Shepherds of Christ  
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September 19, 2010

September 20th Holy Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 4 Period II.

The Novena Rosary Mysteries  
for September 20th are Luminous.

   

Please pray for Jimmy,
Rita's brother through the
intercession of Fr. Carter

    
 

Sidney Rosary

September 21, 2010

6:20pm

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                September 19, 2010

                From Fr. Joe's introduction

                God wants all peoples to be saved —
                    We see this in the 2nd Reading —

                750 years before Christ
                    The Jews were enjoying prosperity
                    But they lost their focus —

                What they considered most important
                    was money —

                They cheated customers —
                    mixing chaff with wheat
                    the world has changed, but
                    human nature remains the same


  

1 Timothy 2: 1-8

I urge then, first of all that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving should be offered for everyone, for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live peaceful and quiet lives with all devotion and propriety. To do this is right, and acceptable to God our Saviour: he wants everyone to be saved and reach full knowledge of the truth. For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and humanity, himself a human being, Christ Jesus, who offered himself as a ransom for all. This was the witness given at the appointed time, of which I was appointed herald and apostle and-I am telling the truth and no lie-a teacher of the gentiles in faith and truth.

    In every place, then, I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument.

 

                    Prayer for Kings
                    that we will lead a tranquil life
                    Pray without anger and argument


                Late one night a robber jumped in the path
                    of a well dressed man —

                The robber said — give me your money

                The well dressed man said
                    I am a US Congressman you can't do this —

                The robber said — In that case give me my money —

                The Israelites led them to forget
                    the God who had been so good to them —
                    when they did this the place
                    collapsed —

                The readings are telling us to use our
                    blessings and not ignore
                    them, but do what God
                    wants us to do.

 

 

                    The sun is setting and the day
                is done and I need to rest in Thee
                for You are my all and my life
                rests in these quiet waters near
                to You I know Your peace in
                suffering — for You open Your
                Heart to me and I am not
                afraid my God —

                    The beauty of Your skies
                and the beauty of a fall day —
                Let's take a walk and know
                that God is always near —

                Snow — beautiful snow given from God —
                    It is around the world — not just in one place
                    Night comes here and there —
                    People live in homes — here and there —
                    Struggles and suffering
                    Rising and joy —
                    Opening up to the reality — this is God's
                        world —
                    Seeing with wider vision
                    Seeing according to the Creator's vision —

                There is the life under the ocean — different
                    in different areas —
                    So beautiful —
                    Living and existing
                    And many never even think of life
                        beneath the sea —

                What about Alaska and its weather —
                What about the beauty of the Caribbean —
                The flowers so beautiful where
                    Poinsettias grow wild —

                Beauty such as this
   

 

                    I will send —

                God is so good to us
                We are to see with wider vision —

                God gives us talents
                God gives us gifts to build His Kingdom —

                Some, so many precious gifts, to do His
                    work —

                How would it be if everyone recognized
                    God's gifts are for building God's
                    Kingdom —

                Some of the people with the greatest
                    gifts are those who use their
                    gifts for personal vain glory and
                    to promote sin —

                God gives us because He is so
                    generous and He loves us
                    so much —

                Then we can use these gifts because
                    of our free will to be a rival
                    to God's will —

                That is what the devil wants —
                    When good has been done by
                    others — the devil wants to
                    tear it down —

                There are little children learning the
                    things of this world are more
                    important then the things of God —

                We can make a mess opposing God's
                    will and then hurt ourselves and
                    others and offend God who
                    blessed us with great talents we
                    used to oppose God's will —

                    What will bring harmony, peace,
                love, joy, justice is living according
                to God's will —

                    What is your part in the Grand Design
                of the heavenly Father —

                    The thread in the enormous tapestry
                of salvation history —

                    How have you been called by God
                as an instrument in your vocation —
                God has given us a vocation to serve Him —
                Let's look at our life of grace in Christ —

                We receive a sharing in God's grace
                    in baptism —
                    our knowing and loving capacity is
                        elevated —
                    The Father, Son and Holy Spirit live in
                        the graced baptized soul

                    Fr. Carter says "The Christian life essentially
                        consists in God's loving self -
                        communication to us with our
                        concomitant response to Him in love.

                    God's gifts of Himself therefore establishes
                the process of salvation history —
                This process began with man's creation
                and elevation to the supernatural life
                a life which is a participation in God's
                own divine life. This participation is
                real and, therefore somewhat similar
                to life as it is in God Himself, however,
                since it is only a created sharing,
                man possesses it in an infinitely
                less perfect manner than God who is
                Himself this life.

                    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 therefore the
                divine communication centered around
                the promised Redeemer.

                    Salvation history preceding the advent
                of this Redeemer became a
                preparation for the Redeemer's coming.

                From the time of His coming, salvation
                history was and is the establishment
                and continuation of His redemptive work.

                Christian life as Prefigured in the Mosaic Covenant 

Exodus 12: 12-13

That night, I shall go through Egypt and strike down all the first-born in Egypt, man and beast alike, and shall execute justice on all the gods of Egypt, I, Yahweh! The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. When I see the blood I shall pass over you, and you will escape the destructive plague when I strike Egypt.

    

                Life In the New Covenant

 

Revelation 6: 2-4

Immediately I saw a white horse appear, and its rider was holding a bow; he was given a victor's crown and he went away, to go from victory to victory.

    When he broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature shout, 'Come!' And out came another horse, bright red, and its rider was given this duty: to take away peace from the earth and set people killing each other. He was given a huge sword.

 

                The Church continues Christ's death-resurrection.

                She consequently continues the entire
                    mystery of Christ, since Christ's
                    entire life is contained in His
                    pass-over event.

 

Galatians 2: 20

  1. I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me. The life that I am now living, subject to the limitation of human nature, I am living in faith, faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

   

                Christian Life within the Church
 

                    I. The Church as the Continuation of the Incarnation.
                   II. The Church in Relation to Christ in His 3 fold mission
                        a) Christ as Prophet
                        b) Christ as King
                        c) Christ as Priest

                 III. The Various Vocations Within the Church
 

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

Christian Life within the Church

. . . The three great offices of Christ as prophet, king and priest are not exclusive of one another. Each of them contains the other. This is so because they are part of the overall mystery of Christ which is radically indivisible. What is this mystery of Christ?  It is God's concrete plan of our redemption in Christ. It is the ultimately mysterious, transcendent, wholely other God desiring to communicate Himself to us in love. It is this same God asking for our response in love. All of this – God's gift of self to man and His request for man's response – all of this is centered in Christ and mediated by Christ. Therefore, we have the term, mystery of Christ.

This mystery of Christ can be approached under the headings of Christ as prophet, king and priest. We have taken this approach thus far in this present chapter because, among other reasons, it is one of the dominant ways in which Vatican II presents the mystery of Christ to us. But Again we emphasize that the mystery of Christ with its various offices and individual mysteries is profoundly one. When we speak of the Church as prolonging Christ's Incarnation, or of prolonging His threefold mission, or of prolonging the mystery of Christ, we are really expressing the same basic reality.

No one group or component part within the Church can perfectly relive and continue the Incarnation. Even the total Church cannot perfectly continue the Incarnation with its prophetic, kingly and priestly offices. We can therefore understand why various spiritualities or spiritual "schools" have arisen throughout the history of Christian spirituality. All these spiritualities are basically the same. All of them are aimed at reproducing and continuing the life of Christ in their adherents.  But each of the various spiritualities – Franciscan, Benedictine, Dominican, Ignatian, Carmelite, to give leading examples – is in its own way somewhat different. Each reproduces in its members the mystery of Christ in a slightly different fashion.

What we have just said concerning the divergent spiritualities within the Church can be applied even more so to the various vocations. All states of life radically aim at one and the same Christian holiness. This is so because we all receive the same life of grace in Christ. All relive and continue the Incarnation in the same basic manner. Yet it is still true that there are differences according to which the various states of life within the Church prolong Christ's prophetic, kingly and priestly missions. God has destined that there be various vocations within His Church in order that the richness of Christ may be more perfectly projected. 

a)      The Laity 

In considering the incarnational aspect of the Church in continuation of Christ's redemptive work, the vocation of the laity is most significant. The lay state, because of its intimate connection with temporal, terrestrial values, is best able to witness to the incarnational dimension of Christianity. From this particular point of orientation, let us consider the Incarnation itself.

Through the Incarnation of the Word, God has immersed Himself into this world of men with all its created values. In assuming a real human nature Christ has united all men to Himself. But man in his human nature is not an isolated being. Man's human nature situates him in a created order, which, despite its great complexity, is profoundly united. The individual man is united with all other men and with the rest of creation. Through His Incarnation the Son of God thrusts Himself into this unified situation of man and becomes the center of it.9

Christ has become the center of the world of man in order to elevate it to a higher level of existence through His redemptive work. He has come to give a new life to man and his world. This new life affects not only man himself, but the whole of material creation over which man is meant to have dominion. It is not only man who is to be further Christianized but this entire world order with all its authentic values.10

Compared to the priest and religious, the layman is in a peculiarly advantageous position to carry the truth of Christ into many of the more temporal aspects of men's lives.11  By his very vocation and life situation the layman is intimately involved with the political order, the economic structure, the business  world,  family  life  and  other  temporal  values. Through His humanity Christ radically involved Himself with all these concerns of man. It is true that He Himself was not involved in government, cultural pursuits, marriage and the like. But the fact that He did not directly confront these areas of human existence does not mean He was not deeply concerned with them. When the Son of God assumed human nature He also assumed all the authentic involvements of human existence. All of these concerns of man, then, along with man himself, have been incorporated into the Incarnation.

The Incarnation must be continually applied to all these areas which pertain to man. This actually happens through Christ united to His members. The People of God, who are His full members, have a special task in extending the Incarnation to all the legitimate interests of man; in our present context, we repeat that it is especially the task of the Church's laity to penetrate with the truth of Christ those many areas of human existence which are partially or totally closed to the priest and religious.

Such an extension of the Incarnation to all the authentic values and involvements of human life does not mean that the supernatural destroys the individual finalities attached to culture, economics, government and the like.12 For example, the principles and finalities involved in the science of economics must be respected by Christian and atheist alike. The principles involved in a sound economic structure are the same for both. But the ultimate view of the economic structure will be different for the true Christian. He sees that the economic structure is intended by God to serve the basic needs of all men throughout the world, and that it will not do so unless Christian principles based on the truth of Christ are involved, however indirectly. This is an application of the theological truth that man cannot long avoid serious moral disorder without the grace of God. Consequently, serious moral disorder in the worldwide economic sphere cannot be avoided without the grace of God, which because of the Incarnation, is also the grace of Christ. To put it positively, a just economic structure can never be achieved without the healing and elevating grace of Christ. This is merely one example of how Christ's incarnational grace applies to man's total situation. The same basic application can be made to all aspects of man's terrestrial existence. And, it is the layman who must mediate this incarnational grace of Christ to all these aspects.

However, the lay vocation cannot by itself give an adequate expression to the total mystery of Christ. One of the great dimensions of this incarnate mystery of Christ, as just stressed, is the fact that God has inserted Himself irrevocably into the tangible and terrestrial world of men through the human dimension of His Son. God, therefore, is most intimately involved with His creation; yet He is ultimately above this creation, transcendent to it. It can be no other way, otherwise we have to admit to pantheism.

In Christ's historical life we find witness to both the incarnational and the transcendent. As He related to man and, radically, to all the concerns of man through His human nature.  He obviously gave an incarnational witness. Yet through this same human nature Christ also witnessed to the transcendent aspect of God. For Christ, in His radical human renunciation, pointed beyond His human nature to His divine nature, and to the other transcendent realities of Christianity.

What do we mean when we speak of Christ's radical human renunciation? First of all, Christ did not independently dispose of His own life by determining for Himself the plan of man's redemption, but selflessly followed the economy of salvation established by His Father. He further surrounded such a fundamental renunciation with a life of utter simplicity:  He did not marry; He did not possess riches. By such a life Christ pointed to the ultimate reason of His being with men. He wanted to draw them to the Divinity. Christ, by the very manner of His life, demonstrated to man that there is something above marriage and riches, something above culture, something above all human values. He is in no way condemning these for as Creator He is ultimately responsible for them.  But through His life with its unmistakable element of renunciation Christ gives us this message: He has come to give us a share in His divine life. All other things surrounding man – marriage, material possessions, and the like – are meant as aids in living this divine life in this earthly situation. We are not meant to make ends out of means. If certain men, and indeed, the great majority, choose to be involved with marriage and other various human values, let them always remember to be involved according to the Father's will. Let them remember that these various incarnational values are always meant to lead man to a closer union with the transcendent God, a union which, having its very real beginnings here below, reaches its culmination only in the beatific vision. Christ Himself gave up so much in order that we may not mistake His message. Consequently, Christ, in the manner of life He adopted, unmistakably witnesses to the role of both the incarnational and the transcendent in Christianity. 

a)      Religious 

If the layman witnesses primarily to the incarnational in Christ, the religious witnesses more perfectly to the transcendent. Vatican II states: "The profession of the evangelical counsels,  then,  appears as a sign that can and ought to attract all the members of the Church to an effective and prompt fulfillment of the duties of their Christian vocation. Since the People of God have no lasting city here below, but look forward to one that is to come, the religious state whose purpose is to free its members from earthly cares, more fully manifests to all believers the presence of heavenly goods already possessed here below. ... The religious state clearly manifests that the kingdom of God and its needs, in a very special way, are raised above all earthly considerations."13

Yet this witness to the more transcendent aspect of Christianity is not the only value which the religious state contributes to the Church. Because of its communal nature, religious life allows for a corporate apostolic endeavor with all the advantages which accrue to a common effort. There is a need in the Church for more effort on the part of individuals in furthering Christ's redemptive work. The laity, as they carry Christ to the marketplace in their manifold activities, provide such a contribution. On the other hand, the great value of corporate service given to Church and world by the religious state has been proved over the centuries.

There is one final advantage which the religious state offers to the life of the Church. Although all the People of God are called to the highest holiness, the religious state offers special advantages in the pursuit of holiness to those so called to such a vocation. Vatican II teaches this, thus continuing the traditional teaching in this regard.14 Let us not try to hide this teaching of the Church. In our efforts to bring out the true greatness and necessity of the lay vocation, let us not minimize what the Church has taught and continues to teach concerning the excellence of the religious state.  (This is not to say that all religious live up to this excellence. Some religious are apparently less advanced in holiness than many lay people.) We should remember that the special aids to holiness connected with the religious state are beneficial to the entire body of the Church. For the holiness of religious helps everyone in the Church just as religious in turn are helped by the holiness of those of different vocations. 

b)      Bishops and Priests 

The bishops of the Church, under the leadership of the pope, and the priests who assist them have a very special share in Christ's prophetic, kingly and priestly offices. Vatican II tells us: "Bishops, therefore, with their helpers, the priests and deacons, have taken up the service of the community, presiding in place of God over the flock, whose shepherds they are, as teachers for doctrine, priests for sacred worship, and ministers for governing."15

Vatican II therefore points out that the ordained ministers of the Church have a certain dominant role in the life of the Church, but that this dominion is one of service, one that is meant  to fashion  the People of God into a more perfect image of Christ. The main force behind such service must be that of love. This is the force with which Christ in His own redemptive life first fashioned the People of God. Christ was perfectly effective in establishing His Church because He loved perfectly. Everything He did had redemptive value because of His love for the Father and men. So must it be with the ordained ministers in the Church. The more their teaching, ruling and sanctifying offices are permeated and guided by the principle of Christian love, the more effective these offices will be. John L. McKenzie says: "Love is the supreme motivation both of the officers and of the other members of the Church; with this motivation anything like a power structure is forever excluded from the Church. Love is the only power which the New Testament knows.”16

An application of this essential connection between love and authority is seen from the history of the early Church. Authority at that time was usually exercised through persuasion and exhortation rather than through command.17 As the Church has grown through the centuries, the command of law has to some extent replaced the former ideal. At times the image of law has far overshadowed the image of love which should always be obviously attached to the exercise of authority in the Church. Happily, through the impetus of Vatican II, the majority of those holding authority in the Church seem to see the need for returning to the more pristine use of authority portrayed in the gospels and early Church, a use in which love clearly predominates. Obviously, however, external law will still be necessary, even more so than in the days of early Christianity. This must be for several reasons. One reason is the obvious waywardness of some of the Church's members, a waywardness which tends to increase to a certain extent as the Church's numbers increase. (This is not to say that the Church's overall holiness cannot at the same time be increasing.) This same problem faces any growing organization.  Consequently, because numerous persons within the Church will not live a minimum Christian life unless commanded, the Church has increased her laws over the centuries.18 Also, the very complexity of life within our present-day Church requires more external legislation than was necessary in the early Church. However, to reiterate, the image of love must always predominate over that of law and command in the Church.

If the bishops of the Church, aided by their priests, are to rule, teach and sanctify according to the mind of Christ, they must also be willing to listen to their people: "Let him [the bishop] not refuse to listen to his subjects, whom he cherishes as his true sons and exhorts to cooperate readily with him."19 Unless bishops are willing to have dialogue with their priests, and bishops and priests with their people, the Church of Christ will not mature at the pace God intends. There is but one People of God united together in Christ through one Spirit. The various elements who make up the People of God must know how the Spirit is working in all the Church's members.

One of the great tasks of the hierarchy is to judge how the Spirit is working in the mass of the faithful. Many of the great movements in the history of the Church have been initiated from the bottom up.20 The hierarchy's role in such movements has been, first, to confirm that the breathing of the Spirit is authentically present, and, secondly, to implement what has been thus inspired by the Spirit.

Bishops and priests also have to learn to listen to members of the laity who have much to contribute to the Church's life because of their competence in various areas. For the faithful to live a truly Christian life in today's world involves many complexities; for the Church to relate properly to today's world and to Christianize the same also involves a complex situation. The competent layman can in many ways help provide bishops and priests with the numerous answers which are necessary if the Church is both to guide her own faithful in their Christian lives and help the same faithful bring the whole of creation closer to Christ.

The responsibility of the Church's ordained ministers toward their people is quite evident. There is a corresponding responsibility of the faithful toward the hierarchy and all those who directly share in some way the hierarchy's mission, such as the priest and the religious superior. Not to relate properly to authority in the Church is not to relate properly to Christ Himself. Vatican II states: "Therefore, the sacred council teaches that bishops by divine institution have succeeded to the place of the apostles, as shepherds of the Church, and he who hears them, hears Christ, and he who rejects them, rejects Christ and him who sent Christ. . .”21

 There have been sins, even grave sins, throughout history in the exercise of Church authority. Those who have sinned have answered, or will answer, to Almighty God. But all the sinfulness in the Church has not been on the side of those possessing authority. Often their task has been made extremely difficult because of the sinfulness of their subjects. If the members of the People of God had, in reasonable numbers, been what they were called to be in Christ, the excessive law and regimentation characteristic of too much of the Church's history would probably have been reduced.

The faithful in the Church, then, accept the fact that hierarchical authority has been willed by Christ for His Church. They have the right to expect the best from such authority. But, given our human situation, the faithful will not always be recipients of a Church authority properly exercised. To expect otherwise is to be unrealistic. Sinfulness is part of our human condition, and we suffer because of the sins and shortcomings of others. Consequently, the members of the Church should not think it strange if they suffer to some degree from the sinfulness of those who in their positions of authority shape the institutional life of the Church.

Christ suffered tremendously from the sinful structure of the world into which He had immersed Himself through his Incarnation. He was "hemmed in," limited, in many ways by this sinful structure. For instance, His exalted and sin-healing message was rejected by many of those to whom He preached because sin had blinded and hardened them. Finally, the sinful structure of the world in which Christ found himself ultimately crushed out His very life.

The follower of Christ within the Church has to expect that he also will suffer from the sinful element which still remains in the world despite Christ's redemption. Part of this sinfulness experienced by the member of Christ will derive from the very ones to whom Christ has entrusted authority within His Church. Is the Christian to rebel against such sinfulness and error? Not if he is a mature Christian. He will do all he can to eliminate such abuses according to God's will.  And, of course, there can never be a question of submitting to an obviously sinful command. But to the extent that there is no sin involved, to the extent that appeal to proper moral principles will not allow him to go against structure in its various forms, and to the extent that the Christian cannot change the situation, he will submit to the suffering involved in living within the structure of the Church, a structure which in certain ways will always be marred by man's sinfulness. So did Christ act in His own earthly life. As Christ conquered sinfulness by submitting to the death which sinfulness heaped upon Him, so will the Christian use the suffering imposed upon him by all that is not right within the Church. As Christ redeemed the world by such a submission, the Christian helps to further the redemption by a similar submission.

In summary, all within the Church, whatever their vocation, make up one Body of Christ, one People of God. Pope, bishops, priests, religious, laity – all need one another, all are meant to help one another. St. Paul states: "Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptized, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink." (1 Co 12:12-13).

In such a spirit as described by Paul, the Church is meant to grow more and more into the full stature of Christ down through the ages.22 If the members cooperate as they should according to their respective vocations and roles, the Church continues to that extent to die with Christ – yes, continues to purify herself – and thus continues to rise more and more with Christ as she shares more fully in His life of grace. In this manner the Church integrally grows in the holiness of Christ. In this same manner the individual Christian grows in the holiness of Christ, provided he properly fulfills his role in the life of the Church. But this is not all. As the entire Church and her responsive members progress in the holiness of Christ, they draw the whole world, the whole of creation, along with them into a closer union with Christ. This process will reach its completion with the second coming of Christ. Then Christ will administer the final touches to the work of His redemption. At that time, the Church, her members, the rest of men, and all of creation will receive the Final share in Christ's redemptive work. At that time Christian holiness will be brought to its ultimate completion. 

 ________
         8. Constitution on the Church, No. 36.
         9. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, No. 5.
        10. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, No 36.
        11. Loc. cit.
       
12. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. No. 36.
        13. Constitution on the Church, No. 44.
        14. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Appropriate Renewal of the Religious Life, Nos. 1, 12 and 14.
        15. Constitution on the Church, No. 20.
        16. John  L.  McKenzie,  Authority  in  the Church  (New York: Sheed & Ward, 1966), p. 85.
        17. Cf. J. Powell, The Mystery of the Church (Milwaukee: Bruce 1967), p. 111.
        18. Cf.  W.  Grossouw,  Spirituality  of the  New  Testament  (St. Louis: B. Herder, 1964), pp. 44-45.
        19. Constitution on the Church, No. 27.
        20. Cf.  Karl  Rahner, Theological Investigations, Vol. III (Baltimore: Helicon. 1967), pp. 103-104.
        21. Constitution on the Church. No. 20
        22. For an extended, current treatment on the Church, cf. R. McBrien, Church: The Continuing Quest (New York: Newman Press, 1970).

 

Rule of St. Benedict 

Chapter 5  Obedience p. 29-31

The first step of humility is unhesitating obedience, which comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all. Because of the holy service they have professed, or because of dread of hell and for the glory of everlasting life, they carry out the superior's order as promptly as if the command came from God himself. The Lord says of men like this: No sooner did he hear than he obeyed me (Ps 17[18]:45); again, he tells teachers: Whoever listens to you, listens to me (Luke 10:16). Such people as these immediately put aside their own concerns, abandon their own will, and lay down whatever they have in hand, leaving it unfinished. With the ready step of obedience, they follow the voice of authority in their actions. Almost at the same moment, then, as the master gives the instruction the disciple quickly puts it into practice in the fear of God; and both actions together are swiftly completed as one.

It is love that impels them to pursue everlasting life; therefore, they are eager to take the narrow road of which the Lord says: Narrow is the road that leads to life (Matt 7:14). They no longer live by their own judgment, giving in to their whims and appetites; rather they walk according to another's decisions and directions, choosing to live in monasteries and to have an abbot over them. Men of this resolve unquestionably conform to the saying of the Lord: I have come not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me (John 6:38).

This very obedience, however, will be acceptable to God and agreeable to men only if compliance with what is commanded is not cringing or sluggish or half-hearted, but free from any grumbling or any reaction of unwillingness. For the obedience shown to superiors is given to God, as he himself said: Whoever listens to you, listens to me (Luke 10:16). Furthermore, the disciples' obedience must be given gladly, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9: 7). If a disciple obeys grudgingly and grumbles, not only aloud but also in his heart, then, even though he carries out the order, his action will not be accepted with favor by God, who sees that he is grumbling in his heart. He will have no reward for service of this kind; on the contrary, he will incur punishment for grumbling, unless he changes for the better and makes amends.

end of excerpt

   

Psalm 35: 2

Grasp your buckler and shield, up, and help me.

Psalm 93: 1

Yahweh is king, robed in majesty, robed is Yahweh and girded with power.

 

Psalm 13: 1

How long, Yahweh, will you forget me? For ever? How long will you turn away your face from me?

 

Psalm 37: 10

A little while and the wicked will be no more, however well you search for the place, the wicked will not be there;

Psalm 13: 2

How long must I nurse rebellion in my soul, sorrow in my heart day and night? How long is the enemy to domineer over me?

Psalm 13: 3

Look down, answer me, Yahweh my God! Give light to my eyes or I shall fall into the sleep of death.

 

John 6: 38

because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me.

 

Philippians 2: 8

he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.

 

Matthew 10: 22

You will be universally hated on account of my name; but anyone who stands firm to the end will be saved.

 

Romans 8: 36

as scripture says: For your sake we are being massacred all day long, treated as sheep to be slaughtered?

 

Psalm 65: 12

the pastures of the desert grow moist, the hillsides are wrapped in joy,

 

2 Corinthians 11: 26

continually travelling, I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from brigands, in danger from my own people and in danger from the gentiles, in danger in the towns and in danger in the open country, in danger at sea and in danger from people masquerading as brothers;

 

1 Corinthians 4: 12

we earn our living by labouring with our own hands; when we are cursed, we answer with a blessing; when we are hounded, we endure it passively;

 

Psalm 31: 5

to your hands I commit my spirit, by you have I been redeemed. God of truth,

 

  

 

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

Other Christian Virtues

    If humility is truth, and therefore allows for the proper recognition of my gifts, it also necessitates my admitting to the evil within me. This is also part of the truth. This truth also must be acted upon; for Christian humility not only allows me to admit that there is evil in me, but it also tells me that as a creature of God I should conform myself to His will and strive to eradicate and control the evil as far as this is possible. In summary, humility allows the Christian to evaluate properly both the good and evil in himself.

   

 

  

     


Give Christmas Presents that count.

 

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.

Cost   — $200.00

Call Sheila

1-513-470-3387

                           

Also available

a cup with a Mary's image on it

Cost $15

 1-888-211-3041
Call Doris

or Call Kathleen
1-727-412-0906
 

 

 

   

Rosaries with Mary's Image Available
Aurora Borealis Beads

6mm - $30.00
8mm - $40.00

   all items plus shipping


Fatima w/glass - 11"
$150.00


Sacred Heart of Jesus
w/glass - 18" - $300.00
 


St. Joseph - 18"
$65.00


St. Rita - 12"
$40.00

Different statues and sizes available

 1-888-211-3041
Call Doris

or Call Kathleen
1-727-412-0906
 


Authenticity


 
Prayers and Meditations

$10.00
 

Medicine of Immortality


Prayers and Meditations - on
the mystery of the Eucharist

$10.00

other books by Fr. Pasquini available

  

        
Cycle A Book available soon!
 

        

other books available by Fr. Carter

$10.00 each plus shipping

 Call 1-888-211-3041

 

   

other books available by Rita Ring

 


Blue Book I
$10.00

Blue Book II
$10.00

Blue Book III
$10.00

Blue Book IV
$5.00

Blue Book V
$5.00

Blue Book VI
$10.00

plus shipping

   

      

         
Immaculate Heart and Sacred Heart Pictures Available

with & without frames - different sizes available

 1-888-211-3041
Call Doris

or Call Kathleen
1-727-412-0906
 

 

 

 

 

 

We can send Fr. Joe's

homily book to a priest for 75¢.

Can you please help us get

these homilies to the priests?
 

Please help us with your donation.

Call Shepherds of Christ

1-888-211-3041

   

 

Prayer Cards available

     
Holy Spirit Prayer Act of Consecration to
Immaculate Heart of Mary
Act of Consecration to
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Prayer for Priests

 

Prayer before the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
 

Prayer for Union with Jesus

Available for .25¢ each plus postage

Call Shepherds of Christ

1-888-211-3041

 

 

 

Prayer Card  4" x 6"

.5 each plus postage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

size 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
$1.00 plus postage

 

 

 

 

 

  Statues  

     

Sacred Heart of Jesus w/glass - 18

Our Lady-Guadalupe w/glass - 12
Limpias - 8
     

Immaculate Heart w/glass - 18

I Heart - Ivory w/glass - 18

Our Lady of Grace w/glass - 18

     
Our Lady-Mt. Carmel w/glass - 18

Our Lady of Lourdes w/glass - 18

Infant of Prague w/glass - 24

     

Sacred Heart of Jesus w/glass - 24

Sacred Heart -Blessing w/glass - 24

Sorrowful Mother w/glass - 24

 

 

 

I Heart - Ivory w/glass - 24

I Heart of Mary w/glass - 24

Our Lady of Lourdes w/glass - 24
   

 

  

 

Our Lady-Guadalupe w/glass - 28

Our Lady of Grace w/glass - 24

Our Lady-Mt. Carmel w/glass - 24
     

Fatima w/glass - 11

Pilgrim Virgin w/glass - 12

Pilgrim Virgin w/glass - 15

 

  

 

Fatima w/glass - 18

Pilgrim Virgin w/glass - 18

 

Pilgrim Virgin w/glass - 27

St. Padre Pio

St. Joseph

St. Therese

   

 

 

St. Francis

St. Anthony

St. Claire

 

  

 

Limpias

St. Jude
 

Divine Mercy

 

  

 

Holy Family

Angel

St. Philomena

 

 

 

Pieta - Marble

Pieta - Color

Holy Family

 

  

 

St. Anthony - 18

St. Francis - 18

St. Joseph - 18

 

 

 

St. Therese - 18

St. Rita - 18

St. Clare - 12
 
     
     

St. Rita - 12

St. Padre Pio - 12

Divine Mercy - 12

St. Michael - 11

         

 


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"

$180

 

 Limpias

 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

 
 Divine Mercy

22"

$125  
 Angel

22"

$100  
 St. Philomena

20"

$100  
 St. Philomena

16"

$65  
 St. Joseph

18"

$65  
 St. Francis

18"

$65  
 St. Anthony

18"

$65  
 St. Rita

18"

$65  
 St. Therese

18"

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

12"

$60  
 St. Padre Pio - standing

12"

$40  
 St. Padre Pio - sitting

8"

$50  
 St. Michael

11"

$40  
 St. Rita

12"

$40  

 Divine Mercy

12"

$40  
 St. Claire

12"

$40  
 Limpias

8"

$25  
 Our Lady of Guadalupe w/glass

28"

$500  
 Our Lady of Mt. Carmel w/glass

24"

$500  

 Immaculate Heart of Mary w/glass

 24"

$500  

 Immaculate Heart - Ivory w/glass

 24"

$500  

 Infant of Prague w/glass

 24"

$500  

 Our Lady of Grace w/glass

 24"

$500  

 Our Lady of Lourdes w/glass  

 24"

$500  
 Sacred Heart of Jesus w/glass

 24"

$500  
 Sacred Heart -Blessing w/glass

 24"

$500  

 Sorrowful Mother w/glass

 24"

$500  
 Immaculate Heart of Mary w/glass

18"

$300  
 Immaculate Heart - Ivory w/glass

18"

$300  
 Sacred Heart of Jesus w/glass

18"

$300  
 Our Lady of Lourdes w/glass  

18"

$300  
 Our Lady of Grace w/glass

18"

$300  

 Our Lady of Mt. Carmel w/glass

18" $300  
 Our Lady of Guadalupe w/glass

12"

$200  

 Fatima w/glass

11"

$150  

 Fatima w/glass

 18"

$250  
 Pilgrim Virgin w/glass

 12"

$160  
 Pilgrim Virgin w/glass 15" $200  
 Pilgrim Virgin w/glass 18" $250  
 Pilgrim Virgin w/glass

27"

$450  


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

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

 

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

1-888-211-3041

 

Fr. Joe's Homily Books  

Guiding Light - Cycle A
The Word Alive in Our Hearts

$10.00


Guiding Light - Cycle B
Focusing on the Word

$10.00
 

Guiding Light - Cycle C
Feed My Soul

$10.00

 

Fr. Carter's Books

Priestly Newsletter Book I

12 Newsletters
July 1994 - June 1996

$12.00


Priestly Newsletter Book 2

17 Newsletters
1996 - 1999

$12.00
 

Priestly Newsletter Book 3

4 Newsletters & Prayers
2000

$12.00


 

Response to God's Love



$10.00
 


Messages given
by Jesus and Mary 1994

Tell My People
$10.00
 


The Pain and the Joy

$10.00

Synopsis of the Spiritual Life

Spirituality Handbook
$3.00

 


Priestly Newsletter on CD
2000 - Issue 1

$10.00


Priestly Newsletter on CD
2000 - Issue 2

$10.00


 

 

 

Fr. Pasquini's Books

 

Authenticity


 
Prayers and Meditations

$10.00

In Imitation of Two Hearts

For those suffering or
in Nursing Homes
 
$10.00

Light, Happiness and Peace

Journeying through traditional
Catholic Spirituality

$10.00

Medicine of Immortality

Prayers and Meditations - will assist the reader in growth toward a deeper understanding of the mystery of the Eucharist

$10.00


Ecce Fides - Pillar of Truth

Ideal for RCIA, Adult & Youth Bible Study, Homeschooling, Catholic
Identity Studies

$10.00

Shepherds of Christ Newsletters
9 Newsletters
2006 - 2008

$36.00

  

DVDs and CDs by Fr. Pasquini
 


 

Authenticity DVD
Prayers on the Ocean

$10.00
 

Nursing Home Mass DVD

$10.00

Consolation DVD

$10.00

Medicine of Immortality
Read by Rita Ring

2 CDs - $17.00

In Imitation of Two Hearts DVD

$10.00


 

Consolation CD
by Fr. John

$8.00
 


 

Nursing Home Mass CD

$8.00
 

Holy Spirit Novena DVD

$10.00 

Divine Mercy Chaplet DVD

$10.00 

 

 

 

God’s Blue Books

God’s Blue Book 1
Teachings to Lift You Up

    $10.00


God’s Blue Book 4
The Love of the Hearts of
Jesus and Mary

$5.00
 


God’s Blue Book 2
The Fire of His Love

$10.00
 

God’s Blue Book 5
So Deep Is the Love of His Heart

$5.00


God’s Blue Book 3
Love God, Love One Another

(Fr. Carter's favorite)
$10.00
 


God’s Blue Book 6
He Calls Us to Action

$10.00
 

  

 

Rosary Books
 


Rosaries from the
Hearts of Jesus and Mary

$10.00
 

Rosaries from the
Hearts of Jesus and Mary

$12.00

Rosary Meditations for
Parents and Children's

$10.00


Mysteries of Light 1

$5.00
 

Mysteries of Light 2

$5.00


Little People & Elderly Rosary Book

$10.00

Coloring Book
$5.00 each


Coloring Book
$5.00 each

 

Coloring Book
$5.00 each

Coloring Book
$5.00 each

Coloring Book
$5.00 each


Coloring Book
$5.00 each

 

   

 

 


 

The China Church is over 140 years old

and we pray in there 24 hours a day.

It needs stucco and so does

the community building.

Can you please help us?

Call Shepherds of Christ

 1-888-211-3041

 

Likewise the priest house

is 150 years old.

Jesus told us to repair it

which we have been doing.

We need $13,000.00 for this work.

 

 

Crucifix — hand carved by Felix

   

Available for $750.00

      

 

Brand New Internet Store

 

 

Click picture

   

 


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