5th Lenten Sunday 2017

Stations of the Cross 2017

Homily for Laetare Sunday March 26 2017

Let God’s Light Illuminate the Dark

A Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Lent March 26, 2017

By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFM

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Order Franciscans of Mercy

Reformed Catholic Church

www.missionstsergius.org

www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

 

I have  come into this world, so that those without sight may see and those with sight turn blind’. John 9:39

Christ is the light that brings truth and justice to all who believe, Christ came to enlighten us and to teach us the way to seek our happiness here on earth as well as to gain for us Eternal happiness.

 

In Paul's letter to the Ephesians he tells us: “You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth. Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the futile works of darkness but exposing them by contrast. The things which are done in secret are things that it is ashamed even to speak of; but anything exposed by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated turns into light. That is why it is said: Wake up from your sleep, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:8 – 14

 

All around us today we see darkness and it is necessary for us to turn on the light to dispel that darkness. So how do we bring the light of truth into the world? We do it by placing our lives in God's hands and by living according to the way Christ taught us.

First we have to acknowledge that every person on the face of this planet is a child of  God and deserves  respect, dignity, compassion and love. 

I recall a quote of Mother Teresa of Calcutta who said; “God told us, "Love your neighbor as yourself." So first I am to love myself rightly, and then to love my neighbor like that. But how can I love myself unless I accept myself as God has made me?”(St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

By accepting our self as God made us and making the best of the gifts God gave us for the benefit of all our brothers and sisters in Christ, we take a huge step toward dispelling the darkness that depresses us and discourages us.

 

The Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday is a prayer attributed to King David.  It is a prayer that, if we say it daily, can remind us of  all God does for us and of how much we need to attempt to return the favor by helping those who are caught in the darkness of discontent, poverty, and illness.  We need to reject the enticement of those who listen to the voice of darkness by seeking only self-glorification, power, money and physical pleasure.

The Lord is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing. He has taken me to green pastures, He has led me to still waters;
He has healed my spirit. He has led me along right paths for his own name’s sake. Even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me: your rod and your staff give me comfort.  You have set a table before me in the sight of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil, and my cup overflows.
Truly goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. For long years I shall live in the house of the Lord. Psalm 22 (23)

Mother Teresa reminds us: “Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the Darkness”.

In the Chinese Han philosophy the world is divided into two segments,  Yin (Earth) and Yang (Heaven).

Yin is depicted as black or darkness and Yang is depicted by White or light. Many also describe Yin and Yang as being Good and Bad, Day and Night, and all agree that they are in opposition to each other but also they exist in all things, just as the inclination for good and evil exist in every person which may well be that often there is a spot of black in the white and white in the black.

The concept is that people who do not know what bad is cannot know what good is. 

Christ clearly came to enlighten us as to what good is and how we were to act as children of God. Christ came to dispel the darkness.

 

Think about your favorite horror movie and how most evil things that happened did so in the darkness.

 

Safety Officers tell us that having lights around our house at night is a deterrent to thieves. Light dispels darkness and fear and the light Christ brought into the world was a light of truth, justice and God's will for us. 

The Gospel of John 9:1-41 is the story of how Jesus cured the blind man. It is another reminder of how Christ brings light into the world.

A man born blind has lived his entire life in darkness.  The story tells how after Jesus brought sight to the blind man he went to the Synagogue and how the Pharisees claimed Christ was from Satan because he cured the man on the Sabbath “This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath” when they questioned the man's parents they replied thusly “We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, but we do not know how it is that he can see now, or who opened his eyes. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.’ His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to expel from the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ.”

In my mind, not much has changed today. There are still people who refuse to acknowledge Christ and some who do select the parts of Christ's teachings that suit their own agenda but reject the most important teaching of Christ “Love one another as I have loved you”.  They do not accept ALL God's children but only those that reflect their skin color, or nationality or social and political orientation.

 

Christ welcomed all who came to Him.  Just as His father will welcome and love ALL His children even those who have wandered away  just like the Prodigal son's father welcomed his son who had strayed away with joy and feasting when he returned humble and sorrowful for his actions. 

God, Our heavenly Father, will always welcome all and forgive all who return to Him with sorrow for their failures.  

When the darkness is dispelled and we walk in the light of Christ, even in the most difficult situations of our life we will be able to find a ray of hope.

The Gospel story ends with these words “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind”

If you were blind you would not be guilty but since you say “We See” Your guilt remains.”

We have been shown the way, the truth and the light through Jesus Christ. This Sunday is Lætare Sunday when the Church interrupts her Lenten mournfulness and instead of purple, rose-colored vestments, flowers adorn the altar and music is often used creating a marked contrast between the other weeks of lent and today.

The word Laetare means “Rejoice” and comes from the Entrance Antiphon for the Mass which is; “Rejoice Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her consoling breasts.”

This Sunday differs from the other Sundays of Lent not only by the brilliant rose vestments and music and even in some cases flowers because it is emblematic of all human life, happiness and joy often  mingled with a certain amount of sadness, just as the Yin and Yang which represent the two forces in the universe, according to a Chinese theory: yin is the passive, negative force, and yang the active, positive force.

I have often said and believed that we can never truly appreciate happiness until we have experienced sadness and the greater our sadness in life so also will be the greater happiness.

The message for this Sunday is one of hope because it speaks of God's truth and the promise of finding truth in the Light of Christ.

As the light of the world, Jesus has come to enlighten people about God and show us the way to gain everlasting life. 

The blind man represents us and Jesus curing the man born blind represents how Jesus Teachings bring the message of God's truth to us and lights our way to salvation if we live our lives in a manner consistent with Christ's teachings.

I close this reflection with the opening prayer for this Sunday: “Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.”

The Eucharist we receive is the bread of life because it is the Body and Blood of Christ which provides us with the graces or “Spiritual vitamins” to persevere in our journey of following Christ’s light guiding us in our daily lives.

It is not enough for us to say “I believe” we also need to live our faith by through our daily actions reflecting the teachings of Christ.   AMEN

Laetare Sunday 2017

Stations of the Cross 2017

One Hours Pay

One Hours Pay

If every person who reads our Facebook Pages or receives our weekly TV show REFLECTIONS and Homilies were to commit to sending the ministry what they receive as pay for one hour of work I would not have to constantly be begging every month in the hope we would receive enough to pay the monthly expenses of the ministry.

This past month because we have taken on two more facilities for seniors we have had to purchase complete Altar materials including chalice, paten, Sacramentary, Lectionary, altar cloths and linens, cruets, lavabo dish and the materials for antependium’s for the portable altars. As today March 21, 2017 we do NOT have enough in the Mission Bank to pay April’s bills.

Please consider making a donation of a days pay every week or the cost of a Latte’ or even a special Lenten/Easter donation.

Donating is easy using the DONATE buttons on our Web site www.missionstsergius.org which will bring you to PayPal where you can safely use a credit or debit card to make a secure donation OR you can send a check or money order directly to the Mission Bank account:

MISSIONS SAINTS SERGIUS & BACCHUS,C/O Middlesex Savings Bank,830 Washington Street, Holliston, MA, 01746.

Donations to MISSION SAINTS SERGIUS & BACCHUS are tax-deductible in the USA, Mexico, Spain, France and Germany.

Tax Exempt # 203106639 Expires September 2025.

The mission future depends on you!

Pax et Bonum!

Rev. Bob Johnnene OFJ, Pastor Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus

  

3rd Sunday of Lent 2017

Homily for Sunday March 12, 2017

We Are Called to Sanctification

A Reflection for the 2nd Sunday of Lent, March 12, 2017

Genesis 12:1-4, Psalm 33,  2 Timothy 1:8-10, Matthew 17:1 – 9

By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFM

Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Order Franciscans of Mercy

www.missionstsergius.org

www.orderfranciscansofmercy.org

 

 

God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto sanctification: in Christ Jesus our Lord. (I Thess. 4. 1-17 )

We are called to a life of sanctification according to the readings from Paul’s letter to the people of Thessalonica after his departure in 51 or 52 A.D.

If we are called to a life of sanctification then we need to diligently work toward that goal.

A life of sanctification means to live in God, meaning to live as Jesus instructed us, in other words to abhor degradation, hatred, violence, prejudice discrimination, bullying and war and constantly speak out against them.

The only war we should be carrying out is the war against Satan and the minions of Satan.

Looking around the world today we see the fruits of Satan’s temptations all around us. We see it in the actions of some of those who claim to be representatives of Jesus Christ; we see it in our elected officials, in corporate leaders and entertainment personalities.

We see it in those who minds are closed to exploring the truth and those who accept everything that is fed to them on the internet by individuals who are paid to disseminate, often times inaccurate, information in order to sell a product, a candidate or a special interest point of view.

Jesus said; “Seek and you will find” To seek means to explore, to open ourselves up and reflect on the historical truths, to investigate all claims that people make including claims made by those who say they are teachers of God’s word.

Holy Scripture MUST be taken in light of the times and customs in which it was written. Those who wrote the Scriptures, although under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, did so within the understanding and customs of their times. This must be taken into account when interpreting and using Scripture, especially when dealing with many contemporary issues.

We need to ask ourselves, for example, if Jesus were on earth today what role He would give to women in the church today.

It is very clear to me, considering how much respect He had for the woman who faithfully followed him and their prominence in His ministry, that woman would have had a much more prominent role in ministry today. 

The fact is that in the early church, they did, we have reference to Phoebe and other women and the qualities a woman deacon should possess written in Paul's Epistles. 

We know that women had a place in ministering the Eucharist and in leading liturgies, so why are they relegated in this modern world to lesser roles?

You and I have been called by God, to live a life that reflects the teachings of Jesus. The prime teaching of Christ could not be any clearer. LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.

When you love someone, you do not, under any circumstances, want to be the cause of pain and suffering.

When you love someone, you try to shield them from harm. You gently advise them of their mistakes and guide them. If necessary you try to obtain healing for them. That is Love. 

If today, we had more love for all God’s creatures and children the world would not be in the mess it is in.

You and I are being called to actively live a life of sanctity, a life that reflects toward everyone we encounter God’s infinite love.

We are being called to do all within our power to bring about a change in the attitudes that cause so much pain and suffering in this world.

Every tiny thing we do that makes progress toward our call from God to a life of sanctity will bring us closer to God and God will reward us by giving us the strength we need to continue His work here on earth.

Paul begins his second letter to Timothy with these words, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher”. (2 Timothy 1:8-10)

We must always keep in mind the revelation that is found in all the accounts of the transfiguration from God “This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor. Listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5)

I will end this reflection with the admission that to live a life of sanctity is not easy and to be afraid that we will not measure up to it is natural.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta even had her doubts or “dark moments” as she called them but if we have faith and trust in God we can endure. 

Keep in mind what Christ told his apostles after God spoke on that mountain top; “Stand up,’ he said ‘do not be afraid.”. Matthew 17:7

Our message today is the knowledge that God is there for us and hears our cry and will always give us the strength we need to endure if we constantly seek Him and His truth.

Let us go forth from this moment forward doing all we can preparing ourselves for the resurrection of our final days by living a life of Faith, Trust in God and extending a, Godly Love toward all God’s children we encounter as we travel the highway of life. AMEN

2nd Sunday of Lent 2017

1st Sunday of Lent 2017