Bp. Kinner's contribution to the growth of the church is so great. Not only is his own Missionary Jurisdcition of the American Indian People doing wonderfully well, also his service to the Diocese of Holy Trinity and Great Plains. What wonderful care and oversight he provides for God's people. We are blessed with such honorable and saintly men of God who have been toiling for His kingdom without much ostentation.
We went through all kinds of weather: rain, sunshine, snow blizzards, wind storm. At one point, while pumping gas, I had to hold on to the gas pump as the wind was so wild and gusty. And that only one time, but Bishop Kinner has been ministering through all times and conditions.
So glad and proud to belong to and serve a diocese full of such saintly and dedicated people like Bp. Kinner and Bp. McNeley.
Much has been given us and therefore more will be expected of us. We continue to work for the Lord and for His greater glory, for upon His return we would like to be found worthy stewards, still serving God's people. We will have more of the story in pictures and words on our provincial website.
Personally I have had some experience as shepherd boy in my early childhood days. My mom who worked as a nurse in a government hospital, would ask us to graze our sheep and cows. It was a steep hillside with thorny bushes and rocks. I was seven or eight year old then, and the landscape looked huge for me then. I had to make sure that the sheep did not slip and fall and I had to bleat to mimic them at times to get their response, if I lost sight of them. At times, pretending to be a young one, I would bleat and the lambs would also respond. I needed to make sure that they all reached their pen. It was a small house that we lived in and the pen was just next to our house. Any little noise would wake us up. When they give birth to the young ones, we would stay awake at night to make sure that the birthing was right. What a joy it was to see them when they were born.
Our Lord applies this example of his times, an example of a shepherd that every one of his audience was familiar with. He is the Great and Good Shepherd, who is not a hireling. He will not run away at the face of danger, because his sheep is in danger. He would fight and defend his sheep till they are secure. Simply put, someone can go only over his dead body to steal his sheep.
What is great about this Good Shepherd is that He is God the Shepherd and true enough He lay down his life for his sheep. In this act of sacrifice, he was not only the shepherd, but the sheep, the lamb, the victim that was sacrificed. Call to priesthood, is just the beginning of a struggle in living out the calling. It could be martyrdom, but in our day and age it is a bloodless one. If anyone thought wearing this collar is going to command respect, they are mistaken. If anyone taught and thought, that the ordination to the holy orders can be recalled at will, they make mockery of such a holy estate and persist in their foolhardiness, for they have no clue of what it calls one for. The role of a shepherd can never ever be compromised, sidelined, bought off, having other preferential option, not even the secular job that we have for livelihood, for it’s a call from above: Feed my lamb, feed my sheep. Only if they feared their conscience and remembered the day they made their vows to the Lord on the day of their ordination, there will be so much of integrity and incessant work for God’s glory and His Kingdom. The Lord refers to the hireling; they are the ones only concerned about their welfare, their benefits, and their retirement. Matthew Henry very aptly comments on this concept of a 'hireling', “How basely the hireling deserts his post; when he sees the wolf coming, though then there is most need of him, he leaves the sheep and flees. Note, those who mind their safety more than their duty are an easy prey to Satan's temptations. (b.) How fatal the consequences are! the hireling fancies the sheep may look to themselves, but it does not prove so: the wolf catches them, and scatters the sheep, and woeful havoc is made of the flock, which will all be charged upon the treacherous shepherd. The blood of perishing souls is required at the hand of the careless watchmen. “
The call to the Holy Orders is a call from God to take care of the souls that are very dear to Him. And the accountability is going to be grave on the Day of Judgment, make no mistake about it. And our process of discerning the vocation is through prayers and the internal disposition of the candidate and of course one’s seminary training coupled with their on the job training in a pastoral setting. The twelve apostles sat and learnt at the school of Jesus. They heard him speak and teach, saw him do great works and saw his zeal for the poor and the down trodden. At the synagogue, Jesus got up and read the following: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.' And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'"
Resonating the very words of our Lord in the synagogue, for his ordination motto, Deacon John has chosen the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 10 verse 8 "Freely ye have received, Freely Give" He told me, “I prayed over this for a long time and I feel it sums up my calling well. I truly love working with those who have nothing, it is why I originally was drawn to the prison ministry and hospital chaplain.” We need to feel aglow with the zeal for His Kingdom and therein lies the call to be His heart, hands, eyes and feet.
It is a call to servitude. I believe that the washing of the feet is not confined to Maundy Thursday alone; in the case of every priest and deacon and bishop, we are called to serve. It is in giving that we receive. St. Francis of Assisi said so beautifully remembering the words of our Lord: the measure with which you will give is a measure in which you will receive. We wish Fr. John well and hope that he keeps his promise and vow that he will make in the assembly of this congregation and commit Himself to the cause of His sheep in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd.
]]>This story apparently defied the basic Christian belief of the empty tomb of Jesus of Nazareth, upon the claim of the discovery of the the Lost Tomb of Jesus.
On Saturday, 24 Feb 2007, Doctor Kloner, an archeologist dismissed the claims. "It makes a great story for a TV film," he told The Jerusalem Post. "But it's impossible. It's nonsense."
Faith is not restricted to an intellectual ascent that requires scientific methods to establish or disclaim the fact of the resurrection . Faith entails in itself totality of human experience that encompasses all the human faculties of body, heart, mind and soul. In other words, faith is not only loving “with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind” but also believing. On the Easter morning, though the women encountering Christ totally beyond their belief, they embraced and recognized Christ, as soon as they saw Him! The women were indeed privileged to meet the Risen Savior on the Easter morn. The resurrection of Christ, needs to be embraced.
The Risen Christ appeared to the apostles at varied times:
To the bewildered disciples after they buried all their apparent hope together with Jesus of Nazareth, he opens their eyes on the way to Emmaus, teaching them how the Old Testament must be fulfilled in Him.Ultimately opens their eyes to recognize Him in the Breaking of Bread.
To the frightened apostles, he appeared on the lake shore and cooked food for them, appeared behind the closed doors and said Peace be with you.
To one of the doubting apostles, he opens his side and asks him to verify for himself that he is the risen Lord and lauds those that had not seen Him and yet believed.
To the one who wanted to cling to Him, he tells her not to hold on to Him that He must ascend to His father. To all those who witnessed His gory death on Good Friday, Jesus gives the hope of everlasting life.
As a believer in the resurrection, we are certain that our God is real and alive. He came among us and pitched his tent with us in every way except sin. And therefore, as a human being He knows what each of us is going through in our own personal life. As our God He is there for us all the time, only if we could call on Him.
We can hope that all our suffering will end and have a redemptive value because of Christ. That each of us have our own cross to carry in this world until we cross over to our heavenly abode. No suffering is unbearable and no pain is capable of demoralizing us. Betrayals, Denials, falsehood with their accompanying pain, struggle, sorrow and suffering are going to be part of this human existence. But we can overcome all things in the Risen Christ who will strengthen us. "And if the Spirit of him who raised Christ from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who lives in you" (Romans 8:11).
We can hope for a resurrected body and life everlasting as did Jesus experience, as He rose as a victor over death and its dark domain. Our God is an awesome God at the same time interested in our personal well being. Remember God loves us no matter where we are in the scale of human standard of success or acceptability. He is risen. He is alive. He is here at our beck and call. Will we have the courage to call on Him?
Dear Friends,
When our dear Lord cried out from the Cross, "It is finished!" these were words of victory, not
defeat. Jesus came to save you from your sins. He fulfilled in His Person and Work every
requirement of the Old Testament Law. He offered Himself as Priest and Victim upon the Cross to pay the price of sin. He has finished the work of salvation His Father gave Him to do. His is the victory over the world, the flesh and the devil.
St. Peter says, "Christ died, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." The veil in the temple was rent asunder showing that through His precious blood, Christ is the Way to the Father.You can not enter the Presence of God trusting in your own righteousness, but in His great mercy 'under the blood of the Lamb.'
The teaching of the Old Testament is that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.The Lord did not deal with your sin by simply setting it aside, saying everything is alright. He sent His Son into the world to make the acceptable sacrifice for sin. "There was no other good enough / To pay the price of sin, / He only could unlock the gate / Of heaven, and let us in." None can go unto the Father but through His blood.
In the Sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel our Lord speaks most plainly that you must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have His life in you. "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them." Some found this to be a hard saying and they deserted Him. In the Upper Room our Lord instituted the new covenant in His Body and Blood so that you can feed on Him and have His life in you.
The word Lent speaks to the lengthening of daylight as Spring draws nigh. Spring is the renewal of the earth after the time of death of Winter. It is nature's way of proclaiming the blessed hope of the glorious resurrection of our Lord on the third day according to the Scriptures. Easter is the Spring of Souls from the prison of sin, for Jesus as a sun has risen and the Winter of your sins is flying.Those who believe on Jesus have His life to raise them up from sin and death in newness of life to live forever with the Lord.
We trust that you will have a most Blessed Easter and be filled with the confidences that "Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." Because He lives, you, too, will live as you will be glorified together with Him. May the words of Jesus' victory become your words of blessed assurance. "It is finished!"
Yours in that Blessed Hope,
The Right Reverend Thomas J. Kleppinger
And yet, if we know the heart of this man who loved Christ immensely and said the following prayer, "St. Patrick's Breastplate", we certainly can imitate St. Patrick and become the kind of the missionary who was aglow with zeal for God and for the people. We can become time and again aware of immense love of God for each of us.
St. Patrick's Breastplate is contained in the ancient Book of Armagh, from the early ninth century. along with Patrick's authentic "Confession." St. Patrick's Breastplate is his prayer to strengthen himself with God's protection as he prepared to confront and convert Loegaire, high king of Ireland. Whether we are Irish or not, we certainly can be catholic (the faith that is universally accepted) at heart!
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.
I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.
I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.
Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort, [i.e., at home]
Christ in the chariot seat, [i.e., travelling by land]
Christ in the poop. [i.e., travelling by water]
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
Romans 8:28 rings again: For those who love God all things will turn unto good.
St. Patrick's own younger days in slavery, gave him the vision to proclaim the triune God to the people of Ireland in symbols and concepts that were very near and dear to their heart. If you see Shamrock today, don't forget that it is the sign St. Patrick used to explain God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
May St. Patrick's Breastplate be our own prayer as we wake ourselves each morning to a new day
And here is the video that narrates a portion from St. Patrick's Diary:
]]>Palm Sunday has inaugurated the Holy Week that encompasses all the tragedies one could think of; but in the sight of God, all these would be turned into triumph through the glorious resurrection of Christ.
A cross has its own connotation depending on each person and the circumstance in which one is in and generally denotes any kind of pain or suffering that a Christian is called to take on and follow the Lord. A cross of poverty may not be a stark reality for those within the United States as much as for an impoverished family living in a third world country. A health issue may be easily treated for someone with the means to get healthcare, but to someone who doesn’t have the means, it could be a terrible crisis.
The cross could be a personal suffering wrought by failures, disappointments, sickness, family feuds or loss of a loved one. It could be financial instability or loss of employment. Whatever the case maybe we tend to get absorbed into the problems themselves and lose sight of the eternal perspective. We lose sight of what our Lord went through to secure our redemption.
We often bear the pangs emanating from our difficult situation and lose sight of the Christian dimension of suffering itself. We lose our peace of mind and struggle with restlessness. But there is power in the cross. The cross is redemptive only because of Jesus.
This Holy Week is loaded with all the human suffering that one can possibly imagine: our Lord’s agony in the garden in moments of loneliness where his sweat becomes blood, the betrayal by his friends and their abandonment, the deep sorrow that overcomes Him, the humanness of His crisis, the very people for whom He performed miracles of casting out demons and healing and the utter rejection by them. He came unto His own and His own received Him not. He dealt with physical suffering—the scourging, the crown of thorns. He was ridiculed by the mob and suffered His own uncertainty of enduring the passion, the crucifixion and agonious death on the cross.
How close Christ is to us through these sufferings. And yet we are invited to take up our own cross and follow the Lord. If our Lord and Master should endure this, who are we to complain about our crosses. Yet let us remind ourselves that God will not allow an ounce of suffering beyond what we can handle and He will also give us the strength. When we endure all the vicissitudes of our life with a Christian resignation, we will see for ourselves how redemptive these very situations can become.
Fr. Narsilio, an elderly Salesian Missionary to India, after his laborious active life, was confined to the Provincial House and I would often go see this inspiring patriarch. He would repeat this Italian poem to me:
When I was born a voice told me, "You are born to carry your cross." I embraced and carried the cross that the heaven assigned to me.
Then I looked, and I looked, and I looked, Behold all were carrying their crosses.
It’s good to remind ourselves that we are not alone when we carry our cross. There is company--The Lord and others. Our sufferings can become meaningful as long as we keep our eyes focussed on Jesus on the Cross.
Lent & Holy Week Schedule
Every Sunday at 10:00 am Holy Eucharist
EVERY FRIDAY
12:00 pm Meditations on the Passion of Christ
March 16 PALM SUNDAY
10:00 am Blessing of the palms, Palm Sunday Procession and Holy Eucharist
March 18 HOLY TUESDAY
6:30 pm Chrism Mass (Blessing of Oil)
March 19 HOLY WEDNESDAY
6:30 pm Children's programs/Evening Prayer/Deacons Mass/Dinner
March 20 MAUNDY THURSDAY - First Day of Spring
6:30 pm Celebration of the Lord’s Supper and Washing of the Feet
March 21 GOOD FRIDAY
12:00 am Outdoor Stations of the Cross, Reflections on the Last words of Jesus from the Cross, Lenten Lunch followed by Good Friday Liturgy at 3:00 pm
March 22 HOLY SATURDAY
10:30 pm Holy Vigil Liturgy: Blessing of the Fire, Pascal Procession, Blessing of water, Renewal of Baptismal Vows and the Holy Eucharist
March 23 EASTER SUNDAY
10:00 am Easter Day Eucharist
11:15 am Resurrection Eggs Easter Egg Hunt
1:00 pm Santa Misa
And may this hymn be our prayer:
Soul of my Saviour, sanctify my breast
Body of Christ, be thou my saving guest;
Blood of my Saviour, bathe me in thy tide,
Wash me with water flowing from thy side.
Strength and protection may thy Passion be;
O Blessed Jesus, hear and answer me;
Deep in thy wounds, Lord, hide and shelter me;
So shall I never, never part from thee.
Guard and defend me from the foe malign;
In death's dread moments make me only thine;
Call me, and bid me come to thee on high,
Where I may praise thee with thy saints for aye.
See you at church this Sunday! God bless you and your family
]]>In the epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul the apostle illustrates the difference between believers who rested in Christ only and those judaizers who trusted in the law, by a comparison taken from the story of Isaac and Ishmael. Matthew Henry.
St. Chrysostom’s comments can be paraphrased thus: The Patriarch Abraham had two sons, Ishmael through Hagar, a bonded woman and Isaac through promise.
Ishmael, for instance, who was born according to the flesh, was not only a bondman, but was cast out of his father's house; but Isaac, who was born according to the promise, being a true son and free, was lord of all.
The bond-woman was called Hagar, and "Hagar" is the word for Mount Sinai in the language of that country. So that it is necessary that all who are born of the Old Covenant should be bondmen, for that mountain where the Old Covenant was delivered hath a name in common with the bondwoman. And it includes Jerusalem, for this is the meaning of,
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now.
The reference to Isaac as the son of promise brings us to the scene when God tests the faith of Abraham and asks him to sacrifice his only son on Mt. Horeb. On their way we see Isaac asking his father about the sacrificial offering.
“The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
Isaac, the son of promise becomes synonymous with the Messiah with one significant difference. There will be no substitute in terms of the victim as Isaac was saved by the Angel of the Lord. Here the victim will be Jesus Himself who will be crucified. St. Paul’s reference to Jerusalem in terms of the liberated indeed will become true through Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. In terms of the old covenant (Mt. Sinai), there will be substitution when Jesus will institute the New Covenant. The law kills but the spirit saves. This instance of the New Covenant brings us to the sixth chapter of Johanine narration of the miracle of multiplication of loaves and fishes, where Jesus passionately asks the hungry crowd to focus not just merely on the daily bread, but the Living Bread, which is His own body and blood.
Just as Jesus out of compassion for the hungry people would break the bread to multiply it, he would outside Jerusalem let his body be broken. Thus they will look upon him whom they have pierced. After the son of man is lifted up as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent and all who looked upon it were saved, Jesus says, “ I will draw all men to myself”
And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. In the Eucharistic prayer, these very words of the miracle will be repeated synonymously with the words of the last supper. For in the night in which he was betrayed, (a) he took Bread; and when he had given thanks, (b) he brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, (c) this is my Body, which is given for you; Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise, after supper, (d) he took the Cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for (e) this is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins; Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me.
.
After feeding the multitudes, people will seek after him. Jesus takes the opportunity to open their eyes to the singular sacrifice that is about to take place outside the city walls of Jerusalem. The Living Bread would be broken for them and His Blood will be poured out for them, to save them from sin - something that His disciples will rediscover on their way to Emmaus after His resurrection.
Looking at the multitudes expecting several encores of the miracle, Jesus addressed them:
6 Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
28 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
30 So they asked him, "What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "
32 Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
34 "Sir," they said, "always give us this bread."
35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All whom the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."
41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42 They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"
43 "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. 44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which people may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
53 Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit [e] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe."
During the administration of the Holy Communion the priest says reiterating that the Living Bread which is broken for us: The body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for thee. The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ that was shed thee. Preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life.
It is not a matter of how he is present, that is our content of our faith: but that He IS present. The real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist should be apparent for anyone who would read the above mentioned discourse on Bread of Life (Jn.6). The Anglican tradition simply accepts this as a mystery, because Jesus said so.
The Prayer of Humble access is the greatest Eucharistic theology in simple terms:
“WE do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his Body, and our souls washed through his most precious Blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.
Back to the Galatians, St. Paul reiterates that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. What a price Christ paid for our freedom, indeed! The choice therefore: to be children of slaves and sin or children of freedom and grace?
The third Sunday in Lent offers us the gospel where Jesus casts out a demon - This is proof of His divine mission to destroy the works of the devil and deliver His people from sin. And yet his critics accuse him of acting in collusion with Beelzebub the prince of the devil. And Jesus responds, “If it’s by the finger of God that I cast out the demon, know that the kingdom of God is here.”
The finger of God reminds us of that famous fresco of Michaelangelo on the Sistine Chapel. God, the Father breathes life into Adam with his right hand outstretched to impart a spark of life from His own finger into that of Adam. Adam’s left arm is extended in a similar pose as though reaching out for God only separated by a slight distance. God can, with His finger accomplish a lot, because He is God.
In Matthew, the same verse, “the finger of God,” reads as by the “Spirit of God.” This shows how easily God can conquer Satan. If the heavens and earth were made with the finger of God (When I consider the heavens, even the work of thy fingers; the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained…Psalm 8:3), to vanquish Satan was not a big deal for God. In this Gospel, Jesus takes the occasion to speak of the dynamics of the devil and cautions us about his deceitful ways.
Matthew Henry comments on the work of the devil juxtaposed to the soul of a sinner.
“The miserable condition of an unconverted sinner. In his heart, which was fitted to be a habitation of God, the devil has his palace; and all the powers and the faculties of the soul, being employed by him in the service of sin, are his good The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he resides and where he rules; he works in the children of disobedience. The heart is a palace, a noble dwelling; but the unsanctified heart is the devil's palace. His will is obeyed, his interests are served, and the militia is in his hands; he usurps the throne in the soul. [2.] The devil, as a strong man armed, keeps this palace, does all he can to secure it to himself, and to fortify it against Christ. All the prejudices with which he hardens men's hearts against truth and holiness are the strong-holds which he erects for the keeping of his palace; this palace is his garrison. [3.] There is a kind of peace in the palace of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner has a good opinion of himself, is very secure and merry, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state nor any dread of the judgment to come; he flatters himself in his own eyes, and cries peace to himself. Before Christ appeared, all was quiet, because all went one way; but the preaching of the gospel disturbed the peace of the devil's palace.”
How vulnerable we are, to be deceived by the father of lies! It is necessary that therefore to examine ourselves in the light of His divine will.
Human as we are, we could only look at things in retrospect and see God’s hand leading us through all our vicissitudes. Only when we have traveled the road and climb on the mountain, we can look back at the trail that we have traversed. Otherwise, everything for the moment is a walk of faith in God.
How could we tell if it’s through the finger of God, that these things have happened? In Christian parlance, we call it the discernment, the ability to sift through things by the grace of the Holy Spirit. We prayerfully submit everything to the Lord, listen to our conscience and examine if it is in concordance with the Scripture. Seek counsel of the wise and experienced people around you and make your decision.
In the epistle in the third Sunday in Lent, Paul the apostle calls us to walk in the light and he gives us the foundation for our soul searching in terms of the fruit of the spirit which is all goodness, righteousness and truth. Being lead by the finger of God means that we walk in His light. It means that we say no to sin and yes to His saving grace.
Psalm 91 gives us the reassurance:
9 If you say, "The LORD is my refuge,"
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
St. Paul in his letter to the Romans reiterates the same: If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? (Romans 8:31-35)
Also remember what Gamaliel, Paul’s teacher told the Sanhedrin when they were ought to destroy the works of the Apostles, “And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:39: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God (Acts 5:38-39).
Any venture or enterprise sought for one’s own glory will die, unless it is for the greater glory of God and salvation of souls that are so dear to Him. Isn't it, then, better to be led by the Finger of God than by the devices of men?
One of the readings for morning prayer dwells on the situation, when the world at this point in biblical time, lost their moors and was wallowing in the myres of sin. Genesis 18:20, expresses the divine concern for humanity. The dialogue between God and Abraham:
20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said:
"Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?"
If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."
29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"
He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
The rest is history and a lesson for humanity. The same God whose wrath destroyed Sodom, as people were set in their sinful ways, so loved the world that He sent His only son to save the world from sin, in Jesus, whose very name says it all - the one who will save His people from sin. God the Father is willing to forgive us and receive into His loving embrace, if we realize the power of His mercy which is always available.
But when we make sin our lifestyle, then we have sold our souls to 'father of all lies'. There in lies the import of the call to repentance and holiness. Let us remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return. But we hold a treasure in the earthen vessels, as St. Paul says, that is the soul which is eternal and everlasting.
Lent is a good time to take stock of the status of our soul, in terms of our relationship with God. St. Augustine, who was a repentant sinner, beautifully put it,
You have made us for yourself O God and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee,Christ has paid the price for our sins and its up to us to accept the riches of His divine mercy, not just in word, but in all sincerity, in all its truth.]]>
I did not become a priest overnight. Left home when 14, six years of minor seminary, ten solid years of formation (philosophy and theology and the praxis in the ministry ) thanks to my religious order and 17 years of fruitful ministry as a priest. But as Joshua said, “As for me and my household we will serve the Lord.” This will be our passion, this will be our goal. My life is based on only two fears: fear of the Lord and of my conscience. These are the two entities that I will ultimately face on the day of judgment. Until that day, you will continue to see my relentless work for His Kingdom and my tending His sheep.
Anyone who would like to walk in this path is welcome to join in. As the Lord said, a tree will be known by its fruits. And thanks be to God, for using me as His instrument for His purpose.
]]> Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
May our works, plans, hopes and dreams begin from Him, in Him thereby happily ended.
May this year of our Lord be one of His grace-filled new one, that His Grace may be sufficient for us in caring for His people until His second coming.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
]]>Here's a wonderful video that says it all. God bless this soul who has visualized this song in Mary's shoes.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
]]>We sat to enjoy the casserole that Holly had prepared for the family. This was very special as we had Betsy our daughter from Wisconsin. Perhaps the last time we would see Jake in this Christmas season as he would be leaving for Wisconsin to play for the Badgers as a tight-end. He will only get four weeks off a year with his football/college schedule. Audra has dropped by on her way to Colorado. We were delighted to see her too. And the Christmas Novena for the evening was fast approaching. We said grace, started eating, and a then came a call from Fr. Jerry Ellington at 5:19 pm. We knew that Fr. Jerry Ellington was on driving to Evansville, Indiana. We had gone to Evansville just a couple of weeks ago to introduce Fr. Jerry as temporary priest in charge of the Trinity Anglican Church.
“Bishop Sir, I got into a wreck at mile marker 225. My car is totaled. I got hit from front and back.” My heart almost stopped.
Good Lord, I thought please keep him safe. Then I asked him how he was and I could see his confused response. He said he was alright. And I knew what it felt like as I had been in one myself.
I shared the shock with our family and called Dn. David Straw of Trinity Anglican Evansville and asked him where mile marker 225 was. He was not sure but sure he was checking and making arrangements to find the location and get there.
Called Fr. Don Pendergraft who was readying himself for the Christmas Novena at St. Gabriel’s and briefed him of the same. Called Fr. Jerry again and he said that he would keep me posted as ambulance and police were there. Still we were trying to find Mile Marker 225 on the map. In the meantime another call to Dn. David gave the information, “Mile 225 at Sullivan MO. Nearest hospital is Missouri Baptist Hospital MO”.
In the meantime my attempt to call Fr. Jerry went to his voicemail. When I called the hospital, they would not share any info because of HIPPA regulations. I begged them to let me know if there was a priest in the ER and I am his bishop from Arkansas. That worked. And soon I heard Fr. Jerry on the phone. He said he was hurting and he would not know if he would be admitted in the hospital. He was on route to be x-rayed and was not sure of his status still.
Fr. Jerry’s family needed to be informed. Got in touch with his daughter Jessica and told her of this tragedy and that our folks from Evansville were on the way. They were relieved to know this. Dn. David was awaiting a word from Fr. Jerry on the doctor’s report.
Dn. John Slavin who had treated numerous patients advised me that we should leave right away. Learning from Fr. Jerry that he had sustained whiplash we headed to Sullivan. As we neared mile marker 225 we found the road strewn with glass pieces. And I said how terrible must have been for this minister of God to have encountered this tragedy.
Fr. Jerry told us that he was driven to Flying J, off exit 226 and was waiting for us. When we arrived, what I saw deeply moved me. Here is this man of God, on fire for the souls of His flock who has hit on the roadside, trying to smile through his pain. The purple chasuble, the mass kit everything was on one table as though he was a gypsy priest. We were so glad to see him ‘alive’ and thanked God. With him were also our dear Evansville folks who beat us there by few minutes: Dn. David, his son Connor and Postulant Charlie.
Fr. Jerry said that as he approached mile marker 225, the cars in front of him veered off the road, hit the median and began to spin. All that he could see was an oncoming SUV. The guy was driving on the wrong side of the freeway. Fr. Jerry braked, but to no avail. The SUV hit him and folded the hood of his car. Upon braking, the cars from behind hit him. His car sustained impact from front and back. Fr. Jerry said this was really a miracle for him to get out alive. Jesus whom he was carrying in his mass kit alone saved him that night.
Fr. Jerry quickly began to check on those that were involved in the impact and they were all fine, except himself. When he asked this elderly gentleman what he was doing, he said that he thought he was on the right side of the road. Fr. Jerry wittingly responded that he wished it was true, that this gentleman was on the right side and hundreds of cars on the wrong side.
In spite of his hurting pain, Fr. Jerry took a moment to give away all the goodies he had brought for Evansville and went over with them an overview of his plans for their scheduled meeting the following morning. Even in his painful moments he did not shy away from his responsibilities.
By the time we picked up Fr. Jerry and reached home it was 7 am. We surely were glad that we came. What was amazing was that Fr. Jerry was alive, given what had happened. God was looking out for him. What more I appreciated was the dedication of this priest in caring for his flock, willing to go miles to take care of them, truly a servant at heart. Fr. Jerry is a great example for us all to emulate his priestly courage and commitment.
]]>Here is the reason why the Three main branches of the continuing churches have stayed away from the ongoing federation, partnership and alliances that have been attempted time and again: to be faithful to the apostolic faith and order in the anglican way.
Recently Dr. Peter Toon had referenced the Continuing Churches:
And the Common Cause Partnership is thus bound to the Formularies pure and simple, and will have to amend them to change them and their authority.Thus there should not be, and ought not to be, in what will become a Province the presence of any “ordained women” (ordained under the innovatory 1979 TEC prayer book provisions or the like). Now, if this most important fact is recognized and adhered to, then a very MAJOR barrier keeping away from CCP the major Continuing Anglican Churches (ACA, PCK, ACC & UEC etc.) and traditional Anglicans elsewhere will have been removed. As Continuers they claim to seek to continue the Anglican Way as it existed before the arrival of the innovatory ordinal within the 1976/1979 TEC prayer book. A CCP in which ordained women have no part will be difficult for them to say “no” to and stay outside, for it will moving towards being really Anglican!If ACA is part of the Traditional Anglican Communion, how could they claim to be the champions of Anglicanism?
Elsewhere on virtue online, at the time of ACC-UECNA Communion agreement, FrRHart had responded:
Three branches? The largest is the TAC (Traditional Anglican Communion), which is the ACA (Anglican Church in America) in the U.S. I notice that the ACC's ++Haverland does not notice them. As Bob Hope once quipped, "That's like not noticing Dolly Parton in a phone booth." Sorry if that seems inapprproiate, but I could think of no better quotation (And for folks under 40, a phone booth was a small enclosure with a telephone that actually took dimes- currency of the past).In the mean time,
Whither is Anglicanism of the TAC today? If we followed the trends of the pundits perhaps we would have to follow the Traditional Anglican Communion perhaps all of us would be desirous of communion with Rome.
In my note to Abp. Haverland of the ACC several months ago, I had referred and responded as to the position of ACA and TAC the following: Having seen +Hepworth's and TAC's stand in this video .
TAC's Concordat http://www.acahome.org/tac/library/docs/concordat.htm
Also ACA's presence in FACA which includes AMiA that is favorable to women's ordination,
FACA's Presence in CCP which includes Anglican Church Network (that more than sympathises with the women priesthood).
Thanks be to God, Anglicanism is well and alive, where its theology or apostolic tradition is not compromised. Its alive among the faithful who love this tradition and would not wish to trade it with anyone else for anything less. Its alive in churches and homes where there is pastoral care, even if they are small in number. Its alive through its dedicated clergy when they feed the spritual and physical hunger, visit the sick and the cure of their souls and continue on their work relentlessly until the coming of the Lord. It's time that real Anglicans stand up and do not vacillate in their anglican ideology, theology or the apostolic tradition - Biblically sound, sacramentally orthodox and apostolically valid. And therefore we will continue to "publish glad tidings, tidings of peace, tidings of Jesus, redemption and release".