4th Sunday of Advent 2013 Reflection
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Independent Catholic Church of the Americas
Email: Divinemercyparish@msn.com
Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org
Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts
Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org
Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org/
Link to All Reflections TV Shows; http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn
Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html
Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.' these words from the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent indicates how powerful the child in the womb of Mary was.
A good thing to remember also is that Elizabeth and Zechariah her husband who was a priest in the Jewish Temple were not young, they had long past the child bearing age but Zechariah was chosen by lot one morning to offer incense in the Holy Place, the temple's inner chamber where only priests were allowed.
As Zechariah was praying, the Angel Gabriel appeared at the right side of the altar. Gabriel told the old man that his prayer for a son would be answered. Zechariah's wife would give birth and they were to name the baby John. Further, Gabriel said John would be a great man who would lead many to the Lord and would be a prophet announcing the Messiah.
Zechariah was doubtful because of his and his wife's old age.
The angel then struck him deaf and mute because of his lack of faith, until the child would be born.
Now when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was in the last month of her pregnancy our Gospel story tell us of what Elizabeth experienced and how she knew that the child Mary was carrying was the promised Messiah.
We also must remember that Mary accepted the will of the Lord in spite of the possibility that in doing so she could be stoned to death.
Now we need to ask ourselves how willing are we to do God's will even when it will be difficult.
That is the lesson and the question I believe we need to think about this last Sunday before we celebrate the birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Many popes and saints have urged us to follow the example of Mary and give birth to Christ this Christmas spiritually in our hearts and minds.
I am reminded of the words of St. Francis concerning the birth of Christ; "We give birth to him through holy works, which should shine forth as an example for others. How holy and dear, pleasant, humble, peaceful, lovable and desirable above all things it is to have such a brother and such a son, our Lord Jesus Christ!"
As we go through life often times we are faced with problems or trials that we would rather not have to deal with. I have experienced it as well as many others when the doctors give you the news that you have cancer or a serious health condition. But I also have found that with faith and trust that God will bring you through that difficulty, especially if you turn to him and pray often to him putting your trust in his will you will come through the difficulty. Often, the most difficult times are lessons sent by God to lead us toward the place he desires us to be or tests like those Job had to endure as proof of our complete trust and love of God.
St. Franics tells us that when we love God with a sincere heart we give birth to Christ spiritually especially when we accomplish deeds that manifest Christ's teachings to the world.
What would have happened, I wonder, if Mary had told Gabriel "You have got to be kidding? You want me to bring forth a child without being married?" "No Way!" "I could get stoned to death as a harlot"
It is with complete faith in God, The God that Mary knew from the Hebrew Scriptures, that Mary accepted God's invitation even though it could create a very heavy burden for her.
I sometimes wonder what this world would be like is Mary had not accepted God's call.
If Jesus had never been born and therefore we never head the Good News of Salvation that Christ came to enlighten us with through that light lead us on the path that would bring us to everlasting life.
Christ was sent by the Father, Almighty God, to teach us the truth of God's will and to rebuke all the man made rules and regulations that had been imposed over the years..
Christ came to give us the keys to open the doors to heaven for all who desire to follow the path He taught us. The path of Christ is a simple one; "Love God with all our being and love each other as Christ loved us"
Christ loved us enough to die for us. There is no greater love than that.
Mary's acceptance of God's will was the first step in our redemption.
If she had refused Christ would not have been born and the prophet's fulfillment would not have happened which means we would not be celebrating Christmas this Wednesday. On Christmas Day let us attempt to follow Mary's complete trust in God and accept His will for us. Let us learn to be happy with how God created us and to accept others as God created them.
Let us give each other the gifts of brotherly/sisterly love and diligently try to bring about a time of justice, equality, truthfulness and fairness to every individual on the face of the earth since we all are children of God no matter what nationality or religious denomination.
This Christmas let us renew our efforts to bring about a time of peace and justice to all. Let us dig down and support those who are in need and support those charities that are trying to help others. Let us make God a major focal point in our daily schedule.
Let us place our complete faith and trust in God as May did and tell God "Not our will but your will be done unto us according to your word"
On Christmas Day, let us consider what a glorious gift was given to us on that night when our savior was born in a simple stable. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords was not born in a palatial palace.
He was not born in the warmth comfort of a home or inn. No, he was born in a humble stable surrounded not by nurses and doctors and relatives but by Mary and Joseph, who had accepted God's will for them even though it could have left them open to criticism. They were there with only God's other creations, the animals of the barn whose breath provided warms for the new born child.
Jesus first visitors were simple shepherds, not the elite of the world.
God gave us a sign by this choice for His only son's birth.
God is trying to tell us to live our lives simply and not go seeking fame or fortune. We have been given a message that the simple things in life are what count. Not riches, fame, fortune, but the simple things of life like family, friends, and the beauty of nature.
In every event recorded of Christ's life in scripture, we find a message of acceptance, compassion and forgiveness. Christ welcomed all who came to him. He sat and ate with those considered sinners.
Christ is referred to as "The Light of the World" which means He was sent to light the way for us, like a brilliant beacon that guides ships away from dangerous shoals and reefs toward a safe harbor, Christ showed and taught us how we need to live our life.
Christ was born to clarify God's will for us and dispel the darkness that prevailed and still causes so much pain and suffering.
Christ came to comfort us in times of distress by assuring us that there is a great reward awaiting us at the end of our earthly life if we follow his example.
The miraculous birth we celebrate on Wednesday is that of God made flesh. God gave us a human image to equate to; a human being that had to endure all the human feelings, emotions, problems and joys that each of us has to experience in our journey of life.
Christ endured the pain of a loss of a parent and friends, He experienced the joy of a wedding of a friend. He became angry at the greed and callousness of the priests and temple employees.
Christ also told us how to live a life that would insure everlasting peace. His message was one of Love, forgiveness, compassion, mercy and generosity.
On this day that we celebrate God's gift to us of His only son and God's promise of salvation to all his children, let us present an offering to Him that reflects the way of life He advised us to lead.
Let us begin to be more compassionate to those who are suffering from hunger, illnesses such as AIDS and cancer, poverty, substandard housing, and discrimination. Let us work hard to eliminate these ills of our society and bring about a time of equality and justice for ALL God's children.
On this day that we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace let us make a concerted effort to bring peace into the world beginning with our own families, friends and neighbors whom we might be have hurt in some way. If all of us begin toward this goal, we can make a huge difference in the world.
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27) With these words of Christ I end this joyous message the last Sunday before the celebration of the birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, with a prayer that the Peace and infinite mercy and love of Christ will invade your hearts today and all the days of your life.
Have a truly wonderful Merry Christmas. AMEN
Friday, December 20, 2013
Saturday, December 7, 2013
A Reflection for Sunday Dec. 8, 2013
Prepare The Way For Our Lord!
A Reflection for the SecondWeek of Advent
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans Divine Mercy
Independent Catholic Church of the Americas
Link to Fr. Bob’s YouTube Page; http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn
Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html
Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org
Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts
Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org
Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org/
This Sunday, in addition to being The second Sunday of Advent for year A is also the Feast day normally honoring Our Blessed Mother Mary under the title of Immaculate Conception. At the end of this week we also have another feast Day honoring Mary under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. As Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Blessed Mother has been made the Patroness of the Americas because she appeared to a Native of South America, Juan Diego whose feast we celebrate on December 13th.
So, in addition to the theme for the Second Sunday of Advent which calls us
to not only preparing to celebrate the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but also to prepare for the promised second coming of Christ, this coming week is a time to recall the willingness of Mary to believe in the message of the Angel Gabriel and be willing to be the receptacle to bring Our Lord Jesus Christ into this world, in spite of the danger she could be stoned for being an unwed mother.
The Immaculate Conception celebrates Our Lady‘s complete trust in Almighty God. The Christmas we are preparing for is the celebration of God’s greatest gift to humankind, His beloved son Jesus Christ, but it is also a time to reflect on the fact that God decided that Mary would be free of original sin in order to be a pure vessel for Christ to be conceived in by the Holy Spirit and nurtured to human life for nine months.
When the Angel Gabriel, informed her that God had chosen her to bear the promised of the ages with these words "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.” Luke 1:29-35. Mary asked; “How can this be, for I know not man?. The angel replied;"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”
This fulfilled the promise from God when He drove Satan from the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:14-16 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” and in Isaiah 11: 1: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse: from his roots a branch will bear fruit.”.
What faith in God Mary must have had to accept this message. After all, the punishment for having a sexual relation without being married was to be stoned to death as an adulteress.
Mary’s response to Gabriel’s message was “Let it be done to me according to God’s will” (Luke 1:38) is a response we might want to consider telling God when we are faced with difficulties.
In our daily live we are often faced with challenges or situations where we have great apprehension and I wonder how many of us respond to them with “Let it be done to me according to God’s will” as Mary did or do we gross and complain because things are difficult.?
The Gospel of this Sunday has the following words “Repent you: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…Prepare you the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Matthew 3:1-12) The preceding are from Matthew 3:1-12. When you couple them with the following passage from the Gospel of Mark 13: “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come. … he comes unexpectedly, he must not find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake!” They should give us food for thought as we enter the second week of Advent. Those words should also remind us of how Mary answered God’s call to service in spite of the difficulties she might face.
The message for all four weeks of Advent are the same, “We need to be prepared to meet our maker and be ready to answer for how we lived the life God gave us here on earth. We need to be able to make the case to God that we did our human best to live in accord with the teachings we received through Scripture which is the inspired word of God.
Just as Mary and even Juan Diego, trusted in God and accepted the consequences of that acceptance, we also have to be willing to put our trust in God and work diligently to live in accord with the teachings Christ brought us Just as Mary and Juan Diego did.
God will give us what we need to prepare ourselves for the time we come face to face with God just as he gave Juan Diego what he needed to convince the Bishop of the truth of the message Mary brought.
We will need to answer how we conducted our daily lives and how we used the gifts that God gave us each and every day to reflect God to those we met on the road of life. .
Last week we heard the words from Paul’s letter to the Romans where he tells us; “The day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”
Last week, December 2nd was called CYBER MONDAY because we are told the people of the US spend more on gifts to give on Christmas shopping on the internet.
Sadly, most of those people who were buying things like Electronic gadgets, huge plasma TV’s, and other things that have become status symbols have no idea of the real meaning to Christmas.
Christmas for the majority of people is all about a jolly white haired old man ( NO NOT ME) in a red suit who travels around the globe in a sleigh drawn by eight or nine reindeer distributing presents.
People have forgotten that true meaning of CHRISTMAS is Christ.
Without CHRIST there cannot be a Christmas.
The Mass part is the time when all those who believe in the teachings of Christ, come together to partake in the gift Christ gave us, of himself in the Eucharist. That Mass, whether the vigil mass, the midnight mass of the mass of Christmas day honors the miracle of the Birth of Jesus Christ.
Some years back I remember there were signs and bumper stickers that stated “WITH OUT CHRIST THERE IS NO CHRISTMAS”
What we as Christians and followers of the teachings of Christ should be focusing on during this time of preparation is how well we are actually living THE WORD, The Good News of Salvation found in Holy Scripture.
Do we take time to consider the needs of the poor, sick, aged, homeless and do we extend love to all God’s children regardless of their race, nationality, marital state or sexual orientation.
In this time when the entire world is facing financial crisis one of the hardest hit areas has been Charities and Religious denominations that depend on the generosity of people to accomplish their work and reach out to those who society often is willing to leave behind.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone who was out in the stores spending, according to the published estimates of a few billion dollars, actually made a donation of 10% of what they spent to charitable organizations like food pantries, homeless shelters, orphanages or their Religious denomination so they have the ability to serve those in need in their Faith communities as well as pay the bills associated with maintaining the ministry.
Now is the time for those who have been blessed with more to seriously reach out to those who serve God’s often abandoned and forgotten children and do what ever they can to relieve their pain and suffering.
I know from this ministries own experience how much more we are being called upon to help those in need and how painful it is when we are hampered by a shortage of available funding and supplies.
The gospels of the last two weeks tell us how God will judge us when we are called before Him and that we never know when that time will come.
The season of Advent is dedicated to preparing ourselves for the second coming of Christ when we will be judged on how we lived our lives here on earth as well as preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ.
In this season when we are thinking about giving gifts to our family and friends let us not forget the gift we are going to give to God in thanksgiving for all He has given us.
Just as Mary trusted in the message of the Angel Gabriel, and Juan Diego trusted in Mary’s message to him, we need to put not only our trust in God and the promise of a life beyond this one but we need to give the Christ child a wonderful gift like the Magi because they recognized Jesus to be the promised of the ages.
Let us bring to Christ our gift of compassion and charity to one of the least of God’s children so that when we do have to answer to God for how we lived He will reply to us these words; “'Come my good and faithful servant, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” AMEN
A Reflection for the SecondWeek of Advent
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans Divine Mercy
Independent Catholic Church of the Americas
Link to Fr. Bob’s YouTube Page; http://www.youtube.com/user/RevBobJohn
Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html
Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org
Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts
Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: www.franciscansdivinemercy.org
Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org/
This Sunday, in addition to being The second Sunday of Advent for year A is also the Feast day normally honoring Our Blessed Mother Mary under the title of Immaculate Conception. At the end of this week we also have another feast Day honoring Mary under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. As Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Blessed Mother has been made the Patroness of the Americas because she appeared to a Native of South America, Juan Diego whose feast we celebrate on December 13th.
So, in addition to the theme for the Second Sunday of Advent which calls us
to not only preparing to celebrate the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but also to prepare for the promised second coming of Christ, this coming week is a time to recall the willingness of Mary to believe in the message of the Angel Gabriel and be willing to be the receptacle to bring Our Lord Jesus Christ into this world, in spite of the danger she could be stoned for being an unwed mother.
The Immaculate Conception celebrates Our Lady‘s complete trust in Almighty God. The Christmas we are preparing for is the celebration of God’s greatest gift to humankind, His beloved son Jesus Christ, but it is also a time to reflect on the fact that God decided that Mary would be free of original sin in order to be a pure vessel for Christ to be conceived in by the Holy Spirit and nurtured to human life for nine months.
When the Angel Gabriel, informed her that God had chosen her to bear the promised of the ages with these words "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.” Luke 1:29-35. Mary asked; “How can this be, for I know not man?. The angel replied;"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”
This fulfilled the promise from God when He drove Satan from the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:14-16 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” and in Isaiah 11: 1: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse: from his roots a branch will bear fruit.”.
What faith in God Mary must have had to accept this message. After all, the punishment for having a sexual relation without being married was to be stoned to death as an adulteress.
Mary’s response to Gabriel’s message was “Let it be done to me according to God’s will” (Luke 1:38) is a response we might want to consider telling God when we are faced with difficulties.
In our daily live we are often faced with challenges or situations where we have great apprehension and I wonder how many of us respond to them with “Let it be done to me according to God’s will” as Mary did or do we gross and complain because things are difficult.?
The Gospel of this Sunday has the following words “Repent you: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…Prepare you the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Matthew 3:1-12) The preceding are from Matthew 3:1-12. When you couple them with the following passage from the Gospel of Mark 13: “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come. … he comes unexpectedly, he must not find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake!” They should give us food for thought as we enter the second week of Advent. Those words should also remind us of how Mary answered God’s call to service in spite of the difficulties she might face.
The message for all four weeks of Advent are the same, “We need to be prepared to meet our maker and be ready to answer for how we lived the life God gave us here on earth. We need to be able to make the case to God that we did our human best to live in accord with the teachings we received through Scripture which is the inspired word of God.
Just as Mary and even Juan Diego, trusted in God and accepted the consequences of that acceptance, we also have to be willing to put our trust in God and work diligently to live in accord with the teachings Christ brought us Just as Mary and Juan Diego did.
God will give us what we need to prepare ourselves for the time we come face to face with God just as he gave Juan Diego what he needed to convince the Bishop of the truth of the message Mary brought.
We will need to answer how we conducted our daily lives and how we used the gifts that God gave us each and every day to reflect God to those we met on the road of life. .
Last week we heard the words from Paul’s letter to the Romans where he tells us; “The day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”
Last week, December 2nd was called CYBER MONDAY because we are told the people of the US spend more on gifts to give on Christmas shopping on the internet.
Sadly, most of those people who were buying things like Electronic gadgets, huge plasma TV’s, and other things that have become status symbols have no idea of the real meaning to Christmas.
Christmas for the majority of people is all about a jolly white haired old man ( NO NOT ME) in a red suit who travels around the globe in a sleigh drawn by eight or nine reindeer distributing presents.
People have forgotten that true meaning of CHRISTMAS is Christ.
Without CHRIST there cannot be a Christmas.
The Mass part is the time when all those who believe in the teachings of Christ, come together to partake in the gift Christ gave us, of himself in the Eucharist. That Mass, whether the vigil mass, the midnight mass of the mass of Christmas day honors the miracle of the Birth of Jesus Christ.
Some years back I remember there were signs and bumper stickers that stated “WITH OUT CHRIST THERE IS NO CHRISTMAS”
What we as Christians and followers of the teachings of Christ should be focusing on during this time of preparation is how well we are actually living THE WORD, The Good News of Salvation found in Holy Scripture.
Do we take time to consider the needs of the poor, sick, aged, homeless and do we extend love to all God’s children regardless of their race, nationality, marital state or sexual orientation.
In this time when the entire world is facing financial crisis one of the hardest hit areas has been Charities and Religious denominations that depend on the generosity of people to accomplish their work and reach out to those who society often is willing to leave behind.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone who was out in the stores spending, according to the published estimates of a few billion dollars, actually made a donation of 10% of what they spent to charitable organizations like food pantries, homeless shelters, orphanages or their Religious denomination so they have the ability to serve those in need in their Faith communities as well as pay the bills associated with maintaining the ministry.
Now is the time for those who have been blessed with more to seriously reach out to those who serve God’s often abandoned and forgotten children and do what ever they can to relieve their pain and suffering.
I know from this ministries own experience how much more we are being called upon to help those in need and how painful it is when we are hampered by a shortage of available funding and supplies.
The gospels of the last two weeks tell us how God will judge us when we are called before Him and that we never know when that time will come.
The season of Advent is dedicated to preparing ourselves for the second coming of Christ when we will be judged on how we lived our lives here on earth as well as preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ.
In this season when we are thinking about giving gifts to our family and friends let us not forget the gift we are going to give to God in thanksgiving for all He has given us.
Just as Mary trusted in the message of the Angel Gabriel, and Juan Diego trusted in Mary’s message to him, we need to put not only our trust in God and the promise of a life beyond this one but we need to give the Christ child a wonderful gift like the Magi because they recognized Jesus to be the promised of the ages.
Let us bring to Christ our gift of compassion and charity to one of the least of God’s children so that when we do have to answer to God for how we lived He will reply to us these words; “'Come my good and faithful servant, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” AMEN
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