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

Use The Graces of God Wisely

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


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