Come to China July 13, 2003

There will be a Mass in China
on July 11, 2003 at 12 noon (China time)
and on July 14, 2003 at 12:00.

Make a retreat

The rosary will be on July 13th at 12:00
   

This will be broadcast live
to the world on the internet.
A Catholic priest will be
listening and discerning

We need funds.

Schedule for July 12, 2003

4:00 a.m. - Mass

4:37 a.m. - Live Rosary February 13, 1997

6:00 a.m. - Morning Offering

6:04 a.m. - Songs from Jesus

6:20 a.m. - 6:20 prayers led by Father Carter
                 Holy Spirit Novena
                 Shepherds of Christ Prayer Manual
                 Rosary

7:24 a.m. - Newsletter 1998 Issue 4 (Peace of the Lord)

8:49 a.m. - Rosary of Light from November 14, 2002

9:21 a.m. - Mary's Message and Father Carter's talk

10:01 a.m. - Joyful Rosary Aves

10:30 a.m. - Response to God's Love chapter 3 (Becoming)

11:18 a.m. - Choose Life

12:20 p.m. - Handbook read by Rita Ring

1:35 p.m. - Morning Offering

1:39 p.m. - Mary's Message

1:45 p.m. - Tell My People read by Father Carter

3:16 p.m. - Nursing Home - January 5, 2003 feast of the Epiphany

3:48 p.m. - Songs from Jesus

4:00 p.m. - Mass

4:37 p.m. - Consecration July 31, 1999

6:09 p.m. - Morning Offering

6:13 p.m. - Mary's Message

6:20 p.m. - 6:20 prayers led by Father Carter
                 Holy Spirit Novena
                 Shepherds of Christ Prayer Manual

7:24 p.m. - Daily Messages from July 8, 1998 to July 28, 1998

7:48 p.m. - Glorious Rosary Aves

8:21 p.m. - Live Rosary May 13, 1997

10:27 p.m. - A Blue Book Reading or Two and a Tribute
                    to Mary on Mother's Day - May 11, 2003

11:47 p.m. - Nursing Home #3

12:29 a.m. - About Shepherds of Christ - talk given June 29, 2003

1:48 a.m. - Morning Offering

1:52 a.m. - Nursing Home - January 5, 2003 feast of the Epiphany

2:24 a.m. - Sorrowful Rosary Aves

2:56 a.m. - Nursing Home #1

3:37 a.m. - Songs from Jesus

4:00 a.m. - Mass

click here for the Radio

    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.

July 11, 2003

          Today's Readings

Genesis 46: 1-7, 28-30

Jacob leaves for Egypt

So Israel set out with all his possessions. Arriving at Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in a vision at night, ‘Jacob, Jacob,’ he said. ‘Here I am,’ he replied. ‘I am El, God of your father,’ he said. ‘Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I shall go down to Egypt with you and I myself shall bring you back again, and Joseph’s hand will close your eyes.’ So Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons conveyed their father Jacob, their little children and their wives in the waggons Pharaoh had sent to fetch him. 

    Taking their livestock and all that they had acquired in Canaan, they arrived in Egypt—Jacob and all his offspring. With him to Egypt, he brought his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.

Joseph welcomes them

Israel sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that Judah might present himself to Joseph in Goshen. When they arrived in Goshen, Joseph had his chariot made ready and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as he appeared he threw his arms round his neck and for a long time wept on his shoulder. Israel said to Joseph, ‘Now I can die, now that I have seen you in person and seen you still alive.’

      

Matthew 10: 16-23

Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as snakes and yet innocent as doves.

Missionaries will be persecuted

‘Be prepared for people to hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as evidence to them and to the gentiles. But when you are handed over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes, because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you. 

    ‘Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will come forward against their parents and have them put to death. You will be universally hated on account of my name; but anyone who stands firm to the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. In truth I tell you, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of man comes.

    

July 11, 2003 message continues

Messenger:        Infidelity — 

                            The priest said at Mass

                            Many are not faithful, they just are too lazy to go

                                to Sunday Mass or too busy with other things

                                in our lives.

                            Jesus is the bridegroom of our soul —

                                think of how we treat Him —

                                neglect Him —

                                think of religious that choose other things

                                    and people instead of spending time

                                    with Jesus.

                                think of those who talk about God and

                                    religious things, but do not have the

                                    time to have a personal relationship

                                    with God.

Revelation 19: 2

He judges fairly, he punishes justly, and he has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her prostitution; he has avenged the blood of his servants which she shed.’ 

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        The issue is unfaithfulness to God.

                                The first commandment says —

  1.  I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        How do we treat God?

                            Is He first in our life?

                            Jesus calls us to help promote His Kingdom.

                            See Jesus calling us to a life of love.

                            See Jesus calling us to promote His Kingdom.

                            If Jesus walked the earth today and He called

                                us — would we follow Him?

                            See Jesus as He calls the apostles.

                            He left the apostles here to do the work He

                                began.

                            Today we are here to continue that work

                                and build His Kingdom.

                            Pray for the grace to do His holy will and to

                                hear His call.

                            God calls us to promote His Kingdom.

                            We are at battle with the ancient serpent

                                the devil.

                            We have to live right to spread His Word

                                to the far ends of the earth. To tell

                                the world the "good news."

                            Satan wants souls for hell.

                            Jesus wants souls for heaven.

                            Jesus is the King of heaven and earth.

                            We are His apostles working here for Him.

                            We help to feed the children by telling them

                                about His love. They are hungry.

                            We are placed on this earth.

                            Jesus is the King over all the earth.

                            We pray for all the souls as intercessors.

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        We pray for the priests, the Church and the

                                world.

                            We promote the Kingdom of God.

                            Jesus is the King.

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        We live to serve and reverence our King.

                            We are His cohorts.

                            We give ourselves.

Prayer for Union with Jesus

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.

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        Man has sinned.

                            God loves us so much.

John 3: 16

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

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        We see the garden and Adam and Eve.

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        We see the New Adam and the New Eve.

                            Jesus the Son of God comes to this earth

                                born of a woman to save men from

                                their sins.

      
  Adam and Eve                           June 13, 1929                         China Mural

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        The last picture is from our Eucharistic Center

                                in China, Indiana.

Genesis Chapter 3

 The Fall

   Now, the snake was the most subtle of all the wild animals that Yahweh God had made. It asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’ The woman answered the snake, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, "You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death." ’ Then the snake said to the woman, ‘No! You will not die! God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil.’ The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was enticing for the wisdom that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig–leaves together to make themselves loin–cloths.

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

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

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

     To the woman he said:

     I shall give you intense pain
        in childbearing,
     you will give birth to your children
        in pain.
     Your yearning will be for your husband,
      and he will dominate you.

   To the man he said, ‘Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat,

     Accursed be the soil because of you!
     Painfully will you get your food from it
     as long as you live.
   It will yield you brambles and thistles,
     as you eat the produce of the land.
   By the sweat of your face
     will you earn your food,
     until you return to the ground,
     as you were taken from it.
     For dust you are
     and to dust you shall return.’

   The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live. Yahweh God made tunics of skins for the man and his wife and clothed them. Then Yahweh God said, ‘Now that the man has become like one of us in knowing good from evil, he must not be allowed to reach out his hand and pick from the tree of life too, and eat and live for ever!’ So Yahweh God expelled him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the garden of Eden he posted the great winged creatures and the fiery flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.  

Jesus and his mother

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

  John 19: 31-37

The pierced Christ

It was the Day of Preparation, and to avoid the bodies’ remaining on the cross during the Sabbath—since that Sabbath was a day of special solemnity—the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they saw he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it—true evidence, and he knows that what he says is true—and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture: 

   Not one bone of his will be broken; 

and again, in another place scripture says:

   They will look to the one
      whom they have pierced.

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        We must see how God has called us to help

                                with the souls.

                            Our every breath is lived to help souls.

                            We give our lives for this in the Morning Offering.

                            We unite to the sacrifice of Jesus in the Mass

                                all day in our Morning Offering.

  Rosary Meditations from 
THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES
JULY 13, 1995 NOON 
before the exposed Eucharist

Annunciation

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        The incarnation goes on in us.

                            When we give ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Our

                                Lady, we are formed more and more in that image

                                and likeness of God. The Holy Spirit works in her

                                heart.

Excerpt from Tell My People

The Holy Spirit

Jesus: "My beloved friend, tell My people to pray daily to the Holy Spirit. They are to pray for an increase in His gifts. My people must realize that the Holy Spirit comes to transform them. The Spirit desires to transform you more and more according to My image. Those who are docile to His touch become increasingly shaped in My likeness. He performs this marvel within Mary's Immaculate Heart. The more one dwells in My Mother's Heart, the more active are the workings of the Spirit. The Spirit leads Mary to place you within My own Heart. In both Our Hearts, then, your transformation continues. The more you are formed after My own Heart, the more I lead you to the bosom of My Father. Tell My people all this. Tell them to pray daily for a greater appreciation of these wondrous gifts. I am Lord and Master. All who come to My Heart will be on fire to receive the gifts of the Spirit in ever greater measure! I love and bless My people!"
    

  

  Rosary Meditations from The Joyful Mysteries
July 13, 1995 Noon before the exposed Eucharist

                The Annunciation

1. R. Put yourself in the presence of the Almighty God. Before us is the same Jesus Christ who walked on the face of this earth and was carried in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He is present, the same Jesus who hung on the cross. Who are we that the Almighty God is present and that we are before Him? Let us bow our head and bend low for this truly is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and He is giving to us a great gift by allowing us to be so close.
2. R: We see the angel appearing to the Virgin Mary. Mary says yes to the angel, always complying with the Will of the Father. She loved the Father so much as a little child, always wanting to please the Father.
3. R: Mary is filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus, the Son of God, enters this earth in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Who are we that God the Father so loved this world that He sent His only-begotten Son, Jesus, into this world? Jesus took on a human baby body.
4. R: We are His chosen ones. The Father created us with such love, each one of us individually, so precious to Him. He gave to us His Son that we would be saved and live with Him forever and ever in heaven.
5. R: To help the mysteries of the rosary live in our life, we must meditate on the intimacy between Jesus and Mary. We see the Two Hearts, The Heart of Jesus and the Heart of Mary, beat within the body of Mary. In two of the mysteries of the rosary, Jesus is inside of Mary's body. There is such intimacy between those Two Hearts. In two mysteries of the rosary, the Hearts are enclosed in one body, beating together in the body of Mary.
6. R: Realizing this intimacy between Jesus and Mary can help us come closer to God. Mary is the key to intimacy with God.
7. Jesus: Let your hearts be soft and supple, My dear ones. Open wide your hearts and rid yourselves of all distractions of this world. Be alone with Me. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and I am giving to you great gifts here, abundant graces to understand more the mysteries of My life and that of My Mother. Open wide your heart and forget all that is holding you apart from Me and meditate on these mysteries of Our lives.
8. Jesus: Make a Spiritual Communion. Feel the presence of the Almighty God as you do when you receive Holy Communion. For when you are in the state of grace, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell within you in such a special way! You cannot imagine the beauty of a graced soul, a soul that is filled with My life. If I lifted the veil in this room, you would fall on your faces from the vibrancy of the rays that would come from the Consecrated Host. My dear ones, you do not know the great gifts I am giving to you in this room.
9. R: Always in compliance with the Will of the Father, Mary said yes to the angel and the Son of God was conceived within her womb. Mary mothers us this day and dispenses to us the life that was merited by Her Son on the cross. As Jesus was formed in the womb of His Mother through the Holy Spirit, we too are formed in the spiritual womb of our Mother. She dispenses life, the life of grace, to us as we are transformed more and more through the Holy Spirit into the image and likeness of Jesus, her Son. Who are we that God loves us so much?
10. R: As you meditate on these mysteries of the rosary, see the connectedness between the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Mary's Heart that dwells in her Son. Let your heart dwell in the Heart of the Virgin Mary and your heart will dwell in Jesus' Heart. You will be in such connection with this love, the love of your Mother and the love of Jesus, your Savior.

Visitation

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        Mary is the handmaid of the Lord.

                            Mary is our spiritual Mother.

                            Mary is Immaculate.

                            Mary is the spiritual vessel.

Luke 1: 46-55

                    The Magnificat

And Mary said:

My soul proclaims
    the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices
    in God my Saviour;
because he has looked upon
    the humiliation of his servant.
Yes, from now onwards
    all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty
    has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his faithful love extends age after age
    to those who fear him.
He has used the power of his arm,
he has routed the arrogant of heart.
He has pulled down princes
    from their thrones
        and raised high the lowly.
He has filled the starving with good things,
    sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help
    of Israel his servant,
        mindful of his faithful love
—according to the promise
    he made to our ancestors—
of his mercy to Abraham
    and to his descendants for ever.

Rosary Meditations from The Joyful Mysteries
July 13, 1995 Noon before the exposed Eucharist

                The Visitation

1. R. The Virgin Mary goes to visit Her cousin Elizabeth. The child in the womb of Elizabeth leaps for joy at the presence of the Almighty God. Here we are in this room and the Almighty God is present, no less present than He was in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The child in Elizabeth's womb leaps for such joy! Let our hearts be filled with joy that God is here and has chosen us to be with Him. Nothing is an accident. Every hair of our head is numbered.
   
   He calls and we respond to this calling. He is by our side, with us every second, as we go about our day. He is so attentive to each and every one of our needs! He is talking in our hearts in such a gentle and kind voice, outpouring His gentle words of love. We do not hear many times, in the busyness of our lives. We do not hear the sweet and gentle words that He speaks in our hearts. So gently He tells of His love for us and of His longing to be ever closer to us. We put Him aside and go to the world. Our hearts are aching and begging for love. He says over and over again, "Come to Me. I am what your soul seeks and I am waiting. When your hearts are breaking and in pain, you must come to Me." It is then that you will be comforted and you will receive the desires of your soul. Nothing on the face of the earth can fill the starved soul but the love of the almighty God.
2. Jesus: Many are called, but few are chosen. My dear ones, I have chosen you and My Mother has called you to this house. You are My apostles that will go into this world, laden with pain and suffering, and spread the love of God. This is not a little task. I am applying My grace to your lives. You will be fearless as you go about this world doing the work I am calling you to.
3. R. Mary goes to Her cousin Elizabeth, one person with whom to share the good news. We see in the windows in this chapel, across from the Visitation window, the Assumption into heaven, and then her Coronation as queen of heaven and earth. Her life and the life of Jesus unfold as They comply always with the Will of the Father. Always living in peace and joy. They knew the Father had a plan and They wanted to please Their beloved Father. We do not see that, from the day we were born, the Father had a plan for each one of us uniquely created with a mission far beyond our own comprehension. We seek for such little things, when the Almighty God is calling and leading us on our way. We are so precious to the Father! Dear Holy Spirit, open up our eyes and our hearts. Help us to realize the greatness which He has bestowed on us. Help us to realize that the Almighty God-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-dwells within us. If we could see the state of our own soul, a soul in the state of grace, we would not believe the beauty of this soul.
4. R. It is in baptism that we are made children of God and heirs of heaven. We are children of God! God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son, so that we would be with Him forever in heaven. This is only a stopover on our way to eternity. The glory that awaits us is so immense that we can never comprehend it.
5. R. Mary visited Her cousin Elizabeth with the child Jesus within Her womb. We are visited by Jesus in this room in such a special way! For the Almighty God is outpouring His abundant grace to each one of us at this time. Mary, help us to be more sensitive to the touch of His Grace, to realize His life, the vibrancy of this life, within us.
6. Jesus: Many are called, but few are chosen. I have chosen you, and My Mother has called each one of you to Her house. This moment, moment by moment, second by second, you are being guarded and watched in this world that is suffering and in pain. You do not see the great gifts that I am outpouring to you. Open wide your heart. Let go any bitterness, anger and resentment, and live according to the Father's Will. Operate in love. Do all your deeds in love, and know that your Father is guarding you. Your Mother is forever by your side protecting you. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit dwell within your heart in such intimacy. My dear ones, children of God, open your hearts and receive the graces that I am giving to you now.
7. Jesus: Prepare ye a way for the Lord. John the Baptist prepared a way for the Lord. I am sending you this day as My apostles into this world. Many will know My ways from the love in your heart. You are My apostles. It is through your example that you will teach many. The lessons to be taught are the lessons of love. You will be judged on how you loved God and loved one another. Like ripples on a pond, one act of love is transmitted and many hearts are touched. My dear ones, open wide your heart and let Me penetrate your soul with My abundant life.
8. R. Mary went to visit Her cousin Elizabeth with the good news. We see the outcome. We see Mary in the windows in this church. The apostles are beneath her. The Holy Spirit descends upon them. They are filled with the Holy Spirit and go into the world. We see their efforts in the world today. We do not see the greatness that occurs when we plant the seeds.
9. Jesus: Let not your hearts be troubled. Satan is pressing down and dividing many of My beloved ones. You must focus on My Heart and know that Satan is at work here. When you are harboring ill thoughts toward any person, Satan is attempting to divide you. Let your hearts be free and your minds be open. Pray for grace to deal with all of the sufferings that you are undergoing. It is in My grace that you will be strengthened. Pray every day for abundant grace to know and love God more. Come to the Eucharist and sit before Me in front of the Tabernacle. I give you My life. You will go about your duties. You will be free in your heart for it is My power that will power you. I am the Almighty God. You are My soldiers that I am sending into this world. In this world, You go into battle every day. I am guarding you and watching you, loving you and protecting you and filling you with My life.
10. Jesus: Come to Me, My beloved ones. I want to hold you close to My Heart. I want to caress and cuddle you and give you My love. I am Jesus, your Savior. I love you. I love you. I love you.

    

  

 Birth of Jesus

      

Rosary Meditations from The Joyful Mysteries
July 13, 1995 Noon before the exposed Eucharist

  

The Birth of the Lord Jesus

1. R. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary beat within the same body. Is there more intimacy than that? For two mysteries of the rosary we see these Two Hearts joined in one body. In the third mystery, the child Jesus is born. Mary was the life support of the physical life of Christ. Although Their bodies are now separated, the life of the child Jesus continues through the milk of His Mother.
2. R. Jesus gave to us His Mother who stood beneath the cross. He gives to us a share in His divine life, merited by His life and, in a special way, by His death on the cross. It is through Mary that we receive this life. She is the Mediatrix of all grace. She gave Jesus the life of his physical body. Grace flows through her to us. It is through Mary that we will be drawn closer and closer to the Heart of Jesus.
3. R. The sheep and the shepherds are around the child Jesus. Jesus Christ, born in a stable, in a manger, in the town of Bethlehem. The Chief Shepherd of the flock, a little baby, comes to this earth. He is not born high and mighty, with gold and silver. Rather, He is wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, surrounded by sheep and beasts of the earth.
4. R. In the windows in this church we see the child Jesus in His manger, raised above His sheep. We see, in the window across from Jesus' birth, that He is raised above the apostles and going into heaven. Jesus comes to feed His lambs and His sheep. He remains with us in the consecrated Host, but He leaves behind His Blessed Mother and the apostles to carry out the work that He began.
5. R. It is through the apostles that this Church is spread throughout this world. He calls us to be His apostles this day, to go into the world and spread this love. He is Chief Shepherd of the flock. He sends us to feed the hungry souls with His love. Jesus gives us His life in the sacrament of baptism. He nourishes this life by His Body and Blood in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
6. R. He no longer walks this earth, but He remains, in His divinity and humanity, no less present today than the day He did walk the earth. He remains in the consecrated Host. He is as present in this room as the day He was born in the town of Bethlehem. Who are we that we have the Presence of the Almighty God? Where Jesus is, so are the Father and the Holy Spirit, for They are three in one. He is so closely united to Mary, His Mother. Mary is also present with us.
   
   Jesus: Many are called, but few are chosen. I have chosen you this day, and I am showering you with My abundant grace, the grace of My life.
7. Song: Come unto Me…
8. Jesus: I give to you. I am the Almighty God. I have all the power. What have you to fear when I have chosen you and you have responded to My call? The Father is pleased with your efforts, My dear children. Live always to do the Will of the Father and you will live in peace and joy.
9. Jesus: I have not come to this earth to divide, but to save men from their sins. I came to this earth to love all of My beloved ones, more and more. My dear one, release all of the anxiety and fear in your heart. Let Me bathe you in a bath of My love. I am Jesus and I am truly present and attentive to all your needs.
10. Jesus: This love is poured into your heart and you know more and more the presence of the Almighty God. Feel this presence within you. Release and let go of all distractions. I am the Almighty God and I am truly present.

                                Sing:  Silent Night 

Presentation

Luke 2: 22-39 

Jesus is presented in the Temple

And when the day came for them to be purified in keeping with the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord—observing what is written in the Law of the Lord: Every first–born male must be consecrated to the Lord—and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is prescribed in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to the restoration of Israel and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:

The Nunc Dimittis

Now, Master, you are letting 
    your servant go in peace 
as you promised; 
for my eyes have seen the salvation 
which you have made ready 
    in the sight of the nations; 
a light of revelation for the gentiles 
and glory for your people Israel.

The prophecy of Simeon

As the child’s father and mother were wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed—and a sword will pierce your soul too—so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’

The prophecy of Anna

There was a prophetess, too, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty–four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came up just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

The hidden life of Jesus at Nazareth

When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

  Rosary Meditations from The Joyful Mysteries
July 13, 1995 Noon before the exposed Eucharist

                    The Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple

1. R. The child Jesus was taken to the Temple and presented to the Father.
2. R. Mary was told by Simeon of the sufferings to come. He said to Mary, "…and a sword will pierce your soul too." (Lk 2:35)
3. R. Jesus, in His divine knowing, knew at all times all that would occur. Although He was a little baby that could not talk, He was the Almighty God and He knew of all the sufferings. Mary, His beloved Mother was told by Simeon of the sufferings to come. We see in many of the pictures, like the one of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the looks on the faces of Jesus and Mary, for they shared within Their Hearts the deep secret that they knew that the cross would come. They went through Their lives and shared this secret in Their Hearts of the sufferings to come. They knew that Jesus would suffer. Simeon said to Mary, "…and a sword will pierce your soul too." (Lk 2:35) A sword pierced the Heart of Jesus, and what came forth was blood and water, the birth of the sacramental life of the Church. This life flows through the pierced Heart of the Virgin Mary, for she is the Mediatrix of all graces. It is through her motherhood that we receive the life of Christ. As Christ received His life within Her womb, so we receive His life in the Church through the Virgin Mary. We receive this life through our Mother.
4. R. Let our hearts be filled with the life of the Almighty God. May our hearts sing, for we are given great gifts. In this room today, the Almighty God is present. His Mother is with us, mothering us and loving us.
5. R. Who are we that we are called to this Center, and that Jesus and Mary speak to us? This is a mission to spread the love of the Almighty God to the world. We must be attentive to this call, for God is calling us to do this work. We must let God work in our lives. We must silence the prompting of Satan to divide us. We must silence all of the negative thoughts within our minds and recognize that they are coming from Satan. We must pray for the grace to realize the great gifts that we are given. The Almighty God has chosen us. Many are called, but few are chosen.
   
   Jesus: I have chosen each one of you. If you are hearing this message, you know you are hearing it because the Almighty God is calling you to a special mission. You are My soldiers that I am sending into the world to spread My light to all the dark corners. I am giving you great graces to do the work at hand. Open wide your hearts. Let go of all anger and resentment, any thoughts you have against your brothers, and love them. I call you to love, to love all men. I shed My blood for them. Love and you will be free. If you hold on to anger and resentment, your heart will be troubled and at unrest.
6. Jesus: Satan aims to trip you up and stop you in your path. The Almighty God is speaking to you. What have you to fear? Father, Son and Holy Spirit live within your heart. If the world shakes and the sun ceases to shine, within your heart you can feel the presence of your Father, Son and Holy Spirit so close to you and loving you. Release all your anxieties and let Me bathe you in a bath of My love. I am Jesus, and I am outpouring to you My life.
7. Jesus: The seeds of time move exceedingly slowly, but I see all time as one. My dear ones, see your life before you, from your birth to your death. Do not focus on the minutes and the seconds of this day. See the souls that will be paraded into hell some day because they did not respond to the grace that I am giving to them. I am sending you on a great mission. How you act, how you love in this world, will make the difference to many. See the big picture. Do not focus on the moments and the seconds in your life. Look, My dear one. Pray to the Spirit to open up your eyes and fill you with My grace. Where you are blind, you will now see.
8. R. The Presentation in the Temple is such an important mystery! Mary was told that a sword, too, would pierce her soul. All grace is released through Mary.
9. Jesus: Come unto Me, My beloved ones. I want to hold you gently in My arms and press you close to My Heart. I am Jesus. I speak to you with tenderness and love. You do not hear the gentle words that I speak to you, for you are busy and your lives are noisy. Release yourselves and come away with Me for short moments all through the day. Feel the presence of the Almighty God as I live and dwell within your hearts. I love you. I love you. I love you. I give to you now My abundant life. I am strengthening you for the days ahead. You are My soldiers that I will send to light up the dark night.
10. R. And she stands beneath the cross. I hear the wailing cries of the Virgin Mary as she sees her Son hang and suffer for three agonizing hours. She knows of the little children that will be condemned to hell forever, the little hearts that were willful, that did not accept the great grace that Jesus merited through His death.

  

  

Finding in the Temple

Luke 2: 41-50  

Jesus among the doctors of the Law

Every year his parents used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When the days of the feast were over and they set off home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was somewhere in the party, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.

    It happened that, three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’ He replied, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he meant.

      

        

Rosary Meditations from The Joyful Mysteries
July 13, 1995 Noon before the exposed Eucharist  

  

The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

1. R. The child Jesus was taken up to the Temple for the feast of Passover. Mary's Heart ached constantly from the prophecy of Simeon. Feel in your heart as Mary felt. She knew ever since the prophecy of Simeon of the suffering to come. There was such a connection between Jesus and Mary, such intimacy between them! We see the Two Hearts beating within her body in the first two mysteries of the rosary. She provides life for Jesus through her milk in the third mystery. She comes to the Temple with the child Jesus in her arms and Simeon tells her of the sufferings to come. Now they take the child Jesus to the Temple. Jesus is separated from Mary and Joseph. Mary and Joseph go on their way and Jesus is left behind. When Mary realizes that the child Jesus was left behind, her Heart is in such sorrow! She returns to find the child Jesus.
2. R. I see all through the mysteries of the rosary the intimacy between Jesus and Mary. This separation was so painful to Mary, for she knew of the separation to come. When she found the child Jesus, she said to Him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." In her Heart, she knew the sufferings of Jesus to come. In the windows in this chapel, across from the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, is the Death of Jesus on the Cross. This was a small separation between her and her child. She searched, she knew of the sufferings to come. She knew of a more drastic separation. He would be locked in the tomb. Her Heart was in such sorrow, for she knew far more than what we see.
3. R. Mary carried many things in her Heart. Few times we hear her speak. There was a secret between her and her Son all through Their lives.
4. R. A sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary. Our eternal life was merited by Christ's life and death on the cross. Water and blood poured forth from His pierced Heart. Life flows through Mary's pierced Heart to us for she is the Mediatrix of all graces. Our Mother, giving to us, dispensing to us this life. As she gave life to the physical body of Jesus, so she dispenses supernatural life to us.
5. R. We are being formed more and more in the spiritual womb of Mary, through the Holy Spirit, to be more and more like Jesus.
6. Mary: My dear little children, I am Mary, your Mother. I ask you to pray as you have never prayed before from your heart for all the little lost children in this world today. I stood under the cross and I watched my Son as He suffered and died. This day, my dear ones, many of my children will be lost forever, for their hearts are willful and they go about their lives in sin. Jesus loves each and every child. I am the Mother of each child. I love each one of my children, your brothers. Will you pray from your hearts, my dear children? Pray for all the little lost children of this world. I am Mary, your Mother, and I am asking you this day to hear my words. I speak to you with this urgent request to pray as you have never prayed before.
7. Mary: My Heart was in such sorrow for the loss of my child! My Heart is sorrowing for the loss of so many this day. My dear little children, pray. Offer your days, each day, to the Father in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in the Spirit, with all the angels and saints and souls in purgatory. Offer up all of your actions for the little children of this world who are suffering and in pain.
8. Mary: I am Mary, your Mother. I speak to you. This is an urgent request. Let go and come to the Heart of my Son. He will fill you with such love and you will go into this world. You will spread this love. Pray to the Father. Come to my Heart and dwell in my Heart. For I dwell in the Heart of my Son, and I will place you in the deepest recesses of His Heart. Pray to the Holy Spirit. My dear ones, when you are filled with the love of God, when you come from a place where your hearts are filled with love, you will give love to all in this world. When your hearts are sorrowing and in pain, come to the Almighty God. Spend quiet moments with Him, and let Him fill you with His love. My Son Jesus is waiting and waiting, minute by minute, second by second, for you to come. Come, my little children, to the Heart of my Son.
9. Jesus: Many are called, but few are chosen. You have been called to the house of My Mother to hear this message. I am Jesus, your beloved Savior. I speak to you, My dear ones, with a soft and gentle Heart, always a Heart that is filled with such love! Come to Me and I will give to you all that you need. This world is hurting and in pain, and I am sending you into the world as My soldiers to light the darkness. My dear little ones, this world has turned godless. You must focus on the Almighty God. Do not let Satan talk in your minds to divide you. Do not harbor in your hearts any resentment or anger toward your brothers. Harboring this resentment and anger hurts your union with Me. Only a heart of love can properly unite with My Heart. I call you to holiness. I call you to open up your hearts and let Me enter. I will give to you My divine life and My divine love. I am Jesus. I talk to you gently and sweetly. Do you hear? It is in the quietness that you will hear My gentle voice. I am attentive to your every need, gently caring for each and every one of the tasks that you perform. I love you! I love you! I love you! Surrender, My dear ones, and know that I will never abandon you. I wait by the door of your heart. I wait, I wait, I wait. Will you open your heart and let Me in? Trade any bitterness for My divine love. I am Jesus, your beloved Savior. I gave My life for you. Will you love your hurting brothers for Me?
10. Hail Mary…
    
    R. Mary said to tell you that She has called each and every person here. She wants you to answer this call. The time is urgent and this world is in need of your prayers. Come to her Son in the Eucharist and in front of the Tabernacle. It is there that He will instruct you in the ways He wants you to go. You are loved far beyond your comprehension. It is in Him that you will find peace and joy. He has all the answers for your life. Do not pick up your phones and complain and argue. Come to the Heart of Jesus and feel the peace that He gives to you. Feel the life that He outpours. He is the Almighty God and He has all the power. Amen.

Song: I come to you with greatest love…

The Seven Sorrows of Mary…

R. Jesus said, "I love you! I love you! I love you!" He wants hearts that are on fire for love of Him. He wants to hear from your lips the words of your love. He is waiting and longing and thirsting. He loves you personally. He loves you so much!

July 11, 2003 message continues  

Messenger:        The incarnation goes on in us.

                Excerpt from Priestly Newsletter 1997 May/June

Incarnational Perspectives

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd is one who 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)

The Son of God be-came man for our salvation. Yes, He became incarnate. He took to Himself a real human nature. Because Jesus possessed a real human nature, He could die for us. As the Good Shepherd, He has laid down His life for us, His sheep.

There are many thoughts which come to us when we reflect upon the truth that the Son of God took to Himself a human nature and dwelt among us. Some of these are as follows:

• The Word Was Made Flesh. St. John puts it very simply in his Gospel: "The Word was made flesh, he lived among us..." (Jn 1:14). Yes, John states it so succinctly, yet these few words contain a wealth of meaning and mystery. We should expect nothing else, since this brief statement of the fourth Gospel points out the central event of all human history. These words sum up God's creative and redemptive activity. They sum up God's process of Self-communication to us. Let us briefly examine some of the implications of the Son of God becoming man.
  
  Adequately to explain the intimacy of the way of redemption which is the Incarnation is beyond the human powers of articulation. Jesus is Emmanuel-God with us. How tremendously more approachable God is to us because we have Jesus. The more the mind dwells on the meaning of the Incarnation, the more one is stricken with wonder at this unfathomable mystery of love. And yet, for one reason or the other, we are tempted to allow the mystery of the Son becoming man to be a fact we take for granted. Our sense of appreciation becomes dulled, and our feeling of enthusiasm about Jesus becomes so tragically mediocre. If our enthusiasm concerning Jesus is less than it should be, what are the reasons? We are speaking of a deep-rooted penetrating kind of enthusiasm centered in our graced wills. Some-times this enthusiasm has deep emotional overtones. If properly controlled, this enthusiasm involving the human emotions can be a tremendous asset in one's commitment to Jesus. But we just do not have it within our power to turn the emotions on whenever we wish. The more fundamental enthusiasm for Jesus which is rooted in the human will can and should always be substantially with us.
• Realizing Jesus' Love for Us. One reason our commitment to Jesus can lose its ardor is that the realization of how much Jesus loves each of us becomes a kind of peripheral or notional assent. We intellectually assent to the fact that Jesus loves us, but at times such an assent does not have much more effect on our lives than admitting that Caesar crossed the Rubicon.
  
  We are meant to assent with our entire being to the fact that Jesus loves each of us so uniquely, so intimately, so unreservedly. This truth of Jesus' love for us is supposed to transform our lives. It is supposed to so grip our imagination so that we can say in the spirit of St. Paul: "For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rm 8:38-39)
  
  Giving ourselves over to Jesus' love does not remove pain and suffering from life. But, through the prism of Jesus' love for us, suffering is seen in proper perspective. We see the pain and suffering as being able to lead to something greater, just as it did in Jesus' life. His suffering led to resurrection. We realize that if we relate to suffering properly, we become persons with a deepened capacity to love God and man - persons sharing more fully in Jesus' resurrection. With such an attitude, this pain dimension of life can at times become hardly noticeable because we are so taken up with Jesus and His cause.
• The Cause of Christ. What is this cause? Some two thousand years ago Jesus walked this earth preaching His Father's message, healing the sick, forgiving sins, extending His kindness and mercy, training the apostles. In all His varied activity, Jesus was accomplishing the redemption. Today, Jesus still walks the earth. He teaches the Father's truth. He is concerned with the sick and the ignorant. He administers the sacraments. He manifests the Father's love in many different ways. But, unlike that time of two thousand years ago, Christ Himself is not visible. He is visible only through us, His members. He extends to us the great privilege-and responsibility-of assisting Him in the continuation of His redemptive work. The total Christian community and each individual Christian are, then, certain extensions and continuations of the Incarnation. So close is this union between the Christian and Christ that St. Paul speaks very strikingly that it is more Christ than Paul who now lives: "I have been crucified with Christ, and I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in this body I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake." (Ga 2:19-20)
  
  Each of us has the privilege of offering Jesus his or her own unique person, one's own humanity, one's own human existence. As with St. Paul we are asked to allow Jesus to live within us. Each Christian has the opportunity to allow Jesus to live through the uniqueness which is this particular Christian. To the extent the Christian does offer himself to Jesus in this manner, to that extent Jesus has a unique opportunity of continuing His redemptive work. To the extent the Christian holds back and does not allow Jesus to live in oneself, to that degree Jesus loses this unrepeatable opportunity.
• Historical and Cultural Awareness. If we are to carry forth the salvific mission of Jesus properly, the People of God, individually and collectively, must be aware of the Incarnation's principle of historical and cultural awareness. Jesus, through His enfleshment, became situated within an historical situation. He lived at a particular stage of history, in a particular geographical locale, amid a particular kind of culture. Jesus respected this historical conditioning. Without compromising His Father's message, Jesus was aware of His historical milieu. He lived like a good Jewish man of the time. He talked in language which respected the linguistic idiom and thought patterns of the then existent Jewish culture. He accepted the Jewish people as conditioned by a certain historical and cultural milieu, and dealt with them accordingly.
  
  The members of the Christian community must follow the example of Jesus. In living and proclaiming the Gospel message, the People of God must be aware of the particular historical and cultural milieu in which they find themselves. But, also after the example of Jesus, they must strive for this awareness without compromising the Gospel. We immediately see that the Christian community is consequently open to a double danger. On the one hand, there is the danger that the People of God will not read the signs of the times properly. On the other hand, in the effort to be aware of their historical setting there is the danger of compromising the Gospel message. But the Christian community has to face these dangers and not surrender to them.
• The Temporal Order. Another truth connected with the Incarnation - another incarnational perspective - leads us to a discussion of the Christian's responsibility toward the secular or temporal order of things. Through His enfleshment Christ has assumed, or united to Himself, not only the human race but the entire world or temporal order. The world literally belongs to Christ. The Christian's attitude toward authentic temporal values should therefore be obvious. He or she should love the world as redeemed by Jesus more than does the non-believer. The Christian should be the first to love all authentic human values. He or she should be the first to promote these values. Obviously, the real progress of these values must be according to their Christic design, however hidden this design may be at times. Very importantly, the Christian should be the first to be willing to suffer for the authentic progress of the world. And why? We reiterate-because it all belongs to Christ.
  
  The Christian should grieve because all is not well with the temporal order. He or she should be duly disturbed that there is so much violence, murder, social injustice, lust for power, drug peddling, pursuit of hedonism, increasing Godlessness. These and other evils sadly mar the name and image of Jesus which He imprinted upon the universe through His life, death, and resurrection. The Christian should grieve because the face of Christ is thus so often covered by the sinful dust of the market place.
  
  But the market place, the temporal order, is not all evil. Far from it. It is basically good with the creative goodness of God. It's basic goodness and beauty have been deepened by the grandeur of Jesus' redemptive effort. There is so much good in so many human hearts. This goodness manifests itself in countless ways. There are so many ways that many allow us to see their love for neighbor. There are those who selflessly give of themselves for the good of others in the field of medicine and nursing, in the political arena, in education, in science and technology, in laboring for justice for the consumer, in striving for pollution control. The list only be extended indefinitely. Some of these services of so many for the good of neighbor command national attention. Many, many more services are so hidden, hardly noticed.
  
  Each Christian, grieving at the world's evil, but rejoicing in its goodness and potential for greater good, must be inspired to action. He or she should deeply love the world because it belongs to Christ. He or she should deeply love the people who cover the face of this world, because they too belong to Christ. His blood has touched them and redeemed them. The love of the Christian for others must be an operative, an efficacious love. It must be willing to do, to accomplish, and, in rare cases, to die. Whatever one's state of life, be it activist or cloistered contemplative, this is the privilege and the responsibility of the Christian. He or she cannot be committed to Jesus in love without concomitantly being dedicated to the human family and the temporal order. Through the Incarnation, all this is interlinked.
  
  If the Christian is to promote the good of the temporal order, one must be free in regards to it. One must be free, even to the extent that he or she is willing to renounce certain temporal values, good in themselves, for the service of others. The one who really loves the world is the person who is willing to forego its use at times. To love the world and to love the things of the world are not always one and the same. A person can love the things of the world- selfishly - and consequently, not love the world in itself. This selfishness is an obstacle to helping the temporal order to progress as it should.
• The Human Condition. As we continue a survey of some of the truths or perspectives connected with the Incarnation, we notice that Jesus has taught us that redemption occurs within the human condition. The Father could have redeemed us in a number of ways. He chose that setting which was the Incarnation of His Son. Jesus saved us by being fully man, a man who exercised His manhood perfectly in the self-libation which was His. Although His mission led Him to give up certain human values, He saved us through real human acts. He saved us by loving Mary and Joseph, by eating with friends, by teaching, by loving the little children, by thrilling to the beauty of nature, by bearing properly insult and abuse, and, of course, by dying and rising. Summarily, Jesus saved us by living that kind of human life which was in harmony with His Father's will.
  
  Jesus did not rebel because He found the human condition less than perfect. He had come to change things, to give a new release to the goodness of man. He was a revolutionary in the best sense. His effort was to turn things around, to reorientate the human race toward God. But Jesus was by no means always the recipient of the goodness He had come to preach. Although He taught that one should love his or her neighbor, He himself was not always loved. He suffered, and He suffered mightily, because of the mean streak, the sinful streak in others. He Who had done nothing wrong, Who had showed His love for others in so many different ways, this man was the one they beat, insulted, scourged, crowned with thorns, and nailed to the cross.
  
  Jesus redeemed us within the human condition. We receive His redemption, and help channel it to others, within that same human condition. We are redeemed by living the authentically human in the way indicated by the Father's will. Although we are led by that will to renounce various human values at various times in various ways, we are saved by living a human existence, or we are not saved at all. We have often heard that grace does not destroy nature. But, perhaps, we do not too often penetrate the depths of this theological truth. Perhaps we do not very often have a firm realization that grace elevates nature, gives it a deepened capacity for fulfillment, and that grace needs nature. Grace must work through nature if it is to save. Consequently, we are not saved and sanctified by becoming less human. We are saved and sanctified by being very human-by allowing grace to perfect the various dimensions of our human nature. Grace inspires us to the fullest exercise of our humanity. Grace inspires to a Spirit-directed way of living, of eating and drinking, of working and playing, of enjoying sense pleasure, of experiencing joy and suffering.
  
  Participation in the human condition, then, offers us a marvelous opportunity of developing all our human capacities in the work of ongoing redemption. Yet the human condition is not by any means a completely pleasant situation. As Jesus before us suffered because of the human condition, so also must we. The human condition can be the occasion of suffering in so many different ways. For instance, a person can suffer because others treat him or her unjustly. One can suffer also precisely because someone loves him or her and he or she loves in return. This love makes one vulnerable to pain, not because the other intends it, but merely because to love within the human condition means a certain amount of inevitable suffering. We suffer also because we are to a certain extent pilgrims in exile. We have not yet arrived at our final destiny, a destiny which will be achieved only in eternity. Because we are still on the way, we are not yet completely alive, completely fulfilled. And because all this is so, we suffer, and sometimes deeply so. But, again looking to Jesus, we must learn how to encounter suffering properly. He encountered the human condition perfectly, whether it meant great joy or deep anguish. The Spirit asks us to live by the same attitude.
• Bodily Values. Another perspective very close to the heart of the Incarnation is the concept of bodily values. The connection is obvious. The Son of God assumed a human nature with its bodily dimensions. He has given a great new dignity to the human body. Any attitude which deprecates the body is consequently totally un-Christian. There have been numerous such attitudes which have influenced Christian thought and practice, unofficially, of course. There have been Manichaeism, Gnosticism, Neo-Platonism, and Jansenism, to name some. Each of these has in one manner or other failed to see the beauty, dignity, and purpose of the human body.
  
  The body, despite its basic goodness and grandeur, still has sinful tendencies, tendencies toward laziness, lust, unbridled pursuit of all kinds of sense pleasure. If the body is to achieve its purpose, it must obviously be properly disciplined. The one who loves his body the most is, quite obviously, not the one who gives to it all its desires. He or she is the one who takes the necessary means, however painful, to ensure that the body serves its wonderful and God-given purpose.
• Incarnationalism and Transcendence. In a quick survey of some of the important truths consequent upon the Son of God becoming man, certainly one to be mentioned is the fact that Incarnationalism leads to transcendence - to that which is invisible, to that which is above material limitation. At the offertory of the Mass, as the priest adds a drop of water to the wine to be offered, he says: "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity." The Son has come to draw us to God - to the ultimate Transcendent Reality.
  
  Even though we would not have been given a supernatural destiny, we would have had a thrust toward the transcendent. Our graced nature has an even greater thrust toward transcendence. The ultimate Transcendent is God, and, as St. Augustine said long ago, our hearts will not rest until they rest in God.
  
  Christ, in His human nature, points to that which is beyond His humanity and everything else created. Christ ultimately points to God alone. Through His enfleshment, the Son was marvelously immanent in this world. But this very immanence of God pointed to the otherness, the transcendence of God. Jesus taught us that there is something beyond the material, something beyond marriage, and riches, and culture, something beyond all earthly values.
  
  Jesus told us to relate to these values in so far as they lead to God. He told us to renounce them in so far as this would be more conducive to union with God. Jesus told us something which we all have experienced - the created in itself cannot radically satisfy us. Only God can, and the created takes an ultimate meaning, and renders authentic satisfaction, only when it leads us to God. The Son became man to lead us to transcendence-indeed, to ultimate Transcendence, God Himself.

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