MERCY APOSTLES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS

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THE LIFE AND VOWS OF A MERCY APOSTLE | MARY, THE MIGHTY WARRIOR OF GOD'S MERCY | THE SCRIPTURAL ROSARY
THE LIFE AND VOWS OF A MERCY APOSTLE

THE OFFICIAL COAT OF ARMS FOR THE ORDER
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THE RULE OF THE ORDER OF THE MERCY APOSTLES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS
 
FEAST DAY OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY    October 8th
 In the Name that is above every other name, Jesus Christ, the Lord we undertake to set forth the Rule of
Life for the Mercy Apostles of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Face of Jesus
 
THE NAME OF THE ORDER
 Apostles
 We are sent by God to be messengers of the Lord's Merciful Heart. As outlined by Apostle Sister Faustina of Poland in the 1930's, the Mercy of God is the greatest of the Lord's attributes to the world. Isn't the most famous passage from the Bible one that speaks of God's mercy?
 "FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLYBEGOTTEN SON THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHALL NOT
PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE" John 3:16
 As taken from the Greek word for "one who is sent," an apostle is one who is sent by God on a mission to a people. Members must have a call that is in their hearts compelling them to go out with the Good News of the Lord's Mercy.
 Mercy
What is the Mercy of God? In Hebrew the word for Mercy is Rahameem, or "womb pity." That means to have the same love for someone as a mother has for the child in her womb.
This is a supernatural tenderness for someone, regardless of how nice they are to you or anybody else. 
Mercy does not exclude correction in the Lord or firmness. Nor does it mean you allow yourself to become
co-dependent to another person's whims. What is does mean is compassion; allowing oneself to feel another person's pains and needs as if they were your own without judgment or harshness. 
Of the Holy Spirit
Such identification can only come from the Presence and Power of God within us. We can try to get ourselves to feel badly about someone else's needs and sufferings. But, such feelings are fleeting. The only way we will ever become vessels for God's power is by allowing ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
It is interesting that the Hebrew Word for Mercy is one that refers to motherhood-Womb Pity. It is also
interesting that the Power Who fuels the efforts of the Apostle is the member of the Godhead Who is most
identified with the Feminine as Holy Wisdom, (Sophia) and the Breath of God's Creative Love, (Ruah Ha Kodesh).
The message is that we are to respond to the needs and pains of others as mothers who lead children to what they need to be healthy and strong. Mothers have to get close to their children to help them. They have to be willing to give of themselves and not flinch when their children get them dirty by splashing them with food or even feces in the process of learning how to live as grown ups in our world.
It is not natural to love this way. 
Mothers get the ability to love this way through an infusion of hormones when their children are born. Christians get this love from the Holy Spirit inside of our hearts:
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HAS BEEN SHED ABROAD IN OUR HEARTS
BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
 Romans 5:10
This gives us the ability to love God and to love each other and ourselves. Whenever we are lacking in
Love we should run to the Holy Spirit, in faith with this Scripture and then believe that we can draw on
this love from the reality of God in our lives as needed.
And Of the Holy Face of Jesus
The Face of Jesus from the Veil of Veronica is a sign of God's Mercy. It reminds us that the Word became
Flesh and dwelled among us, even to death on a Cross.
The Face of Jesus on the Veil calls us to love the suffering and rejected of God to Whom the Gospel was
preached. It reminds us of our own souls marred by sin and covered with dirt and mire from life. The Mercy of God wipes away this filth with the Precious Blood, poured out in the twin streams of Baptism and Holy Communion. But this Mercy was made flesh in Christ and as Elisha raised the child from the dead by covering him with his own body, so too the Face of Jesus and His torn body and blood covers and cleanses us from all sin and unrighteousness.
THE SYMBOLS
The Dove of the Holy Spirit on a White and Red Host, surrounded by Twelve Rays of Light and Twelve Flames of Fire on a Blue Background and White Cross with the words, "Praise the Lord" in Blood Red below the Cross
This refers to the reliance that we have on the Holy Spirit working through us in power with the discipline
of the Christian Twelve Steps to produce the Fruits and Gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Theological Gifts of
Faith, Hope and Charity.
This all stems from the Cross working through our life through Baptism in water and the Holy Spirit and the Gift of Holy Communion. 
Why "Praise the Lord?" Because of our other motto: We Just Work Here! Therefore, to God be the Glory. We are just doing our jobs for Jesus. Nothing more. Nothing less.
 The Scapular Apron of the Holy Face of Jesus
 The Scapular of the Holy Face is given to those who have made the Five Vows. It is a sign of commitment to reach out to the rejected in Christ in faith, trust, and charity as living Eucharist without hurt or harm to
any living creature. The original religious scapulars were working aprons signed with a symbol of the Incarnate Lord in His
Suffering. The aprons remind us that we are here to work as servants for Christ to His Body; not in the
spectacular, but in the ways that involve needing aprons. Aprons are not the most glamorous garments.
They are for service and so are we.
But, just as aprons keep us from getting dirty, so too the scapular aprons teach us that it is only the
Presence of Christ in our hearts that keeps us from being muddied by resentment, bitterness, anger, greed, and laziness in the service of the Body of Christ.
 
People do not appreciate servants. People will not appreciate us. That's okay, since it's not all about us
anyway. We Just Work Here. Praise the Lord. 
 

MARTIAL ARTS
At least once that day, work out for about thirty minutes until you have a sweat going. If you are into
the arts, use a kata and focus on Christ. If not, do aerobics or Tai Chi or something that can teach you
self defense as well as help you become more fit. You can do this in the morning before or after prayer
time, or in the evening when you get home so you can
shower afterwards.
For more information on the actual style for this Order, please click the link below:
https://pastor-t.tripod.com/uzzijahdo 
 
TIME PROBLEMS
 The whole cycle of prayer isn't that long. Work these practices into your life bit by bit and you will see
that it will all fit in, if you ask the Lord for help.
UNIFORM
The uniform of an Apostle is simply a blue denim shirt
or blouse with blue denim pants or skirt. The symbol
for the Order (which is also the symbol for the church)
is on the front or back of the blouse or shirt. Those who have taken formal vows wear a Scapular. Everyone wears a Cross. 
You can also wear a regular belt that is in the color
of your martial arts rank and a rosary. For the
purposes of the uniform a green belt rank can wear a
blue belt.
 

SO, WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT?
The Mission of the Mercy Apostles of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Face of Jesus is to reach out to the rejected of Christ in our modern society. That is not an easy thing to do. It calls us to look beyond
ourselves and be used to go to a people who are hurt, angry and most of all, fearful.
To do this we must first deal with our own fear, anger and hurt. Otherwise we risk projecting our problems on to everyone else. That is why part of the discipline of the Order is the martial arts. Focused through the
Warrior Virtues and the practice of the Twelve Steps, we learn to balance our own needs in Christ and not to try to batter others into our way of thinking under the guise of converting people to Christ.
The discipline of dealing with our fear and anger through the challenge that our bodies often present can show us how to deal with the feelings and people who bother our self love the most.
Too many times our way of helping people is to make them feel guilty or beholden to us in some way. We
figure all of our giving whether in terms of time, money, or effort SHOULD make them better. And when this doesn't happen, we get angry, bitter, resentful, lazy or greedy for praise and affection from the people we serve. One way of knowing our ability to let go and serve is how mad we get when people dont seem to appreciate our efforts. If our self-love is wounded by this neglect that means we are more interested in doing something for praise, than doing it for God.
We must be careful to keep our own hearts pure. Otherwise, the Holy Spirit will have to battle us out
of the way before anything worthwhile can happen in another person's life.
Every day as members of this Order we should ask ourselves: WHY AM I HERE? The answer to this question should come from the Five Vows, because those Vows speak to the mission of who we are and what we are called to do first in ourselves and then as vessels of God's message of Mercy to others:
 

THE FIVE VOWS
In the Name of Jesus Christ, as a Born Again Christian, standing in the dignity of my Baptism into the Death and Resurrection of the Lord, through water and the
Holy Spirit, I promise:
1) To Learn and Obey the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in Faith by living out the Christian Twelve
Steps in my every day life
2) To Live out Kingdom Prosperity in Trust by giving generously as the Holy Spirit leads me; especially
through sacrificial alms from fasting
3) To Love with a Pure Heart in my state of life by giving God the gift of my daily acts of Mercy to others, seeing the Hidden Christ in everyone I serve.
4) To Pray eucharistically through the Scriptural Rosary and daily Holy Communion, meditating on their
truth that teaches me service by leaning on Gods quiet Presence in my life.
5) Not to harm or hurt any creature of God, except in the individual case of self-defense or survival. Therefore, I will practice the martial arts in Christ with a view of the Warrior Virtues, that I might be source of protection and healing for others, without walking in abuse, anger or fear.
 

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The Source of Our Spiritual Blessings

OUR MISSION
 
The mission of the Order is to reach the rejected. That
mission will be adapted to the circumstances to which
we are called as a group and individually. But, there
are time honored methods: 
 
Personal outreach through friendship to bring them to
church and then to Christ through Bible studies at your
home or the homes of others
 
Door to door witnessing and prayer
 
Operating businesses or outreaches that meet people's
needs
 
Teaching self defense or classes in inner healing
 
The core of the Order are the Vows, not the methods
that we use. As long as we strive to remian true to the
Vows in the service of our mission we will be able to
fulfill the calling that the Lord has laid upon our
hearts.
 
ALL TO THE GREATER GLORY OF GOD, IN PRAISE OF THE LORD,
BECAUSE WE ARE HIS SERVANTS.
 
 
 

JESUS REACHES OUT TO EVERYONE
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WHO CAN JOIN?
Any baptized Christian over the age of 18, whether
married or unmarried who is willing to live the Vows
(Teenagers can join as affiliates)
 
HOW DO YOU JOIN?
1) Pray about the Rule. Is it for you?
2) Discern with the other members. Do they recognize
your calling?
3) Try living the vows for at least three months.
Discern from there
4) Take the Vows for three more months formally. How
does that work into your life as a Christian?
5) If you and the community all agree in your joining,
set a good date for taking the Vows in front of
witnesses.
Pick out a title of the Lord's that you wish to honor
and a role model among God's Cloud of Living Witnesses.
6) Fast for three days and pray about what you're going
to do
7) Make your vows and have them recorded by the Order