Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing

November 20, 2015

Pray for special intentions.
  

Pray for Dan & Melanie, Jimmy,
Fr. Joe, Sonny & family, Blue Book 16.

Please pray for funds & grace.

                 
                November 20, 2015

                R. Saying "yes" to God's call.

                Jesus showed us He said "yes"
                    to the Father's will –

                Jesus suffered, was beaten,
                    crowned with thorns,
                    carried the heavy cross
                    laden with our sins and
                    He went to crucifixion with
                    a Heart of love –

                Jesus teaches us how to act in
                    suffering –

                A child before they go to sleep when
                    they are really tired can
                    fight the sleep and then,
                    start screaming.

                    Babies cry a lot when they are about
                to go to sleep.

                    Little ones can hold their breath
                if they don't want to go to bed so
                they can get their way and stay up.

                    But people are to work with each
                other when they are adults. Many
                times they go through great suffering
                enduring, to do things they know they
                must do and they suffer.

                    If a person could see themselves
                acting out childish games before
                others, being on a pity-pot
                some would stop doing what they do.
                People go to work every day and they are
                to perform on the job. They must do
                the things required even when they are
                tired.

                    Mothers and fathers can be up all
                night with sick children and their
                love keeps them treating a child
                and praying even when weary.

                    Having a baby can be a trying time,
                if a mother nurses and the baby has
                their nights and days mixed up.

                    There is terminal illness, waiting
                for doctor's reports, enduring with
                tiredness, old age, old legs and arms
                and some having to decide what to
                do with a parent with a memory
                problem.

                    Sufferings are a part of life –
                We see the sufferings Pope John Paul II
                endured to his death – He had Parkinson's
                and yet he kept going – holding up
                under duress – carrying the cross
                like Jesus did and still Pope John Paul II
                in his suffering gave us a witness of
                love and endurance and suffering.

                    Acting out anger and resentment
                and hatred by holding out to get another
                to beg or to get control or to punish
                others is wrong.

                    We are here to learn how to do God's
                will and Jesus shows us the sacrifice
                He made doing the will of His Father –

September 4, 2014
 

                R. Sacrifice – the Mass is the Sacrifice
                of Calvary sacramentally made present.

                Fr. Carter says in Response in Christ

                    "To be a victim with Christ means that
                the Christian must follow the gospel
                teaching concerning self-denial,
                that he detest his sins and make
                satisfaction for them. In brief,
                the Christian's victimhood means
                he experiences a mystical crucifixion
                so as to make applicable to his life
                the words of St. Paul,

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

Four   The Sacraments and the Mass

                        Fr. Carter says:

     Jungmann has a beautiful passage concerning the Christian's eucharistic immolation. He states: "Every sacrament serves to develop in us the image of Christ according to a specified pattern which the sacramental sign indicates. Here the pattern is plainly shown in the double formation of the Eucharist; we are to take part in His dying, and through His dying are to merit a share in His life. What we here find anchored fast in the deepest center of the Mass-sacrifice is nothing else than the ideal of moral conduct to which the teaching of Christ in the Gospel soars; the challenge to an imitation of Him that does not shrink at sight of the Cross; a following after Him that is ready to lose its life in order to win it; the challenge to follow Him even, if need be, in His agony of suffering and His path of death, which are here in this mystery so manifestly set before us."²⁹

     Summarily, then, we become victims with Christ by lovingly conforming our wills to the Father's will in all things. Such conformity was the essence of Christ's sacrifice, of His victimhood, and of His immolation. A similar conformity must be in the victimhood and the immolation of Christ's members. This mystical immolation is a lifelong process. The ideal is that each Mass participated in by the Christian should mark a growth in his victimhood. The true Christian desires to die more and more to all which is not according to God's will so that he may become an ever more perfect victim with Christ.

       4) The Father's Acceptance of the Eucharistic Sacrifice

It has been observed that if sacrifice is to have its desired effect, it must be accepted by God. That the Father always accepts the eucharistic sacrifice is certain. For the principal priest and victim is Christ Himself, always supremely acceptable to the Father. As for the subordinate priests and victims, they are, taken together, the People of God, the Church herself.

     There is always an acceptance on the Father's part even as regards this subordinate priesthood and victimhood of the Mass. For even though the Mass may be offered through the sacrilegious hands of an unworthy priest, there is always a basic holiness in the Church pleasing to God. Because of such holiness the Father always accepts the Church's sacrificial offering, for the Mass is the sacrifice of the whole Church, and cannot be fundamentally vitiated by the unworthiness of any particular member or members, even if that member be the officiating priest.

29. J. Jungmann, The Mass of the Roman Rite (New York: Benziger, 1959), p. 146.

                R. We offer our life as a sacrifice
                united to Jesus in the Mass, the sacrifice
                of Calvary sacramentally made
                present.

                    Sacrifice – the perfect sacrifice –
                the sacrifice of Jesus, offered to
                the Father –

                    Jesus' perfect love
                    Jesus' perfect obedience

                    God has given us the Mass –
                we live united to the Mass –
                the Sacrifice of Calvary – sacramentally
                made present –

                    We want our interior offering to
                always be one with God –

                    Life is suffering and joy –

                    Death/Resurrection –
 

       1) Interior Oblation of the Mass

     . . . However, Christ is not the only priest at the Mass as He was at the Last Supper and upon Calvary. All the members of the Mystical Body are priests along with Christ. To be sure, there is a difference between the hierarchical priesthood of bishops and priests and the universal priesthood of the faithful. This difference is one of essence and not merely degree. The point we wish to stress, however, is that the universal priesthood is a real participation in Christ's priesthood given through the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. . . .

     As Christ is not the only priest of the Mass, neither is He the only victim. Again, all the members of the Church are victims along with Christ. Various Church documents attest to this. For instance, Pope Paul VI officially calls attention to this: "It is a pleasure to add another point particularly conducive to shed light on the mystery of the Church, that it is the whole Church which, in union with Christ functioning as Priest and Victim, offers the Sacrifice of the Mass and is offered in it."²⁰ Therefore, the members of the People of God, united as priests to Christ the high priest, offer a combined victim to the Father: Christ and themselves. Such then in all its deep meaning and beauty is the first sacrificial element of the Mass.

       2) The Mass lived out

     . . . Each Christian, according to God's plan for him, must have a vital and dynamic desire to help Christianize the whole world. Perhaps he can do very little through direct, external apostolate. But his prayers and sacrifices – indeed, his entire life – can touch the whole world. Through an intense Christian life the individual can help Christ further the redemption of the family, the business world, the social structure and the like. The Christian is called to have this deep desire: to see the whole universe imprinted with the name of Christ. How true it is to say that the Christian's vocation, rooted in the liturgy, calls for deep involvement in this sacred activity.⁴¹

     In schematic outline we have discussed the manner in which the baptized Christian extends his Mass to his daily existence. As he so lives out his Mass, he is becoming more Christlike. He becomes a more perfect priest and victim for his next participation in the eucharistic sacrifice.⁴² The beautiful cycle which the Mass contains lies exposed before us. As part of this cycle the Christian is intimately involved in the process of continued redemption. The Mass is the center of the Christian life: ". . . the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the fount from which all her power flows."⁴³

20. Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei, N.C.W.C. edition, Paragraph 31.
41. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, No. 36.
42. For a current treatment of the varied richness of the Eucharist, cf. J. Wicks, "The Movement of Eucharistic Theology" in Chicago Studies, Vol. 10 (1971), pp. 267-284.
43. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, No. 10.

                R. Self-denial when suffering can
                help to bring down great grace
                united to the Mass –

                    One is to learn that suffering
                helps in the work of redemption –

                        From the Introduction of Blue Book 11

November 21, 2013

Jesus: I call you to live your lives as devout members of the mystical body of Christ. I have given these writings that men will realize that they are to live united deeply to the Mass going on around the world. Your lives, given as an offering, a sacrifice every moment in union with the Mass going on around the world. Your life, a sacrifice, offered to the Father, in union with the Mass in oneness with Me, in the Holy Spirit through the intercession of the Blessed Mother with all the angels and saints and the souls in purgatory.

Your lives given as members of My mystical body can help to bring down great graces for the priest, the Church and the world.

                Today's Readings

                R. Peace comes from a person fixed on
                God. There may be sufferings, but there
                is peace rooted in God.

                    Satan is chaos and willfulness –
                Satan works in the hearts of those
                who let him in. Satan brings
                darkness and confusion. People
                suffer from one person choosing
                to be hateful and resentful and
                angry.

                    God has called us to bring His
                love and peace to the world.

                    How is it when men turn
                away from God and choose evil and
                how beautiful it is when men
                are working in love as God commands
                of us.

                    A person that does what they
                should, according to God's will
                is at peace with themselves deep
                in their hearts even though they
                can suffer from the meanness
                and craftiness of others.

                    Self-pity is a destructive
                emotion. Self-pity can take
                over a person's attitude.
                It can be the poor-me attitude, thinking
                I deserve attention for being mistreated
                by authority, by innocent others.

                    We are responsible for our
                actions – they are to be good actions
                for the honor and glory of God.

                    We are to do what God wants
                us to do to please God and do
                it as well as we can.

                    Judge what you do by how
                God sees you, how God wants
                you to be, not for pity or
                recognition.

                    Resentment can lead to actions of
                hurting others because we think they
                deserve it. Resentment from the past
                can be acted out on innocent others
                from the present and we can try to
                punish them to pay for the life-long
                resentment in our own hearts.

                A person full of resentment and hate
                is actually hating themselves – to
                deny themselves of relationship and love
                and not obeying the plan of God the
                Heavenly Father.

                    Why do I think I can spend
                my life punishing someone else
                for my resentment and anger
                life-long? Who is really hurt when
                our hearts are hateful and trying
                to hurt others because of our hate –

                    If a person seeks to see how
                grateful they should be for what
                they are given, they will not harbor
                resentment and hatred towards
                others.

                    How does anger work and why
                would a person live – life - long
                deciding to put anger they have
                had their whole life on innocent
                others in their life today –

                    Anger is an emotion that
                builds inside and one can
                store up anger. Anger can be passed
                on from generations past.

                I am responsible for my actions –
                    to be good and not resentful
                    and hateful.

                    God has commanded us to love.
                    Anger stored inside and not
                    resolved is like hungry dogs
                    in the basement.

                    Love and gratitude can fill
                        a heart and help it heal.

                    We choose our own thoughts.

                    Weeds grow in the garden and choke
                        out the good growth –
                        Why would a person nurture
                        resentment and hatred?

                We have a free will –

                Life can be freeing and happy by
                    what we think and do –

                A man who hates and is resentful
                    will not produce happy and
                    loving thoughts –

                It's like expecting a lump of coal
                    to grow a beautiful rose –

                What a waste of life to spend
                    it in resentment and anger
                    and hatred – when God
                    calls us to love.

                Do we expect others to tell us it's
                    okay to be full of self-
                    pity and resentment –

                So we can act this way – full of
                    self-pity and expect others to
                    change us or expect others to
                    tell us it's okay!

                We can change our hearts, but we
                    need God's help –

                We can change how we look
                    at things, but we must
                    die to the old patterned
                    self-destructive bad
                    thoughts and actions that
                    are hurtful and wrong.

                First to thine own self be
                    true.

                God has called us to act lovingly –
                    to do good acts, to be kind,
                    to give to others –

                The Lord loves justice and
                    He thwarts the path of the wicked.

                Sing: Glory Be

                Most Sacred Heart of Jesus I place my Trust in You.
 

Deuteronomy 4: 39-40

                R. God wants us to teach a message
                    of joy by how we live our
                    lives –

                We are to love and praise Our God.

                The man whose hope is in God
                    is a happy man.

Excerpt from Priestly Newsletter 1998 - ISSUE FOUR

    Shortly before he was to die from cancer, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin left us these inspiring words about peace: "It is the first day of November, and fall is giving way to winter. Soon the trees will lose the vibrant colors of their leaves and snow will cover the ground. The earth will shut down, and people will race to and from their destinations bundled up for warmth. Chicago winters are harsh. It is a time of dying.

    "But we know that spring will soon come with all its new life and wonder.

    "It is quite clear that I will not be alive in the spring. But I will soon experience new life in a different way...

    "What I would like to leave behind is a simple prayer that each of you may find what I have found—God's special gift to us all: the gift of peace. When we are at peace, we find the freedom to be most fully who we are, even in the worst of times. We let go of what is non-essential and embrace what is essential. We empty ourselves so that God may more fully work within us. And we become instruments in the hands of the Lord."³

---

Notes:

3. Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, The Gift of Peace, Loyola University Press, pp. 151-153.
    

Isaiah 61: 10 - 62: 5

I exult for joy in Yahweh, 
my soul rejoices in my God, 
for he has clothed me 
    in garments of salvation, 
he has wrapped me in a cloak 
    of saving justice, 
like a bridegroom wearing his garland, 
like a bride adorned in her jewels. 
For as the earth sends up its shoots 
and a garden makes seeds sprout, 
so Lord Yahweh makes saving justice 
    and praise 
spring up in the sight of all nations.

About Zion I will not be silent, 
about Jerusalem I shall not rest 
until saving justice dawns for her 
    like a bright light 
and her salvation like a blazing torch. 
The nations will then see 
    your saving justice, 
and all kings your glory, 
and you will be called a new name 
which Yahweh’s mouth will reveal. 
You will be a crown of splendour 
    in Yahweh’s hand, 
a princely diadem in the hand of your God. 
No more will you be known as ‘Forsaken’ 
or your country be known as ‘Desolation’; 
instead, you will be called 
    ‘My Delight is in her’ 
and your country ‘The Wedded’; 
for Yahweh will take delight in you 
and your country will have its wedding. 
Like a young man marrying a virgin, 
your rebuilder will wed you, 
and as the bridegroom rejoices in his bride, 
so will your God rejoice in you.

                R. My heart is ready to sing to
                    You God –

                Most Sacred Heart of Jesus shower Your
                    blessings on me – I love
                    You so much.

                Jesus: As your heart is
                    So shall you be in the world –