Veni, Sancte Spiritus, Come, Holy Spirit, Come
Reflection for Pentecost Sunday
by Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.missionstsergius.org
based on Acts 2:1-11; Galatians 5:16-25; Psalm 103, John 15:26-27,16:12-15, John 20:19-23

“Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from your celestial home shed a ray of light divine!” with these words the beautiful prayer to the Holy Spirit, VENI, SANCTE SPIRITUS, begins. The feast of Pentecost is also referred too as the Birthday of the church because it celebrates the decent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. After the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in tongues of fire when they spoke people of every race and nationality heard them proclaiming the truth of Jesus teachings in the language of the listeners present. The word of God must be translated carefully preserving the meaning of the original writings at the time they were written and not, as has been done with Holy Scripture and other church documents, into the meaning the words have taken on throughout history. The purpose of having the liturgy of the Eucharist, commonly called Mass, translated into English and other languages under Vatican II from Latin, was to make the liturgy more understanding to all participating, unfortunately the translations failed to meet the original meaning of the Latin and became less than a spiritual experience and more a modernized prayer service and theatrical experience in some cases often loosing reverence. God’s word was not meant for a chosen few but for all . The Apostles were told to preach to all nations even unto the ends of the earth. In order to do this and faithfully proclaim the truth one has to know the meaning of the original Greek and Aramaic words of the first writings.A perfect case in point is the word “homosexual” being found in translations of scripture. The word “Homosexual” was created in 1869 by an Englishman and references where it is used in scripture were not referring to the sexual orientation but to group sex or sexual excesses used as a form of worship to false Gods or for humiliation of a human being which is a grave sin. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells us “No one can say, Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13)It is in this letter that one of the most redeeming passages of scripture can be found. Paul informs us “everyone has different gifts bestowed on them by God through the Holy Spirit.” He goes on to affirm that there are “Different forms of service, but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces them all. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit” “For in one Spirit we were all Baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greek, slave of free person, we were all given to drink of the one Spirit” The Gospel admonishes us to “Live by the Spirit”, it goes further to confirm that the desires of the flesh can cause a breakdown of the graces provided to us. Some of the “Desires of the flesh” Paul mentions, besides the obvious one of indiscriminate sexual pleasure are:, immorality , lust , idolatry ( the worship of false gods which would include placing money or wealth or power above God), hatred, rivalry, jealousy, anger or fury, selfishness, and drunkenness. To elaborate on each of these today and how we might possibly cause ourselves to be separated from the Gifts He freely gives us through the Holy Spirit, would take more time than we have. Hatred, jealousy, rivalry, anger , fury, and selfishness are among those Paul mentions and usually cause more pain and hurt to others than partaking in those that involve sexual pleasure with a loved one. It is some of those “Desires of the Flesh” that have caused the separations that exist within the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church just as giving in to those personal pleasure desires have caused the scandals that has disgraced so many. Each of these “Desires of the Flesh” affords us many ways of sinning. They are human faults that every individual has; our task is to try our best to resist their lure. One thing that I personally can attest to is that, if we call upon God daily, or as many times as we need to in order to resist the temptations that plague us every day and ask God to send us the Holy Spirit, God will oblige. One of my daily prayers begins with “Come, Holy Spirit, fill my heart and kindle in in me the fire of your love so that I might be renewed” In John 16: we are promised, “The Spirit will guide you to all truth. The spirit will not speak on its own, but will speak what he hears from me and declare it to you”. The spirit speaks within us always with God’s will and teachings, we need to hearken to what we hear, even when it is opposite to popular thinking. God is a loving, forgiving, compassionate God. Jesus proclaimed this by his words and actions so often by relating to all who came to him regardless of their race, creed or sexual orientation.God is always there awaiting your call. He does not have an answering machine, voice mail, or a secretary. You will not receive a message “Sorry God is busy taking a call from another special customer, please remain on the line and your call will be answered in the order in which it was received”. God is always listening to what we are saying and will respond to us according to what He feels is best for us. God always answers our prayers, just not always in the way we want, but in what will be best for us. Many times God actually comes to us and speaks to us in our dreams, or quiet times and even sometimes while driving a car, listening to the I pod, watching TV or playing ball. Unfortunately, we are often too preoccupied to listen to what he is telling us through the Holy Spirit. I suggest that the time is NOW for us to begin to be more receptive to those calls from God. Don’t put God on hold, but take a break from what ever we are engaged in and listen with an open and receptive heart. We need to allow ourselves to “Receive The Holy Spirit” so that we can begin to develop a deeper and closer relationship with Almighty God and begin the elimination of the “Desires of the Flesh” that have prevented us from receiving all the gifts of The Spirit, Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. May God grant us the wisdom and understanding and the ability to hear Him when He speaks to us so we live our lives with compassion, love, charity and true Christian Brother/sisterhood toward all we encounter. AMEN

God Loves ALL People

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

Good Shepherd Sunday Reflection

Good Shepherd Sunday
The 4th Sunday of Easter
From the Readings of Acts 4:8-12, 1 John 3:1-2, John 10:11-18
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.missionstsergius.org

This Sunday is sometimes called GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY because of the Gospel reading from John. When we take both the second reading and the Gospel reading together, we have a very stung and encouraging affirmation of God’s infinite mercy and love for all His children.
The second reading for the fourth Sunday of Easter extols us to contemplate on these words “Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that is what we are. Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us. My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is.”
John is telling us that just as Christ was not acknowledged and respected in His time, so also are some of God’s children today not respected or even allowed to fully participate in the worship of their God or sacraments that Christ gave us because of divorce or their sexual orientation. There are some in society that would even prevent some from having the same legal benefits of others. John also makes it clear that eventually we will find that God views us all with the same regard and infinite love and accepts and welcomes us into His presence as long as we have lived THE GREAT COMMANDMENT “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22: 35-40)
Christ, as the son of God, came to this earth to shepherd us or guide us on a safe journey to heaven. He did this by clarifying the Old Testament teachings, not setting them aside, but letting us know exactly what God desired from us. In John’s gospel, we hear his say the following; “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep. …..I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold, and these I have to lead as well. They too will listen to my voice, and there will be only one flock, and one shepherd. The Father loves me, because I lay down my ….and this is the command I have been given by my Father.”
Christ, in this passage, confirms that he came not only for the few, but for ALL.
On this fourth Sunday of Easter we are being called by God to open our hearts and minds and free them from man made prejudices and regulations that discriminate against any of God’s children. We are called also to forgive those who discriminate against us because they have not fully opened their eyes to God’s inclusive love and are still living in the darkness of ignorance brought on by misinterpretation and translation of scripture from the original languages the books were written in.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles ends with these words; “This is the stone rejected by you the builders, but which has proved to be the keystone. For of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved.’ (Acts 4:12)
Just as the people who refused to accept Christ as the promised of the ages and dismissed his call to have mercy and compassion for the poor, sick, aged and infirmed and to reach out to the entire human race with friendship and love we should not follow their example. We need to welcome ALL God’s children regardless of their race, creed, nationality, marital situation or sexual orientation and recognize them as children of God and therefore our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We need to remember that Christ founded not many churches or beliefs but ONE belief which was handed down to us by the apostles who established the first “churches”. In Ephesians 4:5-6 we read; “"There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all" therefore it is incumbent upon us to heed the words of St. Paul in his letter to the church at Corinth “Brothers and sisters, I ask all of you to agree with one another. I make my appeal in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then you won't take sides. You will be in complete agreement in all that you think.”
Christ, The Good Shepherd, came to enlighten and guide ALL of God’s children and would never let any of His sheep be scattered or driven from the flock because of discrimination or a failure to welcome then as God created them so neither should we. We need to find the means to come together again as one faith, one church, and one family of God and make what Christ said in today's second reading "there will be only one flock, and one shepherd" come to be a reality again as it was in the first 300 + years of Christianity. We need to stop all the bickering that has divided God’s family and church just as Paul instructs the church at Corinth. AMEN