Because I will be at the Diocese Yard Sale on Saturday, I am sending our the reflection for this coming Sunday today. I am also sending with the printed version, the link to the TV version for Sunday. https://youtube/watch?v=R7PiSfG4JeU&list=UU8RuEVHpV5f7lEzckyVHKOg Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul and The Church By Rev. Fr. Bob Johnnene OFD Mission Sts. Sergius and Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy An All Inclusive and Welcoming Old Catholic Parish and Ministry Of the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas Link to Mission Web Site: missionstsergius.org Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Web Site: franciscansdivinemercy.org Link to all Fr. Bob’s REFLECTIONS TV Shows youtube/user/RevBobJohn Link to St. Joseph Cupertino Parish: stjosephcupertino/index.html Link to Franciscans of Divine Mercy Facebook Page: https://facebook/FranciscansDivineMercy?fref=ts Link to the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas iccamericas.org/ Email Address: Divinemercyparish@msn Just over two thousand years ago, Our Lord Jesus Christ was born on the earth and began to teach a small group of followers about the God that had created the universe and had specifically guided the Israelite people for the nearly two thousand years previous thereto. While Jesus was preaching to the leaders among the Jewish religion, they came to understand that He was claiming to be the Divine Voice that spoke to the Prophet Moses from the burning bush on Mount Sinai. Alarmed by this thought, they first sought to stone Jesus and later they succeeded in gaining the consent of the Roman governor to have Roman soldiers crucify Jesus for the perceived offense of blasphemy. Despite the initial success of the Jewish leaders, Jesus resurrection three days later caused many Jews and Greeks at that time to become followers of the small group of apostles that Jesus had taught both before and after His Resurrection. Among the followers was a fisherman named Peter who, since he was among the oldest of the first to be called to Christ, was given the kind of respect by the others that their society called for and is considered the head of the church even though James, a cousin of Christ was the actual leader of the first church in Jerusalem. This enlarged following of Jesus was called the Church, and within three years was referred to as the Christian Church. During this time the followers of Christ were rejected and persecuted by the Romans who feared any group that might threaten their power. Among the persecutors was a man from Tarsus by the name of Paul. This man, Paul, would eventually do more to spread the word of God and be instrumental in the eventual expansion of the church to the entire known world at that time. Today the universal church celebrates both these men and rightly so, but we must realize that they did not always agree and in fact were often at great odds with each other. If, St. Peter were the head of the church and acted as today’s leaders do, Paul would have been silenced and possibly, if the tern actually existed at that time, been excommunicated for disagreeing with Peter. One of their disagreements centered on how a person became a Follower of Christ. Peter and the Apostles wanted all persons who were not Jewish, to first become Jewish by being circumcised. Fortunately, a cooler head prevailed and at Paul’s urging Peter, James and the other Apostles, who were all heads of their churches as Cardinals are today agreed that people wanting to become followers and be Baptized did not first have to be circumcised and become a Jew. Paul even has written in his letter to the Romans 10:12 “For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,” The church continued to grow and strength despite the attempts to annihilate it. For the nearly 300 years that followed, the members of this Church remained together under the guidance of bishops that had been appointed by the first apostles and their immediate successors, but they had to keep their worship of God hidden from the Roman authorities, praying in secret in the catacomb tombs of major cities, and, when they were occasionally discovered by the state authorities, the public acknowledgment of their faith in Jesus invariably resulted in their death as martyrs for Christianity. Among these faithful Christians were the patron Saints of our ministry, Saints Sergius and Bacchus and many others, some of whom, like Sergius and Bacchus, were committed blessed relationships which the church allowed and blessed at that time. When finally the Roman Emperor Constantine decided to abandon the official Roman pagan religion and supposedly become a Christian, though there is no real proof he did so and if he did, he did so on his death bed probably at the insistence of his mother who had converted and is acclaimed as a Saint and the person who led the search for the true cross. Constantine ordered an end to the persecution of the members of the Christian Church. This new era of peace allowed Christians to worship openly without fear of persecution, and also enabled Christians throughout the world to exchange their ideas and understandings concerning the teachings that Jesus had given to His apostles. Within just a few years it became apparent that Christians were divided into two separate groups, one believing that Jesus was indeed the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that spoke to Moses, and the other group believing that Jesus was not God, but rather, was created by God as the leading angel or spirit in Gods creation. The former group, wishing to emphasize that they accepted the full Christian Faith and tradition, began to refer to themselves by the Greek word Catholic (katholikos), that means ``according to the wholeness. The other group called themselves Arians, after their leading teacher, the priest Arius, who taught that Jesus was not God. For the next two hundred years that followed, the Catholic Church and the Arian Church vigorously opposed each others teaching, until finally nearly all Arian Christians came to accept that Jesus was God, and then became members of the Catholic Church. For many years, the Church was at peace, and the full Catholic teaching continued to be acknowledged in the way that Christians prayed around the world. Around the year 1000, however, Christians suddenly became divided by an extraordinary assertion by one of the bishops, the Pope of Rome, that he was entrusted by God with all power on earth, both concerning matters of religion as well as all matters of the state government. This rather strange mixture of religion and politics was seen to be quite foreign to the original teachings of Jesus by most of the bishops of the Catholic Church at that time, and, therefore, many prominent bishops, such as the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Constantinople, together with the Pope of Alexandria, charged the Pope of Rome with abandoning the ``wholeness of the Catholic Faith, and began to refer to their Churches as the Orthodox Catholic Church, while the Roman Pope referred to his some-what changed ``Catholic Churches as the ``Roman Catholic Church. For nearly a thousand years now, the Orthodox Catholic Church, often referred to merely as the Orthodox Church, has continued to teach the original unchanged Catholic teachings taught by Jesus to His apostles. In many lands this teaching was persecuted, but it remained the prevailing Christian teaching in the Holy Land, ¦in Syria, and in Greece where the first Christians had taught the Faith that Jesus gave them. Many Christians of Slavic descent, such as those from Ukrainia, Russia, Serbia, and Bulgaria likewise remained faithful to the original Catholic teachings of the Orthodox Church, which is still today the oldest and second largest single grouping of Christians in the world. About 1870, the Roman Pope demanded of those that followed him the further embellished teaching that he was infallible, some of his followers realized the extent of his deviation from original Catholic Christianity and left the Roman church, one of those that did so was the mother of the Independent Catholic Church of the Americas, The church of Utrecht Holland which is known as “The Old Catholic Church”, Others who left petitioned the Patriarchs of the Orthodox Church to allow their churches to return to true Catholicism (i.e., Christian wholeness). They also requested that they be allowed to keep the customs and rituals that had been practiced by their Catholic forefathers in times before the Roman Pope separated himself from the Orthodox Church. Permission for this was first granted in 1911, and since that time churches in America, Italy, France, Great Britain, and Yugoslavia have returned to the fullness of the practice of the ancient Catholic Church. Another event has happened somewhat more recently within the Roman Catholic Church to cause some of its followers to question whether or not their Church had remained truly Catholic. This event was called the Second Vatican Council. While not fully understood at first, the type of changes mandated by this council in 1965 left many Roman Catholics wondering what had happened to their Catholic Faith. The ancient Mass, with its sense of seeking the Holiness of God with its congregation present, had been almost completely lost, and the deep reverence that everyone was inclined to display before the Holy Altar had been replaced with what some called “a town-meeting atmosphere.” Pope Francis sent special greetings to Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Bartholomew I the Archbishop of Constantinoplethat expressed his brotherly love for his fellow spiritual leader. The Pope said that he hoped for continued dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in a letter delivered by Cardinal Kurt Koch “Your Holiness, beloved brother in Christ, this is the first time that I address you on the occasion of the feast of the Apostle Andrew, the first-called. I take this opportunity to assure you of my intention to pursue fraternal relations between the Church of Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” the Pope wrote in the letter on November 30th. Pope Francis continued, “God, the source of all peace and love, has taught us throughout these years to regard one another as members of the same family. For indeed, we have one Lord and Savior. We belong to him through the gift of the good news of salvation transmitted by the apostles, through the one baptism in the name of the Holy Trinity, and through the holy ministry.” The Pope also referred to the current disconnect between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. “United in Christ, therefore, we already experience the joy of authentic brothers in Christ, while yet fully aware of not having reached the goal of full communion. In anticipation of the day in which we will finally take part together in the Eucharistic feast, Christians are duty-bound to prepare to receive this gift of God through prayer, inner conversion, renewal of life and fraternal dialogue.” Pope Francis met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, considered “first among equals” of the Orthodox bishops, on May 25th in Jerusalem and on May 25th, the two signed a joint declaration. I have often spoken about the urgent need for all Christian churches who profess to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and who call themselves “Christians” need to come together and put aside all the manmade rules and regulations that have divided the One Holy Catholic Church we profess in the Nicene and Apostles creeds. All we have to do to be aware of the battle that is raging between the powers of the Evil one and those who believe in Almighty God is turn on the news. To suppress the forces of evil all Christians need to join together in the battle. I close this reflection with a prayer for Christian Unity. A Prayer To The Holy Spirit For Unity By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD Almighty and merciful Father, send Your Holy Spirit down upon the leaders of all Christian churches opening their minds to the way, the truth and the light of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Guide them toward restoring and rebuilding the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church founded when the Holy Spirit descending the Apostles that first Pentecost. By the Holy Spirit gather all who believe Christ’s teachings together to bring about respect and dignity for all God’s children throughout the entire world. Inspire our world leaders to find a way to bring about a time of brotherhood in the name of God. Through the Holy Spirit, inspire all people to become more mindful of the needs of others and more generous toward the poor, aged, and sick. Open the minds of all to be more tolerant of the differences and diversity created by Almighty God and to rejoice in His creation. Instill deep in our hearts your truth and through the Spirit guide us in our service to you. We ask this in the name of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our redeemer and savior. AMEN
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 12:06:28 +0000
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