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Words of Wisdom & Truth for Nov. 3rd Week

Words of Wisdom and Truth

A Reflection for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD

Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans Divine Mercy

Independent Catholic Church of the Americas

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

Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: http://stjosephcupertino.com/index.html

Link to Mission Web Site: http://www.missionstsergius.org

Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: http://www.franciscansdivinemercy.org

Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas http://www.iccamericas.org/

 

The words from the first reading for the 31^st Sunday of Ordinary Time is from the Book of Wisdom 11:22-12:2 and worth more than a billion words and sermons.  

The reading most certainly should open our hearts and minds to God’s infinite mercy and love for all His children regardless of their race, nationality, gender, or religious denomination.

When we take into consideration the other readings for this Sunday we have not only a message affirming God’s love and mercy for us all but also advice on how we can and will be welcomed and found pleasing in God’s eyes.

The reading from the book of Wisdom 11 verses 22 through Wisdom 12:verse 2 says; “Before the Lord the whole universe is like a grain of dust that tips the scales,or like a drop of morning dew falling on the ground. Yet you are merciful to all, because you can do all things and overlook men’s sins so that they can repent. Yes, you love all that exists; you hold nothing of what you have made in abhorrence, for had you hated anything, you would not have formed it.   And how, had you not willed it, could a thing persist, how be conserved if not called forth by you? You spare all things because all things are yours, Lord, lover of life, you whose imperishable spirit is in all.  Little by little, therefore, you correct those who offend, you admonish and remind them of how they have sinned, so that they may abstain from evil and trust in you, Lord.”

When coupled with, are taken into consideration from St. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians chapter 1:11-2:2 we become strengthened even more in the knowledge of God’s love for us; “all that you have been doing through faith the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you and you in him, by the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. To turn now to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we shall all be gathered round him: please do not get excited too soon or alarmed by any prediction or rumor or any letter claiming to come from us, implying that the Day of the Lord has already arrived.”

So many who claim to be preaching the word of God have tried to frighten people with the admonition that dooms day is at hand, and have done so from the earliest days of the church but Christ himself told us; “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. (Mark 13:32)

The message from Sunday’s Gospel is also comforting and affirming in that it reminds us that Christ did not heed the admonishments of the Religious of His time. It also makes clear that God and Christ are there for everyone who believes in them and tries to live in a way that is pleasing to God according to the teachings that Christ proclaimed.

Unfortunatly there are some who believe that they are the “chosen ones” because of their position, their wealth or because or their devotional practices and attendance at church but when they leave the confines of the church, and sometimes even while there, they do not practice Christian Charity and often demean others because of how they dress, or the color of their skin or their nationality.

The Gosple tells us:  “When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him: “Zacchaeus come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.” And Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Christ joyfully. Others complained when they saw what was happening. “He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house” they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, “Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount”And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost”   (Luke 19:1-10)

We might also take note of what Zacchaeus said to Christ about giving half of his property to the poor and needy and making right any injustices or cheating he might have done since it is also one of the major teachings of Christ, to be mindful of the needs of others and to share our gifts with those who have not.

Christ has told us time and again that being aware of others and having compassion and generosity are keys to entering into heaven.

The Seraphic Father of our order, The Franciscan’s of Divine Mercy and love of God, our official name, knew this message so very well.  

St. Francis is known to have said “I acknowledge that all my possessions were given to me by God, and now here I am ready to give them back to Him”

Everything we have comes from God and therefore we need to give thanks for the gifts we have received and not hoard them to ourselves but share then according to our ability. 

We need to open our eyes to the needs of others around us and to put aside our prejudices and self centered interests and open our hearts to being more receptive to living the great commandment of Christ every moment of our life here on earth.

“Love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, mind, soul and body and love your neighbor as you love yourself” “Love one another as I have loved you”

Let us go forth from this day forward, putting these words of Christ into action by being more concerned about the needs of others especially the poor, sick and aged and seek out every opportunity to share the gifts that God has given us with others especially the poor, sick, homeless and aged. 

If we do this we will be living the Gospel every day of our life and by doing so not only be an inspiration to those who we encounter in our daily life but we will also be opening the door into our partaking in the everlasting glory in heaven with Almighty God our Father and creator of all things, His beloved Son, our redeemer and savior Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and all the heavenly elect. May God bless you and keep you, may his light shine upon you and may you be filled with the comfort and peace that comes from God.  AMEN

With Faith, All Things Are Possible

With Faith, All Things Are Possible 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time Reflection For Sunday October 13, 2013 Based on readings from: 2 Kings5, Psalm 98, second Timothy 2, Luke 17:11-19 By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans Divine Mercy Independent Catholic Church of the Americas Link to All Reflections TV Shows; 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/ The Good News message for this Sunday is “with faith in God, all things are possible”. The Gospels tell stories of people being cured because of their faith. In the Gospel from The Gospel from Luke 17:11 – 19 is the story of the healing of lepers and that faith in God was the reason for the cure. As Christ entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.’ When he saw them he said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests’. Now as they were going away they were cleansed. Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. These made Jesus say, ‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.” Why is it that for some it often takes a miracle for some people to believe in God? Why is it that some people only turn to God when there is a problem in their lives? Far too often in this day and age we only turn to God seeking a favor and but when it is granted, we often forget to thank God and we feel we deserved it. Today, everywhere we look we find people who are seeking material things,the perfect figure, the perfect home, the classiest car, big fancy houses, the latest electronic gadgets, the latest fashions and ever more money. Far too few who have been blessed with an abundance of God’s gifts rarely think of sharing those gifts with the less fortunate or if they do so they need to have public recognition for their acts and it is usually a ptiance of what they have received and certainly not 10%. In the United States alone there are thousands who do not have adequate medical assistance, food or shelter. All over the globe people are suffering because of the few who seek to control the many. A few years ago, while in Minnesota, I became aware of a program sponsored by the Lutheran Church called HOMELESS AND HUNGRY. This program’s purpose is to raise awareness of the plight and struggles of the homeless by having people pledge to fast for 24 hours and live on the street in cardboard boxes like the homeless and to beg for food stuffs and money. Every participant pledges $365.00 each which is the cost of feeding one person each day of the year. The money collected that year reached a staggering total of over $75,000 and more than 5000 pounds of food was collected. Those who participated said they never knew how hard it was for the “Street People” and how they were discriminated against. Many described how they were called names and insulted and some actually described how people would cross the street to avoid being near them. What became clear to me was that we all need to do more to address this despicable condition in the richest country in the world. For those conditions to exist is a major blemish on the nation as a whole and especially the political leaders rant and rave against spending any tax payer money when ever a program to help those in need is suggested by government. To have Faith in God is much more than saying prayers and attending church but it is also having our actions reflect the teaachings of Christ to “Love one another as I have loved you” and “Love God with your whole mind, soul, and body and love your neighbor as you love yourself” In last weeks gospel lesson we learned who our neighbor is and that we should always act like the Good Samaritan of last weeks Gospel and the Samaritan of this weeks gospel who returned to thank God for curing hem. Part of the message this week is also about putting our full trust in God because when we do anything is possible and as we learned last week, by having faith as small as a mustard seed we could move mountains. Having Faith in God is not just seeking God’s healing when we are sick but believing that it is possible and also doing those things we need to do to keep ourselves and all God’s children in good health. People can not be healthy if they do not have proper nutrition and medical care. Our Nation has been blessed with an abundance of God’s gifts but at every opportunity there are people who do everything in their power to remove all mention of God in public places. The ranks of those who claim there is no God is growing at an alarming rate according to the latest statistics. Without a living faith, a practiced faith, without believing in a supreme being and a loving and merciful God our nation will continue to experience more and more violence and continue to decay just as every great nation before it that turned away from the basic values found in most religions; peace, brotherhood, compassion, mercy, forgiveness and love for all God’s creation. As the gospel for today say’s; ‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.” Without faith, and by that I mean a living faith that is more than words but action in our daily lives, how can we ever expect to be cured of the ills that plague us? The time is now for us to turn to God and ask God for His healing graces. Now is the time to begin living our lives in accord with the teachings of Christ and not those imposed by mere humans for the purpose of domination and control. Only God can judge and determine who is and who is not saved. We who are Christians have been told how God expects us to live and how to attain everlasting life. We will be judged on how well we lived that life in not only word but in our deeds. Now is the time to seek God’s guidance to overcome our weakness. We need to place our trust and faith in God because when we do, we too will be healed as those in the gospel of today were healed. AMEN

Video of St. Patrick's Reflection

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=682tz7sbQ-k

Link To REFLECTIONS TV Show for FEb. 24th 2013

New Year 2013 Reflection

A New Year, Same Problems A Reflection by Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD Based on Readings from: Numbers 6:22-27, Psalm 67, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21 Mission Saints Sergius and Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy Divine Mercy Old Catholic Parish, Franklin, MA Independent Catholic Church of the Americas www.missionstsergius.org On Tuesday we begin a new year and my questions are: “IS THE WORLD BETTER TODAY THAN IT WAS ON DECEMBER 31ST 2012?” I am sorry to say, “I do not think we have learned anything” since we still have grid lock in our government people who are unemployed, homeless, discrimination still exists, the elderly and those on low fixed incomes are having a more difficult time trying to have even the basics of life and all this while some flaunt their riches and seek to gain even more. The economy is still in a bad way. Unbelievable scandals still continue to come to the surface concerning leaders in Government and Religion. When I was growing up I was taught that it was OK to commit a mistake as long as you learned from it and never did it again. So what exactly has happened to that concept since I was a youth? Recently we have heard of some famous people who had drug and alcohol problems or had gotten into altercations with individuals or stolen items and were given sentences that were the equivalent of a slap on the wrist because of their popularity and they turned around and continued to be in the headlines for offences, they just did not seem to care or felt they were better than others and did not have to comply with the rules. After centuries of conflicts that have taken millions of lives you would think we would have learned to settle disputes with discussions and compromise rather than wars that kill innocent people. People still resort to violence rather than sitting down and finding a resolution that both parties can live with. People still distinguish and judge people on nationality, religion, race or sexual orientation and feel comfortable excluding people for one of those reasons rather welcoming God’s diversity. Being Inhospitality was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah Since before the time of Christ people used their wealth, political and Religious positions to subjugate others and laud themselves over those they should have been taking care of. Christ spoke about this many times. There is the story of the Good Samaritan, The money changers in the temple, the Widow who gave her last cent, and my favorite The Sermon on the Mount where He tells us how we should live. The first reading for New Year’s Day from Numbers instructs us on how to greet people “You shall say to them: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.” All Christians and even the Jewish people in the Old Testament have receive directions of how they should life their lives. Christ taught in parables and plainly when he delivered the Sermon on the Mount and chastised the money changers in the temple. So why do we find it so difficult to live in accord with these teachings? I wish I knew the answer. The second reading from Galatians 4 states; “The proof that you are sons of God is that God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and it is this that makes you a child of God, you are not a slave anymore; and if God has made you His child, then he has made you heir.” This statement reinforces the truth, we have all been chosen by God as his children and therefore are His heirs to the kingdom of heaven. The Gospel tells us that the name chosen for the child was not a family name but that it was given to the infant according to the instructions Mary received from the Angel Gabriel. When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised in accordance with Jewish law, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception. "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:22 The western church celebrates the motherhood of Mary, “the Theotokos” a Greek word meaning “Mother of God. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jesus is the promised one of the ages and as such we need to listen to what He has instructed us to do. We must also keep in mind that through the centuries many things have been added to what Jesus instructed, mainly for the purpose of gaining power and wealth. Those things have very little to do with living our life according to God’s will. Celibacy of clergy was an idea that came many years after Christ, the early church had women deacons as described by Paul and St. John in scripture, the early church blessed same sex commitment ceremonies, liturgies were celebrated in the language of the people. These are just some of the things that churches enforce that were not defined by Christ. All the grandeur, splendor, pomp and circumstance that is associated with some churches fly in the face of what Christ taught. By His birth in a simple manger alone; Christ gave us a lesson that He came to give hope and promise to all and that the poor and needy where more acceptable than the rich and powerful. “Do unto others as you would have done unto you” this teaching should cause us to think about how we treat others and is it the same way that we would want to be treated? Jesus Christ came to earth to save us, to open up the gates of heaven to all people. Almighty God sent us His son in human form to teach us the truth, to lead us in the path of righteousness, and to gain for us eternal salvation. As we begin a New Year let us make a new beginning in our relationship with Almighty God through His beloved Son, Jesus the Christ. Let us vow to make the changes necessary in our lives so that we come closer to God in all that we do. Let us set aside time each and every day to acknowledge God and ask His help in making us a better and newer person. Let us examine ways we can actively make a difference in this world by our actions and deeds. Let us try to become more compassionate toward those who are suffering; the hungry, homelessness, sick, aged and unemployed. We all can do more to spread the Good News of Salvation as preached by Christ? Let’s make time in our daily schedules to pray and talk with God. As the sports adage says; “The ball is in our court” Now the question is; how are we going to play it? I close with this prayer: May the New Year bring peace to the hearts and minds of all people, May the wisdom of God infuse the inner being of all, especially the leaders of the world’s governments and religions so that they find a pathway to peace and unity and bring about the promise of The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. May we all work to change the way we do things and may we actually learn from the mistakes of the past and move forward in a new direction to bring about unity, compassion, charity and peace to all God’s children throughout the world. AMEN