26th Ordinary Sunday Sept 25 2016

25th Ordinary Sunday 2016

9/11/ Reflection

Reflection for the 24^th Sunday of Ordinary Time

September 11, 2016

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFM

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus

Order Franciscans of Mercy

www.missionstsergius.org

www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

Today’s Gospel Reading is one of my favorites because it clearly states that God is a forgiving and loving God who will forgive all things if only we honestly seek His forgiveness.

On this Memorial Day honoring all those who died in the multiple disasters on Sept. 9, 2009 including victim number one, Fr. Mychal Judge OFM who was one of the devout followers of our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi we need to seek the strength to forgive those who perpetrated that disaster and all those that have occurred all over the globe.

The Gospel Reading from Luke 15-1-32 coupled with Paul’s letter to Timothy are powerful reminders to us of God’s infinite mercy and love.

The reading from Luke is sometimes called The Good Shepherd reading because it tells the story of how a good shepherd will go seeking one lost sheep.

‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbors? “Rejoice with me,” he would say, “I have found my sheep that was lost.” In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance.

Luke’s Gospel also has the story of The Prodigal Son who after taking his inheritance went and squandered it on all the excesses that life had to offer. “A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.” The story ends with; “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.”

The other son who was laboring in the fields for His father came home to find all the celebration going on and became angry because he had been faithful while the other son did every terrible thing possible yet was being treated like a prince. When the who had remained faithful confronted his father he was told the following; “The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”

These two stories clearly tell us how God will react when we seek Him out to ask forgiveness for any wrongs we may have done and desire to claim our rightful place within the Mystical Body of Christ, The Universal Church, which includes all denominations that trace their roots back to The Apostles.

Paul’s letter to Timothy reinforces this teaching when he tells Timothy; “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into his service even though I used to be a blasphemer and did all I could to injure and discredit the faith. Mercy, however, was shown me, because until I became a believer I had been acting in ignorance; and the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus. Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life”

Our God is not a God of Vengeance but a God of infinite LOVE. God does not want us going about spreading hatred and violence but wants us to do what Christ called the two greatest commandments.

“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-30)

As followers of Christ and believers in One God, the same God of Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Jacob and Mohammad, we need to work for peace and harmony and not promote hatred and violence as one so called Christian pastor has suggested or exclude people from entering this country based on their Religious belief.

Those terrorist who have been perpetrating all the mass killings of 9/11/2009, in France, Germany, and all over the world are NOT FOLLOWERS of any recognized religion, especially the Muslim or Islamic religion.

 

If we go down that road soon we will start banning people who are Jewish or even Christian because we don’t agree with the teaching of the religion.

Those who perpetrated the 9/11 mass killings and those people in Orlando or the airport in Turkey do not follow the teachings of Mohammad, in fact they are acting in a manner that is totally opposite to the teachings found in the Koran .

The kind of actions that that pastor or some political candidates are advocating are tools Satan uses to divide people who believe in God and cause them to do evil hoping that they will not seek God’s forgiveness but will come over to the dark side.

As people who claim to love God and believe in the teaching of Christ we must stand up against this kind of activity that can only cause hatred, division and further violence but we need to reach out to our Muslim brothers and Sisters to find a way for all faiths, nationalities and ethnicities to live in harmony and peace.

If we find ways to bring this about we would be acting as God wants us too and which could very well lead to a time of Peace, Justice, compassion and love consistent with God’s will. AMEN

Sept 11, 2016 REFLECTIONS Show

Labor Day Reflection

Labor, Not In Vain

A Labor Day Reflection for September 4, 2016

                  Based on Genesis 2:2, Exodus 23:12, Matthew 11:28, Luke 12:27
                                   By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFM,
                                 Mission Saints. Sergius & Bacchus
                                    Order Franciscans of Mercy
                                      www.missionstsergius.org
                               www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

“Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.”(Exodus 23:12) “On the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” (Genesis 2:2) “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28) "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these”(Luke 12:27)

Many passages in Holy Scripture refer to labor and/or the need for people to rest from their labors.  On this Labor Day weekend, I felt compelled to examine how we look upon labor and what we consider important to labor for. 

At one time in my youth the only thing that people did on a Sunday was go to church and spend time with family and friends. That was before our society began the progression into materialism and greed that seems to permeate our society today.

Today, even a national holiday that is supposed to honor all who labor and a holiday that at one time almost every store was closed to give the workers time off, we find the day turned over to Super Sales and enticements to go shopping. The papers are filled with ‘Labor Day Sales”.  The holiday that in many states in the US since 1894 and finally in 1897 meant to give the average worker a day off, with pay, to enjoy their family has turned into a day where people are required to do the same old thing they do every day, work, work and more work.

Pope Francis has made statements about the dignity of work and the need for every person to have equal opportunity and fair wages.

Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person. Work, to use an image, "anoints" us with dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God, who has worked and still works, who always acts...

There is no worse material poverty, I am keen to stress, than the poverty which prevents people from earning their bread and deprives them of the dignity of work.

Where there is no work there is no dignity! ... [lack of work] is the result of a global decision, of an economic system which leads to this tragedy; an economic system centered on an idol called “money”.

In Exodus 23:12 God directs people to take time off to rest, and in verse 16 God tells the Israelites “Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.”

This is God’s instruction upon which the Labor Day Holiday was based.

In addition to speaking on the dignity of work Pope Francis has also spoken on how it is necessary as well for people to take time to rest and take time to give thanks to God for their ability to work.

Responding to the question,  “Do we need to rediscover the meaning of leisure?”  Pope Francis replied: “Together with a culture of work, there must be a culture of leisure as gratification. To put it another way: people who work must take the time to relax, to be with their families, to enjoy themselves, read, listen to music, play a sport. But this is being destroyed, in large part, by the elimination of the Sabbath rest day. More and more people work on Sundays as a consequence of the competitiveness imposed by a consumer society.” In such cases, he concludes, “work ends up dehumanizing people.”

On another occasion the Pope continued his thoughts on the dignity of work and the necessity of taking time off for God, family and rest. That is what this holiday we will be celebrating on Monday was intended to do when it was established

The pope said; “ rest and celebration are part of the very order of creation, “We recall the conclusion of the account of Creation…’And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day.’”

 

In other words, Catholics believe in taking time off for rest, relaxation and recreation, and what is recreation except  “re-creation”? The pope reminds us that a day off or vacation is therefore not laziness or shirking from work. He said; “A celebration is first of all a loving and thankful look on work well done; we celebrate work…. a true time of celebration halts professional work and is sacred, because it reminds man and woman that they are made in the image of God, who is not a slave of work.”

While encouraging the celebration of time off, the pope also reminds us that there are many around the world who do not enjoy this simple right. “Millions of men and women and even children that are slaves of work!  In this time they are slaves, they are exploited, slaves of work and this is against God and against the dignity of the human person!”

While work is good, The Pope Teaches; “ it is not everything. Greed drives us to work without a break and to put ourselves and others at risk and leads to terrible waste of human lives and resources. So he cries out, “Do we work for this? The greed of consuming, which entails waste is an awful virus that, among other things, in the end makes us feel more tired than before. It harms true work and consumes life. The disorderly rhythms of a celebration create victims — often young people.”

Instead, life should be abundant and full of joy. We should take pride in our work and be satisfied with a job well done. We should enjoy the financial benefits of hard work and celebrate that prosperity with family and friends. Sunday is the unique day when Christians should take time off work to celebrate positively with family and friends.” 

1.     So in taking the Popes thoughts and putting them into action, what we should be doing this entire weekend is take time to give God thanks for the ability to work and then take time to enjoy our family and friends as the holiday that,  By the time it became an official federal holiday in 1894, thirty U.S. states officially celebrated Labor Day. Thus by 1887 in North America, Labor Day was an established, official holiday meant to provide every employee a day off with pay to enjoy their family and friends at the official end of Summer.

Work is a necessity often mentioned throughout the Old and New Testaments and worthy of dignity, equality in pay and decent working conditions but like the old proverb say’s “All work and no play makes Jack and Jill dull persons”

I have taken the liberty to make the proverb gender neutral.

When we work hard for something we appreciate it more than things that are handed to us, although we all appreciate unsolicited gifts. 

I hear so many excuses as to why someone is unable to take time for God and go to church on Sunday or for that matter to even take time daily to pray.  We can find time to watch television, listen to our I-Pod or send texts or post on Facebook every place we go but we cannot take 20 minutes out of our day for God or an hour on Sunday, the Sabbath day of rest, to gather together with our brothers and sisters in Christ and offer God honor, praise and our offerings to Him and receive in return God’s gift to us of the Bread of Life, The Eucharist. 

We fail to reflect on what Luke 12:27 was trying to teach us;  “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these” The lesson is that if we have faith and complete trust in God and if we acknowledge Him properly, He will provide us with the necessities of life we need just as He does the birds of the air and the fish of the sea and the flowers of the field.

Labor Day is a day to take time off from work and to spend time with the greatest gifts God has given us, our family and friends and to take time acknowledging and giving thanks to God for those things we have been given.

Labor Day should not be a day to spend, spend, spend and put ourselves further in debt but a time to take inventory of the heavenly treasure we are storing up for ourselves and to evaluate what we might have to do to increase that heavenly treasure.

On this Labor Day we also want to pray for all those people who are unable to find work after being laid off from their previous employer, and those who do not receive a fair living wage or are forced to work in unsanitary and unsafe conditions. We need to pray for those are physically unable to work because of illness or war or discrimination.

We need to be thankful that we have jobs to go to and be thankful for the time off to enjoy our family and friends.

I will close with two passages we might reflect on this Labor Day weekend, the first is from Psalms 127:1 “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builder’s labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain” and the second is from 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

May Almighty God bless all who labor to sustain themselves and grant unto them just wages and fair, healthy and safe working conditions and May we come to know love and thank God for the gifts He has provided to us and his infinite mercy and love for us.  AMEN  

Sept 4th 2016 Labor Day Show

August 28, 2016 REFLECTIONS show

Reflection for Sunday August 21, 2016

Reflection for Sunday August 21, 2016

21^st Sunday of Ordinary Time

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFM

                                     Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus
                                     Franciscans of Joy of the Gospel

Independent Catholic Church of the Americas

Link to Mission & Franciscan Web Sites:  www.missionstsergius.org

www.OrderFrancisacansofMerccy.org

The readings for this Sunday have much to say about who are welcomed into the house of God our Father.

The first reading from Isaiah 66 tells us that God in the human form of Jesus Christ will be sent to teach and gather ALL NATIONS and it foretells that his disciples would be sent to ALL the ends of the world to proclaim God’s GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION.

The Lord says this: I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They shall come to witness my glory. I will give them a sign and send some of their survivors to the nations: (Isaiah 66:18-21)

The second reading from the book of Hebrews 12 tells us that God will reprimand us if we fail to follow his teachings but it is because he loves us as a father and wants us to strive for perfection but will also forgive us and embrace as because he is merciful and loving.

“do not get discouraged when the father reprimands you. For the Lord trains the ones that he loves and he punishes all those that he acknowledges as his children. Suffering is part of your training; God is treating you as his children. Has there ever been any child whose father did not train them?  (Hebrews 12:5-7,11-13)

As I was reading the passage from Hebrews my thoughts traveled back to my youth and the times my parents “spanked me” or took away a privilege because I had broken a rule or failed to do as I was told.  

The spankings were all administered on that part of our body that has a lot of padding and they were administered with love just as Gods chastisements are.

Today that kind of punishment is considered child abuse and parents have been jailed for “spanking” their child. 

I have to wonder if the lack of punishment when a child has done something wrong is why we have so many children totally unaware of correct social behavior and very self-centered focusing on luxuries, fame, fortune and personal self-gratification  rather than doing works of social justice.

The Gospel from Luke ends with words that we have all heard many times; "And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last." (Luke 13:30)

Some Christian clergy persons have claim to know who is and who is not acceptable to Almighty God and who is damned for eternity.

There is not a clergy person of any denomination that knows that for sure, in fact the church teaches that even Judas Iscariot who betrayed Christ and then hung himself could very well be among the heavenly elect since all he had to do with his last dying breath was think “God forgive me” and God would have forgiven him because God is a compassionate and merciful God. Determining who can enter the kingdom of heaven and who will be condemned to Hell is God’s and only God’s determination.

God is going to judge us on how well we followed and lived the teachings that he sent Jesus to this earth to make completely clear to us.

Have we lived the The Beatitudes by caring for the planet God created, being compassionate toward the poor, sick, imprisoned, elderly, homeless, unemployed, and did we respect our neighbor as we would like to be respected?

The Gospel of Luke has three parables, the first about the narrow door and how some will not be strong enough to enter, I am reminded of the traditional Christian song “When the Saints Come Marching in; Oh, when the saints go marching in Oh, when the saints go marching in, I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in”

The second Parable is about those who are late and that refers to those people who failed to ask for forgiveness, a very good way to not fall into this category is to frequently receive the sacrament of reconciliation.

The third parable concerns those who are pretentious and think they are better than their neighbor and a much better Catholic because they attend Mass every week, receive Eucharist and pray daily but failed to be compassionate, merciful and were very judgmental of those who were not of the same faith, nationality or social strata as them, they would leave church and criticize someone because they didn’t dress as well as they did or their skin was of a different color.

The Gospel ends by telling us; “For behold some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last”

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis constantly is reminding us of the infinite mercy and love of God for ALL His children and telling us to seek out that mercy as it is freely given by God. We need to do that before it is too late as the Gospel tells us this week.

In the Sermon on the Mount Christ tells us too; “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” He is advising us to not be ashamed to let people know we love God in the way the Sermon on The Mount instructed when it said; “ Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

God is calling us to be caring for ALL of His children no matter who or where they are since every human being on the face of the earth is a child of God.

The sermon also tells us how we should pray when it teaches us this; When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. … When you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
In the sermon we are advised to be “ that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

During the time of Christ the Sadducees tended to be wealthy and held powerful positions, including that of chief priests and high priest.

 A Pharisee was a man especially trained as an expert in the Torah he was an official interpreter of the Law.

The most distinguished position of the day was that of a scribe. He wore a special long robe and was always given a seat of honor at public gatherings, such as the synagogue and they were looked up as living models to be followed.

Today the equivalent of Scribes, Sadducees and Pharisee’s would have to be the Hierarchy of all Churches who have taken it upon themselves to determine who will be welcomed and who is not.

Some have even gone so far as to prohibit people from worshiping “God and partaking of the Sacraments.

This was not Christ’s way and it should not be ours. 

Our job, as Christ’s Presbyters,  is to proclaim the infinite mercy and love of God for ALL and instill a love of God and therefore his teachings as found in the greatest Sermon of all given by Jesus Christ who as we proclaim in the Creed every time we attend Mass is: “the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end”.

Scripture tells us that God acknowledged that Jesus was His son with these words; "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Luke 3:22).

Christ told us in the Sermon on the Mount that he was sent by the Father "to fulfill God‘s law.” Jesus told us he came to give us a “New Covenant” and in this week’s readings we are told that gaining everlasting happiness among the heavenly elect will not be easy, it will be like trying to enter a narrow gate, we won’t be able to enter if we are late to seek God’s forgiveness and we certainly won’t be welcome if we consider ourselves better than others.

I sum up this week’s teachings with Christ’s own words;

Christ was sent by God “unless our righteousness surpasses that of the scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees, we will not be among those who are invited to partake in the banquet of heaven.”  AMEN

 

August 21, 2016 REFLECTIONS TV show

20 th Ordinary Sunday August 14, 2016

19th Ordinary Sunday Aug 7, 2016

July 31st 2016 Reflection

17th Odinary Time July 24, 2016

16th Ordinary Sunday July 17, 2016

15th Ordinary Sunday July 10, 2016

July 3 4th 2016 Independence Day

13th Sunday of Ordinary Time June 26, 2016

Father's Day June 19, 2016

11th Sunday of Ordinary June 12, 2016

10th Sunday of Ordinary Time June 5, 2016

Corpus Christi Feast 2016

Holy Trinity Sunday May 22, 2016

Pentecost May 15 2016

Mothers Day May 8 2016

Sunday May 1 2016 REFLECTION TV SHOW

5TH Sunday of Easter 2016 April 24th 2016

4th Sunday of Easter 2016 April 17, 2016

Sunday April 10, 2016 Reflection

Divine Mercy Sunday 2016

Easter Sunday 2016