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

A New Year Prayer

A New Years Prayer
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org

Almighty and merciful God we come to you this first day of the New Year in thanksgiving for the gifts you have bestowed upon us and with petitions for the coming year.
We pray, O God, that you will inspire world leaders to end the wars, violence, and genocide that have overtaken so much of this world.

We pray that those whom you have blessed with abundance will have compassion and generosity for those who are suffering from poverty, homelessness, and inadequate affordable health care.

We pray that people will stop judging others by the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, marital status or nationality and recognize that we are all brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and children of God.

We pray that all leaders of all Christian denominations will evaluate the differences that have separated your One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church established by the chosen apostles of your beloved son and return to the fundamental truths taught by Christ.
We pray that all the children of Abraham will unite together in peace and stop the bloodshed that envelops the Middle East.

We pray for the newly elected president of the United States and his chosen cabinet will be able to turn the economy around while seeing to the needs of the poor, elderly, sick, homeless and unemployed and insure equality and justice for all the citizens of this country.

We pray that science will find cures for all cancers, ALS, Macro degeneration, Alzheimer’s, and the other diseases that deprive so many of the simple joys of life.

We pray that we will be able to be faithful to you in our service to those you bring to us and fill them with the knowledge of your infinite mercy and love and give them the hope of Everlasting life through trust and faith in you.

Lord as 2008 comes to an end and 2009 begins, we promise to strive to serve you through living our lives consistent with how your beloved son lived His life and through prayer and daily devotion to you and all your children.

May you accept our humble attempts and continue to inspire us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We ask this in the name of your beloved son, our redeemer and savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. AMEN

A Christmas Message

A Christmas 2008 Reflection
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church International of New England
www.Missionstsergius.org

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his favor.” (Luke 2:14) “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to all people on earth with whom He is Pleased. Today is born unto us a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”. (John 2:14, 11) “ His name will be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6)
What a glorious gift was given to us when Christ 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 only His parents,Mary and Joseph and the animals of the barn. Jesus first visitors were simple shepherds, not the elite of the world. This birth was a message to us that we should live simply. Riches, fame, and fortune are not what matters , but compassion for the marginalized of the world, love of family and friends, sharing the gifts God has given us with others and trust and faith in God are what matters.
Christ is referred to as “The Light of the World” this means He was sent to illuminate the way for us, like a brilliant beacon that guides ships away from dangerous shoals and reefs toward a safe harbor. Christ was born to teach us how to dispel the darkness of fear, doubt, hatred and anger and to find comfort in times of distress.
“God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and savior Christ Jesus. He sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good “(Titus 2:11-14)
The miraculous birth that we celebrate at Christmas brought to earth 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 experience on 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 and generosity.
On this day that we celebrate God’s gift to us of His only son and the new 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 diligently to eliminate these ills from the world and bring about a world where every one of God’s children is treated with equality in all matters and given the same rights and privileges as every other person.
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 with whom we might be have a disagreement. If all of us begin in this small way, we can make a huge difference. As Neil Armstrong said upon landing on the moon, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”. Let us take our small step in the direction of bringing peace into our own lives which just prod others to do the same and eventually a “Virus of Peace” could envelope the whole world.
I end my Christmas message with these words of Jesus Christ and pray that the Peace of Christ will invade your hearts today and all the days of your life. God bless you and have a blessed Christmas Holiday. "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) Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD

God's Infinite Love is For ALL

God’s Infinite Love for ALL
A Reflection for the Exaltation of the Cross Feast Sunday September 14th
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD
Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org

“God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.” (John 3:13-17)
The gospel for this Sunday is a clear reminder to us of exactly how much Almighty God loves ALL His children. His love is so great that He was willing to send his beloved son, Jesus Christ, to earth in human form and subject to all the difficulties and pressures of being human even to the ultimate indignity of being persecuted, tortured and crucified just so Christ, by that action, could open the gates of heaven to ALL who desired to seek it.
Because it was by the cross that Christ redeemed the world. That is why the church commemorates this redeeming action of Jesus on this Sunday.
As adults, we sometimes feel abandoned and afraid and feel like we are being treated unfairly or blamed for things unfairly. We have a hard time when people criticize us for following our inner feelings even when we have discerned what we are feeling to determine if it is in accord with God’s will.
As adults the same feelings of insecurity that we felt as children raise their ugly head and we feel that everything we do is not appreciated. There are also those times when we believe that we have taken on more responsibility or a project that we are not capable of or is not actually God’s will.
We often feel sorry for ourselves; even though the crosses others have to carry are much greater than anything we have to contend with.
Even Jesus, who was fully aware of what was in store for Him pleaded with His father "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will."(Matthew 26:39)
In all these insecure feelings we must always pray to God in the same way that Jesus did by asking our heavenly Father to grant to us that which is in accord with His will and not what we think we desire.
God’s infinite love for us will NEVER give us more than we are capable of enduring and, often, God has caused those He loves greatly, like His son, to endure greater suffering because God knows that our faith in Him is strong and we will be like Job, keeping our faith in spite of our difficulties.
In today’s world so many individuals and religious organizations reject and discriminate against others because they are not exactly like them. God did not create only one species or one kind of person. God created great diversity and because of His creation we have much to be thankful for because if all people, animals and countries were the same boredom would certainly have overtaken this world many millennium ago.
Christ was sent to us as an act of God’s love to make known the way to salvation.
One of the basic teachings of Christ is compassion for the downtrodden, poor and marginalized.
To me that indicates that those who have been given wealth, fame and power have an obligation to take care of those who are in need. "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Luke 12:48)
Just as Christ set aside His human instincts to remain alive and not suffer the agony of the passion and death on a cross in order to attain salvation for ALL God’s children so too must we set aside our self interests make decisions that will benefit the greatest number of people especially those who are suffering because of age, poverty, war, discrimination and illness.
By doing this we can be assured that we are truly living in accord with God’s will and as Jesus tells us in John 17:26 that "God’s love for us is as great as the love God had for His son and that we are living in a Godly way and that God is with us. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (John 17:26) AMEN

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

Something To Reflect Upon

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

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