New Year 2017 Reflection

A Christmas Reflection

A Christmas 2016 Reflection

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFM

Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Order Franciscans of Mercy

Reformed Catholic Church

www.Missionstsetgius.org

www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

 

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,and peace to men who enjoy his favour.”(Luke 2:14) “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)

What a glorious gift was given to us when Christ 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 only by His parents, Mary and Joseph and the animals of the barn.

Jesus first visitors were simple shepherds, not the elite of the world. This birth was a message to us that we should live simply.  Riches, fame, and fortune are not what matters, but compassion for the marginalized of the world, love of family and friends, sharing the gifts God has given us with others and trust and faith in God are what matters. 

Christ is referred to as “The Light of the World” this means He was sent to illuminate the way for us, like a brilliant beacon that guides ships away from dangerous shoals and reefs toward a safe harbor. Christ was born to teach us how to dispel the darkness of fear, doubt, hatred and anger and to find comfort in times of distress.

“God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour Christ Jesus. He sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good “(Titus 2:11-14)

The miraculous birth that we celebrate at Christmas brought to earth 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 experience on 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.

Christ 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 and generosity.

On this day that we celebrate God’s gift to us of His only son and the new 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, unemployment,  and discrimination. 

Let us work diligently to eliminate these ills from the world and bring about a world where every one of God’s children is treated with equality in all matters and given the same rights and privileges as every other person.

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 with whom we might be have a disagreement. I

f all of us begin in this small way, we can make a huge difference. As Neil Armstrong said upon landing on the moon, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.

Let us take our small step in the direction of bringing peace into our own lives which just might prod others to do the same and eventually a “Virus of Peace” could envelope the whole world.

Pope Francis has focused his attention on the hope that comes to us at Christmas which is a different kind of hope a reliable and visible hope because it is founded on God; The Pope noted how hope often refers to “that which is not in man’s power and which is not visible,” something “beyond our strength” that we cannot see.

He said “However, Christ’s birth, inaugurating the Redemption, speaks to us of a different hope, a reliable, visible and comprehensible hope, because it is founded on God, Christ entered the world and gave us the strength to walk with him: God walks with us in Jesus and to walk with Him towards the fullness of life gives us the strength to be in the present in a new way, though laborious. This hope is a certainty that we are with Christ on the way to the Father”

Pope Francis explained.; “This hope, which the Child of Bethlehem gives us, offers a goal, a good destiny to the present, the salvation of humanity, beatitude to the one who entrusts himself to the merciful God.”

The Pontiff suggested that we ask ourselves, “Do I walk with hope or is my interior life stopped, closed? Is my heart a closed drawer or a drawer open to hope, which has me walk with Christ, and not alone?”

The Holy Father then turned to the Christmas crib, saying it transmits hope and that each of the people represented there are “immersed in this atmosphere of hope.”

Let us pray that this Christmas brings this special kind of hope, to the many displaced persons, exiles and refugees from the continuing violence and war in the Middle East and all the poor, homeless, unemployed who have lost a place to live and lie their head just as the Infant Jesus had no place to lay his head except a feeding troth for farm animals. Let us pray that the hope that the Pope spoke of lifts up all the lonely elderly in nursing homes, hospices and shut-ins who are often alone and feel deserted.

May all who now are suffering receive the necessary humanitarian help to overcome the rigors of winter and find hope in a brighter day.

I end my Christmas message with these words of Jesus Christ and pray that the Peace of Christ will invade your hearts today and all the days of your life.  God bless you and have a blessed Christmas Holiday. "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)

Christmas 2016 Show

Christmas 2016 Show

Very Urgent Christmas Appeal

Urgent Christmas Appeal

It’s the Christmas season and appeals for support are everywhere and we also must urgently appeal.

Our coffers are empty and we have $478 in Mission bills that must be paid by January 5 or we default on our Car payment, Auto Insurance down payment, Web sites  domains and other necessary mission expenses which would mean we could not be able to continue the ministries to the sick & aged in hospitals, nursing homes, shut-ins and homeless on the streets of New York and other areas.

Please make a donation to our ministry, it is easy, just go to one of our web-sites www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org  or  www.missionstsergius.org and place you curser on the DONATION button which will take you to PayPal where you can safely and securely make a donation.

 OR send a check or money order directly to our mission bank.

MISSIONS SAINTS SERGIUS & BACCHUS,

C/O MIDDLESEX SAVINGS BANK,

830 WASHINGTON STREET,

HOLLISTON, MA, 01746.

May the Christ Child bless you and keep you; May the God the father make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you inner peace and hear your prayers this Christmas and in the coming New Year.

Pace e Bene
Rev. Fr. Bob Johnnene OFM
Servant General, Order Franciscans of Mercy

Homily for 4th Sunday of Advent 2016

4th Sunday of Advent 2013 Reflection

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFM

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Order Franciscans Mercy

Reformed Catholic Church

Link to Franciscans Web Site: www.orderfranciscansofemercy.org

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

Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org

Readings from Isaiah 7:10-14, Psalm 24, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-24

 

The Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent indicates how powerful the child in the womb of Mary was. The force of the Holy Spirit so emanated from the child in Mary’s womb that John the Baptist who was in Elizabeth’s womb jumped with joy.

We must remember that Mary accepted the will of the Lord in spite of the possiblilty that in doing so she could be stoned to death.

How accepting are we of God’s will?

That is the lesson and the question we need to examine this last Sunday of Advent before we celebrate the birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ next Sunday December 25^th.

Throughout all of history the Church has strongly encouraged the faithful to follow the example of Mary and give birth to Christ again in their hearts and through their actions and spiritually through prayer, reconciliation and partaking of the Eucharist.

Mary answered God’s call because she had hope and that is what we need to have according to Pope Francis;

In the Pope’s advent message he said; “For the great human family it is necessary to renew always the common horizon toward which we are journeying. The horizon of hope! This is the horizon that makes a good journey, Let us rediscover the beauty of being together along the way: the Church, with her vocation and mission, and the whole of humanity, the people, the civilizations, the cultures, all together on the paths of time.

The Blesses mother Mary serves as a “model of this spiritual attitude, to this way of being and of journeying in life.”

Although she was just a “simple girl,” she “carried in her heart the hope of God,” In her womb, the hope of God took flesh, became man, and made history: Jesus Christ.”

Mary’s song of praise in the Magnificat “is the canticle of the People of God on the journey, and of all men and women who hope in God, in the power of his mercy.” Said Pope Francis.

Let us be guided by her, she who is mother, she is our mother and knows how to lead us. Let us be guided by her in this time of waiting and active vigilance.”

We are 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 find that some of life’s 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 His complete trust and love of God.

St. Franics is telling 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, like feeding the poor, giving shelter to the homeless, visiting the sick, and praying for the well being of others.

What would have happened, I often wonder, if Mary did not have trust and hope in God and had told Gabrial “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 hope and 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.

So let us follow Mary as Pope Francis suggests, and as St. Francis often told his brothers and sisters and put our hope and faith in God that he will make our lives better if we offer him the gift of our trust, hope and love this Christmas and tell God “Not our will but your will be done unto us according to your word”  AMEN

 

4th Sunday of Advent 2016

Gaudete Sunday 12112016

Reflection for Sunday Dec.4, 2016

Second Sunday of Advent

December 4, 2016

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFM

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Order Franciscans of Mercy

Reformed Catholic Church

www.missionstsergius.org

www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

Based on Reading froms: Isaiah 11:1-10,; Psalm 72, Romans 15:4-9, Matthew 3:1-12

“The Lord will come to save all nations, and your hearts will exult to hear his majestic voice” the words are the Entrance antiphon for the Second Sunday of Advent.

The opening prayer for this Sunday is asking that nothing may hinder us from receiving Christ with joy.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”

We do not make people feel comfortable when we are constantly chiding them for things that they have no control over.   We do not make people less sad when we tell them that they are unwanted in God’s house not for having committed a grievous sin like murder, robbery, or cursing Almighty God, but for being true to how God created them.

Recently Pope Francis in a statement to Polish Bishops had the following comment; “transgenderism is similar to genetic modification and the nuclear arms race, both of which are technologies designed to destroy creation. Both of these abominations, as well as transgenderism, represent blatant sinful acts against Creator God, " Pope Francis did clarify his statement about transgender being an abomination by saying this;  "These people must be accompanied as Jesus accompanied them," said Francis. "It's one thing if a person has this tendency and also changes sex. It's another thing to teach this in school to change mentalities. This is what I call 'ideological colonization. In addition, teaching the "gender theory" in schools is one of the threats that spark a "world war against marriage." When asked how he would minister to Catholics struggling with their gender identity or sexual orientation, he said he would not abandon them because this is what Jesus would do.

The Pope also acknowledged that the issue of transgender Catholics is a problem of morality which must be resolved. However, he cautioned that the issue must always be addressed with God's mercy and "within the truth."

Sadly, what Pope Francis evidently does not know is that his statement and other statements that the church has made about GLBT persons has generated violence and even death against Gay, lesbian, and Transgender individuals.

Some of the Roman Bishops who have spoken out in favor of GLBT persons need to open the pope’s eyes that when the pontiff makes a statement like the one he made it reinforces the mentality of those people who are homophobic and they feel justified in their acts of violence and bigotry.

The Roman Church also bans and has fired people who teach scientific facts, as I do, that God creates people with their sexual orientation and that some people are born with the body of one gender but the overriding chromosome that controls their inner feelings and mind is making them feel like the opposite of what their body is this has a scientific name, “Dysphoria”.

The Roman church throughout history has often refused to acknowledge accepted scientific facts and now they refuse to accept that people are born with a homosexual orientation, or that in the process of their creation some genes did not evolve so an individual might have the outward physical form of a male or a female but their psychological mind and even their external actions are those of the opposite sex their bodies carry. This refusal of accepting majority scientific findings is just like their refusal to accept the finding of Galileo and persecuted him.

True they repented hundreds of years later for that and all the other many sins that the hierarchy of the church committed in the name of God.

That did not make Galileo’s life any easier while he was alive and if a few hundred years from now they decide that they were wrong and indeed God does create people with their sexual orientation or that some individuals are born with the physical appearance of one sex but their seminal self and their anatomic sex are of the opposite sex, making them feel that the reflection they see in a mirror has a very strong disassociation from who they are and it is usually, accompanied by a kind of shock, confusion, or mental jarring. They have a strong, gut-level sensation that whoever is behind the mirror is not them that everything thing is wrong and surreal, they feel like their life is a mirage, alien, unreal, and very distant, giving them persistent discomfort about their assigned sex and its usual gender role; the Mental inner feeling may become apparent in childhood or not appear until adolescence or adulthood. Individuals may attempt to live as members of the opposite sex and seek hormonal and surgical treatment to bring their anatomy into conformity with their belief. Being Transgender is not the same as transvestism.

Just as the churches apology for refuting Galileo’s scientific findings did not help him during his life their awakening to scientific fact about homosexuals and transgender persons in the future will not help those who are being persecuted and often murdered now.

In this year proclaiming and honoring God’s infinite mercy we need to realize that children of God are hurting now !

People are starving now and  they need comfort now

Those who are dying from lack of food, living in housing that is inadequate or being discriminated against and abused because they are homosexual or transgender need to find the comfort of God’s love from those of us who claim we love God and Jesus Christ.

The Gospels are full of stories of how Jesus reached out to the poor, lame, lepers, the “unclean” the non-Jew and the eunuch. He did not withhold His love and healing from anyone if they believed and desired to follow Him, .

He did not reject someone because they were not of the Jewish faith. No! He reached out to all people.

Our second reading reminds us that a day to the Lord could mean a thousand years and a thousand years like a day.

For us, God’s children and the brothers and sisters of Christ, we are here to do God’s work in our time; we are here to make changes in our time. We need to evaluate how we treat others like Christ would have treated them.

Do we accept all as Christ did, or do we discriminate because we are self-righteous and think that our lives are exactly how everyone else should live theirs?

The second reading also tells us that God wants NOBODY to be lost.

Have we answered the call “Come follow me” as Peter and Andrew did, and began living our lives according to the directions Christ Gave us in the Beatitudes and with the words “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself”

Do we do for our neighbor what we want done to us?

These are questions we need to ask ourselves during this Advent season as we prepare to celebrate the wondrous birth of Our Savior especially this week when we celebrate the Immaculate Conceptions of Our Lady on Thursday.

God ordained that she be born free of the stain of original sin so that her womb would be a pure vessel for His son to be conceived from.

Let us look to Our lady for guidance as to how to conduct our lives and ask her to intercede to her beloved son on our behalf that we become more open and accepting of others. That we live our life daily in a way that brings honor and glory and praise to Almighty God by consoling all those who are suffering and in need that we meet on our daily journey of life. Amen

Sunday Dec. 4, 2016 Homily

Second Sunday of Advent

December 4, 2016

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFM

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Order Franciscans of Mercy

Reformed Catholic Church

www.missionstsergius.org

www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

Based on Reading froms: Isaiah 11:1-10,; Psalm 72, Romans 15:4-9, Matthew 3:1-12

“The Lord will come to save all nations, and your hearts will exult to hear his majestic voice” the words are the Entrance antiphon for the Second Sunday of Advent.

The opening prayer for this Sunday is asking that nothing may hinder us from receiving Christ with joy.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”

We do not make people feel comfortable when we are constantly chiding them for things that they have no control over.   We do not make people less sad when we tell them that they are unwanted in God’s house not for having committed a grievous sin like murder, robbery, or cursing Almighty God, but for being true to how God created them.

Recently Pope Francis in a statement to Polish Bishops had the following comment; “transgenderism is similar to genetic modification and the nuclear arms race, both of which are technologies designed to destroy creation. Both of these abominations, as well as transgenderism, represent blatant sinful acts against Creator God, " Pope Francis did clarify his statement about transgender being an abomination by saying this;  "These people must be accompanied as Jesus accompanied them," said Francis. "It's one thing if a person has this tendency and also changes sex. It's another thing to teach this in school to change mentalities. This is what I call 'ideological colonization. In addition, teaching the "gender theory" in schools is one of the threats that spark a "world war against marriage." When asked how he would minister to Catholics struggling with their gender identity or sexual orientation, he said he would not abandon them because this is what Jesus would do.

The Pope also acknowledged that the issue of transgender Catholics is a problem of morality which must be resolved. However, he cautioned that the issue must always be addressed with God's mercy and "within the truth."

Sadly, what Pope Francis evidently does not know is that his statement and other statements that the church has made about GLBT persons has generated violence and even death against Gay, lesbian, and Transgender individuals.

Some of the Roman Bishops who have spoken out in favor of GLBT persons need to open the pope’s eyes that when the pontiff makes a statement like the one he made it reinforces the mentality of those people who are homophobic and they feel justified in their acts of violence and bigotry.

The Roman Church also bans and has fired people who teach scientific facts, as I do, that God creates people with their sexual orientation and that some people are born with the body of one gender but the overriding chromosome that controls their inner feelings and mind is making them feel like the opposite of what their body is this has a scientific name, “Dysphoria”.

The Roman church throughout history has often refused to acknowledge accepted scientific facts and now they refuse to accept that people are born with a homosexual orientation, or that in the process of their creation some genes did not evolve so an individual might have the outward physical form of a male or a female but their psychological mind and even their external actions are those of the opposite sex their bodies carry. This refusal of accepting majority scientific findings is just like their refusal to accept the finding of Galileo and persecuted him.

True they repented hundreds of years later for that and all the other many sins that the hierarchy of the church committed in the name of God.

That did not make Galileo’s life any easier while he was alive and if a few hundred years from now they decide that they were wrong and indeed God does create people with their sexual orientation or that some individuals are born with the physical appearance of one sex but their seminal self and their anatomic sex are of the opposite sex, making them feel that the reflection they see in a mirror has a very strong disassociation from who they are and it is usually, accompanied by a kind of shock, confusion, or mental jarring. They have a strong, gut-level sensation that whoever is behind the mirror is not them that everything thing is wrong and surreal, they feel like their life is a mirage, alien, unreal, and very distant, giving them persistent discomfort about their assigned sex and its usual gender role; the Mental inner feeling may become apparent in childhood or not appear until adolescence or adulthood. Individuals may attempt to live as members of the opposite sex and seek hormonal and surgical treatment to bring their anatomy into conformity with their belief. Being Transgender is not the same as transvestism.

Just as the churches apology for refuting Galileo’s scientific findings did not help him during his life their awakening to scientific fact about homosexuals and transgender persons in the future will not help those who are being persecuted and often murdered now.

In this year proclaiming and honoring God’s infinite mercy we need to realize that children of God are hurting now !

People are starving now and  they need comfort now

Those who are dying from lack of food, living in housing that is inadequate or being discriminated against and abused because they are homosexual or transgender need to find the comfort of God’s love from those of us who claim we love God and Jesus Christ.

The Gospels are full of stories of how Jesus reached out to the poor, lame, lepers, the “unclean” the non-Jew and the eunuch. He did not withhold His love and healing from anyone if they believed and desired to follow Him, .

He did not reject someone because they were not of the Jewish faith. No! He reached out to all people.

Our second reading reminds us that a day to the Lord could mean a thousand years and a thousand years like a day.

For us, God’s children and the brothers and sisters of Christ, we are here to do God’s work in our time; we are here to make changes in our time. We need to evaluate how we treat others like Christ would have treated them.

Do we accept all as Christ did, or do we discriminate because we are self-righteous and think that our lives are exactly how everyone else should live theirs?

The second reading also tells us that God wants NOBODY to be lost.

Have we answered the call “Come follow me” as Peter and Andrew did, and began living our lives according to the directions Christ Gave us in the Beatitudes and with the words “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor as yourself”

Do we do for our neighbor what we want done to us?

These are questions we need to ask ourselves during this Advent season as we prepare to celebrate the wondrous birth of Our Savior especially this week when we celebrate the Immaculate Conceptions of Our Lady on Thursday.

God ordained that she be born free of the stain of original sin so that her womb would be a pure vessel for His son to be conceived from.

Let us look to Our lady for guidance as to how to conduct our lives and ask her to intercede to her beloved son on our behalf that we become more open and accepting of others. That we live our life daily in a way that brings honor and glory and praise to Almighty God by consoling all those who are suffering and in need that we meet on our daily journey of life. Amen

2nd Sunday of Advent Dec 4, 2016

Sunday Nov. 27, 2016 Homily

1st Sunday of Advent 2016

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFM

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus

Order Franciscans of Mercy

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

Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org

 Link toOrder Franciscans of Mercy Web Site: www.orderfranciscansofmercy.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 last 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

 

1st Sunday of Advent 11/27/2016

Reflection for November 20, 2016

Reflection for the Feast Of Christ The King

Sunday November 20^th, 2016

By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFM

 Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus

Order Franciscans of Mercy

www.missionstsergius.org

www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

 

 

Psalm 121 reads as follows;

“I look up to the mountains from where does my help come ? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.  ……… The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.  The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.   The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.  The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

The words of this Psalm acknowledge God as the beginning of all things, as the loving God who watches over us and cares for us and since Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was given dominion over all the earth by the Father we acknowledged Christ as the King.

Christ himself declared that He was the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end and as such the human embodiment of the Father.   A king, more precisely a good king, is concerned about the safety and welfare of every one of his subjects and so it is with Jesus Christ who told us how a good shepherd, which is exactly what a king is supposed to be to his people, would go seeking a lost sheep.

 

The Second Reading for the feast of Christ the King is from Paul’s letter to the Colossians 1:11-20 also gives an affirmation of God’s love and caring for every person on the face of the earth and the earth itself.

“The Father who has made it possible for you to join the saints and with them to inherit the light.
Because that is what he has done: he has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the unseen God and the first-born of all creation, for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible,
Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers – all things were created through him and for him. Before anything was created, he existed, and he holds all things in unity. Now the Church is his body, he is its head.  As he is the Beginning, he was first to be born from the dead, so that he should be first in every way; because God wanted all perfection to be found in him and all things to be reconciled through him and for him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, when he made peace by his death on the cross.

The kingdom that Christ reigns over is not of this world, but is the everlasting kingdom to which we are called after living in this material world. The kingdom is a spiritual kingdom where peace and harmony and elation of being with the angels and saints and most especially the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, abounds.

As King, Christ has the ultimate say on who will and will not be welcomed into this kingdom.  The Gospel

from Luke 23:35-43, “Above him there was an inscription: ‘This is the King of the Jews’.
One of the criminals hanging there abused him. ‘Are you not the Christ?’ he said. ‘Save yourself and us as well.’ But the other spoke up and rebuked him. ‘Have you no fear of God at all?’ he said. ‘You and I received  the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for the crimes we committed. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus,’ he said ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ ‘Indeed, I promise you,’ he replied ‘today you will be with me in paradise.”,  strengthens the concept that Christ is the power through which we gain eternal life in the paradise that is the Kingdom of Heaven.  

In First Chronicles 29:11 we read this statement “Lord, you are great and powerful. Glory, majesty and beauty belong to you. Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you. Lord, the kingdom belongs to you. You are honored as the One who rules over all.” and in Matthew 5:19 we read these words of advice as to how we can gain entrance to the Kingdom for which Christ is king; Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
The Commandments we have been called to live by are simple according the Christ; as found in Matthew 22: 38-39 “Love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, mind, soul and body and the second is like unto it, Love your neighbor as you love yourself”,  and in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount where he gave us the Beatitudes telling us the way to treat our fellow humans.

As we are about to enter into the time of preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ, the season ofAdvent, it is a excellent time for us to make an evaluation of how well we are doing in our daily lives preparing for our admittance into the Kingdom of Christ, heaven, when our time here on God’s earthly plain is over.

Are we mindful of the needs of others, are we caring and accepting of all of God’s children not just those we consider acceptable because they conform to our way of thinking? Do we discriminate against others because of Race, creed, marital condition, sexual orientation or political party?

Christ gave us the example, He did not reject anyone who came to Him and neither should we.  In this time where people are thinking of giving gifts to their family and friends let us acknowledge the gifts God, our father, has given us and use them to the benefit of all especially those who have not been so blessed.

By doing this we can not only show our love and respect for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords but build up our treasures in the Kingdom to come.     

It is most fitting that this Thursday we will celebrate Thanksgiving Day here in the USA, a time to reflect back on all the gifts that God has provided to us during the past year.

At this time of the year I always reflect back on the Gospel of Matthew 25 verses 24 through 45 which is the story of how, when the final judgment day happens, God (the King in the story) will separate everyone into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. The group on the right was welcomed into the kingdom while the group on the left was condemned into the everlasting pain of hell. When the group on the right wondered why they had been welcomed in to heavenly kingdom the King (God) answered; “I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me”. The group on the right asked God; “Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink?  When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?”   God replied; “I tell you, whatever you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”  

As I meditate on this passage I wonder just how many who call themselves Christians, meaning they are followers of Christ’s teachings, ever read this passage, or the Sermon On The Mount which includes THE BEATITUDES, since so many so called Christians do not put into practice what both these bible passages teach when it comes to their day to day lives.

The food pantry that I often help out, at as well as most others in the country, has had a huge increase in the number of people needing assistance, especially at this time of year, while at the same time the donations have decreased. 

All the while we hear of people receiving enormous salaries, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands a month and are constantly seeking even more.

We have heard candidates during the past election for the position of President of the United States advocating the elimination of funds for programs that help the poor, unemployed, homeless and elderly on low fixed incomes have a minimal quality of life through the food stamps program, Medicare and even suggested cutting back on Social Security which is money that people paid into as a kind of Savings account for their retirement, it was never tax money, but money every working person pays into every pay day for the future.

When you read the paper or watch TV you are bombarded with advertisements for items that cost more than what many seniors and working poor people receive yearly to live on.

How any person who claims to be a believer and follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ can advocate anything that would diminish help to the poor, aged, sick, unemployed and homeless is beyond me. The only thing I can imagine is that they have NEVER read or heard the passages I have mentioned above and if they have they feel that what they teach us about how God wants us to live does not apply to them or possibly they are not servants of God but servants and minions of the Prince of Darkness himself.

I suggest that as we count down the 3 days to Thanksgiving, and the upcoming holidays of Christmas, Kwanza, and Chanukah, we try to seek out ways that we can put the teachings found in Matthew 25; verses 34-45 into practice.  Look for a food bank in your neighborhood or town where you can contribute food for those who are in need or even volunteer time there to sort donations that come in and help in the distribution of food during the pre-holiday days.?

AMEN

November 13 2016 Show

Homily for Nov. 6, 2017

A God of Infinite Love

32^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time November 6, 2016

A Reflection on 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:15-3:5; Luke 20:27-38.

By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFM

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus

Order Franciscans of Mercy

www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

www.missionstsergius.org

 

 

At the end of Sunday’s Gospel passage, Jesus explains the reason why there must be life after death. "Those who are deemed worthy to attain the coming age and the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels."…… "That the dead will rise, even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called out 'Lord, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,' and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."

Some people ask “Where in that is the proof that the dead rise?” The answer is; Since God is called the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Jesus calls God a God of the living, not of the dead, then one must conclude that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive somewhere, even if they had been dead for centuries at the time God spoke to Moses from the bush.

In the preface of the Mass for the dead, the liturgy says “that with death life is changed, not taken away" That means that we or at least the one thing that separates us humans from all other creatures of God, our soul, lives on. 

The material shell may disintegrate and it returns back to the earth from which scripture says “God created the human from the slime of the earth”  and which we are reminded of every Ash Wednesday when we place the sign of the Cross on the forehead with these words, “Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return”  Therefore after mortal death we continue living but in an altered state and specifically a state of perfection.

We will be living in the perfection of God, a state unlike anything that is possible here on earth. The love for the people we loved here on earth will be enhanced to perfection and those things that annoyed us or separated us will be wiped away for they were not of perfection.

Christ, in His response to the Sadducees, meant that which is an integral part of our life, even a marriage that did not last here on earth, will be perfected in the love that united the two individuals in the first place even if only for a brief time.  

I personally believe, a marriage that did not last but one that began with true love for each other was according to a plan God had for reasons known only to Him. 

It could well be that the children born of that marriage had to come into being to fulfill some plan God has for them. 

The defects, misunderstandings, pain or suffering that the two people inflicted on each other, will be forgotten when they are rejoined in heaven and only the love that brought them together will remain.

In God, all things are understood, all transgressions will be excused, all sin is forgiven. We exist in perfection.

Even those who have legally remarried (This was the concept presented in the Gospel story) will have their feelings enhanced and their love continue because God is Love and all love is objectively a good coming from God, that cannot be dissolved.  

Rivalry, jealousy, hatred, prejudice, bigotry have nothing to do with love and indeed are the total opposite to Love but tools of Satan.

Heaven is a state of perfection and the ultimate expression of Love; THE LOVE OF GOD.  St. Bartolomé Blanco Márquez, one of the Spanish martyrs who was canonized a few years ago wrote "Let My Memory Always Remind You There Is a Better Life" in a letter to his fiancé the day before he died and ended it with the following advice “Goodbye, until that moment, then, dearest Maruja! Do not forget that I am looking at you from heaven, try to be a model Christian woman, since, in the end, worldly goods and delights are of no avail if we do not manage to save our souls.”
This Tuesday we will be called to vote for the person who will lead this great nation for the next 4 years. I will not tell you who I plan on voting for but I will tell you the qualities that the person you do vote for should be committed to carry out.

The next president should be one who is not going to eliminate programs that help the poor, the elderly who live on low fixed incomes because they never knew in their day the kinds of salaries people receive today so their Social Security which they paid into from their salaries is very low and not adequate for today’s cost of living. The next president should not be advocating cuts in Medicare which allows seniors to receive quality health care.

The next president should be one who wants to insure that our veterans receive quality health care including mental health care for those who suffer from PTSD because of the atrocities they witnessed while serving our country.

The next president should work to find ways to end all the senseless violence that permeates our nation and get weapons of war off our streets.

The next president needs to insure that that big business and the richest of our citizens pay the same rate of taxes and the individual working for minimum pay, speaking of which, the person you choose to elect should be committed to making sure that the minimum pay is commensurate with the cost of living and that everyone receives equal pay for equal work.

In two weeks we will be celebrating Thanksgiving, let us hope that everyone, including the poor, homeless, and elderly can all enjoy the festivities of the day We need to remind ourselves of the final admonishment of St. Bartolomé Blanco about worldly goods and delights and think about how we can share some of the things we have been given with those who are in need. 

Let us put aside the petty human disagreements that may have divided family and friends and reach out to mend them. 

Let us go forth in the spirit of love and brotherhood, reaching out in friendship and Christian love to the disenfranchised and our Asian, Latino, Moslem, Arab, Jewish, and all other nationalities who are our brothers and sisters in Christ and therefore children of God.

Let us work diligently to put an end the bullying, violence, hatred and bigotry that separates people from love and full participation in God’s love and has caused pain, suffering and even death to so many innocent people.

I end this reflection with the words of St. Paul from Sunday’s second reading, “ Pray that the Lord’s message may spread quickly, and be received with honor and pray that we may be preserved from the interference of bigoted and evil people, for true faith is not given to everyone. But the Lord is faithful, and he will give you strength and guard you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 2:16 - 3:5)

May the Lord turn our hearts towards the infinite love of God and may we find fortitude in Christ to live our life in a way that is pleasing to God and which will assure our perfection with God in Eternity.  AMEN