Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing          

August 31, 2014

September 1st Holy Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 6 Period II.

The Novena Rosary Mysteries 
for August 31st
are Glorious.

  
 
Florida Retreat
September 2nd - 5th
1:30pm and 6:20pm
Please tune in!

 

 

  

                August 31, 2014

               R. Dear God thank You for all Your gifts to me.
                Yesterday Jesus said to see ourselves as in
                a picture and to smile and see the gifts
                surrounding me.

                    I know that God has blessed us abundantly
                and showed us His lavishing love and I want
                to see through His eyes how it really is.

                    Reality is living in the truth and embracing
                the gifts God gives me.

                    Yesterday we celebrated with two priests.
                Fr. Don had a celebration because he was a
                priest for 60 years. At the end of his homily, he said
                he had to thank Jesus for his life as a priest. The
                Church was a very large church and full of families
                and people all over who had been helped by
                his priesthood. He had married 700 couples
                he counted in the 60 years as a priest. He
                had brought 700 families together. Wow.

                    I often meditate on the crowds that
                were baptized by the Apostles, the crowds
                fed with the fish and bread – the Multiplication
                of the loaves and fish – Do we see how we
                who receive a sharing in God's life in baptism
                can receive His Body and Blood. Wow – what
                a gift.

                    When I go to the Eucharist and am fed by
                the Body and Blood of Jesus, people all over
                the world are fed with His Body and Blood. We
                are truly one body in Him. We are given a
                sharing in His life in baptism and people
                all over the world share in this life in
                baptism and we eat His Body and drink His Blood
                and that feeds this life.

                    How wonderful is that – unity – one body in
                Him.

                    We are all children of Adam and Eve and we
                have a tainted human nature. God gives us
                baptism in which we receive a sharing
                in His life. Baptism takes away original
                sin, but we have tainted hearts with tendencies
                toward evil. We must deal with our tainted
                human nature. We have tendencies toward
                pride, greed, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony and
                slothfulness. We can develop bad habits of
                pride, jealousy, envy etc.

                    Faith, hope and love are theological
                virtues and we pray to God to increase
                in us these virtues – These are good habits.
                We see with loving eyes because the virtue
                of love has grown more and more in us. God
                is more and more filling our graced baptized
                soul and we are more and more in His
                image and likeness.

                Song: Give Me Your Heart Oh Jesus

                Song: In My Heart


 

                R. The heart is in us pumping life to the
                    body. We need our heart to do this
                    or we can die.

                How we think becomes a habit we can
                develop that can be lighted – seeing through
                God's eyes at the Plan He has for us,
                seeing unity and love and working in
                that unity in the vocation God wants for
                us.

                    We are not in competition with our
                brothers. We are trying to see God's Plan
                for us and our brothers and work together
                with all God's gifts given to us, living out
                our vocation that God has called us to –
                in loving service, working as one – in Him –
                to help build the Kingdom of God.

                    We can see that unity that God gives us
                that we are one body in Him in the Church.
                We know we eat the Body of Jesus and drink
                the cup of His Blood – we are one in Him –
                IN HIM – and all the world looks
                more lighted as we live and dwell
                in Him and
                    are filled more and more with His life,
                His grace in us.

                    Fr. Joe said Mass for the first Sunday
                Mass in 4 weeks. I sat in his Church
                before Mass and I wanted to see the
                picture Jesus talked about –
 


 

                R. I saw the beautiful gold dome and the beautiful
                altar and I was excited to be there to
                know he would say Mass. I love to go
                to his Masses. I love to focus on receiving
                the Eucharist and the precious Blood and
                all the gifts I receive at Mass.
                I love to be at Mass.

                Well I saw the picture of myself in
                the beautiful Church – My Mom and
                Dad were married there
                June 25, 1936.

                    My brother Joe was born the day
                after the Fatima date October 14, 1937.
                I think that sending his books to all the
                priests in the United States and all Cardinals
                and all Bishops and the Pope has helped the
                world and spread devotion to the Sacred Heart
                and Immaculate Heart.

                    There is a good letter Jesus told me to
                put in his book –

                    It is on life and it follows this writing. 

                Life is not life, if it is not rooted
                in God.

                    Well in Fr. Joe's Church, I was filled
                with joy in my heart to be there and
                go to his Mass. I tried to focus on the
                picture of myself there and how
                blessed I was to go to Mass and be with
                my friends and all there to pray in
                one mind and one heart for the world.
                Satan wants us to close down and
                focus on things people may have
                done to hurt us or jealousies or
                other very negative emotions that
                can close us down and stop us from
                seeing how really blessed we are.
                    "Caved - in"

                Satan wants to come in a surprise
                    when we are in our hearts and
                    throw a wet wash cloth in our
                    face, to make us frustrated and
                    closed in.

                Jesus: I want you to spread love – to smile –
                    to thank Me for the precious moments
                    you received –
                    to work in love – with those you
                    love for the building of My Kingdom –
                    to be grateful – for all the gifts I give
                    you –
                    baptism, a sharing in My life in baptism –
                    I feed you with the bread of life.
                    I give you Myself in the Eucharist and
                        fill you with Myself –
                    The Mass is a great act of love for
                        you - to give yourself in love –

                You should at the beginning of Mass –
                    see how you have offended God –
                        been unloving to God and
                        how you have been unloving
                        to others –

                You are to grow more and more in your
                    image of God –
                    to be other focused and loving –
                    to smile –
                    to see yourself through the eyes
                    of the Father and His Plan for you –
 

                Readings from Today's Mass –

Jeremiah 20: 7-9

You have seduced me, Yahweh,
    and I have let myself be seduced;
you have overpowered me:
    you were the stronger.
I am a laughing-stock all day long,
they all make fun of me.
For whenever I speak, I have to howl
and proclaim, ‘Violence and ruin!’
For me , Yahweh’s word has been the cause
of insult and derision all day long.
I would say to myself,
    ‘I will not think about him,
I will not speak in his name any more,’
but then there seemed to be a fire
    burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones.
The effort to restrain it wearied me,
I could not do it.

   

Romans 12: 1-2

I urge you, then, brothers, remembering the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, dedicated and acceptable to God; that is the kind of worship for you, as sensible people. Do not model your behaviour on the contemporary world, but let the renewing of your minds transform you, so that you may discern for yourselves what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and mature.

 

Matthew 16: 21-27

From then onwards Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to rebuke him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord,’ he said, ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because you are thinking not as God thinks but as human beings do.’

Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will anyone gain by winning the whole world and forfeiting his life? Or what can anyone offer in exchange for his life? ‘For the Son of man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his behaviour.

 

                R. I see what Fr. Joe said at Mass –
                He sat at the altar and he said –
                God intends us to go through suffering –
                He talked about Jeremiah –

                He said Jeremiah thought he would have
                    a nice job as a prophet and
                    people would love him and listen
                    to him, but instead they hated him and
                    wanted to put him to death –

                    So he gave us the first reading –
                    "You have duped me, O Lord"

                I love the second reading –
                    because our lives are an offering to God –
                    We are to try to be as pure in
                    our interior offering as possible –

                In this reading it says we are to be
                    holy and pleasing to God –

                That means we take a lesson from
                    Jeremiah and especially Jesus,
                    who gave His all.

                Jeremiah suffered and men persecuted
                    him, made fun of him,
                    ridiculed him, threw him in
                    a pit and
                    God was warning them through
                    Jeremiah's teaching of what they
                    were about to suffer –

                    And suffer they did, because they
                    would not listen to Jeremiah
                    and the Babylonians took over
                    their Kingdom –
 

Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 23: 1-6

‘Disaster for the shepherds who lose and scatter the sheep of my pasture, Yahweh declares. This, therefore, is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd my people, "You have scattered my flock, you have driven them away and have not taken care of them. Right, I shall take care of you for your misdeeds, Yahweh declares! But the remnant of my flock I myself shall gather from all the countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; they will be fruitful and increase in numbers. For them I shall raise up shepherds to shepherd them and pasture them. No fear, no terror for them any more; not one shall be lost, Yahweh declares!
                                                                                                                      

   Look, the days are coming,
      Yahweh declares,
   when I shall raise an upright Branch
      for David;
   he will reign as king and be wise, 
   doing what is just and upright
      in the country. 
   
In his days Judah will triumph
   and Israel live in safety.
  And this is the name he will be called,
  ‘Yahweh–is–our–Saving–Justice.’ "

  

Psalm 23: 1-6

Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 
In grassy meadows he lets me lie. 

By tranquil streams he leads me 
    to restore my spirit. 
He guides me in paths of saving justice 
    as befits his name. 

Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death 
I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. 
Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me. 

You prepare a table for me 
    under the eyes of my enemies; 
you anoint my head with oil; 
    my cup brims over. 

Kindness and faithful love pursue me 
    every day of my life. 
I make my home in the house of Yahweh 
    for all time to come.

 

Ephesians 2: 13-18

But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far off have been brought close, by the blood of Christ. For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one entity and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, by destroying in his own person the hostility, that is, the Law of commandments with its decrees. His purpose in this was, by restoring peace, to create a single New Man out of the two of them, and through the cross, to reconcile them both to God in one Body; in his own person he killed the hostility. He came to bring the good news of peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. Through him, then, we both in the one Spirit have free access to the Father.

 

     Mark 6: 30-34

The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. And he said to them, ‘Come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that there was no time for them even to eat. So they went off in the boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many recognised them; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.

   

  Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 19, 2009

HOMILY: There was a man who worked in a museum whose job it was to explain the different exhibits. On one occasion he pointed to the bones of a dinosaur saying the bones were 100 million and 9 years old. Someone asked how they could date those bones so accurately. He said “well, when I started working here, I was told these bones were 100 million years old and I’ve worked here for nine years.”

Today I want to give everyone a little history lesson. I’m not going back to the dinosaurs, but I am going back pretty far – to King David, 1000 years before Christ. When I was in school, I hated history. It wasn’t until we studied the history of the Old Testament in the seminary that I began to appreciate it. I cannot cram 1000 years of history into a couple of minutes. I just want to touch on the parts of Jewish history that are mentioned in today’s reading. If you want to learn more, read everything in the Old Testament, but be sure you have a commentary to help you. Otherwise, you’ll give up in despair because you won’t know what it’s all about - especially the prophets and the historical books.

When David was king 1000 years before Christ, David wanted to build a house for God, since there was no Temple for God at that time. God did not give David permission to do so, however God promised David through the prophet Nathan that he would bless him and build David a house in the sense that David’s kingdom would continue forever and one of his descendants would always rule. This blessing lasted through the reign of David’s son, Solomon; but we humans somehow have the ability to sabotage God’s blessings. Solomon turned to pagan gods and over-extended the country financially by elaborate building projects and exorbitant taxes, so when Solomon died there was a rebellion and most of Israel broke away from Solomon’s successor, David’s grandson, Rehoboam. Rehoboam continued to rule over the southern part of Israel, the area we know as Judaea . For 400 years (and this is amazing) the kings of Judaea were descendants of King David. The northern kingdom that rebelled against David’s successors suffered under a succession of kings and rebellions. In less than 300 years the northern kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians, people from northern Iraq. About 100 years after that, the Babylonians from southern Iraq conquered the Assyrians and took control of the entire Middle East. The conquest of the Babylonians brings us up to Jeremiah whom we heard in today’s first reading. At the time of Jeremiah, here was the situation: the northern kingdom no longer existed. The southern kingdom, Judaea, was still being ruled by David’s descendants but they were not loyal to God or to God’s laws. Jeremiah spoke to these kings as they came into power, the last four being: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoikin and Zedekiah. Zedikiah, the last reigning king, died in disgrace. After the Babylonians captured him, his sons were slaughtered before his eyes, he was then blinded and led off to Babylon in chains where he presumably died. You can read how Jeremiah spoke with them in great detail in the book of Jeremiah. He told them exactly what they needed to do to survive the invading forces of Babylon. His messages were ignored. He blames them and their leadership for the destruction that came upon God’s people. As we heard in today’s first reading, God speaks through Jeremiah: “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture.” God said he would take over shepherding his people; he would bring them back from exile; he would appoint leaders over them who would serve them well and lead them to peace and security. It took 600 years before God thought the world was ready for this king who would reign and govern wisely, who would do what is just and right in the land.

But then he came, through the announcement of an angel to a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel said to her “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

In last week’s gospel, Jesus sent his apostles out to heal and cast out demons and to call people to repentance. In today’s gospel we are told of their return, excited over their experience and tired. Jesus wanted to some time off, but he couldn’t. The mission of Jesus and his apostles apparently was so successful that a great crowd caught up with them before they had chance to catch their breath. Mark describes Jesus taking compassion on them (his heart was moved with deep sympathy for them would probably be a better translation). He saw them as sheep without a shepherd, - people without leadership, and he began to teach them.

One of the important messages in today’s readings is that in love our Lord leads us, by teaching us and appointing others to teach us. But we need to listen, and we need to keep on listening. We’ll never be finished listening and learning as long as our world suffers from injustice, poverty, hunger, discrimination, war, hatred and killing of innocent people. Christ would be put to death before he would stop teaching. It is to our own great loss when we stop listening. That’s one of the reasons we are here each weekend, to listen and to learn. We call ourselves disciples. The word disciple means learner. When we’ve quit learning, we’ve quit being a disciple.

 

                R. Jesus suffered, they whipped Jesus,
                    crowned Him with thorns and
                    hung Him on a cross to His
                    death. But Jesus rose the 3rd day –

                    We always know –

                    If it is of God it will win
                out – in the end –

                    When we fight what God
                sends to warn us – we fight
                God –
 

Matthew 23: 27-32

    ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of corruption. In just the same way, from the outside you look upright, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

    'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build the sepulchres of the prophets and decorate the tombs of the upright, saying, "We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our ancestors' day." So! Your own evidence tells against you! You are the children of those who murdered the prophets! Very well then, finish off the work that your ancestors began.

          

                Excerpt from the Spirituality of Fatima by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.

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

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

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

15. Our Lady’s Peace Plan, op cit., p.6.

 

    
 

Jesus is Life

     Jesus tells us

John 6: 48-51

I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate manna in the desert
and they are dead;
but this is the bread
   which comes down from heaven,
so that a person may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread
   which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread
   will live for ever;
and the bread that I shall give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.'
 

     John 14:6  I am the Way; I am Truth and Life…

     We live out His life, death and resurrection in our lives – Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus gives us Himself in the Eucharist. Jesus gives us His Word. We are living in the world with a purpose: God has created us and we are to die to those ways, not likened to Him and come forth living that life of resurrection in our lives. Baptism gives us a sharing in His life – In baptism our knowing and loving capacity is elevated. We have this capacity. We have been commanded in the greatest commandment to love God with all our hearts and love our neighbor as ourselves.

     Fr. Carter says in Response in Christ "As we progress, we hope to show in detail that Christian holiness is life in Christ, for our life in Christ contains everything – our love of God, our love of men, our love of all creation. We hope to portray the Christian as one who believes from the depths of his being that to live is Christ...

     "Man rejected this self-communication of God in original sin. Yet God's desire to give Himself
to man was not withdrawn. He determined to save man from his sinfulness, and thereafter the divine communication centered around the promised Redeemer."

     Life is not life if it is not rooted in God.

     Satan has pressed on man from the beginning in disobedience to a good God, a generous God,
the Almighty and All Powerful and All Just. Satan wants this culture of death.

     We live out the mystery of Christ in our lives. A constant dying to those ways not like Christ. Dying to vices and not giving into the deadly sins of seeking dominance for dominance sake, greed, pride, anger, envy, lust, jealousness, slothfulness. We rise to new life in Him – Our Christ-life – Our life in Jesus. Life in the Spirit. Life, Life, Life! Life is in Him.

     This book, Response in Christ tells us about life! Living in Christ – Dying to the selfish ways of the wounded human nature – God and His rules are first in our lives – We live to please our heavenly Father - to do His will – This is why we act – we operate in Him, our beloved God – We live in the Heart of Jesus - a Heart on fire for love of man.

     The Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell in our graced, baptized soul – We beg God to increase in us the virtues of faith, hope and love.

     We go into the tomb at every Mass and die more and more to our selfish sinful ways to live more the life of resurrection in Him. In the Prayer before the Mass we pray with lavishing love to God – The greatest gift we can give to God is our obedience and love to Him.

 

A Prayer before the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

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

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

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

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

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

    Give me the grace to grow in my knowledge, love and service of You and for this to be my greatest participation in the Mass. Give me the greatest graces to love You so deeply in this Mass, You who are so worthy of my love.                                              - Mass Book, December 27, 1995

 
 
 
     At every Mass – we pray in the beginning to be forgiven for our venial sins, to be cleansed –
We receive the Bread of Life – We listen to the Word – we are fed we eat His Body – we are fed – We are one in the Consecration – Praying to the Father united to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We unite to Jesus in the Holy Spirit through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, with all the angels and saints and souls in purgatory, we pray.

     We are one – begging for grace to be outpoured on this sinful world – We tell God we are so sorry for our sins and the sins of this world – I cry in my heart begging to God to hear My prayer –
I wrote the Mass Book for this – To tell the world about God and this intimate love union God wants with us – Come to me Lord and Possess my Soul.

 

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 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.
 

     So in this culture of death – we know as members of the mystical body of Christ we are united to all the Masses going on around the world – The Mass the sacrifice of Calvary sacramentally made present – We say our Morning Offering – We give ourselves in total consecration to God – Our lives, all we do, united to the Mass.

                                                                   (this we use extensively, nursing homes etc.)

     Here we have consecrations for children.

   

     We are united ever deeper to each other as members of the mystical body of Christ, by offering ourselves, united to the Mass in everything we do praying to the Father, in the Holy Spirit through the intercession of Mary our Mother with all the angels and saints and the souls in purgatory.

     The Eucharist is the Mighty Medicine – God wants our love. We need adoration chapels all over the world praying for these things.

     Fr. Carter, S.J. said Jesus gave him a message to have Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
People spend at least 2 separate hours a week before the Blessed Sacrament praying for these intentions:

    1. For the spread of the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary culminating in the reign of the Sacred Heart and the triumph of the Immaculate Heart.
    2. For the Pope. 
    3. For all bishops of the world.
    4. For all priests.
    5. For all sisters and brothers in the religious life.
    6. For all members of the Shepherds of Christ Movement, and for the spread of this movement to the world.
    7. For all members of the Catholic Church.
    8. For all members of the human family.
    9. For all souls in purgatory.
 

     Fr. Carter said Jesus told him on July 31, 1994 to pray these prayers in prayer chapters all over the world. We have them in 8 languages.

     To combat the fear of death – we say the rosary and pray 53 Hail Marys saying – "pray for us now and at the hour of death"

     Fr. Carter prayed the 7 sorrows after every rosary. He saw himself as a baby in Mary's arms – When he died he had a holy card of the baby Jesus in the arms of Mary clenched in his hand.

     In the Shepherds of Christ prayers he put before the 7 sorrows – “Mary has promised very special graces to those who do this on a daily basis. Included in the promises of Our Lady for those who practice this devotion is her pledge to give special assistance at the hour of death, including the sight of her face.”

     Then in the prayers we pray the promises to St. Margaret Mary and we thank Jesus after every promise. The last promise says “I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who communicate on the first Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.”

     WOW! Jesus promises if we make the 9 First Fridays we will not die without receiving their sacraments; and His Divine Heart shall be our safe refuge in this moment.

     Fear of death – God gives us so many gifts. What a gift this is - dying in the arms of Jesus and Mary – I am praying the Seven Sorrows every day – I knew of death, my mom and Fr. Joe’s mom, died when I was 5 years old. Response in Christ – Living in Him. Going into the tomb and dying to our ways not likened to God.

     Preparing ourselves for the beatific vision – Living deeply knowing God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell in our graced baptized soul – Knowing God more and more deeply dwelling in us.

     Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament in His Divinity and humanity – no less present than when He walked the earth –

     Come to me Lord and Possess my Soul –

     The mission Fr. Carter wanted in the Priestly Newsletters was to get out the message that we go to the Heart of Mary, our spiritual womb and the Holy Spirit works to mold us more and more into the image and likeness of God. Here is a message Fr. Carter received.

 

The Holy Spirit

Jesus: "My beloved friend, tell My people to pray daily to the Holy Spirit. They are to pray for an increase in His gifts. My people must realize that the Holy Spirit comes to transform them. The Spirit desires to transform you more and more according to My image. Those who are docile to His touch become increasingly shaped in My likeness. He performs this marvel within Mary's Immaculate Heart. The more one dwells in My Mother's Heart, the more active are the workings of the Spirit. The Spirit leads Mary to place you within My own Heart. In both Our Hearts, then, your transformation continues. The more you are formed after My own Heart, the more I lead you to the bosom of My Father. Tell My people all this. Tell them to pray daily for a greater appreciation of these wondrous gifts. I am Lord and Master. All who come to My Heart will be on fire to receive the gifts of the Spirit in ever greater measure! I love and bless My people!"

Reflection: The Holy Spirit is given to us to fashion us ever more according to the likeness of Jesus. And the more we are like Jesus, the more Jesus leads us to the Father. Do we, each day, pray to the Holy Spirit to be more open to His transforming influence? Do we strive each day to grow in union with Mary? The greater our union with our Mother, the spouse of the Holy Spirit, the greater is the transforming action of the Holy Spirit within us.                                         From Tell My People

 

     Fr. Pasquini has written his Mary Priestly Newsletter which we include and I tried to deliver this message for 15 years.
  

     Here is what Bishop Martinez says –  
 

The Holy Spirit and Mary

The late Archbishop Luis M. Martinez of Mexico strikingly speaks of the ongoing cooperation of Mary with the Holy Spirit regarding the reproduction of Jesus within us: "Christian life is the reproduction of Jesus in souls…

"Now, how will this mystical reproduction be brought about in souls? In the same way in which Jesus was brought into the world, for God gives a wonderful mark of unity to all His works. Divine acts have a wealth of variety because they are the work of omnipotence; nevertheless, a most perfect unity always shines forth from them because they are the fruit of wisdom; and this divine contrast of unity and variety stamps the works of God with sublime and unutterable beauty.

"In His miraculous birth, Jesus was the fruit of heaven and earth…The Holy Spirit conveyed the divine fruitfulness of the Father to Mary, and the virginal soil brought forth in an ineffable manner our most loving Savior, the divine Seed, as the prophets called Him…

"That is the way He is reproduced in souls. He is always the fruit of heaven and earth.

"Two artisans must concur in the work that is at once God’s masterpiece and humanity’s supreme product: the Holy Spirit and the most holy Virgin Mary. Two sanctifiers are necessary to souls, the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, for they are the only ones who can reproduce Christ.

"Undoubtedly, the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary sanctify us in different ways. The first is the Sanctifier by essence; because He is God, who is infinite sanctity; because He is the personal Love that completes, so to speak, the sanctity of God, consummating His life and His unity, and it belongs to Him to communicate to souls the mystery of that sanctity. The Virgin Mary, for her part, is the co-operator, the indispensable instrument in and by God’s design. From Mary’s maternal relation to the human body of Christ is derived her relation to His Mystical Body which is being formed through all the centuries until the end of time, when it will be lifted up to the heavens, beautiful, splendid, complete, and glorious.

"These two, then, the Holy Spirit and Mary, are the indispensable artificers of Jesus, the indispensable sanctifiers of souls. Any saint in heaven can co-operate in the sanctification of a soul, but his co-operation is not necessary, not profound, not constant: while the co-operation of these two artisans of Jesus of whom we have just been speaking is so necessary that without it souls are not sanctified (and this by the actual design of Providence), and so intimate that it reaches to the very depths of our soul. For the Holy Spirit pours charity into our heart, makes a habitation of our soul, and directs our spiritual life by means of His gifts. The Virgin Mary has the efficacious influence of Mediatrix in the most profound and delicate operations of grace in our souls. And, finally, the action of the Holy Spirit and the co-operation of the most holy Virgin Mary are constant; without them, not one single character of Jesus would be traced on our souls, no virtue grow, no gift be developed, no grace increased, no bond of union with God be strengthened in the rich flowering of the spiritual life.

"Such is the place that the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary have in the order of sanctification. Therefore, Christian piety should put these two artisans of Christ in their true place, making devotion to them something necessary, profound, and constant."         The Sanctifier, op. cit. pp. 5-7.

 
     So in summation – I see Fr. Carter when he did his doctorate on the Sacred Heart outlined much of what he said Jesus told him to do in the Shepherds of Christ in circulating over 17,000,000 Priestly Newsletters to priests and hierarchy in these 18 years we have existed.

     We circulated my brother's book of homilies – 5 times now – last year to the Pope and all the Cardinals in the world and all the priests and Bishops of the United States. (at least 40,000 of Fr. Joe’s book last year to priests and hierarchy) His book is centered on the bread of life – on the Word and the Eucharist.

     John 11:25  I am the resurrection and the life.

     Response in Christ

     Praying the Shepherds of Christ Prayers in the tri-fold paper for the priests, the Church and the world in 8 languages with the Imprimatur.

     Mary said at Fatima until a sufficient number of people have consecrated their hearts to Jesus and Mary we won't have peace in the world. Mary said at Fatima: Bishops need to consecrate their dioceses to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart - putting pictures of Jesus, the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in their homes, businesses, Churches where Jesus is the King and Center of their hearts.

     To have the vision of the heavenly Father for each one of us – each one of us uniquely created for a purpose to contribute to the Plan of the Father in salvation history – We need adoration chapels around the world - praying for these things – 

    1. For the spread of the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary culminating in the reign of the Sacred Heart and the triumph of the Immaculate Heart.
    2. For the Pope.
    3. For all bishops of the world.
    4. For all priests.
    5. For all sisters and brothers in the religious life.
    6. For all members of the Shepherds of Christ Movement, and for the spread of this movement to the world.
    7. For all members of the Catholic Church.
    8. For all members of the human family.
    9. For all souls in purgatory.

 

     Please help us circulate these prayers and materials praying for the priests, the Church and the world.

Rita Ring. Co-founder
Shepherds of Christ Ministries

                    

August 29, 1994

Dear Friend, 

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

Thank you so much for your donation. 

It is because of your help we can do what Jesus and Mary tell us to do. 

We finally got Fr. Joe's last homily book out to all priests in the United States. 

We printed 40,000 and we needed most of them for the pope, the Cardinals of the world, all Bishops in the United States, and all priests in the United States.

Fr. Carter was told to spread the Shepherds of Christ Prayers all over the world.

We have them in 8 languages with the Church's Imprimatur. 

We will send Fr. Joe's new edition of homilies out as soon as we get it done, before the new cycle begins with the first Sunday of Advent. 

We start with the pope, all Cardinals of the world,

all Bishops in the United States, and all priests in the United States. 

Jesus gave Fr. Carter this message to send the Priestly Mailing to all priests in the United States and the hierarchy. 

Jesus told Fr. Carter to spread the prayer chapters all over the world. 

The beauty of this Movement is all these priests probably keep Fr. Joe's book close at hand and in the back are the prayers Fr. Carter said Jesus gave him 20 years ago when Fr. Carter, S.J. (doctorate in theology) founded the Movement praying for the priests, the Church and the world at the direction of Jesus, he said in this message enclosed that Fr. Carter said Jesus gave him on the Feast of St. Ignatius 20 years ago.
 

Feast of St. Ignatius 

 

 

From the hand of Fr. Carter 20 Years ago as Jesus delivered this message.

 

 


 

We are directed by Jesus to pray 8 days a month for the priests, the Church and the world. 

We earnestly do this.

4 days in Florida ending on the 5th.

4 in China ending on the 13th with 3 or 4 Masses and the exposed Eucharist. 

Every month we have usually 5 to 6 Masses and 8 days of prayer. 

If we want the world to change we need to pray to God and Fr. Carter our founder told us Jesus wanted us to pray the prayers on the enclosed Prayer Brochure Centered in consecration to the Sacred Heart and Mary's Immaculate Heart. 

So far we have sent 17,000,000 Priestly Newsletters around the world to priests and hierarchy. 

Since these books of Fr. Joe's are probably in most priest's drawers in their desks all we need is one Cardinal or the pope to help us to endorse these prayers in the back of every homily book. 

Please say the Shepherds of Christ Prayers praying for the priests, the Church and the world. 

We need to pray now more than ever. 

We can have a network of holy people dedicated to the Sacred Heart and Mary's Immaculate Heart in one mind and one heart praying for the world as Fr. Carter said Jesus told him to pray. 

We usually print 20,000 of Fr. Joe's books and send them to the pope, all Cardinals of the world all Bishops of the United States - right away before December

and 4 states Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Florida. 

Then we proceed until we reach every priest in the states that are on the Archdiocesan list. 

We send a Prayer Brochure with every book and the prayers are in the back of the book too. 

This costs $33,000 to send out the first batch and print 20,000 books for the rest of the priests.

This takes us a while to do but usually we are done a few months later. 

We then have to print another 20,000 books of Fr. Joe's for the priests in the United States.

Cardinal George told me to do this 7 books ago. 

If you can help with a donation it will help us do what Jesus asked Fr. Carter to do and we have done in the Priestly Mailing now for 20 years. 

Fr. Joe's homily book is like a weekly Priestly Newsletter if the priest uses it once a week. 

In the past we had a lot of the money from a person helping us a lot in the core of the Movement, but we needed that money for bills this year.

In any event please help us if you can and for sure pray your prayers in the prayer manual and pray for the Priestly Mailing. 

We can use volunteers in China and Florida just to come and help us - a day, two days a week -whatever you can do. 

Come during retreat and pray with us for the priests, the Church and the world. 

Thank you for your donation and all your help. 

Please spread the prayer chapters to others, the Blue Books and spread the homily books to deacons, music ministers, and the school principal and planner of things in the parish and education. 

Thanks for all your help, 

Sincerely,
Rita and the Shepherds of Christ Ministries, Servants, Handmaids, and all involved. 

With much love,

Rita Ring (Co-founder)

 

 

 

                Given March 21, 2014

                R. Pray for These Things

                1) Sally Jo, Richard, Carol, Margaret, Sue, Jack & Jean,
                    John's dad, Special intentions
               
2) Pray for the priests, the Church and the world!
                3) Pray for the spread of prayer chapters,
                    also for the spread of priests doing prayer chapters.
                4) Pray for the spread of Blue Books.
                5) People going to Florida and China.
                6) Vocations to all 7 categories.
                7) Pray for spread of Consecration and Rosary.
                8) Pray for pope helping us.
                9) Pray for Jeff - sales & health. Pray for Nick.
               10) Blue Book 13 cover; Blue Book 12, Blue Book 13 – all involved.
                    For our Publisher and all involved
               11) All intentions on my list, Jerry's list.
               12) Priests getting Fr. Joe's book.
               13) Donors and members and their families.
               14) Healing of the Family tree.
               15) Dan & Melanie, Catherine & mom, Gary, Mary Jo,
                    Jim & statues, Fr. Ken, Monsignor, Kerry, Tom & wife.
               16) All who asked us to pray for them.
               17) All we promised to pray for.
               18) Rita, John, Doris, Sheila, Jerry, Regina, Sanja,
                    Betty, Sophie, Lisa, Eileen, Fr. Mike, Louie,
                    2 Dons, Mary Ellen, Fr. Joe, all priests helping us,
                    Ed, Jimmy, Steve, a special couple
, Rosie & all involved.
               19) 2 babies and moms.
               20) Funds and insurance.
               21) Jerry's garage.
               22) In thanksgiving for gifts, graces, & blessings received.
               23) Spread the Blood of Jesus on all of us here.
               24) Consecrate all hearts.
               25) Cast the devil out of all of us here and all in Movement.

 

 

We need money for Blue Book 13 and
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 last

Call 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

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