Friday, September 25, 2009

2 Weeks of Special Feast

2 Weeks of Special Feast

Shared via AddThis

2 Weeks of Special Feasts

2 Weeks of Special Feasts to Reflect Upon
Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus / Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church New England
www.missionstsergius.org


The coming two weeks has very special meaning not only to me, our ministry and the Franciscans of Divine Mercy but to the entire Universal Church.
Beginning with the feast of the Archangels on the 29th of September and continuing through October 7th the church celebrates the lives and memory of many important saints whose lives have given us inspiration.
On the various feast days you may want to pray for the intercession of those honored and reflect on their life and how they lived to serve God and others and, like the patron saints of our ministry, Saints Sergius and Bacchus, who were willing to die rather than deny God. I will be posting special reflections for some of these feasts but I thought a “heads up” on the forthcoming two weeks was in order.
September 29th is the feast of all the Archangels those we often hear about Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Urial and the others.
On October 1st we celebrate the life of SAINT THERESE OF LISIEUX known as Therese of the Child Jesus; the Little Flower; the Little Flower of Jesus. Cured from an illness at age eight when a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary smiled at her, she became a Carmelite Nun at age 15. Therese defined her path to God and holiness as "The Little Way," which consisted of love and trust in God. This message of trust is one we all need to take to heart. Since one of my favorite relatives was also a member of the Carmelite order, I have long had a special devotion to St. Therese because of my cousin Sister Ann of Jesus who was a Carmelite.
On Friday the 2nd of October we celebrate the feast in honor of Our Guardian Angels whom God has given the task of watching over us and guide us if we seek their guidance.
Sunday October 4th is traditionally the Feast of Our seraphic Father, Saint Francis of Assisi who founded and wrote the rule by which all Franciscans live. Francis preached the Gospel of love, compassion and mercy of God and spoke out against the luxurious excesses that many of the church hierarchy were living. Francis gave up a life of wealth and prestige for one of poverty and service to the poorest and rejected of his time.
Sunday the 4th is also designated as Respect For Life Sunday which seeks to remind all of us that ALL LIFE is precious and a gift from God. All life, regardless of race, gender, religious affiliation, or sexual orientation deserves respect.
October 5th is the feast day of Saint Faustina Kowalska who received from the Lord a message of mercy that she was told to spread throughout the world. She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to be merciful to others, and an instrument for reemphasizing God's plan of mercy for the world. Her life was based on deep humility, purity of intention, and loving obedience to the will of God in imitation of the virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The message of the infinite and divine mercy and love of God is now being spread throughout the world. St. Faustina had a vision of Christ with his arms outstretched and rays of the colors of the rainbow were radiating from His Sacred Heart which we now know as the Image of Divine mercy. Our Franciscan Order is dedicated to the message of Divine Mercy.
Wednesday the 7th is the feast day of the patron saints of our ministry, Saints Sergius and Bacchus. Saints Sergius and Bacchus were lovers in a blessed committed relationship who suffered persecution and martyrdom rather than deny the love of Christ. I will be posting a reflection of there history and how they became the patrons of our ministry later this week. The 7th of October is also the feast honoring Our Blessed Mother Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary.
On each of these feast days, you may want to take a moment to reflect on the saint being honored and offer a prayer of petition asking them to intercede on your behalf to Almighty God for your special intentions and help in living your daily life in accord with God’s will as Christ taught us..
Each of these saints lives is stresses the message of the infinite and everlasting compassion, love, mercy and forgiveness of Almighty God for all His children and God’s desire for all His children to participate in and be active participants in His Mystical Body, The Church, through prayer, the sacraments and living a life that reflects Christ’s message of Love for all people regardless of their sexual orientation, race, marital status of practice of worship to Him.
May God Bless each and every one of us with the knowledge of His truth and the courage to live in a way that brings honor and glory to Him. AMEN

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Sept. 27th Reflection DOING THE WORK OF THE LORD

Doing the Work of The Lord
A Reflection on the Readings for September 27th 2009
Numbers 11:25-29, Psalm 18, James 5:1-6, Mark 9:38-48
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus / Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church of New England
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry


This Sunday’s readings have, it seems to me, a very important message for all who claim to be Christians and followers of Christ. One of the most important is found in the message of the Psalm which affirms the truth about Almighty God. That truth is that He listens to us and answers our prayers. If we put our lives in God’s hands, He will protect us and make life safe for us. There is, of course, one condition and it is, we have to live according to how Christ’s instructed us.
“I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.” (Psalm 18)
A second and even more powerful message is that by placing our measure of success in material things we are leading ourselves to possible destruction. The message found in James 5 is crystal clear, on several points.
One concerns how we gain our earthly wealth. If we have accumulated profit at the expense of others that profit will be like a fire that consumes you. It also places blame for many of the problems that our world is facing on those who live for material and financial gain without concern for those who are in need.
“Now an answer for the rich. Start crying; weep for the miseries that are coming to you. You stored up as your treasure for the last days a burning fire. Laborers mowed your fields, and you cheated them – listen to the wages that you kept back, calling out; realize that the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. On earth you have had a life of comfort and luxury; in the time of slaughter you went on eating to your heart’s content. It was you who condemned the innocent and killed them“. (James 5).
The third message found in this weeks’ readings concerns those who seem to feel that they speak for God and can decide who is worthy to participate in offering honor, praise and glory. .They firmly believe that their path is the only path to God and that they can decide who is worthy and who is not.
In the Gospel reading when the apostles told Jesus that they tried to stop people who were not of their group from prophesying and performing miracles in the name of Almighty God Jesus said: “You must not stop them: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.’ anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck”. (Mark 9)
Lastly, the reading from numbers has a very interesting and thought provoking idea for us to ponder.
It concerns a supposition about what the world would be like if everyone was given the gift of prophesy by God. "If only the whole people of the Lord were prophets, and the Lord gave his Spirit to them all!" (Numbers 11)
Imagine if every follower of God had the gift of prophesy. If that were actually the case, the world might not be so quick to declare war against other nations. People would be more likely to be concerned about the needs of the poor, hungry, aged, sick, and more likely to be more compassionate and less judgmental. People would realize that a pure love between two people is a good thing not to be disparaged and condemned.
As we contemplate the messages of this week’s readings and how well we are living our daily lives in accord with them let us keep in mind what the scriptures taught us on what God expects of us.
He put us here to gain the greatest wage and wealth of all, Everlasting life in His presence.
We have been sent out into the vineyards to be the hands, feet, mouth and spirit of Almighty God and to actively wage the battle against the powers of darkness who are attempting to replace His infinite mercy, love, and compassion with hatred, discrimination, war, violence, greed and self-gratification.
The following is a prayer I offer each day as I attempt to go about my daily life humbly serving God as best I can while seeking God’s strength to improve.


O Lord, you are my rock, my fortress and my deliverer in whom I take refuge.
Almighty God, I give you my hands to do Your work; I give you my feet to go Your way;
I give you my eyes to see as You do; I give you my tongue to speak Your words; I give you my mind that You may think in me; I give you my spirit that You may pray in me;
Above all, I give you my heart that You may love in and through me all to whom I come in contact with each and every day. I dedicate myself to doing Your will in all things and to become an instrument through which You might bring about peace and harmony to all your children here on earth. AMEN (Written by Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD in 1991 for a retreat weekend)

Saints Sergius & Bacchus

Saints Sergius & Bacchus
Patron Saints of Mission

Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD

Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD
God's Love Unlimited and Everlassting

Blog Archive