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Shepherds of Christ

A Spirituality Newsletter for Priests
and Others Interested in the Spiritual Life

2000 - ISSUE ONE

CONTENTS


Chief Shepherd of the Flock

Christ is Our Strength

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; this is because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. (Jn 10:11-151)

St. Paul tells us: It is, then, about my weaknesses that I am happiest of all to boast, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me; and that is why I am glad of weaknesses, insults, constraints, persecutions and distress for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong. (2 Cor 12:9-10)

This brief passage contains one of the greatest lessons of the spiritual life. As we progress along our spiritual journey, we become increasingly aware of how weak we are in ourselves, but how strong we are in Christ.

To experience our weakness involves suffering. The degree and kind of suffering can vary. The suffering can include the experience of the classical dark night of the spirit as described by St. John of the Cross.

One of the main purposes of the dark night is to make a person keenly aware of his or her helplessness without God. This is a most necessary point that mystics must pass through if the spiritual marriage, or transforming union with God in Christ, is to occur. In this transforming union, there is a profound exchange between God and the mystic. God’s self-communication to the mystic is most profound, and the mystic makes a profound gift of self to God. In this state the mystic is supremely aware of living by the life of God, and without experiencing one’s helplessness without God, this lived awareness does not occur.

If not all on the spiritual journey experience the classic dark night, all must undergo a proportionate purification which includes increased awareness of personal weakness. In this process one more and more abandons the self to Christ and increasingly lives by His life, by His strength. Again St. Paul speaks to us: 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. (Gal 2:19-20)

Our sense of weakness is not a paralyzing one. It does not hinder our performance of duty. On occasion, athletes and other performers may, for various reasons, feel very inadequate regarding the exercise of their particular skill. The sense of inadequacy, in turn, can detract from performance. In the spiritual life, however, our sense of weakness does not impair our capacity to function as Christians. On the contrary. If, sensing our helplessness, we increasingly abandon ourselves to Christ, we act with greater spiritual vitality. We do this with a basic peace of which the world knows not. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, one of the greatest apostles of devotion to the Heart of Christ, speaks about this peace and its connection with surrender to Christ and His strength. In one of her letters she says: "Try especially to preserve peace of heart... The way to preserve this peace is not to have a will of our own any more, but to put the will of the Sacred Heart in the place of ours, and let Him will for us whatever gives Him the most glory, being content to submit and abandon ourselves. In a word, this loving Heart will supply whatever is wanting in you. He will love God for you, and you will love God in Him and through Him." 2

Indeed, to those who are unspiritual, the concept of striving to grow through the sense of our weakness is complete folly, utter craziness. To those who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, however, being properly aware of one’s weakness is strength and peace and consolation.

Jesus is our Savior. When we are tired and weary, let us go to the Heart of Christ. Let us not worry about anything. Let us not fret. Our work for Christ is the work of God. Do we not trust that God will take care of His own work?

To be able to say in the midst of adversity and struggle, "Jesus’ hand is here and He knows what is happening, I will let go of my anxiety and be at peace," is to have reached a great plateau of trust in Christ. Yes, let us trust in Jesus in all our trials. Let us refuse to worry. What good does worry accomplish? Let us convert the energy put into worrying into the energy of trusting in Our Lord.

Jesus spread His arms on the cross in the greatest love for each of us. He knew each of us by name. If He endured such agonizing suffering for love of each of us, why do we not have the greatest trust that He wants to be so close to us, attending to all our needs — if only we allow Him?

The more we place our trust in Jesus, the more we experience His peace. Again, let us refuse to worry. Let us place all cares in the hands of Jesus and trust that He will tend to them. He is present to us, loving us, guarding us, asking for our love, asking for our surrender.

We end these reflections concerning how we find our strength in Christ with another quotation from St. Paul: As for me, I am full of joy in the Lord, now that at last your consideration for me has blossomed again; though I recognise that you really did have consideration before, but had no opportunity to show it. I do not say this because I have lacked anything; I have learnt to manage with whatever I have. I know how to live modestly, and I know how to live luxuriously too: in every way now I have mastered the secret of all conditions: full stomach and empty stomach, plenty and poverty. There is nothing I cannot do in the One who strengthens me. (Phil 4:10-13)


WE ARE EXPANDING OUR READERSHIP!

With this current issue we are expanding our circulation by explicitly inviting to our readership those who are not priests, but who are interested in the spiritual life.

The Newsletter will still be written for priests in a special way. Yet we feel much of the material will also be of interest to those who are not priests.

To reflect the fact that we are now expanding our readership to include all interested parties, we think it appropriate to offer a new act of consecration which is not worded for priests only, but one suitable for all.


The Father and Mary

In his Encyclical, Redemptor Hominis (Redeemer of Man) Pope John Paul II states: "The special characteristic of the motherly love that the Mother of God inserts in the mystery of the Redemption and the life of the Church finds expression in its exceptional closeness to man and all that happens to him. It is in this that the mystery of the Mother consists. The Church, which looks to her with altogether special love and hope, wishes to make this mystery her own in an ever deeper manner...

"The Father’s eternal love, which has been manifested in the history of mankind through the Son whom the Father gave... comes close to each of us through this Mother and thus takes on tokens that are of more easy understanding and access by each person." 3


The Holy Spirit in Our Lives


The Eucharist


The Church


Priesthood


Prayer and Self Identity

Here are words which unite prayer and one’s quest to grow in an awareness of one’s self-identity. "Since the only real identity we have is our relationship with God in Christ — we are in God’s image mediated by Christ — we grow in achieving true self-identity through growth in the awareness that each of us is a unique reflection of God, that we live by His life —indeed, we participate in his life through grace...

"Prayer plays a profound role in achieving self-identity. In the loving quiet of prayer God reveals both Himself to us and us to ourselves. These aspects are intimately connected. As God communicates knowledge concerning Himself, He also gives insight into ourselves, we who are in His image. As prayer grows, this insight concerning God and ourselves deepens. We become more aware of what is involved in living by the life of God, in living according to the divine image, in living a Christ-like existence. All these expressions point to the same reality — that we are finite expressions of the infinite, and each of us uniquely so, and that growth in self-identity means an increased lived awareness of this sublime truth.

"When this awareness reaches a certain consistency, we have arrived at a change in consciousness. This stage of the spiritual journey is of the utmost importance. If one goes forward after this change in consciousness, one’s life will never again be the same. One has achieved a new way of comprehending the answer to the mystery of human existence.

"Before this change in consciousness occurs, even the committed Christian can ask at times, ‘Is this all there is to life?’ This question can nag at the human heart even as one enjoys significant accomplishments, experiences the joy-dimension of the human condition, and feels a sense of love and security emanating from personal relationships.

" ‘Is this all there is to life?’ For the Christian, this question and the manner in which he or she confronts it, is of critical importance. It is not as though the Christian who faces this existential challenge has not previously possessed the key to life’s mystery. The vision of faith has already provided this key. The vision of faith, however, operates on different levels. The more spiritually mature person, the one further advanced in prayer, has a better grasp on how to live the mystery of life than does one less spiritually advanced...

"Confronting properly, then, the haunting question ‘Is this all there is to life?’, will lead to this deeper Christian existence which will manifest that, yes, indeed, there is more to life than one had previously known. If one follows the lead of grace, if one grows in the life of prayer and consistently lives on the level where the Christ-like self is dynamically operative, one will never again be haunted by the feeling that life is not yielding a sufficient sense of fulfillment." 15


Various Thoughts


Pope John Paul II and Fatima

On May 12, 1982, Pope John Paul II made a pilgrimage to Fatima. One of his motives for his visit was to offer thanks for Mary’s intercession in saving his life relative to the assassination attempt a year earlier.

Some fifteen years later in 1997, the Holy Father gave us the following words regarding Fatima. Lynne Weil, a newspaper reporter, gives this account: "Pope John Paul said the series of Marian apparitions at Fatima, Portugal, rank as one of the most significant events of this century.

"The string of apparitions that ended 80 years ago was ‘one of the greatest’ signs of the times, ‘also because it announces in its message many of the signs that followed and it invites (us) to follow their call’, the pope said in a letter to Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreire Silva of Leiria - Fatima, Portugal. The message, dated October 1, was released at the Vatican October 14 (1997).

"Pope John Paul said the event at Fatima ‘helps us to see the hand of God’ even in the 20th century, with its wars and other mass tragedies. And it showed that despite having ‘removed itself from God’, humanity was offered God’s protection, the pontiff said.

"Pope John Paul recalled that in Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death, he invoked clemency on his captors even as he was being crucified and entrusted humanity to the care of his mother, Mary.

"The pope repeated the exhortation stemming from the Marian apparitions at Fatima that the faithful recite the rosary every day. He asked pastors to recite the rosary, and to teach others to recite it, daily. —CNS"


The Christian and the World

From a Christmas address Pope Paul VI has left us these words: "Our Messiah and Saviour is so near that all of us today are almost necessarily seeking him. Not excluded are those who wish he were dead or forgotten, those who are deceived and wish to be able to replace him and to create a new humanism without his light and without his love. True humanism cannot be anything but Christian.

"Men of good will, do not fear today to be known as Christians! Do you not realize that by promoting justice and peace you are searching for him —Christ? Do you not see that in aspiring for liberation... you have him in mind, you are calling upon him? Do you not understand that while perhaps you try to avoid him and flee from him he pursues you? And would you... doubt that turning toward him you would discover him today, not angered and unfriendly, but rather as the Good Shepherd who attracts you powerfully and kindly in such a way as to fill you with tears of joy, and as one ready to be by your side, with your dear ones, the living and deceased, to celebrate with you a blessed Christmas?

"Yes, let this bright possibility become our trust and our confidence...

"It is thus that we have you, the people of Rome, at this moment before our eyes and in our heart. It is the same for the entire Church and the entire world. And our glance is turned especially to those places where there is still war, hunger, suffering and distress — wherever the coming of justice and peace is still awaited." 18


A Prayer for Priests

Many of the laity pray for us priests, and consistently so. Is it not also fitting that we priests pray for all our brothers in the priesthood, and consistently so? There follows a prayer that can aid us in this endeavor.

"Lord Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the Flock, we pray that in the great love and mercy of Your Sacred Heart that You attend to all the needs of Your priest-shepherds throughout the world. We ask that You draw back to Your Heart all those priests who have seriously strayed from Your path, that You rekindle the desire for holiness in the hearts of those priests who have become lukewarm, and that You continue to give Your fervent priests the desire for the highest holiness. United with Your Heart and Mary’s Heart, we ask that You take this petition to Your heavenly Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen".

The above prayer is taken from the prayer manual of Shepherds of Christ Associates, a facet of Shepherds of Christ Ministries. The associates are members of prayer groups which meet regularly to pray for all the needs of the entire human family, but most especially for priests. If you would like a copy, or copies, of this prayer manual, and further, if you would like information on how to begin a Shepherds of Christ prayer chapter, contact us at:

Shepherds of Christ
P.O. Box 193
Morrow, Ohio 45152-0193 U.S.A.
Phone (toll free): 1-888-211-3041
Phone: 1-513-932-4451
Fax: 1-513-932-6791


Act of Consecration (new)

"Jesus, You show us Your Heart as symbol of Your life of love in all its aspects, including Your most special love for each of us as unique individuals. Out of Your great love for us, You died a brutal death, nailed to the wood of the cross. Out of Your great love for us, You rose gloriously from the dead.

"From Your pierced Heart the Church with her life-giving Sacraments was born. In the Eucharist, Crown and Center of the Church’s life, You continue to give Yourself to us with the deepest, most tender, most on-fire, most complete love.

"Jesus, since in Your great love You give Yourself so completely to us, it is only fitting that we make a gift to You in return. It is entirely fitting that we give ourselves completely to You. Yes, we consecrate ourselves to Your most loving Heart. Each of us says to You, O Lord, our Savior and our Friend: ‘Jesus, take me wholly, take me completely to Your magnificent Heart. Out of love I give myself to You. Live in and through me. In love You give Yourself completely to me. In love and in a spirit of reparation, I want to give myself, with the help of Your grace, entirely to You. Take me, Jesus, to an ever closer union with the Father, in the Holy Spirit, with Mary my Mother at my side. Pierced, Glorified, Eucharistic Heart of Jesus I place my trust in You.’ "

"Dear Blessed Virgin Mary, I consecrate myself to your maternal and Immaculate Heart, this Heart which is symbol of your life of love, including your most special love for me as this unique individual. You are the Mother of my Savior. You are also my Mother. In a return of love, I give myself entirely to your motherly love and protection. You followed Jesus perfectly. You are His first and perfect disciple. Teach me to imitate you in the putting on of Christ. Be my motherly intercessor so that, through your Immaculate Heart, I may be guided to an ever closer union with the Pierced, Glorified, Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock."


Letters

Rev. J. Mark Williams
Director of Formation Advising
Pontifical North American College
00120 Vatican City State


Fr. Varghese Palathingal, sdb.
Provincial
Don Bosco Provincial House
Nagaland, India


Fr. V. Savarimuthu
Tamilnadu, India


Rev. S. A. Aruliah D.D.
Bishop Emeritus of Cuddapah
India


Rev. Salvatore Piazza
Ransomville, NY


May peace of God which transcends all understanding guard your heart and your mind in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.

Thank you for Shepherds of Christ which I so much admire, love, value and treasure. In this connection, I humbly request a free copy of cassettes so as to more fully acquaint myself with the Spirituality it teaches to priests in its practicality.

Praying always that the good Lord should imbue you with His Spirit. Amen.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Revd. Fr. Williams Adeforth
St. Gregory’s Catholic Church
Nigeria


I have followed with keen interest your publication titled "Shepherds of Christ" newsletter. I write from the Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas, here in States to encourage you, Father.

Spirituality is an on-going process in the life of every man and woman. Hence, do not relent in your publications. Everybody needs it, for many lives have been enriched spiritually via your publications.

May Christ the Good Shepherd invigorate you.

Prayerfully yours,

Rev. Fr. Oliver Ochieze
St. Mary’s Church
North Little Rock, Arkansas


Greetings from Kenya - Africa. I am grateful that you have continued to send me your most edifying Newsletter which supports my spiritual journey.

May I also request you to send me the newsletter in book form and the audio-cassettes.

With best wishes for your apostolate, I remain,

Yours sincerely in the Lord,

Fr. Francis Gichia Mwaniki
Our Lady of Victory
Nakuru - Kenya


NOTES:

  1. Scripture quotations are taken from The New Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday.
  2. The Letters of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, translated by Clarence Herbst, S.J., Henry Regnery Company, p. 186.
  3. Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Redemptor Hominis, (Redeemer of Man), United States Catholic Conference, No. 22.
  4. Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, The Sanctifier, Pauline Books and Media, pp. 67-68.
  5. The Documents of Vatican II, "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy:, America Press edition, No. 17.
  6. Ibid., No. 48.
  7. Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Letter, Mystici Corporis, AAS, XXXV, pp. 232-233.
  8. Romano Guardini, Jesus Christ, Henry Regnery, as in Daily Readings in Catholic Classics, edited by Rawley Myers, Ignatius Press, p. 102.
  9. St. John Vianney, "Sermon for Holy Thursday", in Eucharistic Meditations, Source Books, as in Adoration, Ignatius Press, pp. 92-93.
  10. Through the Year with Fulton Sheen, Servant Books, pp. 99-100.
  11. Avery Dulles, S.J., The Resilient Church, Doubleday & Company, p. 39.
  12. Ibid., p. 37.
  13. Henri de Lubac, S.J., The Church: Paradox and Mystery, translated by James R. Dunne, Alba House, pp. 2-4.
  14. Pope John Paul II, Holy Thursday Letters to My Brother Priests, edited by James P. Socias, Scepter Publications and Midwestern Theological Forum, pp. 38-40.
  15. Edward Carter, S.J., The Mysticism of Everyday, Sheed & Ward, pp. 44-46.
  16. John Henry Cardinal Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, as in The Heart of Newman, A Synthesis arranged by Erich Przywara, S.J., Ignatius Press, p. 224.
  17. Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C., Forth and Abroad, Ignatius Press, pp. 120-121.
  18. Pope Paul VI, "Christmas Message to the World", 1972, as in Teachings of Paul VI, 1972, United States Catholic Conference, pp. 346-347.

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2000, ISSUE ONE
Shepherds of Christ

Shepherds of Christ Ministries
P.O. Box 193
Morrow, Ohio 45152-0193
U.S.A.

Shepherds of Christ, a spirituality newsletter for priests, is published bi-monthly by Shepherds of Christ Ministries, P.O. Box 193, Morrow, Ohio 45152-0193. While distribution is free of charge to all priests in the U.S., and growing internationally, donations are still very much appreciated. Inquiries and comments are welcome, as are address changes and addresses of the newly ordained. Permission to reproduce intact is granted for non-commercial use. Editor Father Edward Carter S.J. is Professor of Theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. John Weickert is President. Good Shepherd illustration is by Brother Jerome Pryor, S.J. Layout and design are by Joan Royce. Also dedicated to the spiritual advancement of priests is a worldwide network of lay/religious prayer chapters, Shepherds of Christ Associates, headquartered at 2919 Shawhan Road, Morrow, Ohio 45152, telephone toll free 1-888-211-3041, fax 513-932-6791.


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