| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
 |
| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
|
May 3, 2015
|
May 4th Holy Spirit Novena |
The Novena Rosary
Mysteries |
Pray for special intentions.
Pray for Dan & Melanie, Jimmy,
Fr. Joe, Sonny & family, Blue Book 15,
We need funds to send
Fr. Joe's
homily book to the priests.
Please pray for funds & grace.
New Cycle B - Guiding Light Homily Book
We need help in mailing Fr. Joe's
Homily Book to priests.
May 3, 2015
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 9: 26-31
When he got to Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him: they could not believe he was really a disciple. Barnabas, however, took charge of him, introduced him to the apostles, and explained how the Lord had appeared to him and spoken to him on his journey, and how he had preached fearlessly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. Saul now started to go round with them in Jerusalem, preaching fearlessly in the name of the Lord. But after he had spoken to the Hellenists and argued with them, they became determined to kill him. When the brothers got to know of this, they took him to Caesarea and sent him off from there to Tarsus.
The churches throughout Judaea, Galilee and Samaria were now left in peace, building themselves up and living in the fear of the Lord; encouraged by the Holy Spirit, they continued to grow.
1 John 3: 18-24
Children,
our love must be not just words
or mere talk,
but something active and genuine.
This will be the proof
that we belong to the truth,
and it will convince us in his presence,
even if our own feelings condemn us,
that God is greater than our feelings
and knows all things.
My dear friends,
if our own feelings do not condemn us,
we can be fearless before God,
and whatever we ask
we shall receive from him,
because we keep his commandments
and do what is acceptable to him.
His commandment is this,
that we should believe
in the name of his Son Jesus Christ
and that we should love one another
as he commanded us.
Whoever keeps his commandments
remains in God, and God in him.
And this is the proof
that he remains in us:
the Spirit that he has given us.
John 15: 1-8
I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away,
and every branch that does bear fruit
he prunes
to make it bear even more.
You are clean already,
by means of the word
that I have spoken to you.
Remain in me, as I in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,
unless it remains part of the vine,
neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is thrown away like a branch
—and withers;
these branches are collected
and thrown on the fire
and are burnt.
If you remain in me
and my words remain in you,
you may ask for whatever you please
and you will get it.
It is to the glory of my Father
that you should bear much fruit
and be my disciples.
Fifth Sunday of Easter
INTRODUCTION – (Acts 9:26-31; 1
John 3:18-24; John 15:1-8) During the Easter season, our first
reading is always from the Acts of the Apostles. The Acts of the
Apostles tells us how the Risen Christ, through the Holy Spirit,
continued to be with his Church and guide his Church and how the
Church spread so rapidly. Today’s reading begins to tell us about
one of those most responsible for the spread of the gospel: St.
Paul. Many of the Jews, because they were under Roman occupation,
had two names – a Roman name and a Jewish name. Paul’s Roman name
was Paul and his Jewish name was Saul. Most of the time he is called
Paul, but occasionally, as in today’s first reading, he is called
Saul. You remember he was a zealous Pharisee and a fierce persecutor
of all who believed in Christ. He was most likely one of the leaders
of the crowd who killed Stephen, the first martyr. On one occasion,
as he was on his way to Damascus to search out Christians and arrest
them, Jesus appeared to him. In an instant Paul realized Christians
had it right and he was 100 percent wrong. His life turned around
completely and he began preaching and teaching about Jesus, that he
was Savior and Messiah. Even after Paul preached about Jesus for
three years, the Christian community in Jerusalem was not convinced
that he could be trusted. When he first showed up in Jerusalem, the
disciples were afraid of him. Barnabas was a disciple the Jerusalem
community did trust and he testified that Paul was genuine. Thus,
through Barnabas, Paul was welcomed into the community. However, the
Hellenists, a term used to describe Greek speaking Jews, refused to
accept Paul and saw him as a traitor to Judaism. For his own safety,
Paul had to leave Jerusalem. He headed back to his hometown of
Tarsus in modern day Turkey.
HOMILY – Forgive me for this old story. One day the Holy
Father decided to visit the sick in a nursing home. He came to the
room of one old man who showed no excitement or even any recognition
that this was the Holy Father coming to see him. So the Holy Father
asked him, “Do you know who I am?” The old man said, “No, but if you
ask the nurse at the desk, she will tell you.”
Jesus tried to tell us in so many ways who he was. Especially in St. John’s gospel, Jesus often uses the words “I am.” Sometimes he uses “I am” without a predicate such as when he said “Amen, Amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I am.” (Jn. 8:58) Other times Jesus used images to describe himself such as: “I am the light of the world,” (Jn. 9:5) or “I am the resurrection and the life,” (Jn. 11:25) or “I am the good shepherd,” (Jn. 10:11) or “I am the bread of life,” (Jn. 6:35) or as we hear today: “I am the vine, you are the branches,” (Jn. 15:5).
As I was reflecting on today’s gospel, two of these “I am” statements came together in an image that impressed itself on me: “I am the bread of life,” and “I am the vine, you are the branches.” They came together in this image: picture a grape vine coming from the altar during Mass. It extends itself down the center aisle of church at the same time branching out down the side aisles. It continues to branch out all the way to the back of church to encircle and embrace each person who is here. The divine life and love that is alive in that vine brings divine life and love to each person here. Wherever you are sitting, it reaches out to all. Making each of us part of this vine is a wonderful gift God gives us.
Notice, a vine is not just the stem but the vine is the stem and all the leaves and all the branches and all the fruit. The vine is everything that is alive and growing. Jesus is the vine, and through grace and the Eucharist, we become part of him, and he becomes part of us. We can’t live without him any more than a branch that is broken away from its source of life can live on its own. United with him, we live; we live a life we are often not aware of – just like an unborn infant is probably not aware of the life that it is beginning to live. But that life is there. John tells us in his first letter: “beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 Jn. 3:2) Jesus extends his life and his love to us, which we first received in baptism and which he continues to feed in us through the bread of life.
It is comforting to picture Jesus’ life and love reaching out to each of us, but Jesus also reminds us we can’t just put it in a box and store it away in a cupboard. It is meant to be dynamic. His life and love are meant to be lived in a life of holiness, a life that flows from his teachings, (not simply What Would Jesus Do, because we can’t presume to know what he would do, but what did Jesus teach us we should do). It should be a life of not just thinking of ourselves all the time. Certainly we have to take care of ourselves because if we don’t know one else will, but our lives must include consideration for others. Quite simply, this is the fruit God looks for: good works. There’s a lot to think about in this one little “I am” statement: “I am the vine, you are the branches.” We thank him for that; we pray we will live up to the responsibility it lays on us; and we have the Eucharist to strengthen us and help us. Amen.
From the Mass Book
RELATIONSHIPS: BE IN ONE HEART WITH ALL MEN
Between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., Divine Mercy time:
My dear Jesus,
I have been troubled for a long time with my relationship with others. To have a heart like Yours, I cannot have division in my heart toward any man. I feel separation between myself and many others. To be in one heart with all men, I must not have division with any person, primarily my family. I must, at all times, stay one with my husband and obey him unless he tells me to commit a sin. I must be loyal to him.
Everything is as it is for You have allowed it in my life. I must always live in the Father's will to have peace in my life. Nothing that is right need be hidden. I do not have to reveal myself to every person, but I must remain undivided and one with all my brothers in Christ at all times.
My primary concern is that of being obedient to You and living in the Father's will.
Fr. Carter is my spiritual director. He represents You to me on this earth. He tells me what You would tell me, and You have given to him great graces to help me draw closer to You. Nothing I do on this earth is of any account if it divides me from You. Under obedience, I must comply always to what he tells me. My closeness to him is as my spiritual director. You act through him and guide him in his actions to draw me closer to You.
I thank Him for all He has given to me and am forever grateful for His deep love for me!
I see as never before, since December 15, when I was enveloped in His love and existed in Him. From this point on, the goal of my life must be to live to try to be as my heavenly Father wants me to be. I am weak and I fail, but my goal is to love God above all things, to always do His will, to want nothing but to please Him as a most devoted child, living to please her Father. I love God with my whole heart and my whole soul and my whole being. I love each and every Person of the Trinity. I love God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I know and love Him as one. I know and love God as one. I know and love God in each Person of the Trinity. I know so much from standing under the crucifix and being so united to Him on December 15, 1995. He lifted the veil and I saw with eyes unveiled.
I saw with eyes unveiled. I know now the immense concern of His Heart. His Heart is a Heart of endless love. It is burning. It engulfs a soul. He takes them unto Himself. He gives us special moments in which many things are made clear. In that moment, I was embraced by His burning love. I was swept within the deepest chamber of His Heart and heard the roar of the fire from His Heart. In that moment, I knew what it was to be united to God. My eyes were unveiled, and I was enveloped and swallowed up by His presence. I existed in Him. I existed in the endless cavern of His divine love. I wanted for nothing. I felt satisfied, for in that moment I was absorbed in Him, and I knew no fear being united to love itself.
I do not think that I am better than anyone. He has given to me great gifts to share His burning love to all. With all my heart, for my whole life, I will spend all my waking hours trying to please Him and tell this world of His love, my whole life being lived to love God and my fellow man.
Oh, that He loves us so much that He gave Himself for us, and He gives Himself to us now. In the deepest recesses of His Heart, I will find shelter from the rain and the storm, for the embers of His Heart burn the brightest and we cannot even comprehend this deep cavern of His endless love.
He took me to the deepest chamber of His Heart, and I was embraced by the love of God. To this day, I will not be the same. I saw with unveiled eyes, and I saw, as He allowed me to see, with His divine wisdom. Many things being made clear, I embraced eternity, and I know the presence of God as never before.
Alleluia, Alleluia. He is a God, true and just, Who knows no favorites, but loves all His precious souls with an unfathomable love. Alleluia.
(I had a dream about a little boy riding his bike. A bunch of hungry kids would kill him. I woke up and my heart was sick.)
We must be willing as a little child to suffer martyrdom for His sake. We will love to the bitter end, for in the cavern of His endless love there is no fear. Perfect love cast out fear. The Holy Spirit fills our hearts with the fire of God's love, and we are indeed made fearless in His love.
The wind may blow and the earth shake, and we will not fear for we exist In God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are one with the heart of Mary and one with the world and all its inhabitants. To know Him is to love all He created, and to know Him is to love all. There will be one heart and one soul, all united under the reign of His Sacred Heart. The Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph and the Sacred Heart of Jesus will reign, and we will be one in Their Hearts. To know Him, to be one in Him is to exist in His love. We will be joined in one heart with the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary were joined in one body before His birth. We will be joined in one heart, all the members of the body of Christ. The Church is the body of Christ. Jesus is the Head. Mary is the Mother of the Church. Mary is our Mother; the Father is Our Father.
As members of His body, we will be like Him in our actions. He lives in the hearts of His members and His love is emitted from their being.
We are one body in Him, joined as one heart in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
They were in the upper room, and the Holy Spirit descended on them and they were as one mind. We will be one mind and one heart, living in the Father's will.
They were one mind and one heart for they knew His love, His burning love.
See the heavens and earth as one in Him, all living as being one. The unseen world is really real. What is really real is that which we do not see and do not fully comprehend. We do not know how we ourselves breathe and why our hearts beat and why, at one moment, our bodies will cease to be alive.
Man tries to explain everything with scientific reasoning. He cannot explain the vast universe and the life in the womb of a mother. He cannot explain the power of the sun, and he cannot control the weather, the clouds, a disease such as cancer. He cannot live on his own, he depends on a Being higher than himself-this Being is the Almighty God! I see so clearly how our interior life must be rooted in Him.
We search. We want something to feed our starved souls. We want a person, place, or thing to fill the hunger within us. There is no other way. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The more I search this empty wasteland, the more I am left empty. All things must be used according to His will, not too much, not too little, neither all nor nothing, but moderation in all things.
For me many times it was easier to be extreme one way or the other. This is not of God. All things are in moderation, according to His will, not my will. He gives us what we need to help us to grow in sanctity. If we do not learn the lessons, He increases His teachings. All things in moderation, according to His will.
We see hardened faces in this world. We know of the hardened hearts of men. The eyes are sullen, their actions self-centered and on the surface.
He is the source of life.
He says:
I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away,
and every branch that does bear fruit
he prunes
to make it bear even more.
You are clean already,
by means of the word
that I have spoken to you.
Remain in me, as I in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,
unless it remains part of the vine,
neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is thrown away like a branch
-and withers;
these branches are collected
and thrown on the fire
and are burnt.
…My command to you
is to love one another. (Jn. 15:1-17)He is the Life. We receive our life in Him. We are as the branches connected to the tree. If I am an isolated branch disconnected from the vine, I do not have life in me. I will wither and die.
We are one in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. As I become one in the sacrifice with Jesus and die to myself and offer myself to the Father. I am one in Him.
The oneness is deep, not lip service love. All members of the vine must live with their primary purpose to know, love, and serve Him. He died and what flowed forth from His Heart, His adorable Heart, was blood and water. He is the Source of our life. We are given and nourished by Him. As we become one in this Heart, one in the Sacrifice of Calvary, sacramentally made present at the Mass, we become one in Him. His life comes to us through His Mother, Mary. She stood under the cross, and Jesus gave us His Mother as the Mother of our spiritual life. Our life in Him is in a constant state of becoming in the spiritual womb of our Mother through the action of the Holy Spirit. The life of the Church is in a constant state of becoming as Mary mothers the Church through the action of the Holy Spirit.
Life flows from the Father, in the Holy Spirit, through the pierced Heart of Jesus, and through the heart of Mary.
We cannot leave out the Source. To focus on the interaction only between the members is to cut off our life supply from the source. And what does He want? He wants life rooted in Him. He wants oneness with Him. He wants us saturated as watered and fed deeply in Him. To be saturated with His life, we will bear abundant fruit.
We must feed the hungry with the message of His burning love for them. To not have His divine life is to be starved.
So many this day have cut themselves off. They exist isolated from the vine. Their interior life lacks the light of His life. Their hearts are hungry. They exist in and of themselves. They have made themselves their gods. They exist with a gaze that is focused on self.
Unless we die to ourselves, we will not have life in Him. Man cannot serve two masters: He must be rooted in Him. These roots are deep penetration. The heart is the life of the body. In dwelling in His Heart and His Mother's heart (her heart that dwells most perfectly in His Heart), we are saturated with His divine life.
A branch cannot exist separate from the vine. Likewise, we cannot be one body in Him if we are not joined in one heart and one mind with Him.
The Father has a plan for us. We were uniquely created. Each branch of the tree has its own beauty. Each one of us, created in His image and likeness, have a beauty uniquely our own. It is in living in Him that our beauty reaches greater perfection as the Spirit's action works on us to sanctify us. He wants us holy as saints. He wants us to be joined in Him. He wants our goal to be a reflection of the God Who dwells within us. He wants to live in us and become one in us and live in this world in us.
UNION WITH JESUS
This is the Mass. It is the greatest act of love given to man when God gives Himself to us. We will partake most fully in this love affair with God depending on how we give ourselves to God.
God proved His love for us when He came into this world a man, a helpless baby, when He took on flesh. In order to communicate His love to us, God the Father, sent His only Son, made-man, as a sacrifice to atone for our sins. Jesus, our Beloved, gave Himself, Body and Blood, on the cross. God communicates His love for us through His Son Jesus, made-man, a God-man.
This sacrifice is sacramentally made present today. At every moment all over the world this sacrifice continues through the hands of His priests. Jesus no longer walks the earth, but He is alive and present and giving Himself to us sacramentally in the Mass.
This is love: that the Almighty God loves us so much that He remains with us today and gives us His divine love. He shares Himself with us.
Love can be one-sided.
I can love someone and give and give and give myself and they may never return my love. They may treat me with bitterness and hatred, but I, because of my love for them, continue to love them when I am neglected, ignored, hated and forgotten. I love them when they are bitter, when they are blaming and when they are unloving because I love them-this is love.
God wants union with man. Union is higher than one-sided love. Union, oneness, only occurs when both parties are giving their all to the relationship.
God gives Himself to us. We know His gift and how He loves us by looking at the crucifix. The crucifix shows me the God-made man giving me His all, on the cross - loving me to the last drop of His blood and the last beat of His Heart.
The crucifix is a piece of wood with the replica of a man on it. It is a reminder of the greatest act of love, God-made-Man, giving Himself for me!
But to me what sends my heart into burning flames is the priest raising the consecrated Host high and seeing above the host the crucified Jesus dying on the cross. This is the greatest act of love ever given to man, Jesus, the Son of God, the Almighty, all powerful Savior, giving Himself as a sacrifice for man and He wants union with me. He wants me to give myself as a sacrifice to Him so I can be one with Him. He gives us His life, unreservedly. He holds nothing back and He wants union with me, a mere creature, a human person. Divinity wants union with me!
Think of how it is to love someone, to open up the greatest secrets of your heart, to give yourself, your all, to someone you love. Think of how it is to be so consumed with love for another that you continually tell them, I love you, I want union with you, I want to give my all to you. My greatest desire, my whole life is lived to give you love. You are in my every thought. You, I would die for. Think of feeling this loving toward another in your heart. The gift of your love is the gift of yourself to them and you give yourself completely to them. Every thought and action you have, every desire in your heart, is for love of them. And, so you present your gift to them. You say, "Here I am, I give you myself. I give you my heart. I want to give you myself completely." And how do they respond?
What if they ignore you, hate you, treat you with indifference, do not have time for you and do not care about your gift? They may say nothing and walk away.
Oh, how hurt you would feel inside! With my whole heart I wanted to give you the gift of myself, my whole self and you said nothing and walked away. I want to close up and never give myself again to anyone because when I finally opened myself so deeply to give myself, the gift of myself, I was treated as if it was nothing-my gift of self was nothing and you walked away and I felt bare and opened wide with my heart burning and on fire, wanting to unite and be one with you and you did not connect with me at all, and I was left wide open and raw. I was hurt beyond all hurts in my heart and I wanted to close up my wound and protect myself.
Jesus is a person. He is the Almighty God. He gives Himself. Our Divine Savior, gives Himself totally to us in every Mass. He gives Himself to us in the Eucharist-the greatest gift of love, God the Son, giving Himself completely to man. God, Who is love, wanting our love. He is longing, He is thirsting, He is waiting for our love. Think, that the Almighty, all powerful God, wants us so much-He wants union with us. He has remained alive in His Divinity and humanity on the earth, no less present than the day He walked the earth and he gives Himself completely to us in the Mass.
How is He received? Love is giving. Union occurs only when both parties give their all. If one person holds back, if they do not trust the other, there is not union. Oneness or union occurs according to how completely each person gives of themselves to the other.
Jesus gives Himself in the most perfect act of love to us in the Mass. He gives Himself completely. He is a Divine Person. He is Love. He is giving Himself to us and He is ignored, rejected, and treated with indifference by man.
The Divine God created us to share His divine love. We are humans, we have human capabilities. He gives to us a sharing in His divine life in Baptism. Our human nature is elevated to such heights to share in His divine life, to share in His divine love. This is the reason we were created - to love God and love one another. We are creatures of love. Only love makes us happy. Only His love satisfies us. What will feed us? We are only fed by Him. All other things we feed ourselves with do not satisfy us. Many try to satisfy the craving in the soul for God with other things: food, sex, possessive love of others.
Only God's love will satisfy us. This is how we are created-to love God and love one another according to His will. There will be peace and harmony on the earth only when men are loving God and loving one another according to His will. This will come soon in the great era of peace, promised by Our Lady at Fatima. In order to bring this about, we must give ourselves as a sacrifice to God, a sacrifice, an offering: I give myself to God just as I am, my faults and failings and my good qualities. I give God myself, all of myself-this is what He wants.
At Fatima, Mary tells us how to give ourselves to God. We are sinners, tainted by original sin. Mary is the pure, immaculate one. I am a sinner. I cannot unite in great depths to the all-holy God by myself. I must go through the pure and sinless one, in order to unite deeply to God. She is the only way to have deep union with Him. I go to her pure and immaculate, sinless heart and she places me deeply in the Heart of her Son. I have a deep union with Him because I am surrounded by her Immaculate Heart. It is there, in her pure heart, her Spouse, the Holy Spirit, dwells. It is through His permeating action He makes me more holy, to unite more deeply to God.
It makes perfect sense. God shows us the way. The Father sends His Son in the world in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the pure and sinless one. In her womb, the Christ Child is formed. God comes as a baby, the Almighty God, the Son of the Father.
In order to unite with Divinity as Jesus desires, we must go through her. He came as a baby in the womb of Mary. He is the Light of the World.
If we go through the womb of Mary as a little baby, she will bring us forth as her children of light through the permeating action of the Holy Spirit. We will become more holy and we will thus unite more to our all-holy God.
Of ourselves, in our sin, we cannot unite as we should unless we go through her Immaculate Heart.
So what do I do to have union with God? I must go through the pure and Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is the greatest act of love - God gives Himself in the Mass. In order to be united more deeply to Him, I want to offer a holy sacrifice. When I go through the pure heart of Mary, the Holy Spirit sanctifies me and makes me more holy. My union with Him is dependent upon my purity. I tell Him I am sorry for my sins and go to confession regularly. Before Mass, I consecrate my heart to Mary and Jesus and pray to the Holy Spirit. I want to be a pure, holy sacrifice. I ask for His help and her help for His grace to do this.
He gives Himself completely as a sacrifice. I give myself as perfectly as I can as a sacrifice to Him.
The Mass is the greatest act of love given-God, gives Himself to man. The greatest act we can do on this earth is to love God.
God gives Himself to me. I give myself to God. We become one. The most complete way I can give myself to God is to give myself completely to Mary, to unite as completely to her, the pure and sinless one, in her Immaculate Heart and to give myself completely to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
This is what the Mass is. It is a love affair with God. God wants love. God wants our whole selves. God wants us to caress every word spoken in the Mass as a lover would caress every word the loved one speaks to them.
The Mass is God's greatest act of love given to us. This is in no way a complete study in the Mass. The words of the Mass I long to caress and I feel them deep within my heart and my heart burns with love for Him as they are spoken. I am not a theologian, I am a housewife and teacher. My dear Lord has moved me to write about the Mass I love so much.
In the Mass, the priest says, "As we prepare to celebrate the mystery of Christ's love, let us acknowledge our failures and ask the Lord for pardon and strength."
I love this part, when he says, "…prepare to celebrate the mystery of Christ's love…"
To me this is the greatest act of love. Oh, my heart burns to share this great act of love with my Divine God. I love Him. I love Him. I love Him. and I love the Mass. It is the greatest expression of His love for us. God gives Himself to man in the Mass.
God knows that we are imperfect. To offer a holy sacrifice, to unite most deeply with Our Divine Lord, we must be most holy. The more pure we are, the more we can unite with Him. We then "…acknowledge our failures and ask for pardon and strength…" We want to be so pure so we can be one with Him and partake in the greatest degree in His love. My purity is a determining factor to this union. That is why I give myself to Mary. I go to His Heart, surrounded by her pure heart, and offer the sacrifice. The more I am one in Their Hearts, I partake more fully in His love and experience an abundant outpouring of His grace. The Mass and the sacraments are the richest sources of His grace. Grace is a gift from God. Grace is His life. He gives us a sharing of His divine life. The fountain of His grace is outpoured in the Mass. The more the priests' hearts are consecrated to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the more he is one with Christ, the more the grace is outpoured in the Mass.
The greatest gift is sharing in His divine life. It all comes down to grace. To know, love, and serve God, it is a grace He gives us. I want grace to flow in me so I can be one in Him. This is my greatest desire. I want grace and mercy to flow in me and in all souls. I want to be the purest sacrifice that the grace will flow in me and through me.
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.
THE PRIEST AND THE MASS
I know this mystical union with Christ through the holy priest.
It is there, in the Mass, I encounter Him. I know Him in deepest intimacy.
It is through the hands of the holy priest, the ones consecrated to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, that we receive an immense outpouring of His grace, His divine life.
Oh, not only through the holy priest; through the hands of any priest His great life flows.
But, oh, when a priest is so holy, in his oneness with Christ, the grace flows and flows.
To be at a Mass where the priest is so one with Christ is to be at a Mass where I really feel Christ's presence in the priest. At every Mass, I am so aware of Christ celebrating the Mass through the priest. But when a very holy priest celebrates the Mass, I feel an immense presence of Christ there. I feel the flow of His grace and I am moved deeply within my heart and I cry from this immense presence of God. I am in awe. I unite to Jesus in every move of the priest, every word, when he is so united to Christ. I feel Christ so alive in Him. Every gesture, every word spoken, is as though Christ is present offering the sacrifice and I am fed with His divine life.
I love God so much. Through the hands of His holiest priests, I am taken into ecstasy in the Mass for I am so wrapped in His divine love.
Oh, I want Him so much. I yearn for this intense oneness I get in the Mass, when I receive Him in the Eucharist. My heart burns to receive my Divine King.
I see the hands, the hands of a man, a priest, and I see Christ celebrating the Mass in the priest. Oh, the merger of Christ and the priest in this Holy Sacrifice is one that takes me to the heights of heaven.
I am in awe of the Almighty God truly present through the hands of the priest. Oh, God, I love You. If you would ever take away the gift of the Mass, of the Eucharist, I would be in such suffering. Oh, this gift I love so much. I live each day to attend the Mass and receive the Eucharist. I am yearning for this. My whole day is centered around the Mass, and my reception of the Holy Eucharist. Oh I love Him, my beloved, in the Eucharist. I see this merger between Our Divine Lord and the priest and I love God so much.
God comes to me in the hands of a man, but I see this immense merger in every action of the priest, in every word between him and Jesus. It is a place I go to in the Mass, a place as heaven to me.
The Mass starts and my soul is filled with such love of God, and I long for Him so much to unite and be one with Him. This place I know, as no other on the earth, a place with intense presence of God, flowing from the priest to me. I love Him, my God, so much. So much of this love has come from attending the Mass, celebrated by a holy priest, one who has consecrated his heart to Jesus and Mary and has a very deep union with Christ.
My heart burns for this Mass. When he, His holy priest, celebrates Mass, I see this merger between Our Divine Lord and the priest and I love God so much. The Sacraments are special encounters with Christ to give divine life.
Oh life, Oh, divine life, Oh, fountain of His divine life that flows through the hands of a holy priest! I long, I thirst, I want this great gift given from God.
He shares His life with me and I know Him.
I have developed this immense love affair with My God through the hands of a holy priest celebrating Mass and through adoration before the tabernacle.
I fell in love with Jesus in these most intimate moments in the Mass, especially after Communion when He gives Himself to me.
I fell in love with my precious One as He remained hidden behind the tabernacle, but oh, His presence and His life! He poured out His life to me and I fell in love with my Divine God.
Oh, how to write, for to write is to limit this great gift of God Himself to a paper and pen, and it is nothing as how it truly is.
Oh, I want Him so much. I want these precious moments in the Mass when I encounter Christ so vividly as He gives Himself to me.
How Our Lord is treated, and He gives us Himself and He gives us His love!
Oh, the Mass, from the beginning to the end, I love it so much. I long for the Mass. I want to be there and I pray for the greatest grace to unite so deeply with Our Lord.
Why are there not more vocations, with such a great honor God gives to his priest?
Being a priest is the greatest honor God gives to a man. God gives a man the power to change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.
God gives to a priest the power to Baptize, to elevate a human nature to one in which the person shares divine life.
God gives to a priest the power to take away sins, which makes the difference to a soul dead in sin.
God gives such power to a priest, such a great gift given to a priest.
Why are not more young men priests?
Many priests do not realize the great gift that God gives them.
I sit in the pew and I am fed by Christ, Who celebrates the Mass through the priest. I am taken into ecstasy as I see the priest merge with Christ and feel Christ celebrating the Mass through the priest.
Oh, I am fed. Oh, I am so sensitive to every gesture, every way he speaks the Word of God. I feel Christ speak to me as the priest reads the Gospel. The Word feeds me. The words spoken by a holy priest penetrate my heart and my soul. It is as a two-edged sword. I feel all the words in my being, every word in the depth of my soul.
I love God so much and I love the priest. I love the Eucharist. I love the hands that give my God to me. The Mass is the greatest gift of God's love!
So why are there not vocations? The priest must give himself in consecration to Jesus and Mary to be so one with Christ.
When the priest is in love with Jesus with his whole heart, his whole mind and his whole soul, the man being called to the priesthood will see the great honor it is to be a priest and men will flock to the seminary. The modeling isn't there.
Oh, priests wear your priesthood proudly. You are given the greatest honor bestowed to a man-the title of a priest!
The priest must love God with a burning heart and love his people with the Heart of Jesus.
It is powerful to be loved by the priest in the Mass. The priest must love his flock, that he would die for them. He must love Christ so much he gives himself totally to Him and holds nothing back.
Love is giving. The priest must give himself completely to God to have proper union with Him.
Oh, how the Mass unites us in one body, in the Body of Christ. I become one in Him. You become one in Him. We are one body in Him. His life flows through His body, the Church.
Oh, fountain of life, the Church - flowing on God's people. His abundant grace flows through the Mass.
Life flows from the Father, in the Holy Spirit, through the pierced Heart of Jesus, through the heart of Mary, to us.
We are one body. The life flows through us. It feeds us and makes us whole.
His life flows in His Church through the Mass and the Sacraments. Oh, God, protect what your right hand has planted.
Ps. 80:14-18:
God Sabaoth, come back, we pray,
look down from heaven and see,
visit this vine;
protect what your own hand has planted.
They have thrown it on the fire like dung,
the frown of your rebuke will destroy them.
May your hand protect those at your side,
the child of Adam you have strengthened for yourself!
Never again will we turn away from you,
give us life and we will call upon your name.Jn. 15:5-6:
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is thrown away like a branch
-and withers;
these branches are collected
and thrown on the fire
and are burnt.God is the vine, we are the branches. We need His life or we wither and die.
The people feast copiously on His divine life abundantly flowing through the hands of the holy priest in the Mass.
His life flows as a fountain on His holy people.
The priest is like the opening through which this spring pours forth.
When a priest has given his heart to Mary, this divine life flows as a shower through her Immaculate Heart, watering the earth with His glistening grace.
Oh, how abundantly doth your grace flow, Lord.
It will flow in proportion to our giving ourselves to Jesus and Mary.
At Fatima Mary told Jacinta: "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."1
Put God First in Your Life
January 2, 1994
Jesus: My heart is ablaze for love of My dear children. I want each to understand My love. Each child is given a free will to choose Me or reject Me. Many have gone so far from the first commandment! It is My commandment that makes all the others work. If I am first, all the others follow. The world drives you away from God. God is looked on without respect. To take My name out of schools is preaching a mighty lesson to children about God. It is so sad for a young child to be subjected to a school that does not mention the name of God all day. This is in violation of the first commandment. It teaches the children that God is not someone to honor. It is so vile to teach a child such a sick thing. Your country was founded on God. Your songs reflect the love of God. Your money talks of God. And now America is a Godless society.
Sex is worshiped and God is dismissed. What a way to try to operate, void of God! A country void of God will decay from within. It is so sad for the children. Pray for your children, America. It makes My heart so sad to think of a little child being taught everything void of God. God is disrespected and laughed at. Sex is made your god. Schools teach sex and never mention the word of God. Tell the kindergartners--little babies--about means to safe sex! Are you sick, America?
Man has glorified himself to the heights of God and he believes he is that powerful. Man is sick and his ways are sick and what he teaches is anything but the truth. Children are being taught such sick things in schools. I lament the hearts of the children. These messages need to reach My children so they know of My intense love. These messages will feed the starved souls of many. They are of top priority. You don't know how vile your system is because you have become numb to live here.
My ways are direct and clear. My ways are truth. Each child has a conscience and each one has the ability to know the truth in his heart. Be of a clean heart so you will spread My truth to all. Your light shining in the darkness makes the world take notice of Me. Keep up with all of your endeavors to know Me. Live the truth and pray! Every day, pray for everyone--they need to be prayed for. Busy yourself each day praying for your brothers. Make in your New Year a special intention to make God first and last in your life! Make Him your center.
I love you. Alleluia. Amen.
end of excerpt
Sing: We Have Been Told
July 11, 2007
I am united to all
the Masses going on
around the world.
Everything I do I am
so one with Jesus for the
sake of souls. The suffering
to know one soul could be
lost.
I offer everything I do
here on earth as a sacrifice
united to the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass — being so deeply
one in Him.
Oh God help us for the sake
of souls — for the wonderful
priests to be so deeply wed
to Thee — to know more the
tremendous gift of Your love
given to us — for the realization
more and more of the gift of the
priest and the Church and the
Mass — and to tell the people
about the vine and the branches —
the members of the body of
Christ so one in God as a
strong net-work reaching all
over the surface of the earth —
choking out the weeds and the
love of God enduring, flourishing,
strengthening the hungry souls —
The Mass is the sacrifice of Calvary,
sacramentally made present —
Oh I am so grateful for the
priest, for the Church, for baptism —
for my commission as a member of
the body of Christ —
I am so grateful for the
presence of God being in my
graced soul — strengthening me —
I am saturated with God's grace
in me and
Mary is full of grace and I am
saturated more and more with His grace —
He lives in me and
I live in Him —
He is the vine
We are the branches —
Sing: We Have Been Told
Sing: A Priest is a Gift from God
I am one in Him —
I am identified in His selfless
giving of Himself on the cross
for the sake of souls.
I lay my life down for Him and
the souls — My life an offering —
My life a sacrifice.
Jesus: "I am the vine, you are the branches."
Surrender to the will of God —
My life a constant gift of myself
to the Father.
Endurance — living the Pascal
Mystery death/resurrection.
Life in Him
From a Lenten Homily, March 24, 2000
Live in the Moment
Today’s Gospel in its story certainly points ahead to Jesus in His Passion and death. And as we read passages such as this during the Lenten season, we are reminded once again that the Church in her Liturgy of the Word gives us an opportunity to undergo a purification, an ever deepening cleansing of ourselves so that we may be a more fit instrument
for receiving the great graces which are to be given to us at the time of the Resurrection memorial on Easter. And so all in all, Lent is a time of purification to prepare us for ever-greater gifts of the Lord. It’s a time of self-discipline, a time to renew our efforts to be self-disciplined in the service of the Lord. Self-discipline is an aspect of purification. And I suggest that one of the most difficult acts of self-discipline in the spiritual journey is to concentrate on the present moment. We have a very strong tendency to disregard the importance of the present moment by focusing in a wrong way on the past or in a wrong way on the future. There are proper occasions for thinking of the past and the future. For example, we have to learn from the past and we have to prepare for the future, but our great emphasis has to be upon the present. There is a Latin axiom which says, age quod agis, age quod agis, which means: do what you are doing, concentrate on the present. And of course we are familiar with that term in the history of spirituality: the sacrament of the present moment. And so the discipline of Lent certainly encourages us to include in a deeper self-discipline a greater determination to get as much as we can out of the present moment. People with a terminal illness have an opportunity as they prepare for death for increased prayer, contrition, love of God. However, some are taken very, very quickly. But for those who have the opportunity of knowing with some certainty the time of their death, I’m sure as they look back on their lives, they are saddened by the many times they did not use time and opportunities for the service of the Lord properly, and are overjoyed at those times in which they did use the present opportunity properly. A great means we have of living in the present properly is a greater focus upon our Lord. For if I have that awareness of the fact I am united with Jesus here and now, why should I be concerned so much about the future or the past? Yes, a great help in living in the present and deriving all the good we can from it for ourselves and others is an ever greater focus upon Jesus, because the more I focus upon Jesus and the more I live with Him in the present moment, the more I am satisfied with the present moment. And so let us in our Lenten activity resolve to grow in that self-discipline - which is very difficult at times - to really live in the presence with the fullness of our being as much as is possible, with the help of God’s grace. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the day of salvation.
end of Father Carter's homily
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
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.
-God's Blue Book, December 27, 1995
A home run to me is living
as a member of the body of Christ
united to the Mass - doing
God's will in love —
Always say the Say Daily Card —
spread it
The Song that you play is
the song of harmony —
doing God's will —
When I do the retreat —
those not able to attend
should be in harmony —
not disconnected so that
at the proper time the
devil can use their
activities to act as a distraction.
These 4 days of prayer have
been called by Jesus in
the Shepherds of Christ Movement
to help bring down great grace —
disconnection — disharmony
comes from those having
something else to do —
God wants us praying
here and great grace is
released.
A man called a big dinner
and his wife went upstairs
to be by herself. The guests
came and went and she remained
in her chambers.
Why did she do that —
being in one mind and one
heart, is a grace of surrender —
wanting God's will —
to help bring down great
grace for our work here —
praying for the priests, the
Church and the world —
People divorced deal
with the pain of children
being passed on holidays,
vacations — being united is
to be in harmony — to be
one as God intends —
Living according to God will
in love - keeps us one —
a power house —
Being divided is the way
many families have been forced
to live because of divorce —
survival with a divided
heart —
How do we deal with pain?
Looking at Jesus on the cross and
Looking into Mary's eyes as
Jesus did on the way to Calvary —
oneness in the face of tremendous
suffering —
Jesus was the suffering
servant for our sins — He didn't
punish those who were whipping
Him — He withstood the
blows for the sake of souls —
How are you inside in
one mind and one heart with
the Plan of the Father — even
though you are suffering —
or do you give up the chance
to help bring down powerful
grace because when you
suffer you punish others —
Death/Resurrection — saying
yes to God's will in love
Being harmonious —
Letting God take the lead —
The dance is done when
Jesus leads the dance —
He is the Divine Bridegroom —
how clumsy indeed
when the branch disconnects
from the vine —
soon it gets brittle —
breaks, falls off and dies
People today many from the
chastisement after Fatima —
see themselves as little gods
they turn their talents into
acts for their own
self glory —
little men — like little
gods who have
disconnected from
the vine
It is in God
Rooted to the vine
We are rooted to the
all Powerful
Man is limited —
God is all powerful
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.
For the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and Lent
$10.00 plus shippingBlue Book 14
One of the following DVD
Prayer Brochure
Blue Book Blow Out for Christmas
Give the gift that keeps giving this Christmas
6 different Blue Books for $30.00 including postage
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Books available in limited supply for this sale.
The more you use the Blue Books and
become one with Jesus – more
intimate with Jesus –
the more your lives are a blessing and
everything you do in life can help
to bring down great grace for the world
because of your being so
one with Jesus.
Guiding Light Homily Book Series
Fr. Joe’s Books
|
|
|
|
|
4 for $20 plus postage of $5.95
These books can be given to:
1) All Priests
2) Good for Music Ministers
3) Good for DRE's
4)
Good for Deacons
5) Good
for Principals of Schools
6) Good for Teachers
7)
Good for Mom and Dads
This statue was handmade and
hand-painted
and has a little piece of the glass
from the image face of Mary –
|
PV-Fatima w/glass - 27  |
PV-Fatima w/glass - 18  |
PV-Fatima w/glass - 15  |
OL-Fatima w/glass - 18  |
PV-Fatima w/glass - 12  |
OL-Fatima w/glass - 11  |
|
OL-Guadalupe
w/glass - 28  |
OL-Grace
|
OL-Mt.
Carmel
w/glass - 24  |
OL-Lourdes
|
IH-Mary
|
IH-Ivory
|
|
SH-Jesus
w/glass - 24  |
SH-Blessing
w/glass - 24  |
Sorrow
M
w/glass - 24  |
Inf.-Prague
w/glass - 24  |
OL-Lourdes
|
OL-Mt.
Carmel
w/glass - 18  |
|
I
Heart
|
I
Heart
-
Ivory
|
OL-Grace
|
SH-Jesus
w/glass - 18  |
OL-Guadalupe
w/glass - 12  |
We
cannot
get
these
statues
any
more
–
the
men
making
them
were
from
Portugal
and
no
longer
do
so
We
will
have
a
limited
number
until
they
are
gone
–
These statues are a treasure, a work of art
At
the
end
of
this
message
are
healings
from
statues
and
the
Jesus
and
Mary
waters
–
Given March 21, 2014
R. Pray for These Things
1) Pray for the Pope & hierarchy to help us start prayer chapters.
2) Pray for Dan, Sally Jo, Richard, Carol, Margaret, Sue,
Jack, Jean, Amanda, Matthew, Special intentions.
3) Pray for the priests, the Church and the world!
4) Pray for the spread of prayer chapters,
also for the spread of priests doing prayer chapters.
5) Pray for the spread of Blue Books.
6) People going to Florida and China.
7) Vocations to all 7 categories.
8) Pray for spread of Consecration and Rosary.
9) Pray for pope helping us.
10) Pray for Jeff - sales & health. Pray for Nick.
11) Blue Book 14 cover; Blue Book 13 – all involved.
For our Publisher and all involved
12) All intentions on my list, Jerry's list.
13) Priests getting Fr. Joe's book.
14) Pray for Fr. Joe's new book, cover & funds for printing & postage.
15) Donors and members and their families.
16) Healing of the Family tree.
17) Dan & Melanie, Catherine & mom, Gary, Mary Jo,
Jim & statues, Fr. Ken, Monsignor, Kerry, Tom & wife.
18) All who asked us to pray for them.
19) All we promised to pray for.
20) Rita, John, Doris, Sheila, Jerry, Regina, Sanja,
Betty, Sophie, Lisa, Eileen, Fr. Mike, Louie, Laverne,
2 Dons, Mary Ellen, Fr. Joe, all priests helping us,
Ed, Jimmy, Steve, a special couple, Rosie & all involved.
21) 2 babies and moms.
22) Funds and insurance.
23) Jerry's garage.
24) In thanksgiving for gifts, graces, & blessings received.
25) Spread the Blood of Jesus on all of us here.
26) Consecrate all hearts.
27) Cast the devil out of all of us here and all in Movement.
We need money for
Fr. Joe's new homily book
(we sent almost 40,000 to priests,
cardinals, bishops)
Can you please help us?
888-211-3041
The Wedding Rosary
Crystal Image Rosary
$40 plus shipping
Special First Communion Rosary with Image Center
in a gift box
white blue red
and an 8 x 10 picture of Our Lady of Clearwater
and a 4 x 6 picture of Our Lady of Clearwater$10 plus postage
Original Image Rosary
8mm glass beads
in a matching gift box$40 plus shipping
Special Sale Statues with image glass
15" Pilgrim Virgin Fatima – $85
12" Our Lady of Fatima – $75
plus shipping
while supplies lastCall Regina 1–727–776–2763
Call Rosie 888–211–3041
In Spanish with the Imprimatur
Also we are ready to print
5000 copies of the
Parents and Children's Rosary Book
in SPANISH.
Can you help with a donation?
Give the gift that counts.
Give to your priests Fr. Carter's Books plus postage.
Tell My People $5.00
Response to God's Love $8.00
Response in Christ $8.00
God's Blue Books 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 6C, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
$4.00 each plus postage
Blue Book 4
Blue Book 5
Blue Book 6A
Blue Book 6B
Blue Book 6C
Blue Book 7
Blue Book 8
Blue Book 9
Blue Book 10
Blue Book 11
Blue Book 12 & 13
Old Mass Books with the Imprimatur
$2.00 plus postage
New Mass Book with Imprimatur
$8.00 plus postage
New Parents & Children's Book with the Imprimatur
$8.00 plus postage
Fr. Joe's Cycle A – Steadfast to the Sun – Starts in Advent
$5.00 plus postage
Give the gift that keeps on giving!
Give to your priest.
Fr. Carter's Priestly Newsletters Book II
$6.00 plus postage
Special sale statue with glass
27" Statue of Our Lady of Fatima
$175 plus postage
Get a canvas print of Mary's image
with a sliver of glass and a little
bottle of Jesus and Mary water.
The glass will be fixed behind the
back of the picture.
$200.00 plus postage
Dan called and gave the report to me, when I hung up I saw this rainbow and took a picture for him.
Shepherds of Christ Ministries
P.O. Box 627 China, Indiana 47250
Telephone: (toll free) 1-888-211-3041 or (812) 273-8405
FAX: (812) 273-3182
Copyright
© 2014 Shepherds of Christ.
