this magnificent mystery of Christ in our lives.
  

 

Through Him, with Him and in Him

    We live this in different ways in our vocation.

    A mother is united to the Mass caring for her children in loving conformity to God’s will.

    A religious is living in loving conformity to God’s will in serving as a sister, brother, priest, etc.

    From the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

… the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows.

    Our heart should be transformed when we come to the Mass.

    We seek the heavenly Father to accept the sacrifice of ourselves united to Jesus in the Mass.

    Death / Resurrection

    Dying to sin and the Father accepts our sacrifice (living the life of Resurrection).

...I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me. 
Galatians 2: 19-20

     Dying to self-will
     An even more perfect victim in union with Christ in the Mass….

Through Him, With Him and In Him

    The Mass Lived Out all Day!!

    We offer up all we do all day living in loving conformity to the Father’s will in the Morning Offering. This is dying to self- rising to new life in Him. (Our constant offering all day, doing the Father’s will in love in our lives united to the Mass going on around the world for the salvation of souls).

     We say in the Mass
     “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands
     for the praise and glory of His name,
     for our good, and the good of His holy Church.”

     To know God is to love God. Deeper and deeper He makes Himself known to us in our hearts at Mass.

     Jesus is the Light of the world, the Light of Life.

     I love Him so much, so deep in my heart, in my being and He loves me, I know this in my being.

     Love is beyond words, it is oneness in our heart and soul with Him.

     “It is no longer, I who live, but He who lives in me.”  Galatians 2   And I want to be with Him, someday, in the fullness of life in heaven, in union with the one Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in the beatific vision. Embraced with Divine Love. Amen.

     We think we’re doing things ourselves, but we need God to do things. I feel so needy here, but I have to do what God wants and that pleases Him, everything is an offering united to the Mass, to the Father, even my attempts when I feel frustrated and tried, think of how perfectly Christ did what He did in the Passion and death.

     Perfect Love, perfect gift to His Father and the Father is well pleased.

     Basically I need God and others a lot!

     Thank you for all you do.

     Without the priest we wouldn’t have the Eucharist. 

     We pray for you!!      

        Love and Prayers,

        Rita Robinson Ring, Co-founder
                  Shepherds of Christ Ministries

 

5. March 19, 2024

Happy Easter!

I give my heart to Jesus and Mary with you in love.

John 3:16
For this is how God loved the world:
he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish
but may have eternal life.

Jesus lived the quiet life for 30 years and the public life for 3 years.

God’s ways are not necessarily our ways.
He came in love so we could be with Him, someday forever in heaven.

Jesus loved us so much He went through the bitter Passion and death so we could have “new life” in Him.

He paid a precious price for our sins.

In the death, there is the resurrection!
The Pascal Mystery - Death / Resurrection!!

The Mass is the sacrifice of Calvary, sacramentally made present.

Without the priest, we would not have the Eucharist.

It isn’t that there is too much suffering in the world, but so much is wasted,
Fr. Carter S. J., our founder, would say.

We live the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, in our lives, united to the Mass in the Morning Offering and grace is outpoured, praying to the Father, united to Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, through the powerful intercession of Mary, our spiritual Mother, with all the angels and saints, and the souls in purgatory. We offer our joys, suffering, all we do like this, (it is the intention of my heart always to be united to the Mass going on around the world), I pray for this, offering it up for the priest, the Church and the world.
I love the priest and the Church and the world so much. The world belongs to Christ, even though the world has been marred by sin.

The world, the Church, and the individual Christian are in the state of becoming more Christic, (that is more in the image of Christ). We help in this (a pilgrim Church, a work in progress). We are members of the body of Christ, with Christ, our head.

We help build the Kingdom of God.
When we are weak, we are strong in Him, and grace is abundantly outpoured through the Mass.

So good!!!

So beautiful!!!

Here is a prayer to say daily “Morning Offering”.
 

Dear Father,
I offer up all I do all day united to Jesus in the Mass, in the Holy Spirit, through
the powerful intercession of Mary, our spiritual Mother, with all the angels and
saints, and the souls in purgatory, for the priest, the Church, and the world.

We love You God so much.
We thank You and adore You and petition You for our needs. Amen.

The victory has been won, we must follow Jesus and walk in Jesus’ ways. Alleluia!!!
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
Follow Jesus, love God.
Obey and love the Heavenly Father.
Pray to the Holy Spirit to infuse in our intellects: wisdom, and knowledge and understanding.
Come Holy Spirit fill us with the fire of God’s love.
Life is in Him!
This is the precious gift, Jesus suffered so, to give us a sharing in His life in Baptism.
And He feeds this life with Himself in the Eucharist.
Blood and water came forth from Jesus’ pierced Heart:
Water for Baptism -
Blood for the Eucharist.

Vatican II points out to us: “…the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the fountain from which all her power flows…”
The Documents of Vatican II, "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy", America Press Edition, No. 10.

Oh God You are so good to us!

Without the priest we wouldn’t have the Eucharist!!

We say the Morning Offering, thanking God and praying for the priest, the Church and the world.

The Mass is such a gift.
I receive Jesus truly present in the Eucharist.
I thirst after this precious treasure.

Praise Him, Thank Him, Love Him.
Give yourself to Him, who gives us so much.

It’s all God’s grace:
“You are the initiator, God, I am the soul waiting your favor.”

We pray for grace to see what gifts God is giving us in the Mass.

Thank you for all you do.
“New Life”

God loves us so much!!!
Alleluia,
Praise and Worship God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Love and Prayers,

Rita Ring, Co-Founder
Shepherds of Christ Ministries
 

6. Song: I Love You Jesus

7. Song: In My Heart

8. Song: A Song from Jesus

9. Prayer for Spiritual Communion

10. Sing: How Great Thou Art