Memorial Reflection
It is with sadness that I write this brief reflection as a memorial to a human person with flaws like us all but a person who place the welfare of many above all his concerns.
At 2:00 AM This morning Edward M. Kennedy the premier Democratic Senator from Massachusetts was taken home to join his brothers and sisters John, Robert, Joe, Eunice, and parents in the presence of Almighty God.
A man like all of us who have flaws he did more to champion the underdog, the poor and disadvantaged than most politicians do.
He pushed through bills that improved their lot by fighting for improved wages, dignity for the physical and developmentally challenged and improved education.
He died urging the leaders of our government to pass one of the most important bills that Kennedy has pushed for, Health Care Reform for every citizen of the US.
My prayers are offered up for the repose of his soul and for his wife Vickie, his children and the entire Kennedy family who have lost their patriarch but also for the people of Massachusetts and the Us who have lost a real champion of the average man.
May His soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in eternal peace. AMEN
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Reflection for Sunday August 23rd 2009
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Reflection
Do You Serve The Lord Your God?
Based on the readings from: Joshua 24:1-2,15-18, Psalm 33:2-3,16-23, Ephesians 5:21-32, John 6:60-69
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD, Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus
Franciscans of Divine Mercy/ Reformed Catholic Church International
"Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness…. Choose this day whom you will serve… as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:14-15)
Just as Joshua challenged the tribes of Israel to chose who they desired to honor and worship, we today are being given the same challenge. Do we choose to serve those human gods of Greed, power, domination, discrimination, materialism and self-effacement or do we choose to follow the way of the son of god, Jesus Christ.
Do we choose to live our lives according to the way Jesus taught by being forgiving, compassionate, kind and generous to all God’s children, especially those in need?
Throughout all of history, one idea has prevailed; it is that there is a supreme being that governs all.
We find it in the histories of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Aztecs, Mayans, Native American Tribes, in fact every known civilization. Humans have recognized that there is something greater than themselves throughout history.
We humans have sought this greater power out, as history has shown, in every generation. They have given that acknowledgement to the sun, volcano’s, lightning and other natural and sometimes human and imaginary things. They have worship their “Gods” under the names of Ra, Zeus, Apollo, Pele the Goddess of Fire, Mercury, Aesir, and hundreds of other names.
When Almighty God made himself known with the words “"I am that I am. Here is what you must say to the Israelites. Tell them, 'I am has sent me to you.' "(Exodus 3:14) we were told who we should give honor, praise and reverence to and whom we should thank for all things.
When Jesus Christ was transfigured, God informed us clearly who Jesus was with these words; “"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (Matthew 17:4-6).
God has told us to listen to what Jesus was telling us. To listen to the words and teachings of Jesus Christ, not some mere human individual, but Jesus the son of Almighty God. When we read the teachings of Christ, we find clear concise guidelines as to how we are expected to live our lives. These are found in the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, and in the “GREAT COMMANDMENT”, "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: '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)
Could Christ’s teachings be any clearer, yet so many try to make this love and service to Almighty God so difficult by injecting a lot of man made things in the way.
The have twisted to original writings of the ancient scriptures and the writings of the apostles and early church fathers and in some cases even rejected some of them because they did not “FIT THE POLITICALY CORRECT AGENDA” of that time.
People found passages that referred to a specific kind of sin and twisted it around in order to exclude some individuals from serving God or even to participate in the worship of Almighty God.
When we choose to ignore the teachings of Christ, when we decide what God means and we judge others as outcasts and deny them the opportunity to worship Almighty God and acknowledge Jesus as the son of God and the redeemer and Savior sent by God, then we are not serving Almighty God.
Jesus, rejected no one, not even those who were to crucify him. Jesus sat and ate with those that Jewish law forbade sharing a meal. Jesus spoke with and treated women as equals.
If we believe that Almighty God created all things, and we believe that Jesus was the Son of God made man, then we cannot even think about acting like a god and making judgments that are the exclusive property of Almighty God.
We can dislike the way another person acts, we can reject their choices as not acceptable, we have the freedom to choose not to associate with some people because they seem to be breaking the commandments of God by lying, cheating, stealing, killing, committing adultery, coveting another’s wife or property and act in an manner other than that prescribed by God.
When we decide that power, money, prestige, fame, greed or sexual gratification are more important to us that living according to God’s way, we are not serving God.
We need to remember how we were taught in Paul’s letter to the Romans 14; “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.” and Matthew 7; “Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.“ In James 4 we read; “Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it.”
The law of God is very clear, we are not the ones to judge a person because of how things appear “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. Our Law does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” ( John 7:24, 51)
We need to judge a person by their deeds. Do they feed the poor? Do they Clothe the Naked? Do they respect and love All of God’s creatures? Do they give shelter to the homeless?
We do not have a right to deny anyone the same rights and privileges as every other citizen.
The question poised at the beginning of this reflection was, Do you serve the Lord ? You do if you live in a manner prescribed by Jesus Christ and do not make judgments according to man made decisions but only by the example and teachings given us by Christ.
“Christ went on, “This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him…Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.“
Let us serve Almighty God not only by claiming to be a Christian but by living out the teachings of Christ in our daily lives. AMEN
Do You Serve The Lord Your God?
Based on the readings from: Joshua 24:1-2,15-18, Psalm 33:2-3,16-23, Ephesians 5:21-32, John 6:60-69
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD, Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus
Franciscans of Divine Mercy/ Reformed Catholic Church International
"Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness…. Choose this day whom you will serve… as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:14-15)
Just as Joshua challenged the tribes of Israel to chose who they desired to honor and worship, we today are being given the same challenge. Do we choose to serve those human gods of Greed, power, domination, discrimination, materialism and self-effacement or do we choose to follow the way of the son of god, Jesus Christ.
Do we choose to live our lives according to the way Jesus taught by being forgiving, compassionate, kind and generous to all God’s children, especially those in need?
Throughout all of history, one idea has prevailed; it is that there is a supreme being that governs all.
We find it in the histories of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Aztecs, Mayans, Native American Tribes, in fact every known civilization. Humans have recognized that there is something greater than themselves throughout history.
We humans have sought this greater power out, as history has shown, in every generation. They have given that acknowledgement to the sun, volcano’s, lightning and other natural and sometimes human and imaginary things. They have worship their “Gods” under the names of Ra, Zeus, Apollo, Pele the Goddess of Fire, Mercury, Aesir, and hundreds of other names.
When Almighty God made himself known with the words “"I am that I am. Here is what you must say to the Israelites. Tell them, 'I am has sent me to you.' "(Exodus 3:14) we were told who we should give honor, praise and reverence to and whom we should thank for all things.
When Jesus Christ was transfigured, God informed us clearly who Jesus was with these words; “"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (Matthew 17:4-6).
God has told us to listen to what Jesus was telling us. To listen to the words and teachings of Jesus Christ, not some mere human individual, but Jesus the son of Almighty God. When we read the teachings of Christ, we find clear concise guidelines as to how we are expected to live our lives. These are found in the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, and in the “GREAT COMMANDMENT”, "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: '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)
Could Christ’s teachings be any clearer, yet so many try to make this love and service to Almighty God so difficult by injecting a lot of man made things in the way.
The have twisted to original writings of the ancient scriptures and the writings of the apostles and early church fathers and in some cases even rejected some of them because they did not “FIT THE POLITICALY CORRECT AGENDA” of that time.
People found passages that referred to a specific kind of sin and twisted it around in order to exclude some individuals from serving God or even to participate in the worship of Almighty God.
When we choose to ignore the teachings of Christ, when we decide what God means and we judge others as outcasts and deny them the opportunity to worship Almighty God and acknowledge Jesus as the son of God and the redeemer and Savior sent by God, then we are not serving Almighty God.
Jesus, rejected no one, not even those who were to crucify him. Jesus sat and ate with those that Jewish law forbade sharing a meal. Jesus spoke with and treated women as equals.
If we believe that Almighty God created all things, and we believe that Jesus was the Son of God made man, then we cannot even think about acting like a god and making judgments that are the exclusive property of Almighty God.
We can dislike the way another person acts, we can reject their choices as not acceptable, we have the freedom to choose not to associate with some people because they seem to be breaking the commandments of God by lying, cheating, stealing, killing, committing adultery, coveting another’s wife or property and act in an manner other than that prescribed by God.
When we decide that power, money, prestige, fame, greed or sexual gratification are more important to us that living according to God’s way, we are not serving God.
We need to remember how we were taught in Paul’s letter to the Romans 14; “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.” and Matthew 7; “Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.“ In James 4 we read; “Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it.”
The law of God is very clear, we are not the ones to judge a person because of how things appear “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. Our Law does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” ( John 7:24, 51)
We need to judge a person by their deeds. Do they feed the poor? Do they Clothe the Naked? Do they respect and love All of God’s creatures? Do they give shelter to the homeless?
We do not have a right to deny anyone the same rights and privileges as every other citizen.
The question poised at the beginning of this reflection was, Do you serve the Lord ? You do if you live in a manner prescribed by Jesus Christ and do not make judgments according to man made decisions but only by the example and teachings given us by Christ.
“Christ went on, “This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him…Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.“
Let us serve Almighty God not only by claiming to be a Christian but by living out the teachings of Christ in our daily lives. AMEN
Friday, June 19, 2009
Faith Can Conquer All Dificulties
12th Sunday of Ordinary Time Reflection
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.missionstsergius.org
Mission_St_Sergius@msn.com
Based on the readings from: Job 38:1, 8-11, 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, Mark 4:35-41
“From the heart of the tempest the Lord gave Job his answer.”
These words taken from the first reading for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary time are a reminder that sometimes in the darkest moments of our lives; God is actually trying to send us a message.
The reading from the Gospel of Mark is also a lesson we need to keep always in the forefront of our minds and it is that Faith and trust in God will overcome all trials if we believe. The story is of how a strong gale sprung up and the apostles became afraid that the boat was about to sink while Christ as asleep in the stern. The apostle being terrified; “woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going to drown!’ Christ woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then Christ said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?” Far too often in our lives we become afraid and feel overwhelmed by the circumstances that surround us. I certainly can relate to that feeling when sometimes I wonder if I am making a difference in peoples lives and actually doing the Lord’s work especially when people rarely respond and so few seem to respond to our plea for donations to support the work of the ministry. It is in those times that God always seems to send me a message of affirmation by either a phone call or an email message, letter or a donation arrives.
Faith in God is the strongest weapon to sustain one in times of difficulty.
Without faith we often sink into deep hopelessness and depression because we feel alone and forgotten. God never forgets any of us. God is always there if we call upon Him and He will always answer us in the way that is in our best interests even if we do not see it that way. We need to call to mind the words from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians; “The love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them……therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-17) Just as the apostles feared that they were about to sink and drown in the storm because they were forgetting who was with them, we also often forget that God is there beside us if we but seek Him out in our hearts using faith as the device to call upon Him.
This past weekend I had the extreme pleasure to meet hundreds of people who seemed surprised but happy to find us at the Boston Pride Festival and loved our mission’s message of; GOD LOVES ME AS HE CREATED ME. All 800 of the stickers we had made up were gone before the day was half over. One female impersonator gave Bishop Mel and me a warm friendly embrace and a sincere “Thank You” for our message of affirmation. More than 30 people signed up to receive our weekly reflections and the Mission News Letter and many offered a small donation to help us spread the word of God’s Infinite Love for ALL His children regardless of their race, creed, nationality or sexual orientation.
With faith there is Hope. With Hope there are possibilities.
For much of my life I told people that my theme song was THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM. It still is! My dream now is for a time that every human being on the face of the earth is treated with dignity and respect. I dream of a time when all Christian faiths will once again unite as one just as the early church was one. I dream of a time when all the hierarchy treat each other as equals and focus on directing the church according to the basics Christ taught in the SERMON ON THE MOUNT and as found in the CORPORAL AND SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY and not on how much power and wealth they can attain.
I have FAITH that one day, more than likely not in my lifetime, this will happen because it is the will of God and in God’s time, He will bring it to be. We humans forget that our time is not God’s time. God often is patient and allows us to have our way as a test. The first reading for this Sunday was from one of my favorite books of the Bible, the book of Job. In fact at one time in my life it was the Book of Job that saved me from self destructing and led me back to God and my service as a Deacon, Teacher and now priest. The book tells of how God allowed Satan to test Job’s actual faith and trust in God. Job lost everything he had even his family but he never gave up on God. As a reward, God gave Job back 10 times what he had before. The message for this week is; HAVE FAITH AND BELIEVE THAT GOD LOVES YOU AS HE CREATED YOU and will come when you call to Him. AMEN
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.missionstsergius.org
Mission_St_Sergius@msn.com
Based on the readings from: Job 38:1, 8-11, 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, Mark 4:35-41
“From the heart of the tempest the Lord gave Job his answer.”
These words taken from the first reading for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary time are a reminder that sometimes in the darkest moments of our lives; God is actually trying to send us a message.
The reading from the Gospel of Mark is also a lesson we need to keep always in the forefront of our minds and it is that Faith and trust in God will overcome all trials if we believe. The story is of how a strong gale sprung up and the apostles became afraid that the boat was about to sink while Christ as asleep in the stern. The apostle being terrified; “woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going to drown!’ Christ woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then Christ said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?” Far too often in our lives we become afraid and feel overwhelmed by the circumstances that surround us. I certainly can relate to that feeling when sometimes I wonder if I am making a difference in peoples lives and actually doing the Lord’s work especially when people rarely respond and so few seem to respond to our plea for donations to support the work of the ministry. It is in those times that God always seems to send me a message of affirmation by either a phone call or an email message, letter or a donation arrives.
Faith in God is the strongest weapon to sustain one in times of difficulty.
Without faith we often sink into deep hopelessness and depression because we feel alone and forgotten. God never forgets any of us. God is always there if we call upon Him and He will always answer us in the way that is in our best interests even if we do not see it that way. We need to call to mind the words from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians; “The love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them……therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-17) Just as the apostles feared that they were about to sink and drown in the storm because they were forgetting who was with them, we also often forget that God is there beside us if we but seek Him out in our hearts using faith as the device to call upon Him.
This past weekend I had the extreme pleasure to meet hundreds of people who seemed surprised but happy to find us at the Boston Pride Festival and loved our mission’s message of; GOD LOVES ME AS HE CREATED ME. All 800 of the stickers we had made up were gone before the day was half over. One female impersonator gave Bishop Mel and me a warm friendly embrace and a sincere “Thank You” for our message of affirmation. More than 30 people signed up to receive our weekly reflections and the Mission News Letter and many offered a small donation to help us spread the word of God’s Infinite Love for ALL His children regardless of their race, creed, nationality or sexual orientation.
With faith there is Hope. With Hope there are possibilities.
For much of my life I told people that my theme song was THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM. It still is! My dream now is for a time that every human being on the face of the earth is treated with dignity and respect. I dream of a time when all Christian faiths will once again unite as one just as the early church was one. I dream of a time when all the hierarchy treat each other as equals and focus on directing the church according to the basics Christ taught in the SERMON ON THE MOUNT and as found in the CORPORAL AND SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY and not on how much power and wealth they can attain.
I have FAITH that one day, more than likely not in my lifetime, this will happen because it is the will of God and in God’s time, He will bring it to be. We humans forget that our time is not God’s time. God often is patient and allows us to have our way as a test. The first reading for this Sunday was from one of my favorite books of the Bible, the book of Job. In fact at one time in my life it was the Book of Job that saved me from self destructing and led me back to God and my service as a Deacon, Teacher and now priest. The book tells of how God allowed Satan to test Job’s actual faith and trust in God. Job lost everything he had even his family but he never gave up on God. As a reward, God gave Job back 10 times what he had before. The message for this week is; HAVE FAITH AND BELIEVE THAT GOD LOVES YOU AS HE CREATED YOU and will come when you call to Him. AMEN
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
God Loves All People
A Reflection for the Sixth Sunday of Easter 2009
Based on the readings from; Acts 10:25-26, 34-35,44-48; 1 John 4:7-10, John 15:9-17
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD,
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.missionstsergious.org
Mission_St_Sergius@msn.com
“The truth I have now come to realize’ he said ‘is that God does not have favorites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.” These words attributed to St. Peter and taken from the first reading for this Sunday should bring comfort and exaltation to all who read or hear them. When we couple them with these following words from the second reading and the Gospel, we have complete affirmation of God’s infinite love for every one of His children regardless of their race, nationality, creed or sexual orientation. “My dear people let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love.” In addition “My dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another. No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another, God will live in us and his love will be complete in us. We can know that we are living in him and he is living in us because he lets us share his Spirit.”
These words from the Gospel attributed to Jesus Christ strengthen the message even more; “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy is complete. This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.”…. “I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father. You did not choose me: no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; and then the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name. What I command you is to love one another."
On December 25th 2005 Pope Benedict XVI issued his first encyclical as the new pope, entitled DEUS CARITAS EST which in Latin means God is Love.It matters not what Christian denomination you belong to or for that matter what religion, the main message we need to hold deep within us is GOD IS LOVE and His love is infinite.
The readings of this week are again a reminder to us of that main fact of the Christian faith. We need to keep this message always in our hearts especially when people are berating us or when we are made to suffer from discrimination or bigotry. Any person who does not love as Christ called us to do for one another is not a real or true Christian.God’s infinite and unlimited love is for every person on the face of the earth who calls to him seeking his mercy for their transgressions, seeking His relief from their pain and suffering or just giving Him the honor and praise He deserves or seeking to partake of the sacramental gifts.The only requirement that is made of us is that we keep His commandments and when Christ was asked what are the most important commandments he replied “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 12:29-31).
Throughout the years since Christ taught the apostles and the Christian faith evolved from the Jewish faith because of Christ who told us He came to clarify or establish a new COVENANT between God and His children. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:16-18). Christ was the sacrificial lamb of the new covenant and in His sacrifice he gained for us everlasting life and assured us of God’s love. Christ made it clear whom he came to save when He said; “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:13)
God extends us his endless mercy and love when we come to him with love in our hearts for Him and for our fellow sisters and brothers in Christ.That is the wonderful affirming and comforting message for this Week; God’s love is endless, infinite and unconditional to all who seek it. Let us look not on the sins of those who claim to be God’s representatives but let us seek God in ourselves and those around us by how well they exemplify LOVE in not only their words but more importantly in their deeds. AMEN
A Reflection for the Sixth Sunday of Easter 2009
Based on the readings from; Acts 10:25-26, 34-35,44-48; 1 John 4:7-10, John 15:9-17
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD,
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.missionstsergious.org
Mission_St_Sergius@msn.com
“The truth I have now come to realize’ he said ‘is that God does not have favorites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.” These words attributed to St. Peter and taken from the first reading for this Sunday should bring comfort and exaltation to all who read or hear them. When we couple them with these following words from the second reading and the Gospel, we have complete affirmation of God’s infinite love for every one of His children regardless of their race, nationality, creed or sexual orientation. “My dear people let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love.” In addition “My dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another. No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another, God will live in us and his love will be complete in us. We can know that we are living in him and he is living in us because he lets us share his Spirit.”
These words from the Gospel attributed to Jesus Christ strengthen the message even more; “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy is complete. This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.”…. “I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father. You did not choose me: no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; and then the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name. What I command you is to love one another."
On December 25th 2005 Pope Benedict XVI issued his first encyclical as the new pope, entitled DEUS CARITAS EST which in Latin means God is Love.It matters not what Christian denomination you belong to or for that matter what religion, the main message we need to hold deep within us is GOD IS LOVE and His love is infinite.
The readings of this week are again a reminder to us of that main fact of the Christian faith. We need to keep this message always in our hearts especially when people are berating us or when we are made to suffer from discrimination or bigotry. Any person who does not love as Christ called us to do for one another is not a real or true Christian.God’s infinite and unlimited love is for every person on the face of the earth who calls to him seeking his mercy for their transgressions, seeking His relief from their pain and suffering or just giving Him the honor and praise He deserves or seeking to partake of the sacramental gifts.The only requirement that is made of us is that we keep His commandments and when Christ was asked what are the most important commandments he replied “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 12:29-31).
Throughout the years since Christ taught the apostles and the Christian faith evolved from the Jewish faith because of Christ who told us He came to clarify or establish a new COVENANT between God and His children. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:16-18). Christ was the sacrificial lamb of the new covenant and in His sacrifice he gained for us everlasting life and assured us of God’s love. Christ made it clear whom he came to save when He said; “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:13)
God extends us his endless mercy and love when we come to him with love in our hearts for Him and for our fellow sisters and brothers in Christ.That is the wonderful affirming and comforting message for this Week; God’s love is endless, infinite and unconditional to all who seek it. Let us look not on the sins of those who claim to be God’s representatives but let us seek God in ourselves and those around us by how well they exemplify LOVE in not only their words but more importantly in their deeds. AMEN
Friday, April 17, 2009
Divine Mercy Sunday Reflection
Divine Mercy Sunday
A Reflection by Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.missionstsergius.org
“And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened”. Luke 11:9-10 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened”. Matthew 7:7-8
The above statement is found in two of the four gospels and I have chosen to use it to emphasize my reflection for this Divine Mercy Sunday which is also the anniversary of the founding of the Franciscans of Divine mercy. The readings for this Sunday have one very important point to make and that is the infinite mercy and love of God for everyone on this planet earth. Therefore it is very appropriate that this Sunday be dedicated to Divine Mercy. In the reading from 1 John 5:1-6 we hear these words : “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loves him that begat loves him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world:”
In Deuteronomy 6:5 we read “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Which Christ quoted when asked what the greatest commandment was in Matthew 22: 34-40 to which he added “the second is like unto it, love your neighbor as you love yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”. In John 13:34 Christ told us “A new commandment I give to you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” LOVE is the main element and LOVE is what God is. Where there is LOVE there is God and where God is there is infinite mercy and love.
So how do we show that love? We might do as those early followers did in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles 4:32-37 are said to have done; “for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made to every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet”. Which is one of the principals St. Francis wanted in his rules, which Innocent III approved 800 years ago last Tuesday the 14th, for the order he founded later to be known as “THE FRANCISCANS”, that they own nothing of their own and use what they receive for the benefit of spreading The Good News of Salvation and to help the poor, sick, aged and societies outcasts.
The gospel relates how Jesus appeared to the apostles and disciples who had locked themselves in a room for fear that they would be persecuted and gave them the powers which have been handed down to all priests ever since at their ordination when they are anointed “Jesus and stood in the middle, and said to them, Peace be to you. And when he had so said, he showed to them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be to you: as my Father has sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive you the Holy Spirit: Whosesoever sins you remit, they are remitted to them; and whosesoever sins you retain, they are retained ……these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you might have life through his name.” John 20:19-31
I often feel that the problems we have in this world are primarily due to the fact that so many do not love themselves and therefore they are incapable of loving anyone else let alone loving someone they do not know or try to get to know and understand. The troubles, strife, greed, genocide, poverty, war, discrimination that have and still cause so much grief in this world are the result of people not loving themselves and/or loving the God who created them. People look for the faults in, not only others, but themselves and dwell on them rather than on what is good. People tend to hold on to the negative things of their life rather than look at the good around them. I have seen this attitude cause people to actually be physically sick.
As followers of Christ we are called to seek out the light of God’s truth, to ask God to help us to know His will, to knock on the door of heaven and we have been told that if we doo this we will be heard, the door will be opened and what we seek we will find. That is what the infinite and unlimited Divine Mercy and Love of God is all about.
I begin each day with this prayer in the hopes that God will be light my way and let me know his will.
Prayer for God’s Infinite Love
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD, March 24th 2006
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EverlastingLoveOfChristMinistry
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
Almighty and merciful God, open my mind, my heart, and my soul to your infinite love. Instill within me the knowledge of your truth. Guide me in your ways in all the things I do so that I may be to others a reflection of your love towards them. Allow the light of your truth to flow through me towards all I encounter this day in order that they may come to know you better. I pray that all those with whom I come in contact each and every day may be brought into a closer union with you and enjoy your promise of salvation earned through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, in His passion, death, resurrection and ascension.
I humbly ask this in the name of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever unto the ages of ages. AMEN
Friday, April 10, 2009
An Easter Reflection for 2009
Do Not Be Afraid, He is Risen
An Easter Reflection
By Rev. Robert Francis Johnnene
Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.missionstsergius.org
An Easter Reflection
By Rev. Robert Francis Johnnene
Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.missionstsergius.org
Alleluia, Alleluia “This is the Day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad” (Psalm 118:24). “Do not be Afraid, You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, He is not here, He has risen” (Mark 16:6). “Why do you search for the living among the Dead” (Luke24: 5 ) “He is not here, He has been raised, exactly as He had promised” (Matthew 28:6). “Rabbouni (Hebrew for teacher) ….I have seen the Lord” (John 20:18).All the above quotes taken from the four gospels telling of the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ should have special meaning for us. My Favorite and one I keep deep in my heart is “Do Not Be Afraid” simply put, if you have faith in God and the promises of Christ, there is nothing in life that you need to be afraid of. By trusting in God’s will and believing that everything in life has a purpose, even the dissention, suffering, the recession or depression or events that cause separation, bickering, and even the power hungry who profess to be followers of Christ, all have their reason for being, it is up to us to attempt to learn what we can and grow from them. How foolish we mere mortals are. We allow pride, greed and envy to cloud our eyes so that we forget the message taught by Jesus in His resurrection. The message that with God, all things can be conquered, even death.
Christ not only conquered death, he conquered our sins because by His death and resurrection he brought us forgiveness. Jesus came to us from Almighty God to be the supreme “Rabbouni” teacher to us. He came to teach us the way to attain own salvation and glory. The sad thing is we all too often do not follow or listen to what he taught us. We need to affirm, as Mary Magdalene did when she proclaimed “Rabbouni” that Jesus was the ultimate teacher sent by God to make clear God‘s intentions and desires. Jesus was, is, and always will be the head of the church. He directs those who believe in Him through the Holy Spirit, “the giver of life who proceeds from the Father and the son. With the Father and the son, is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.” (Nicene Creed)We need to acknowledge our love of God by seeking the truth and living in accord with the teachings of Christ. We need to live our daily lives in the manner that Jesus instructed us. “Why do you search for the living (Jesus) among the dead? “He has been raised, exactly as He promised” Jesus is alive; he is alive in the hearts and souls of all those who have been reborn through Baptism and who faithfully live according to His instructions. He is alive in us every time we partake of the Eucharist, His body and blood given us on that first Holy Thursday. Christ is the “living Bread”. He gave himself to us so that we could carry on His work here on earth while he and the Father watch over us. On this glorious day when we celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Let ALL who believe in Him and accept His call to “Come Follow Me” (Luke 18:22) work together and make a concerted effort to repair the breaches that have torn Christ’s church apart into so many segments. There is only one creator God, There is only one Jesus Christ, He established one church and one Universal faith. We are all called to be His servants, His disciples. Especially we, who have been called as shepherds to His flock, need to work with one voice just as Jesus spoke with one voice. We need to stop the exclusion of some, the name calling, seeking control and power and cone together in unity with one message, the message of God‘s infinite mercy and love for ALL His children. Let us shout, loudly. Alleluia, Alleluia, This is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be Glad, Jesus Christ has risen, Jesus is alive. Alleluia, Alleluia.
May God's infinite blessings fill your heart with comfort and peace.
Christ not only conquered death, he conquered our sins because by His death and resurrection he brought us forgiveness. Jesus came to us from Almighty God to be the supreme “Rabbouni” teacher to us. He came to teach us the way to attain own salvation and glory. The sad thing is we all too often do not follow or listen to what he taught us. We need to affirm, as Mary Magdalene did when she proclaimed “Rabbouni” that Jesus was the ultimate teacher sent by God to make clear God‘s intentions and desires. Jesus was, is, and always will be the head of the church. He directs those who believe in Him through the Holy Spirit, “the giver of life who proceeds from the Father and the son. With the Father and the son, is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.” (Nicene Creed)We need to acknowledge our love of God by seeking the truth and living in accord with the teachings of Christ. We need to live our daily lives in the manner that Jesus instructed us. “Why do you search for the living (Jesus) among the dead? “He has been raised, exactly as He promised” Jesus is alive; he is alive in the hearts and souls of all those who have been reborn through Baptism and who faithfully live according to His instructions. He is alive in us every time we partake of the Eucharist, His body and blood given us on that first Holy Thursday. Christ is the “living Bread”. He gave himself to us so that we could carry on His work here on earth while he and the Father watch over us. On this glorious day when we celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Let ALL who believe in Him and accept His call to “Come Follow Me” (Luke 18:22) work together and make a concerted effort to repair the breaches that have torn Christ’s church apart into so many segments. There is only one creator God, There is only one Jesus Christ, He established one church and one Universal faith. We are all called to be His servants, His disciples. Especially we, who have been called as shepherds to His flock, need to work with one voice just as Jesus spoke with one voice. We need to stop the exclusion of some, the name calling, seeking control and power and cone together in unity with one message, the message of God‘s infinite mercy and love for ALL His children. Let us shout, loudly. Alleluia, Alleluia, This is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be Glad, Jesus Christ has risen, Jesus is alive. Alleluia, Alleluia.
May God's infinite blessings fill your heart with comfort and peace.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Palm Sunday 2009 Reflection
In truth this man was a son of God
A Reflection for Palm Sunday 2009
Based on the Readings from Isaiah 50:4-7, Psalm 22, Philippians 2:6-11, Mark 14:1-15:47
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
‘Abba (Father)!’ he said ‘Everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you, not I, would have it.” These words cried out by Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane should be a constant reminder to us that it is alright to ask God to lift a burden from us. The Gospel reading for this Sunday of the three year cycle is from Mark 14 and it tells of the events leading up to and through the passion and death of Christ.One curious passage in the Gospel relates an incident that many choose to overlook and it is just one line long it is part of the story that tells how the disciples and apostles abandoned Christ. “And they all deserted him and ran away. A young man who followed him had nothing on but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the cloth in their hands and ran away naked.” The symbolism here is clear to me that we are naked and exposed by our actions. So many try to hide their dirty laundry with fancy clothes but before God we are all seen naked for exactly who we are. The Gospel story today is a telling of the entire passion and a different story than the celebration that Palm Sunday commemorates, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem where we hear the people shouting; “Hosanna! Blesses is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel” It can be assumed that many of those same people who were shouting Hosanna, four days later were in the crowds shouting, “Crucify Him” because he did not meet their expectations or because they succumbed to greed and accepted bribes from officials of the temple. Further on in the Gospel reading it is related how Christ Called out “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?” which, I believe , allows us the right to ask the same of God when we feel He might have abandoned us. The essence and the truth is summed up in the words of the centurion who witnessed Christ crucifixion and death on the cross, “In truth this man was a son of God”.Paul’s letter to the Philippians sums up the essence of Christ’s life, “But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. Over the last few years books and movies have attempted to raise questions about Jesus Christ’s life and soon a new movie is coming out that follows up on THE DIVINCI CODE, HOLY BLOOD-HOLY GRAIL AND THE LOST GOSPELS. Some claim they should change our beliefs concerning Christ and our Faith. The truth is Jesus Christ lived, Christ died, Christ rose from the dead. Christ was sent to earth by God to save all people of the world, not a select few. All these so called new discoveries and stories should only serve to strengthen our faith and belief in Almighty God. They change nothing about the main facts. Who cares if Christ had a relationship with Mary of Magdala, the fact is Christ was a real person and proclaimed a new covenant with God which carried on and followed that made with Moses. All the numerous non-religious historical documents acknowledge that Jesus was real. All of them affirm that he gave us a new covenant, “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, MIND, SOUL AND BODY AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU” All based on writings of the early Christians; in many cases, they support what is written in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospels we know are the Gospels accepted, mainly on the advice and writings of St. Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons about the year 180, who called the other Gospels “Heresies”. The Gnostic Gospels, as the lost Gospels are called, proclaimed that salvation could be achieved by knowledge. That is true also, Knowledge of who God is, Knowledge of how we can serve God, Knowledge of God’s intent; all of these are necessary in order for us to faithfully serve God. Did not Jesus Himself say, “Seek and you will find, Knock and it will be opened to you, Ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:6-9) None of these “recent” findings change a thing. The Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ opened the road to salvation to us. Even if the most recent “Gospel of Judas” has any truth, it affirms that Jesus had to die in order for our salvation to be assured. In it, it is purported to state, “For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me." By that, Gnostic scholars conclude Jesus meant “by helping him get rid of his physical flesh, Judas would act to liberate the true spiritual self or divine being within Jesus.” During this Week, let us stop the dissentions that separate all who believe in Jesus Christ and work together to come together as the one family of Christ. Let’s begin living the message of Jesus Christ in our actions, thoughts, words and deeds. Let us be completely faithful to Almighty God and Jesus Christ proclaim loudly, “HOSANNA, HOSANNA, TO THE SON OF DAVID, HOSANNA! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST! AMEN
A Reflection for Palm Sunday 2009
Based on the Readings from Isaiah 50:4-7, Psalm 22, Philippians 2:6-11, Mark 14:1-15:47
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
‘Abba (Father)!’ he said ‘Everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you, not I, would have it.” These words cried out by Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane should be a constant reminder to us that it is alright to ask God to lift a burden from us. The Gospel reading for this Sunday of the three year cycle is from Mark 14 and it tells of the events leading up to and through the passion and death of Christ.One curious passage in the Gospel relates an incident that many choose to overlook and it is just one line long it is part of the story that tells how the disciples and apostles abandoned Christ. “And they all deserted him and ran away. A young man who followed him had nothing on but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the cloth in their hands and ran away naked.” The symbolism here is clear to me that we are naked and exposed by our actions. So many try to hide their dirty laundry with fancy clothes but before God we are all seen naked for exactly who we are. The Gospel story today is a telling of the entire passion and a different story than the celebration that Palm Sunday commemorates, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem where we hear the people shouting; “Hosanna! Blesses is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel” It can be assumed that many of those same people who were shouting Hosanna, four days later were in the crowds shouting, “Crucify Him” because he did not meet their expectations or because they succumbed to greed and accepted bribes from officials of the temple. Further on in the Gospel reading it is related how Christ Called out “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?” which, I believe , allows us the right to ask the same of God when we feel He might have abandoned us. The essence and the truth is summed up in the words of the centurion who witnessed Christ crucifixion and death on the cross, “In truth this man was a son of God”.Paul’s letter to the Philippians sums up the essence of Christ’s life, “But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. Over the last few years books and movies have attempted to raise questions about Jesus Christ’s life and soon a new movie is coming out that follows up on THE DIVINCI CODE, HOLY BLOOD-HOLY GRAIL AND THE LOST GOSPELS. Some claim they should change our beliefs concerning Christ and our Faith. The truth is Jesus Christ lived, Christ died, Christ rose from the dead. Christ was sent to earth by God to save all people of the world, not a select few. All these so called new discoveries and stories should only serve to strengthen our faith and belief in Almighty God. They change nothing about the main facts. Who cares if Christ had a relationship with Mary of Magdala, the fact is Christ was a real person and proclaimed a new covenant with God which carried on and followed that made with Moses. All the numerous non-religious historical documents acknowledge that Jesus was real. All of them affirm that he gave us a new covenant, “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, MIND, SOUL AND BODY AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU” All based on writings of the early Christians; in many cases, they support what is written in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gospels we know are the Gospels accepted, mainly on the advice and writings of St. Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons about the year 180, who called the other Gospels “Heresies”. The Gnostic Gospels, as the lost Gospels are called, proclaimed that salvation could be achieved by knowledge. That is true also, Knowledge of who God is, Knowledge of how we can serve God, Knowledge of God’s intent; all of these are necessary in order for us to faithfully serve God. Did not Jesus Himself say, “Seek and you will find, Knock and it will be opened to you, Ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:6-9) None of these “recent” findings change a thing. The Passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ opened the road to salvation to us. Even if the most recent “Gospel of Judas” has any truth, it affirms that Jesus had to die in order for our salvation to be assured. In it, it is purported to state, “For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me." By that, Gnostic scholars conclude Jesus meant “by helping him get rid of his physical flesh, Judas would act to liberate the true spiritual self or divine being within Jesus.” During this Week, let us stop the dissentions that separate all who believe in Jesus Christ and work together to come together as the one family of Christ. Let’s begin living the message of Jesus Christ in our actions, thoughts, words and deeds. Let us be completely faithful to Almighty God and Jesus Christ proclaim loudly, “HOSANNA, HOSANNA, TO THE SON OF DAVID, HOSANNA! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST! AMEN
Friday, March 6, 2009
Here I Am Lord
A Reflection for the Second Sunday of Lent 2009
Genesis 22:1-2,9-13,15-18, Psalm 115:10,15-19,Romans 8:31-34, Mark 9:2-10
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
A Ministry of the Refpormed Catholic Church International of N. E.
www.missionstsergius.org
“God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he called. ‘Here I am’ he replied.” so begins the first reading for the Second Sunday of Lent. The reading tells the story of God testing Abraham’s faith and loyalty by asking him to sacrifice his only child. When Abraham is about to offer his son Isaac and angel of the Lord stopped him with these words; “But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he said. ‘I am here’ he replied. ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son”
Exactly what should we learn from this reading? We should learn that God sometimes tests us by asking us to accept things or to do something that we normally would never think of doing. God asks us to bear burdens that are unpleasant or difficult in order to test us in our love and faith of God. Another important lesson we can learn is that if we accept these trials and burdens God will reward us just as he did Abraham with these words; “because you have not refused me your son, your only son, I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.”
The second reading for this Sunday strengthens and confirms what I believe we can gain from the readings with the following words; “With God on our side who can be against us? Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can give. Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.”
“With God on our side who can be against us?” What comforting words and ones we need to hold securely in our hearts. If we seek God and love God and accept the burdens he gives us without complaint God will be there to sustain us and to lift us up. We need to remember that God will never ask us to carry a burden that we are unable to carry or that He will not remove when it begins to bee more than we can carry. The secret is that we need to place our trust in God and accept the challenge or burden as Abraham did. Christ was the ultimate sacrifice which was offered to God on our behalf. Christ suffered like no one else has ever sacrificed first by being rejected just as many who love God are rejected because they are divorced or their sexual orientation. Christ was then abused just as many children and others who may have physical or mental shortcomings or whose guardians or those who should protect them failed in their responsibility and demeaned them for their own personal pleasures or gain.
Christ then was humiliated and beaten and disgraced by the governmental and religious leaders because what He preached was not in the best interests of the powers in control but in the best interests all people especially the poor, sick, aged and marginalized.
Does any of this sound like what is happening now? How are we responding? Are we willing to do what is necessary even though it will be difficult or against the fashionable views of even our family, friends and neighbors?
The bottom line we should be following to assure our place in eternity is the great commandment Christ gave us; “Love the Lord, your God, with your whole being and love your neighbor as you love yourself” God proclaimed His instructions to us concerning Christ’s message after Christ was transfigured on the mountain as related in the Gospel for this Sunday; “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.”. During these weeks of lent as we are called to prepare and cleanse ourselves of our negative actions that are not in the best interests of all God’s children and try to live our daily life more in keeping with the teachings of Christ let us examine how many times we have responded to God’s call to us with these words; HERE I AM LORD !
I close with this prayer; Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my mind. Give me a right faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity, so that I may always and in all ways and things act according to Your Holy Will. Amen.
A Reflection for the Second Sunday of Lent 2009
Genesis 22:1-2,9-13,15-18, Psalm 115:10,15-19,Romans 8:31-34, Mark 9:2-10
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
A Ministry of the Refpormed Catholic Church International of N. E.
www.missionstsergius.org
“God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he called. ‘Here I am’ he replied.” so begins the first reading for the Second Sunday of Lent. The reading tells the story of God testing Abraham’s faith and loyalty by asking him to sacrifice his only child. When Abraham is about to offer his son Isaac and angel of the Lord stopped him with these words; “But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he said. ‘I am here’ he replied. ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son”
Exactly what should we learn from this reading? We should learn that God sometimes tests us by asking us to accept things or to do something that we normally would never think of doing. God asks us to bear burdens that are unpleasant or difficult in order to test us in our love and faith of God. Another important lesson we can learn is that if we accept these trials and burdens God will reward us just as he did Abraham with these words; “because you have not refused me your son, your only son, I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the gates of their enemies. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.”
The second reading for this Sunday strengthens and confirms what I believe we can gain from the readings with the following words; “With God on our side who can be against us? Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can give. Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.”
“With God on our side who can be against us?” What comforting words and ones we need to hold securely in our hearts. If we seek God and love God and accept the burdens he gives us without complaint God will be there to sustain us and to lift us up. We need to remember that God will never ask us to carry a burden that we are unable to carry or that He will not remove when it begins to bee more than we can carry. The secret is that we need to place our trust in God and accept the challenge or burden as Abraham did. Christ was the ultimate sacrifice which was offered to God on our behalf. Christ suffered like no one else has ever sacrificed first by being rejected just as many who love God are rejected because they are divorced or their sexual orientation. Christ was then abused just as many children and others who may have physical or mental shortcomings or whose guardians or those who should protect them failed in their responsibility and demeaned them for their own personal pleasures or gain.
Christ then was humiliated and beaten and disgraced by the governmental and religious leaders because what He preached was not in the best interests of the powers in control but in the best interests all people especially the poor, sick, aged and marginalized.
Does any of this sound like what is happening now? How are we responding? Are we willing to do what is necessary even though it will be difficult or against the fashionable views of even our family, friends and neighbors?
The bottom line we should be following to assure our place in eternity is the great commandment Christ gave us; “Love the Lord, your God, with your whole being and love your neighbor as you love yourself” God proclaimed His instructions to us concerning Christ’s message after Christ was transfigured on the mountain as related in the Gospel for this Sunday; “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.”. During these weeks of lent as we are called to prepare and cleanse ourselves of our negative actions that are not in the best interests of all God’s children and try to live our daily life more in keeping with the teachings of Christ let us examine how many times we have responded to God’s call to us with these words; HERE I AM LORD !
I close with this prayer; Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my mind. Give me a right faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity, so that I may always and in all ways and things act according to Your Holy Will. Amen.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Promise From God in the Rainbow
God’s Promise in the Rainbow
A Reflection for the First Sunday of Lent 2009
Based on the readings from: Genesis 9:8-16, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:12-15
The first reading for the first Sunday in Lent is from the book of Genesis and tells of God’s promise to Noah and his sons after the great flood. It begins with these words; “Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Since we trust in God we can know that the end of the world will not be from floods. It is the next portions of the reading I find more significant for those who have chosen a rainbow for their symbol. The Rainbow Nation because it symbolized the diversity of ethnic groups that make up the world. The GLBT community because it symbolizes the diversity of God’s children in regards to sexual orientation. I believe that we should be encouraged by God‘s promise . “ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between you and I and all living creatures of every kind. …. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."(Genesis 9:8-15)
Whenever we see the rainbow symbol we need to remember that God created every living thing on the face of the earth and has made a covenant with all living things. Since God creates people with their sexual orientation we should never discriminate against them for it but recall that God must have had his reasons for creating people this way and therefore we should never be so bold as to question God’s purpose for then we give ourselves over to the will of Satan because that is exactly how he was cast out of God’s presence. Satan felt he could challenge God and be as great as God. Ever since he was tossed out of Heaven he has attempted to tempt every human creature God has created from Adam and Eve to even Jesus Christ.
The Gospel reading from Mark 1:12-15 tell how Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert for the forty days Christ spent there in preparation for his public ministry. It is used to remind us that Satan will not discriminate against any one even the Son of God. In fact, the closer one try to be to God the more and greater the temptations Satan will use to turn us away. I mean, if Satan thought he might have a chance to convince Christ to abandon his ministry what makes us think he would ever leave us alone.
The Gospel story ends with these words; “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
“THE GOOD NEWS” exactly what was the good news? It was that Almighty God is a merciful, forgiving, and infinitely loving God and we can achieve the promise of eternal life by living as Christ taught us with these words; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' (Luke 10:27) The reading from 2 Peter 3:18-22 reminds us of What Christ’s mission was “Christ died for sins once and for all, for the righteous and for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." God wants us to come to Him, God loves ALL His children. “Christ was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the Ark only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes the water of baptism that now saves you now. You were saved in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”
Lent is the time when we are called to take stock of our selves in regards to our relationship with God and how well we are following the teachings Christ gave us on how to live. Every time we see a rainbow we should recal that we are called by God to live our lives in a manner that hurts no one and exudes our love of God to all we encounter. We need to recognize and applaud God’s diversity and know His love has no boundaries and is given freely to all who seek it with purity of heart.
God will never break His promise neither should we break our promise made in the waters of our Baptism. At the end of every storm there is a rainbow to remind us of God’s love for us. AMEN
A Reflection for the First Sunday of Lent 2009
Based on the readings from: Genesis 9:8-16, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:12-15
The first reading for the first Sunday in Lent is from the book of Genesis and tells of God’s promise to Noah and his sons after the great flood. It begins with these words; “Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Since we trust in God we can know that the end of the world will not be from floods. It is the next portions of the reading I find more significant for those who have chosen a rainbow for their symbol. The Rainbow Nation because it symbolized the diversity of ethnic groups that make up the world. The GLBT community because it symbolizes the diversity of God’s children in regards to sexual orientation. I believe that we should be encouraged by God‘s promise . “ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between you and I and all living creatures of every kind. …. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."(Genesis 9:8-15)
Whenever we see the rainbow symbol we need to remember that God created every living thing on the face of the earth and has made a covenant with all living things. Since God creates people with their sexual orientation we should never discriminate against them for it but recall that God must have had his reasons for creating people this way and therefore we should never be so bold as to question God’s purpose for then we give ourselves over to the will of Satan because that is exactly how he was cast out of God’s presence. Satan felt he could challenge God and be as great as God. Ever since he was tossed out of Heaven he has attempted to tempt every human creature God has created from Adam and Eve to even Jesus Christ.
The Gospel reading from Mark 1:12-15 tell how Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert for the forty days Christ spent there in preparation for his public ministry. It is used to remind us that Satan will not discriminate against any one even the Son of God. In fact, the closer one try to be to God the more and greater the temptations Satan will use to turn us away. I mean, if Satan thought he might have a chance to convince Christ to abandon his ministry what makes us think he would ever leave us alone.
The Gospel story ends with these words; “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
“THE GOOD NEWS” exactly what was the good news? It was that Almighty God is a merciful, forgiving, and infinitely loving God and we can achieve the promise of eternal life by living as Christ taught us with these words; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' (Luke 10:27) The reading from 2 Peter 3:18-22 reminds us of What Christ’s mission was “Christ died for sins once and for all, for the righteous and for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." God wants us to come to Him, God loves ALL His children. “Christ was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the Ark only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes the water of baptism that now saves you now. You were saved in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”
Lent is the time when we are called to take stock of our selves in regards to our relationship with God and how well we are following the teachings Christ gave us on how to live. Every time we see a rainbow we should recal that we are called by God to live our lives in a manner that hurts no one and exudes our love of God to all we encounter. We need to recognize and applaud God’s diversity and know His love has no boundaries and is given freely to all who seek it with purity of heart.
God will never break His promise neither should we break our promise made in the waters of our Baptism. At the end of every storm there is a rainbow to remind us of God’s love for us. AMEN
Friday, February 20, 2009
God's Infinite Love Will Conquer All
Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time Reflection 2009
God’s Love will Conquer Sin
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD of Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus
Franciscans of Divine Mercy of Reformed Catholic Church International N.E.
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
"Forget the things that happened in the past. Do not keep on thinking about them. I am about to do something new…. I am going to make a way for you to go through the desert. (Our daily struggle here on earth) I will make streams of water in the dry and empty land. … I provide water in the desert (the waters of Baptism and the water that is mingles with the wine in the Eucharist) for my people to drink. I do it for the people I made for myself. I want them to sing praise to me. (God wants us to be joyful and to rejoice and be glad for all that God does for us) …you have not prayed to me as you should or even begun to get tired while doing it. You have not brought offerings. You have not honored me with your sacrifices…I am not requiring you to burn incense….Instead, you have loaded me down with your sins. You have made me tired with the wrong things you have done. "I am the one who wipes out your lawless acts. I do it because of who I am. I will not remember your sins anymore. (Isaiah 43:18-25b)
With these words the lesson for this last Sunday before Lent, which begins on Wednesday, we are led onto that wondrous new path that Christ opened in the desert of life with his wiliness to become the perfect sacrifice to God for the forgiveness of our human frailty and sinfulness. God not only forgives us but, as we learned in Isaiah, Forgets forever. The Psalm for this Sunday is another reminder of how God lifts us up, protects, and saves us. “God lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand…. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. (This is what we are called to do.) Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” Today’s false gods are Power, Fortune, Fame, Personal gratification at the expense of others. The servants of the false gods, Discrimination, War, Genocide, Perversion, Hatred, Greed, Dishonesty and Lust always accompany the false gods.
Psalm 40:2-14 reminds us of all that God does for us with these words; “Many are the wonders you have done for us. The things you planned for us are without number; were I to speak of them, they would be too many to declare. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, … and sin offerings you did not require.”
God would love to hear these following words of Paul’s from 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 emanating from our lips; “Here I am, I have come—I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. I do not conceal your love and your truth from your people. Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me….my sins are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me."
Paul gives us the reasons why also; “It is ‘through Christ’ that we answer “Amen” to the praise of God. Remember it is God himself who assures us all of our standing in Christ, and has anointed us, marking us with his seal and giving us the pledge, the Spirit, that we carry in our hearts.” To quote the final words from the Gospel reading of the events surrounding Christ healing the paralytic; “ they were all astounded and praised God saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this." (Mark 2:1-12), We also will never see anything like what is possible when we have complete trust in God. We need to be mindful that God’s love for us is stronger than any adversity and God will never give us an adversity we cannot overcome if we believe and turn to God. God will do, not just what we desire, but, what is better for us than anything we could ever ask for. God knows we are prone to be sinners since His perfect creation Adam and Eve disobeyed him after giving in to the temptations of Satan. Their punishment is our imperfection and we need to make it our life’s goal to attempt to live our lives with LOVE, Complete LOVE of God, ourselves as God created our neighbors and us. As Lent begins on Wednesday, let’s try to spend the Lenten season taking stock of how we need to improve our relationship with God. Let’s offer God our thanks and praise by making the changes we need to make in order to become better followers Almighty God. Let others be able to identify us as God’s children by our actions as we live our daily lives and not by what words our lips may say. Let our actions speak louder than our words and be examples of Compassion, forgiveness and love like that God has for us. AMEN
God’s Love will Conquer Sin
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD of Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus
Franciscans of Divine Mercy of Reformed Catholic Church International N.E.
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
"Forget the things that happened in the past. Do not keep on thinking about them. I am about to do something new…. I am going to make a way for you to go through the desert. (Our daily struggle here on earth) I will make streams of water in the dry and empty land. … I provide water in the desert (the waters of Baptism and the water that is mingles with the wine in the Eucharist) for my people to drink. I do it for the people I made for myself. I want them to sing praise to me. (God wants us to be joyful and to rejoice and be glad for all that God does for us) …you have not prayed to me as you should or even begun to get tired while doing it. You have not brought offerings. You have not honored me with your sacrifices…I am not requiring you to burn incense….Instead, you have loaded me down with your sins. You have made me tired with the wrong things you have done. "I am the one who wipes out your lawless acts. I do it because of who I am. I will not remember your sins anymore. (Isaiah 43:18-25b)
With these words the lesson for this last Sunday before Lent, which begins on Wednesday, we are led onto that wondrous new path that Christ opened in the desert of life with his wiliness to become the perfect sacrifice to God for the forgiveness of our human frailty and sinfulness. God not only forgives us but, as we learned in Isaiah, Forgets forever. The Psalm for this Sunday is another reminder of how God lifts us up, protects, and saves us. “God lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand…. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. (This is what we are called to do.) Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” Today’s false gods are Power, Fortune, Fame, Personal gratification at the expense of others. The servants of the false gods, Discrimination, War, Genocide, Perversion, Hatred, Greed, Dishonesty and Lust always accompany the false gods.
Psalm 40:2-14 reminds us of all that God does for us with these words; “Many are the wonders you have done for us. The things you planned for us are without number; were I to speak of them, they would be too many to declare. Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, … and sin offerings you did not require.”
God would love to hear these following words of Paul’s from 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 emanating from our lips; “Here I am, I have come—I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. I do not conceal your love and your truth from your people. Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me….my sins are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased, O LORD, to save me; O LORD, come quickly to help me."
Paul gives us the reasons why also; “It is ‘through Christ’ that we answer “Amen” to the praise of God. Remember it is God himself who assures us all of our standing in Christ, and has anointed us, marking us with his seal and giving us the pledge, the Spirit, that we carry in our hearts.” To quote the final words from the Gospel reading of the events surrounding Christ healing the paralytic; “ they were all astounded and praised God saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this." (Mark 2:1-12), We also will never see anything like what is possible when we have complete trust in God. We need to be mindful that God’s love for us is stronger than any adversity and God will never give us an adversity we cannot overcome if we believe and turn to God. God will do, not just what we desire, but, what is better for us than anything we could ever ask for. God knows we are prone to be sinners since His perfect creation Adam and Eve disobeyed him after giving in to the temptations of Satan. Their punishment is our imperfection and we need to make it our life’s goal to attempt to live our lives with LOVE, Complete LOVE of God, ourselves as God created our neighbors and us. As Lent begins on Wednesday, let’s try to spend the Lenten season taking stock of how we need to improve our relationship with God. Let’s offer God our thanks and praise by making the changes we need to make in order to become better followers Almighty God. Let others be able to identify us as God’s children by our actions as we live our daily lives and not by what words our lips may say. Let our actions speak louder than our words and be examples of Compassion, forgiveness and love like that God has for us. AMEN
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Baptism of Christ Reflection
Baptism of Christ Reflection
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Merry
www.missionstsergius.org
The readings for the feast celebrating the Baptism of Christ are such wonderful reminders of the truth of God’s teachings and His everlasting Love and mercy for ALL God’s children. In Acts 10: 34-38 we read the following; “Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘The truth I have now come to realize’ he said ‘is that God does not have favorites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.” This reading is an affirmation that God never discriminates or rejects anyone who loves Him and comes to Him seeking forgiveness, comfort and peace. As followers of Jesus Christ and professed children of God we should never refuse any one the opportunity to partake of the sacraments of to pray to God or participate in liturgical services for any reason. Christ never turned anyone away who came to him in faith.
In the Gospel of Mark 1: 7-11 we read these words concerning exactly who Christ was; “No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.” Since Christ is the chosen son of God and He came to bring God’s truth to us and to save us we need to look to His teachings as the way we should be living our lives. The Beatitudes direct us in the way to live by instructing us to be generous, caring, compassionate, forgiving and instruct us to care for the sick, aged, and poor. We need to treat all people with justice and equality not just some chosen few who fit our idea of acceptable because they conform to our social, economic, racial or sexual orientation.
In First John 5: 1-9 we read the following words of truth; “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten by God; and whoever loves the Father that begot him loves the child whom he begets.We can be sure that we love God’s children if we love God himself and do what he has commanded us; this is what loving God is – keeping his commandments; and his commandments are not difficult, because anyone who has been begotten by God has already overcome the world; this is the victory over the world –our faith.”
The greatest commandments according Christ are the following; “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another". (John 13:34) and “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ Christ said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with your entire mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Nothing could be clearer, plainer or easier for us to understand yet we seem to want to add a lot of strings making it very difficult for people to express their love of God. We set all kinds or barriers and restriction up that often cause people to feel that God does not want them. Love is simple and easy to accomplish if we only allow ourselves to be open to it. As Paul Says in First Corinthians twelve; “If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends”.
God is LOVE as First John four verse sixteen says; “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him”
Christ is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of the Old Testament that proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. In Isaiah 42:6-7 it is foretold; “Faithfully he brings true justice; he will neither waver, nor be crushed until true justice is established on earth, for the islands are awaiting his law. I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right; I have taken you by the hand and formed you; I have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison, and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.”
Christ fulfilled all of these prophecies, He healed the sick and the lame, restored the dead to life, opened the eyes of the blind and freed all of us from the captivity of the prison of sin through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead which gave us the forgiveness of sin.
As followers of Christ we need more than ever to diligently begin to LOVE one another as Christ and God loves us and reach out to others with expressions of friendship and peace instead of rejection and discrimination. We need to extend our hands in friendship instead of missals of destruction. We need to be charitable to those in needs and compassionate to those in pain. We need to be patient, kind, and put aside our petty jealousies, arrogance and greed and become a living expression of God, LOVE. AMEN
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Merry
www.missionstsergius.org
The readings for the feast celebrating the Baptism of Christ are such wonderful reminders of the truth of God’s teachings and His everlasting Love and mercy for ALL God’s children. In Acts 10: 34-38 we read the following; “Peter addressed Cornelius and his household: ‘The truth I have now come to realize’ he said ‘is that God does not have favorites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him.” This reading is an affirmation that God never discriminates or rejects anyone who loves Him and comes to Him seeking forgiveness, comfort and peace. As followers of Jesus Christ and professed children of God we should never refuse any one the opportunity to partake of the sacraments of to pray to God or participate in liturgical services for any reason. Christ never turned anyone away who came to him in faith.
In the Gospel of Mark 1: 7-11 we read these words concerning exactly who Christ was; “No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.” Since Christ is the chosen son of God and He came to bring God’s truth to us and to save us we need to look to His teachings as the way we should be living our lives. The Beatitudes direct us in the way to live by instructing us to be generous, caring, compassionate, forgiving and instruct us to care for the sick, aged, and poor. We need to treat all people with justice and equality not just some chosen few who fit our idea of acceptable because they conform to our social, economic, racial or sexual orientation.
In First John 5: 1-9 we read the following words of truth; “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten by God; and whoever loves the Father that begot him loves the child whom he begets.We can be sure that we love God’s children if we love God himself and do what he has commanded us; this is what loving God is – keeping his commandments; and his commandments are not difficult, because anyone who has been begotten by God has already overcome the world; this is the victory over the world –our faith.”
The greatest commandments according Christ are the following; “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another". (John 13:34) and “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ Christ said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with your entire mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Nothing could be clearer, plainer or easier for us to understand yet we seem to want to add a lot of strings making it very difficult for people to express their love of God. We set all kinds or barriers and restriction up that often cause people to feel that God does not want them. Love is simple and easy to accomplish if we only allow ourselves to be open to it. As Paul Says in First Corinthians twelve; “If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends”.
God is LOVE as First John four verse sixteen says; “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him”
Christ is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of the Old Testament that proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. In Isaiah 42:6-7 it is foretold; “Faithfully he brings true justice; he will neither waver, nor be crushed until true justice is established on earth, for the islands are awaiting his law. I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right; I have taken you by the hand and formed you; I have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison, and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.”
Christ fulfilled all of these prophecies, He healed the sick and the lame, restored the dead to life, opened the eyes of the blind and freed all of us from the captivity of the prison of sin through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead which gave us the forgiveness of sin.
As followers of Christ we need more than ever to diligently begin to LOVE one another as Christ and God loves us and reach out to others with expressions of friendship and peace instead of rejection and discrimination. We need to extend our hands in friendship instead of missals of destruction. We need to be charitable to those in needs and compassionate to those in pain. We need to be patient, kind, and put aside our petty jealousies, arrogance and greed and become a living expression of God, LOVE. AMEN
Friday, September 5, 2008
Loving is Caring for ALL
A Reflection for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsaergius.org
“Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbor as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbor; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments”. (Romans 13:8 – 10)
There are two passages from the Readings for this Sunday that should guide us in how, we who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, should be judging people and making our choices about who we associate with, not only to those we meet and encounter each and every day of our life, but those who we elect into government positions where they will have the power and opportunity to make necessary changes that would help those who most need help.
In Romans 13:8-10 Paul exhorts us to refrain from getting into debt which most of us are unable to live by because of the exorbitant cost of everyday needs which can be directly connected to a couple of factors that our governing leaders could control.
One reason is the trillions of dollars spent in fighting a war against a country that did not attack us instead of putting our military might seeking the people responsible who did. This war has drained our economy and the social programs that could help the poor, disabled and aged to maintain a constant quality of live they experienced ten years ago, provide quality affordable health care for all our citizens from birth to death. Guaranteed affordable quality education to every child and guaranteed College education to those who desired it.
Over 4000 families who have lost sons, daughters, Mothers and Fathers waging this war and the resulting damage has been tremendous financial strain for years to come to all of them. Thos who returned physically or mentally disabled have received minimal assistance especially those suffering from PTSD from the trauma of the war and the horrors they experienced. Another causality of the deficit has been educational support to our returning veterans and affordable college educations for the poor and middle income families.
Another source of our fiscal difficulties and resulting debt every family, except those whose income is over $250,000 a year are the exorbitant profits some corporation have extracted and Golden Parachutes that some companies CEO’s have received due to higher than necessary prices charged for everyday necessities like Gas for transportation, fuel to heat homes and run factories that create the goods we need.
The failure of our Government leaders has resulted in high unemployment because of jobs going to countries that pay lower wages just so the corporations can achieve higher profits at the expense of the workers in this country. THIS IS NOT SHOWING LOVE FOR OUR FELLOW CITIZENS BECAUSE THESE THINGS HAVE HURT THE MAJORITY SEVERELY.
We also need to evaluate those who claim to be leaders of faith communities. Any faith community that turns a child of God away because of race, marital status or sexual orientation is not living the example Christ gave us. Jesus neither rejected nor turned away anyone who came to Him. He welcomed those that Jewish laws forbid Jews to mingle with. He lived by extending a welcome and showing love to ALL.
The Gospel for Sunday tells us that “, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven” yet we find ourselves constantly separating ourselves because of petty and self-serving desires that have little or nothing to do with Christ’s teachings and way of life. Just imagine if all the Christian denominations who claim to be followers of Christ were to join together with one common goal, to make this world a better place for ALL God’s children and not just the select few how much better everyone of earth would be. If Christ is with us as He tells us in the Gospel “For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.” (Matthew 18:15 – 20) there is now power or force that could overcome us. The time is NOW for us to gather together as ONE VOICE, ONE CHURCH, ONE BROTHERHOOD IN CHRIST to bring about a time of BROTHERHOOD AND TRUE LOVE that cannot hurt your neighbor. AMEN
A Reflection for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsaergius.org
“Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbor as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbor; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments”. (Romans 13:8 – 10)
There are two passages from the Readings for this Sunday that should guide us in how, we who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, should be judging people and making our choices about who we associate with, not only to those we meet and encounter each and every day of our life, but those who we elect into government positions where they will have the power and opportunity to make necessary changes that would help those who most need help.
In Romans 13:8-10 Paul exhorts us to refrain from getting into debt which most of us are unable to live by because of the exorbitant cost of everyday needs which can be directly connected to a couple of factors that our governing leaders could control.
One reason is the trillions of dollars spent in fighting a war against a country that did not attack us instead of putting our military might seeking the people responsible who did. This war has drained our economy and the social programs that could help the poor, disabled and aged to maintain a constant quality of live they experienced ten years ago, provide quality affordable health care for all our citizens from birth to death. Guaranteed affordable quality education to every child and guaranteed College education to those who desired it.
Over 4000 families who have lost sons, daughters, Mothers and Fathers waging this war and the resulting damage has been tremendous financial strain for years to come to all of them. Thos who returned physically or mentally disabled have received minimal assistance especially those suffering from PTSD from the trauma of the war and the horrors they experienced. Another causality of the deficit has been educational support to our returning veterans and affordable college educations for the poor and middle income families.
Another source of our fiscal difficulties and resulting debt every family, except those whose income is over $250,000 a year are the exorbitant profits some corporation have extracted and Golden Parachutes that some companies CEO’s have received due to higher than necessary prices charged for everyday necessities like Gas for transportation, fuel to heat homes and run factories that create the goods we need.
The failure of our Government leaders has resulted in high unemployment because of jobs going to countries that pay lower wages just so the corporations can achieve higher profits at the expense of the workers in this country. THIS IS NOT SHOWING LOVE FOR OUR FELLOW CITIZENS BECAUSE THESE THINGS HAVE HURT THE MAJORITY SEVERELY.
We also need to evaluate those who claim to be leaders of faith communities. Any faith community that turns a child of God away because of race, marital status or sexual orientation is not living the example Christ gave us. Jesus neither rejected nor turned away anyone who came to Him. He welcomed those that Jewish laws forbid Jews to mingle with. He lived by extending a welcome and showing love to ALL.
The Gospel for Sunday tells us that “, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven” yet we find ourselves constantly separating ourselves because of petty and self-serving desires that have little or nothing to do with Christ’s teachings and way of life. Just imagine if all the Christian denominations who claim to be followers of Christ were to join together with one common goal, to make this world a better place for ALL God’s children and not just the select few how much better everyone of earth would be. If Christ is with us as He tells us in the Gospel “For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.” (Matthew 18:15 – 20) there is now power or force that could overcome us. The time is NOW for us to gather together as ONE VOICE, ONE CHURCH, ONE BROTHERHOOD IN CHRIST to bring about a time of BROTHERHOOD AND TRUE LOVE that cannot hurt your neighbor. AMEN
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Do You Reflect Christ’s Love?
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
When you look in your spiritual mirror what do you see? Is the reflection cast back at you sharp and clear or are there streaks or dirty spots on the mirror?
Can you see the infinite and everlasting mercy and love of Christ being reflected back at you?
If there are streaks or spots on your reflection ask yourself what is it in me that is causing those distortions. Possibly they are there because you are not totally accepting yourself as God’s child. They could be caused because you spend too much time thinking about yourself and your needs instead of finding out how you can reach out to help others less fortunate than you.
One thing that can cause dark shadows and streaks on your mirror reflection is the distance you put between you and Almighty God. You believe in God and turn to Him when in need of a special intention such as healing or a job, but do you take time every day to communicate with him as you would with your best friend and give thanks for all he has given you?
Sometimes, just possibly, when you look in the mirror you do not recognize the person staring back at you. You need to ask why.
There is of course those times when you can see another figure behind you who seems to be calling to you. That reflection can either be the dark, frighteening and foreboding presence of Satan who is trying to entice you to reject God and live for pleasure, fame and fortune, or it might be a beautiful luminescent image that seems to glow from within which is the reflection of God, the Holy Spirit or your gaurdian Angel whispering to you to follow the path of rightousness.
Take a good look at yourself in that mirror, do you reflect the infinite love and mercy of Jesus Christ to yourself and to all you encounter on your life journey ? Do you live your live in a way that would prompt God to praise you as “My good and faithful servant”? If so your image is crystal clear and exactly what you want to envision when you look in your spiritual mirror. What you see in that mirror is how others see you and react towards you. If you live your life always striving to be kind, generous, thoughtful, forgiving, and not discriminatory of any individual, even those with whom you disagree, you are well on the way to seeing Christ in your reflection and others will see that in you.
If, however, you discriminate because God created someone with a same sex orientation, or someone has been divorced, or worse yet, that an individual is not of the same nationality, race or religious denomination as you, then your reflection is going to be full of blotches, stains and streaks and your image in the mirror needs to be cleaned up.
Jesus Christ did not reject anyone, he called and welcomed all to himself, even those who were sinners so that he could forgive them and encourage them to “Go and Sin No More” He sat at table with all political and religious persons, rejecting no one, teaching them how to attain salvation. Christ endured suffering and even death on the cross in order to free us from the burden of sin and open the gates of heaven to all. His example should have told us that to live as He instructed would not be easy and that we might be ridiculed and rejected and even have to suffer in order to be truthful and live according to God’s will.
Christ and His Almighty Father have even given us a source of strength in the gifts bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit; Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.
The secret here is, we have to seek them out and ask God to bestow them upon you.
In closing I would like to share a prayer that I say every day.
Prayer for God’s Infinite Love
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD, March 24th 2006
Almighty and merciful God, open my mind, my heart, and my soul to your infinite love. Instill within me the knowledge of your truth. Guide me in your ways in all the things I do so that I may be unto others a reflection of your love towards them. Allow the light of your truth to flow through me, towards them, in order that they may come to know you better.
I pray that all those with whom I come in contact with, each and every day, may be brought into a closer union with you and enjoy the promise of Your salvation earned through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, in His passion, death, resurrection and ascension.
I humbly ask this in the name of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever unto the ages of ages. AMEN
May your spiritual reflection be crystal clear and bright and may Almighty God give you the fortitude to improve your reflection so that in it you and others see God clearly. AMEN
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
When you look in your spiritual mirror what do you see? Is the reflection cast back at you sharp and clear or are there streaks or dirty spots on the mirror?
Can you see the infinite and everlasting mercy and love of Christ being reflected back at you?
If there are streaks or spots on your reflection ask yourself what is it in me that is causing those distortions. Possibly they are there because you are not totally accepting yourself as God’s child. They could be caused because you spend too much time thinking about yourself and your needs instead of finding out how you can reach out to help others less fortunate than you.
One thing that can cause dark shadows and streaks on your mirror reflection is the distance you put between you and Almighty God. You believe in God and turn to Him when in need of a special intention such as healing or a job, but do you take time every day to communicate with him as you would with your best friend and give thanks for all he has given you?
Sometimes, just possibly, when you look in the mirror you do not recognize the person staring back at you. You need to ask why.
There is of course those times when you can see another figure behind you who seems to be calling to you. That reflection can either be the dark, frighteening and foreboding presence of Satan who is trying to entice you to reject God and live for pleasure, fame and fortune, or it might be a beautiful luminescent image that seems to glow from within which is the reflection of God, the Holy Spirit or your gaurdian Angel whispering to you to follow the path of rightousness.
Take a good look at yourself in that mirror, do you reflect the infinite love and mercy of Jesus Christ to yourself and to all you encounter on your life journey ? Do you live your live in a way that would prompt God to praise you as “My good and faithful servant”? If so your image is crystal clear and exactly what you want to envision when you look in your spiritual mirror. What you see in that mirror is how others see you and react towards you. If you live your life always striving to be kind, generous, thoughtful, forgiving, and not discriminatory of any individual, even those with whom you disagree, you are well on the way to seeing Christ in your reflection and others will see that in you.
If, however, you discriminate because God created someone with a same sex orientation, or someone has been divorced, or worse yet, that an individual is not of the same nationality, race or religious denomination as you, then your reflection is going to be full of blotches, stains and streaks and your image in the mirror needs to be cleaned up.
Jesus Christ did not reject anyone, he called and welcomed all to himself, even those who were sinners so that he could forgive them and encourage them to “Go and Sin No More” He sat at table with all political and religious persons, rejecting no one, teaching them how to attain salvation. Christ endured suffering and even death on the cross in order to free us from the burden of sin and open the gates of heaven to all. His example should have told us that to live as He instructed would not be easy and that we might be ridiculed and rejected and even have to suffer in order to be truthful and live according to God’s will.
Christ and His Almighty Father have even given us a source of strength in the gifts bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit; Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.
The secret here is, we have to seek them out and ask God to bestow them upon you.
In closing I would like to share a prayer that I say every day.
Prayer for God’s Infinite Love
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD, March 24th 2006
Almighty and merciful God, open my mind, my heart, and my soul to your infinite love. Instill within me the knowledge of your truth. Guide me in your ways in all the things I do so that I may be unto others a reflection of your love towards them. Allow the light of your truth to flow through me, towards them, in order that they may come to know you better.
I pray that all those with whom I come in contact with, each and every day, may be brought into a closer union with you and enjoy the promise of Your salvation earned through your beloved son, Jesus Christ, in His passion, death, resurrection and ascension.
I humbly ask this in the name of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever unto the ages of ages. AMEN
May your spiritual reflection be crystal clear and bright and may Almighty God give you the fortitude to improve your reflection so that in it you and others see God clearly. AMEN
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Anniversary Reflection
Anniversary of Ordination Reflection
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.Missionstsergius.org
On the Third anniversary of my ordination as a priest, August 15th, I reflect back on my feelings on the blessed opportunity and great challenge Almighty God has bestowed upon me.
“Your are a priest forever like Melchizedek of Old”, with these words a person goes from being a simple follower of Jesus Christ to an individual whose live is now dedicated completely to the service God and His children here on earth.
As such, you have the awesome responsibility of shepherding all God’s children. You become the hands, feet, mouth, heart and human voice of Almighty God here on earth.
You duty is to give solace and comfort to those in pain and always affirm God’s infinite love, mercy and forgiveness to all His children.
You need to always be uplifting and positive toward all even when you yourself do not feel that well. These responsibilities are to be extended to every child of God that you encounter as you go about your daily life. You need to stop thinking about yourself and focus on the needs of God’s children all over the globe, especially those who feel unwanted and rejected and in need of comfort and affirmation.
In a world that appears to be increasingly more self centered and absorbed in the material things of life and less interested in the needs of others and would rather use violence to settle disputes and differences instead of common sense, it is deeply disturbing and often seems to overwhelm you.
My heart becomes heavy when I see and hear children of God being turned away from participating in a faith community and being denied God’s gift to us, in the Eucharist because they are divorced or have been created by Almighty God with a same sex orientation.
Sadness fills me when I see dedicated men and women being denied the opportunity to serve God because they are married or worse still, just because their gender is female.
I ask myself why a person who is dedicated and has the necessary education and training and believes God is calling them to serve, be refused because of their marital state or sexual orientation. As long as they are willing to live their life in a way that would not bring dishonor to Almighty God they should be welcomed.
It saddens me and has caused much pain and suffering that some called to priesthood and the hierarchy forgot their duty and responsibility to God and failed to live their vows and damaged the trust of many. Good and faithful priests have been hurt by their actions and God’s children have become disillusioned because of what was allowed to happen.
All the titles and wealth of the world cannot raise a person any higher in the eyes of God than being a good and faithful humble servant as a priest.
We need to care for God‘s people as Christ would have cared for them. At times this can become overwhelming especially when you are handicapped by a lack or resources.
So many are hurting and I want to do so much more than I am doing and wonder if I am failing God or if my efforts are being lost because of my limitations.
I find it strange that when God has chosen to communicate with us here on earth either as himself or in the person of our Blessed mother He rarely made himself known to the rich and powerful but choose the poorest of His Children loved Him deeply and who have put their complete faith and trust in Him. St. Francis was a soldier, St. Joan a simple maiden, Juan Diego a peasant Indian, Padre Pio a simple priest, St. Bernadette a simple school girl. None of these were the hierarchy of the church. When they proclaimed what God directed them to do, they were ridiculed, scorned, persecuted and in some cases put to death. One has to wonder why God did not go directly to the hierarchy. Could it be that with their lofty titles and grandiose life styles had lost sight of God’s original intent? Could it be that they chose to use their positions of power to decipher the word of God to suite their own self interests?
I have pondered this often and I believe that this may well be the case.
To have been called by God to be a priest is a tremendous and overwhelming responsibility which I pray daily I am able to live up to. I am sure that God has called me for a special mission at this late stage of my life. I find His choice of me to be surprising and heady, filled with many roadblocks but I willing to accept His call knowing that if it is His will, He would give me the necessary things to do the task.
These past three years have been most humbling. Some of my family and friends and neighbors have rejected me because I do not agree with the rules instituted by the men who rule but in actuality have nothing to do with Christ’s teachings and the early church.
There have also been times that were spiritually uplifting and humbling you receive notes like these; “Thank you for being there in my time of crisis”, “I think the Mission is doing a great job. I wish there were something similar to it here where I live. To me the Catholic Church talks with a forked tongue as the Native Americans say”, “I read your messages and obtain a special insight into the Mass that I attend personally”, “You have more energy and compassion than even I! You give and ask nothing in return. You are indeed a follower of Jesus and Francis.” “Because of your reflections and affirming statement I have gone back to church after many years away”
I am constantly asking Almighty God to inspire me and guide me so that I may only bring honor and Glory to Him. I pray constantly that I can make a difference in the lives of those who come to me and bring them into a closer relationship with Almighty God. That is my only desire and prayer.
I recently said that we have to give ourselves over completely to God, subverting our own personal desires and putting lives in God’s hands. I believe that this is the only way that we can fully serve God. Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane cried out "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Jesus gave himself over totally to God’s will teaching us to accept all God calls us to do even when it is not what you would rather do.
When I was called to be a priest, after so many years of feeling the call, and believing in my heart I was being called and being denied so many times because I had been married, too old or feeling unworthy of the call, I began to think it was not God’s will.
When, at age 71, I received the acceptance into the Franciscans and not just as a deacon which I had been ordained as in 1980, but as a priest. I accepted the call with the full knowledge that my life, as I had lived it and known, was over and I was to begin a new life, whose only purpose was to serve God with complete and total being.
I ask God to constantly lead me to where He wants me to go.
I trust He will provide me the strength, health, wisdom, means and courage to accept all that I need to do.
During this week of my Anniversary I implore each of you to pray for me and the ministry asking God to provide me with the tools necessary to reach out to all those whom this ministry is intended to reach and guide me by the gifts of The Holy Spirit to always know His will and to accept and do His will for as long as He chooses to allow me to be His humble and simple servant. AMEN
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.Missionstsergius.org
On the Third anniversary of my ordination as a priest, August 15th, I reflect back on my feelings on the blessed opportunity and great challenge Almighty God has bestowed upon me.
“Your are a priest forever like Melchizedek of Old”, with these words a person goes from being a simple follower of Jesus Christ to an individual whose live is now dedicated completely to the service God and His children here on earth.
As such, you have the awesome responsibility of shepherding all God’s children. You become the hands, feet, mouth, heart and human voice of Almighty God here on earth.
You duty is to give solace and comfort to those in pain and always affirm God’s infinite love, mercy and forgiveness to all His children.
You need to always be uplifting and positive toward all even when you yourself do not feel that well. These responsibilities are to be extended to every child of God that you encounter as you go about your daily life. You need to stop thinking about yourself and focus on the needs of God’s children all over the globe, especially those who feel unwanted and rejected and in need of comfort and affirmation.
In a world that appears to be increasingly more self centered and absorbed in the material things of life and less interested in the needs of others and would rather use violence to settle disputes and differences instead of common sense, it is deeply disturbing and often seems to overwhelm you.
My heart becomes heavy when I see and hear children of God being turned away from participating in a faith community and being denied God’s gift to us, in the Eucharist because they are divorced or have been created by Almighty God with a same sex orientation.
Sadness fills me when I see dedicated men and women being denied the opportunity to serve God because they are married or worse still, just because their gender is female.
I ask myself why a person who is dedicated and has the necessary education and training and believes God is calling them to serve, be refused because of their marital state or sexual orientation. As long as they are willing to live their life in a way that would not bring dishonor to Almighty God they should be welcomed.
It saddens me and has caused much pain and suffering that some called to priesthood and the hierarchy forgot their duty and responsibility to God and failed to live their vows and damaged the trust of many. Good and faithful priests have been hurt by their actions and God’s children have become disillusioned because of what was allowed to happen.
All the titles and wealth of the world cannot raise a person any higher in the eyes of God than being a good and faithful humble servant as a priest.
We need to care for God‘s people as Christ would have cared for them. At times this can become overwhelming especially when you are handicapped by a lack or resources.
So many are hurting and I want to do so much more than I am doing and wonder if I am failing God or if my efforts are being lost because of my limitations.
I find it strange that when God has chosen to communicate with us here on earth either as himself or in the person of our Blessed mother He rarely made himself known to the rich and powerful but choose the poorest of His Children loved Him deeply and who have put their complete faith and trust in Him. St. Francis was a soldier, St. Joan a simple maiden, Juan Diego a peasant Indian, Padre Pio a simple priest, St. Bernadette a simple school girl. None of these were the hierarchy of the church. When they proclaimed what God directed them to do, they were ridiculed, scorned, persecuted and in some cases put to death. One has to wonder why God did not go directly to the hierarchy. Could it be that with their lofty titles and grandiose life styles had lost sight of God’s original intent? Could it be that they chose to use their positions of power to decipher the word of God to suite their own self interests?
I have pondered this often and I believe that this may well be the case.
To have been called by God to be a priest is a tremendous and overwhelming responsibility which I pray daily I am able to live up to. I am sure that God has called me for a special mission at this late stage of my life. I find His choice of me to be surprising and heady, filled with many roadblocks but I willing to accept His call knowing that if it is His will, He would give me the necessary things to do the task.
These past three years have been most humbling. Some of my family and friends and neighbors have rejected me because I do not agree with the rules instituted by the men who rule but in actuality have nothing to do with Christ’s teachings and the early church.
There have also been times that were spiritually uplifting and humbling you receive notes like these; “Thank you for being there in my time of crisis”, “I think the Mission is doing a great job. I wish there were something similar to it here where I live. To me the Catholic Church talks with a forked tongue as the Native Americans say”, “I read your messages and obtain a special insight into the Mass that I attend personally”, “You have more energy and compassion than even I! You give and ask nothing in return. You are indeed a follower of Jesus and Francis.” “Because of your reflections and affirming statement I have gone back to church after many years away”
I am constantly asking Almighty God to inspire me and guide me so that I may only bring honor and Glory to Him. I pray constantly that I can make a difference in the lives of those who come to me and bring them into a closer relationship with Almighty God. That is my only desire and prayer.
I recently said that we have to give ourselves over completely to God, subverting our own personal desires and putting lives in God’s hands. I believe that this is the only way that we can fully serve God. Even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane cried out "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Jesus gave himself over totally to God’s will teaching us to accept all God calls us to do even when it is not what you would rather do.
When I was called to be a priest, after so many years of feeling the call, and believing in my heart I was being called and being denied so many times because I had been married, too old or feeling unworthy of the call, I began to think it was not God’s will.
When, at age 71, I received the acceptance into the Franciscans and not just as a deacon which I had been ordained as in 1980, but as a priest. I accepted the call with the full knowledge that my life, as I had lived it and known, was over and I was to begin a new life, whose only purpose was to serve God with complete and total being.
I ask God to constantly lead me to where He wants me to go.
I trust He will provide me the strength, health, wisdom, means and courage to accept all that I need to do.
During this week of my Anniversary I implore each of you to pray for me and the ministry asking God to provide me with the tools necessary to reach out to all those whom this ministry is intended to reach and guide me by the gifts of The Holy Spirit to always know His will and to accept and do His will for as long as He chooses to allow me to be His humble and simple servant. AMEN
Thursday, July 17, 2008
A Reflection For Sunday July 20th
What is the Root of All Evil?
A Reflection for Sunday July 20th 2008
By Rev. Fr. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
We often hear the expression “Money is the root of all evil” and sometimes it seems that it is very true.
All we have to do is look at the current situation in the world and more explicitly in the United States and ponder if that is not the case.
In reality the root of all evil is NOT money but man’s DESIRE FOR POWER and symbols of status; greed and the seeking of great wealth to increase one’s status in the eyes of powerful people, or jealousy over losing control over people because of a loss of status in the world of finance is the actual cause of the evil that often occurs. Money is an obvious measure of one’s status, so it’s easy to confuse the two.
The actual statement from which this expression came is; “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” and is found in Timothy, 6:10. Even some Religious denominations have succumbed to this desire for money not for humanitarian use but for status and the symbols of status and power.
This past week we have seen something we have not seen since the depression in 1934, long lines of people rushing a bank to withdraw their savings because the bank had collapsed. We have also seen people loosing their homes due to foreclosure because of the practices of unscrupulous banks whose only goal was to increase their stock value and the dividends to their stockholders and obscene salaries of CEOs.
Because of the actions of the business tycoons and greedy politicians millions of our low income and elderly citizens are suffering significantly, which is most certainly an intrinsic evil.
The reading from the book of Wisdom 12 for this Sunday talks about being kind to your brothers and sisters in Christ, which is every individual on the face of the earth. “You are mild in judgment, you govern us with great lenience, for you have only to will, and your power is there. By acting thus you have taught a lesson to your people how the virtuous man must be kindly to his fellow men” It is sad that our government leaders do not follow this kind of governing.
Kindness, Compassion, Justice, Mercy, and Charity are virtues that often seem to be in short supply in our world today. They have been replaced with the notion that we should live with the concept of “obscene salaries of CEOs”
In August 2004 Andrew Greeley wrote in the Chicago Sun Times; “The most serious spiritual problem in the country today is reckless and untrammeled greed. Greed caused the disgraceful corporate scandals that fill our newspapers. Greed is responsible for crooked cops and crooked politicians. Greed causes the constant efforts to destroy unions that protect basic worker rights. Greed has produced rash tax cuts that have given money to the rich and in effect taken it away from the poor.” Unfortunately things have not changed but only gotten worse. The oil companies continue to earn exorbitant profits which have caused the prices for gasoline and heating oil to almost double in the last year. Coupled with the fact that many of them hold the rights to explore for oil on vast tracts of land in and off shore the US that they are not using. This is an prime example of Greed causing great evil because it is hurting those who can least afford to be hurt, the poor, aged and ill.
In his comments in 2004 Andrew Greeley went on to say; “No one said during the bizarre deification of President Reagan that he taught us that greed is good and that we should feel good about our greedy country. Greed is the reason that the country is being run by the insurance, pharmaceutical, weapons and petroleum industries. Greed causes worldwide sex slavery of women and children.”
This situation has only gotten worse in the last four years.
One of the results of all this is that agencies like food banks, the Salvation Army and churches, our included, that attempt to relieve the suffering of the poor, aged and ill have experienced a great drop is their donations which have resulted in their inability to help all those who need it.
The time is now for every person who claims to be a God fearing follower of Jesus Christ to look deeply within themselves and seek the Holy Spirit’s help is making the changes necessary in ourselves to eliminate this source of evil from our mindset and help us to be more mindful of the needs of others.
Today’s reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans affirms that; "The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. … and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well” from Romans 8:26 - 27
Let us rid ourselves of self indulgence and instead begin to find way to be charitable, compassionate , forgiving and most importantly, True followers of Christ by living as followers of Christ and loving, caring for our neighbor ( every human on the face of the earth) as Christ loved and cared for all He encountered. AMEN
A Reflection for Sunday July 20th 2008
By Rev. Fr. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
We often hear the expression “Money is the root of all evil” and sometimes it seems that it is very true.
All we have to do is look at the current situation in the world and more explicitly in the United States and ponder if that is not the case.
In reality the root of all evil is NOT money but man’s DESIRE FOR POWER and symbols of status; greed and the seeking of great wealth to increase one’s status in the eyes of powerful people, or jealousy over losing control over people because of a loss of status in the world of finance is the actual cause of the evil that often occurs. Money is an obvious measure of one’s status, so it’s easy to confuse the two.
The actual statement from which this expression came is; “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” and is found in Timothy, 6:10. Even some Religious denominations have succumbed to this desire for money not for humanitarian use but for status and the symbols of status and power.
This past week we have seen something we have not seen since the depression in 1934, long lines of people rushing a bank to withdraw their savings because the bank had collapsed. We have also seen people loosing their homes due to foreclosure because of the practices of unscrupulous banks whose only goal was to increase their stock value and the dividends to their stockholders and obscene salaries of CEOs.
Because of the actions of the business tycoons and greedy politicians millions of our low income and elderly citizens are suffering significantly, which is most certainly an intrinsic evil.
The reading from the book of Wisdom 12 for this Sunday talks about being kind to your brothers and sisters in Christ, which is every individual on the face of the earth. “You are mild in judgment, you govern us with great lenience, for you have only to will, and your power is there. By acting thus you have taught a lesson to your people how the virtuous man must be kindly to his fellow men” It is sad that our government leaders do not follow this kind of governing.
Kindness, Compassion, Justice, Mercy, and Charity are virtues that often seem to be in short supply in our world today. They have been replaced with the notion that we should live with the concept of “obscene salaries of CEOs”
In August 2004 Andrew Greeley wrote in the Chicago Sun Times; “The most serious spiritual problem in the country today is reckless and untrammeled greed. Greed caused the disgraceful corporate scandals that fill our newspapers. Greed is responsible for crooked cops and crooked politicians. Greed causes the constant efforts to destroy unions that protect basic worker rights. Greed has produced rash tax cuts that have given money to the rich and in effect taken it away from the poor.” Unfortunately things have not changed but only gotten worse. The oil companies continue to earn exorbitant profits which have caused the prices for gasoline and heating oil to almost double in the last year. Coupled with the fact that many of them hold the rights to explore for oil on vast tracts of land in and off shore the US that they are not using. This is an prime example of Greed causing great evil because it is hurting those who can least afford to be hurt, the poor, aged and ill.
In his comments in 2004 Andrew Greeley went on to say; “No one said during the bizarre deification of President Reagan that he taught us that greed is good and that we should feel good about our greedy country. Greed is the reason that the country is being run by the insurance, pharmaceutical, weapons and petroleum industries. Greed causes worldwide sex slavery of women and children.”
This situation has only gotten worse in the last four years.
One of the results of all this is that agencies like food banks, the Salvation Army and churches, our included, that attempt to relieve the suffering of the poor, aged and ill have experienced a great drop is their donations which have resulted in their inability to help all those who need it.
The time is now for every person who claims to be a God fearing follower of Jesus Christ to look deeply within themselves and seek the Holy Spirit’s help is making the changes necessary in ourselves to eliminate this source of evil from our mindset and help us to be more mindful of the needs of others.
Today’s reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans affirms that; "The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. … and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well” from Romans 8:26 - 27
Let us rid ourselves of self indulgence and instead begin to find way to be charitable, compassionate , forgiving and most importantly, True followers of Christ by living as followers of Christ and loving, caring for our neighbor ( every human on the face of the earth) as Christ loved and cared for all He encountered. AMEN
Thursday, July 10, 2008
July 13th Reflection
Do You Hear God’s Teaching?
A Reflection for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFDMission Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Reformed Catholic Church International
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me. Matthew 13:1 - 23
These words taken from the Gospel for this Sunday may very well describe the condition of our country and to the rest of the world.It would appear that we as people have not learned much since Paul wrote these words in his letter to the Romans 8:18-23 “but creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God. From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.”
Throughout history the children of God have sought to find a place where they were treated with respect and dignity and acknowledged for their inner self and not for their race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, or their wealth. Even in this country that proclaims to be founded on the principal that “ALL PEOPLE ARE CREATED EQUAL” distinctions are made because of a persons wealth, or race, creed, marital situation or sexual orientation.
Paul begins his letter to the Romans “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature ….And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."
If we are meant to please God one might ask how we do that. The answer, as far as I am concerned, is simple. We please God by first of all giving God the thanks and praise that He deserves for all He has provided us with and then we show compassion, respect, equality and charity toward all God children no matter who or where we encounter them.Just as Christ told them many things in parables the word of God is not always clear to us and often given mistaken interpretations in order to meet the popular views of the time in order to maintain wealth and power.
In today’s Gospel we hear the parable of the sower who scattered seed and some fell along the edge of the path, some on rock, some on thorns and some on fertile soil. Only the seeds that fell on fertile soil grew and bore fruit, the rest died for one reason or another. So it is with the Truth of Christ’s teachings.Jesus goes on to say in this Gospel; “Listen, anyone who has ears!…they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled: You will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not perceive. For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me.”
When we are true to the teachings of Christ and adhere to His teachings, giving Love to all God’s children as He gave Love to all He encountered, forgoing the man made rules that have caused division and suffering to so many, then and only then will we be true to Christ teachings and give honor and glory to Almighty God.The family of God need to become a true loving, compassionate, caring, family and look out for the well being of every member of the family, not just the select few who meet our standards.We need to work to end the violence, hunger, homelessness and suffering so many are encountering and find was to lift the sick, poor, and aged up so that they can enjoy some of life’s basic needs.The Gospel reading ends with these words; “Happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path.”
Let us not receive God’s truth as given us by Jesus Christ and then go our way accepting only that which suites us and seek only wealth, power and material and physical pleasure, for when we do we give ourselves over to the temptations of the evil one and are in danger of loosing our heavenly reward.All God’s children are precious to Him and should be to all of us who consider ourselves followers of Christ. AMEN
A Reflection for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFDMission Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Reformed Catholic Church International
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me. Matthew 13:1 - 23
These words taken from the Gospel for this Sunday may very well describe the condition of our country and to the rest of the world.It would appear that we as people have not learned much since Paul wrote these words in his letter to the Romans 8:18-23 “but creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God. From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.”
Throughout history the children of God have sought to find a place where they were treated with respect and dignity and acknowledged for their inner self and not for their race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, or their wealth. Even in this country that proclaims to be founded on the principal that “ALL PEOPLE ARE CREATED EQUAL” distinctions are made because of a persons wealth, or race, creed, marital situation or sexual orientation.
Paul begins his letter to the Romans “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature ….And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."
If we are meant to please God one might ask how we do that. The answer, as far as I am concerned, is simple. We please God by first of all giving God the thanks and praise that He deserves for all He has provided us with and then we show compassion, respect, equality and charity toward all God children no matter who or where we encounter them.Just as Christ told them many things in parables the word of God is not always clear to us and often given mistaken interpretations in order to meet the popular views of the time in order to maintain wealth and power.
In today’s Gospel we hear the parable of the sower who scattered seed and some fell along the edge of the path, some on rock, some on thorns and some on fertile soil. Only the seeds that fell on fertile soil grew and bore fruit, the rest died for one reason or another. So it is with the Truth of Christ’s teachings.Jesus goes on to say in this Gospel; “Listen, anyone who has ears!…they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled: You will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not perceive. For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me.”
When we are true to the teachings of Christ and adhere to His teachings, giving Love to all God’s children as He gave Love to all He encountered, forgoing the man made rules that have caused division and suffering to so many, then and only then will we be true to Christ teachings and give honor and glory to Almighty God.The family of God need to become a true loving, compassionate, caring, family and look out for the well being of every member of the family, not just the select few who meet our standards.We need to work to end the violence, hunger, homelessness and suffering so many are encountering and find was to lift the sick, poor, and aged up so that they can enjoy some of life’s basic needs.The Gospel reading ends with these words; “Happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path.”
Let us not receive God’s truth as given us by Jesus Christ and then go our way accepting only that which suites us and seek only wealth, power and material and physical pleasure, for when we do we give ourselves over to the temptations of the evil one and are in danger of loosing our heavenly reward.All God’s children are precious to Him and should be to all of us who consider ourselves followers of Christ. AMEN
Friday, May 23, 2008
Sunday, May 25th 2008, Reflection
Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time
A Reflection by Rev. Fr. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
“Jesus said, ‘No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money. ‘That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, or about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely, life means more than food, and the body more than clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are we not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith? So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6: 24-34)
The reading for this Sunday is extremely clear and one that seems to have been lost on many who claim to be followers of Christ.
The message I perceive from this reading is that we need to focus our concerns on how well we are doing in acting in a manner that is pleasing to Almighty God.We need to stop worrying about things and place our complete trust in God.
In our current society many people place far more importance on what they will wear, what kind of car they should drive to impress others, and seem to care little for the needs of the poor, sick, elderly and more on their own self interests.
Yes!, we do have to make sure that our families are taken care of and are comfortable but we do not have to have those flat screen TV’s, the latest fashion clothes and houses large enough to accommodate a family of 15.
St. Francis gave up a life of luxury to live simply and to care for the downtrodden, poor , sick and outcasts of his time based on this Gospel passage.
I have been accused of being an extreme liberal because of my concerns for others quality of life. I have had my recent commentary for Memorial day challenged because I spoke of how our country, which was founded on the principal of equality for all, has lost it’s focus.
I am aware that my messages are not popular and often might make people uncomfortable because they are not candy coated but challenge us to live our lives not for the here and now, but for our eternal life with Almighty God.
To do that we have to put into action in our daily lives those qualities that Christ indicated were the way to live.
In today’s Gospel Christ tells us; “Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Recently I, my family, this ministry, Senator Kennedy and many others have been given major challenges which they have no control over like the difficulties caused by the spiraling costs of all things especially illness, gas, food, and health care.
In all these concerns I place my trust in God and that He will bring us trough it according to His plan for us and especially for the needs of this ministry.
I take the position that you worry about the things you have control over and do what you have too improve them and place in God’s hands the things He can control.
Trust in God and He will take care of you just as He cares for the all of His creation as the Gospel today relates. I believe, that if more people would turn to God seeking answers to the chaos the world seems to be in, that God will hear our cry for help and bring about change.
We need to place God first every moment of every day by living according to Christ’s teaching in all the things we do.
In some areas churches are being closed because of a lack of people attending while other churches that cater to selected passages of scripture that appeal to select segments of society and practice discrimination and bigotry because of their race are growing. This is not what Christ taught. Every person on this earth is a child of God and as such needs to be treated with dignity and respect.
Evil needs to be fought and compassion needs to be practiced. If we “LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS CHRIST LOVES US” we cannot do so with hatred or bigotry.
In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul states, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres….And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
If we are to love like Christ loved, we have to care for others, place our hope and trust in God, not seek our own glory and self edification and luxury but show compassion, forgiveness, and generosity and most of all give to God the worship, honor, glory and praise He deserves every day of our earthly life.
We need to make God our master and be a slave to Him. We cannot cater to the tools of Satan; Pride, Wrath, Envy, Greed, Lust, Gluttony, sloth which have been called THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS. Today, these sins are reflected in "environmental pollution, genetic manipulation, obscene wealth, infliction of poverty, drug trafficking, morally debatable experiments, and violation of the fundamental rights of human nature.
We need to practice; Charity, Kindness, Patience, Humility, Temperance, diligence and Chastity, which is using the gift of sex in a loving relationship and not for personal self gratification.
The problems of our world and country can be solved but we need to make God and His rules take first place.
We can start the process by doing that in our own personal life.
May God grant unto us the courage, strength and grace to make the changes necessary. AMEN
A Reflection by Rev. Fr. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
“Jesus said, ‘No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money. ‘That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, or about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely, life means more than food, and the body more than clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are we not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith? So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6: 24-34)
The reading for this Sunday is extremely clear and one that seems to have been lost on many who claim to be followers of Christ.
The message I perceive from this reading is that we need to focus our concerns on how well we are doing in acting in a manner that is pleasing to Almighty God.We need to stop worrying about things and place our complete trust in God.
In our current society many people place far more importance on what they will wear, what kind of car they should drive to impress others, and seem to care little for the needs of the poor, sick, elderly and more on their own self interests.
Yes!, we do have to make sure that our families are taken care of and are comfortable but we do not have to have those flat screen TV’s, the latest fashion clothes and houses large enough to accommodate a family of 15.
St. Francis gave up a life of luxury to live simply and to care for the downtrodden, poor , sick and outcasts of his time based on this Gospel passage.
I have been accused of being an extreme liberal because of my concerns for others quality of life. I have had my recent commentary for Memorial day challenged because I spoke of how our country, which was founded on the principal of equality for all, has lost it’s focus.
I am aware that my messages are not popular and often might make people uncomfortable because they are not candy coated but challenge us to live our lives not for the here and now, but for our eternal life with Almighty God.
To do that we have to put into action in our daily lives those qualities that Christ indicated were the way to live.
In today’s Gospel Christ tells us; “Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Recently I, my family, this ministry, Senator Kennedy and many others have been given major challenges which they have no control over like the difficulties caused by the spiraling costs of all things especially illness, gas, food, and health care.
In all these concerns I place my trust in God and that He will bring us trough it according to His plan for us and especially for the needs of this ministry.
I take the position that you worry about the things you have control over and do what you have too improve them and place in God’s hands the things He can control.
Trust in God and He will take care of you just as He cares for the all of His creation as the Gospel today relates. I believe, that if more people would turn to God seeking answers to the chaos the world seems to be in, that God will hear our cry for help and bring about change.
We need to place God first every moment of every day by living according to Christ’s teaching in all the things we do.
In some areas churches are being closed because of a lack of people attending while other churches that cater to selected passages of scripture that appeal to select segments of society and practice discrimination and bigotry because of their race are growing. This is not what Christ taught. Every person on this earth is a child of God and as such needs to be treated with dignity and respect.
Evil needs to be fought and compassion needs to be practiced. If we “LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS CHRIST LOVES US” we cannot do so with hatred or bigotry.
In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul states, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres….And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
If we are to love like Christ loved, we have to care for others, place our hope and trust in God, not seek our own glory and self edification and luxury but show compassion, forgiveness, and generosity and most of all give to God the worship, honor, glory and praise He deserves every day of our earthly life.
We need to make God our master and be a slave to Him. We cannot cater to the tools of Satan; Pride, Wrath, Envy, Greed, Lust, Gluttony, sloth which have been called THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS. Today, these sins are reflected in "environmental pollution, genetic manipulation, obscene wealth, infliction of poverty, drug trafficking, morally debatable experiments, and violation of the fundamental rights of human nature.
We need to practice; Charity, Kindness, Patience, Humility, Temperance, diligence and Chastity, which is using the gift of sex in a loving relationship and not for personal self gratification.
The problems of our world and country can be solved but we need to make God and His rules take first place.
We can start the process by doing that in our own personal life.
May God grant unto us the courage, strength and grace to make the changes necessary. AMEN
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Be Proud of Being a Christian
A Reflection for Seventh Sunday After Easter
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
The readings today are very powerful and affirming as they instruct us to be proud of being a follower of Christ, A Christian, and infer that when we are punished or ridiculed by others for proclaiming our faith and living out our faith as Jesus instructed, we should realize how much Christ loves us because He allows us to share in His suffering.
“If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you. None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer; but if anyone of you should suffer for being a Christian, then he is not to be ashamed of it; he should thank God that he has been called one.” (1 Peter 4:13 - 16)
Being called a Christian is not an insult, or something to be ashamed of, it is a heavenly honor bestowed upon us by Almighty God and His beloved son, Jesus Christ.
Let us face it, in today’s society many people claim to be Christians, but when you look closely, their actions are diametrically opposite the teachings of Christ. Many discriminate and reject God’s children for reasons that are selfish or based on ignorance. People are refused participation in the worship of God because of their race, nationality, or sexual orientation or divorce. Children are refused Baptism because their parent is a single parent. This is not what Jesus taught.
If we are ashamed to live and act as Christ taught us and showed us by His actions, then we should not claim we are Christian.
If we do not have compassion for the sick, aged, homeless, and poor and reach out to help them, then we cannot claim to be a follower of Christ.
If we do not support and assist in the work of those who try to live the teachings of Christ by giving back some of the gifts God has provided us, we can not claim to be living out the message of Christ.
Being proud to be a Christian means we are not ashamed to say a prayer of thanksgiving to God before eating a meal;, even when that is in a public place.
Being proud and living out a Christian life means to be active in the ministry of Christ and worshiping God by prayer, receiving the Gift of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist, and speaking out against injustice when ever we encounter it.
The Gospel reading from John 17:1 - 21 is the prayer Christ said in the Garden just before being betrayed and handed over to fulfill the plan of our salvation.
“Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; and, through the power over all mankind that you have given him, let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. Moreover, eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ….. I have made your name known to the men you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now at last they know that all you have given me comes indeed from you; for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have truly accepted this, that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me. I pray for them; I am praying for those you have given me, because they belong to you: all I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified… Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.’ While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. ….. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one… Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth… I have sent them into the world… While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. …..I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
This prayer ends with Christ asking God, His Father, to protect from the Evil one all who accept to live as Christians and commissioning us to go out into the world and proclaim God’s will by word and deed.
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
Christ not only gave us The Truth, but He was the Light that showed us the way to the Father and that was is to live out our lives in the same way Christ, St. Francis and Mother Teresa of Calcutta and all those who speak out against injustice, poverty, homelessness, and discrimination have before us.
Being proud of your Christianity is to live your life every day by being Christ centered in prayer, word, action and doing it without fear of being ridiculed for it. AMEN
A Reflection for Seventh Sunday After Easter
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans
The readings today are very powerful and affirming as they instruct us to be proud of being a follower of Christ, A Christian, and infer that when we are punished or ridiculed by others for proclaiming our faith and living out our faith as Jesus instructed, we should realize how much Christ loves us because He allows us to share in His suffering.
“If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you. None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer; but if anyone of you should suffer for being a Christian, then he is not to be ashamed of it; he should thank God that he has been called one.” (1 Peter 4:13 - 16)
Being called a Christian is not an insult, or something to be ashamed of, it is a heavenly honor bestowed upon us by Almighty God and His beloved son, Jesus Christ.
Let us face it, in today’s society many people claim to be Christians, but when you look closely, their actions are diametrically opposite the teachings of Christ. Many discriminate and reject God’s children for reasons that are selfish or based on ignorance. People are refused participation in the worship of God because of their race, nationality, or sexual orientation or divorce. Children are refused Baptism because their parent is a single parent. This is not what Jesus taught.
If we are ashamed to live and act as Christ taught us and showed us by His actions, then we should not claim we are Christian.
If we do not have compassion for the sick, aged, homeless, and poor and reach out to help them, then we cannot claim to be a follower of Christ.
If we do not support and assist in the work of those who try to live the teachings of Christ by giving back some of the gifts God has provided us, we can not claim to be living out the message of Christ.
Being proud to be a Christian means we are not ashamed to say a prayer of thanksgiving to God before eating a meal;, even when that is in a public place.
Being proud and living out a Christian life means to be active in the ministry of Christ and worshiping God by prayer, receiving the Gift of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist, and speaking out against injustice when ever we encounter it.
The Gospel reading from John 17:1 - 21 is the prayer Christ said in the Garden just before being betrayed and handed over to fulfill the plan of our salvation.
“Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; and, through the power over all mankind that you have given him, let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. Moreover, eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ….. I have made your name known to the men you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now at last they know that all you have given me comes indeed from you; for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have truly accepted this, that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me. I pray for them; I am praying for those you have given me, because they belong to you: all I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified… Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.’ While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. ….. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one… Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth… I have sent them into the world… While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. …..I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
This prayer ends with Christ asking God, His Father, to protect from the Evil one all who accept to live as Christians and commissioning us to go out into the world and proclaim God’s will by word and deed.
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
Christ not only gave us The Truth, but He was the Light that showed us the way to the Father and that was is to live out our lives in the same way Christ, St. Francis and Mother Teresa of Calcutta and all those who speak out against injustice, poverty, homelessness, and discrimination have before us.
Being proud of your Christianity is to live your life every day by being Christ centered in prayer, word, action and doing it without fear of being ridiculed for it. AMEN
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Saints Sergius & Bacchus
Patron Saints of Mission
Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD
God's Love Unlimited and Everlassting
