Sunday July 27th Reflection

Seek and you will find A Reflection for Sunday July 27th 2014 By Rev. Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy An All Inclusive and Welcoming Old Catholic Parish and Ministry Of the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org Link to all Fr. Bob’s REFLECTIONS TV Shows http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org Email Address: Divinemercyparish@msn.com Today’s readings from Holy Scripture are all about Love, God’s love to be exact and how we should return that love to God. The first reading for this Sunday is from 1 Kings 3:5 “The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” and it called to my mind another similar passages from Holy Scripture. One is found in Deuteronomy7 4:29 “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Another is found in 1 Chronicles 28:9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.” and still another in Matthew 7 :7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Each of these passages are a solid reminder of God’s promise and love for ALL His children who embrace Him and seek Him for solace and forgiveness as well as healing and strength. Today’s Gospel from Matthew 13:44-52 relates the parable that Christ used to describe the Kingdom of Heaven. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” Once we have found the truth of Christ’s message and recognize that Almighty God, the Father and creator of all things is a loving, compassionate and forgiving God who has created all things good, we need to hold on to that message and value it as the most precious thing we have. In Paul’s letter to the Romans 8:28, which is the second reading for this Sunday, Paul reaffirms this knowledge by saying “Brothers and sisters: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.” Combined, these words should hearten us and lift us up when we feel depressed, forlorn or abandoned. Recently Pope Francis told us the following about God’s love and our love for God; “It is more difficult to let God love us than to love Him! The best way to love Him in return is to open our hearts and let Him love us. Let Him draw close to us and feel Him close to us. This is really very difficult: letting ourselves be loved by Him. And that is perhaps what we need to ask today …‘Lord, I want to love You, but teach me the difficult science, the difficult habit of letting myself be loved by You, to feel You close and feel Your tenderness ! May the Lord give us this grace.” This is a wonderful prayer for us to pray daily, especially if we feel that God does not love us. God’s love for us is unlimited and infinite. Pope Francis has emphasized the love of Christ when he said; “The Lord loves us tenderly, The Lord knows that beautiful science of caresses, the tenderness of God. He does not love us with words. He comes close – closeness – and gives us His love with tenderness. Closeness and tenderness! “The Lord loves us in these two ways, He draws near and gives all His love even in the smallest things: with tenderness. And this is a powerful love, because closeness and tenderness reveal the strength of God’s love.” We need to remember that we are never completely alone as long as we hold on to the love of God and believe the message that Christ gave us. It is not the rules of man, or a church organization that should establish how God perceives us but what is embedded deep in our hearts. If we live our lives to serve God with our whole heart and with a willing mind, as the reading from Chronicles reminds us, GOD WILL NEVER REJECT US! If we welcome and accept the truths found in today’s readings we will understand it is God Himself who looks into our hearts and decides who will attain heaven. It is not any humans place to usurp God’s decision. We are taught in today’s readings; “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” “know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts If you seek Him, He will let you find Him” “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” On May 22nd in his homily to those gathered for Thursday Mass at Casa Santa Marta. Pope Francis had the following to say about God’s love and our love for God; “The Christian vocation is this: to remain in the love of God, that is, to breathe, to live of that oxygen, to live of that air, Jesus' love is a love that comes from the Father. The loving relationship between Him and the Father is also a relationship of love between Him and us. He asks us to remain in this love, which comes from the Father,” The Pope was focusing on Jesus’ exhortation from the Gospel of John, “remain in my love.” The sign of remaining in this love is “keeping the commandments.” “When we remain in love,” the pontiff said, “the Commandments follow on their own, out of love.” Love “leads us to naturally fulfill the Commandments. The root of love blossoms in the Commandments.” In essence, if we live by what Christ called the two greatest Commandments: “Love the Lord, your God, with your whole mind, body and soul and love your eighbor as you love yourself” or when he said; “Love one another as I have loved you” God will NEVER reject anyone who comes to him and has faithfully followed those teachings. We must always remember the motto of our Ministry; “God loves ALL His children exactly as He created them” Therefore, go forth and seek God with your heart, mind and entire being and follow Him with love toward individual you encounter on your journey of life and you will have the gates of heaven opened to you and hear God say; “Well done my good and faithful servant”. AMEN

At a stalemate

Dear Family, friends and fellow clergy, Our fund raising drive to replace our dangerous to drive mission vehicle has stalled of late at just slightly above 50% of our goal to raise enough funds to allow us to lease a vehicle with affordable payments we know we will be able to make over the 3 year term of the lease. We feel that leasing will be the best method for us since it covers any and all mechanical work that might have to be done without any expense to us, but if we buy a used vehicle we would have to pay for any mechanical repairs that might happen, and most times, over a 3 year period, there are mechanical problems that happen to used vehicles. The best used vehicle we could buy with the funds available has over 100,000 miles already on it. We did the math, and if we can raise the $5500 needed to lease a vehicle for payments of $98 a month, all we would need to worry about is the monthly payment and Gas, oil and insurance payments for the 3 years. If you feel that this ministry is doing the work of God in its service to hospices, nursing homes, shut-ins and those often marginalized because of age, illness, or sexual orientation, I beg of you, in God's name, to make a donation to our fund drive and ask your family and friends to do so as well. this is how you can make a donation, use this fund raising link or send your donation to our bank. https://www.youcaring.com/nonprofits/deposit-for-mission-vehicle/180847 OR by sending a check or money order directly to our Ministry bank and notating on it that is for the "Vehicle Fund Drive". Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus C/O Middlesex Savings Bank 830 Washington Street Holliston, MA 01746 Pax et Bonum Peace & All God's Goodness be with you Rev. Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus Divine Mercy Old Catholic Parish Independent Catholic Church of the Americas Link to Fr. Bob's Weekly TV show http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FriarBobJohn Mission Web Site www.missionstsergius.org Franciscan Web Site www.franciscansdivinemercy.org ICCA Seminary Link http://www.iccamericas.org/seminary/ Diocese Office: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html

July13th Reflection

Let God’s Word Be Your Guide A Reflection for 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2014 Based on the readings from Isaiah 55, Psalm 65, Romans 8:18-23, Matthew 13:1-23 By Rev. Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy An All Inclusive and Welcoming Old Catholic Parish and Ministry Of the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org Link to all Fr. Bob’s REFLECTIONS TV Shows http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org Email Address: Divinemercyparish@msn.com "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” (Luke 8:16) The words above are from the last line of the Gospel of Luke and I have chosen to begin this reflection with them because they tell us that we should never hide our faith and be ashamed of believing in God. The Gospel reading for today from Matthew is the parable story of the farmer who sowed his seed. Christ used the sowing of seeds to represent how some people receive the inspired word of God found in the Holy Scripture we know as The Bible. The parable is explained in this way in a part of the reading that was added by Doctors of the Church many years after the actual first telling and writing of what Christ Said so that those who heard it, remember the Holy Scriptures were not available to every person like they are today. “The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop” The earliest copies were all hand scribed and only available to clergy and in later years to the very rich. The History of THE WORD OF GOD which is what all denominations who believe in the One God, Creator of All, call the Scriptures is very interesting. Two Hundred years before the birth of Christ the Septuagint Greek Manuscripts which contain The 39 Old Testament Books and the 14 Apocrypha Books was hand written. It was not until near then end of the 1st Century after the birth of Christ that the books that make up the New Testament, or the teachings of Christ and the Epistles attributed to the Apostles were hand scribed in Greek. Athenasius, the Bishop of Alexandria, identifies the 27 books of the New Testament which are today recognized as the canon of scripture in the year 315. Three Hundred and Eighty Two years after the birth of Christ St. Jerome produced all 80 books of the Bible in Latin. By the year 500 the Bible was translated into 500 languages, remember, all these translations were done by hand and often resulted in some changes from the original Aramaic and Greek that was the original languages that scripture was written in. About the year 600 the only language that the Bible was allowed to be written in was Latin and that continued until the year 995 when an Anglo-Saxon translation was created which was the beginning of a translation into what we now know as English. The first hand-written English Language version of the Bible was produced in by John Wycliffe an Oxford professor, scholar, and theologian of all 80 Books. In 1455 when Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press; the Bible started to be mass-Produced Instead of Individually Hand-Written. The First Book Gutenberg ever Printed was the Bible in Latin. The Bible has had many translations, many changes and yet, if one looks really close, and compares the different versions we have available, and does the research, we can deduce what was the first things that were transcribed by the first writers in both the Old and the new Testaments and what God was attempting to teach us on how we should live. Recently Pope Francis had this to say about Holy Scripture; “Sacred Scripture is the written testimony of the divine Word, the canonical memory that attests to the event of Revelation, the Word of God precedes the Bible and surpasses it. That is why the center of our faith isn't just a book; rather, the center of Christian faith is Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh.” So how do we discern between the actual words that Christ said in the New Testament and what we read? One method I like to use is to search in all the Gospels for a phrase or a teaching and see if I can find the same phrase or teaching in them. I often also look in what are called the Gnostic Gospels, like the Gospel of St. Thomas, Mary Magdalene or the Gospel of Peter. When I find the same teaching or phrase attributed to having been said by Christ, I feel certain that Christ actually said that phrase or teaching. Most theologians will agree that when we find the same “words of Christ” in multiple Gospels we can be fairly certain that they are what Christ taught. Most of us have heard the gospel and scripture stories all our lives, some have been read the Bible stories from the time they were little children which means we have heard the inspired word of God as given to the prophets and the disciples but what have we done with it? I personally like to refer what is found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke to that which is found in the Gospel of John, which is possibly the only Gospel actually written by the author that it is attributed to since John lived the longest and we know he wrote the Book of Revelation or Apocalypse. Each of the Gospels may have the same central point or teaching although in different wording but the same message. Those readings instruct us “TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER” “ LOVE GOD AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR” in other words we are told by Christ, who as Christians believe was the son of God sent by God to enlighten us, that the key to the kingdom of heaven is to Love God and Love all God’s children which would mean we do not hurt anyone by actions that The Commandments individually detail. In the writing of the Epistles of St. Paul we have affirmations of how THE WORD OF GOD should be received and accepted. "I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once...." 1 Corinthians 15:1-10 "...our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance..." 1 Thessalonians 1:5 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Let us be like the Good seed; “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop” and hold The Word of God solidly in our hearts and attempt, with all the energy we can muster and with deep sincerity and love of God to live The Great Commandment; “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, the second is like unto it, Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22, Luke 10, Mark 12) Or “Love one another as I have loved You” (John 13) Let us also not be afraid to proclaim our faith and trust in God by letting others know how wonderful, loving, compassionate and merciful God is. We need to not be afraid to proclaim our faith, as well as live in in our daily actions. God knows we are not perfect and that it is not easy for us to completely follow his command and the teachings of Christ but the one common denominator we have with almost all the saints, and certainly those who are revered among the greatest saints, is admitting how sinful we are and their need to constantly implore God for forgiveness and strength to overcome weaknesses. Why should we be any different than say St. Francis who constantly called himself the most unworthy of all creatures? Morning and night and during the day I often turn to God and pray for the ability to resist the temptations that plague me. I pray for guidance and direction in my ministry. I plead for the means to proclaim God’s infinite mercy and love for all His children and to not give in to the thoughts that I am failing God because of the limitations I have. Like any journey we travel on we encounter many different roads. Some are lined with the beauty of God’s creation with verdant fields or lush foliage, others are filled with pot holes and detours and we struggle to reach out destination. The destination we are aiming for is everlasting life with Almighty God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Our beloved mother Mary and all the angels, saints and heavenly elect. The guide book to achieve that goal is Holy Scriptures so we should try to have a daily dose of meditation on the scriptures just like we take our daily vitamins or the medications that we need to keep us healthy. We clergy daily pray the Daily Prayer or Divine Office which has scripture readings to meditate on but there are many resources out there for people to us, the bottom line is to keep referring to what I like to think of as “THE GUIDE BOOK TO ETERNAL LIFE” The Holy Inspired Word of God, found in Holy Scripture, The Bible. By listening to God “speaking to us” through the inspired word, we can avoid the pitfalls and dead ends that this world materialism and secularism put in our path to complete trust and faith in God. AMEN

July 6th TV Show

Father's DAy 2014

Father’s Day Today, let us honor the Father of all Fathers, Our heavenly Father, Almighty God, who loves unconditionally all of his children. Our Father God’s love for us in infinite and full of compassion, mercy and most of all forgiveness. For parents and children who are estranged from each other they need to reach out to each other to seek/give forgiveness just as Christ taught us in the parable of the Good Shepherd. In it God as the Good Shepherd would leave the flock to seek out the lost sheep and return it to the flock. 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. On this Father’s day when most children seek to find a special gift for their earthly fathers we need to explore what gift we are going to offer to our Heavenly Father. For children who have two fathers which in my mind this is a double blessing for them but, sadly 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. 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. On this Father’s day let us make a gift to God that will be truly pleasing to Him and take action in keeping with how we as brothers and sisters and children of our Father God Almighty should be acting. Let us begin to make the changes in this world that will bring about a time of brotherhood, justice, compassion and equality for every child of God and our brothers and sisters in Christ not for just a few chosen by one group or another because they feel comfortable with them but for ALL. 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” In the liturgy of the Eucharist the priest continues this prayer with these words before the congregation responds “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever” “Deliver us Lord from every evil, and grant us the peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior Jesus Christ” and then we acknowledge “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. AMEN

Trinity Sunday Reflection

Reflection for Trinity Sunday 2014 Trinity Sunday 2014 A Reflection based on Readings from Exodus, 43, Daniel 3, Corinthians 13, John 3 By Rev. Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy An All Inclusive and Welcoming Old Catholic Parish and Ministry Of the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org Link to all Fr. Bob’s REFLECTIONS TV Shows http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org Email Address: Divinemercyparish@msn.com In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, with these words almost every Christian denomination begins prayers. It is an acknowledgement of the triune nature of Almighty God. In the first reading from Exodus we read where God himself proclaimed to Moses the following; “"The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity." The Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday comes from the book of Daniel and is the ultimate praise prayer that we should profess every day and one which we Franciscans do say at least twice a day in keeping with the fact that St. Francis himself prayed it often throughout the day. It is simple and yet very powerful. “Glory and praise forever! Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all age, Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory, praiseworthy and glorious above all forever. Glory and praise forever! Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. Glory and praise forever! Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. Glory and praise forever!” The second reading informs us on how we should live with one another and again it is a message of extending love like that Christ exhibited to all we meet especially our family, friends and members of our Faith Community. The reading tells us to; “Encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.” The reading ends with a prayer that we say several times as we celebrate the Mass but is actually the words of St. Paul to the church of Corinth letting them know that God is one, three expressions or hypostases; Father is the Creator of all things, The Son is the human manifestation of God made man, and the Holy Spirit is the enlightener. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” The fourth Lateran Council declared the following; "it is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds") and in their relations with one another, they are stated to be one in all else, co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial meaning, (of one being" in that the Son is "generated" ("born" or "begotten") "before all ages" or "eternally" of the Father's own being, from which the Spirit also eternally "proceeds." and "each is God, whole and entire". This belief is the central mystery of most Christian Faiths. Accordingly, the whole work of creation and grace is seen as a single operation common to all three divine persons, in which each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, so that all things are "from the Father", "through the Son" and "in the Holy Spirit". The Gospel begins by reminding us of how much God and His beloved son loves us when it says; “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” St. John then goes on to remind us that God is not interested in being a God of condemnation; “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” It is, I believe, very appropriate this year Trinity Sunday celebrating the 3 distinct separate manifestations of Almighty God yet the unity of them happens to fall this year on Father’s Day since Christ called God His Father. He even told us that when we pray, say; “Our Father who art in heaven” God exists as three persons but is one God, meaning that God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have exactly the same nature or being as God the Father in every way. Whatever attributes and power God the Father has, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have as well. "Thus, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are also eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, infinitely wise, infinitely holy, infinitely loving, and omniscient." All 3 personas of God are the same and therefore the great power and force that is God is LOVE. Pope Benedict summed it up for us in his first encyclical DEUS CARITAS EST which means, God is Love. To sum up, if we are to become Christ like or God like, we need to work hard on being more loving and accepting of everyone, even those who don’t always treat us well. That is very difficult, but remember, as he hung on the Cross Christ called out “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. To be forgiving of those who have done harm to us is the ultimate way of expressing Love but it is extremely difficult and requires us to be reject the normal human reaction to retaliate. I find that I need to constantly implore the Paraclete to give me the strength and inspiration to be able to become more loving in my relationships with those who do not always treat me well. And since God is generous and loving I find that somehow I am able to forgive and be cordial to those who have hurt me. Whether we pray to God in the name of Adonai, Yahweh, El-Olam, Jesus or The Paraclete (Holy Spirit) we are praying to the one and only God. The same God that Abraham, Isaac, Moses, King David, Jacob, Mohammad, the Apostles and all the Saints prayed too. All this Sunday’s readings honoring the Blessed Trinity of God; the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit proclaim one extremely important message to us and it is; “we need to burn into our memory and hold it fast since it sums up the most important thing we need to know about God. God is a God of LOVE, MERCY, and COMPASSION. In essence, God is consummate LOVE. Therefore, let us establish a line of communication with God and let us try to have more love for all those we encounter. Just possibly, if we can achieve that goal it will start spreading like a virus that invades people turning hearts of stone into hearts filled with compassion, mercy and the desire for a world without war, hunger, poverty, homelessness and prejudice. Let us pray; Morning Prayer of St. Francis Almighty, most holy most high and supreme God, all good, supreme good, totally good, You Who alone are good, may we give back to you all praise, all glory, all grace, all honor, all blessing, and all good. So be it, so be it. AMEN

Trinity Sunday June 15, 2014

Web Site Update

The mission web sites have been updated with new pictures, this weeks reflection and REFLECTIONS TV show and the financial statement for the month of April. vist our web sites: www.missionstsergius.org and www.franciscansdivinemercy.org

Palm Sunday Video

Via Dolorosa/ Stations of the Cross

Journey with Christ as he travels the Via Dolorosa, The Road of Sorrows, and endures the passion of his Scourging, Bearing the Wood of the Cross upon which he would be nailed to die, and his burial by meditating upon the Stations of the Cross with depictions of the Stations of the Cross by artist Svitozar Nenyuk, known primarily for his religious paintings,

Holily for Epiphany

HOMILY FOR FEAST OF EPIPHANY January 5, 2014 By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans Divine Mercy Independent Catholic Church of the Americas This week’s TV Reflection: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQBes0hcAd8 Link to All Reflections TV Shows; http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org Link Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org/ The Dictionary defines EPIPHANY as; an appearance, to show forth, to manifest. All these meanings explain the feast we celebrate January 5th this year .rather than January 6th The Epiphany of Our Lord is the day in which we celebrate Almighty God’s eternal plan of Salvation. This particular feast is one of the oldest celebrated by the universal church. Often it is known as Three Kings’ Day As with most aspects of the Christian liturgical calendar, Epiphany has theological significance as a teaching tool in the church. The Gospel for this Feast day is from Matthew 2 verses 1 through 12 and reads like this: “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” The Wise Men or Magi who brought gifts to the infant Jesus were the first Gentiles, (non-Jews) to acknowledge Jesus as "King" and so were the first to "show" or "reveal" Jesus to a wider world as the incarnate Christ. The gifts they are said to have presented represented the Kingship of Christ (Gold), The Son of God (Frankincense used as an offering to God) and Myrrh which was used to dress the mortal body of those who died thereby proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus. This act of worship by the Magi, which corresponded to Simeon’s blessing that this child Jesus would be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32), was one of the first indications that Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races, and that the work of God in the world would not be limited to only a few. This is a time of focusing on Christian brotherhood and fellowship, especially in healing the divisions of prejudice and bigotry that we all too often created separations between God’s children. God’s children are separated from the Sacraments and members of a family because they do not conform to the desires of others. It doesn’t matter that they live a good life not hurting others, being generous and forgiving of the hurts inflicted on them. Today many who proclaim to be believers of Christ’s teaching try to exclude people for proclaiming their love of God because they have been divorced or God created them with a homosexual orientation. They use passages from scripture to try to justify their positions. Unfortunately they use translations out of context. Nowhere in scripture did Jesus ever preach or say anything about homosexuality. In three of the Gospels we read these words; “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”(Luke 10:27; Mark 12:30;Matthew 22:37) which Jesus is said to have proclaimed. At this time of the Church year, we are called to reflect on the truths found in the teachings of Jesus. We are called to heal in the same way that Christ healed. In the last few years I personally have experienced the healing power of God in many ways, I have been cured so far of 4 diffenert forms of cancer and continue to be able to get around to visit nursing homes, hospitals, shut-ins and to celebrate Mass in spite of being diagnosed with acute stenosis of the spine, back, neck and shoulders. When one gives their life over to God with complete trust that God will provide and do what is best for you is when miracles seem to happen. Other aspects of living in accord with the teachings of Christ is the forgiving of those who have done us wrong, being generous to those in need, having compassion for those who are ill and reaching out to the homeless, unemployed and elderly who often are alone and welcome joyfully a visit from someone. As anyone who has ever undergone an operation knows, healing takes time, it does not happen overnight but if we work at it each and every day healing will occur. In today’s world, there are many ills that need to be healed. We need to address the separation between the haves and the have-nots. All around the globe, even here in the United States, people are going without proper nutrition because they cannot afford to buy groceries and their necessary medicines. In spite of this, some members of our government have voted to reduce Food Stamp benefits which have cost many a loss of enough funds to buy a couple of days groceries. These same people are trying to get rid of programs that allow the poor and low income people adequate affordable housing and medical care. These actions are not in accord with the teachings of Christ and for those who have voted this way and call themselves Christians; I want to tell them that they are not acting like Christians but like minions of the Power of Darkness. We need to look around and find those who need help, the aged, the parentless children, the struggling faith community that needs some financial assistance to develop programs or repairs or just to pay the rent on their worship space. All religious ministries require help in meeting their expenses yet many report a drop in donations which causes them to struggle to maintain. If we open our eyes and hearts we can all find a way of discovering, within ourselves, the message of this feast of Epiphany. We can put the message Christ’s taught us to work here on earth now, just by making some changes and becoming more aware of the needs of others and then giving a gift to the Christ child by gifting those in need. We learned in the Gospel of Matthew 25 that by doing for others we are doing for God; For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” By Baptism we have been called to be the hands, heart and soul of Christ, we are called to be copartners in His promise, we are called to be His disciples living and acting as Christ would act if he were here on earth. Let us begin this New Year by vowing that we will increase our commitment to the love of God and His beloved Son and Our Blessed Mother by living our faith not only in word but through our actions. I close with the alternative opening prayer from the liturgy of the feast of Epiphany. Father of light, unchanging God, today you reveal to men of faith the resplendent fact of the Word made flesh. Your light is strong, Your love is near; draw us beyond the limits which the world imposes, to the life where Your Spirit makes all life complete. We ask this through Christ our lord and savior. Amen.

Christmas Reflection

Christmas 2013 Reflection By Rev. Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy An All Inclusive and Welcoming Old Catholic Parish and Ministry Of the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org Christmas REFLECTIONS TV show http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA_VcfN6y8M Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org/ Link to All Reflections TV Shows; http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn Email Address: Divinemercyparish@msn.com And the Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.(John 1:14) Glory to God in the highest, and peace to all people on earth with whom He is Pleased. Today is born unto us a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (John 2:14, 11) His name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) And Mary brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, see, the angel of the Lord came on them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said to them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign to you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”.(Luke2:7-14) When Jesus came to earth in goodness and loving kindness He saved us by the virtue of His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which was poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by His grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7) What a glorious gift was given to us on that night when our savior was born in a simple stable. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords was not born in a palatial palace. He was not born in the warmth comfort of a home or inn. No, he was born in a humble stable surrounded not by nurses and doctors and relatives but by Mary and Joseph, his parents, who had accepted God’s will for them even though it could have left them open to criticism. They were there with only God‘s other creations, the animals of the barn. Jesus first visitors were simple shepherds, not the elite of the world. God has given us a sign by this choice for His only son’s birth. God is trying to tell us to live our lives simply and not by seeking fame or fortune. We have been given a message that the simple things in life are what count. Not riches, fame, fortune, but the simple things of life like family, friends, and the beauty of nature. In every event recorded of Christ’s life in scripture, we find a message of acceptance, compassion and forgiveness. Christ welcomed all who came to him. He sat and ate with those considered sinners. Christ is referred to as “The Light of the World” which means He was sent to light the way for us, like a brilliant beacon that guides ships away from dangerous shoals and reefs toward a safe harbor, Christ showed and taught us how we need to live our life. Christ was born to clarify God’s will for us and dispel the darkness that prevailed and still causes so much pain and suffering. Christ came to comfort us in times of distress by assuring us that there is a great reward awaiting us at the end of our earthly life if we follow his example. The miraculous birth we celebrate today is that of God made flesh. God gave us a human image to equate to; a human being that had to endure all the human feelings, emotions, problems and joys that each of us has to experience in our journey of life. Christ endured the pain of a loss of a parent and friends; He experienced the joy of a wedding of a friend. He became angry at the greed and callousness of the priests and temple employees. Christ also told us how to live a life that would insure everlasting peace. His message was one of Love, forgiveness, compassion, mercy and generosity. On this day that we celebrate God’s gift to us of His only son and God’s promise of salvation to all his children, let us present an offering to Him that reflects the way of life He advised us to lead. Let us begin to be more compassionate to those who are suffering from hunger, illnesses such as AIDS and cancer, poverty, substandard housing, and discrimination. Let us work hard to eliminate these ills of our society and bring about a time of equality and justice for ALL God’s children. On this day that we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace let us make a concerted effort to bring peace into the world beginning with our own families, friends and neighbors whom we might be have hurt in some way. If all of us begin toward this goal, we can make a huge difference in the world. As Neil Armstrong said upon landing on the moon, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” By our taking that small step in the direction of bringing peace into our own lives we might prod other people to do the same and eventually this “Virus of Peace” could envelope the whole world. "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27) With these words of Jesus I end this joyous message of Christmas and pray that the Peace and infinite love of Christ will invade your hearts today and all the days of your life. Merry Christmas and May God grant us a peaceful and joyous New Year. On this day I leave you with this prayer and my personal wish that you all find comfort and peace within your life. Have a blessed Christmas , A Peace Prayer By Father Robert Johnnene OFD O Lord Jesus Christ, Prince of peace, we cry out to you to put an end to all the strife and destruction that is tearing apart this planet earth which your heavenly father, Almighty God, created. All across this planet innocent men women and children of God are being slaughtered, starved and deprived of the basics of life because of mans desire for power, greed and control. Even some religious denominations, who proclaim you as their messiah and redeemer, are being torn apart because of discrimination and the need to enforce man made rules created only to segregate and insure wealth, power and domination. We beg you to intervene and send Your Holy Spirit down upon all those individuals in positions of power, infusing within their hearts and minds the need to find ways to put to an end this destruction, discrimination, and desire for domination and end the needless suffering and pain being caused by their actions. We come to you, Lord Jesus, because you have promised us peace with these words; “Peace I leave you, My peace I give unto you” (John 14:27) and we beg you to proclaim as the angels did on the night of Your birth “Glory to God in the Highest and Peace to His people on Earth” AMEN

Reflection for 4th Sunday of Advent

4th Sunday of Advent 2013 Reflection By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy Independent Catholic Church of the Americas Email: Divinemercyparish@msn.com Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org/ Link to All Reflections TV Shows; http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.' these words from the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent indicates how powerful the child in the womb of Mary was. A good thing to remember also is that Elizabeth and Zechariah her husband who was a priest in the Jewish Temple were not young, they had long past the child bearing age but Zechariah was chosen by lot one morning to offer incense in the Holy Place, the temple's inner chamber where only priests were allowed. As Zechariah was praying, the Angel Gabriel appeared at the right side of the altar. Gabriel told the old man that his prayer for a son would be answered. Zechariah's wife would give birth and they were to name the baby John. Further, Gabriel said John would be a great man who would lead many to the Lord and would be a prophet announcing the Messiah. Zechariah was doubtful because of his and his wife's old age. The angel then struck him deaf and mute because of his lack of faith, until the child would be born. Now when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was in the last month of her pregnancy our Gospel story tell us of what Elizabeth experienced and how she knew that the child Mary was carrying was the promised Messiah. We also must remember that Mary accepted the will of the Lord in spite of the possibility that in doing so she could be stoned to death. Now we need to ask ourselves how willing are we to do God's will even when it will be difficult. That is the lesson and the question I believe we need to think about this last Sunday before we celebrate the birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Many popes and saints have urged us to follow the example of Mary and give birth to Christ this Christmas spiritually in our hearts and minds. I am reminded of the words of St. Francis concerning the birth of Christ; "We give birth to him through holy works, which should shine forth as an example for others. How holy and dear, pleasant, humble, peaceful, lovable and desirable above all things it is to have such a brother and such a son, our Lord Jesus Christ!" As we go through life often times we are faced with problems or trials that we would rather not have to deal with. I have experienced it as well as many others when the doctors give you the news that you have cancer or a serious health condition. But I also have found that with faith and trust that God will bring you through that difficulty, especially if you turn to him and pray often to him putting your trust in his will you will come through the difficulty. Often, the most difficult times are lessons sent by God to lead us toward the place he desires us to be or tests like those Job had to endure as proof of our complete trust and love of God. St. Franics tells us that when we love God with a sincere heart we give birth to Christ spiritually especially when we accomplish deeds that manifest Christ's teachings to the world. What would have happened, I wonder, if Mary had told Gabriel "You have got to be kidding? You want me to bring forth a child without being married?" "No Way!" "I could get stoned to death as a harlot" It is with complete faith in God, The God that Mary knew from the Hebrew Scriptures, that Mary accepted God's invitation even though it could create a very heavy burden for her. I sometimes wonder what this world would be like is Mary had not accepted God's call. If Jesus had never been born and therefore we never head the Good News of Salvation that Christ came to enlighten us with through that light lead us on the path that would bring us to everlasting life. Christ was sent by the Father, Almighty God, to teach us the truth of God's will and to rebuke all the man made rules and regulations that had been imposed over the years.. Christ came to give us the keys to open the doors to heaven for all who desire to follow the path He taught us. The path of Christ is a simple one; "Love God with all our being and love each other as Christ loved us" Christ loved us enough to die for us. There is no greater love than that. Mary's acceptance of God's will was the first step in our redemption. If she had refused Christ would not have been born and the prophet's fulfillment would not have happened which means we would not be celebrating Christmas this Wednesday. On Christmas Day let us attempt to follow Mary's complete trust in God and accept His will for us. Let us learn to be happy with how God created us and to accept others as God created them. Let us give each other the gifts of brotherly/sisterly love and diligently try to bring about a time of justice, equality, truthfulness and fairness to every individual on the face of the earth since we all are children of God no matter what nationality or religious denomination. This Christmas let us renew our efforts to bring about a time of peace and justice to all. Let us dig down and support those who are in need and support those charities that are trying to help others. Let us make God a major focal point in our daily schedule. Let us place our complete faith and trust in God as May did and tell God "Not our will but your will be done unto us according to your word" On Christmas Day, let us consider what a glorious gift was given to us on that night when our savior was born in a simple stable. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords was not born in a palatial palace. He was not born in the warmth comfort of a home or inn. No, he was born in a humble stable surrounded not by nurses and doctors and relatives but by Mary and Joseph, who had accepted God's will for them even though it could have left them open to criticism. They were there with only God's other creations, the animals of the barn whose breath provided warms for the new born child. Jesus first visitors were simple shepherds, not the elite of the world. God gave us a sign by this choice for His only son's birth. God is trying to tell us to live our lives simply and not go seeking fame or fortune. We have been given a message that the simple things in life are what count. Not riches, fame, fortune, but the simple things of life like family, friends, and the beauty of nature. In every event recorded of Christ's life in scripture, we find a message of acceptance, compassion and forgiveness. Christ welcomed all who came to him. He sat and ate with those considered sinners. Christ is referred to as "The Light of the World" which means He was sent to light the way for us, like a brilliant beacon that guides ships away from dangerous shoals and reefs toward a safe harbor, Christ showed and taught us how we need to live our life. Christ was born to clarify God's will for us and dispel the darkness that prevailed and still causes so much pain and suffering. Christ came to comfort us in times of distress by assuring us that there is a great reward awaiting us at the end of our earthly life if we follow his example. The miraculous birth we celebrate on Wednesday is that of God made flesh. God gave us a human image to equate to; a human being that had to endure all the human feelings, emotions, problems and joys that each of us has to experience in our journey of life. Christ endured the pain of a loss of a parent and friends, He experienced the joy of a wedding of a friend. He became angry at the greed and callousness of the priests and temple employees. Christ also told us how to live a life that would insure everlasting peace. His message was one of Love, forgiveness, compassion, mercy and generosity. On this day that we celebrate God's gift to us of His only son and God's promise of salvation to all his children, let us present an offering to Him that reflects the way of life He advised us to lead. Let us begin to be more compassionate to those who are suffering from hunger, illnesses such as AIDS and cancer, poverty, substandard housing, and discrimination. Let us work hard to eliminate these ills of our society and bring about a time of equality and justice for ALL God's children. On this day that we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace let us make a concerted effort to bring peace into the world beginning with our own families, friends and neighbors whom we might be have hurt in some way. If all of us begin toward this goal, we can make a huge difference in the world. "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27) With these words of Christ I end this joyous message the last Sunday before the celebration of the birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, with a prayer that the Peace and infinite mercy and love of Christ will invade your hearts today and all the days of your life. Have a truly wonderful Merry Christmas. AMEN

Sunday Dec. 22nd Reflection

4th Sunday of Advent 2013 Reflection By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy Independent Catholic Church of the Americas Email: Divinemercyparish@msn.com Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org/ Link to All Reflections TV Shows; http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.' these words from the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent indicates how powerful the child in the womb of Mary was. A good thing to remember also is that Elizabeth and Zechariah her husband who was a priest in the Jewish Temple were not young, they had long past the child bearing age but Zechariah was chosen by lot one morning to offer incense in the Holy Place, the temple's inner chamber where only priests were allowed. As Zechariah was praying, the Angel Gabriel appeared at the right side of the altar. Gabriel told the old man that his prayer for a son would be answered. Zechariah's wife would give birth and they were to name the baby John. Further, Gabriel said John would be a great man who would lead many to the Lord and would be a prophet announcing the Messiah. Zechariah was doubtful because of his and his wife's old age. The angel then struck him deaf and mute because of his lack of faith, until the child would be born. Now when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was in the last month of her pregnancy our Gospel story tell us of what Elizabeth experienced and how she knew that the child Mary was carrying was the promised Messiah. We also must remember that Mary accepted the will of the Lord in spite of the possibility that in doing so she could be stoned to death. Now we need to ask ourselves how willing are we to do God's will even when it will be difficult. That is the lesson and the question I believe we need to think about this last Sunday before we celebrate the birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Many popes and saints have urged us to follow the example of Mary and give birth to Christ this Christmas spiritually in our hearts and minds. I am reminded of the words of St. Francis concerning the birth of Christ; "We give birth to him through holy works, which should shine forth as an example for others. How holy and dear, pleasant, humble, peaceful, lovable and desirable above all things it is to have such a brother and such a son, our Lord Jesus Christ!" As we go through life often times we are faced with problems or trials that we would rather not have to deal with. I have experienced it as well as many others when the doctors give you the news that you have cancer or a serious health condition. But I also have found that with faith and trust that God will bring you through that difficulty, especially if you turn to him and pray often to him putting your trust in his will you will come through the difficulty. Often, the most difficult times are lessons sent by God to lead us toward the place he desires us to be or tests like those Job had to endure as proof of our complete trust and love of God. St. Franics tells us that when we love God with a sincere heart we give birth to Christ spiritually especially when we accomplish deeds that manifest Christ's teachings to the world. What would have happened, I wonder, if Mary had told Gabriel "You have got to be kidding? You want me to bring forth a child without being married?" "No Way!" "I could get stoned to death as a harlot" It is with complete faith in God, The God that Mary knew from the Hebrew Scriptures, that Mary accepted God's invitation even though it could create a very heavy burden for her. I sometimes wonder what this world would be like is Mary had not accepted God's call. If Jesus had never been born and therefore we never head the Good News of Salvation that Christ came to enlighten us with through that light lead us on the path that would bring us to everlasting life. Christ was sent by the Father, Almighty God, to teach us the truth of God's will and to rebuke all the man made rules and regulations that had been imposed over the years.. Christ came to give us the keys to open the doors to heaven for all who desire to follow the path He taught us. The path of Christ is a simple one; "Love God with all our being and love each other as Christ loved us" Christ loved us enough to die for us. There is no greater love than that. Mary's acceptance of God's will was the first step in our redemption. If she had refused Christ would not have been born and the prophet's fulfillment would not have happened which means we would not be celebrating Christmas this Wednesday. On Christmas Day let us attempt to follow Mary's complete trust in God and accept His will for us. Let us learn to be happy with how God created us and to accept others as God created them. Let us give each other the gifts of brotherly/sisterly love and diligently try to bring about a time of justice, equality, truthfulness and fairness to every individual on the face of the earth since we all are children of God no matter what nationality or religious denomination. This Christmas let us renew our efforts to bring about a time of peace and justice to all. Let us dig down and support those who are in need and support those charities that are trying to help others. Let us make God a major focal point in our daily schedule. Let us place our complete faith and trust in God as May did and tell God "Not our will but your will be done unto us according to your word" On Christmas Day, let us consider what a glorious gift was given to us on that night when our savior was born in a simple stable. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords was not born in a palatial palace. He was not born in the warmth comfort of a home or inn. No, he was born in a humble stable surrounded not by nurses and doctors and relatives but by Mary and Joseph, who had accepted God's will for them even though it could have left them open to criticism. They were there with only God's other creations, the animals of the barn whose breath provided warms for the new born child. Jesus first visitors were simple shepherds, not the elite of the world. God gave us a sign by this choice for His only son's birth. God is trying to tell us to live our lives simply and not go seeking fame or fortune. We have been given a message that the simple things in life are what count. Not riches, fame, fortune, but the simple things of life like family, friends, and the beauty of nature. In every event recorded of Christ's life in scripture, we find a message of acceptance, compassion and forgiveness. Christ welcomed all who came to him. He sat and ate with those considered sinners. Christ is referred to as "The Light of the World" which means He was sent to light the way for us, like a brilliant beacon that guides ships away from dangerous shoals and reefs toward a safe harbor, Christ showed and taught us how we need to live our life. Christ was born to clarify God's will for us and dispel the darkness that prevailed and still causes so much pain and suffering. Christ came to comfort us in times of distress by assuring us that there is a great reward awaiting us at the end of our earthly life if we follow his example. The miraculous birth we celebrate on Wednesday is that of God made flesh. God gave us a human image to equate to; a human being that had to endure all the human feelings, emotions, problems and joys that each of us has to experience in our journey of life. Christ endured the pain of a loss of a parent and friends, He experienced the joy of a wedding of a friend. He became angry at the greed and callousness of the priests and temple employees. Christ also told us how to live a life that would insure everlasting peace. His message was one of Love, forgiveness, compassion, mercy and generosity. On this day that we celebrate God's gift to us of His only son and God's promise of salvation to all his children, let us present an offering to Him that reflects the way of life He advised us to lead. Let us begin to be more compassionate to those who are suffering from hunger, illnesses such as AIDS and cancer, poverty, substandard housing, and discrimination. Let us work hard to eliminate these ills of our society and bring about a time of equality and justice for ALL God's children. On this day that we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace let us make a concerted effort to bring peace into the world beginning with our own families, friends and neighbors whom we might be have hurt in some way. If all of us begin toward this goal, we can make a huge difference in the world. "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27) With these words of Christ I end this joyous message the last Sunday before the celebration of the birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, with a prayer that the Peace and infinite mercy and love of Christ will invade your hearts today and all the days of your life. Have a truly wonderful Merry Christmas. AMEN

A Reflection for Sunday DEc. 8, 2013

Prepare The Way For Our Lord! A Reflection for the SecondWeek of Advent By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans Divine Mercy Independent Catholic Church of the Americas Link to Fr. Bob’s YouTube Page; http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org/ This Sunday, in addition to being The second Sunday of Advent for year A is also the Feast day normally honoring Our Blessed Mother Mary under the title of Immaculate Conception. At the end of this week we also have another feast Day honoring Mary under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. As Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Blessed Mother has been made the Patroness of the Americas because she appeared to a Native of South America, Juan Diego whose feast we celebrate on December 13th. So, in addition to the theme for the Second Sunday of Advent which calls us to not only preparing to celebrate the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but also to prepare for the promised second coming of Christ, this coming week is a time to recall the willingness of Mary to believe in the message of the Angel Gabriel and be willing to be the receptacle to bring Our Lord Jesus Christ into this world, in spite of the danger she could be stoned for being an unwed mother. The Immaculate Conception celebrates Our Lady‘s complete trust in Almighty God. The Christmas we are preparing for is the celebration of God’s greatest gift to humankind, His beloved son Jesus Christ, but it is also a time to reflect on the fact that God decided that Mary would be free of original sin in order to be a pure vessel for Christ to be conceived in by the Holy Spirit and nurtured to human life for nine months. When the Angel Gabriel, informed her that God had chosen her to bear the promised of the ages with these words "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.” Luke 1:29-35. Mary asked; “How can this be, for I know not man?. The angel replied;"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” This fulfilled the promise from God when He drove Satan from the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:14-16 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” and in Isaiah 11: 1: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse: from his roots a branch will bear fruit.”. What faith in God Mary must have had to accept this message. After all, the punishment for having a sexual relation without being married was to be stoned to death as an adulteress. Mary’s response to Gabriel’s message was “Let it be done to me according to God’s will” (Luke 1:38) is a response we might want to consider telling God when we are faced with difficulties. In our daily live we are often faced with challenges or situations where we have great apprehension and I wonder how many of us respond to them with “Let it be done to me according to God’s will” as Mary did or do we gross and complain because things are difficult.? The Gospel of this Sunday has the following words “Repent you: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…Prepare you the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Matthew 3:1-12) The preceding are from Matthew 3:1-12. When you couple them with the following passage from the Gospel of Mark 13: “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come. … he comes unexpectedly, he must not find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake!” They should give us food for thought as we enter the second week of Advent. Those words should also remind us of how Mary answered God’s call to service in spite of the difficulties she might face. The message for all four weeks of Advent are the same, “We need to be prepared to meet our maker and be ready to answer for how we lived the life God gave us here on earth. We need to be able to make the case to God that we did our human best to live in accord with the teachings we received through Scripture which is the inspired word of God. Just as Mary and even Juan Diego, trusted in God and accepted the consequences of that acceptance, we also have to be willing to put our trust in God and work diligently to live in accord with the teachings Christ brought us Just as Mary and Juan Diego did. God will give us what we need to prepare ourselves for the time we come face to face with God just as he gave Juan Diego what he needed to convince the Bishop of the truth of the message Mary brought. We will need to answer how we conducted our daily lives and how we used the gifts that God gave us each and every day to reflect God to those we met on the road of life. . Last week we heard the words from Paul’s letter to the Romans where he tells us; “The day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” Last week, December 2nd was called CYBER MONDAY because we are told the people of the US spend more on gifts to give on Christmas shopping on the internet. Sadly, most of those people who were buying things like Electronic gadgets, huge plasma TV’s, and other things that have become status symbols have no idea of the real meaning to Christmas. Christmas for the majority of people is all about a jolly white haired old man ( NO NOT ME) in a red suit who travels around the globe in a sleigh drawn by eight or nine reindeer distributing presents. People have forgotten that true meaning of CHRISTMAS is Christ. Without CHRIST there cannot be a Christmas. The Mass part is the time when all those who believe in the teachings of Christ, come together to partake in the gift Christ gave us, of himself in the Eucharist. That Mass, whether the vigil mass, the midnight mass of the mass of Christmas day honors the miracle of the Birth of Jesus Christ. Some years back I remember there were signs and bumper stickers that stated “WITH OUT CHRIST THERE IS NO CHRISTMAS” What we as Christians and followers of the teachings of Christ should be focusing on during this time of preparation is how well we are actually living THE WORD, The Good News of Salvation found in Holy Scripture. Do we take time to consider the needs of the poor, sick, aged, homeless and do we extend love to all God’s children regardless of their race, nationality, marital state or sexual orientation. In this time when the entire world is facing financial crisis one of the hardest hit areas has been Charities and Religious denominations that depend on the generosity of people to accomplish their work and reach out to those who society often is willing to leave behind. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone who was out in the stores spending, according to the published estimates of a few billion dollars, actually made a donation of 10% of what they spent to charitable organizations like food pantries, homeless shelters, orphanages or their Religious denomination so they have the ability to serve those in need in their Faith communities as well as pay the bills associated with maintaining the ministry. Now is the time for those who have been blessed with more to seriously reach out to those who serve God’s often abandoned and forgotten children and do what ever they can to relieve their pain and suffering. I know from this ministries own experience how much more we are being called upon to help those in need and how painful it is when we are hampered by a shortage of available funding and supplies. The gospels of the last two weeks tell us how God will judge us when we are called before Him and that we never know when that time will come. The season of Advent is dedicated to preparing ourselves for the second coming of Christ when we will be judged on how we lived our lives here on earth as well as preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ. In this season when we are thinking about giving gifts to our family and friends let us not forget the gift we are going to give to God in thanksgiving for all He has given us. Just as Mary trusted in the message of the Angel Gabriel, and Juan Diego trusted in Mary’s message to him, we need to put not only our trust in God and the promise of a life beyond this one but we need to give the Christ child a wonderful gift like the Magi because they recognized Jesus to be the promised of the ages. Let us bring to Christ our gift of compassion and charity to one of the least of God’s children so that when we do have to answer to God for how we lived He will reply to us these words; “'Come my good and faithful servant, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” AMEN

Link to Video Reflection for DEc. *, 2013

Sunday DEcember 1, 2013 Reflection

1st Sunday of Advent 2013

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans Divine Mercy

Independent Catholic Church of the Americas

Link to All Reflections TV Shows; http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn

 1^st Sunday of Advent Video Reflection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCEIBhO8CBM

Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html

 Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org

 Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts

 Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org

 Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org/

 

This Sunday we begin the new liturgical year A with a reading from the book of Isaiah that helps us understand what we need to do to prepare to meet our God.

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. And many people shall go and say, Come you, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come you, and let us walk in the light of the LORD”

The reading also foretells of the coming of the Redeemer and Savior and the light of God‘s truth came into being.

 The second reading from Paul’s letter to the people of Rome reads thusly; Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put you on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”

For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from two different perspectives. The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming. The word itself comes from the Latin adventus which is the translation of the Greek word parousia which refers to the Second Coming of Christ at the lst days.  

The message of the readings for the first Sunday of Advent is to be prepared, to be prepared for the time when God calls us home and we face our judgement by God on how well we lived our lives in accord to the teachings Christ gave us.

If we are to be prepared we need to examine how well we are living our daily lives now and then make any necessary changes that need to be made in order to truly be living reflections of Christ’s teachings.

The Gospel from Matthew 24 proclaims the following; “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man shall be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ….. Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord does come. But know this, that if the manager of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes.”

Every year during the church season of advent we are asked to review how we are living in accord with God’s will and a time of preparing for our eternal life not just preparing to celebrate Christmas the holiday that celebrates the birth of our redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ, not the arrival of Santa Clause and the presents we might receive.

We are being called to prepare ourselves to meet our creator and answer to Him as how well we have used the gifts He has given us.

How will we meet Him? Will we meet him with tattered clothing or will we meet Him with clean and shining souls which are the clothing that God sees.

In a Broadway musical JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR there is a chant that proclaims “Prepare ye the way of the Lord” It says exactly what we are called to do while living on here on God’s planet. 

God put every person on earth for the explicit reason of preparing ourselves to meet him when our time here on earth is over and we have that judgment by God on how well we did.

We will be asked questions like; “Did we care for His all His creations by being mindful of the environment and protect it?” 

“Did we have compassion for the poor and disadvantaged and share our gifts with those who were not as well off as we were?”

“Did we treat all those we met on our life’s journey with respect by recognizing them as one of our brothers and sisters in Christ and not discriminate against them?”

“Did we use the Gifts God provided us with in a manner that they were intended for or did we misuse them only for personal pleasure and/or financial gain?

Did we go about our being self-centered, caring only for our own comfort and pleasure without regard for how our actions affected others?”

“Did we thank God daily for the gifts we have no matter how small and did we appreciate the people who were placed in our lives, even those who criticize us and pointed out our faults and pray for those who have caused us pain and suffering?”

These are some of the questions God expects us to be able to answer in the affirmative because that is how God instructed us to live our lives.

So many of us go about our daily lives without ever taking the time to recognize what is around us or what gifts we have been given, we only turn to God when things go badly.

I do not want to count the many times I have heard people say, “Where is God when people are dying from Cancer, Aids, or other divesting diseases, why God allows innocent children and the poor to suffer so much?”

My response, which seems logical to me is; so that you will have reasons to practice the Beatitudes and to open your eyes to how well God has blessed you.  Those things give you the opportunity to thank God for the gifts you have been given by using them to reach out to those who are suffering.

God wants to see if you will just sit back being complacent or do you live as Jesus and the saints did speaking out against injustice, fighting poverty, working for equality for all people and seeking peaceful means to settle disputes.

Advent is the time that reminds us that we have to remain diligent, be awake to what is going on around us and respond in a Christ like way.

We need to give God private time each day, morning and evening, where we examine how we went about the day and where we can improve ourselves.

We need to be mindful of the blessings we have been given by God.  We must take time daily to thank God for bringing us through the day.

We need to be preparing ourselves for the day when we will meet Christ dressed not in filthy clothing but in our finest raiment.

Let us begin the season of Advent preparation by seriously evaluating ourselves and if we are prepared to meet God at our final judgment.

Let’s be honest with ourselves when we take our inventory on how we are living as Christians and make whatever adjustments are necessary to life in accord with the teachings Christ.

Let’s make sure our gift to Christ on the celebration of his birth is a more perfect self this Christmas.  AMEN

Nov. 3rd Reflection; Words of Wisdom & Truth

Words of Wisdom and Truth

A Reflection for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans Divine Mercy

Independent Catholic Church of the Americas

Link to Reflections TV Shows; http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn

Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html

Link to Mission Web Site: http://www.missionstsergius.org

Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: http://www.franciscansdivinemercy.org

Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org/

 

The words from the first reading for the 31^st Sunday of Ordinary Time is from the Book of Wisdom 11:22-12:2 and worth more than a billion words and sermons.  

The reading most certainly should open our hearts and minds to God’s infinite mercy and love for all His children regardless of their race, nationality, gender, or religious denomination.

When we take into consideration the other readings for this Sunday we have not only a message affirming God’s love and mercy for us all but also advice on how we can and will be welcomed and found pleasing in God’s eyes.

The reading from the book of Wisdom 11 verses 22 through Wisdom 12:verse 2 says; “Before the Lord the whole universe is like a grain of dust that tips the scales,or like a drop of morning dew falling on the ground. Yet you are merciful to all, because you can do all things and overlook men’s sins so that they can repent. Yes, you love all that exists; you hold nothing of what you have made in abhorrence, for had you hated anything, you would not have formed it.   And how, had you not willed it, could a thing persist, how be conserved if not called forth by you? You spare all things because all things are yours, Lord, lover of life, you whose imperishable spirit is in all.  Little by little, therefore, you correct those who offend, you admonish and remind them of how they have sinned, so that they may abstain from evil and trust in you, Lord.”

When coupled with, are taken into consideration from St. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians chapter 1:11-2:2 we become strengthened even more in the knowledge of God’s love for us; “all that you have been doing through faith the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you and you in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. To turn now to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered round him: please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumor or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived.”

So many who claim to be preaching the word of God have tried to frighten people with the admonition that dooms day is at hand, and have done so from the earliest days of the church but Christ himself told us; “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. (Mark 13:32)

The message from Sunday’s Gospel is also comforting and affirming in that it reminds us that Christ did not heed the admonishments of the Religious of His time. It also makes clear that God and Christ are there for everyone who believes in them and tries to live in a way that is pleasing to God according to the teachings that Christ proclaimed.

Unfortunatly there are some who believe that they are the “chosen ones” because of their position, their wealth or because or their devotional practices and attendance at church but when they leave the confines of the church, and sometimes even while there, they do not practice Christian Charity and often demean others because of how they dress, or the color of their skin or their nationality.

The Gosple tells us:  “When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him: “Zacchaeus come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.” And Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Christ joyfully. Others complained when they saw what was happening. “He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house” they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, “Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount”And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost”   (Luke 19:1-10)

We might also take note of what Zacchaeus said to Christ about giving half of his property to the poor and needy and making right any injustices or cheating he might have done since it is also one of the major teachings of Christ, to be mindful of the needs of others and to share our gifts with those who have not.

Christ has told us time and again that being aware of others and having compassion and generosity are keys to entering into heaven.

The Seraphic Father of our order, The Franciscan’s of Divine Mercy and love of God, our official name, knew this message so very well.  

St. Francis is known to have said “I acknowledge that all my possessions were given to me by God, and now here I am ready to give them back to Him”

Everything we have comes from God and therefore we need to give thanks for the gifts we have received and not hoard them to ourselves but share then according to our ability. 

We need to open our eyes to the needs of others around us and to put aside our prejudices and self centered interests and open our hearts to being more receptive to living the great commandment of Christ every moment of our life here on earth.

“Love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, mind, soul and body and love your neighbor as you love yourself” “Love one another as I have loved you”

Let us go forth from this day forward, putting these words of Christ into action by being more concerned about the needs of others especially the poor, sick and aged and seek out every opportunity to share the gifts that God has given us with others especially the poor, sick, homeless and aged. 

If we do this we will be living the Gospel every day of our life and by doing so not only be an inspiration to those who we encounter in our daily life but we will also be opening the door into our partaking in the everlasting glory in heaven with Almighty God our Father and creator of all things, His beloved Son, our redeemer and savior Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and all the heavenly elect. May God bless you and keep you, may his light shine upon you and may you be filled with the comfort and peace that comes from God.  AMEN