Something To Meditate Over

cSomething to think about during this Lent
A Reflection by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.MissionStSergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry
Taken from Daniel 3: 26-90
(This passage is missing from most Translations of the Bible, Possibly because it is considered a Psalm/Prayer. They are translated from the Greek form of the Book of Daniel and originally were composed in Hebrew or Aramaic and few original transcripts are available.)

During this Lenten season I would like to put forth this reading from the Book of Daniel, which I think might be worth reflecting over as we look into our hearts and souls in order to find ways to bring ourselves closer to Almighty God. In these days of unrest and turmoil in the world it can provide us with a focus point to think about as we go about our daily lives and Lenten preparation.
Some consider this passage as a prophetic warning for our current time in history. Some consider the reading to be just another bible story to let us know how merciful Almighty God is to those who trust in Him. What ever your take on the readings is, it is an excellent source of meditation for us during Lent.
The similarities to what is happening in the Middle East and what happened in the time of Daniel are very similar considering where things are happening. (The king of Babylon which was in Persia and is now the countries of Iran, Iraq , Syria)
The passage begins with:
“O Lord, the God of our fathers, blessed are you and praiseworthy and glorious forever is your name.” The first thing being doing here is acknowledging that God is first and foremost, worthy of our acknowledging Him as we begin and end each day.
For you are just in all you have done, all your deeds are faultless, all your ways right and your judgments proper. This passage lets God know that we accept all his actions from the creation of the earth to the judgments imposed upon us and difficulties that we have to endure.
“You have executed proper judgments in all you have brought upon us and upon Jerusalem ( often thought to represent the kingdom of God the entire world) , the Holy City of our Fathers. By a proper judgment you have done all this because of our sins.”Here we affirm to God that we recognize that we are sinners and often times fail to live according to God’s will. “For we have sinned and transgressed by departing from you and we have done every kind of evil. Your commandments and teachings we have not heeded or observed nor have you done as you ordered us to do for our own good. You have handed us over to our enemies who are lawless and hateful rebels. You have given us over to an unjust king, the worst in all the world.”This is the part which could be considered prophetic. Even though this prayer was said by Daniel’s companions Shadrach, Meshach, Azariah, and Abednego while imprisoned by King Nebuchadnezzar .
They began with a plea to Almighty God, a plea that possibly we need to begin to ask God to bring about in this time. “For your names sake, do not deliver us up forever or make void your promise. Do not take away your mercy from us. Receive us with a contrite heart and humble spirit. Those who trust in you cannot be put to shame and so we follow you with our whole heart and fear you and pray to you. Do not let us be put to shame but deal with us in your unending kindness and great mercy. Deliver us by your wonders and bring glory to your name O Lord. Let all know that you alone are the Lord God, glorious over all the world.”The passage then goes on to tell how they were thrown into the furnace and how the flames rose forty nine cubits (1078 inches) above the furnace ( ( one cubit is about 22 inches) but an angel of the Lord came down and made the flames cool and the three were not harmed.
When considering the possibility of this passage as being prophetic to today, the flames could well represent the fire being cast down in the form if rockets upon the people of Israel and of Lebanon and Gaza and the firearms and weapons being used against innocent children and our own sons and daughters.
I suggest that possibly we might want to consider praying the prayer of the three young men when cast into the furnace. “Almighty and Merciful God, For your names sake, do not deliver us up forever or make void your promise to our Fathers. Do not take away your mercy from us. Receive us with a contrite heart and humble spirit. Those who trust in you cannot be put to shame and so we follow you with our whole heart and fear you and pray to you. Do not let us be put to shame but deal with us in your unending kindness and great mercy. Deliver us by your wonders and bring glory to your name O Lord. Let all know that you alone are the Lord God, glorious over all the world. AMEN”Upon being delivered they then began to praise God with a prayer that all priests and religious who pray the Liturgy of the Hours proclaim which begins thus; “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.”The prayer then continues giving praise for all things that exist individually followed by “praiseworthy and exalted above all forever”
How often do we acknowledge all that God has created? How often do we take the time to thank God for all He has given us? How often do we appreciate the gifts God has bestowed upon us and not just turn to Him when we are seeking something? God does indeed hear all our prayers, requests, petitions and does answer them, but He does so in His time and with what He thinks will be best for us.
Let us contemplate on this and let us examine our relationship with Him on a daily basis not only during this Lenten season but every day of the year.
Where do we need to make changes in our lives in order to strengthen our relationship with God? Do we need to become more trusting of His will and not always ask Him to bend to our will?
I leave the answers to these questions to you and God for I am not the one to make that judgement.
I pray that Almighty God, through the gifts of the Holy Spirit will inspire us and lead each of us into a closer and more trusting relationship with Almighty God.
The following The Canticle of Creatures by Saint Francis seems to be a shortened version of the prayer found in Daniel 3: 52-90 and might serve as one of your daily prayers.
The Canticle of Creatures
By Saint Francis

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor, and all blessing, To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no human is worthy to mention Your name. Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures, especially Sir Brother Sun, Who is the day and through whom You give us light. And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor; and bears a likeness or You, Most High One.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars, in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind, and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather, through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water, who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste. Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom You light the night, and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.
Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for your Love, and bear infirmity and tribulation. Blessed are those who endure in peace for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whom no one living can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will, for the second death shall do them no harm. Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility. AMEN

Use The Graces of God Wisely

Use God’s Graces Wisely, Resist the Temptations Around You
A Reflection for First Sunday of Lent 2007 based on Readings:2 Corinthians 6:1-10, Matthew 4:1-11
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry


It is appropriate that the readings for the first Sunday of lent focus on our using the graces God gives us suitably and not giving into the temptation that we are surrounded with every day. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he tells the people of Corinth “As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For the Lord says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you”. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, and now is the day of salvation.”He goes on to tell them “We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.”To me this tells us that the role of the church is not to make our lives difficult by creating rules that prevent us from praising and worshiping Almighty God. We priests are Christ’s servants here on earth and should do everything possible to create an environment that is comfortable for all who wish to acknowledge how God has blessed them with His infinite graces.
Paul goes on to tell us how he has endured many hardships and not ever faltered in His devotion to, love and trust in God. “In great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; … and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” That statement should lift us up especially when we are facing difficult times like the illness of a loved one, the death of a partner or dear friend, the loss of possessions or a job or the open discrimination of those who claim to love God but whose actions are contrary to the teachings of Christ. We affirm that we truly believe that with God all things are possible by not turning away and giving up on Gods’ providing us with the tools to overcome our adversities.
The Gospel reading, Matthew 4, is the account of how Christ was tempted in the desert by Satan. I believe that God allowed this to happen just so we would know that even the son of God could be the focus of the devils designs to take control of as many of God’s children. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”The lesson for us is to know and understand that if Satan was brazen enough to attempt to have the son of God come over to the dark side how much more aggressive will he be to try and have us forsake God? We have to realize that the evil one will use every tool available to him to try to have us desert God. The story of Job is another lesson of this found in scripture.
We need to be consistent in our devotion and trust in Almighty God and not allow ourselves to be fooled into giving in to the temptations that plague us.
Lent is a time of reflection and renewal for us. It is a time for us to fast as Christ did and to devote additional time to prayer. When we pray we need to acknowledge our failures and ask God to give us the graces necessary to fight off the designs of the evil one.
Our time on this earthly world is short and we need to use the time to make ourselves ready for the Eternal world with Almighty God that is open to us because of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we call to mind during this Lenten season.
Let us go forth, purify ourselves of our old ways, and cleanse ourselves of the stains of our sins so that we are a spotless offering to Almighty God. Let us not waste the graces God provides us with. Let us use His graces to the fullest in order that we come closer to God with the passing of every new day and when the time comes for God to call us home we will hear him say to us “ Well done my good and faithful servant, the kingdom of heaven is your abode for all eternity” AMEN

Ash Wednesday Reflection

Ash Wednesday, A Call to Repent
A Reflection For Ash Wednesday by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry
The first reading for Ash Wednesday is from Joel 2:12-19 and it encourages us with the following words, “The Lord says, Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your heart Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Do not tear your clothing or cover yourself with ashes but tear your hearts instead. What we are being told here is that we need to open ourselves up to being more compassionate and caring. We need to change our ways from being selfish and greedy and open ourselves up toward more generous and forgiving.
Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. With these words God is telling us, in no uncertain terms, that he is not out to inflict vengeance and condemnation upon us but is very merciful and forgiving. Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence, pray, “Spare your people, Lord! Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery. Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners” I understand the last sentence to indicate that as priests of God we should never allow those who do not accept God or Jesus Christ and His teachings to dictate to us how we should think and behave. So many people laugh and talk about what church leaders of all denominations have done or preached in the name of God and remark how that does not seem to be what Christ had to say. I have heard many say about religious leaders “They talk the talk but they do not walk the walk” meaning of course they preach the words but their actions are the exact opposite of the teachings.
If we but begin to live according to the teachings of Jesus Christ and work to bring about justice and peace to all the people of the earth then we have the following promise from God that; “The Lord’s Promises Restoration, Then the Lord will pity his people and jealously guard the honor of his land. The Lord will reply, “Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy your needs. You will no longer be an object of mockery among the surrounding nations.”
The second reading of the day comes from Matthew 6:16-21 “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. Again we are promised a reward for living our lives without seeking out special recognition from other and living our life for God’s recognition. The passage goes on further to instruct us on how we should perceive our possessions. “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Everything we do in this live should be directed toward our Eternal life and not toward this fleeting existence on this earth. This is brought very clearly to focus when we receive the sign of the cross on our forehead with the words “Remember, you are dust and unto dust you shall return.” This life is not an everlasting one, we are here only for a short time and it is what and how we live our life here on earth that will determine how our eternal life will be.
There are so many opportunities to serve God according to Christ’s teachings in this world today. The guide I personally use for what I need to do is found in the Corporal Works of Mercy which tell us to; Feed the hungry, Give drink to the thirsty, Clothe the naked, Shelter the homeless, Visit the sick, Visit those in prison, and Bury the dead. These are the criteria by which God will judge us. We will not be judged by how many rosaries we say or how many times we go to church but by whether or not we practiced these actions for the sake of all God’s children and not just for our own personal recognition.
In Matthew 25:34-39 Christ makes this clear when He tells us “Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me, I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
On this Ash Wednesday let us allow the ashes to remind us of the briefness of our time here to build up our heavenly treasure and the frailty of our nature and attempt as much as possible to become a fervent follower of Christ and child of God by our actions in His honor. Let us work fervently to seek a lasting peace and brotherhood between all of God’s children and not be the cause of friction and dissent but of compassion and forgiveness. Let us put our words into action and let our actions speak louder than our words. We are the masters of our destiny here on earth. God has given us the directions all we need to do is follow them. Christ made clear the will of the Father, He clarified the teachings of the Old Testament and gave us the New Covenant now all we have to do is live by it.
I close with this prayer; O Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, speak but the word and my soul shall be healed.

A Reflection on Trusing in God

My Hope Is In God My Savior
A message of Faith, Hope Trust and Love
A reflection for Quinquagesima Sunday
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFa
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry
1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Luke 18:31-43, Psalms 30, 76, 99, 118

How appropriate it is that the Sunday following the day set aside to hone lovers and love the message we hear from the readings is one of affirmation and an example of how trusting and loving God can bring untold peace and miracles. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians we hear Paul explain that without love all things are useless. “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
In his letter he also tells us what true love is and what it is not. We are told that a person who is in love is patient, kind, considerate, does not give in the envy or become boastful, is never rude or self-seeking and never gives in to anger and hatred or hold grudges against those who they perceive have done them wrong. In order to comply with all this we face an awesome task, especially in a world that praises wealth, power and fame. Paul goes on to tell su that prophecies and speaking in tongues and even those who claim to have great knowledge will all cease when the promised kingdom of God arrives.
The Introit Psalm and the Gospel back up the affirmation of Paul’s message with proof that by putting all our trust and faith in God and Loving God with our entire being miracles can and do happen. When we call upon the Lord He hears us and He always answers us even if the answer is not what we were seeking but it is the answer that is best for us according to God. This is where the trust has to be, that God’s will is what is best. This also is another difficult thing for us, especially for those who are used to getting their own way, to accept. “O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. (Psalm 30: 2-5)
In this same passage we are reminded that God’s anger at us because we have failed to live according to His desires, lasts only but a brief moment for His love for us far outweighs His anger. This was the lesson of the story of the Prodigal Son. The father will always forgive. With complete trust and faith in God our sadness and tears will be wiped away just as the rainbow follows the storm.
The Gospel story is a perfect example of having faith and trust even when all those around you are trying to dissuade you and call you away from having faith in God and do not want to hear you talk about God. “He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" “What do you want me to do for you? Lord, I want to see, he replied. Jesus said to him, Receive your sight; your faith has healed you. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God” (Luke 18: 38-43). “Your Faith has healed you” said Christ. There is a lesson to be learned in those words also, Christ said “Your Faith” He did not say the faith of others. True Christ also told us “Where ever two or three are gathered in my name so too am I in their midst”
Every day I receive requests for prayers for peoples intentions, healing or a special request that a person has to make to God and I always offer up my prayers for that person. I believe that the person who has asked for the prayers needs to pray even harder than I and give themselves over to having complete trust and faith in God healing them just as the blind man did.
On Wednesday we begin the season of Lent and it is a wonderful time for us to take inventory of our relationship with Almighty God and how we live out our daily lives with trust, faith and most of all love of Almighty God. Over the last few weeks I have reflected on ways that we show our love and trust in God by our actions. Today’s readings tell us the things we cannot have in our lives if we truly love God. Anger, greed, jealousy, pride, envy, discrimination, gossip, and being self-serving have no place in our lives if we are to truly follow the path of Christ.
To live in this manner is extremely difficult in this modern world but then neither was it easy for Christ to endure the way of the Cross and Calvary in order for us to be able to gain the promise of everlasting life and forgiveness of our sins.
We have choices in almost every thing we do, we can choose to try to live a life in accord with the teachings of Christ or we can pick and choose those things that are comfortable for us to do and reject the ones that might cause us some difficulty. What we choose and what our rewards will be depends solely on us. We can travel the smooth and easy road or take the more difficult but shorter road to our eternal reward. The choice is ours. In order to be able to travel the more difficult road we need to put our trust and faith in God and to continually talk to God with the knowledge that with Him we have the best friend in the world and He will give us the means to overcome the difficulties if we truly want to serve Him faithfully.
Let us give ourselves over to Him completely with boundless confidence in Him, since God is our Father and loves us more than any other person. Let us pray;
Father, into your hands I commend my soul, for I so need to surrender myself unto you and trust in and have faith in you in all things. Let your will be done in me always and lead me in your ways so that I may serve you in all things. Almighty God, Grant unto me your gifts of forgiveness to all who have harmed me, compassion toward all those in need, acceptance of all your children, and mercy and charity toward all I encounter. I ask this in the name of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, my redeemer and savior who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit as one God now and forever. AMEN

A Valentine Reflection

Love Is Patient and Kind
A Reflection for Saint Valentines Day
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://gropups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud (1 Corinthians 13:4)
February 14th had been celebrated by the church for centuries as the day to honor the three Saint Valentine’s but in 1969 it was removed from the church official calendar but is extremely popular as a commercial holiday set aside to give special recognition to your loved ones. According to history St. Valentine was a priest in the Roman Empire who helped hide and save persecuted Christians during the reign of Claudius II, was thrown in jail and later beheaded on Feb. 14. There is supposed to be another St. Valentine who was the Catholic bishop of Terni and was also beheaded during the reign of Claudius II. According to some historians there was a third St. Valentine who secretly married couples when marriage was forbidden in Africa and was later beheaded. The one common factor for all the St. Valentines is that they lost their heads over love. Possibly that explains why so many men and women seem to loose their heads when they think they are in love.
There was also a conventional belief in Europe during the middle Ages that birds chose their partners in the middle of February. Thus the day was dedicated to love, and people observed it by writing love letters and sending small gifts to their beloved. Legend has it that Charles, duke of Orleans, sent the first real Valentine card to his wife in 1415, when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. (He, however, was not beheaded, and died a half-century later of old age.)
These words from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians sums up what love really is “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud” It is not the sexual or physical attraction that counts, but the deeper spiritual actions one puts forth toward others. Mother Teresa put it nicely when she would tell people “Give your hands to serve and your hearts to love.'' - Mother Teresa
Christ, himself, told us that love was the greatest commandment, Love of God and Love of your neighbor. Today the word love is far too often confused with sex and nothing could be further from the truth. When two people are deeply in love, yes sex is a means of sharing and expressing that love and in the case of heterosexual couples of creating a physical expression of their love in children. But for true love to blossom and bloom there has to be understanding, honesty, trust cooperation and devotion. Both parties have to be willing to give 100% of themselves to the other.
Galatians 5:22 reminds us that love is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit and therefore it is a special gift that comes from Almighty God “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness”, (Galatians 5:22) and like all gifts from God it should not be taken lightly but appreciated and used in accordance with God’s intentions. Take special not of the gifts that follow love and its placement as the first gift.
On Saint Valentines day (even though the Roman church no longer celebrates it as a feast day) let us show our love for God’s children by doing more than sending a special greeting to a few friends and lovers, but put into actions that show all our love for God and for all God’s children by voicing our indignation for the actions of governments and individuals who promote hatred, bigotry, discrimination and violence. Let’s speak out in favor of funding for quality affordable health care for all, adequate affordable housing, affordable quality education for every child. “The Lord is waiting for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who seek his help”. (Isaiah 30:17-19)
“But love your enemies, do well to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (Luke 6:35) these words from Luke even advise us to love our enemies and one way to show that love is to pray for them. Pray that God will open their hearts to find solutions to the things that have caused the discord.
I close this reflection for Valentines Day with this prayer from 2 Thessalonians 2 : 16-17 “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” AMEN
May Almighty God’s love overflow within your hearts and out on to all those with whom you come in contact with.
Have a Blessed St. Valentines Day.

Sexagesima Sunday Reflection, Let Your Light Shine Forth

Let Your Light Show Forth
A Reflection for Sexagesima Sunday
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” (Luke 8:16)
These words are from the last line of the Gospel of Luke’s reading for Sexagesima Sunday and I have chosen them because they inform us that we should never hide our faith and be ashamed of believing in God.
They follow the parable story of the farmer who sowed his seed which represented the word of God that has been sown to us through Holy Scripture. Christ explained the parable in this way; “The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop”.(Luke 8:11-15)
Most of us have heard the gospel and scripture stories all our lives, some have been read the Bible stories from the time they were little children which means we have heard the inspired word of God as given to the prophets and the disciples but what have we done with it?
During this time of the liturgical year when we are preparing ourselves for the season of lent and taking inventory of our spiritual live we need to examine which of the people Christ describes we are.
Are we the seeds that fell along the path but allowed Satan to trample upon them and harden our hearts against God because of the actions of people who are supposed to represent God here on earth but in reality are doing the work of Satan?
Are we like the seeds that fell upon the rocks who have heard the word but claim the Holy Scripture is just a lot of myths and fables and has nothing to do with God or how we should act and live our lives and even go so far as to say there is no God but that we are all masters of our own destiny?
Possibly we are among those who are like the seeds that have fallen on thorns, we believed when we were young but because of the difficulties we had to face or our need to follow a road that gives us more pleasure, fame and riches have let our faith die.
Hopefully, we are among the people who like the seeds that fell on fertile soil and have been nourished through prayer, the sacraments and by our living according the Christ’s teachings by being kind, generous, loving, merciful and welcoming to all of God’s children.
If you believe that you belong to the latter group, be sure not to be boastful about it, instead take heed from the words of the Epistle for this Sunday; “My power is strongest when you are weak. So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Paul acknowledges that it is Christ that provides us with the strength to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to Almighty God and it is when we recognize that we can only follow Christ by admitting our weaknesses and attempting to overcome them that God sends us the ability to do so.
The one common denominator of almost all the saints, and certainly those who are revered among the greatest saints, is their admitting how sinful they were and their constant imploring God for forgiveness and strength to overcome their weaknesses. Why should we be any different than they? Morning and night and during the day I often turn to God and pray for the ability to resist the temptations that plague me. I pray for guidance and direction in my ministry. I plead for the means to proclaim God’s infinite mercy and love for all His children and to not give in to the thoughts that I am failing God because of the limitations I have.
Like any journey we travel on we encounter many different roads. Some are lined with the beauty of God’s creation with verdant fields or lush foliage, others are filled with pot holes and detours and we struggle to reach out destination.
The destination we are aiming for is everlasting life with Almighty God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Our beloved mother Mary and all the angels, saints and heavenly elect. During the time of inventory before the season of lent let us take a good inventory of our life and where we are in the journey and then make the necessary plans to follow a road that is most desirable and will bring us to the promises of Christ.
AMEN

Septuagesima Sunday Reflection

gesima,A Time of Reflection, Sacrifice, and Renewal
A Reflection for Septuagesima Sunday
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA, Mission St. Sergius & Bacchus
Holliston MA
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

February begins the countdown and beginning of the church season set aside to remind us of what Christ was willing to do for us and how we are doing, as followers of Christ, in living according to His instructions.
We are reminded during the weeks leading up to the official start of Lent on Ash Wednesday to begin our period of reflection and preparation by the titles of the Sundays leading up to Ash Wednesday.
The 17-day period beginning on Septuagesima Sunday is intended to be observed as a preparation for the season of Lent, which is itself a period of spiritual preparation.
In the Catholic liturgy, the Alleluia ceases to be said during the liturgy, effective at First Vespers of Septuagesima Sunday, and is not sung again until Easter. Violet Vestments are worn, except on feast days, during the period from Septuagesima Sunday until Holy Thursday. The readings of the Divine office during this time are from the Books of Genesis which describe the Creation of the universe, the human race and the fall from grace of man by disobedience of God’s law, the sin of Cain and Abel and continue with the promises of redemption and the Messiah made to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. The Gospel Story for Septuagesima Sunday is that of the Prodigal son and is meant to remind us of the forgiving and infinite merciful way of God.

Usually during this week I try to spend time reflecting on the past year and how well I did in living up to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Was I kind and considerate of others, even those who were not so nice to me? Did I give back to God a portion of what he provided me with, sometimes called tithing, in time or financial resources? Did I care for the sick and needy? Did I discriminate against anyone or put anyone down? Did I cause anyone to become angry and if so, did I apologize and try to make amends? I ask myself how I can become a better person and how I can best serve God. Where I find weaknesses in my life or when I think of ways to improve myself, I write them down as something to put on my list of things I need to do.

Sexagesima” is Latin for “sixtieth”; this Sunday is so called because it is roughly sixty days from Easter. Sexagesima brings us a firm warning that as we work for Christ and His Kingdom, we must always be aware that any success we may see is not due to our own efforts, but to God’s direction and His Grace. This Sunday is a perfect time to reflect on where we are and why and how we got here and what part and for what reason God placed us here. During this week I ask if I am doing all that I can to be a true servant and disciple of Christ.

Quinquagesima Sunday marks the period of fifty days before Easter. It begins with the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, called Dominica in Quinquagesima or Esto Mihi from the beginning of the Introit of the Eucharistic Liturgy; it is a Sunday of the second class, and the Color for the vestments of the Mass is violet. In the past, for early Christians it was the beginning of fasting period, and is called “The days without Meat” by many nationalities. This is the Sunday that I usually have my list of things that I need to do to improve myself in living according to the teachings of Christ prepared and posted somewhere that I can see it every day.

This year Ash Wednesday begins on the 21st of the month and on this day, worshippers are blessed with ashes by the priest. The priest or minister marks the forehead of each participant with black ashes, in the shape of a cross, and the worshipper traditionally retains until washing it off after sundown as a reminder of their mortality and sinfulness. The symbolism echoes the ancient Near Eastern tradition of throwing ash over one's head signifying repentance for the sins one has committed (as related numerous times in the Scripture). The priest marks the forehead of the person with one of these three blessings: "Remember, man that you are dust and unto dust you shall return." (Latin: Memento homo, quia pulvis es, ET in pulverem reverteris.) From Genesis 3:19 or "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel." Or "Repent, and hear the good news."
The ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous year's Palm Sunday and mixed with olive oil; as a fixative. Ash Wednesday is observed by both fasting and abstinence and is a day of contemplating one's transgressions. The ashes are not a Sacrament but a Sign or Sacramental. (A Sacramental is something that aids one’s devotion to God but is not a sacrament.) Sacramentals are commonly divided into six classes: prayer, anointing, eating, confession, giving, and blessings.
As the title of this reflection indicates this is a time for us to reflect on our past and how well we are doing in coming closer to God and on what we might have to change from our current way of life and to plan for making those changes. It is a time of Sacrifice, of giving up some of the comforts we are accustomed to, reflecting the sacrifice Christ offered up for us and also of the forty days and nights that Christ fasted in the desert.
It is a time of Renewal, a time to make our selves over so that we better reflect Christ in our day to day lives.
God placed us here to achieve the promise of everlasting life with Him and all the heavenly elect but we have to earn that by living our lives in accord with the way Christ instructed us. We need to adhere to what Christ Called the two great commandments “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and body and the second is like unto it, Love your neighbor as you love yourself” AMEN

A Twenty First Century Saiont

A 21st Century Saint
A Reflection of Franciscan Priest and Martyr Mychal Judge OFM
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org

On September 11, 2001 a son of Saint Francis paid the ultimate sacrifice while doing the job that he believed Christ called him to do. Fr. Mychal Judge OFM was the chaplain of the New York City Fire Department and had answered to call when extremist militants destroyed the World Trade Center and claimed the lives of over 3000 American citizens. There are many people who feel that, just a Christ died in order to save the all people and and so many martyrs died believing and living according to the teachings of Christ, Fr. Mychal also died believing that hwat he was doing was what Christ would have done. Michael Ford, in his FR. MUCHAL JUDGE, AN AMERICAN HERO, writes some of Fr. Michal’s words which are words we should all live by and use often.
Fr. Mychal has often said “Is there so much love in the world that we can afford to discriminate against any kind of love”? When asked why he was a priest and how he viewed his life he responded "The life I have is not what I planned on, but I had no idea what life I'd have. You just don't know, so you just go and take one day at a time. I don't get into tomorrow because God hasn't created it yet. So I live in today as best I can for the glory of God and His people." Describing his day he said I start the day with this prayer, 'Lord, show me, take me, mold me, fashion me, show me what You want, take me where you want me to go, let me meet who You want me to meet, tell me what to say and keep me out of Your way.'Many believe that Fr. Mychal should be declared a saint but that is unlikely to ever happen if the Church of Rome continues to proclaim their current teachings. Through the centuries they have almost successfully buried many saints from the the early church history from common knowledge for the same reasons that they will probably never canonize Fr. Mychal.
The reason, he like Saints Sergius, Bacchus, Polyeuct, and Nearchus, and so many others was an openly gay man.
The saints I mention above all have dates assigned to them on the Roman calendar but most people have never heard of them.
Nearly 3,000 participated in his funeral Mass Sept. 15. He is buried in the friars' plot of Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Totowa, N.J.
I would like to suggest that you visit a web site dedicated to Fr. Mychal where so many more inspiring stories about the brother of St. Francis who lived a saintly life can be found at: www.SaintMychal.com and also plan to see the wonderful documentary about his life entitles SAINT OF 9/11.

Hve Faith, Love and Trust in God

Have Faith, Love and Trust In God
A Reflection for the Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
Readings: Romans 13:8-10, Matthew 8:23-27,
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

The readings for this Sunday sum up the basic truths of Christ and God’s desire for the human race. I believe that if we do not start to implement this every day in our lives that the situation the world finds itself in will only get worse. We first need to Love God totally and completely for the day is fast approaching when we will need to answer for the way we lived our life. The Epistle reading clearly states how the writer of the letter to the Romans understood what Jesus taught when He was asked what the greatest commandment was and Christ replied “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind, soul and body is the first and most important commandment and the second is like unto it, Love your neighbor as yourself” Today we hear the words from the letter to the Faith community of Rome which is very clear and precise; Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet, and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10
“Love is the fulfillment of the law” Love of God and love for all God’s children.” If we love someone we do not go about causing them pain and suffering. When we love someone we attempt to insure that they are comfortable, well fed, healthy, and safe. We do not intentionally place someone we love in the way of danger or somewhere that they are apt to be killed. I will elaborate more on this after I introduce the second part of today’s message, the need to put our complete trust in Almighty God. The second reading is the story of how the disciples and Jesus had gone out on the lake and a sudden storm arose while Jesus was asleep in the bow of the boat. The apostles became very frightened and woke Jesus with these words; "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" Jesus replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!" Matthew 13:25-27 The lesson here is one of faith and trust in God. How often have we gone into a panic about something and totally forgotten to turn to God and place the result into His hands?
Granted, the results we desire are not always the results that God will provide, but they are His answer and we have to accept those results as being God’s will. We have to trust that God has a very good reason for things turning out the way they do and if we do trust God we eventually will learn God’s reason. I can testify to that myself. So many times in the past things have happened that I did not understand why and I agonized over what I might have done to cause what I perceived was a negative result. The events usually forced me to make changes in my life that I had not planned on. The strange thing was that each time I found myself being led closer and closer to what eventually became my current life. I must admit I had some help in accepting the changes. When I was in the depths of depression of one of the climatic changes in my life I actually was contemplating ending it all but in a moment of desperation and I must admit anger, I threw open the Bible and it opened to the Book of Job. I read the story of Job and it was like a spotlight was beaming down upon me. I realized that I had spent most of my life searching for fame and fortune I thought important because of the gifts I was blessed with instead of seeking out what it was that God wanted me to do with those gifts.
When I stopped living according to me plans and began to ask God to lead me where He wanted me things became clearer and though not always smooth my road was mapped out for the remaining journey of life.
Each day I awake thankful for another day to try to do God’s will and to proclaim to all that I can of the everlasting mercy and love of God for all His children. God is Love, not vengeance, retaliation, discrimination, hatred, or condemnation. God asks us only to love and trust in Him, to accept His desire for us and to live our life in a manner that does not hurt anyone else.
Today our world is embroiled in conflicts between political parties, nations and even churches. This is not God’s way. Conflict is the domain of Satan and He uses it to tear families, governments and nations apart in order to cause pain and suffering and to attempt to turn people away from God just as he did with Job.
Our country is following in a pattern that has caused the downfall of every great empire and kingdom since the beginning of time. When the great empires tried to force their religious and cultural ideologies on others and expand their land holdings and wealth and domination of other cultures, they eventually came to a crashing demise. That history has been repeated from the Ancient Babolonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Roman, Spanish, English, and French and Prussian empires.
Without respect and love for others there will never be peace. Love has to begin with loving ourselves and loving and accepting the way God created us. We cannot truly love others until we love and accept ourselves.
In order to comply with the teaching of the lesson from scripture this week we need to begin the process by accepting who we are, and then going about and making the best of the gifts we have been given by actively promoting peace and brotherhood in our families, neighborhoods and speaking out against injustices we observe being done to others by our friends, neighbors, government and churches. By doing that we are demonstrating our love of God and the love He has for all His children. We become a beacon of God’s love here on earth to all we encounter.
I end with the words of St. Francis’s Peace Prayer;
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; when there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand, to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. AMEN

From Sinner To Saint

From Great Sinner to God’s Messenger
A Reflection on the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

Today is the feast commemorating the conversion of St. Paul possibly one of the most influential of the messengers of Christ’s light of truth. The story of Saint Paul should be an inspiration to every person on the face of the earth. Here was a man who was among the educated elite of the Jewish faith, a Pharisee, who so despised and feared the teachings of Christ that he went about persecuting and killing those followers of Christ’s teachings. On the way to Damascus a blinding light struck him blind and he, according to his writings found in the Acts of the Apostles and Paul’s Epistles, heard the voice of Christ asking him “Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
We need to notice the words Christ used in addressing Paul. He did not say “Saul, why do you persecute my followers” but “Why are you persecuting me”
Christ himself by those words acknowledges that once we are baptized and acknowledge Christ as the promised messiah of God we become one with Christ. We become one in the Mystical Body of Christ. In short, we become the church, not some building, some city, or some group, we become and are the church.
The story of Paul’s conversion is also a message of hope for all who feel that they are not welcome or that they cannot be accepted because of their past sins or transgressions. How much more affirming can that message be for us because if a person who actual inflicted pain and suffering and murdered children of God can be forgiven and become one of the greatest evangelist of all time we can be assured that we can also achieve the promise of everlasting live with God.
It was also Paul who proclaimed that the message of salvation was not for a select few but for all people of all nations. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians makes it crystal clear when he wrote “There is one body. But it has many parts. Even though it has many parts, they make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit into one body. It didn't matter whether we were Jews or Greeks, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. The body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts. Suppose the foot says, "I am not a hand. So I don't belong to the body." It is still part of the body. And suppose the ear says, "I am not an eye. So I don't belong to the body." It is still part of the body. ……….But God has joined together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honors to the parts that didn't have any. In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy. You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it. This last line is of great importance when we look at how some churches have caused pain to parts of the body of
Christ by turning away people because they were divorced or have a same sex orientation.
In Galatians 2:6 Paul wrote “Some people in Jerusalem seemed to be important. It makes no difference to me what they were. God does not judge by what he sees on the outside. Those people added nothing to my message.” This passage makes it very clear that the high priests and those who set up rules and regulations added nothing to the message of Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Paul tells us that He is only proclaiming what Christ made clear to him, What I received I passed on to you. And it is the most important of all. Here is what it is. Christ died for our sins, just as Scripture said he would. 4 He was buried. He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as Scripture said he would be.” These lines tell the whole story of our redemption and salvation as promised throughout the Old Testament to all the prophets, we have been saved by Christ’s gift of himself to us. Just as Paul, a sinner who committed the gravest of sins became on of God’s great messengers of the light of truth found in Christ’s teachings so we also will be welcomed by God if we live as Christ taught us in the two great commandments; “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind, soul and body and the second is like unto it; Love your neighbor as you love yourself”
Let us go forth from this day forward letting the light of Christ shine forth from us as a beacon to all we encounter. Let us not be afraid to live and act in ways that are befitting to a follower of Christ. Let us follow the instruction from Jesus found in Mark 16: 15 “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Who ever believes and is Baptized will be saved”
Just as Paul went from great sinner to Evangelist, so too we can go from being a passive believer to becoming an active participant in the Mystical Body of Christ, the church, by our deeds and actions. Prayer alone is not enough, for prayer is a conversation with God and as we all know from the actions of so many in today’s world, especially those who are supposed to lead us, “Talk is cheap if not followed up by action”.
Paul went from contempt of Christ to a staunch believer and put his entire faith and trust in God, so too must we.
Our human nature is only a fleeting thing, but our spiritual salvation is forever. Let no human make you turn away from God by what they have done or said but listen to the truth found in Christ’s teachings and follow them.
God is love and God is forgiving and welcoming. Remember the teaching found in Luke 15:6-8 “In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”
Let us praise God from whom all blessings flow. AMEN

Living In Peace and Harmony With All People

Reflection for Third Sunday after Epiphany
Living in Peace, Harmony in Compliance With God’s Will
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Holliston, MA
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

From Romans 12:16-21, Psalm 101:16-17, Matthew 8:1-13,
“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position, do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord.” On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 16-21)
These powerful words from the Epistle of Paul to the Romans seem to have fallen on the deaf ears of the powerful world leaders if one looks at their actions. Instead of attempting to live in harmony they prefer to cause strife and war. Their actions cause pain and suffering and huge loss of innocent lives.

The same can also be said of some leaders of the Christian churches who it seems would rather exclude whole sections of people because they feel that they do not fit their life style and reject the truth that God creates all things and people for purposes known only to God alone.
It is also clear that many of the hierarchy of churches did not pay attention to the section of the reading that says; “Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody”, for if they did they never would have allowed pedophile priests to continue in positions where they could abuse children by transferring them around.
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord.” On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Instead of adhering to this teaching people seem quite willing to live by the adage “Revenge is Sweet”.
The time has come, if we ever hope to actually know a time of peace and brotherhood, for all people, especially those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, to stop traveling the road leading to strife and misery, the road that causes suffering and pain to so many parents and children by the loss of their mother, father, sister or brother. We need to stop using bombs and guns to bring about peace and begin using food and medicine, education and diplomacy to promote stability and peace. The road we have traveled is not working, it has not worked in the past and it certainly is not working now.
The time is now for us to be more mindful of the needs of others who have not been as blessed as we have. We need to learn to appreciate the cultural artistic and religious differences of countries and stop trying to make all carbon copies of the US. We need to search for the things we have in common with each other and not focus on the differences; this applies to all the religious denominations that claim to believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ.
All around us we see the glorification of excess. Ads promote treatments not for disease that are killing people like cancer, Parkinson’s, AIDS but for the search for the fountain of youth and beauty or to enhance ones sexual pleasure. Every other advertisement in the papers, television, magazines, radio and now over the internet promotes items that pander to the carnal nature of man or greed. People put themselves in debt to acquire things like 60” flat screen home theater systems so they can impress their neighbors.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” The final sentence of Paul’s letter to the Romans implores us to not allow ourselves to be overcome by evil but for us to overcome evil by doing good. As we reflect on this reading I suggest that we look within ourselves and seek out the places in our lives where we can make a difference. What can I do to make a change for the good in my personal life, in my families’ lives, in the neighborhood and in the world?
I will close with this prayer:
Almighty and Merciful God instill within me the knowledge and truth of your teachings, guide me in all my actions, thoughts, words and deeds through the gifts of the Holy Spirit to better serve you. Inspire me as to ways that I can make a difference in my own live and in the lives of all those with whom I touch. Help me to better serve you and all your children each and every day. Forgive me for any transgressions I may have committed in though, word, deed or action in the past and lead me on your road to eternal life. I ask this through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, my redeemer and savior who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. AMEN

The Symbolism of The Cana Miracle

The Symbolism of Cana Miracle
A reflection of the Gospel of John 2:1-12
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry



The Gospel story from John chapter 2 verses 1-12 which many churches today are proclaiming, is filled with a great amount symbolism for us to ponder. The water which Christ turns into the finest of the wine served symbolizes the “Living Water” that Jesus is for us. Christ tells us in John 4:14
“ whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."And in John 6 verse 35 "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”The symbolism should not be lost on us for as John, who was the closest to Christ and is often called “The Beloved Disciple”, tells us in Chapter 7:37-38 ,Christ proclaimed “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”The story of the miracle of Cana ends with the remark of the steward to the bridegroom ‘People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have had plenty to drink; but you have kept the best wine till now’. Water turned to a deep red wine, the same color as the water and the blood that flowed from the side of Christ when the soldier pierced his side as he was crucified. The same color as that which we receive in the Eucharist water and wine that has been offered up, as Christ offered Himself up on the cross, and which is turned into the Body and Blood of Christ.
There are two other references to quenching our thirst in Scripture one in Revelations 21:6 "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.” And in Revelations 22:17 "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Just as Christ freely and obediently obeyed His mother’s request and turned the water into wine, so also does He invite us to partake freely of the bread and water of life that is His word and which we receive in the Eucharist.
Water which is clear and without which one can not survive, becomes the blood red wine which fortifies and strengthens us just as the word of God in Scripture and the Eucharist fortify and strengthen us in our faith.
Another lesson of course found in the miracle of Cana is obedience, Christ responds to His mother “Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.” Yet He obeys her wishes as she tells the steward ‘Do whatever he tells you’.
The six jars could easily represent the six original churches founded by the apostles after the Pentecost overflowing with Christ’s message of hope, salvation, truth and redemption.
“you have kept the best wine till now” the words spoken by the wine steward also could relate to God’s desire to make His will and truth clear to all as to exactly how we could gain eternal life and happiness for all eternity.
With our Baptism we all become children of God and heirs of heaven and servants of the Lord and as such we have been given the secret of salvation just as the servants who drew the water Christ turned into the best wine were the only ones who knew where this wonderful wine came from “only the servants who had drawn the water knew”
We know the way, we know the truth, and we know that Christ is the light that leads us to the company of God. We have been given the choice to a follow Him and to live in a manner which is in accord with His teachings or to go thirsty and dry up just as our bodies dry up from lack of water.
This miracle convinced the apostles of Christ’s divinity and the glory of God which John tells us in the last sentence “He let his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him.” If we too believe in Him let us not allow anyone to drive us away or divert us from living in accord with His teachings. Let us not be disillusioned by the actions of those who are supposed to represent Christ which are not in accord with His teachings.
Let us partake freely of the Life Giving Water by which we were Baptized and which sustains us through diversity and sorrow and live our lives by giving thanks to Almighty God by our words, deeds and devotion to God. Let us use the tools and gifts we have been given by God to proclaim His glory and truth to all. Let God’s will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.
Remembering the words of Christ at the Last Supper when He gave us the Eucharist “This is my body which shall be given up for you, take and eat” “This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant which will be shed for you and for the many so that sins will be forgiven. As often as you do this you do so in remembrance of me” partake of His gift to us in the Bread of life and the cup of salvation by receiving Eucharist as often as possible and go forth living in and for Christ in obedience to God’s will. AMEN

One God, Many Gifts, One Spirit

One God, Many Gifts, One Spirit
A Reflection for the Second Sunday after Epiphany
Based on Readings from Romans 12:5-16, Matthew 8:1-13
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Holliston MA
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

The first reading from for this Sunday, Romans 12:5-16, is one of the most powerful readings found in Holy Scripture, so much so that I do not want to break it apart into pieces but begin with the entire passage and then comment on what I believe it says to us and how we might react to it.
Each of us has one body with many parts, and the parts do not all have the same purpose. So it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically, rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with every one.Within this passage are the directions for living a truly Christian life, of being truly Christ Like. The first part sentence states that, just as the human body has many divergent parts each that has a unique function within the whole, so to does the Mystical Body of Christ, what we call THE CHURCH, have different parts that make up the entire One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. We all belong to each other and therefore need to stop the infighting between each other. We know that when one part of our body is not functioning properly, the entire body suffers. So it is within the church. Throughout history we have seen the church split apart over matters that have absolutely nothing to do with the teachings of Christ but with man made regulations that usually had to do with gaining control, power and wealth. This must come to an end.
God, in His wisdom, grants unto every person special gifts. Who are we, mere mortals, to criticize someone for the way they pray or offer honor and praise to God? Isn’t there only one God?
The passage also goes on to tell us not to pretend to love someone, but to really love them with genuine affection. It clearly states that Hate is wrong. We are told to work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically, be generous, to bless those who persecute you and most importantly, work in harmony with each other.
The last sentence, I believe speaks volumes especially to our politicians and the leaders of all church denomination, especially in light of recent happenings. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with every one.
Do things so that everyone can see you are honorable. That sentence, to me, would mean no closed door negotiations between special interests and government leaders passing legislation that affects everyone. To me it means not keeping the misdeeds of individual’s secret and trying to cover them up. It means corporations need to be open and honest with consumers.
The last sentence in today’s world is even more meaningful, . Do all that you can to live in peace with every one.We are being told to do everything possible to live in peace with everyone, not just a select few, but everyone. Living in peace does not mean attempting to force our will on others. Living in peace does not mean using bombs and guns to enforce our way of living on different cultures. Living in peace does not mean sacrificing more and more lives for the sake of having control of a country that is rich in oil resources. Living in peace means not sacrificing the future of our country by having it’s youth killed in a land that has been divided among ethnic groups for thousands of years. The Billions of dollars being spent and the many more billions that would have to be spent are depriving citizens of services that are needed here in this country for health care, decent housing for the poor, guaranteed education for every child, proper affordable medical and prescription medicines for seniors with fixed incomes.
This weeks reading is a challenge to every individual who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ and to all those who worship the God of Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Isaiah, Jacob and David. It is challenging us to rethink the way we have been living and make the changes necessary to be more God like in our lives.
To be and live a true Christian life is not easy in this world today. It requires a lot of faith in God and strength to fight against the popular “more is better, money and power are all that counts, my need supersede to concerns of others” thinking of so many people today.
May Almighty God open the hearts, minds and souls of all of us to live our lives according to the teachings of Christ, Gandhi, Martin Luther King and the other great people who preached non-violence and brotherhood. AMEN

Baptism of Jesus, The Beloved Son

This Is My Beloved Son In whom I am Well Pleased
A Reflection for The Baptism Of Christ/First Sunday After Epiphany
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
Holliston, MA
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

“Console my people, console them, says your God.” (Isaiah 40:1) These are the opening words of one of the first Readings for this feast celebrating the Baptism of Christ. The Reading for this feast whether it is celebrated Sunday January 7th as in the Roman church or on January 13th as in many Eastern and other churches, are words that shout clearly Almighty God’s desire for all people.
In all the readings assigned for this day there is found words of affirmation, comfort and a clear truth that all should embrace. The truth, Jesus Christ is the Son of God made man, He is the Messiah promised to all the prophets. Jesus came to bring us the truth and to be the light that would lead us to the father. In Luke 3:15 - 22 we hear John The Baptist proclaim; “someone who is more powerful than I am, and who I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals will come; he will Baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Now when all the people had been Baptized, and while Jesus after his own baptism was at prayer, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily shape, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my flavor rests on you’.
In John 1:29-34 we find further affirmation of the event as John the disciple was an observer of the event and recorded it in His Gospel “ The next day when John was Baptizing by the Jordan River and He saw Jesus coming toward him he exclaimed “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I told you about when I said, "Someone else will come. He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born." I didn't know who he was. But I came to baptize you with water, so that everyone in Israel would see him.” The passage goes on to tell us what happened after Christ was baptized with water; “I was there and saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove from heaven. And the Spirit stayed on him. Before this I didn't know who he was. But the one who sent me to baptize with water had told me, "You will see the Spirit come down and stay on someone. Then you will know that he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. I saw this happen, and I tell you that he is the Son of God.”Another reading assigned to this feast, from Titus 2:11 and 3:7, provides us with even more of God’s truth and another reason for us to not only be thankful to Almighty God but to have hope. “You see, God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus. But when the kindness and love of God our savior for mankind were revealed, it was not because he was concerned with any righteous actions we might have done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own compassion that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our Savior. He did this so that we should be justified by his grace, to become heirs looking forward to inheriting eternal life”.
I personally do not know how things could be made any clearer to us. When we read these words of the readings for the Feast of The Baptism Of Christ and couple them with the teachings Christ gave us with his words and actions how can we possibly claim to be followers of Christ is we continue to discriminate against others, allow people to go hungry while others luxuriate in excesses? How can we justify the taking of another person’s life in the name of justice? How, as Christians can we take upon ourselves the rite to question why God creates people differently? How can we accept the old rule of “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, when Christ said: “Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”If we are to actually live our lives as followers of Christ, and we acclaim Jesus as our Redeemer and our Savior we need to begin to set aside the petty differences that have caused the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic church to be divided into many segments and look to the basic truths of Christ as the glue that should bind us and hold us together. In the early church priests were married, Commitments between same sex individuals were blessed, There were women deacons, Bishops, priests lived simple lives and used simple vessels to celebrate the Eucharist and did not wear jeweled encrusted clothing but simple home spun clothing.
All the trappings that we have come to associate with the celebration of the liturgies and the vestments worn by the clergy came about when the hierarchy began to consider themselves equal with royalty. They even began to call some PRINCES OF THE CHURCH, a title that is still being used in some circles.
All religious are called and have accepted to be Christ’s servant and instrument here on earth. Our task is to be the instrument through which the compassion and mercy of Almighty God are made known to all people. We should not be driving people away, but trying to bring them home like the shepherd searching for the lost sheep.
On this day which confirms the truth of Christ being the Son of God, the creator and father of all things, let us evaluate ourselves and seek out what changes we need to make in our lives to completely and joyfully truly live as followers of Christ and believers in God. Then let us go forth to turn our decisions into actions that will bring about changes for the betterment of the human race. Let us work hard to bring about the changes that will improve the environment. Let us do our part in ending oppression, hunger, homelessness, discrimination, and division and become an instrument of Almighty God and a true follower of Christ working to bring peace to all God’s children. AMEN

Epiphany Reflection

Jan. 6th Feast of Epiphany
Also known as Three Kings Day
A Reflection by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
If we look up the word EPIPHANY in a dictionary you find it has more meanings than just a feast we celebrate on January sixth celebrating the presentation of gifts by the Three Wise Men to the Infant Jesus and the Holy Family. One of the meanings is “manifestation of a divine being”; the other meaning is “A Sudden intuitive leap of understanding or faith, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence”.
The feast of The Epiphany fits both definitions. God mad His son known to the world through the Three Wise Men’s visit after following a star that they, as astronomers and astrologers believed foretold of the birth of the king of all kings. , The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the feast as the baptism of Jesus Christ.
The event certainly fits both definitions; a manifestation of a divine being and an intuitive leap of understanding or faith through an ordinary but striking occurrence, for that is exactly what happened. The three wise men believed an astrological sign and followed a star which was not one they knew and which seemed to be a beacon traveling through the sky to Bethlehem to behold the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. The birth of such a child had also been prophesized not only in Jewish writings but in the writings of other religions, probably those who trace themselves back to Abraham.
In Hispanic and Latin cultures, as well as some places in Europe, the feast day is known as Three Kings’ Day. Because of differences in church calendars, mainly between the Eastern Orthodox and the western Catholic and Protestant traditions, both Christmas and Epiphany have been observed at different times in the past. Today, most of the Eastern Orthodox traditions follow the western church calendar. The exceptions are some Greek Orthodox Churches and related traditions. The Russian and Serbian Orthodox churches still follow the older calendar and celebrate Epiphany as the Feast of Theophany (From the Greek, Theo (God), and phainein (to show forth), Theophany means an appearance of God to man.) on January 19th.
Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas Season and the Twelve Days of Christmas, which are usually counted from December 25th until January 5th. In most traditions, the day before Epiphany is the Twelfth Day of Christmas, the evening of which is called Twelfth Night. This is an occasion for feasting in some cultures, including the baking of a special King's Cake as part of the festivities of Epiphany. Polish people celebrate the feast by marking the initials of the three Kings, (Casper, Melchior, Balthasar) over their door with the numerals of the year in the following manner; (20CMB07) which they believe will bring them good fortune throughout the year and their dining table upon which they feast is covered with straw under a linen cloth to simulate the manger where Christ was born.
What we need to reflect on is the wonderful manifestation of God’s only Son, who came to us as a poor infant human with all the characteristics and difficulties of the human race and what that should mean to each of us.
God in His goodness and wisdom made himself visible to us in Jesus Christ. Prior to this all the recorded manifestations of God to humans were in tongues of fire, a burning bush, a cloud, but never in human form. In fact the Jewish people and even the prophets believed that looking directly at God would mean death. Not exactly the picture of a loving, merciful, forgiving God.
I believe that God decided that it was time to reveal the true God and the best way for God to do that was through the birth of Jesus. Jesus came, as He himself told us, to give us a new covenant. Jesus came to make clear to us the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is the light which would guide us to the Father.
Jesus said: “Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Fathers who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” (John 14:5-11)
Jesus came to teach us the way to the father, Jesus gave us the two great commandments “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind, soul and body and the second is like unto it Love your neighbor as yourself”
In John 14:15-21 Jesus makes the reason for his being sent to earth for all men to see and touch completely clear, He was not a disjointed voice booming out of clouds or in a burning bush, He was flesh and blood. He said: “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. I will send The Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you, No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
The manifestation of God in the person of Jesus Christ that we celebrate on the feast of Epiphany came about in an ordinary way, not as a sudden appearance but in a natural birth that followed the nine month pregnancy of Mary, the Theotokos. The pronouncement of the birth of the King of Kings by the Wise men to Herod and the world and how they arrived in Bethlehem certainly was a striking occurrence.
The birth of Christ and the pronouncement of that event brought into the world a message of hope, forgiveness and the promise of everlasting life for all people, not just the Jewish people. Christ promised us that by living justly and as He instructed and gave an example we would all find a peace that the world can not give.
In this time of trouble throughout the world each of us needs to acknowledge Christ and love Him and through Him, the Father who sent Him. We need to look to them for our deliverance from the worlds and churches’ troubles and seek guidance from the Holy Spirit for a way of ending the divisions that separate us and are causing so much pain and strife for so many. We need to express our love more, we need to open our hearts to forgiveness and mercy, we need to pray more and seek self gratification less. As Christ has promised; "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching and My Father will love him. We will come to him and make our home with him. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. The words you hear me say are not my own. They belong to the Father who sent me. (John 14:23-24)
On this feast of Epiphany, take time to reflect on Christ’s teachings, take time to offer thanks to God for the things He has given you, set aside time to talk to God and Christ using your own words or by reading aloud a portion of scripture or the Psalms or just recite the Our Father. Make a visit to a church and partake of the liturgy and most especially, the Eucharist. Give God honor and praise by living your life according to Christ’s example and teachings. Practice you love of God by your deeds. I can think of no better way to praise God and to celebrate our thanks for God’s decision to make known to us His truth by sending us His beloved son to live among us as a human.
“Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” AMEN

New Year Blessing Reflection

May the Lord Bless and Keep You
A Reflection for January First, The Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord/ Mary Mother of God
Readings: Numbers 6:22-27, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21,
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Holliston, MA
www.Missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

The Psalm for the liturgy of New Years Day proclaims a message we all should be shouting from the rooftops, “Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, How awesome are your works!”
When we couple that with the direction given in the first reading of the day from the book of Numbers chapter 6 verses 22-27 on how to greet people “You shall say to them: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.” We receive a direction of living our life in accordance with the teachings of Christ and therefore Almighty God.
Our hearts should be filled with the knowledge and love that the King of Glory, Jesus Christ brought to this world. Was not just happenstance, but was part of God’s design from the very beginning of time.
As if to reinforce the truth, that we have all been chosen by God as his children and therefore heirs to the kingdom of heaven we have the words from the second reading found in Galatians 4: “The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave any more; and if God has made you son, then he has made you heir.”The Gospel tell us that the name chosen for the child was not a family mane but that it was given to the infant according to the instructions Mary received from the Angel Gabriel. When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception. "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:22
Besides being the feast of the Circumcision of Jesus, today is also commemorated in the western church to celebrate the motherhood of Mary, “the Theotokos” in Greek meaning mother of God. The Gospel reading reminds us that Mary pondered all that had come to pass and also the things she was told would occur in her heart by the priest “Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." Luke 2: 34-35.
There should be no doubt in anyone mind that Jesus is the promised one of the ages and as such we need to heed the things He has instructed us to do. We also have to keep in mind that through the centuries many things have been added to what Jesus instructed, mainly for the purpose of gaining power and wealth. Those things have very little to do with living our life according to God’s will. Celibacy of clergy was an idea that came many years after Christ, the early church had women deacons, the early church blessed same sex commitment ceremonies, liturgies were celebrated in the language of the people. These are just some of the things that churches enforce that were not defined by Christ.
All the grandeur, splendor, pomp and circumstance that is associated with some churches fly in the face of what Christ taught. By His birth in a simple manger alone; Christ gave us a lesson that He came to give hope and promise to all and that the poor and needy where more acceptable than the rich and powerful. “Do unto others as you would have done unto you” this teaching should cause us to think about how we treat others and is it the same way that we would want to be treated?
Jesus Christ came to earth to save us, to open up the gates of heaven to all people. Almighty God sent us His son in human form to teach us the truth, to lead us in the path of righteousness, and to gain for us eternal salvation.
As we begin a New Year let us make a new beginning in our relationship with Almighty God through His beloved Son, Jesus the Christ. Let us vow to make the changes necessary in our lives so that we come closer to God in all that we do. Let us set aside time each and every day to acknowledge God and ask His help in making us a better and newer person. Let us examine way that we can actively make a difference by our actions and deeds. Can we be more compassionate toward those who are suffering from poverty, hunger, homelessness and serious illness? Can we do more to support the spreading of the Good News of Salvation preached by Jesus Christ? Can we make time in our schedules to pray and receive the bread of life, the Eucharist?
As the sports adage says; “The ball is in our court” how are we going to play it?
May the New Year bring peace to the hearts and minds of all people, May the wisdom of God infuse the inner being of all especially the leaders of the worlds governments and religions so that they find a pathway to peace and unity and bring about the promise of The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. AMEN

An Idea For A New Year's Resolution

A New Year Prayer, A Resolution for Peace On Earth,
A Reflection for January 1 in the year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Seven
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFAMission Saints Sergius and Bacchus,
a Franciscans of the Annunciation mission
www.missionstsergius.org

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

As we prepare to make our resolutions for the New Year 2007, how about we try this one on for size?I based this reflection on the words to a once very popular prayer/song “Let There Be Peace On Earth” written and copy written in 1955by Sy Miller and Jill Jackson. In this time of world turmoil I feel we need to focus on the issues that have been tearing nations, churches and people apart and make a resolution to do our part to change the direction the world seems to be headed. Daily we are reminded of all the dissention between the various churches which claim to be Christian and other religious denominations that claim the God of Abraham, Isaac, David and Jacob as their father. Every day the news is filled with reports throughout the world, of strife, conflicts over territory and in some countries genocide, poverty, and starvation caused by the need of a minority for power, control and greed. Families have been torn apart over the issue of their child’s sexuality by individuals who claim to represent Christ and have taken upon themselves the role of making judgments that are only God’s right to make. Did not Christ Himself say “Let those among you that is without sin, cast the first stone” We all are sinners to one degree or another, we need to acknowledge that and be repentant for our own misdeeds and assume we are better than the others.The words of this wonderful prayer/song are very poignant. It not only makes a request but it points out that it all must start with each of us individually; “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.” This is a lesson to us that we cannot wait for others to set the ball in motion, we need it to begin within our selves. We need to make a move in our own lives to settle any disagreements we might have with members of our own family, friends, neighbors or employees. If each and every person would work toward the goal of peace in their own live the result would be like a snowball rolling down a very steep hill, it would keep building and growing larger and faster as it traveled along. Each individual action would cause a similar reaction from others and it could spread throughout the world.The second line in this message written in 1955 is also powerful as it directs us to the source of all peace; “Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be. With God as our Father.” In order to achieve any kind of lasting and meaningful peace we need to turn to the source, Almighty God. We need to place Him at the center of our lives and live according to the way His beloved son, Jesus Christ instructed us. We need to look around us and be thankful for the gifts we have been given and stop grumbling about the things we think we need. We need to come to the realization that we are all children of the same God and therefore brothers and sisters of each other as the prayer/song explains; “brothers all are we, Let me walk with my brother, in perfect harmony.”As we contemplate what kind of resolution we are going to make to change our lives in this new year I suggest that each of us place this as number one and that we make sure that we keep this resolution even if all the others are forgotten as the year progresses; “Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now, With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow, To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.”. Peace is not something to be wished for, it is something one has to work hard to achieve. If these words “ Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me!” are to ever be realized we all have to work together to make it a reality. We cannot be satisfied as long as there is one child of God that is being oppressed because social or economic status, suffering discrimination for any reason, dying because of lack of proper food or medicine, homeless due to inadequate affordable housing, or being violently murdered over drugs or gang disputes. As children of God and followers of Jesus Christ we are called to live the Gospel message not just preach it. Let us resolve to begin this New Year with one single purpose, to do our part in bringing about changes that will make this prayer/songs words a reality.

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me,Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be.With God as our Father, brothers all are we,Let me walk with my brother, in perfect harmony. Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now,With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow,To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me! AMEN

I am also adding the prayer of the seraphic father of our order and all the

Franciscan orders, Saint Francis which helps us to understand the things we need to do to achieve a true and lasting peace.

Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;where there is hatred, let me sow love;when there is injury, pardon;where there is doubt, faith;where there is despair, hope;where there is darkness, light;and where there is sadness, joy.Grant that I may not so much seekto be consoled as to console;to be understood, as to understand,to be loved as to love;for it is in giving that we receive,it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. AMEN

May God fill each and every one with an abundance of His mercy, infinite love and grace throughout the new year and grant you the courage and strength to do what is necessary to bring about changes on this planet so that there will be a new beginning for all and a time of peace and reconciliation.

A New Interpretation To 12 Days Of Christmas

A New Meaning to the Twelve Days of Christmas Song
Day 1 A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE
Jesus, The Son of God
Day 2 2 TURTLE DOVES
The Old and New Testament
Day 3 THREE FRENCH HENS
The Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity
Day 4 FOUR CALLING BIRDS
The Four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Day 5 FIVE GOLDEN RINGS
The Pentateuch or first five books of the Old Testament
Day 6 SIX GEESE A LAYING
The six days of creation
Day 7 SEVEN SWANS A SWIMMING
The Seven Sacraments
Day 8 EIGHT MAIDS A MILKING
The Eight Beatitudes
Day 9 NINE LADIES DANCING
The nine fruits of the Holy Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Day 10 TEN LORDS A LEAPING
The Ten Commandments
Day 11 ELEVEN LORDS A LEAPING
The eleven faithful apostles (excludes Judas)
Day 12 TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING
The Twelve points of doctrine found in the Apostles Creed.
1 I Believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of Heaven and earth
2 I Believe in Jesus Christ the Only Son of the Father
3 He was born of the Virgin Mary
4 He became man
5 He Suffered under Pontius Pilot
6 He Was Crucified, Died and was buried
7 On the Third day he rose again.
8 He ascended into heaven
9 He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
10 I believe in the Holy Spirit
11 I believe in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church
12 I acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sin.
Rev. Robert Francis Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry