Shepherds of Christ  
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May 4, 2010

May 5th Holy Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 2 Period II.

The Novena Rosary Mysteries  
for May 5th are Glorious.

 

The Florida Retreat will be May 3rd through May 5th

Please come or tune in at
1:30 PM and 6:20 PM each day

 

The China, Indiana retreat is May 10 through May 13th.
Please come or tune in and pray with us.

 

 

The Lord gave an urgent message to print
Tell My People on April 10th.

Can you please help us?

 

               

May 4, 2010

                God created the world —
                    the seen and unseen - out of nothing 

  

                The serpent is symbolic of evil
                The devil is cunning
                The devil makes good look evil and
                The devil makes evil look good

                Man disobeyed God
                Man abused His freedom

                Death is the consequence of sin
                When man sins he prefers himself to God —
                The man who sins wants to live independent
                    of God —

                A person is responsible to God for their
                    disobedience —

                Abraham was blessed by God
                God blesses those who bless Abraham
                Curses those who curses Abraham

                Abraham will have descendants
                    as numerous as the stars
                    in the sky —

                FR. JOE Genesis 15: 5-12

    

Second Sunday of Lent

March 4, 2007

INTRODUCTION – (Gen 15:5-12, 17-18; Phil 3:17–4:1; Luke 9:28b-36) Almost 4000 years ago, God made awesome promises to a man named Abram about how he would inherit much land, would have so many descendants they could not be counted, even how the whole world would be blessed through him. Abram had no evidence that these promises would ever be fulfilled. He asked God for some assurance that they would. So God gave Abram a special sign. It may seem complicated to us but it would have been easily understood by Abram. It was the way people made covenants or contracts in those days. The ritual of cutting an animal in half and walking between the halves was a symbolic way of saying “may the same thing happen to me as to this animal if I am unfaithful to my word.” God is often represented as fire, and in this experience only God moved in-between the two halves of the animals. This indicated that God was not asking Abram to promise anything. God asked only for Abram’s trust.

HOMILY – As our lives move along, there are disappointments but there are also hopes and promises that we look forward to. Abram (later named Abraham) looked forward to the promise of land, many descendants and numerous blessings. In an ecstatic experience God assured him his hopes would be fulfilled. Jesus had several times warned his apostles that he would suffer and die. Now he gave three of them a special experience to help them know what was ahead, that his death would lead to glory. It was a glory so wonderful that they didn’t want it to stop. They wanted to set up tents on the mountain, not for themselves but for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, and they wanted to stay there indefinitely. But it wasn’t to be. They still had to go through challenging and difficult times before they came to the glory they had seen. Matthew and Mark leave us in the dark regarding what Jesus was talking about with Moses and Elijah, but Luke tells us they were talking about Jesus’ departure from this world by his death in Jerusalem. That departure is translated here by the word “exodus.” Jesus had to leave this world to enter into the glory that was ahead. Luke has thus allowed us to see there is a definite connection between the transfiguration and Jesus’ passion. Perhaps the experience of the transfiguration was meant to give strength and hope to Peter, James, and John, to help them survive Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. Perhaps it was a gift from God the Father to Jesus to help bolster his commitment to be faithful to his mission. Whatever it was, it was a promise of future glory and an assurance that God would not let down those who trusted in him. When Peter wanted to put up three tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, it is always understood that he was enjoying this ecstatic experience and didn’t want it to end, and this is true. But I wonder whether Peter, in his way of thinking, was making Jesus equal to Moses and Elijah. He said: “Let us make three tents,” as if Jesus were a great leader on a par with Moses and Elijah. God the Father’s words: “This is my chosen Son” let the apostles know that Moses and Elijah were great men and great prophets, but Jesus is God’s Son and no one could ever be on the same level with him. If the transfiguration is a promise of future glory for Jesus and the Apostles, St. Paul gives us a promise of future glory for us when he tells us today “our citizenship is in heaven.” We are only tourists in this world and it’s not our true home. We must always have our bags packed because we never know when we will be called to move on. And we will be called. Paul tells us God “will change our lowly bodies to conform with his glorified body.” We will be transfigured also. Lent helps us remember to be ready to move on and to make any changes in our lives we need to make, so we will be ready to meet our God in eternal glory. Mass is always an assurance and a promise of what’s ahead, especially in Communion. The consecrated bread and wine are Jesus’ body and blood. We are reminded of his death for us. We are also assured that he hasn’t left us orphans, but he is still with us and in Communion he wants us to be more closely united with himself. Someday we will enjoy perfect union when we will not have to experience him through signs and sacraments. We will know him directly and intimately. When we come to that stage, like the three apostles at the transfiguration, we won’t ever want to leave. Unlike the apostles, we won’t have to.

  

                Sing: Psalm- The Lord is kind and merciful
    

Third Sunday of Lent
March 11, 2007

INTRODUCTION – Our psalm refrain, “The Lord is kind and merciful,” describes our theme for today. We hear about God's desire to bring his people, suffering as slaves in Egypt, into freedom. He chooses Moses to be the one to demand and obtain their freedom. Moses wasn’t happy to have to do this. He had escaped from Egypt himself because he had killed an Egyptian who had attacked an Israelite. Now God tells him he has to go back and deal with the Egyptian king. God gives Moses a special gift, God’s name: “Yahweh,” translated as “I AM.” What is so special about that? It was like giving someone your private phone number. God was assuring Moses of a special relationship Moses would have with him and letting Moses know he could call on God whenever he needed him.

In our second reading Paul reminds us of how many blessings and marvels God's people experienced as God led them through the desert to the Promised Land. But in spite of all the wonderful things God gave them, they were unable to enter into the Promised Land. In the end they had failed to continue trusting in God. He tells us not to be like them.

The theme that “the Lord is kind and merciful” shows up again in the gospel in a short parable about a fig tree. It was given opportunities of every kind to produce fruit, but it failed to do so. “The Lord is kind and merciful,” but he expects us not to take his mercy for granted. With the help of his kindness, he expects us to grow in goodness and holiness.

HOMILY – A young girl brought her boyfriend home to meet her parents. The parents couldn’t find many good qualities about him. When the parents had the opportunity to talk to their daughter later, by herself, the girl’s mother said: “Dear, he doesn’t seem like a very nice person.” “Mom,” the daughter answered, “if he wasn’t nice, why would he be doing 500 hours of community service?”

It’s stretching things a bit to say “community service” fits into the theme of today’s liturgy, but our readings remind us not to be like the fig tree in Jesus’ parable today. We are to produce good works. God didn’t create us just to take up space in this world. He wants more from us than that. He wants us to trust him, to love him and to do good for others.

I said in my introduction that the theme for today is “the Lord is kind and merciful.” He is kind and merciful in many ways. One of the ways he is kind and merciful is in calling us to repentance and renewal. In the book of Revelation Jesus said: “Whoever is dear to me I reprove and chastise. Be earnest about it, therefore. Repent! Here I stand, knocking at the door. If anyone hears me calling and opens the door, I will enter his house and have supper with him, and he with me.” This assumes that we all have room for improvement. God asks that of us and he also gives us the help we need to be better. That is kindness to us. He would not be kind if he didn’t stimulate us to keep improving ourselves. The fact that he challenges us to change comes from his love as a caring parent. The parable of the fig tree is a call to live a positive life according to the gospel - doing good by loving God and others.

The conversation Jesus had about tragic events at the beginning of today’s gospel was interesting. Sometimes people think when something bad happens to someone it is God’s punishment. Jesus said that’s not always true. He does not try to explain suffering here, but he is telling us not to be complacent, which we sometimes are. We can’t think “well, if nothing bad is happening to me, it must be because I am so good.” He tells us we all need to repent, i.e., to work to be better than we are.

This season of Lent keeps reminding us of our need to grow in holiness and goodness. Many people I have talked with do nothing special during Lent. They think they’re good enough. Others start off Lent with a great deal of enthusiasm praying more, making sacrifices or doing good work. But as the weeks drag on, they ease up with their good resolutions. We still have four more weeks of Lent. Our readings today are encouraging us to do what we can so we can come to Easter with mind and heart renewed.

Today we have the first of three Scrutinies. Our community prays for those who are preparing to come into the Church at Easter so that they are better able to live the Christian way of life. May we all do a better job of living up to what God wants of us. We must remember, though, at all times, whether God is comforting us, forgiving us, healing us, blessing us, encouraging us or correcting us, “The Lord is kind and merciful.”

 

Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 18, 2007

We just heard the story of a young boy whose life was misdirected by love of riches and pleasure. After his so called friends abandoned him and he suffered hunger and want for a period of time, he came to his senses and returned to his father. He returned a changed person. Fortunately, he had a loving and forgiving father who accepted him unconditionally. The point of the story is abundantly clear when we consider the relationship between the father and his younger son. As regards the relationship between the father and the older son, Jesus leaves the conclusion open-ended. We have to reflect on what might have happened, whether the older son gave in to his father’s pleading to be forgiving or whether he refused. How we end the story will tell us a lot about ourselves.

I want to tell you about another young man whose story is somewhat similar. He was Catholic to start with but admits that he was not a very good one. His father was a government official and this young man enjoyed the comforts of those who were well off. He described himself at sixteen as a scatterbrained youth who had “turned away from God and did not keep his commandments.” As his story goes, he was kidnapped and sold as a slave and made to labor on a farm for six years. Like the prodigal son who was without friends and who suffered without adequate food or shelter, this young man came to his senses and he learned obedience through what he suffered. He discovered (and we quote) ”God showed me how to have faith in him forever, as one who is never to be doubted.” After six years God spoke to him in a way that he heard with his own ears. He would escape and God audibly told him when to leave and what direction to go in order to accomplish his escape. Miraculously God protected him along the way until he arrived back home. Like the prodigal son, he came home a new person. Although his parents wanted to keep him at home with them, his love for God led him to want to serve God as a priest. Even more than serving as a priest, his love for others led him to want to return to the people who captured and enslaved him and teach them about God. And that he did. After overcoming many obstacles, including rejection by the hierarchy, a breach of confidence by a friend to whom he entrusted a confession of his past life, his lack of education and social graces, he returned as a bishop to the people who had enslaved him. Once he arrived he wasn’t greeted with open arms. Again, in his own words, he said “daily I expect either murder, or robbery, or enslavement.” He writes elsewhere “they seized me with my companions. And on that day they most eagerly desired to kill me; but my time had not yet come. And everything they found with us they plundered, and myself they bound in chains.” He feared nothing, for even if he were to be put to death, he felt that would have been the supreme act of love for his God. But God had other intentions than that he should be a martyr. For 30 years he served God and the people who once enslaved him and his work was blessed. He ordained many bishops and priests, established convents, monasteries and schools and in thirty years saw the conversion of almost all of Ireland. And of course you all know I’ve been talking about St. Patrick, who is one of our patronal saints and whose statue is under the choir loft. His work was so successful that in a short time Ireland was sending out missionaries to revitalize the faith of Europe which had fallen into decline. Irish missionaries have been a blessing to the Church ever since.

For those who are Irish and who honor Patrick, the best way to truly honor him is not by drinking a Guinness. We should respond to his example and his call to holiness. Again quoting Patrick, he asks those who believe in him and love him to “strengthen and confirm your faith…That will be my glory, for a wise son is the glory of his father.”

And for those who are not Irish and who think too much is made of St. Patrick on March 17th, I would like you to think of how our faith has been strengthened by the witness of many Irish saints and how our civilization has been preserved by the scholarship of the Irish during the days when mainland Europe was being overrun by barbarians. The great heritage of western civilization, from the Greek and Roman classics to Jewish and Christian works, would have been utterly lost were it not for the holy men and women of unconquered Ireland. These Irish recorded the great works of western civilization in their monasteries and convents (remember all books had to be written by hand). They brought this learning back to Europe after it began to stabilize in the eighth century under Charlemagne. Whether you’re Irish or not, we all owe a great debt to the Irish and we pray that our patron, St. Patrick, blesses our parish and our families.

  

     

   

Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46

Parable of the wicked tenants

‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them thinking, "They will respect my son." But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, "This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance." So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him at the proper time.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:

   The stone which the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone;
   this is the Lord’s doing
   and we marvel at it? 

‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’ 
   When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.

  

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

  

From the Priestly Newsletter Book III - 2000 Issue 3 p. 44-47
 

The Father's Will for Us  - Our Source of Peace

  • Pope John Paul II instructs us: "The Church, as a reconciled and reconciling community, cannot forget that at the source of her gift and mission of reconciliation is the initiative, full of compassionate love and mercy, of that God who is love (see 1 John 4:8) and who out of love created human beings (see Wisdom 11:23-26; Genesis 1:27: Psalms 8:4-8)…He created them so that they might live in friendship with Him and in communion with one another.

"God is faithful to His eternal plan even when man, under the impulse of the evil one (see Wisdom 2:24) and carried away by his own pride, abuses the freedom given to him in order to love and generously seek what is good, and (instead) refuses to obey his Lord and Father. God is faithful even when man, instead of responding with love to God’s love, opposes Him and treats Him like a rival, deluding himself and relying on his own power, with the resulting break of relationship with the One who created him. In spite of this transgression on man’s part, God remains faithful in love.

"It is certainly true that the story of the Garden of Eden makes us think about the tragic consequences of rejecting the Father, which becomes evident in man’s inner disorder and in the breakdown of harmony between man and woman, brother and brother (see Genesis 3:12 ff; 4:1-16). Also significant is the Gospel parable of the two brothers (the parable of the ‘prodigal son’; see Luke 15:11-32) who, in different ways, distance themselves from their father and cause a rift between them. Refusal of God’s fatherly love and of His loving gifts is always at the root of humanity’s divisions.

"But we know that God…like the father in the parable (of the prodigal son), does not close His heart to any of His children. He waits for them, looks for them, goes to meet them at the place where the refusal of communion imprisons them in isolation and division. He calls them to gather about His table in the joy of the feast of forgiveness and reconciliation.

"This initiative on God’s part is made concrete and manifest in the redemptive act of Christ, which radiates through the world by means of the ministry of the Church." 13

___________
13. Pope John Paul II, as in Celebrate 2000!, Servant Publications, pp. 140-141.

 

                

                God gives promises to Abraham —

                He tells him he will have protection
                    and greatness —

                Abraham suffered
                Abraham was faithful

                God told Abraham he would
                    be the father of many
                    nations

                Abraham put his faith in God —
                Abraham let God have His way

                    Abraham had a deep sleep —
                It is like Adam who had a deep
                sleep — The Lord told Abram
                that his descendants will be
                enslaved in an alien land
                for 400 years — but in the end
                they will depart with great wealth
                and freedom —

                God makes a covenant with Abram —

                God is patient
                God is patient to let people reform —

                Abram will have a son
                Abram will have numerous descendants —

                We do not live in a vacuum — what we
                    do for the Church — how holy our
                    lives affect others for generations
                    to come —

                The books Fr. Carter wrote still speak —
                The writings of St. Paul still speak
                The sacrifices of St. Peter still speak

                Fr. Carter said February 13, 1997

    "I’ll begin by reminding all of us of the great, great privilege it is to have been called to this Movement. I’ve said this before, I say it now even with deeper conviction, I really believe that this will go down in history as one of the great Movements in the history of the Church."


                We see the burning bush in Exodus 3: 2

  

Exodus 3: 2

The angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame blazing from the middle of a bush. Moses looked; there was the bush blazing, but the bush was not being burnt up.

 

Exodus 13: 21

    Yahweh preceded them, by day in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could march by day and by night.

 

                Fire we see to represent God's
                    presence and His holiness


                Fire can be used to show
                    purging and purification

                The covenant with God reaffirmed
                    Abram will be the father
                    of many nations

                Abram's new name Abraham —

                God promises this covenant is
                    everlasting —

                God promises the land of
                    Canaan —

                 are to be faithful to the covenant — 

                Here is a covenant God made with
                    Noah —

 

Genesis 9: 8-17

   God spoke as follows to Noah and his sons, ‘I am now establishing my covenant with you and with your descendants to come, and with every living creature that was with you: birds, cattle and every wild animal with you; everything that came out of the ark, every living thing on earth. And I shall maintain my covenant with you: that never again shall all living things be destroyed by the waters of a flood, nor shall there ever again be a flood to devastate the earth.’

   ‘And this’, God said, ‘is the sign of the covenant which I now make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all ages to come: I now set my bow in the clouds and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I gather the clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I shall recall the covenant between myself and you and every living creature, in a word all living things, and never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all living things. When the bow is in the clouds I shall see it and call to mind the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth, that is, all living things.’

   ‘That’, God told Noah, ‘is the sign of the covenant I have established between myself and all living things on earth.’

     

shipped from the printers
December 17, 1996

Mary appeared
December 17, 1996

       

                Mary appeared to me every day for
                    14 months and Jesus sometimes

                I was told to put this rainbow
                    on the cover of these rosary
                    meditations Jesus and Mary
                    gave to me —

                    On the day the book left the printer
                December 17, 1996 Mary's image appeared on
                the building and remained there for 7 1/2 years
                until someone with a sling shot
                broke the image head —

                    Abraham and Sarah had Isaac
                he too became the father of many
                nations —

   

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 22, 2007

INTRODUCTION: One of the themes of today’s readings is hospitality. Jesus, and most likely his disciples, share the hospitality of Martha and Mary, his friends in Bethany. Our first reading is about Abraham who welcomes three strangers with a lavish banquet. The Bible said he was 100 years old, but he was still pretty energetic as we hear. He doesn’t realize it at the time that it is God whom he is entertaining. God must have enjoyed the feast, for God tells him that his lifelong desire that he and his wife, Sarah, would have a son would finally be fulfilled.

   

                    3 men appear to Abraham —
                Yahweh is one of them —

                    3 represents the Trinity

                    There are 3 Persons and one God —

                We see the blessings of Abraham —

 

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 29, 2007

INTRODUCTION: Last Sunday’s first reading told us about a visit Abraham had from three strangers. It turns out one of the three visitors was God himself. God was on his way to two cities near the Dead Sea, Sodom and Gomorrah, and he invited Abraham to go with him. On the way God took Abraham into his confidence and told him the cities were about to be destroyed because of their depravity and immorality. Notice the comfortable yet respectful familiarity that existed between God and Abraham.

     

                We see the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah —

                God punishes the sinners —
                God is just to those faithful to Him —

                Abraham is tested with his son —
                Abraham is faithful to God —
                Abraham would not withhold
                    his own beloved son —

                    Jesus — the Son of God would be
                sacrificed for us —

               

    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.

 

                The whole world is blessed by the
                    descendants of Abraham

                Jacob was simple and stayed in the tent —

                Rebekah preferred Jacob
                Isaac preferred Esau

                Esau sells his birthright for
                    lentil stew

                This is showing again the
                    shepherd and their gentleness
                    preferred —

                Jacob is concerned with his
                    eternal destiny —

                Esau — concerned with
                            here and now

                Abraham had been promised by
                    God: land, people and blessings

                Isaac is rich in land and animals —

                The Philistines are jealous of
                    Isaac and they fill all
                    Abraham's wells —

                    Esau marries Judith an intermarriage
                        this embittered Isaac and
                        Rebekah —


                    On Holy Saturday night we have many
                beautiful readings

                The first reading is about creation —
                    about light
                    "Let there be light"

                    God saw that what He made was good —

                The second reading is the account
                    of Abraham being told to
                    sacrifice his son Isaac —
                    we see his faithfulness

                The third reading — we see the dividing of
                    the red sea —
                    a prefiguring of baptism

                The fourth reading — we see
                    Isaiah 54: 5-14
                    God's enduring love for us

                The fifth reading
                    Come to the Lord for life —
                    Come to the Water

                Sing: Come to the Water

                The sixth reading from Baruch —
                    You need to walk with the Lord —
                    Not abandon Wisdom —
                    Listen — Learn —
                    Obey say — Here we are
                        like the stars shining for
                        their Maker

                The seventh reading Ezekiel 36
                    God will sprinkle us with
                        water
                    He will give us a new heart

                The altar candles are then lighted —
                The Gloria is sung
                The Church bells are rung

                Holy Saturday —

                I — The Service of light

                    The lights in the Church are out
                    A large fire is outside Church
                    The priest and ministers greet the people
                    One carries the Easter candle

                    Then the Procession

                        Christ our light      Thanks be to God

                        All light their candle from the
                            Easter candle — deacons
                            ministers

                        3 times — Christ our light — Thanks be to God

                        all candles of people
                        in pews are lit by Easter
                        Candle through others' candles

                    The Exultant is sung

                II. Then the Liturgy of the Word begins

                    At least 3 Old Testament readings are
                        required

                    After the Gospel
                        the Homily

                III. Then Christian Initiation
                        Celebration of Baptism
                        Blessing of Water
                        Renunciation of Sin
                        Profession of Faith
                        Celebration of Reception
                        Celebration of Confirmation
                        General Intercessions

                IV. Liturgy of the Eucharist

 

March 26, 1996

Very carefully discerned by Fr. Carter

R. I came to All Saints Church before a beautiful Monstrance of gold that contained Our beloved Savior. He was adorned in light, the altar beneath shone with the brightest light and the cross behind was entirely silhouetted with the same celestial light. I was overwhelmed with the presence of God and cried deeply from the awe of it all.

    To be so aware of the Almighty God truly present in His splendor and glory—to know the presence of God, to see the glistening of the gold and the light and reflection of the cross behind Him—my beauteous love—words do not exist to describe the rapture of a heavenly embrace! I cry because of the immense awe within my being to know Him. God truly present in His majesty and glory and oh, God, I behold the presence of a heavenly court. You opened wide the heavens and lifted up the veil and I knew You in Your splendor and glory. I behold God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

    "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." He is the Almighty God. He shows us the celestial lights with which He will light this earth. Many must surrender their hearts to His Heart and Mary's heart. It is in surrendering, the Spirit will move in the hearts of men and the light of God will shine on the darkened earth. Not with a light that you comprehend, but a light that is divinely granted—a light beyond all lights, a vision beyond all visions. It takes the surrender of minds and hearts to God. The Spirit cannot move in us when we are in control. Surrender and give Him our heart and He will make us fishers of men.

    We are His apostles in the Shepherds of Christ Movement. He is sending us out into the world to light the hearts with His burning love. We are chosen by Him and He is giving us abundant graces to grow in our union with Him. He will light this world with His burning love. Our hearts must be open. We must surrender and let go and reach beyond the senses, reach with our hearts. Pray for faith, pray for the vision of God.

Note:  I cried all through this writing, having the presence of God and being in great ecstasy to behold Him. May God touch your heart and may His Spirit move within you. May you be filled with the grace of God to surrender and let Him accomplish a great work within you.

    And I was filled on high with His miraculous light and He reached down and spoke within me. I was filled as never before and knew the presence of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Note:  As I finished, the bells at All Saints Church rang at 9:00 A.M. As I began to experience the immense splendor, the bells of 8:00 rang. Words do not express anything that I saw or experienced or know from this ecstasy. This was the greatest and the first of three visions, which defined clearly to me our role in the Shepherds of Christ Movement. Jesus defines clearly the role of Fr. Carter in this great mission given to him by the Father.

For Fr. Carter from Jesus:

Jesus:  To him who has eyes to see, they will see - not with earthly vision, but with the eyes of faith, and to him who has ears to hear, he will hear with the fluttering of the Spirit moving within him.

    I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I am the Almighty God. I say to the rocks to fall and they fall and to the grass, grow, and it grows, and to the sun, shine, and it shines. I give to you My love in these letters. Filled with My love, you will conquer this earth, not with weapons and powder or force, but with fires of My love. The fire will wipe out the hatred in the cold hearts and the earth will be covered with My celestial light. The earth will rock and I will appear in the heavens adorned in power and glory and the contrite hearts will be saved. I came to separate the sheep from the goats, the light from the darkness. I come and no one pays Me heed.

    To you, My beloved son, Father Carter, I have sent you on a mission to spread this fire that will cover this earth. The hearts of men will turn from their sick and desolate ways to hearts gentle as a little lamb.

    There will be one flock and one Shepherd and My staff will rule over all. Hearts consecrated to Our Hearts will lead the light across the earth. This light will be a light of intense brightness, brighter and hotter than any light from a flame. It will be the fire of God's love. The Spirit will move in the hearts of all consecrated to My Heart, and you will know how fire truly spreads, for the love of God is a fire. It is vibrant. It is encompassing. It is smoldering, burning deep within and speedily spreading on the outside. No fire on this earth can ever describe the burning embers that burn from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. No fire burns like the fires coming from My Heart and hearts filled with the love from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

    I have written your name, Fr. Carter, in My Heart, never ever to be blotted out and this earth will be renewed with the fire of God's love through you. You are My beloved priest-son, forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. Most holy and most sacred are your hands that consecrate the Host and write My precious newsletter for My beloved priest-sons. You are never unguarded. You are held within the deepest chamber of My Heart, and you will spread My love to the priest-sons of this earth.

    I am Jesus. You will spread My love to all souls on this earth. I love you with the tenderest burning love. I am Jesus, your beloved Savior.

end of March 26, 1996

 

 

           

               

 

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12 Newsletters
July 1994 - June 1996

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1996 - 1999

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2000

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Response to God's Love



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Messages given
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Tell My People
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The Pain and the Joy

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Light, Happiness and Peace

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Medicine of Immortality

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So Deep Is the Love of His Heart

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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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