July First Reflection

This Nation was based On Faith in God
A Reflection for the first Sunday of July, 2007 by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Holliston, MA
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry


Sunday begins the great get-a-way of the Summer with schools out and the United States celebration of the 231st birthday of its founding I find it especially gratifying and fitting that we can find in The Good News of Salvation, the Gospels, the basis upon which this nation was formed.
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” (Constitution of the United States)
“We hold these truths to be self-evident that ALL PEOPLE are created equal, that they ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR with certain unalienable rights, that among them are LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS” (Declaration of Independence)
In the book of Wisdom and it says, “Love Justice, you who judge the earth think of the Lord in Goodness and seek Him in integrity of heart” (Wisdom 1:1) “God does not rejoice in the destruction of the living for God furnished all things that they might have being…ALL the creatures of the world are wholesome” (Wisdom 1:14-15) “Through the envy of the devil death and evil entered the world” (Wisdom 2:24) “It is the wicked, the sons of Satan who with hands and words invited death and destruction considering it a friend” (Wisdom 1:16) We are also told in Wisdom 15 “Justice is undying”.
The truth is that JUSTICE is undying unless the devil has taken control of those persons who are commissioned to uphold it and guarantee that All people receive the same treatment and rights.
JUSTICE is the root of all freedom, if there is no JUSTICE there is no true freedom. JUSTICE is undying when it is coupled with a sense of FAITH in a superior being, the creator Almighty God. This nations founding fathers had a deep-rooted sense of faith in God. In the Declaration of Independence, they refer to Him as THE CREATOR and THE SUPREME JUDGE OF THE WORLD.
Today we have many people who are attempting to remove any mention of Almighty God from everything in this country; this was not the intent or purpose of our founding Fathers. They had a deep-seated FAITH and A STRONG BELIEF in Almighty God.
In recent years a small minority have prevented prayer in the schools, forbidden the reading of the Bible, are trying to remove and would deny that our rule of laws were established with the commandments in mind.
At the same time we have another segment of our society that use Religion to justify discrimination against people because of their ethnic origin or whom God created with a same sex orientation.
Sadly, some of these people are religious leaders of denomination that call themselves Christian or followers of Jesus Christ..
According to my understanding, Jews, Muslims, and all Christians worship the same God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David or Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches us how FAITH is powerful. There is the story of the woman who had hemorrhaged for twelve years and an official of the Jewish synagogue, Jairus, had FAITH and TRUST that Jesus could cure her, and He did.
Having FAITH can as Jesus tells us in Matthew 17:20 “If you had faith the size of a tiny mustard seed, you would be able to say to that mountain, move!, and it would move”
JUSTICE is undying when it is coupled with Honesty, Trust, Faith, Generosity or compassion and the same freedoms for all the people.
ALL people should be able to pursue their life by having the same rights and benefits of all other citizens and none should have greater rights than any other regardless of their social, ethnic, religious denomination or financial position.
In order to accomplish this we need to respect and embrace the diversity of God’s creation and nurture it according to it‘s lawful purpose.
Every child of God has been given special gifts and just as the various parts of our body look different and have differing functions they are all part of the same body. So it is with all God’s children, they might look different, may have differing celebrations and customs but they are all our sisters and brothers in Christ which is the underlying message of this weeks second reading from Galatians 5:1-18 “When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. My brothers, you were called, as you know, to liberty; but be careful, or this liberty will provide an opening for self-indulgence. Serve one another, rather, in works of love, since the whole of the Law is summarized in a single command: Love your neighbour as yourself. If you go snapping at each other and tearing each other to pieces, you had better watch or you will destroy the whole community. Let me put it like this: if you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence, since self-indulgence is the opposite of the Spirit, the Spirit is totally against such a thing, and it is precisely because the two are so opposed that you do not always carry out your good intentions. If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you.”
We have seen examples of how one individual, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfry and others by stepping forward and using their wealth and fame have made a difference and are living examples of the message found in Second Corinthians 8:12-14; “The willingness to give should be in accord with ones means, not go beyond them...there should be certain EQUALITY. Your plenty now should supply their needs so that there surplus later might be able to supply your needs, with EQUALITY as a result”
As we celebrate the birthday of the United States on Wednesday I urge each and every one who reads or hears this message to think about our freedom, think about how you are contributing to the ideals upon which this country was founded.
Are you being GENEROUS, TRUSTING, HONEST, FAITHFUL? Are you working to insure that EVERY citizen is accorded the same rights and privileges as all the others? Are you accepting the unique differences of races and beliefs that have come together from all over the globe seeking the promise of Freedom and hope that America has become?
As long as each and every person is respecting the RIGHTS of all the others, and reaching out to all with the same LOVE that Jesus demonstrated to all He encountered, there is a chance that we might find ways to end the violence that is killing our youth on the streets of our cities, end the prejudice and hatred that separates us from each other and address the poverty that so many endure all over the world. All these terrible things as well as the desire for vast wealth and power are the tools of Satan injected into people to keep the world confused and unbalanced and casting doubt in peoples hearts and minds about Love of Almighty God and if the God proclaimed in the Holy Scriptures actually exists.
I pray that Almighty God will send His bountiful blessings upon each and every one of us through the Holy Spirit’s guidance so that the leaders of this nation and the nations of the world and the world’s religions can find peaceful and compassionate ways to bring about a more perfect world, end the violent conflict that has killed more than 3600 of our young men and women and hundreds of thousands of innocent people all over the globe through genocide and starvation guiding them to institute laws that insure equality, justice, honesty, truth, trust and the pursuit of happiness for not only the citizens of this great nation but for all the children of God all over the globe, and guide the religious leaders to find the common bond that they all have in order to guide and lead their followers toward understanding and a deeper love of Almighty God by whatever name they call upon Him by.

AMEN

Father's Day June 17th

Father’s Day, June 17th
A Reflection by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

“With God as our father, brothers all are we. Let us work with each other for perfect harmony” These words from the song LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH are full of intense meaning for each and every one of us if we take a good look at what they are acknowledging.
On this Father’s day most children seek to find a special gift for their earthly fathers. Some children have two fathers and in my mind this could be a double blessing for them and unfortunately some children have never known their earthly father because of their passing before they had a chance to know them or through divorce or other circumstances.
My father was called home to God in 1976 at the age of 76 but I still have times when I want to talk with him and times when I feel his presence or hear his words.
As a father of three and a grandfather I know how much I love my children and grandchildren and I am but a mere mortal man, how much more does our Heavenly Father love each and every one of us?
With God as our Father, we are all, every person on this planet, brothers and sisters and we are also brothers and sisters to Jesus Christ, the son of God our father.
Why is it then that we have so much trouble getting along with each other and why do we try to exclude some of our brothers and sisters from giving their heavenly father the worship and praise He deserves just because they are a different race or religion or have a sexual orientation toward a member of the same sex or because they are divorced.
Why is it that we do not look out for the well being of those brothers and sisters who are not as well of as we are or are in need of special attention because of physical or mental or medical reasons?
The father in the story of the Prodigal Son was willing to overlook his son’s transgressions and welcome him back with a feast and a joyous celebration which is how our heavenly father will welcome every one who returns to Him.
Our Father in heaven is a loving, caring, compassionate and merciful father, not the God of vengeance of the Old Testament and Christ proclaimed that while He was here on earth.
Now is the time for each and every one of us, to acknowledge that we are all brothers and sisters with the same heavenly father and for us to begin to act with the same compassion and love toward each other that Christ exhibited while he was on earth to all He encountered.
It is time for us to speak up against injustice, bigotry, violence, discrimination, war and poverty and to make a gift that is truly meaningful to our heavenly father, God Almighty.
Christ in His sermon on the mount found in Matthew 5: 3-12 said; Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.The best way for us to be blessed and follow Christ’s Sermon on the Mount is to put the seven practices of charity toward our neighbor into action. They are based on Christ’s prophecy of the Last Judgment, which will determine each person’s final destiny and they are; 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. “Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ’Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ’Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?’ And the king will answer them, ’Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me.’”(Matthew 25:34)
On this Fathers day let us make a gift to God that will be truly pleasing to Him and take an action in keeping with how we as brothers and sisters should be acting and lets begin to make a change in this world that will bring about a time of brotherhood for all not just a select few chosen by one group or another.
When Christ taught us to pray He said; “When you pray, say, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed is your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on this earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive our trespassers and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from all evil” and then we acknowledge “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. AMEN”

Holy Trinity Reflection

Blessed be the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Reflection for Trinity Sunday
Proverbs 8; 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 11: 33-36:14-17; Matthew 28:16-20
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

The Feast of the Trinity, the belief that there are three distinct manifestations or persons in God, is one of the most difficult beliefs of Christianity for many to understand and believe. Yet In scripture, there are many references to the three manifestations or persons of God.
Jesus, in Matthew 28, tells the disciples “Jesus said to His disciples: All is power given to Me in heaven and on earth. Going therefore, teach you all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and behold I am with you for all days, even to the consummation of the world.”

“Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” Jesus tells the Apostles to Baptize in the name of the three persons in God.
In Romans we read “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God”
I am not going to go into the scholarly dissertations that have been made throughout the ages. St. Patrick, in trying to show how there could be three distinct parts to one thing used the shamrock to define the trinity, others have used water in its three forms (liquid, solid, gas) to show how one thing can have three distinct qualities.
Most of us who believe in God and Are Followers of Christ accept the fact of the Trinity.
There is only One God, the Father/Creator who is the maker of all things. This is the God who asks only that we recognize Him and only Him. This is the same God who is said to have given Moses the rules for all to follow, the commandments. When the commandments are examined, with intelligence, they make logical sense as an intelligent way to lead ones life. If we follow them, we will not only honor God, but we will also live lives that respect for the dignity and individuality of each and every human being and of all God’s creation.
Christ in Matthew 28 says “Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth. Teach them to observe all the Commands I gave you and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.
In order to show His unending love for all His children, Almighty God sent himself in the human form of Jesus, to not only clearly demonstrate that a human could live according to the Commandments, but to simplify the commandments by clarifying how simple it is to give honor and glory to God. Christ, the second person of the trinity, summed the ten commandments up with this statement, “Love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, mind, soul and being and Love your neighbor as yourself”. To love your neighbor as you love yourself means that you do not discriminate against them, do anything that will cause them pain or suffering, and not prevent them from giving praise, glory and honor to Almighty God who created them.
Romans 8:14 states “Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God” and it concludes with “If we are children, we are heirs as well; heirs of God, heirs with Christ” That simply means that we all can have the everlasting and eternal life promised to us and earned through the passion, death, and resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity.
The Holy Spirit, the third personage of Almighty God is often referred to as “ENLIGHTENER, COUNSELOR, and COMFORTER.
By our Baptism we, as Jesus himself was baptized by John at the Jordan River, are baptized with water and the Holy Spirit. This means that just as the spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove, and upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire, we also receive the spirit and with it the gifts of the Spirit which are, “Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety and Fear of the Lord and we are open to receive the Fruits of the Spirit which are; Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, and Temperance.
The gifts and fruits of The Holy Spirit are strengthened and supposedly deepened within us through prayer, and the Eucharist and will grow within us every day we live as Jesus instructed us and gave us by example in His life here on earth.
If, however, we choose to ignore God’s desires for us by succumbing to greed, sexual promiscuity, discrimination, disregard for the poor and needy, selfishness, and anger, violence and war mongering, we separate ourselves from God and the Gifts of God bestowed through the Holy Spirit.
Therefore by accepting Christ as our redeemer and savior, and by following the commandments of God as clarified by Christ, we will gain the everlasting life in the spirit when our mortal life is over.
We need to be ever vigilant, keeping ourselves open to receiving the Holy Spirit into our life. We need to what our heart is telling us and discern if it conforms to how Christ lived and taught us.
If we do this we will indeed become one with the Father, and the Son and Holy Spirit.

Prayer to Holy Trinity
From the Collect of the Mass for Trinity Sunday

O Almighty and Everlasting God, who has granted to Your servants, in confessing the true Father, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of Majesty to adore the Unity: we beseech You, that by steadfastness in the same Faith, we may ever be defended against all adversity and live our lives with brotherhood toward all persons. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, You Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
O God, the strength of those who put their trust in You, be kindly attentive to our prayers, and since man's weakness is helpless without You, grant the help of Your grace, that in observing Your commandments, we may please You both in will and in deed. Forgive us our failings and strengthen us by your gifts of the Holy Spirit. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, You Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity as One God, Father, Son and Holy spirit. AMEN

Come Holy Spirit

Veni, Sancte Spiritus, Come, Holy Spirit, Come
Reflection for Pentecost Sunday by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry
Acts 2:1-11; Galatians 5:16-25; Psalm 103, John14:23-31;

“Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from your celestial home shed a ray of light divine!” with these words the beautiful prayer to the Holy Spirit, VENI, SANCTE SPIRITUS, begins. The feast of Pentecost which is also referred to as the Birthday of the church because it celebrates the decent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. After the Holy Spirit descended upon them in tongues of fire after which when they spoke they were heard the people of every race and nationality proclaiming the truth of Jesus teachings in the language of the nationality of those listeners present.
The word of God needs to be proclaimed in the language of the listener so that they will fully comprehend His teachings but it must be translated carefully into that language preserving the meaning of the original writings in accord with what those words meant at the time they were written and not, as has been done with Holy Scripture and other church documents, into the meaning the words have taken on throughout history. The intent of having the liturgy of the Eucharist, commonly called the Mass, translated from the Latin into English and other languages under Vatican II was to make the liturgy more understandable and reverent to all participating, unfortunately the translations failed to meet the original meaning of the Latin and became less than a spiritual experience and more a modernized prayer service and theatrical experience in some cases.
God’s word was not meant for a chosen few but for all of the human race. The Apostles were told to preach the word to all nations even unto the ends of the earth. In order to do this and faithfully proclaim the truth one has to know the meaning of the original Greek and Aramaic words of the first writings.
A perfect case in point is the word “homosexual” being found in translations. That word was not even created until 1869 and any references where it is being used in scripture were not referring to that orientation but to the use of group sex or sexual excesses as a form of worship to false Gods or for humiliation of a human being which would be a grave sin.
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells us “No one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit” It is in this letter that one of the most redeeming passages of scripture can be found. Paul informs us “everyone has different gifts bestowed on them by God through the Holy Spirit.” He goes on to affirm that there are “Different forms of service, but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces them all. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit” “For in one Spirit we were all Baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greek, slave of free person, we were all given to drink of the one Spirit”

The Gospel admonishes us to “Live by the Spirit”, it goes further to confirm that the desires of the flesh we can cause a breakdown of the graces provided to us. Some of the “Desires of the flesh” Paul mentions besides the obvious one of indiscriminate sexual pleasure are: immorality (using sex or sexually provoking images to excite one to engage in sexual activity for purposes other than that which God intended) , lust ( desiring after someone or something that belongs to another or craving for self gratification) idolatry ( the worship of false gods which would also include placing money or wealth or power above love of and worship of God), hatred, rivalry, jealousy, anger or fury, selfishness, and drunkenness. To elaborate on each of these today and how we might possibly cause ourselves to be separated from God, and the Gifts He freely gives us through the Holy Spirit, would take more time than we have. I will however, point to the fact that hatred, jealousy, rivalry, anger , fury, and selfishness are among those Paul mentions and often times cause more pain and hurt toward others than partaking in those that involve sexual pleasure.
It is some of those “Desires of the Flesh” that have caused the separations that exist within the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church just as giving in to those personal pleasure desires have caused the scandal that has disgraced so many. So many of the “rules” that churches enforce and claim are necessary for salvation have nothing at all to do with our salvation but with the churches maintaining their financial income and to prevent people from searching for the truth of God’s teachings and researching the history of the church.
Each of these “Desires of the Flesh” affords us many ways of sinning. They are human faults that every individual has; our task is to try our best to resist their lure to partake of their pleasures.
One thing that I personally can attest to is that, if we call upon God daily, or as many times as we need to in order to resist the temptations that plague us every day and ask God to send us the Holy Spirit, God will oblige.
One of my daily prayers begins with “Come, Holy Spirit, fill my heart and kindle in in me the fire of your love so that I might be renewed”
In John 16: we are promised, “The Spirit will guide you to all truth. The spirit will not speak on its own, but will speak what he hears from me and declare it to you” The spirit speaks within us always with God’s will and teachings, we need to hearken to what we hear, even when it is opposite what popular thinking is proclaiming and be steadfast in proclaiming what our inner voice is telling us.
The truth is that God, the almighty creator and father of Jesus Christ, is a loving, forgiving, compassionate God. Jesus proclaimed this and by his example so often during his earthly existence and showed it to us by His actions in relating to all who came to him regardless of their race, creed or sexual orientation.
God is always there awaiting your call to Him. He does not have an answering machine, voice mail, or a secretary. You are not asked to press (1)if you need healing, press (2) for forgiveness, press (3) to seek a favor and so on.
You will not receive a message “Sorry God is busy taking a call from another special customer, please remain on the line and your call will be answered in the order in which it was received”. God is always listening to what we are saying and will respond to us according to what He feels is best for us. God always answers our prayers, just not always in the way we want, but in what will be best for us.
Many times God actually comes to us and speaks to us in our dreams, or quiet times and even sometimes while driving a car, listening to the I pod, watching TV or playing ball.
Unfortunately, we are often too preoccupied to listen to what he is telling us through the Holy Spirit.
I suggest that the time is NOW for us to begin to be more receptive to those calls from God. Don’t put Him on hold, but take a break from what ever we are engaged in and listen with an open and receptive heart.
We need to allow ourselves to “Receive The Holy Spirit” so that we can begin to develop a deeper and closer relationship with Almighty God and thereby begin the elimination of the “Desires of the Flesh” that have prevented us from receiving all the gifts of The Spirit, Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
May God grant us the wisdom and understanding and the ability to hear Him when He speaks to us and then go out and live in accordance with His will.
AMEN

On Prudence and Mutual Charity

Be Prudent and Have Mutual Charity
Reflection for the Sunday within Octave of Ascension
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Holliston MA.
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry


“Dearly beloved, be prudent and watch in prayers. But before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves: for charity covers a multitude of sins. Using hospitality one towards another, without murmuring: as every man hath received grace, ministering the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speaks, let him speak, as the words of God: if any minister, let him do it, as of the power which God administered: that in all things God may be honored through Jesus Christ our Lord;”
These words from the First Epistle of Peter, chapter 4 verses 7-11 clearly outline how we, as Followers of Jesus Christ, should be living our daily lives. Notice that the first item on the list is to be prudent. According to the dictionary prudence is wisdom in the way of caution and provision; having discretion; being careful in the decisions you make. "Prudence is principally in reference to actions to be done, and due means, order, seasons, and method of doing or not doing." Sir M. Hale. "Prudence supposes the value of the end to be assumed, and refers only to the adaptation of the means. It is the relation of right means for given ends." Whewell.
The second instruction is to have mutual charity. Let us examine exactly what that means in our daily living. Charity is being kind to all persons regardless of their nationality, sex, sexual orientation or religious affiliation and not being resentful or mean towards them and certainly not inflicting anyone with pain or injury as a result of our actions. Charity means being tolerant of the differences that make up the human condition and not being prejudice towards anyone.
Charity means being compassionate and forgiving just as Jesus was toward those who crucified Him. Charity is being generous toward the poor and less fortunate and contributing to the support of your church by tithing with financial assistance or time. Charity means having sympathy for others who are suffering from afflictions like AIDS, cancer, or the loss of a dear one. Charity is being considerate of the needs of others and sometimes having to put the needs of others before your personal gratification.
In short, we are called to look out for each other as we are all children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and therefore we need to look upon every human being in that way.
The Gospel is the promise that Christ gave to the Apostles before He ascended back to the Father. “At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: When the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeded from the Father, He shall give testimony of Me: and you shall give testimony because you are with Me from the beginning. These things I have spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues: yes, the hour comes, that whosoever kills you will think that he does a service to God. And these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. But these things I have told you, that, when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you of them. (John 15:26-16:4)
There are some who claim that the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the actual descending of the Spirit upon the apostles means that only those who were in the upper room received the Holy Spirit and it is passed on only to those who have been consecrated and ordained as presbyters. That is so very wrong for all who have been Baptized and Confirmed receive the gifts of the Spirit according to God’s desire. The Holy Spirit works within all in differing ways and is not the exclusive property of a few. Throughout the history of the church God has chosen to enlighten individuals with His insights and direct them to bring His message to all who would listen. The Holy Spirit is called the enlightener of God and does not always open the hearts and minds of the hierarchy but to simple peasants or a humble friar like St. Francis inspiring them to change the wrong direction that the church seems to be headed and back to the truthful teachings of God as proclaimed by Christ. The Church has so often in the past, and I believe currently, diverted from God’s plan in order to gain power, wealth and prestige for the hierarch of the church and to exert control over the minds of people in order to achieve there political and financial gain. Church history is very clear on that.
Over the past centuries the church has modified or changed things that existed for a millennium in order to achieve the above stated goals. They even have changed historical facts in order to do this. As believer in Almighty God and the teachings Christ gave us in word and deed, we need to practice the message of today’s Epistle and call upon the Holy Spirit to inspire us to knowing the truth and we need to be more mindful of how we relate to others each and every day.
In this coming week as we prepare to celebrate the decent of The Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and disciples and thereby the entire Universal Church and by our Baptism and Confirmation each of us I offer this prayer which asks the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and assist us in becoming a better follower of Christ and have a deeper love and greater service to Almighty God.


Prayer to the Holy Spirit
By Father Robert Johnnene OFA

O Most Holy Spirit, merciful Comforter; Come, I beseech You, and take up abode in my heart.
Let my weaknesses be penetrated with your strength, so that I may always do what is right and just.
Fill my heart with charity toward all I encounter.
Enlighten me in my ignorance, advise me in my doubts.
Purify and cleanse me of all sin and sanctify my soul protecting and shielding me from all the temptations that plague me.
Make me truly humble that I may be pleasing to Almighty God.
Instill within me an honest respect of Almighty God and all of his creations.
Assist me to be an instrument of God's Word to all I encounter.
Give unto me the gift of Wisdom to know and live according to God’s will.
By your generous bestowing of your gifts, help me to live a holy life and grow in the everlasting love of Christ so that I may join with all the heavenly elect when my days here on earth are ended.
I ask this through Jesus Christ, my redeemer and savior, who lives, and reigns with you and our creator Almighty God as one triune God, now and forever.
AMEN

Shout With Joy To God

Shout with Joy To God
A Reflection for the Fifth Sunday After Easter
by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA, Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
“Jubilate Deo, omnis terra, psalmum dicite Nomini ejus: date gloriam laudi ejus, Shout with joy to God, all the earth, sings a psalm to His Name: give glory to His praise. Declare it with the voice of joy! O God, from whom all good things come, grant unto us, Your suppliant people, that by Your inspiration, we may think what is right, and under Your guidance perform the same.” These opening words from the mass for the Fifth Sunday After Easter are a wonderful and strong prayer that we should pray every day of our life.
We have so many reasons to be thankful to Almighty God and to shout with joy for His infinite mercy and love for us. No matter how bad things might get for us, we have reasons to be thankful and to return God’s love with praise of His name.
The lesson for today is not only a reminder to be thankful to God and to be willing to proclaim loudly His praise, but as the Epistle of St. James reminds us, we need to not just mouth our praise but live it by our deed thereby showing all we are truly followers of Christ and believers in the teachings given us by Jesus which came from the Father Himself, Almighty God. “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if a man only hears the word and does not live it, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass: for he sees himself and goes his way, and presently forgot what he looks like. But he that has looked into the perfect law of liberty and has continued living it, not becoming a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work: this man shall be blessed in his deed. And if any man thinks himself to be religious, not guarding his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man's religion is in vain. Religion clean and undefiled before God and Father is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation, and to keep one's self unspotted from this world” (James 1:22-27).
Two more messages of extreme importance for today are found in the Gospel reading from John 16:23-30 is for me the most inspiring and one of the greatest reasons for shouting with Joy to God. The message is simply Christ’s promises to us that “Amen, Amen, I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in My Name, He will give it to you. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.” And “the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God. This promise, if for no other reason, is cause enough to shout our praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God. A promise from Christ, that if we ask anything of the Father in Christ name, the Father will grant it. We do, however, have to remember the very last six words of that promise, “THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL”. I feel very strongly that those last six words means that God will not grant us our wishes if they will eventually lead us to sorrow and possible sin. Which may explain why, even though we pray hard and believe and trust in God, that sometimes our prayers seem to not be answered. I also believe that all are prayers are indeed answered but they are answered in a way that God feels is best for us and not what we consider to be best. Our human frailty often leads us to seek things that, though they might give us temporary pleasure, could easily lead us away from God.
Everything, as I have often said, and today’s readings and prayers from the Mass reiterate, that God created and gives to us is Good, but we so often turn that good into something bad by misusing God’s gifts in a manner that was not God’s purpose. We need to approach all God’s gifts with respect for their purpose, and nurture, guard, protect and treat them with the same love with which God bestowed them upon us. Whether it is the environment, our sexuality, our talents or just our neighbors we need to treat them in the same way that Christ gave to us as an example and that will only bring honor, glory and praise to the Eternal Father who bestows them upon us.
I will close this week’s reflection with a prayer that is taken from the prayers from the Mass Secret and Post Communion prayers for the Fifth Sunday of Easter.
Bless the Lord our God, all you peoples, and make the voice of His praise to be heard: God, You set my soul to live, and have not suffered my feet to be moved. Blessed be the Lord, who has not turned away our prayer, or His mercy from us, alleluia, alleluia.
Grant to us, O Lord, that filled with strength from Your infinite mercy and love and the blessings you have bestowed upon us, we may both desire what is right, and obtain that which we desire and that We might live our lives in a manner that reflects the truth, teachings and example of Your beloved son, Jesus Christ. We ask this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. AMEN

All Good Comes From God, 4th Sunday of Easter Reflection

All Good Comes From God
Fourth Sunday After Easter Reflection by Reverend Robert Johnnene OFA, Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
The message found in all the readings for the fourth Sunday in Lent say one thing, God’s unending love for His children. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be Glad. As the Introit for this Sunday proclaims “Sing to the Lord a new song, alleluia, for the Lord hath done wonderful things, alleluia; He hath revealed His justice in the sight of the Gentiles, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. (Ps. 97. 1)” “His right hand and His holy arm have gotten Him the victory. V.: Glory be to the Father, Sing to the Lord a new song, alleluia” “O God, who makes the faithful of one mind and will: grant to Your people the love that you command without limit and infinitely and the desire to live according to Your will” that amid the changes of the world, our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found, in You of Father. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. AMEN
Today’s Lesson is from the Epistle of Blessed James the Apostle Chapter 1. verses 17-21 which has the primary message of “Receiving with meekness the word of truth which is able to save our souls” Almighty God, as James reminds us in the Epistle is the light of truth that opens the door and wipes away the darkness. He reminds us that all things and every perfect gift is from heaven above, coming from the Father. God begot us by the word of truth that we might be some part in His nature. We are called to live our lives in accordance with the way Christ, the beloved son of the Father, lived His life. We should not turn anyone away for any reason, just as Christ did not turn anyone away but welcomed all. Christ drove the evil forces from within people who came to Him filled with the spirit of evil. The Epistle further tells us “Let every man be swift to hear but slow to speak and slow to anger. The anger of man works not in accord with the justice of God. Therefore, with meekness receive the word, which is able to save your souls”.
Over and over the teachings of the Apostles as written in Holy Scripture proclaim the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ. Over and over we are told of the infinite mercy and love of God for all His children. We are reminded again and again that all good comes from God. The sad part is that we mere humans often take God’s good gifts and turn them into something bad.
The Gospel reading from John chapter 16, verses 5 through 14 carry the message that “Our Lord will send from heaven to His Church the Spirit of truth. The Holy Ghost will unite all hearts, will teach them all the truth.”. Here we have the promise from Christ that even though He would be returning to the Father, “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, Where are You going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will teach the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.”
Christ has told us that through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we will learn the truth concerning sin and righteousness. Sin is not trusting and believing in God. We are told that only the ruler of this world, the only true ruler, Almighty God makes all judgments, not mere mortal men. In other words and human who claims to make judgments against someone, saying they are condemned to hell, is speaking out of turn and therefore is sinning. Our God is merciful and more than willing to forgive anyone for their transgressions if they but ask Him.
God’s goodness, love, mercy and compassion is unlimited, unconditional and infinite for all who come to Him. He trusts us to do the right thing; He has instructed us on how to live through the example set by Christ and in Christ’s teachings. The mercy, love, and compassion of Almighty God is unending and extends to all who believe in Almighty God The Father, The Son Jesus Christ our redeemer and savior, and The Holy Spirit the enlightener. To believe is to trust totally in Him, to honor Him with prayer, good works of charity, compassion, and forgiveness of the wrongs others commit against us, and love toward all of God’s children regardless of their race or sexual orientation. We especially have to extend love and forgiveness to all those who hurt us by their actions and words and we need to pray for them. Christ forgave those who crucified Him as he hung from the cross with these words; “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. Again, by His example Christ taught us what we need to do.
God is good! All things created by God are good! We have the goodness of God instilled within us if we but seek to find it and then live it. We become living, breathing outward sings of Christ, True Christians, by seek the good in others and living in a way that displays our faith in word, deed and action to all we encounter.
By attempting to live in this manner, we become the fulfillment of Christ here on earth and a disciple in this age proclaiming clearly to all this message , “ our hearts are fixed where true joys are to be found, in You Father” found in the Introit and opening prayer of today’s liturgy.
AMEN

Shout to God with Joy to our Loving God

Shout with joy to God
A reflection for the Third Sunday after Easter
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

There undeniable message that is proclaimed over and over again in scripture is that God’s love is everlasting, unconditional, and for all people.
This Sunday’s readings bring this teaching out with crystal clarity beginning with the Introit of the mass.
“Shout with joy to God, all the earth, alleluia: sing a psalm to His Name, alleluia: give glory to His praise, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. -- (Ps. 65. 3) , What a wonderful reminder these words are to us of how we, as followers of Jesus Christ, should be acting, not only this day but every day of our lives, giving praise and glory to God for all He gives us if we but seek him out.

The Collect of the mass also has an important message to us, for it reminds us that Christ came not for the pious and holy but for those who may have gone astray, felt rejected or were told that they were not acceptable to God.
“O God, who to those that go astray did show the light of Your truth, that they may return to the path of justice: grant that all who are enrolled in the Christian faith, may both spurn all that is hostile to that name, and follow after what is fitting to it. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit as one God, now and forever AMEN".
Today’s Epistle, which some attribute to St. Peter, gives us further advice on how to conduct ourselves and live out the message of Jesus Christ.
"Be you subject therefore to every human creature for God's sake: whether it be a king or the governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of the good: for so is the will of God, that by doing well you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free persons, and not by making liberty a cloak for malice, but as the servants of God. Honor all men: love the brotherhood: fear God."
The last words from the Epistle reading might need an explanation as to the meaning of the phrase “Fear God”. To Fear God does not mean the kind of fear one might have of a major disaster or event in their life or the fear some have of heights or flying or the fear a child has of the boogey man but it means to hold God in esteem, awe and respect. Christ proclaimed clearly that His Father, Almighty God, was not a person to be feared but a person to love, respect and to trust.
The part about honoring all men simple means to have respect for all people, men and women, regardless of their race or creed or sexual orientation. By honoring some one does not mean giving them rewards or undeserved praise for their existence but it means not to defame them or ridicule them or cause them suffering or pain.
“Love the brotherhood” is repeating what we find in the Gospel of John 15 which is the preceding chapter to today’s Gospel; “Love one another as I have loved you, there is no greater love than this”
The part that particularly struck me in the epistle for this Sunday was the words; “not as making liberty a cloak for malice but as the servants of God”. “Making Liberty a cloak for malice” stuck a note in light of how today we use the phrase liberty so loosely to justify many actions that are totally opposite the teachings of Christ.
Why is it that we, humans who profess to be believers in the message of Jesus Christ, seem to find ways of not loving each other? We decide that because a person speaks a different language has a different ethnic background, possesses a same sex orientation that they do not deserve the same kind of love that Jesus gave to all that he encountered. How do we justify this kind of action? Where in scripture do we find validation for our actions?
The kind of love the Christ preached and that the Scriptures proclaim is unselfish, kind, merciful, forgiving and not judgmental. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” (John 14:27) It is clear in this quote, that Jesus wants us know that the perceptions of the world are not the perceptions of God. He implores us in John 15:7 “If you live in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you want and it will be done for you”
When you love someone, you do not, under any circumstances, want to be the cause of pain and suffering. When you love someone, you try to shield them from harm. You gently advise them of their mistakes and guide them. If necessary you try to obtain healing for them. That is Love.
If today, we had more love for all God’s creatures and children the world would not be in the mess it is.
We who call ourselves Christians are being called to actively live God’s love. We are being called to do all within our power to bring about a change in the attitudes that are causing so much pain and suffering in this world. Every tiny thing we do that makes progress in this call from God will bring us a deeper love for God and God will love us more and live within us giving us the strength we need to continue His work here on earth.
Today’s Gospel is from John 16 verses 16 to 22 and it also sends a confirmation of the above readings concerning how we are to live our lives as Christians but it also lets us know that Christ foresaw the confusion the we today might have because even those who had been with him during His life journey to the cross did not understand the meaning of everything He said.
"At that time Jesus said to His disciples: A little while, and now you shall not see me: and again a little while, and you shall see me: because I go to the Father.
Then some of His disciples said one to another: What is this that He is saying to us: A little while, and you shall not see me: and again a little while, and you shall see me, and, because I go to the Father? They said “What is this that He says, a little while?” We do not know what He is speaking about. Jesus knowing that they had a mind to ask Him, He said to them: Why do you inquire among yourselves, because I said: a little while, and you shall not see Me: and again a little while, and you shall see Me? Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice: and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she has brought forth the child, she remembers nothing of the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. So also you will indeed have sorrow: but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice: and your joy no man shall take from you." John 16:16-22

Here Christ was clearly predicting the sorrow that they all would have at his passion and death on the cross, but that they would rejoice when he appeared to them after his conquering death and sin and rising from the tomb three days after His death. This passage from John’s Gospel is from a chapter telling of the events of Christ’s life that preceded Christ Passion and Resurrection on Easter.

A deeper message from this Gospel reading is how, if we truly believe in Jesus Christ and are truly Christians in every sense of the teachings of Christ, the joy and peace we will find cannot and will not be able to be taken away from us by any proclamations of mere human individuals. Just because a person is a minister, rabbi, priest, Bishop, Cardinal or the Pope they are first and foremost human and therefore imperfect.

You and I are being called to actively live God’s love. We are being called to do all within our power to bring about a change in the attitudes that are causing so much pain and suffering in this world. Every tiny thing we do that makes even the slightest progress in this call from God will bring us a deeper love for God and in return God will love us more and live within us giving us the strength we need to continue His work here on earth.

We live in troubled times. We hear many versions of how life is going to change for us by doing one thing or another. Politicians will be promoting their agendas over the next months all claiming to improve our lives. Television networks are all vying for our eyes claiming to be the #1 network that gives us the best news and entertainment. Advertisers tell us our lives will improve by using their product. The truth is the only way our lives will ever change is if we change them within our selves. Our lives and the world condition will only change when we begin to make a serious examination of our behavior and how closely it and our lives are being lived in relationship to Christ’s teachings. The challenge is ours alone. We should not be seeking to be the top gun but must be willing to be the humble servant just as Jesus was when he washed the feet of His apostles.
We need to become a servant of God, serving our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and working to harvest peace among all God’s children.

We have Christ’s challenge to us to Love one another as He loved us. Let us answer it by changing our faults into virtues and live in accordance with the will of God and pleasing to Him by the way we are living.

Do not let the whims of mere men with their natural human weaknesses cause you to stray away from the love of God or from the worship and praise of God or receiving the Sacraments and Gifts of God because they have told you that you are not worthy but truly believe the promises of God as proclaimed by our savior and redeemer Jesus Christ. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

May Almighty God give us the Wisdom to know and live according to the truth of Christ’s teachings and not the proclamations and ignorance of foolish mere mortals.
May The Almighty and merciful God grant us patience, compassion, forgiveness, and courage to live according to his way so that we will be welcomed into His Kingdom with open and loving arms as depicted in the image of Christ toward the children, which we are in the eyes of God, His Children. AMEN.

Second Sunday After Easter Reflection
Readings: Psalm 32, 1 Peter 2:21-25, Luke 24:35, John 10:11-16,
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

Misericordia Domini plena est terra, alleluia: verbo Domini coeli firmati sunt, alleluia, alleluia. -- Exsultate, justi, in Domino: rectos decet collaudatio. V.: Gloria Patri . . . - Misericordia Domini plena est terra . . . The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord, alleluia: by the word of the Lord were the heavens made, alleluia, alleluia. -- (Ps. 32. 1). Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: praise is comely for the upright. V.: Glory to the Father . . . -- The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
These words from Psalm 32 open the liturgy for this Sunday and everything in the liturgy points up the Goodness of God.
God’s goodness is everywhere and Jesus in His ministry exemplified the Goodness of the Lord in word and deed.
The Gospel for this Sunday is one of my favorite images of Christ, that of The Good Shepherd.

At that time Jesus said to the Pharisees: I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd gives his life for his sheep. But the hireling, and those that are not shepherds, whose own the sheep are not, seeing the wolf coming leaves the sheep and flees: and the wolf catches and scatters the sheep: the hireling fled, because he is a hireling, and he has no care for the sheep. I am the good Shepherd: and I know Mine, and Mine know Me, as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father: and I lay down My life for My sheep. Other sheep I have that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be but one fold and one shepherd.
The picture of the Good Shepherd carrying the sheep on His shoulders is very appropriate since if we trust and believe in Christ He, more often than not carries us through the difficult times in our life. The poem, FOOTSTEPS clearly says this.
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, He looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.
This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.
The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.
Recently I received a message from a person saying “Try as I might to believe in the goodness and mercy of Almighty God I fear death because I am afraid that even though I has asked forgiveness for my sins I am not sure that they have been forgiven and that when I die I will end up in hell as the priest preached so often.”
My heart became filled with sadness that this person heard the part about Hell and damnation but had totally missed the parts of the teachings of Christ about forgiveness. Throughout the entire public life of Christ as related in the Gospels and the Epistles the message of forgiveness is one of the strongest ones in scripture. Christ forgave the woman caught in adultery, Forgave the thief while He himself was dying, forgave those who nailed him to the Cross, and even told his apostles and affirmed to those who follow in their footsteps as ordained servants “Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven”.
Last Sunday was Divine Mercy Sunday and celebrated and was specially instituted to highlight the truth that God’s mercy is forever and unlimited for all those who seek it out. This Sunday the theme continues proclaiming The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. God is not a vengeful God, for if He was he most certainly would have repeated one of the events found in the old testament writings and destroyed this planet many times over since the time of Christ.
God is merciful, just, fair, patient, and loves every one of His children. His patience if like His love unlimited. He keeps waiting for us to get His message and to begin to live in accordance with what Jesus, His beloved son, taught us. “Love one another as I have loved you”
Today’s Epistle spells it out clearly “Dearly beloved, Christ suffered for you in just this way, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footstep. He, who did no wrong, neither was deceit was found in His mouth. When He was insulted, He returned no insult. When He was made to suffer, He threatened not, but delivered Himself up to the one who judges justly. In His own body He brought your sins to the cross, so that all of us, dead to sin, could live in accord with God’s will. By His wounds you were healed. For you were as sheep going astray: but you are now returned to the Shepherd the guardian of your souls.
Christ is the Good Shepherd, He guards us and watches over us and when we go astray He comes after us to lead us back to the fold. When you hear His calling you, do not turn a deaf ear or allow others to entice you to ignore the call or delude you into believing that you are not really wanted and are only going to get punished if you heed the call. Christ came to save everyone, not just those good little sheep who never stray from the flock, but all God’s children. He especially has a fondness for those who are less than perfect and know it but want to become a part of the flock.
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you always” believe these words of Christ, do not run away from Him but run toward His open arms and if need be, let Him carry you through the difficulties of your life. Embrace Him and keep Him close to you always. He is there waiting to hear from you and willing to listen and lead you back onto a safe pasture where you can partake of all God’s blessings and gifts.
God did not want to make your life journey difficult. He only asks that you respect His creation and all His children. As the Gospel proclaims “Other sheep I have that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be but one fold and one shepherd”. We are the voice of the Lord, let us not silence it by prejudice, bigotry, anger, hatred, revenge and greed but shout out the message of Christ for all to hear that Almighty God is a God of compassion, mercy, forgiveness and love and wants all to live in peace and harmony with each other. AMEN

Divine Mercy/Quasimodo/2nd Sunday of EasterReflection

Divine Mercy Sunday/Low Sunday/Quasimodo Sunday/2nd Sunday of Easter
From Readings: Peter 2:2, 1 John 8:4-10, John 20:19-31, Acts 3:12-16, Psalm 118, Revelations 1:9-11,
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
A Franciscans of the Annunciation Ministry
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry


Quasimodo geneti infants, alleluia rationabiles sine dolo lac concupiscite: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Exsultate Deo adjutori nostro: jubilate Deo Jacob. (As newborn babies, Alleluia. Desire you the rational milk without guile: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Rejoice unto God our helper; Sing aloud unto the God of Jacob) these are the opening words of both the traditional pre Vatican liturgy and the New Mass for this Sunday.
It is a beautiful simile for the grace and love of God. Milk without guile, meaning without cunning, craftiness or deceit. A milk that is sweet and nourishing and with which a new born can grow healthy and strong.
That is what the grace of God can do for those who seek it out.

The Novus Ordo liturgy for this Sunday is dedicated to the Divine Mercy of Almighty God. The image of Divine Mercy shows Christ glorified with rainbow rays emanating from His Sacred Heart and His hand raised in blessing. It is a graphic picture of how God’s heart is filled with love and mercy for all of His children with no exception.

I grew up with the image of a vengeful God who weighed my good and bad deeds and always seemed ready to condemn me to the fires of Hell if I but made one small mistake. I lived in fear as a young man that I would die and go to hell because I masturbated or told a lie. It never dawned on me that as a mere human I would always be found wanting and never become perfect because only God is perfect.
The God proclaimed by Christ in Scripture a God of infinite mercy, love, forgiveness and generosity somehow did not sink in possibly because all the preachers ranted hellfire and damnation instead of mercy and love.

It wasn’t until I began to really study scripture and take my courses in Theology that I began to see a God who shattered all the laws and ideas of not only mere mortals but of the Jewish tradition that He grew up with.
Christ introduced a new path to follow, a path of forgiveness, mercy, compassion, understanding, love and of grace. The path to God was one of caring for our brothers and sisters, of being the Good Samaritan to those we found in need. God’s Grace is given freely to us all we are required to do is turn to Him and request it and try to live as Christ instructed us.
It is truly appropriate that the Sunday after Easter be dedicated to the Divine Mercy of God through Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

God is "the God of all grace". Throughout all the New Testament we find affirming words concerning God’s grace. “But Jesus said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:19) and “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—(Ephesians 2:8) and “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. (Ephesians 4:7) “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

Let us not be like the Apostle Thomas in today’s Gospel and the two men on the road to Emmaus who did not recognize God until he broke the bread. Don’t wait to believe in Him until he shows us His wounds or performs a miracle for us. "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." John 20:25
Let us rather proclaim the words of Thomas out of faith and trust in God. “Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:28-29
The Grace of God is freely given, there is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and nothing we can do to make God love us less. It means that we, who as most humans, are sinners but through the Divine mercy and Love of Almighty God are invited to take our place at the table in God's family. We gain that place at table by praying to God for His mercy and forgiveness which He also gives freely and by loving one another as God Himself loves us, unconditionally and with forgiveness and compassion for all God’s children regardless of their race, creed, sexual orientation of marital status. AMEN

Easter Reflection

Be Not Afraid, He is Risen
An Easter Reflection by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

Alleluia, Alleluia “This is the Day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad” (Psalm 118:24). “Do not be Afraid, You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, He is not here, He has risen” (Mark 16:6). “Why do you search for the living among the Dead” (Luke24: 5 ) “He is not here, He has been raised, exactly as He had promised” (Matthew 28:6). “Rabbouni (Hebrew for teacher) ….I have seen the Lord” (John20:18).
These words taken from the four gospels telling of the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ should have special meaning for us and fill us with hope and trust in God.
The first phrase, one that I especially love and keep deep in my heart, is “Do Not Be Afraid” simply put, if you have faith in God and the truly believe the promises of Jesus Christ, there is nothing in life that you need to be afraid of. By placing your trust in the will of God and believing that everything in life has a God given purpose, even the dissention that causes separation, bickering, and the power seeking of all those who profess to be followers of Christ. In these days where division seems to be all around us in government and even faith communities we need to seek out what the root cause of it is. At the heart of most of the discourse is the desire for power, control and most of all, MONEY.
How foolish are we mere mortals, we allow our pride, greed and envy to cloud our eyes so that we forget the message proclaimed by Jesus through His resurrection. The message that with God, all things can be conquered, even death. We also seem to conveniently forget what Christ has taught us by His life, words and deeds. “Love one another as I have loved You” Christ proved His love for us in the ultimate way, by willingly accepting death, not just any death, but the ignominious death of crucifixion. What greater love can a person have but to be willing to give up their own life for another.
Christ not only conquered death, he conquered our sins because by His overcoming death and with His resurrection he brought us forgiveness for our weaknesses and gained for us the promise of everlasting life.
Jesus came to us from Almighty God to be a “Rabbouni” teacher to us. He came to teach us the way to our own salvation and glory. The sad thing is, all too often, we are either not willing to truly hear the teachings of Christ or if we do hear them we choose not to follow them because they are inconvenient for us. All the proclamations of Halleluiah, all the prayers, all the ceremonial trappings and fancy vestments are for naught if we do not follow them through with actions. If we do not assist the poor and needy, speak out against injustice and discrimination and share our gifts with those who are less fortunate. We need to affirm, as Mary Magdalene did when she proclaimed “Rabbouni” that Jesus was the teacher and we learned His lessons and follow them.
Jesus was, is still, and always will be the head of the church. He is still directing those who believe through the Holy Spirit, “the giver of life who proceeds from the Father and the son. With the Father and the son, is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.” (Nicene Creed) He speaks to each and every one of us who desire to know His truth and seek it out. He does not just speak to the hierarchy but to all who, through Baptism, have been called to “priesthood” not just those who have been consecrated as “Presbyters”. Each and every person who has been born again in Baptism need to open their own hearts and minds to listen for the voice of God speaking within us and judge how what we are feeling and hearing complies with what Christ taught us in not only His words but by His actions.
We need to acknowledge Christ by seeking the truth as found in His teachings. We need to act in our daily lives in the manner that Jesus instructed us.
“Why do you search for the living (Jesus) among the dead? “He has been raised, exactly as He promised”
Jesus is alive; he is alive in the hearts and souls of all those who have been reborn through Baptism and who faithfully live according to His instructions. Christ is alive in every person who partakes of the “living Bread” he gave us in the Eucharist.
He gave himself to us, died for us and rose from the dead to conquer forever death from sin. Jesus taught us the way in order for us to know how to carry on His work here on earth while he and the Father watch over us. On this Easter day, we need to believe and accept God’s will as taught by Christ in words, deed and actions and emulate them in our life.
On this glorious day when we celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Let each of us who believe in Him and accept the call to “Come Follow Me” (Luke 18:22) work together to bring all who believe in the message and teachings of Christ together. Each and every one of us needs to make a concerted effort to repair the breaches that have torn us apart into separate factions, usually over some man made regulations that were instituted for the purpose of gaining control, power or political gain and which have nothing to do with God‘s will.
There is only one God. There was only one Jesus Christ. Christ, though His Apostles established one church, one faith. It was not until that church, for political gain under Constantine, began to selectively pick and choose the teaching that fit their agenda and objectives that separation began and culminated when one Bishop decided that He, and only He was infallible and those who were supposed to be his equals were now subservient to him.
Every Baptized Christian is called to be His servants, His disciples. All of us are called to live our faith and the teachings of Christ in our thoughts, words, and actions and not just by giving lip service.
We need to not only talk the talk but we need to Walk the walk.
Those of us who have been called to be shepherds and presbyters of His flock need find ways to work together with one voice just as Jesus spoke with one voice. We need to stop the name calling and jockeying for power and financial gain and come together in unity with one message, the message that Christ claimed was the two greatest commandments, “Love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, mind, soul and body and the second is like unto it, Love your neighbor as you love yourself”
By living that way when we proclaim Easter Sunday morning, “Alleluia, Alleluia, This is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be Glad, Jesus Christ has risen, Jesus is alive. Alleluia, Alleluia.” we are saying that Jesus lives today in each of us and we are carrying out His way each and every day.
Let us pray; “Give praise to the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endures for ever. Alleluia, Alleluia. Send down Your spirit of love upon us and through your goodness make us of one mind who you have bless with the Paschal Sacrament. All glory honor and praise be yours, now and forever. AMEN.

Good Friday Reflection

By the Cross, Christ Redeemed the Whole World
A Reflection for Good Friday by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

“We Adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the World” these words we say during the Stations of the Cross are a powerful affirmation of what this entire Lenten season, especially what we commemorate on Good Friday, is all about. Without Christ’s death, we would not have the gift of redemption. When Jesus went to the cross, he did so willingly. He knew that he was taking all the sins of the world with him. That by the shedding of His blood, Christ made peace by reconciling everything with God according to Saint Paul. By Christ’s death, a new light was brought to all men.
By his death, Christ asks us to emulate him and willingly pick up the crosses we are burdened with and to follow him. In today’s society there are many crosses being offered for us to take up. Can we carry the cross of speaking out against injustice even though it may bring us scorn and reproach by friends and family? Can we speak out against acts of discrimination and bigotry even though by doing so we may find ourselves in the minority? Can we have the courage to speak out against Government leaders who are insolent and refuse to serve the will of the majority of people they are supposed to represent? Do we have what it takes to allow ourselves to be stripped of all our pretensions and allow the world to see our true selves? Can we give of ourselves enough to be of assistance to those who are not able to provide the basic necessities of life for themselves?
All these are things that require us to give of ourselves and deny ourselves of being comfortable.

By Christ’s offering himself up as the sacrificial lamb on the cross we have been given the promise of Salvation, peace, compassion, love and triumph. Without the cross, the tree that gave us the promise of everlasting life, we would still be floundering around in the darkness of sin and confusion.
The Cross becomes a symbol of triumph, the triumph of Christ over the power of evil. The completion of the mission to overcome the forces of evil is now in our ballpark. Are we up to the challenge?
The triumph of Christ is not something of the past, it is a living thing. It is something we are called to live every day. When we are faced with oppression, illness, rejection, alienation we need to recall that all these were faced by Jesus Christ. By his life and death, Christ made holy every aspect of the human experience. We need to look upon our lives and live them with that in mind. Our lives are holy, they are holy if we are willing to work hard to live by the example Christ gave us.
Christ spoke out against injustice, so must we. Christ welcomed the outcast, so must we. Christ challenged the rules of the High Priests and the Sanhedrin and government of his day, so must we. When our government is wrong and creates laws that are oppressive, we need to speak out loudly against them. When our government our Religious leaders insist on mandating anything that is contradictory to the teaching and example that Christ gave us we need to be willing to challenge them as Christ did. By living in this way we sanctify Christ’s passion and relive it daily by our willingness to take up our crosses and carry them willingly.
The cross is a symbol of Christ’s triumph and this Paschal Season is our liturgical means of participating in Christ’s gift of redemption. Our challenge is to live it every day of every year.
On Good Friday we celebrate the love of God; a love so great it allows us, even urges us to be co-workers in Christ’s great act of love by sacrificing Himself on the cross for us.
Let us then celebrate Christ’s willingness to suffer the indignities of the passion and a criminal’s death on the cross, which brought us the forgiveness of our sins and our salvation and make it ours by being faithful to Him and living daily carrying our crosses proudly for all the world to see. AMEN

Passover Fulfilled In Christ

This is My Body, This is My Blood
A Reflection for Holy Thursday
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org


For more than 3000 years, the Jewish people have celebrated a Seder which is called Pesakh, Pesach, Pesah), or Festival of Unleavened Bread in remembrance of the exodus from Egypt. The Exodus includes the deliverance from slavery in Egypt as well as the covenant between God and His people at Sinai. Jesus and His followers, like faithful Jewish person gathered together to fulfill their obligation of celebrating the memorial of the feast of Passover. The word for memorial in Hebrew is Zikkaron and in Greek is ( anamnesis) meaning a liturgical celebration that celebrates and re-presents past mysteries of salvation.
If you remember the story, Moses told his people to sacrifice an unblemished young lamb and slaughter it and spread the blood on the doorposts and lintels of their homes, in that way the angel of Death that would sweep through Egypt would spare all those within.
The Jewish people were told to remember this passing on the fourteenth day of the first month of their calendar year. (This year 2007, the Passover began at sundown Monday April 2) This memorial celebration is what Jesus and His followers were celebrating.
The Passover “Haggadah” or telling is broken into 15 divisions or order of the Seder.
The Passover celebration today is a celebration of all the deliverances God has provided and Jews still look for the final deliverance and exodus of the coming of the Messiah.
Christians see Christ as the person who fulfilled all things that the prophets foretold the Messiah. Even the title “Christ” means the anointed one, which is what Messiah means in Hebrew.
Christ told us he came to bring us a new covenant, Christ became the sacrificial Lamb, It was His blood that set us free from the bondage of sin. Even the words that Jesus spoke and we proclaim at every liturgy of the Eucharist “ Blessed are you O Lord our God, king of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth” in Hebrew (Barukh ata Adonay, Elohenu, melekh ha olam, Ha motzi lechem min ha aretz) are the words Jesus spoke. When Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to His apostles saying, “This is my Body, take and eat” and the wine “This is my Blood, the Blood of the new covenant, it will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this is remembrance of me” He became the sacrificial lamb of the Passover.
Every time we partake in the Eucharistic Celebration we are reliving the Passover Celebration, we are carrying out the command of Jesus Christ that we celebrate the memorial feast “The memorial feast of our redemption”, we recall the memory of Jesus Christ, His suffering, death and resurrection. It is most unfortunate that our English language does not really convey very well the true biblical meaning of memorial (anamnesis {GREEK} and Zikkaron {Hebrew}.
Like the Jewish people today who faithfully follow the old covenant made by Moses with God. We, who believe Christ to be the promised one of the prophets, by our participating in the Eucharistic Liturgy, personally die and rise with Christ and we become redeemed together with Him.
By understanding the Passover, we better can understand the beautiful and fulfilling mystery of our faith and of the Eucharistic celebration. Let us work together to realize that as true believers of Christ we need to honor and respect the traditions of the faith that gave us our redeemer and savior Jesus Christ.
PRAYER:
Blessed are you, O Lord God, king of the universe, who has redeemed us from the land of bondage to sin and brought us to freedom and salvation by your willingness to become the sacrificial lamb of the new covenant. Unite your brothers and sisters of all nations on this earth your Almighty Father created together in love and unity so that we can gather as one family giving Almighty God and you thanksgiving and praise. AMEN

Renew Yourself, Prepare for Final Days of Holy Week

Renewed In Christ
A Reflection on the Paschal Triduum by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry


Beginning Thursday of this week the Universal church will celebrate three days of reflection, prayer, and thanksgiving as they pay honor and tribute to Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. The focus meaning of these three days is all about renewal.
It affords us an opportunity to renew ourselves, our commitment, and our faith in Almighty God.
On Holy Thursday we recall the old and the new. The Old Covenant made with Moses and the New covenant Jesus gave us when He instituted the Eucharist. In the Liturgy the events of that Passover meal Christ and the apostles celebrated are reenacted. During the day all the priests of a diocese gather together to renew their vows of service, the sacred oils used in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation and in healing the sick are blessed for the coming year, and the old ones are burned symbolizing again renewal.
At the Mass of The Lords Supper the celebrant, representing Christ, washes the feet of twelve persons just as Jesus washed the feet of the Apostles. This act signified that Jesus came to, as he said, “If, I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (John 13:14-15)
After the liturgy of the Eucharist, the consecrated Eucharist are carried to a place of repose where through the evening the faithful take time to adore Christ present in the Eucharist. The Altar is then stripped, just as Christ was stripped of His garments, and left bare and empty.
On Good Friday, we recall The Lord’s Passion and Death at about three o’clock in keeping with the time Jesus is believed to have died. In many churches and countries the time between twelve and three is set aside for people to walk the Stations of the Cross. At the Good Friday service the Passion is proclaimed, many times with members of the faithful taking part as the voices of the crowd, the narrator, and Christ. After the passion is proclaimed there is veneration of the cross where the faithful approach the cross with the figure of Christ upon it and usually kiss one of the wounds. Many believe that they are kissing the wound that they believe their sins caused Jesus to receive.
The cross is venerated because, it through it the sins of all died on the cross with Jesus, by that act of Jesus giving over of himself we were renewed and given a chance to live a life given over to God and obtain the renewing grace of forgiveness for our sins and the promise of everlasting life with Almighty God when our earthly days are ended.
On Holy Saturday this entire renewal process is brought to fulfillment. The evening vigil liturgy is a powerful and moving living liturgy that renews all. The Liturgy begins in a darkened place, just as the tomb of Christ was dark. The liturgy begins with the blessing of the New fire, representing Christ as the Light of the World, the glory of Christ’s and the New hope Christ brought into the world.
From the new fire The Easter Candle is Blessed and lit and from it all those attending light their individual candles indicating that Jesus brought the light of truth into their lives.
Following the proclamation of the word, the candidates to be received into the faith community are renewed in Baptism and all the faithful renew their Baptismal vows. With this the entire faithful have renewed their lives in Christ.
On Easter Sunday morning, we rejoice in our renewal and the renewal Christ brought to all people with his resurrection.
The message for is is, with Christ, all people have a future, all people of the world have the opportunity to share in everlasting life with God and all the Elect. Christ came to bring salvation to all of God’s children. Just as Christ did not discriminate in who he received into His company, the gift of renewal and salvation earned by Christ was for every human being on the face of the earth.
As true followers of Christ we do not have any justification for deciding who will and who will not be welcome in the presence of God.
As we journey through this most sacrad and wondrous week let us rejoice and be glad, that through Christ, we have been given a total and complete renewal of our lives.
Let us rejoice and give thanks to God for giving us His only begotten son as the sacrificial lamb to renew us.
On Easter morning let us rejoice and be glad and proclaim joyously that Christ has risen. For Easter is the remembrance of God’s giving us the opportunity to completely renew ourselves into persons who respect the diversity and uniqueness of God’s creatures and people who foster and promote the message of love that Christ brought to us. “Love one another as I have loved you” these words of Christ should echo in our minds and heart, for Christ showed us how much he loved us by being willing to suffer and die the ignominious deat on the cross just so we could have the promise of forgiveness and everlasting life with God. The coming days are truly, the days of the Lord.
Let us rejoice and be glad. Let us shout our HOSANNAH, HOSANNAH TO THE SON OF DAVID, HOSANNAH TO CHRIST OUR REDEEMER AND SAVIOR. THROUGH YOU WE HAVE BEEN RENEWED.
LET US GO FORWARD FROM THIS DAY ONWARD WITH THE VOW TO LOVE AND SERVE GOD AND EACH OTHER. AMEN

Hosanna In The Highest
A Reflection for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Based on the readings for the Tridentine and Novus Ordo Traditions
Matt: 21:1-9, Matthew 26 & 27 (Passion of Our Lord); Isaiah 50:4 – 7, Philippians 2:5-11, Luke 22:14 - 23:56 (Passion of Our Lord)
By Fr. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus

“Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel” (Matthew 21:9) shouted the people lining the road into Jerusalem. This joyful reception by the Jewish people to Jesus entrance into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, could compare to the accolades and reception that the winners of the World Series or the Super Bowl experience on return to their respective cities. They are received as conquering heroes and indeed Jesus was just that kind of hero and still is to those of us who believe in Him and accept Him as the only begotten son of God.
It can be assumed that many of those same people who were shouting Hosanna, four days later would be in the crowds shouting, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him” because he did not meet their expectations of Him or because they succumbed to greed and accepted bribes from the powers of the temple elite.
We have seen in our lives just such a turn around by a super hero of the World Series who deserts the team he played with that won the series and goes over to an opposing team because they offered him a huge sum of money that the deep pocket owner could afford and who places winning over all at any price. When the player returns to his former team he is no longer cheered but booed and treated with contempt.
In the past few years we have seen a great deal of publicity about the newly discovered Gospel of Judas, the supposed discovery of the tomb of Jesus and a resurgence of publicity about THE DIVINCI CODE and HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL, THE LOST GOSPELS and other “New discoveries that call into question the basis of Christianity.
The speculation, by some, is that these new revelations might change our beliefs.
I do not know how our beliefs or the truth of Jesus teachings could be changed by the supposed revelations.
The truth is, Jesus Christ lived, Christ died, Christ was resurrected, and Christ came to save all people of the world, not a select few and during His life He broke all the rules and regulations of the Jewish faith and did not discriminate against anyone.
If anything, these discoveries should only serve to strengthen our faith and belief. They change nothing about the main facts. All of them and numerous non-religious historical documents acknowledge that Jesus was real. All of them affirm that he gave us a new covenant, “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, MIND, SOUL AND BODY AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU”
The “Gnostic Gospels” as they are called are all based on writings of the early Christians; and in most cases, they support and have much of the same information as we find in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which we were raised on.
The Gnostic Gospels, as the lost Gospels are called, proclaimed that salvation could be achieved by knowledge.
That statement is true, we need to have Knowledge of who God is, Knowledge of how we can serve God, Knowledge of God’s intent; all of these are necessary in order for us to faithfully serve God.
They do not disagree with what is found in the Gospels we know as far as the events of the final days of Christ.
Did not Jesus Himself say, “Seek and you will find, Knock and it will be opened to you, Ask and you shall receive” none of these “recent” findings change a thing.
The Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, according to the versions being read today by either Matthew or Luke, opened the road to everlasting salvation for us.
Even if the most recent finding “The Gospel of Judas” has any truth, it affirms that Jesus had to die in order for our salvation to be assured. In it, it is purported to state, “For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me." By that, scholars familiar with Gnostic thinking said, “Jesus meant that by helping him get rid of his physical flesh, Judas will act to liberate the true spiritual self or divine being within Jesus.”
In many western churches today the Passion of the final days of Christ’s life are read according to Matthew and Luke which detail the last hours of Christ on earth as will Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Matthew and Luke’s Gospels begins with the celebration of Passover and the creation of the Eucharist, The agony in the garden and Christ’s saying, “Father if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, nevereless, not as I will, but as you will” which I say every day as part of my prayers, “Not my will but your will be done Lord”.
The readings continue by detailing the betrayal by Judas, the trials, the way of the cross and the crucifixion and ends with the burial of Christ.
Paul’s letter explains the reasons for all this and who Christ was and says a lot that we need to think about in the face of all the recent supposed contradictions.
Jesus Christ, although he shared God’s nature, did not try to seize equality with God for himself; but he emptied himself and took on the form of a slave, by becoming a human man – not in appearance only, because he humbled himself by accepting death – even death on a cross. For this, God has raised him high, and given him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bend, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue will proclaim “Jesus Christ is Lord”, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2)
During this final week of Lent and this week which celebrates the Jewish freedom from bondage from the Egyptians, and especially as we go through Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, let us reflect on how we live and practice our faith every day.
During this Christian Passion Week and the Holy Jewish week of Passover, let us find ways to put an end to the dissentions and petty jurisdictional and control for power and profit that have separated the followers of Jesus Christ into many churches instead on the One Holy Catholic (Universal) Apostolic Church we profess in the creed.
The time for us is now to be faithful to God and our faith and not allow ourselves to be swayed away by supposed “New Truths”. Let us work together to find ways to come together as the family of Christ and children of God and gather together as one family of faith in Christ. Let us begin living the message of Jesus Christ by our actions, thoughts, words and deeds. Let us be completely and very faithful to Almighty God and His beloved son Jesus Christ and forever and always proclaim loudly,
“HOSANNA, HOSANNA, TO THE SON OF DAVID, HOSANNA! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST!”

AMEN

Feast Day Reflection

Reflection for the Feast of Annunciation
And
The Founding of the Franciscans of the Annunciation
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry

“Hail Mary! Full of grace” “The Lord is with you”, how wonderful it would be to have that affirmation given to us. Wouldn’t it be great if an angel of the Lord came down and announced to us the greeting that was given to the Our Blessed Mother Mary, the mother of Christ.
There is no question that it would be wonderful to hear but we have to ask ourselves, are we worthy of hearing that message? Have we actually lived by the teachings of Almighty God as found in the commandments and especially in the teachings of Christ?
Do we love God above all things? Do we love our neighbor as we love ourselves and see in every human being, Jesus Christ? Do we practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and the Beatitudes?
The Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary as she was engaged in her daily practice of prayer. Mary lived fully in accordance with the Jewish faith and was prayerful and totally committed to Almighty God and living according to the teachings and beliefs of her Jewish faith.
When the angel made His announcement to Mary her first reaction was “How can this be?”
With these words, Here I am Lord, May it be done to me according to your word! She freely accepted God’s will for her even though she knew that, as an unmarried woman found with child she could be stoned to death. Do we have that kind of faith and trust in accepting God’s will for us?
In order to have that kind of faith we have to give ourselves over completely to God’s will for us and accept it. If God willed that we be born with an orientation toward a member of the same sex, we have to accept that and live our lives in accordance with that and not use it as an excuse to separate ourselves from God because others say that it is our choice and not God’s plan and therefore we are sinners.
Do we listen when God does choose to speak to us in our hearts or do we pass it off as an illusion or a dream and not discern what God is trying to tell us?
It was not until I stopped demanding to always do things my way and to begin to ask God what it was he wanted from me that I began to find true peace within my self and in my heart and mind.
A year ago the original Franciscan order to which I had become incardinated was disbanded over some dissention and I wondered what the reason was and where I might go to follow what I felt sure was a mission God wanted me to do. As it turned out one of the Bishops who had been a member of the original order also wondered and somehow a prayer I wrote during this time of discernment led him to feel that it was where God wanted us and he founded the Franciscans of the Annunciation of the Infinite Love of God. The Infinite love of God is the prime message of the Annunciation to Our Blessed Mother Mary. God so loved the world that He choose to send His only begotten son to earth in human form to teach us the truth. The truth is that God always loves us, even when we try to ignore Him and go our own way. God does not give up on us. All He demands of us is that we acknowledge Him and attempt, with the help of His Divine Mercy and the Holy Spirit, to live our lives in a manner that is not harmful to ourselves or others.
Since only God is perfect, He knows that our human condition is far from perfect. He respects and loves us as we struggle with the difficulties of daily life.
God choose Mary to be the mother of His only begotten son because she lived her life in total accordance with His laws as they had been handed down through Jewish tradition and loved and worshiped the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Jesus told us that He came to earth on behalf of His Father to bring a new covenant.
Mary accepted God’s will even though she new that in doing so she could be stoned to death and as Jesus began His ministry Mary followed Jesus even to the wrenching pain of watching her son suffer and die a horrible death nailed to a wooden cross.
She was there when he arose and when the Holy Spirit came down on the apostles. She was the First and most loyal of all the disciples. She truly showed us the way to follow Christ.
During these final two weeks of Lent, let us make a concerted effort to change ourselves into dedicated and true followers of Christ and devoted children of Almighty God by totally giving our lives over to the will of God and accepting His will for us just as Mary did. Let us be more tolerant of the diversity of God’s creation especially in our neighbors. Let us practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and live the Beatitudes each and every day by being more mindful of the need of sufferings of others and reach out to them as the Good Samaritan did for the man beaten on the side of the road.
By living this way we may not become true saints but it is just possible we will, one day, hear the voice of an angel speaking to us saying “God loves you for being His good and faithful servant and is welcoming you home to His loving arms.
AMEN

Passion Sunday Reflection

“By Christ’s deeds the Lord has shown himself great”
A Reflection for Passion Sunday
Based on Readings from: John 8:48-59, Hebrews 9:11-15, Psalm 125, Philippians 3:8-14, John 8:1-11
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFA
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry


I have chosen words from the title of the psalm used in today’s liturgy of the Novus Ordo rite or new rite in the western churches since it compliments all the readings used by the Universal church for Passion Sunday.
The Gospel of John 8:1-11 is the story of the woman about to be stoned because she was caught in adultery and how Jesus responded to those who were about to stone her. Jesus said to them “If there is one of you who have not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her”. With those words Jesus broke with the teachings of the old covenant for Christ came into this world as the mediator of a new covenant or agreement between God and us.
In the Gospel of John 8:48-59 we find Christ being accused of sinning and having a demon in Him because he had broken with the traditional practices of the Jewish faith to which Jesus replied; “"I don't have a demon in me. I honor my Father, and you refuse to honor me. I don't want honor for myself. But there is one who wants me to be honored, and he is also the one who judges. I tell you for certain that if you obey my words, you will never die." "If I honored myself, it would mean nothing. My Father is the one who honors me. You claim that he is your God, even though you don't really know him. If I said I didn't know him, I would be a liar, just like all of you. But I know him, and I do what he says.”
Notice the words of Christ; “You claim that he is your God, even though you don't really know him”. Today everywhere we hear preachers claiming to know God and Christ and yet they go about shouting condemnation and hell fire and damnation and claim that they are preaching the teachings of Christ, yet, the Gospel story of the woman caught in adultery is an example of how Christ preached mercy and forgiveness.
The opening words of Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews 9:11 explain this very well; “Christ came as the high priest of the good things that are now here….. He freed us from sin forever. He did this by offering his own blood instead of the blood of goats and bulls.” (The Law of Moses prescribed that people who become unclean were not fit to worship God. Yet they would be considered clean, if they are sprinkled with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a sacrificed calf.) Paul continues with the following explanation; “But Christ was sinless, and he offered himself as an eternal and spiritual sacrifice to God. That's why his blood is much more powerful and makes our consciences clear……. Now he brings his chosen ones a new agreement with its guarantee of God's eternal blessings!”
Paul’s letter to the Philippians 3:8 opening words sum it all up, at least for me they do, “I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”. Paul goes on to say how he he no longer is seeking the perfection that comes from the law but the perfection that comes through faith in Jesus Christ and Almighty God. He also acknowledges that perfection only comes when we have been received into the eternal promise of Christ. “I am far from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for is the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Christ.”
I believe that it is not our duty or obligation to place condemnation on any of God’s children but that we should teach the words of Christ and instruct God’s children on the way they have been called by God to live their lives. We most certainly should never think that God has made a mistake in creating someone in a certain way or refuse to allow one of God’s children from participating in the worship and reception of the graces of the sacraments for when we do so we are acting like those who wanted to stone the woman caught in adultery.

The next two weeks are some of the most holy and humbling times within the liturgical calendar. They are a time when we examine ourselves deeply and make our list of strengths and weaknesses within our living the teachings of God as given us through Christ. They are a time when we are reminded of how much Christ was willing to suffer for our sake and a time to ask ourselves how much we are willing to suffer in order to achieve the promise of Eternal life with God.
Christ did not go through all He endured for just a few individuals who perceive that they are holier than others but for ALL of the children of God, every individual on the face of the earth.
Let each of us, over the next two weeks, think about how Christ came to earth and by His words and deeds the Lord has shown himself great and given us the way, the truth and the light which will lead us to the Father, our creator, and everlasting life with Him, our redeemer Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and Christ’s and our heavenly mother Mary and all the heavenly elect.
Use this time to improve your relationship with Almighty God and with your brothers and sisters in Christ by working harder to live a life that reflects the teachings of Christ.
That is our way of passing over to the promised land of Almighty God. AMEN