Mary has requested that the daily message be given each day to the world. It is read nightly at the prayer service from her Image Building in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A. This is according to her request. All attempts will be made to publish this daily message to the world at 11 p.m. Eastern time, U.S.A. We acknowledge that the final authority regarding these messages rests with the Holy See of Rome.

December 7, 2000

A Prayer for Intimacy with the Lamb, the Bridegroom of the Soul

Oh Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, come and act on my soul most intimately. I surrender myself, as I ask for the grace to let go, to just be as I exist in You and You act most intimately on my soul. You are the Initiator. I am the soul waiting Your favors as You act in me. I love You. I adore You. I worship You. Come and possess my soul with Your Divine Grace, as I experience You most intimately.

Messenger: Include Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center in 6:20 prayers.

Messenger: Please pray for 5 urgent intentions!

Messenger: Please pray for the healing of Father Carter through the intercession of Our Lady of Clearwater.

Jesus speaks: My dear ones,

I ask you to remember Pearl Harbor.

Messenger: From the World Book Encyclopedia Year Book, I quote, "DECEMBER 7 - PEARL HARBOR DAY celebrated to commemorate the 1941 bombing of the U.S. fleet in Hawaii by the Japanese."

Jesus speaks: I ask you to realize today is the eve of the Immaculate Conception.

Here is a writing I gave to you on December 7, 1996, 10 days before Mary appeared on the building. Before this is included (December 7, 1996 message), I ask the pictures from the night December 5, 2000, appear here, also the excerpt about the red sky.

Excerpt from December 6, 2000, Daily Message

Messenger: As I drove into Clearwater, Florida, the sun hung in the sky as a giant host on fire and the sky was red.    

The sun looked as a ball of fire in the reddish sky.

The outside rim looked as if it was set on fire with a small rim of fire, the center was a host, large and white.

The sight was awesome over the beautiful bay. 

(End of Excerpt from December 6, 2000, Daily Message)

Messenger: I took several pictures of the sun as it hung in the sky with the fire-like rim. None of these took. All of a sudden as I took the pictures the sun soon began to go down. I could not take the pictures quick enough. Out of all the pictures I took on December 5, 2000, before the rosary this is the only one that took.

Messenger: During the rosary we played Fr. Carter's tape of the talk given February 13, 1997. I never saw Mary so gold when she has appeared at night. Here are some pictures I took as he spoke. I didn't use a flash.

Excerpt from November 7, 2000, Daily Message

Pearl Harbor - 1941

Jesus Message - 1996 (10 days before Mary appeared on the building in Clearwater, Florida)

"A TIME FOR EVERYTHING."

"NATURE HAS ITS OWN PARTICULAR CYCLE." from priestly newsletter by our founder.

"THERE WERE THOSE JUST BEING BORN INTO THIS WORLD OF HUMAN DRAMA. THERE WERE THOSE WHO, IN DEATH, WERE LEAVING IT, SOME OF WHOM HAD GRASPED BUT LITTLE OF LIFE'S MEANING." from the Spirituality Handbook by our founder.

"A TIME FOR EVERYTHING."

(End of Excerpt from November 7, 2000, Daily Message)

Jesus speaks: I ask you now to include the writing given December 7, 1996, 10 days before Mary appeared.

Excerpt from Apostles' Manual, pp. 191-199

December 7, 1996 First Saturday -
Revelations on the Light

Isaiah 30: 19-26:

Yes, people of Zion living in Jerusalem,
you will weep no more.
He will be gracious to you when your cry for help rings out;
as soon as he hears it, he will answer you.
When the Lord has given you the bread of suffering
and the water of distress,
he who is your teacher will hide no longer,
and you will see your teacher with your own eyes.
Your ears will hear these words behind you,
'This is the way, keep to it,' whether you turn to right or left.
You will hold unclean the silverplating of your idols
and goldplating of your images.
You will throw them away like the polluted things they are,
shouting after them, 'Good riddance!'
He will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground,
and the bread that the ground provides will be rich and nourishing.
That day, your cattle will graze in wide pastures.
Oxen and donkeys that work the land
will eat for fodder wild sorrel,
spread by the shovel-load and fork-load.
On every lofty mountain, on every high hill
there will be streams and water-courses, on the day of the great slaughter
when the strongholds fall.
Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight
and sunlight itself be seven times brighter
-like the light of seven days in one-
on the day Yahweh dresses his people's wound
and heals the scars of the blows they have received."

Isaiah 40:1-8:

'Console my people, console them,'
says your God.
'Speak to the heart of Jerusalem
and cry to her
that her period of service is ended,
that her guilt has been atoned for,
that, from the hand of Yahweh, she has received
double punishment for all her sins.'
A voice cries, 'Prepare in the desert
a way for Yahweh.
Make a straight highway for our God
across the wastelands.
Let every valley be filled in,
every mountain and hill be levelled,
every cliff become a plateau,
every escarpment a plain;
then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed
and all humanity will see it together,
for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.'
A voice said, 'Cry aloud!' and I said, 'What shall I cry?'
-'All humanity is grass
and all its beauty like the wild flower's.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of Yahweh blows on them.
(The grass is surely the people.)
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God remains for ever.'

Song: A Voice Cries Out in the Wilderness

Messenger: Adam and Eve are given great gifts and insights into God. They sin, the light of knowing God is dimmed because of their sin. They do not know God as they did before the sin.

Christ comes, He is the Light of the World. He dies, He gives Himself. He shares His life with us through sanctifying grace.

Through Baptism we receive this sharing in His divine life. The more He shares His life, the more we are saturated with His life, the more we know Him. He reveals Himself to us--we see the light.

The Kingdom of God is at hand. It is all here: the Mass, the Eucharist, God giving Himself.

To partake more in His life we must give ourselves to Him.

Mary appears to Bernadette. She tells her she is the "Immaculate Conception." We are sinners, but through Mary, the pure and sinless one, we can unite deeply in Him.

We are in darkness in varying degrees. The more we are saturated with His life, the more we see.

The reign of God is at hand. Since He came to the earth, everything is in place to see the light.

God is giving to us great graces to see the light now. He is lifting the veil.

There will be the era of peace.

Isaiah 30:26:
"Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight
and sunlight itself be seven times brighter
-like the light of seven days in one-..."

We see the darkness. As at night, we do not see the colorful leaves, they are there, we do not see them.

In the morning light, we see the glory of the beautiful day, the colorful leaves.

As the light steals across the sky, we see more and more. As the sun gradually comes up, we see more clearly the beauty of the leaves.

At first, our vision is not so clear because the light does not show in its deepest intensity. As the sun comes up we see more and more vividly until finally we see clearly the beauty of the colorful leaves.

Isaiah 30:26:
"Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight
and sunlight itself be seven times brighter
-like the light of seven days in one-..."

Messenger: In a message to Fr. Carter on July 31, 1994, Jesus has promised us: "I will give great graces to the members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. I will call them to be deeply united to My Heart and to Mary's Heart as I lead them ever closer to My Father in the Holy Spirit."

As stated above, the more we are saturated with his life, the more we are one in Him, the more clearly we see. It is in this union, in the depth of His Heart, that we receive such life, that we know Him with great clarity, that we are given this vision of God.

It is not with "eyes" that we see, but the illumination is in the knowing power that He gives to us. He reveals insights into the divine mysteries. We share most intimately with Him when we are one with Him in the Mass and after Communion. These are treasured moments in which He gives us a special sharing to know Him, our Divine Lover.

We see clearly when our hearts are hearts of love. We see vividly when our hearts are filled with love and peace. We were created to love, to love God and love each other.

Adam and Eve sinned. They lost the great gift given to them. The light of knowing God was dimmed because of their sin.

Christ comes into the world. He is the Word. He is the light of the world. He comes to save man from his sin. He comes in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Mary is the pure and sinless one. Jesus comes to pay the price for the sin of Adam and for our sins. We are all tainted by this sin of our first father and mother. Mary is the Immaculate and pure one, the highest human person. Divinity unites with humanity in the womb of Mary. They are one. Jesus is carried within the body of His mother. Such unity from the beginning, for His life is formed within her body. Is it surprising to us, then, if Christ comes within the womb of the Virgin Mary, that we too must go through Mary to unite to Him? Where is the pride in the hearts of men that think they do not have to go through their Mother Mary? If Christ comes in the womb of Mary to pay the price for man's sins, and we are tainted by the sin, in order to unite to the Almighty God who is all holy, we must go through the pure and sinless one.

Adam and Eve sinned. The Father sends His Son into the world to pay the price for man's sins. Jesus is the New Adam; Mary is the New Eve. Man continues to sin, greatly displeasing God. The Father allows Mary to appear to Bernadette at Lourdes as the Immaculate Conception, as having been conceived without original sin. The Father then allows Mary to appear to the children of Fatima as the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

We are sinners, we cannot unite closely to Him unless we go through Mary.

Mary is the pure and sinless one. We can unite deeply to Him. We are in darkness in varying degrees. The more we are saturated with His life, the more we see.

The reign of God is at hand. He came to the earth, He died, He rose on the third day. He gave to the Apostles the power to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood. He gave to them the power to forgive sins. He established His Church pouring forth from His pierced side. We do not see the great gifts that He has given to us. He is giving to us great insights into these gifts. God is giving to us great graces to see the light now. He is lifting the veil.

There will be an era of peace and all will see with such light as Isaiah speaks of in chapter 30, verse 26:

"Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight
and sunlight itself be seven times brighter
-like the light of seven days in one-..."

Man sinned. Jesus came to redeem us. Man is still so sinful. Mary appears at Fatima. She tells us that we are offending God, that we must make reparation to her heart and the heart of her Son.

She gives us the peace plan for the world. She tells us that the Sacred Heart of Jesus will reign and her Immaculate Heart will triumph but we must do what she says. The Church has approved Fatima. The devil has blocked the message. How can we disobey our Mother? How can we ignore her? Mary appeared at Fatima and was ignored. Mary appeared to me almost daily for 14 months--she does not appear as she once did. Jesus has told me that He will handle these messages, that He is in charge, that the plan of the Father will unfold despite any person's willfulness.

In August 1996, Mary spoke in the rosary: she said she could not hold back the hand of her Son any longer. On the 5th of this month, instead of Mary appearing as she had in the past, Jesus appeared alive on the crucifix with His mouth moving for twenty minutes. We are not listening to Mary or to Jesus. Man has sinned. Jesus came to redeem us. Mary tells us what we must do. Men are disobedient. They disobeyed their Mother. They do not do what she told them what they must do at Fatima. When hearts are consecrated to Jesus and Mary they become holy hearts, deeply one with God. The reign of the Sacred Heart is at hand for He has given to us abundant grace that we are seeing with such clarity this vision of God. He has imparted to us understanding into His divine mysteries.

The more we focus on what Jesus and Mary have told us, the more we will have peace. He is angered by the willfulness of man. He will get their attention. We are spreading the good news when we spread the consecration.

We must heed the words of our Mother. She will not go away because of willful men. We have angered God more by ignoring her. There is only one way: it is the plan that Mary has given to us at Fatima. He is lifting the veil for those whose hearts are consecrated to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Many in the Shepherds of Christ Movement are fervently loving Him. In the Shepherds of Christ Movement, as the apostles spread the consecration to the Church, the family, and the school, the fire of His love will cover the earth and it will be lighted with this love coming from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Sacred Heart of Jesus will reign and the Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph.

We, in the Shepherds of Christ Movement, are spreading the fire of His love across the earth through the consecration.

The hearts of men will turn from their sick and desolate ways to hearts gentle as a little lamb. There will be one flock and one Shepherd and His staff will rule over all. Hearts consecrated to Their Hearts will lead the light across the earth. This light will be a light of intense brightness, brighter and hotter than any light from a flame. It will be the fire of God's love. The Spirit will move in all hearts consecrated to His Heart, and we will know how fire truly spreads, for the love of God is a fire, it is vibrant, it is encompassing, it is smoldering, burning deep within and speedily spreading on the outside. No fires on this earth can ever describe the burning embers that burn from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. No fire burns like the fires coming from His Heart and hearts filled with the love from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

On October 13, 1917 Our Lady gave to Lucia and 70,000 spellbound people, a great vision: the sun spun in the sky, casting off great lights. This happened three times in about 12 minutes. As quoted from Our Lady of Fatima's Peace Plan from Heaven:

It seemed that the whole world was on fire with the sun spinning at a greater speed each time. Then a gasp of terror rose from the crowd for the sun seemed to tear itself from the heavens and come crashing down upon the horrified multitudes...just when it seemed that the ball of fire would fall upon and destroy them, the miracle ceased, and the sun resumed its normal place in the sky, shining forth as peacefully as ever.

Mary gave this tremendous sign at Fatima and people did not listen. The events that followed were as she had predicted since we disobeyed her. There was a brutal war, WWII. Mary appeared to me (Rita Ring) almost daily - very few have listened. She told me over and over again of the souls going to hell. She told me in August she could not hold back the hand of her Son anymore. Adam and Eve sinned. God, the Father, sent His Son. Man continues to sin--the Father sends Mary but she is ignored!

On July 2, 1996, my son, Joseph, was taking pictures of all of the Shepherds of Christ members at Tom Arlinghaus' farm. He took one picture of each person. Jesus told me to tell him to take two pictures of Fr. Carter. The first picture was a normal picture. The second picture was of Fr. Carter covered with a pillar of light.

In front of a statue of Our Sorrowful Mother, Mary was alive in the statue.

Jesus speaks: "Peace will abound when nations, churches, families, and individuals are consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Shepherds of Christ Movement...is a pillar of light in the darkness."

Messenger: We must encourage all to consecrate their hearts to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to join the Shepherds of Christ chapters, and the Apostles of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus Movement, to pray for our Church and our world.

Jesus speaks: This is My Movement for renewal of the Church and the world, based in consecration, joining your every act to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, praying the rosary, and making reparation to Our Hearts, especially on first Fridays and first Saturday. It is through your prayers and sacrifices many souls will be saved. Grace will flow from those whose hearts are consecrated to Our Hearts and the fire of My love will light up this darkened world.

Messenger: Many are living in darkness because they are not obeying Our Lady. The people will see the light when they obey her and consecrate their hearts to her heart and the Heart of Jesus.

To have this intense union with Jesus, with God, we must give ourselves to Our Lady. It is there in the intimacy with Him that we are saturated with His life and that He reveals to us great lights, great insights into His divine mysteries. Yes, indeed, the light will steal across the earth and the hearts of men will be hearts filled with His love. They will know their God with great light imparted to them by the Holy Spirit given to them because of the deep union that they have with Jesus. The reign of the Sacred Heart is at hand. He is giving to us these great lights at this time for He has lifted the veil and we see many things and the light steals across the sky and we see with clear vision.

Isaiah 30: 26:
"Then moonlight will be bright as sunlight
and sunlight itself be seven times brighter
-like the light of seven days in one-..."

Isaiah 30: 25:
"On every lofty mountain, on every high hill
there will be streams and water-courses, on the day of the great slaughter
when the strongholds fall."

Messenger: Truly His Heart is the fountain of divine life. It flows through the Church, through the hands of His holy priests. When priests are consecrated to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and celebrating the Mass, and administering the sacraments, an immense amount of His grace will be outpoured on the earth.

A people in darkness have seen a great light. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, the Light of the World!

Our Father...thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We will all love as the Father intends, for now He looks to the earth and He sees it covered with darkness. As hearts are consecrated to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the earth will be covered with His light.

Revelation 12:1-12:

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant, and in labor, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. Then a second sign appeared in the sky: there was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Its tail swept a third of the stars from the sky and hurled them to the ground, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was at the point of giving birth, so that he could eat the child as soon as it was born. The woman was delivered of a boy, the Son who was to rule all the nations with an iron scepter, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had prepared a place for her to be looked after for twelve hundred and sixty days.

And now war broke out in heaven, when Michael with his angels attacked the dragon. The dragon fought back with his angels, but they were defeated and driven out of heaven. The great dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan, who had led all the world astray, was hurled down to the earth and his angels were hurled down with him. Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, 'Salvation and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that the accuser, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been brought down. They have triumphed over him by the blood of the lamb and by the word to which they bore witness, because even in the face of death they did not cling to life. So let the heavens rejoice and all who live there; but for you, earth and sea, disaster is coming-because the devil has gone down to you in a rage, knowing that he has little time left.'

Messenger: We are in her spiritual womb (heart). She is pregnant, bringing forth her children of light. As we go to her heart, she crushes the head of the serpent. Some of the brightest stars that will light up the earth are in the Shepherds of Christ Movement. We are the children of light. We are being sent forth as she brings us forth her children of light to stamp out the darkness. We must give ourselves to Mary.

(End of excerpt from Apostles' Manual, pp. 191-199)

Excerpts from The Pain and the Joy, by Father Edward Carter, S.J.

2

The Pain and the Joy

Certain people look upon religion as a type of enslavement. Religion, claim these people, puts shackles on one's desires for full living, pleasure, and happiness. Religion, they continue, makes you fearful, forces you into a rigid pattern of dos and don’ts which restricts and even suffocates your thrust toward full personality development. Whatever the causes may be for one's arriving at this view, such an attitude grossly misrepresents the nature of true religion.

Jesus has come to make us happy, not to make us participate in a religion which destroys the joy-dimension of human life. Jesus has come to increase our capacity for true self-fulfillment, not to restrict us with a religion which (while encouraging morbid self-enclosement), destroys possibilities for healthy self-expansion. Jesus has come to show us the way to true pleasure, not to present us with a religion which looks askance at such. Furthermore, this happiness and fulfillment which Jesus has come to give us is meant for this life as well as for eternal life. Christianity is a religion which gives a here-and-now happiness that develops into a future and eternal happiness. It satisfies our deepest desires to be fully alive. Furthermore, Christianity is a religion which unites pain and joy.

Christ's followers have looked upon His sufferings—which culminated in the agony of Calvary—and have been moved to a most unique kind of compassion; for the sufferings of Jesus are those of the completely innocent one, sufferings of an extremely kind, sensitive, and loving man. Here was a man who had done nothing but good, and yet, in the end He suffered rejection, betrayal, and denial.

Nevertheless, this classical figure of suffering and pathos who is Jesus is also the classical figure of hope. The crucified Jesus is the great symbol of hope because His suffering and death point beyond Calvary to His Resurrection. The suffering and pathos of Jesus opens up into hope-causing and joy-causing resurrection. The Jesus who exacts compassion from His followers is the same Jesus who fills them with resurrection joy, peace, and happiness. Jesus allows the Christian to see that suffering is not meant to be self-enclosed, but rather open-ended. Suffering is meant, when properly assimilated, to lead to greater life, to greater love, joy, and happiness.

The pain and the joy of life are inevitably linked together. Let us not try to separate them. On the one hand, let us not narrowly view life's suffering so that we fail to see it as a means, if properly encountered, to a fuller life. On the other hand, let us not so exclusively focus on the aspect of joy that we fail to remember that its presence in our life cannot be maintained and deepened unless we are willing to suffer with Jesus. Pain and joy—what God has joined together, let us not strive to separate.

Dying and rising were inseparable in Jesus' existence. Since we have been baptized into Christ's death-resurrection, as St. Paul tells us (Rom. 6:1-11), dying and rising are also inseparable in our own existence. The pain and the joy. In experiencing humanity, the Christian must assimilate both according to God's designs.

---

15

Contemporary Asceticism

   Let us define asceticism here as the effort to reach a higher spiritual level by rigorous self-discipline and denial.

   Asceticism is an important element in the pattern of death-resurrection. It is one of the more active forms of dying with Jesus, for the term asceticism implies a chosen kind of effort on the Christian's part, but, very importantly, an endeavor assisted by God's grace. There is another fundamental form of the cross which does not require this more active type of effort and we could label it as passive suffering or purification, a kind of suffering which we accept in accord with God's will, but over which we have little or no control. Here, we discuss asceticism on a different level, as defined above.
 

   The purpose of Christian asceticism is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in achieving the necessary discipline required for the living of the Christ-life, our life of grace. This discipline is meant to extend to all dimensions of the person. As with many aspects of the Christian life, the concept of asceticism has undergone rethinking in our day. The traditional asceticism is seen as deficient in certain respects. A contemporary asceticism, geared to meet the needs of the modern Christian, has been gradually developing.
 

   The traditional asceticism was based to a considerable extent upon the monastic or semi-monastic type of spirituality. For many centuries this spirituality was a dominant force. It became systematized and was handed down from generation to generation. Many committed Christians who were not living a monastic or semi-monastic state of life, more or less adapted this spirituality as best they could to serve their own particular vocations. As we know, this monastic spirituality stressed withdrawal from the world. If one had to live in the world, one endured it for the proper reasons, but hardly desired such a situation in itself. Many precautions were given on how to escape basically unscathed from the engagement. Monasticism's attitude toward secular involvement was to a considerable extent negative. Its asceticism was oriented toward non-involvement rather than toward proper engagement. This traditional asceticism was basically directed toward achieving a particular kind of contemplative union with God. Its direct objective was not primarily aimed at the proper building of the secular city, although it did have its own proportionate concern in this regard.
 

   We should not be overly critical of this traditional asceticism with its stress on withdrawal, silence, and the like. It originated and developed to serve the purpose of monasticism, and in view of this goal we can say it was basically well-conceived. This spirituality certainly has produced its share of great saints. Its shortcomings arose because it came to be accepted by many as the universal asceticism—the one for committed Christians of all vocations.
 

   As stated above, a contemporary asceticism is being developed to more realistically meet the needs of the vast majority of today's Christians. The new asceticism is meant to serve the Christian in her or his secular involvement. It is meant to help the Christian find God in the market place as well as in times of formal prayer and solitude. Its general principles can serve the needs of all committed Christians living in the secular world, whatever their vocations may be. The traditional monastic type asceticism is still available for those living within that monastic tradition, and it has also been experiencing its own renewal.
 

   The new asceticism, if it is to be authentic, has to meet the varied needs of the Christian in the exercise of the Christ-life. This Christ-life is a relational life. Let us now discuss three of the relationships which flow from this Christic existence—relationships with the material world, with one's neighbor, and, most importantly, with God.

   The new asceticism assumes a very positive attitude toward material creation. Yet, as must the asceticism of any age, contemporary asceticism has to be concerned with the Christian's proper control relative to the material world. We have a tendency to misuse the world's material things. At times we use things in excess. At other times we use things we should not be using. These abuses are present in any age and culture, but they are apt to be multiplied among people living in affluent cultures. The new asceticism, while accepting an appreciation of material things, must also be concerned with instructing us to achieve proper control relative to the material. There are two facets of this control. One allows us to relate to the material world properly, while actually using it. The other facet directs us at times to non-use, either to learn better how to use God's material gifts, or because there is an indication that the particular use of something material is simply not according to the Spirit's designs here and now.

   Turning our attention to relationship with our neighbor, let us say a few words concerning new asceticism and social concern. There is the constant temptation to settle down in the niche of one's relatively comfortable existence and act as if there were not extremely pressing social problems and issues. A Christian could even do this under pretense that he or she needs peace, a freedom from anxiety, in order to find God. The person could rationalize that to become mixed up with the murky and seething waters of social issues destroys this peace of spirit.
 

   The asceticism of social concern points in another direction. First of all, it gives us the courage to look at the unpleasant, sometimes hideous aspects of the social structure. The asceticism of social concern bids us to reflect sufficiently about the actual situation—long enough and consistently enough so that we no longer block out that about which we should be aware. The asceticism of social concern makes us look at racism, at poverty, at the vastly destructive drug traffic, at the free reign of pornography, at political corruption—at whatever is eating away at authentic social structures, at whatever helps prevent the establishment of a more just social order.

   The asceticism of social concern makes us seriously reflect on all this. Obviously, it must do more. It must also generate the verve to act upon this realization that there is much to be done. Asceticism must prompt us to embrace the pain involved in bettering the social structure, whether that pain be, for instance, enduring the anguish attendant with actual inner-city involvement, or the frustration entailed in painfully slow court procedures aimed at achieving social justice. Whatever our state of life, whatever our work or profession, whatever our immediate environment may be, the asceticism of social concern will prompt us to do something. This doing can range from the most intense concrete involvement of the social activist to the prayer and sacrifice of the cloistered contemplative. All of us must take Christ seriously. May He be able to say to us:
 

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. (Mt. 25:35-36).
 

   Contemporary asceticism looks not only at our responsibility toward society at large, but also at our dealings with those relatively few individuals whom we contact in a more direct and consistent fashion. There is, for example, an asceticism required for giving time and attention to the individual. This is not always easy. We live in a vastly advanced technological culture in which the individual can easily be pushed into the background where she or he tends to be treated as a faceless number rather than as an unique individual with a priceless dignity. Influenced by this ugly dimension of our culture, we can rationalize that we are too busy to give any considerable time to this or that individual. Asceticism, however, bids us to develop the patience, the loving attention, the selflessness involved in making ourselves available to individuals, particularly in those instances when the individual is not especially attractive to us. 

   Even when the individual is appealing to us—as, for example, in friendship or marriage—there is still an ascetical effort demanded. These close relationships are meant to be meaningful and beautiful occasions for the exercise of the deepest love. If this love is to grow and flourish, if it is not to wither, and perhaps die, there is a dying which must take place within us—it is ultimately a dying to the non-authentic self, to that self which is an obstacle to the relationship. It is a dying to that which refuses to give oneself in love so that the other may be aided in becoming more what he or she is destined to be. If these relationships are to endure properly, there must be at least a basic attitude of such selflessness. We are not speaking here of those relationships which are dissolved for legitimate reasons, for instance, a friendship which is judged by one or both parties to be no longer authentically viable.
 

   Let us consider a few ideas concerning this new asceticism and the Christian's relationship with God. We have already said much in this regard. In discussing asceticism's role in helping the Christian relate properly to material things and to one's neighbor, we have also been implicitly speaking about one's finding God through such relationships. This is precisely one of the main thrusts of contemporary asceticism—to enable the Christian to find God in and through a proper engagement with the world.
 

   To find God in this manner demands discipline. We have to make the effort to be open to the Spirit's guidance during our activity. We have to take the means whereby the vision of faith is vitally operative in our engagement in the market place. Following the lead of faith, we must allow Christian love to shape and inform our secular activity. If we fail to make this effort, lesser motives take over. We work and are busy, we mix in the society about us, simply because we happen to find it all so interesting, and the overriding influence of the Spirit guiding our activity fades to the background. 

   If we are to achieve proper openness to the Holy Spirit during our secular involvement, it seems a certain amount of formal prayer and disengagement must be structured into our lives. In this regard, the new asceticism can borrow from the traditional asceticism. Figuratively speaking, the Christian must at times go to the solitude of the desert to meet God in a more direct fashion. The Christian must seek the solitude of one's room, a church, a walk in the fields or along the lake's shore. The Christian needs these periods of disengagement in order to pray, reflect, reorient oneself so that engagement with the world may be truly a Christic one, one guided by the Spirit.
 

   In conclusion, we can say that a new asceticism has been developing to meet the needs of today's Christian. If the current asceticism is a new one, it is not a totally different one. It is not completely differentiated from the traditional asceticism. But if it is to be really effective, today's asceticism will necessarily have to incorporate into its structure some of the practices of the more traditional one. We have just given one indication of this in our discussion of the need for a certain degree of disengagement. By having proper regard for certain teachings of traditional asceticism, the newer form can temper what could be an excessive optimism regarding our engagement with the world.
 

   If the traditional asceticism was prone to an excessive fear of the world, the new asceticism is prone to fail to effectively point out that there are precautionary measures to be taken to ensure a proper engagement with the world. If the new asceticism can judiciously blend certain aspects of the older form with its own particular thrusts and broadened vision, then it certainly will be a more effective and realistic asceticism for the vast majority of today's Christians.

26

Shattered Dreams

To hear the words "shattered dreams" conjures up for us memories of major disappointments experienced along the ever-changing path of life. The disappointments can be those which wound the heart to its core. Disappointments of lesser proportions cause diminished pain, but still a kind which leaves its mark.

Shattered dreams come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Some experience career disappointments even though they were privileged to enter the work of their dreams. Once professional success was achieved, however, a type of emptiness ensued and, with puzzlement, they asked themselves, "Is this all the satisfaction that comes from all my strivings? Is this all there is to professional success?"

Others experience shattered dreams because the careers they hoped for were always beyond their grasp. For this or that reason they were not able to give themselves completely to that work or occupation for which their hearts yearned. For example, one with outstanding talent as an artist can only give a bit of free time to expressing his or her genius because financial problems force the person to work full-time at another occupation. The heartbreak this occasions can only be known by one who has experienced this kind of frustration. An athlete on the verge of national stardom sustains a serious injury which necessitates abandonment of a cherished sport. These and similar examples leave one with the question: "What would it have been like?. . .I'll never know."

Personal relationships have yielded a plethora of shattered dreams. A person experiences crushing disappointment because he or she is rejected by a person dearly loved, a person who had been the focus of so many hopes and dreams. Another experiences pain because the hoped-for relationship with a particular person never eventualizes. In both cases tears flow copiously and the person has to strive mightily to convince oneself that life is still worth living.

The shattered dreams of parents regarding their children—this particular kind of pain makes up a considerable portion of life's sufferings. For example, a child with so much to live for is snatched away in sudden, unexpected, and tragic death. Or parents watch a child slip away from their influence and go the way of moral degradation despite the parents' best efforts to provide proper guidance. Other situations involve financial problems which prevent the desired education of exceptionally gifted children—an education the parents had so much hoped for.

There are many examples of shattered dreams. You know of other examples, ones which you have personally suffered, and others which you have seen others experience. All examples involve shattered hopes, whose remains are scattered about in the form of burnt-out ashes, the remnants of goals once eagerly sought, but which now no longer exist.

As Christians we too are subject to experiencing shattered dreams along with the rest of the human race. However, being exposed to various disappointments will not excessively disturb us if we rely on our Christian perspective. To be able to view disappointment in union with Christ is a great gift which all do not possess.

With the light afforded by this Christian perspective, we should ask ourselves whether the shattered dream was the result of seeking that which was outside of God's will. Sooner or later such a pursuit always causes a sense of emptiness, disappointment, disillusion. Disappointment can also result from the relative failure of doing that which we thought to be Spirit-inspired. The disappointment attached to such a venture, however, is permeated with a distinct sense of peace; for we realize we have done our reasonable best to follow God's lead. Our effort has failed in one sense; but in another sense, we have succeeded. We know that good has emanated from our conformity to God's will.

Individual shattered dreams do not destroy the all-pervading dream or hope of the Christian. We know that if we remain basically faithful to Christ, our dream, or hope, regarding our earthly destiny will be fulfilled. We further know that this dream or hope for a truly successful existence on this earth will open up to absolute fulfillment in eternal life. The committed Christian, then, can experience shattered dreams, but not a shattered life, for in them we can also recognize a challenge and a cross to carry. He has asked us to pick up our cross and follow Him.

31

Failure

One of the most painful sufferings we experience within the human condition is failure. The suffering is often exacerbated because we over-identify with the situation. We have linked too much of our being with the task, the relationship, or whatever else has prompted the failure. We tend to think, for example, that because we have failed in a particular work, we have failed as human beings. However, as much as we may have involved ourselves in the work, we are not the work itself. This is not to say we are always blameless. We may be considerably at fault regarding the failure. On the other hand, we may be basically without culpability. Whichever the case, we must strive not to over-identify with the situation. This only increases the pain, and needlessly so.

Besides over-identifying with failure, there are two other sufferings connected with it. There is very obviously the pain of the failure itself—even when we succeed in keeping it within proper perspective. There is also the pain of regrouping, of starting over, of getting on with the rest of life. This is not easy; but the pain involved is less than that which results from remaining mired in the failure, allowing it to rob us of some of the joy which is meant to be ours. There have been, are, and will be failures of various kinds and degrees in our lives. Let us accept the pain involved, learn from it, and continue the spiritual journey as wiser human beings.

32

Loneliness

Loneliness is an experience which afflicts every human being to one degree or other. No one escapes its suffering. Its pain can vary from being no more disturbing than that of other common sufferings, to a kind of affliction which penetrates to one's inner depths and makes one shed copious tears. 

There are two basic kinds of loneliness: the one which need not be, and the one which is inevitable. The one which is avoidable emanates from our not relating to God and others as we should and can. The other, which exists even though we are doing our reasonable best to reach out to God and neighbor, is simply a part of the human condition. We experience an unavoidable loneliness because we are pilgrims. Until our pilgrimage ends in the attainment of eternal life, loneliness will always haunt us in various degrees. This must be, for the kind of loneliness which is inevitable results from our not yet being completely fulfilled. We attain perfect fulfillment only in eternal life. Until then we are, in part, lonely creatures. 

If unnecessary loneliness results from our not relating properly to God and others, the remedy for lessening its suffering is obvious. We must strive to grow in our relationships with God and others. This is not going to completely remove loneliness, but it will lessen its pain and make it more bearable.

In coping with loneliness we experience ups and downs in the process, and even apparent contradictions. For example, in striving to deepen my relationship with a significant person—a step which basically lessens loneliness—I may still experience it on occasion because of prolonged physical separation from this person, or because of misunderstandings which temporarily seem to separate us to some extent. Regarding God, at times one can feel a particular loneliness precisely because one desires God so much; but for now, God seems hidden and difficult to contact. Some experience this suffering in a very penetrating fashion as they undergo the classical dark night of the spirit; others feel this loneliness in a less striking, but still very real, fashion. 

Loneliness resulting from our efforts to relate properly to God and others is not debilitating as is that which emanates from our failure to go out to God and others as we should. This is so because the former constitutes part of the positive growth process. 

The temptations which confront the human person in his or her struggle with loneliness are numerous and well known. Seeking alleviation from loneliness in alcohol and other drugs, in illegitimate sex, in excessive TV watching—these are a few of the escape routes well known to the modern world. Whatever the false escapes, they seem to be more prevalent in affluent cultures where money can buy practically any false comfort one could desire.

Here in the United States, the affluent American can easily buy all the non-authentic escapes from loneliness. These false routes beckon us so enticingly, promising a quick solution to our problem. As with anything non-authentic, however, embracing them as a cure for loneliness actually makes the problem more severe. So it is not surprising that a group of experts has concluded that loneliness is a serious problem in today's world, and nowhere does it seem to be greater than in the United States.

In coping with the problem of loneliness, we should look at the phenomenon realistically. This realistic view tells us that loneliness will always be with us to some degree. Dealing with the problem does not mean eradicating all loneliness. It means making sure that we are not causing ourselves unnecessary loneliness by failing to relate to God and others as we should. In other words, it means we should strive to love as we should. The person who is trying to love properly is not a person who escapes all loneliness. He or she is a person whose basic happiness, loneliness does not destroy.

(End of Excerpts from The Pain and the Joy)

         

A rosary can be used to pray for healing. It is powerful to unite our prayers to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and pray through the powerful intercession of Our Lady of Clearwater.

In times of trouble, for special prayer, we can use our rosary and pray as follows.

A Rosary for Healing or for Someone with Cancer.

On one Hail Mary bead or as many as you desire, say: 

May God heal                     through the intercession of Our Lady of Clearwater in union with the Mass and all the Masses being celebrated around the world.

Pray the Hail Mary or Hail Mary's then pray this after the Hail Mary.

May the cancer be uprooted and thrown into the sea.

We believe with all our hearts.

After the Glory Be— pray the following petition.

May                     be healed through the intercession of Our Lady of Clearwater if it be the holy will of God.

Note: You can look at Mary on the image rosary while you pray this rosary.

Note: The above section can be printed out from a PDF file, and you can pray the rosary looking at the pictures.

Messenger: Rosary in Clearwater, Florida — December 5, 2000.

Messenger: ALL APOSTLES THAT CAN COME ON DECEMBER 17, 2000 TO FLORIDA — 4TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARY'S APPARITION ON THE BUILDING IN CLEARWATER, FLORIDA.

Messenger: Mary wants the Red Rosary Book printed. It will cost $12,000 - $14,000 to get them reprinted. We are out of Red Rosary books. Mary has asked us to always circulate them. They go with the apparition in Florida.

Can you help with the printing of the new Blue Rosary Book Volume II of Rosaries from the Hearts of Jesus and Mary?

Messenger: CAN YOU HELP US BY GIVING US ROSARIES FOR THE SCHOOLS REQUESTING THEM?

Mary speaks: PLEASE MAKE WALTER'S ROSARIES. THE SCHOOLS WANT ROSARIES AND THERE ARE NOT ANY ROSARIES LEFT.

Messenger: Pray for Perry.

(Please copy and pass out to family and friends.)

Mary's Message from the Rosary of August 27, 1996

Mary speaks: I stood beneath the cross of my Son, and my Heart was in such pain for I saw Him before my eyes. I saw Him covered with blood. I saw Him die. My Heart, my children, my Heart to watch my Son, but my Heart, my Heart, how I suffered for my little children of the world that give in to this world and give up the love of my Son. O my little children of light, I give you this message. Carry this light into the darkness for your Mother Mary, for I stood beneath the cross and I cried. I cried for the little ones. I cried for the young ones, the ones that do not care and will lose their souls. How do I make you see for you will not listen to me? What can I do? I come. I appear. I beg. I plead. I give you these gifts from my Son, and you reject me. I do not deliver messages very often anymore for I have been ignored. The message is the same. You do not read the messages I have given to you. Please help me. Help the little children. I appear. I appear. I appear, and I am ignored. I stood beneath the cross, and I cried. I cried, and my Heart was in such anguish for my little children, for I am searching for them this day as I searched for the Child Jesus. Please, please help me. I cannot hold back the hand of my Son any longer. I am Mary, your Mother. I ask you to help my children. You are my children of light.

Song: O Lady of Light, shining so bright, be with us this day, guiding our way, O Lady, O Lady of Light.

Mary speaks: I appear to you as Our Mother of Sorrows.

^{(End of Mary's Message)}

MY VALENTINE FOR JESUS AND MARY AND THE WORLD I _________________ give my heart to You Jesus and Mary on this day _________________ I promise to help spread the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Question for married couples and others in intimate relationships:

Q: How can I be a greater lover to you if I am one with the Sacred Heart of Jesus? 

Messenger: Is this why so many are wed in June?

Sacred Heart of Jesus, we place our trust in Thee.

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