Shepherds of Christ  
       Daily Writing        
 

September 1, 2008

September 2nd Holy Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 4 Period I.

The Novena Rosary Mysteries  
for September 2nd are Luminous.

 

Rita will be in Florida for the retreat

September 3, 4, 5

Retreat sessions will be at

1pm & 6:20pm each day

 

Rita will be in China

September 10-13

 

The Retreat in August

was really powerful in China.

Please come!

 

We need money for the

Our Father Newsletter

Please help us.

 

               

September 1, 2008

 

 

  

                    We are to walk hand-in-hand in
                love as the Father's human family.

                We are living for His honor and glory —
                    not vain glory —

                We are not to be slaves to inordinate
                    attachments

                We are to walk humbly as Mary,
                    the perfect handmaid of
                    the Lord —

                She did the Father's will always —

                Eve was disobedient to God's will
                Eve wanted her way
                Eve wanted to be equal to God
                Eve was full of pride
                Eve was rebellious

                Mary was obedient to God's will
                Mary did the Father's Plan
                Mary served God and loved Him
                    and others

                Mary was pure —
                    no tainted human nature
                    sinless —
                    no pride, greed, envy,
                        jealousy, anger,
                        slothfulness —
                        seeking dominance for dominance
                        sake

                Jesus and Mary — the New Adam and the New Eve

 


                 

From the Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart Booklet

 

We Are Children of God

(Rom 8: 14-17)1 All who are guided by the Spirit of God are sons of God; for what you received was not the spirit of slavery to bring you back into fear; you received the spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit himself joins with our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God. And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, provided that we share his suffering, so as to share his glory.

 

He Remains with Us, Truly Present

February 23, 1996

Messenger: God sees us as one family, His beloved creatures. He loves us each with the deepest personal love. He sees us united. It is our love for one another that pleases Him. There is not division in God. He loves each of us and knows our uniqueness. He loves all of us as His creatures. We are all members of His holy family. He wants all His children to inherit the Kingdom of God.

I find refuge by dwelling within His most precious Heart. I feel the inner glow, the heat. I feel the calm beating of His heart. It is there I am wrapped in His burning love. It is there I am united deeply to my most beloved Father. It is there I am joined with the permeating, moving action of the Holy Spirit.

It is my refuge, in this dark and troubled world. It is my heaven on earth, to be joined in love with all He has created, to have perfect peace and know God's chamber of peace and love.

I see the darkness, the vileness of this world, and I go to His Heart. I see, with rose-colored glasses. I see as He wants us to see with eyes of love. I want to love and see as He sees. It is in this deepest chamber of His Heart that I have found the Kingdom of God on earth, for He has said, the Kingdom of God is within you. The Kingdom of God, our little heaven on earth, is in dwelling deeply within Their Hearts. In His Heart is love and in His Heart is peace, in His Heart we are all one as He intends us to be. "But to the man who told him this Jesus replied, 'Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?' And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matt: 12:48-50)1 We draw in our beloved sisters and brothers by the love that radiates from our eyes, our gentle touch, our loving concern.

Strip yourself of the attachments to this world. Find peace in the freedom of living according to His will, living *In Him, *in this magnificent Heart.

He came, He walked the earth, for love of us. He took on a human body. He gave His adorable Heart that we could live *In Him. He no longer walks this earth, He gives us Himself in the Holy Eucharist. He gives us a human *heart, pierced with a lance, crowned with thorns and holding the cross. The way to this fiery furnace, the way to life in Him, is through much suffering and pain. We identify with Him in all our actions, all our joys and sufferings, united to Him as we live our lives in Him. We walk the Passion, we feel the joys, the deep love in His Heart for His Mother, for all His beloved creatures. We carry out His life in our life.

I am Yours, my Lord. I love You with my whole heart, my whole soul, my whole being. I have found the Kingdom of God on this earth. I have found life in You. When I see the darkness in this troubled world, I go to the deepest, hottest chamber of Your Heart and I am bathed in your abundant love. I take with me my troubled brothers in my heart and I plead for their return to their God who is all worthy of all honor and love and adoration.

I am Yours, Lord, I consecrate my heart to You to live forever in this holy place. I want to die to all that is not of You, that I can be united in the deepest way to You, that my heart will know Your love, that as I live in this world I can truly say, "It is no longer I who live, but He who lives in me."

O, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I give You my all. I come to You surrounded by the pure and loving heart of Your Mother. I know You won't refuse me in my wretchedness when I come to You in the heart of Your beloved Mother.

The Holy Spirit permeates the very depth of my soul and I enter into the deepest chamber of His fiery Heart. It is there I feel so little, as a little child, and I unite to my most beloved Father. I feel in Your fiery heart the presence of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in the deepest, whitest chamber, in the center of the deepest love. I unite with God and I know my dwelling in You is truly a little heaven on earth.

The Kingdom of God is at hand. There will be an era of peace. We will all be one in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. We will be one happy family where there will only be love: love of God and love of one another.

And the city shone with the brightest light for within their hearts they knew the love of God and it radiated into the world. There was no longer darkness that covered the earth, but light, radiating from those dwelling within the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. And the star shone over His bed at Bethlehem. He is truly the light of the world and the light shone in the darkness and all who came to this light lived in the light and lived according to the light.

It is in this that we trust, that in all the darkness of the world that the light will shine when men are dwelling in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

And, He says: I am the way, the truth and the life. He who abides in me will have the light of life. He came, He was born a baby, He died on a cross, but as He hung on that cross on Calvary, He was the light that shone as the brightest light to the world, withered, beaten and bloodied. He was the brightest light in the darkened sky. It was through His death all men were promised a chance for real life, for eternal salvation.

And the light came forth from the tomb in power and glory, adorned in bright, glistening light. He stood before them with His glorified wounds: His pierced Heart of endless love and He gave them the newness of life-life in Him. The light shone in the darkness. He gave them a sharing in His Divine Life through Baptism and ascended into heaven to prepare a place for us, but He remained with us, truly present, in His Eucharistic Heart. He feeds us with His own Body and Blood. He gives us the Bread of Life. He is the Savior of the World and we live in newness of life because God first loved us!

end of February 23, 1996

  

                    God wants us to obey the commandments
                not as slaves.

                    God is Our Father —

   

Matthew 22: 36-40

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

  

                    We are to obey because of love —
                    We love God
                    We are under God

                    God wants us to obey His will

  

  

The Ten Commandments
  1. I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.

  2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

  3. Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day.

  4. Honor thy father and thy mother.

  5. Thou shalt not kill.

  6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

  7. Thou shalt not steal.

  8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

  9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife.

  10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.

 

                God loves us and
                God wants us to love Him.

                We love God by
                    (1) keeping the commandments
                    (2) keeping the commandments of the Church
                    (3) showing God — like love for our neighbor

                God demands this love for our salvation.

                We must keep the law of God —

 

 

 

 

 

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

Chapter 3 - The Christian Life of Grace

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

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

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

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

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

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

   Not only can we be aided by the saints' intercession, but the example of the canonized saints can also be of great value to us. They have concretely proved that full holiness is possible. Such an inspiration is of real worth when we are tempted to think that Christian sanctity in its higher degrees is impossible of attainment. Moreover, the canonized saints, in their diversity, teach us that there are many authentic versions of Christian holiness. They can be innovators in showing us that there are numerous possibilities in assimilating the mystery of Christ, although the basic assimilation remains the same for all Christians of all times. In the opinion of Rahner this is one of the chief roles the canonized saints exert in the life of the Church.
16

_____
   13Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations, Vol. III (Baltimore: Helicon, 1967), p. 44.
   14
Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, In Ad Ephes., c. 3, Lect. 3.
   15Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, No. 48.
   16Cf. Karl Rahner, Op. cit., pp. 100-101.

 

 

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
     the Father, the Almighty,

     maker of heaven and earth,
     of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
     the only Son of God,
     eternally begotten of the Father,
     God from God, Light from Light,

     true God from true God,
     begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.
     Through him all things were made.
     For us men and for our salvation
        he came down from heaven:

     by the power of the Holy Spirit
     he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.

     For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
        he suffered, died, and was buried.
        On the third day he rose again
           in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
        he ascended into heaven
           and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
        He will come again in glory
           to judge the living and the dead,
        and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
      who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
     With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
      He has spoken through the prophets.
     We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
     We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
     We look for the resurrection of the dead,
        and the life of the world to come. Amen.

  

                Let your light shine before men —

                    theological        FAITH
                    virtues
             HOPE
        
                                   LOVE

                chief moral virtues

                        (1) prudence
                        (2) justice
                        (3) fortitude
                        (4) temperance

                HABITS —
                little acts we do over and over again

                        to be prudent,
                        to be just
                        to have fortitude
                        to be temperate

                We live moral and good lives

                We treat people the right way
                We treat people as God wills

                What are the 7 gifts of the
                    Holy Ghost

                        WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING,
                        COUNSEL, FORTITUDE,
                        KNOWLEDGE, PIETY AND
                        FEAR OF THE LORD

                What are the 12 fruits of the Holy Ghost

                        charity, joy, peace, patience,
                        benignity, goodness, long-suffering,
                        mildness, faith, modesty,
                        continency and chastity

 

Matthew 5: 3-10

How blessed are the poor in spirit:
the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Blessed are the gentle:
they shall have the earth as inheritance.
Blessed are those who mourn:
they shall be comforted.
Blessed are those
   who hunger and thirst for uprightness:
they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful:
they shall have mercy shown them.
Blessed are the pure in heart:
they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers:
they shall be recognised
   as children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted
   in the cause of uprightness:
the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

   

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day he arose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven; sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. * I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

    

                    God did not abandon man
                        after Adam fell into sin.

                    Jesus is the Savior of all men.

                    Jesus is God made man — Redeemer

                An actual sin is any willful (done knowingly
                    and willingly) thought, desire,
                    word, action, or omission which
                    is forbidden by the law of God.

                There are 2 kinds of actual sin
                    1) mortal (deadly) sin is the worst
                            it empties our souls of the
                            life of God

                    2) venial sin is bad, but it does not
                            deprive us of God's grace, and
                            it is more easily forgiven by God.

 

 

  1st Commandment

I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have strange (false) gods before Me.

 

                    This commandment obliges us to give
                        to God what is His due.

                    we adore God                we believe in God
                    we honor God                we hope
                    we love God                        (sins against hope are
                                                                presumption and despair)
                                                        we love God

                Acts contrary to God's law are wrong.

                        hatred of neighbor is wrong
                        slothfulness
                        envy

                Eighth commandment
                        tells us we are to speak the truth
                        NOT LIE

                Satan is the Father of Lies

 


               


                    Baptism is a sacrament that gives
                    us the new life of sanctifying
                    grace through which we become
                    children of God and heirs of
                    heaven.

                    This sacrament takes away original sin.

Heb 1:1-2

The Christian life is rooted in the great event of the Incarnation. We must consequently always focus our gaze upon Christ, realizing that the Father has spoken to us in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. It only remains for us, then, to strive to understand with greater insight the inexhaustible truth of the Word Incarnate .

 

A. Concept of Death-Resurrection in Salvation-History

1)  Purpose of suffering in God's plan

We live in a world of human beings whose human natures have been damaged by sin

Suffering entered the human condition because of sin

God uses suffering for good if we cooperate with His plan for us

The supreme example of this is Jesus' suffering and death

Everything Jesus did contributed to our redemption

His will was perfectly formed to His Father's will

...let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it.' (Mat. 26:39)

2) Suffering leads to greater life if we cooperate with God's plan for us

When families go through suffering, 

 — if they react properly, 

 — if they ask for God's help, 

at the end of suffering they are usually brought closer together

Suffering embraced properly leads to greater life

The greatest tragedy of human suffering is not that there is so much of it, but so much of it is wasted.

Suffering can lead to greatness

ie.    Helen Keller

        Helen Keller became deaf, blind and mute

        She was a shining example for all of us.

 

Excerpt from Response to God's Love, by Father Edward Carter, S.J.

"Our incorporation into the mystery of 
   Christ at baptism, and the gradual 
   maturing of that life in the process 
   of becoming, is centered in the pattern 
   of death-resurrection. 
   Indeed, the theme of death-resurrection 
   is at the heart of salvation history.  
   Let us briefly consider its place in the 
   Old Testament, in the New Testament, 
   and in God's ongoing self-
   communication, always remembering 
   that any form of death — that is, 
   any form of suffering — is meant to 
   lead to greater life, greater peace, 
   and greater happiness."

{End of excerpt from Response to God's Love}

  

Review Theme III Scriptural Foundations

This is a review of what was considered in the daily messages in Theme III — Scriptural Foundations of the Christian Life.


We are studying Christian life and how we live it.

Our object is to establish a comprehensive view of what is necessary for the maintenance and development of full Christian living.

 

Scriptural Foundations of the 
       Christian Life

Sermon on the Mount, a blueprint of Christian living

Our object is to establish a comprehensive view of what is necessary for the maintenance and development of full Christian living.

 

Matthew 7: 7-11

Effective prayer

‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. Everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have the door opened. Is there anyone among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

 

Matthew 6: 22-23

The eye, the lamp of the body

‘The lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is clear, your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be darkness. If then, the light inside you is darkened, what darkness that will be!

 

Matthew 7: 21-29

The true disciple

‘It is not anyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?" Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, all evil doers!
    Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!’

The amazement of the crowds

Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, unlike their own scribes.

 

Matthew 12: 46-50

The true kinsfolk of Jesus

He was still speaking to the crowds when suddenly his mother and his brothers were standing outside and were anxious to have a word with him. But to the man who told him this Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’

                 

Reference: Matthew 13: 1-23

We must live according to God's will

A wise man builds his house on ROCK

If we do not build our lives on the will of God we can collapse spiritually

 
 

Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter Book 3

From 2000 Issue 3

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

NOTES:

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

 

 

Matthew  8:18-22

Unconditional commitment

When Jesus saw the crowd all about him he gave orders to leave for the other side. One of the scribes then came up and said to him, ‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus said, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.’

    Another man, one of the disciples, said to him, ‘Lord, let me go and bury my father first.’ But Jesus said, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.’

 

- Jesus has a personal unique love for me

- Christ is the mediator between God and man -

 

John 6: 44

Jesus says

"No one can come to the Father except through me"

 

John 15: 11-17

I have told you this
so that my own joy may be in you
and your joy be complete.
This is my commandment:
love one another,
as I have loved you.
No one can have greater love
than to lay down his life for his friends.
You are my friends,
if you do what I command you.
I shall no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know
the master’s business;
I call you friends,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me,
no, I chose you;
and I commissioned you
to go out and to bear fruit,
fruit that will last;
so that the Father will give you
anything you ask him in my name.
My command to you
is to love one another.           


My personal relationship with Jesus takes into account my personal uniqueness.

I am in the process of becoming.

Like a baby coming out of the womb, the baby develops intellectually. We develop more every day in our spiritual life to be more in His image and likeness if we stay rooted in Him.

 

The Christian life considered as life in the Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 2: 6-16

    But still, to those who have reached maturity, we do talk of a wisdom, not, it is true, a philosophy of this age or of the rulers of this age, who will not last long now. It is of the mysterious wisdom of God that we talk, the wisdom that was hidden, which God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. None of the rulers of the age recognised it; for if they had recognised it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but it is as scripture says: What no eye has seen and no ear has heard, what the mind of man cannot visualise; all that God has prepared for those who love him; to us, though, God has given revelation through the Spirit, for the Spirit explores the depths of everything, even the depths of God. After all, is there anyone who knows the qualities of anyone except his own spirit, within him; and in the same way, nobody knows the qualities of God except the Spirit of God. Now, the Spirit we have received is not the spirit of the world but God’s own Spirit, so that we may understand the lavish gifts God has given us. And these are what we speak of, not in the terms learnt from human philosophy, but in terms learnt from the Spirit, fitting spiritual language to spiritual things. The natural person has no room for the gifts of God’s Spirit; to him they are folly; he cannot recognise them, because their value can be assessed only in the Spirit. The spiritual person, on the other hand, can assess the value of everything, and that person’s value cannot be assessed by anybody else. For: who has ever known the mind of the Lord? Who has ever been his adviser? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.

 

The spirit of the person within knows the person.

Other people can know a lot about us, but nobody knows me as I know myself in the depth of my being.

With regard to knowledge of God, the Spirit of God knows God.

The Holy Spirit teaches us about LIFE, about divine life.

We live a God-like life. We must listen to the Spirit.

The Spirit teaches us about the God-like life.

We live our lives after Baptism with this elevated human nature. We want to always remain in the state of grace.

We want to be filled with His grace, His life.

 

Christ is the head of the body —

 

1 Corinthians 15: 20-28

In fact, however, Christ has been raised from the dead, as the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. As it was by one man that death came, so through one man has come the resurrection of the dead. Just as all die in Adam, so in Christ all will be brought to life; but all of them in their proper order: Christ the first-fruits, and next, at his coming, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, having abolished every principality, every ruling force and power. For he is to be king until he has made his enemies his footstool, and the last of the enemies to be done away with is death, for he has put all things under his feet. But when it is said everything is subjected, this obviously cannot include the One who subjected everything to him. When everything has been subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the One who has subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

 

To those who remain in mortal sin they are
     not under the head.

To those who are in hell they are not under
    the head.

In obeying the commandments
    living by the Word
    following the teachings of the Church —
    we see the truth —

We seek the vision of God.

Adam and Eve sinned

They were not obedient to God —


Christ is the New Adam

Christ prayed to His Father


We want the beatific vision someday

Man should accept Christ as Mediator.

Man is proud —

Man is disobedient

God gives us His example

Jesus perfectly obeyed the Father

Jesus is our Teacher —

Jesus has taught us obedience to the Father

Jesus has taught us about God

Jesus has taught us about love

 

John 3: 16 

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

 

                Cardinal Newman said
                    "... everyone who breathes, high and low,
                    educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman,
                    has a mission, has a work. We are not sent
                    into this world for nothing; we are not born at
                    random. . . God sees every one of us;
                    He creates every soul, He lodges it in
                    a body, one by one, for a purpose. He needs,
                    He deigns to need, every one of us.
                    He has an end for each of us... we are
                    placed in our different ranks and stations, not to
                    get what we can out of them for ourselves, but to
                    labor in them for Him, as He rejoiced to do His work,
                    we must rejoice in ours also.
"
                                   
(Discourses addressed to mixed congregations)

 

Mary's Role in the Christian Life

God has put us in this world at this time —

God has perfectly ordered things —

Mary was chosen by God

Mary was 'made perfect' by God for this role —

Jesus is holy and perfect so

Mary is holy and perfect as she
    can be.

God made Mary perfect — He chose her to
    be the Mother of Jesus.

    Jesus is the essence of holiness and
        sinless.

    Man has concupiscence

    Mary Jesus' mother was sinless.

 

 

Mary was a descendant of Adam

Mary had a human father and human mother.

From the instant of conception Mary was
    preserved from original sin —

Mary is Mother of our Christ-life —

Mary was preserved from the stain of sin
    from the first moment of her
    conception in the womb of her mother

This is the Immaculate Conception of the
    Mother of God —

 

Genesis 3: 9-15, 20

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

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

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

The man named his wife 'Eve' because she was the mother of all those who live.

   

Luke 1: 26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favour! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ Mary said, ‘You see before you the Lord’s servant, let it happen to me as you have said.’ And the angel left her.

   

The Virgin Birth of Christ is different than
    the Immaculate Conception.

In Fr. Joseph's homilies — Guiding Light: The Word Alive in Our Hearts
    we hear

 

(homilies for the remaining Sundays of the year)

 

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

December 8, 2005

(Gen. 3,9-15,20; Luke 1,26-38) The feast today is about Mary’s conception, that from the instant she began to exist on this earth, indeed from her very conception, she was holy, filled with God's grace and without sin. The gospel today can confuse us somewhat because it tells us about Jesus’ conception. It was read today, first of all, because there is no gospel telling us about the moment when Mary was conceived. And secondly today’s gospel does give us an important piece of information about Mary related to today’s feast. The angel greeted her as: “Full of grace.” Our feast celebrates what the angel stated. There was no moment in Mary’s life when God’s grace did not fill her. She was full of grace.

As we listen in on this conversation between Mary and the Angel, we learn not only about Mary but also about the child she is going to have. Mary’s son to be would be Son of the Most High and king forever. Her child will be called “holy, the Son of God.” In the midst of all our business, we pause on this Holy Day to think what it is we are happy about at this time of year.

This is why Mary was “full of grace,” so she could give birth to the source of all holiness and grace, God’s own Son. And why did he come to us? So that we too can become holy. This is what St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading: “God chose us in him to be holy and blameless in his sight.”

Holiness is something few people strive for. All of us want to get to heaven, but most of us would probably tend to say I just want to get inside the door. We should do more than just try to get inside the door. We are called to be holy. Most of us never think that becoming holy is our vocation. We usually think holiness is for someone else, like the saints or people in religious orders. That’s because we do not understand holiness. We think being holy means spending all day praying or wearing ourselves out doing good things for others and never having a chance to have any fun. I think holy people probably have as much fun as any of us, but there’s something greater than fun. It is joy and peace and love. To be holy means to be close to God. The closer we are to God, the more we will be filled with love and joy and peace - both in this life and throughout eternity.

Our vocation to holiness is illustrated by the two stories we heard today.

The first story was about our first parents who originally were very close to God and were very happy. That was the symbolism of the Garden of Eden. But that wasn’t good enough for them. They wanted to be like God himself. So they rebelled against God and they lost all they had.

The second story, the annunciation, illustrates Mary’s constant attitude of being willing to say “yes” to God. It was only through her openness that the Son of the Most High has come to us. St. Luke tells us Mary was not only holy and always ready to do whatever God wanted of her, but he also tells us she was joyful. Holiness and joy are connected. After the angel left Mary, St. Luke told us about Mary visiting her cousin and she was full of joy. She expressed her joy in the beautiful hymn “the Magnificat.” My soul gives glory to the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

In reflecting on the holiness of Mary, we may feel as if we were treated unfairly. We were born with original sin. The deck was stacked against us from the beginning. But we forget that when we were baptized we were filled with God’s life. The very same grace that filled Mary at the moment of her conception, filled us when we were baptized. So holiness is possible for us too. Our two stories can show us there are two ways each of us can go in life. We can follow the example of our first parents, Adam and Eve, or we can follow the example of Mary. The first will lead to sorrow, the other to joy. To imitate Mary, all we have to do is say “yes” to whatever God asks of us.

   

Luke 1:46-55

And Mary said:
My soul proclaims
    the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices
    in God my Saviour;

because he has looked upon
    the humiliation of his servant.

Yes, from now onwards
    all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty
    has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his faithful love extends age after age
    to those who fear him.

He has used the power of his arm,
he has routed the arrogant of heart.
He has pulled down princes
    from their thrones
        and raised high the lowly.
He has filled the starving with good things,
    sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help
    of Israel his servant,
        mindful of his faithful love

--according to the promise
    he made to our ancestors--
of his mercy to Abraham
    and to his descendants for ever.

    

Mary is closer to Christ than any other
    human being. Jesus took on
    Mary's flesh —

    Jesus was carried in Mary's womb —
    Jesus lived with Mary for 30 years —

Mary is full of grace

The more we are filled with His grace — the
    greater our holiness

Christ showed us about obedience to the Father —

When we sin we are not obeying God's will
    for us

    Mary conceived Christ as a Virgin —
        so she is the Virgin Mother of God

    We honor Mary is her Virginity
    We honor Mary in her Motherhood

We are to go to the spiritual womb of the
    Mother of Jesus and the Holy Spirit
    works in her Immaculate Heart
    to make us more and more in the
    image of Jesus —

Jesus was conceived in the womb of the
 Virgin Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit.

    Mary was a Virgin —

    Jesus came that men would be
        reborn spiritually of the Holy Spirit —

    Mary is the New Eve —

Christ is the most perfect child
    ever to be born.

Mary is truly the Mother of God —

   

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us (repeat after each invocation).
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of the Church,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Savior,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honor,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the Covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of angels,
Queen of patriarchs,
Queen of prophets,
Queen of apostles,
Queen of martyrs,
Queen of confessors,
Queen of virgins,
Queen of all saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most holy rosary,
Queen of families,
Queen of peace,

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Grant, we beseech You, O Lord God, that we Your servants may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body and, by the glorious intercession of the blessed Mary, ever virgin, be delivered from present sorrow, and obtain eternal joy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God. Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

 

Sing: Immaculate Mary

Sing: Hail Holy Queen

Jesus came into the world to save men
    from sin

Christ is the Savior of man -

Christ gave to God from the first
    moment of His existence in
    the womb of Mary —
    perfect obedience —

Adam disobeyed — we all have a wounded
                            human nature because of
                            Adam


 

Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter Book 3
From 2000 - Issue 3

 

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." 18


NOTES:

    18. Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, The Sanctifier, op. cit. pp. 5-7.
 

 

The Church

We live out our spiritual lives within the Church. The Church is a multi-splendored reality. Let us reflect upon some of the key ideas connected with the Church.

  • Henri de Lubac states: "The Church is a mysterious extension in time of the Trinity, not only preparing us for the life of unity but bringing about even now our participation in it. She comes from and is full of the Trinity. She is for us — in a favourite phrase of Bossuet — ‘Jesus Christ … communicated’. She is ‘the Incarnation continued.’ She is, as Dietrick Bonhoeffer used to say, ‘the presence of Christ on earth’ —- she speaks with ‘the authority of Christ living and present in her.’… St. Paul applies to her this same word ‘mystery’ which he had first used of Christ. She is after all, the spouse of Christ and his body." 19

  • Fr. Bruno Forte tells us: "The Church comes from the Trinity, reflects in itself the Trinitarian communion—oneness in diversity—and journeys toward the Trinity, to the final handing over of all things to Christ, so that he might hand them over to the Father and God might be all in all. As ‘a people gathered in the unity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,’ the Church is the Church of the Father. In his universal salvific plan, God has willed it to be a sign and instrument of the unity of people among themselves and with him. It is the Church of the Son, who through his incarnation and the paschal mystery has placed it in history as His Body. It is the Church of the Spirit, who makes the Risen Christ present in human history and enriching the people of God with charisms and ministries, leads it toward the promised future goal." 20

  • The fact that the Church is here on earth a reflection of the Trinitarian Community easily leads us to reflect upon the Church as the Body of Christ, since this name given to the Church also emphasizes the communal aspect of the Church. St. Paul tells us: For as with the human body which is a unity although it has many parts — all the parts of the body, though many, still making up one single body — so it is with Christ. We were baptised into one body in a single Spirit, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as free men, and we were all given the same Spirit to drink. And indeed the body consists not of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘I am not a hand and so I do not belong to the body’, it does not belong to the body any the less for that. Or if the ear were to say, ‘I am not an eye, and so I do not belong to the body’, that would not stop its belonging to the body. If the whole body were just an eye, how would there be any hearing? If the whole body were hearing, how would there be any smelling?

Now Christ’s body is yourselves, each of you with a part to play in the whole. And those whom God has appointed in the Church are, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers; after them, miraculous powers, then gifts of healing, helpful acts, guidance, various kinds of tongues. Are all of them apostles? Or all prophets? Or all teachers? Or all miracle-workers? Do all have the gifts of healing? Do all of them speak in tongues and all interpret them? (1 Cor 12:12-17; 27-30)

  • Some two thousand years ago Christ walked the earth teaching, healing the sick, forgiving sins, extending His mercy and kindness. By such a life which culminated in death and resurrection, Christ redeemed the world. This objective redemption was accomplished by Christ alone. Through it, He won for people of all time the necessary graces for their salvation and sanctification.

However, it is necessary that such graces be distributed to each individual as one plays out his or her part in the drama of human existence. Such a distribution of grace is the work of subjective redemption.

Jesus still walks the earth as the work of redemption continues. However, He now walks the earth according to a different type of existence. He does not walk the earth in His physical body, but rather in His Mystical Body, the Church, the People of God. Through the members of His Church, Christ continues to be present as He teaches, administers the sacraments, extends His mercy — all done through the members of His Body, the Church. This mystical Christ, in turn, derives all supernatural power from Christ, the Head, who reigns gloriously with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The Church, therefore, is the earthly continuation of Christ’s redemptive Incarnation. This mission which the Church has, although a great responsibility, is also a great privilege. In proportion as each Christian offers and commits himself or herself to Christ, the Church in her entirety more and more mirrors forth Christ to the world. This Christ, whom the Church portrays to the world, is the Christ who is Prophet, King and Priest.

  • We now reflect upon the Church as Spouse of Christ. Fr. Joseph Murphy, S.J., tells us: "John Paul II always quotes the rich doctrinal and patristic traditions of the Church which refer to Christ as the Spouse of the Church and the Spouse of souls, given to both in the Eucharistic mystery. For him the key to understanding the sacramentality of marriage, not to mention the nature of humanity, is the spousal love of Christ for the Church demonstrated in Ephesians 5. Christ is the Head of the Church as Savior of His Body. The Church is exactly that Body which receives from Him all that through which it becomes and is His Body. As Head and Savior of the Church He is also Bridegroom of His Bride…" 21

  • The Church is a mother to us. Henri de Lubac speaks concerning this beautiful truth:

"The Church is my mother because she brought me forth to a new life. She is my mother because her concern for me never slackens, any more than do her efforts to deepen that life in me, however unenthusiastic my cooperation. And though in me this life may be a fragile and timid growth, I have seen its full flowering in others...

"Happy those who from childhood have learnt to look on the Church as a mother! Happier still those whose experience, in whatever walk of life, has confirmed its truth! Happy those who one day were gripped by (and whose appreciation of it ever grew) the astonishing newness, richness and depth of the life communicated to them by this mother!" 22

  • Avery Dulles, S.J., the well-known theologian who has written much about the Church, observes: "The Church, as I have already contended, is essentially a mystery of grace, a wonderful encounter between the divine and the human. Even in its visible structures, the Church is not a mere organization to be judged on grounds of efficiency, but a sacrament of God’s saving deed in Jesus Christ. From this it follows, in my judgment, that the Church’s forms of speech and life, and indeed its entire corporate existence, must be such as to mediate a vital communion with Christ the Lord. The Church must be a place of prayer and worship, praise and witness. Any institutional change in the Church must be carefully assessed for its effect on the spiritual life of the members. Does it intensify their faith, their hope, their charity? Does it help them to center their lives on Christ and to ground their existence in the God who raised him from the dead?"23

  • Fr. Gerald Vann, O.P., speaks movingly about our life in the Church:

"If you live in the Church and try to use the power of the Church to increase the life of the Church, then the power of the Church will make you yourself whole; and in your wholeness you will help to make your family and make your world. But you will be building for a more than earthly beatitude because you will be building the city which is eternal. Here you build in shadow, you build for a future which is invisible, and so you can only build in hope. And often your plans will be wrecked and your dreams come crashing about your ears, and you will need the strength of the Rock which is Christ to give you patience and fortitude...

"And when death has come to you...the Church will bless you for the life you have added to it, and there will be men to heed you better than they did when you were here...

"But you, for your part, will be no longer in the shadow but in the glory of the Light inaccessible; you will be in the City that is yours because you helped to build it; you will see Him at last as He is, and be wholly with Him; and you will have no more any mourning or weeping or any other sorrow, for all these former things will have been transmuted into happiness and peace, and you will walk with Him—together with all those you have helped to bring to Him, even until the end of the world—you will walk with Him in happiness for ever, in the cool of the eternal evening." 24

        19. Henri de Lubac, S. J., The Church: Paradox and Mystery, translated by James R. Dunne, Alba House, p. 24.
        20. Fr. Bruno Forte, He Loved Them to the End, St. Paul Books & Media, p. 74-75.
        21. The Thoughts of Pope John Paul II: A Collection of Essays and Studies, John M. McDermott, S. J., Editor, Editrice Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, p. 135.
        22. Henri de Lubac, S.J., The Church: Paradox and Mystery, op. cit., pp. 2-4.
        23. Avery Dulles, S.J., The Resilient Church, Doubleday & Company, p. 39.
        24. Gerald Vann, O.P., The Heart of Man, Longmans, Green and Co., pp. 151-152.

 

 

Foreward

    God created us in His image and likeness and God is love. We were created for Him. Fr. Carter in writing the Priestly Newsletter 2000 Issue 3 was editing his masterpiece on the Spiritual life.

    The Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell in the graced baptized soul. In learning to live more deeply in God, recognizing how God created us to be more and more in that image and likeness of Him and recognizing how vital consecration to the Pure and Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary are – I state clearly what the mission in these Priestly Newsletters hope to accomplish –

    Greater intimacy with God – Greater life IN HIM. Living out the Pascal mystery we go to the fountain of His life outpoured to us in the Church.

    We love our priests so very much and thank God for calling them and their “yes” to this awesome vocation God gives to these men. We give our lives praying for the priests, the Church and the world in this network of prayer chapters and circulating the Priestly Newsletter begun by Fr. Carter May 31, 1994. Our lives are a mystery unfolding more and more IN HIM.

    God is preparing us through our cooperation to be living forever in the beatific vision. The Church and the sacraments is the primary way God helps us.

    We go to the Eucharist to be saturated more and more with His grace and we sing, read, and ponder the Word of God as it lives more and more in us.

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

    As we go to the Pure and Holy Heart of Mary – the Holy Spirit works more and more performing His marvelous wonder – bringing us forth more and more in the image of God – The incarnation goes on in us in the spiritual womb of Mary her Immaculate Heart.

    Mary takes us to the Heart of Jesus and there we dwell in the vat of love of Jesus’ most burning Heart and experience the greatest treasures of knowing and loving God and others more deeply through His Pure and Tender Heart of love.

    We live out our baptismal commitment dwelling in deep love in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

    The cover of this book pictures Christ’s image in stone – Our stony hearts are molded more and more in His image as we grow in the spiritual life.

    Mary takes us to the Heart of Jesus who takes us to the bosom of the Father –

    Oneness in God – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit the perfect community – our model for oneness – a glimpse of life forever in the embrace of the Almighty God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

    After communion filled so deeply with His presence – I touched you God and in that embrace I knew You in great oneness – I tasted greater insight into Your Divine Mysteries and I knew that all
we do here in dwelling in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and leading souls to deeper intimacy with God – deeper love of the Eucharist – living deeper life in God would help lead men to deeper
oneness as members of the body of Christ, deeper intercessors and deeper love in God.

Rita Ring, Co-founder
Shepherds of Christ Ministries

  end of excerpts from Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter Book 3
 

 
 

 

August 13th we did a Patriotic Rosary,

Available on CD disk

 

Our cost to you is $6

Jesus and Mary want you to pray it.

Call Kathleen to order your CD: 1-888-211-3041

 

 

 

     

Hand-carved Crucifix

Available for $750.00

 

 

Go to the new store.

It has wonderful books and statues.

 

Click anywhere on the picture below

  

 


 

Statues

 

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

24" - $125 plus shipping

Our Lady of Lourdes

   

24" - $125 plus shipping

Our Lady of Grace

24" - $125 plus shipping

 

  

 

 

Sorrowful Mother

24" - $125 plus shipping

Immaculate Heart - Ivory

24" - $125 plus shipping

Immaculate Heart of Mary

24" - $125 plus shipping

 

 

 

 

Limpias

24" - $125 plus shipping

Sacred Heart of Jesus -Blessing

24" - $125 plus shipping

Sacred Heart of Jesus

24" - $125 plus shipping

 

 

 

 

Infant of Prague

24" - $125 plus shipping

Divine Mercy

22" - $100 plus shipping

Holy Family

24" - $180 plus shipping

 

 

 

 


St. Jude

24" - $125 plus shipping

 

Our Lady of Guadalupe

  24" - $125 plus shipping

Holy Family

12" - $60 plus shipping

 

 

 

 

St. Therese

  24" - $125 plus shipping

St. Francis

  24" - $125 plus shipping

St. Anthony

24" - $125 plus shipping

 

 

 

 

St. Claire

24" - $125 plus shipping

St. Padre Pio

24" - $125 plus shipping

St. Joseph

24" - $125 plus shipping

 

 

 

 

St. Francis

18" - $65 plus shipping

St. Therese

18" - $65 plus shipping

St. Philomena

20" - $100 plus shipping
16" - $65 plus shipping

 

 

 

 

Angel

22" - $100 plus shipping

St. Rita

12" - $40 plus shipping

Our Lady of Guadalupe

12" - $40 plus shipping

     

Pieta - Color

$75 plus shipping

 

Pieta - Marble

$75 plus shipping

 

Fatima w/glass

 11" - $150 plus shipping

 

 

 

 

Pilgrim Virgin w/glass

 12" - $160 plus shipping

 

Fatima w/glass

 18" - $250 plus shipping

 

Pilgrim Virgin w/glass

27” - $450.00 — 18” - $250.00
15” - $200.00 - (plus shipping)

 

       


Shepherds of Christ Ministries
P. O. Box 627
China, IN  47250

 

Toll free - 1-888-211-3041
Local - 1-812-273-8405
fax - 1-812-273-3182
web: www.sofc.org
e-mail: info@sofc.org

 

  Size Price     Quantity   

 Holy Family

 24"

$125

 

 Immaculate Heart of Mary

 24"

$125

 

 Immaculate Heart - Ivory

 24"

$125

 

 Infant of Prague

 24"

$125

 

 Limpus

 24"

$125

 

 Our Lady of Grace

 24"

$125

 

 Our Lady of Guadalupe

 24"

$125

 

 Our Lady of Lourdes  

 24"

$125

 

 Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

 24"

$125

 
 Sacred Heart of Jesus

 24"

$125

 
 Sacred Heart of Jesus -Blessing

 24"

$125

 

 Sorrowful Mother

 24"

$125

 

 St. Anthony

 24"

$125

 

 St. Claire

 24"

$125

 

 St. Francis

 24"

$125

 

 St. Joseph

 24"

$125

 

 St. Jude

 24"

$125

 

 St. Padre Pio

 24"

$125

 

 St. Therese

 24"

$125

 
 Angel

22"

$100  
 Divine Mercy

22"

$100  
 St. Philomena

20"

$100  
 St. Philomena

16"

$65  
 St. Francis

18"

$65  
 St. Therese

18"

$65  
 Pieta - Color 15" $75  
 Pieta - Marble 15" $75  
 Holy Family

12"

$60  
 Our Lady of Guadalupe

12"

$40  

 St. Rita

12"

$40  
       

 Fatima w/glass

 11"

$150  

 Fatima w/glass

 18"

$250  
 Pilgrim Virgin w/glass

 12"

$160  
 Pilgrim Virgin w/glass 15" $200.00  
 Pilgrim Virgin w/glass 18" $250.00  
 Pilgrim Virgin w/glass

27"

$450.00  


Call for Shipping Price (1-888-211-3041)
 

  Name
   
 Sub-Total
  Address
         
 IN Tax (7%)
  City
  
 Shipping
  State                                            Zip
  
 Donation
  Telephone
   
 Order Total

 

          

 

 

 
 

Brand New Internet Store

 

 

Click picture

   

 


Table of Contents


Main Shepherds of Christ Page


SofC LogoCopyright © 2008 Shepherds of Christ.
Rights for non—commercial reproduction granted:
May be copied in its entirety, but neither re—typed nor edited.
Translations are welcome but they must be reviewed for moral and 
theological accuracy by a source approved by Shepherds of Christ Ministries 
before any distribution takes place. Please contact us for more information.