Reflection for 22nd Sunday after Trinity
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times”
These words from the Gospel of Matthew 18:21tell us that we are obliged to forgive others for any indiscretions they commit against us. There is no doubt in my mind of how difficult that can be. It is not easy to forgive a person for even one transgression against us, let alone seven or seventy times seven times.
If we think about it though we need to think about how many times we commit sins and expect God to forgive us. What if he forgave us only once and when we, because of our human weakness commit the same sin again, God said: “I have already forgiven you once you went back and made the same mistake so I guess there is no hope for you” This would never happen of course, because God is an everlasting and infinitely merciful and loving God who understands our human weaknesses and will forgive us if we are truly sorry and show some intent to try to not return to the same indiscretion.
How many times have you broken a friendship or held anger within you because of something that another did against you which made you upset and angry and when they asked forgiveness you were unwilling to forgive them?
I know of a case where a adult daughter is unwilling to forgive her father for divorcing the mother and leaving her. She was devoted to her father and was said to be his shadow. When in his company she was never more than a foot away from her dad. When the parents separated she was very hurt and felt that the father left her, which was not the case in any way. That all happened when she was 6. Today she is a brilliant successful lawyer and yet she will not call her father “dad or father” but refers to him by his first name. On many occasions the father has apologized and told her how much he loves her and is proud of her achievements in spite of the fact that he was not there for much of her youth. The young lady has, according to others, actually torn up birthday and Christmas cards which included money or checks without even opening them.
This is not the way God wants us to act. The father can understand the daughters anger over feeling that the father had abandoned her, which was not the case since gifts and other messages were always being transmitted to her. The father always made sure that the children, (there were also two sons in this family) received presents on their birthdays and other occasions and when in the area would visit them.
This kind of anger is not in keeping with what Christ has instructed us, but can be harmful to the health of an individual. I know of another case where a person held anger over things that had happened to them in their youth inside them and the anger ate away at them making them sick much of their life. They held on to the negative things that happened to them and tended to forget all the wonderful things.
God’s promises are forever. They promise us that we may have salvation and eternal life with Him with these words found in Deuteronomy 6:2 “If you fear the Lord your God all the days of your life and if you keep all his laws and commandments which I lay on you, you will have a long life”.
We have been given all the ways to show our love and devotion to God, The rules of the Old covenant were clarified for us by Jesus Christ. Christ affirmed this when he responded to the scribe who asked him what the greatest commandments were and after being told “The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one God and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God’. And after that no one dared to question him any more.(Mark 12:33-34)
If we can learn to forgive and strive to in every way live our life daily exhibiting love, compassion and forgiveness to all we encounter we have been promised God’s mercy and forgiveness to us for our transgression with these words.
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
(Matthew 18:35)
PRAYER
Almighty and merciful God, help me to be more understanding and forgiving toward all those who I perceive have done harm to my either in deed or unkind words, by lies and deceit. Help me to see beyond their transgressions and find that within them that is good. This task is most difficult because of my human nature and so I need the graces of the Holy Spirit to become less judgmental and more forgiving. I ask thin is the name of my redeemer and savior, Jesus Christ, your son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one triune God now and forever unto the ages of ages. AMEN
A mission of the Franciscans of Divine Mercy. We are a welcoming and affirming faith community to all who feel disenfranchised, unwanted, and rejected by Faith Communities. We welcome all persons who believe Christ was the redeemer and savior. The mission pastor is Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Blessed Are The Peacemakers
Blessed Are The Peace Makers
A Reflection for All Saints Day 2006
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
www.missionstsergius.org
“Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called children of God”, these words from the sermon on the Mount by Jesus Christ seem to be falling on deaf ears today. Everywhere we turn we are inundated with news of violence and war. Games designed for children promote violence and war.
Some of the most popular television programs have murder or sex as their base story line.
Even sadder than that is the fact that those voices that try to promote peaceful means of settling disputes on a national or local level are called unkind words or described as eternal optimists who are out of touch with reality. I know, because I have been labeled that many times.
My question is where are all the voices of those who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ?
If you are a follower of Christ, that means you accept His words and work hard at attempting to do as He directed.
On this feast celebrating the lives of those women and men who followed Christ’s teachings, many to the death of their earthly bodies, let us examine ourselves as to what we have done or are doing to preach PEACE.
Back in the times of another unpopular war in our nation a group known as “Hippies” went around shouting “Make Peace and love, not war” they were treated with scorn by many and labeled “Flower Children”. What we need to call to mind is that Jesus was also treated in the same way because He preached a way of life that was not the norm.
As followers of Christ we need to exert ourselves to follow His instructions as given on The Sermon On The Mount and work harder to bring about peace between all of God’s children.
Not only between nations, but religious denomination, neighbors, local governing officials and ALL of God’s children.
In recent weeks we have been bombarded with the nastiest of advertisements from all sides of the political arena in order to keep control of power. Where is it written in the teachings of Christ that power is what we should be seeking?
What we need to do as Christians is seek justice, peace, compassion, fairness, equality not power and profit and glory.
As Christians, the glory we should be seeking is the Glory of God.
Just as the Saints who achieved a higher level of spirituality and because of it favor in the eyes of God, we need to seek to live by God’s way and not that of the material world.
Let us call to mind the words of Christ, ““I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:26-28 ).I have come to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:78-80)On this feast commemorating those who achieved a higher level of spirituality in their human existence and were blessed by being recognized as saints; let us commit to working harder to live Christ’s teaching and strive to do much more now to put into action the teaching of Christ. “Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called children of God”, AMEN
“Let their be peace on earth and let it begin with me” (Saint Francis)
A Reflection for All Saints Day 2006
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
www.missionstsergius.org
“Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called children of God”, these words from the sermon on the Mount by Jesus Christ seem to be falling on deaf ears today. Everywhere we turn we are inundated with news of violence and war. Games designed for children promote violence and war.
Some of the most popular television programs have murder or sex as their base story line.
Even sadder than that is the fact that those voices that try to promote peaceful means of settling disputes on a national or local level are called unkind words or described as eternal optimists who are out of touch with reality. I know, because I have been labeled that many times.
My question is where are all the voices of those who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ?
If you are a follower of Christ, that means you accept His words and work hard at attempting to do as He directed.
On this feast celebrating the lives of those women and men who followed Christ’s teachings, many to the death of their earthly bodies, let us examine ourselves as to what we have done or are doing to preach PEACE.
Back in the times of another unpopular war in our nation a group known as “Hippies” went around shouting “Make Peace and love, not war” they were treated with scorn by many and labeled “Flower Children”. What we need to call to mind is that Jesus was also treated in the same way because He preached a way of life that was not the norm.
As followers of Christ we need to exert ourselves to follow His instructions as given on The Sermon On The Mount and work harder to bring about peace between all of God’s children.
Not only between nations, but religious denomination, neighbors, local governing officials and ALL of God’s children.
In recent weeks we have been bombarded with the nastiest of advertisements from all sides of the political arena in order to keep control of power. Where is it written in the teachings of Christ that power is what we should be seeking?
What we need to do as Christians is seek justice, peace, compassion, fairness, equality not power and profit and glory.
As Christians, the glory we should be seeking is the Glory of God.
Just as the Saints who achieved a higher level of spirituality and because of it favor in the eyes of God, we need to seek to live by God’s way and not that of the material world.
Let us call to mind the words of Christ, ““I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:26-28 ).I have come to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:78-80)On this feast commemorating those who achieved a higher level of spirituality in their human existence and were blessed by being recognized as saints; let us commit to working harder to live Christ’s teaching and strive to do much more now to put into action the teaching of Christ. “Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called children of God”, AMEN
“Let their be peace on earth and let it begin with me” (Saint Francis)
Sunday, October 29, 2006
God will Provide if you but Trust and Believe
Believe and Trust and God Provides
A Reflection of the Readings for October 29th, 2006
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.Mission_St_Sergius.org
The messages of today’s readings in both the Western Orthodox and the Roman rites have one common theme and it is, if you trust and believe in God with your whole being He will provide your needs.
We are also reminded to be on guard always against the power and temptations of the evil one.
St. paul begins his letter to the Ephesians 6: 10-20 with this very sage advice “My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
The Gospels for both rites tell the story of how having faith in God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God come to earth to proclaim God’s infinite and everlasting love and forgiveness and to teach us the truth path to salvation can bring miracles.
In the Gospel of John we hear the story of the nobleman, whose son was sick and on the verge of dying. He pleaded with Christ to come with him and cure the boy. Jesus told him, “Go on thy way home, your son lives”. The man did not question Christ but did as he was told and on the way home a servant met him and told him his son was cured.
In the Gospel of Mark 10: 46-52, we hear a similar story of the blind beggar Bartimaeus who hearing Christ was close called out to Christ to heal him. Jesus feeling the man’s faith said to Bartimaeus
"Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately the blind beggar received his sight and followed Jesus faithfully from that day on.
The message of these readings is a simple one and yet so many today seem to look elsewhere for help in all things.
Our human nature is so fickle that unless we witness a miracle we begin to question the truth of Christ‘s teachings. This brings me to the warning issued by St Paul in his epistle. “. Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
One of the tools of the devil is to have us question the truth of Christ and the presence of Almighty God.
We need to be ever diligent in our goal of reaching eternal salvation with Christ every moment of every day. That is our road to Calvary. Because Christ was the son of God and free of all stain of sin to which we as humans are very prone, his road of Calvary which procured for us the redemption of sin, had to be extreme. Some of those who followed after him also suffered persecutions and death in the name of Christ and we celebrate them this Wednesday on the feast of All Saints. They believed and were willing to die for the sake of Christ.
We are being asked to have that same level of trust and faith in God. We have been given a much easier road to travel than Christ and the martyrs if we truly believe and put our complete trust and faith in God. Our best armor to protect us on this dangerous road of life in these times of self satisfaction and self gratification is prayer and the Eucharist.
God’s promise of salvation is for ALL His children who believe in Him and acknowledge their inadequacies and weaknesses and seek His help in living according to the teachings His beloved son Jesus Christ gave us in the Sermon On The Mount and in the Great Commandment “Love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, mind, soul and body and love your neighbor as you love yourself”
God is compassionate, merciful, forgiving and more loving than any human can ever be. He is there to answer our pleas and provide us with our needs as any good father does for His children. If we trust in him as the men in the gospel stories of today did, He will provide us with what we ask.
With God, all things are possible. Without God in our lives, we are helpless and open to all kinds of attack from the devil.
Christ himself told us “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me.” (John 12:43-45)Let us go forth from this day on to deepen our trust and faith in God and let us turn to Him before all others seeking His guidance and strength to overcome to temptations that are constantly bombarding us in these trying times so that we will think and act in our daily lives in the same manner that Christ did, accepting each person He encountered as a brother and sister and extending to them compassion, mercy, forgiveness and love.
Let us always call to mind the words found in Matthew 7 :1-3 “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”I close with this prayer;
Almighty and merciful God, grant me the wisdom and understanding and the courage to live according to your ways. Endow me with an abundance of the gifts of your Holy Spirit so that I will be unto all I encounter a reflection of your beloved son, Jesus Christ.
Assist me to be less judgmental of others but to show the same compassion and love as Jesus di to all who approached Him. Open my heart to become more accepting of all and more generous with the gifts you have provided me with. I ask this in the name of your beloved son, my redeemer and savior, Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit as one triune God now and forever unto the ages of ages. AMEN
A Reflection of the Readings for October 29th, 2006
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.Mission_St_Sergius.org
The messages of today’s readings in both the Western Orthodox and the Roman rites have one common theme and it is, if you trust and believe in God with your whole being He will provide your needs.
We are also reminded to be on guard always against the power and temptations of the evil one.
St. paul begins his letter to the Ephesians 6: 10-20 with this very sage advice “My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
The Gospels for both rites tell the story of how having faith in God and believing that Jesus Christ is the son of God come to earth to proclaim God’s infinite and everlasting love and forgiveness and to teach us the truth path to salvation can bring miracles.
In the Gospel of John we hear the story of the nobleman, whose son was sick and on the verge of dying. He pleaded with Christ to come with him and cure the boy. Jesus told him, “Go on thy way home, your son lives”. The man did not question Christ but did as he was told and on the way home a servant met him and told him his son was cured.
In the Gospel of Mark 10: 46-52, we hear a similar story of the blind beggar Bartimaeus who hearing Christ was close called out to Christ to heal him. Jesus feeling the man’s faith said to Bartimaeus
"Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately the blind beggar received his sight and followed Jesus faithfully from that day on.
The message of these readings is a simple one and yet so many today seem to look elsewhere for help in all things.
Our human nature is so fickle that unless we witness a miracle we begin to question the truth of Christ‘s teachings. This brings me to the warning issued by St Paul in his epistle. “. Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
One of the tools of the devil is to have us question the truth of Christ and the presence of Almighty God.
We need to be ever diligent in our goal of reaching eternal salvation with Christ every moment of every day. That is our road to Calvary. Because Christ was the son of God and free of all stain of sin to which we as humans are very prone, his road of Calvary which procured for us the redemption of sin, had to be extreme. Some of those who followed after him also suffered persecutions and death in the name of Christ and we celebrate them this Wednesday on the feast of All Saints. They believed and were willing to die for the sake of Christ.
We are being asked to have that same level of trust and faith in God. We have been given a much easier road to travel than Christ and the martyrs if we truly believe and put our complete trust and faith in God. Our best armor to protect us on this dangerous road of life in these times of self satisfaction and self gratification is prayer and the Eucharist.
God’s promise of salvation is for ALL His children who believe in Him and acknowledge their inadequacies and weaknesses and seek His help in living according to the teachings His beloved son Jesus Christ gave us in the Sermon On The Mount and in the Great Commandment “Love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, mind, soul and body and love your neighbor as you love yourself”
God is compassionate, merciful, forgiving and more loving than any human can ever be. He is there to answer our pleas and provide us with our needs as any good father does for His children. If we trust in him as the men in the gospel stories of today did, He will provide us with what we ask.
With God, all things are possible. Without God in our lives, we are helpless and open to all kinds of attack from the devil.
Christ himself told us “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me.” (John 12:43-45)Let us go forth from this day on to deepen our trust and faith in God and let us turn to Him before all others seeking His guidance and strength to overcome to temptations that are constantly bombarding us in these trying times so that we will think and act in our daily lives in the same manner that Christ did, accepting each person He encountered as a brother and sister and extending to them compassion, mercy, forgiveness and love.
Let us always call to mind the words found in Matthew 7 :1-3 “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”I close with this prayer;
Almighty and merciful God, grant me the wisdom and understanding and the courage to live according to your ways. Endow me with an abundance of the gifts of your Holy Spirit so that I will be unto all I encounter a reflection of your beloved son, Jesus Christ.
Assist me to be less judgmental of others but to show the same compassion and love as Jesus di to all who approached Him. Open my heart to become more accepting of all and more generous with the gifts you have provided me with. I ask this in the name of your beloved son, my redeemer and savior, Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit as one triune God now and forever unto the ages of ages. AMEN
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