Sunday Nov. 27, 2016 Reflection

1st Sunday of Advent 2016

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFM

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus

Order Franciscans of Mercy

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

Link to Mission Web Site: www.missionstsergius.org

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

 

This Sunday we begin the new liturgical year A with a reading from the book of Isaiah that helps us understand what we need to do to prepare to meet our God.

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. And many people shall go and say, Come you, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come you, and let us walk in the light of the LORD”

The reading also foretells of the coming of the Redeemer and Savior and the light of God‘s truth came into being.

 The second reading from Paul’s letter to the people of Rome reads thusly; Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put you on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”

For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from two different perspectives. The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming. The word itself comes from the Latin adventus which is the translation of the Greek word Parousia which refers to the Second Coming of Christ at the last days.  

The message of the readings for the first Sunday of Advent is to be prepared, to be prepared for the time when God calls us home and we face our judgement by God on how well we lived our lives in accord to the teachings Christ gave us.

If we are to be prepared we need to examine how well we are living our daily lives now and then make any necessary changes that need to be made in order to truly be living reflections of Christ’s teachings.

The Gospel from Matthew 24 proclaims the following; “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man shall be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ….. Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord does come. But know this, that if the manager of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes.”

Every year during the church season of advent we are asked to review how we are living in accord with God’s will and a time of preparing for our eternal life not just preparing to celebrate Christmas the holiday that celebrates the birth of our redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ, not the arrival of Santa Clause and the presents we might receive.

We are being called to prepare ourselves to meet our creator and answer to Him as how well we have used the gifts He has given us.

How will we meet Him? Will we meet him with tattered clothing or will we meet Him with clean and shining souls which are the clothing that God sees.

In a Broadway musical JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR there is a chant that proclaims “Prepare ye the way of the Lord” It says exactly what we are called to do while living on here on God’s planet. 

God put every person on earth for the explicit reason of preparing ourselves to meet him when our time here on earth is over and we have that judgment by God on how well we did.

We will be asked questions like; “Did we care for His all His creations by being mindful of the environment and protect it?” 

“Did we have compassion for the poor and disadvantaged and share our gifts with those who were not as well off as we were?”

“Did we treat all those we met on our life’s journey with respect by recognizing them as one of our brothers and sisters in Christ and not discriminate against them?”

“Did we use the Gifts God provided us with in a manner that they were intended for or did we misuse them only for personal pleasure and/or financial gain?

Did we go about our being self-centered, caring only for our own comfort and pleasure without regard for how our actions affected others?”

“Did we thank God daily for the gifts we have no matter how small and did we appreciate the people who were placed in our lives, even those who criticize us and pointed out our faults and pray for those who have caused us pain and suffering?”

These are some of the questions God expects us to be able to answer in the affirmative because that is how God instructed us to live our lives.

So many of us go about our daily lives without ever taking the time to recognize what is around us or what gifts we have been given, we only turn to God when things go badly.

I do not want to count the many times I have heard people say, “Where is God when people are dying from Cancer, Aids, or other divesting diseases, why God allows innocent children and the poor to suffer so much?”

My response, which seems logical to me is; so that you will have reasons to practice the Beatitudes and to open your eyes to how well God has blessed you.  Those things give you the opportunity to thank God for the gifts you have been given by using them to reach out to those who are suffering.

God wants to see if you will just sit back being complacent or do you live as Jesus and the saints did speaking out against injustice, fighting poverty, working for equality for all people and seeking peaceful means to settle disputes.

Advent is the time that reminds us that we have to remain diligent, be awake to what is going on around us and respond in a Christ like way.

We need to give God private time each day, morning and evening, where we examine how we went about the day and where we can improve ourselves.

We need to be mindful of the blessings we have been given by God.  We must take time daily to thank God for bringing us through the day.

We need to be preparing ourselves for the day when we will meet Christ dressed not in filthy clothing but in our finest raiment.

Let us begin the season of Advent preparation by seriously evaluating ourselves and if we are prepared to meet God at our final judgment.

Let’s be honest with ourselves when we take our inventory on how we are living as Christians and make whatever adjustments are necessary to life in accord with the teachings Christ.

Let’s make sure our gift to Christ on the celebration of his birth is a more perfect self this Christmas.  AMEN

 

1st Sunday of Advent 11/27/2016

Christ the King TV Reflection

Homily for Feast of Christ the KIng

Reflection for the Feast Of Christ The King

Sunday November 20^th, 2016

By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFM

 Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus

Order Franciscans of Mercy

www.missionstsergius.org

www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

 

 

Psalm 121 reads as follows;

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AMEN

Reflection for Sunday 11/13/2016

33^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time 2016

November 13, 2016

MalachI 3:19-20A, Psal 98, 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12, Luke 21:5-19

By Rev. Fr. Bob Johnnene OFM

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus

Order Franciscans of Mercy

http://www.missionstsergius.org

www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

 

 

The readings for this Sunday seem to be preparing us for the coming season of Advent from the first readings admonition; “The day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and the evil-doers will be like stubble. … But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays.”; and the final Gospel reading where Christ is telling those around him at the Temple of Jerusalem the following; “ , Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed. Those around him poised this question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?’  Take care not to be deceived,’ Christ said ‘because many will come using my name and saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand.” Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.” ….. “You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.”

This week is a very good time to contemplate how Equality and Justice could be insured to all our citizens and in all the nations of the world and what we could do on our part to work toward that goal.

There is a dire need today of finding ways to put an end to the torture, bigotry, hatred, and injustices that plague our society and so many countries in the world.

Sadly we have seen and heard about so many young people who have either taken their lives because of being bullied or have suffered brutal beatings and even death by people who felt that they were superior to those they bullied and tortured or felt that their religious or political beliefs were the correct one.

We must remember that every human being on the face of the earth is a child of God, created in God’s image and likeness.

Therefore, every human being on the face of the earth is our brother and sister in Jesus Christ.

Christ’s message of the Gospel tells us that if we have faith and put our trust in God we can overcome any injustices.

People who have been the victims of bullying or those who have had any violent act committed against them may well think that the end is near. 

Survivors and victims of crimes often have feelings of denial, fear, anger, vindictiveness.

Often they do not understand why the crime happened to them, and are often unable to forgive.

But we MUST forgive just as Christ did when he hung on the cross and proclaimed “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”

It is true, many who commit the violent acts, especially one of prejudice and hatred, do so because they have been taught prejudice and hatred by bigoted people who are either ignorant of God’s teachings or just don’t care about living as God desires. They well may even be minions of the prince of Darkness himself.

All too often the victims of prejudice, hatred and violence are often overlooked and forgotten about but the trauma that they experienced lives forever in their mind and heart and gives them fear often deep enough for them to believe that their world has ended.

During this week, and in fact every day of the year, we are called by God to bring hope to hopeless victims. 

Giving people the knowledge of God’s infinite love and mercy and a  spiritual well being can bring comfort and help to people in pain, As it says in our first reading from the prophet Malachi, “Those who have knowledge and faith (Fear) in God the sun of justice with its healing rays.” There is something each of us can do to advance this process of justice and equality for all as promised in the Declaration of Independence of the United States, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In doing so, we can be carried through suffering to glory along with Jesus. And we will be living out the final words found in Psalm 97; “ You that love the LORD, hate evil“

Will be delivered out of the hand of the wicked.”

This is a time not of endings or finality but of hope and a time to begin to turn away from accepting violence and hatred and turning to being a loving and caring child of God who extends the kind of love Christ exhibited toward all who came to him.

This is a time to become open and affirming toward all God’s children regardless of their nationality, race, gender identity, marital status or sexual orientation. 

Every person on the face of this earth is a child of God and deserves to have dignity, equality and justice and the freedom to live without fear. Let us make this our goal for the coming season of Advent as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Our redeemer and Savior.  Let us work hard to restore Justice to ALL God’s children all over the globe.               AMEN

November 13 2016 Show

Homily for Nov. 6, 2016

A God of Infinite Love

32^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time November 6, 2016

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

By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFM

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus

Order Franciscans of Mercy

www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

www.missionstsergius.org

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 06, 2016 Reflections Show