Given August 7, 2010

 

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

Relationship with Members of the Church

e) Relationship with Members of the Church

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

---

NOTES:

 ¹⁴Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations, Vol. III (Baltimore: Helicon, 1967), p. 44.
 ¹⁵ Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, In Ad Ephes., c. 3, Lect. 3.
 ¹⁶Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, No. 48.
 ¹⁷Cf. Karl Rahner, Op. cit., pp. 100-101.

   

                God calls us to relationship

                The greatest commandment is

   

Matthew 22: 36-40

'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?' Jesus said to him, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets too.'

   

                Relationship —!!
                        loving God
                        loving others
                        loving ourselves as God desires

                We are the creation of God the Father

                God doesn't make junk
                God made us to know, love and serve Him —

                When we are baptized we are given a
                    sharing in His life —
                    We are given God's grace

                In heaven, if we get there, we
                    will have the beatific vision —
                    the fullness of grace —

                Mary is pure gift — she is full of grace —
                Mary was conceived without sin —

                Adam and Eve sinned

   

Genesis Chapter 3

The Fall

Now, the snake was the most subtle of all the wild animals that Yahweh God had made. It asked the woman, 'Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?' The woman answered the snake, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, "You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death." ' Then the snake said to the woman, 'No! You will not die! God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil.' The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was enticing for the wisdom that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths.

The man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. But Yahweh God called to the man. 'Where are you?' he asked. 'I heard the sound of you in the garden,' he replied. 'I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.' 'Who told you that you were naked?' he asked. 'Have you been eating from the tree I forbade you to eat?' The man replied, 'It was the woman you put with me; she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.' Then Yahweh God said to the woman, 'Why did you do that?' The woman replied, 'The snake tempted me and I ate.'

Then Yahweh God said to the snake, 'Because you have done this,

    Accursed be you
    of all animals wild and tame!
    On your belly you will go
    and on dust you will feed
    as long as you live.
    I shall put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
    it will bruise your head
    and you will strike its heel.'

    To the woman he said:

    I shall give you intense pain
        in childbearing,
    you will give birth to your children
        in pain.
    Your yearning will be for your husband,
    and he will dominate you.

To the man he said, 'Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat,

    Accursed be the soil because of you!
    Painfully will you get your food from it
    as long as you live.
    It will yield you brambles and thistles,
    as you eat the produce of the land.
    By the sweat of your face
    will you earn you food,
    until you return to the ground,
    as you were taken from it.
    For dust you are
    and to dust you shall return.

The man named his wife 'Eve' because she was the mother of all those who live. Yahweh God made tunics of skins for the man and his wife and clothed them. Then Yahweh God said, 'Now that the man has become like one of us in knowing good from evil, he must not be allowed to reach out his hand and pick from the tree of life too, and eat and live for ever!' So Yahweh God expelled him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the garden of Eden he posted the great winged creatures and the fiery flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.  

     

                We are the children of Adam and Eve

                Adam and Eve sinned —

                We are conceived with original sin —

                In baptism this sin is taken away,
                    but we are wounded — we have
                    tendencies toward the deadly sins
                    pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth                   

                Satan said he would not serve —

                We have a free will to follow satan
                    or do God's will —

                Satan wants division, disharmony.
                    hatred, seeking dominance for
                    dominance sake —

                People can be wounded

                They grew up in dysfunctional families
                    and learned dysfunctional rules -

                They can try to FORCE their rules
                    on others — like they were
                    forced on them —

                How dark is darkness —
                    there is no limit —

                    In a vision I saw to the left of
                        the China mural — it kept
                        getting darker and darker — 

 

Excerpt from January 21, 2008

                    When Jesus appeared to me in the mural
                over the altar in China — light was on
                Him — like a bolt of lightening coming
                down

                First I saw this light as if it came
                    upon Him, His whole body shown
                    lighted — so brightly, but it was
                    as if a light came as a beam from
                    the direction shown — from
                    above

                LIGHT, LIGHT, LIGHT

                Jesus spoke through me then —

                Then the blackest, black around
                    the left arch particularly the
                    left side

    end of excerpt

    

                Darkness — sinning - takes us
                    further and further from God —

                This makes us miserable —

                We were created for God —

                If we give into more sin because
                    of our misery caused by ourselves
                    sinning and distancing more from
                    God —

                We become more miserable

                How dark is dark?

                Say I walk in a room and it is dark
                    and I put down black out
                    shades over already darkened
                    shades —
                    no matter how many blackout
                        shades I use —
                        the room can only get darker

                Happiness comes from God —
                    from loving and serving God —

                When I had intellectual visions
                    it was as if a shade went
                    up in the room and the great
                    light — poured in —
                    poured in — like a great
                    illuminating light

                and I knew insight deeply into a
                    hidden mystery —

                The joy was filling me to see the
                    light — see through this
                    intellectual vision in my heart
                    about God —

                When I had many visions with my
                    eyes — I saw light sparkling
                    around the edges —
                    a golden veil covered the area —
                    like the sanctuary — it
                    is so very awesome — light —
                    the most beautiful light —

                When I had visions of Mary and
                    Jesus — so much light —
                    all different visions —
                    all different lights —

                Visions of God leading me to
                    greater enlightenment — filling
                    me with joy beyond words —
                    from knowing Him more

                We know of the Annunciation and
                    the angel appeared to Mary —

                94 years ago 1916 — The angel of peace
                    appeared 3 times to the Fatima
                    visionaries

                In the first visit the angel said —

"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."

Our Lady of Fatima's Peace Plan from Heaven (Rockford: TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., 1983).

 

                We should say this prayer

                    "My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You!"

                We know that Adam and Eve sinned
                    and this is a journey for us
                    so we can serve God and
                    love God and someday hope to
                    be wrapped in the embrace
                    of God's love — possessed by
                    God and have the beatific
                    vision and the fullness of
                    life —

                Here we, members of the human race
                    are to tell God we are sorry we
                    sinned, we are sorry the human
                    race is sinning —

                We have offended God —

                We are to make reparation for our
                    sins and the sins of the human race —

                So we hear the angel of Fatima in the
                    first visit to further say —   

"I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You."
 

                We also hear the angel of peace
                    say in that first apparition —   

"Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications."
 

                Oh God — help us — we are sinful —
                    we have sinned and offended You, Our God

                    Mary — pure gift — Mary a human
                        person conceived without
                        sin —
                        no corruption
                        no impurities

                Mary appeared in rainbow color
 

                    Our Lady of Clearwater —

                    CLEAR - WATER —

                Mary appeared in the state of Florida
                    like an ark in the water — 
 

 

 

                In the Fatima message Mary
                    told us about Conversion —
                        us sinners

                    Mary told us to pray for sinners
                    The angel of peace said to pray —
                        pray a great deal

                    Offer sacrifices —

                The Mass is a gift —
                    the sacrifice of Calvary
                        sacramentally made present

                The priest is given to celebrate
                    the Mass

                Grace is outpoured from the
                    Mass —

                We as members of the mystical
                    body of Christ are united to
                    the Masses going on around
                    the world —
                    all day —

                It's important we say the
                    Morning Offering and
                    we spread it —

                The Mass is celebrated in
                    thanksgiving —
                    in reparation
                    in praise of God
                    in petition

                The Holy Sacrifice of 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

   

                On July 5, 1994 Mary appeared
                    all adorned in light.

 

Excerpt from the Red Rosary Book

July 5, 1994 6:30 p.m.

R. I was told to go to Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center to pray the rosary with my children. There were people in the front of the church, so we decided to pray the rosary in the back before the Sorrowful Mother statue. I had the following vision at the end of the rosary.

The statue of the Sorrowful Mother was lit up as if she had fire around her. The light was very bright. Her whole gown was all-white, but the statue's gown is blue and pink. She was all aglow. It looked like the glow that comes off of a fire. Her face kept changing but remained totally sorrowful-the sorrow of an older woman. She was in such pain and sorrow! (It was hard to explain how she looked-extremely pained!) Her face looked as though she was in such pain that she could hardly bear it.

The vision remained like this for about ten minutes, having begun during the last Hail Mary of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary. She was holding something-it was all bright white-the brightest light ever!

      

                Mary told them at Fatima
                    about Conversion
                    about Reparation
                    about Devotion to the 2 Hearts

                There was World War I going on in 1916, 1917
                    World War II went on next in the 20th century

                    then the cold war

                    Pope John Paul II was shot May 13, 1981

                At the end of the 20th century —
                    Jesus told Fr. Carter to start the
                        Priestly Newsletter —
                        spreading the consecration of
                            the 2 Hearts —

                Since we have spread
                    15,000,000 Priestly Newsletters
                    in books and separate
                    centered in devotion of the 2 Hearts
                    the Mass
                    the Word
                    Fr. Joe's books

                We have the Prayer Jesus told Fr. Carter
                    to say in 8 languages

    

English

Español

Français

Português

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Polska

  

16 Years Ago

 

                Here is a message given to Fr. Carter.

 

July 31, 1994

Words of Jesus to Members of
Shepherds of Christ Associates:

"My beloved priest-companion, I intend to use the priestly newsletter, Shepherds of Christ, and the movement, Shepherds of Christ Associates, in a powerful way for the renewal of My Church and the world.

"I will use the newsletter and the chapters of Shepherds of Christ Associates as a powerful instrument for spreading devotion to My Heart and My Mother's Heart.

"I am calling many to become members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. To all of them I will give great blessings. I will use them as instruments to help bring about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My Sacred Heart. I will give great graces to the members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. I will call them to be deeply united to My Heart and to Mary's Heart as I lead them ever closer to My Father in the Holy Spirit."

- Message from Jesus to Father Edward J. Carter, S.J., Founder, as given on July 31, 1994,
feast of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits)

 

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