Peace & blessings
We wish you all the very best to you & your loved ones. Let us not only pray for peace in our hearts but also in our world. Bishop Michael Theogene & Rev. Honey Theogene for the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America. From all the bishops, clergy, and laity in the church. God’s blessings.
World AIDS Day
God of many names – you created humanity and called all humans good; bless us with that same understanding of calling all of our sisters and brothers good – including those who have lived and died from AIDS – those who are still living with HIV/AIDS and thriving – those who care for and work to help those with HIV/AIDS – and the scientists who are working to find a cure for AIDS. Help us, O God, to be all loving and compassionate as we mark this 2023 World AIDS Day with our continuing hope in the days ahead. Amen.
Quotes for Reflection
An experience of collective pain does not deliver us from grief or sadness; it is a ministry of presence. These moments remind us that we are not alone in our darkness and that our broken heart is connected to every heart that has known pain since the beginning of time.
Brene Brown in BRAVING THE WILDERNESS
Quotes for Reflection
On the beach at dawn;
four small stones clearly
hugging each other.
How many kinds of love
might there be in the world,
and how many formations might they make.
And who am I ever
to imagine I could know
such a marvelous business?
Mary Oliver from, “On the Beach” in SWAN: POEMS AND PROSE POEMS
Quotes for Reflection
We think that by protecting ourselves from suffering, we are being kind to ourselves. The truth is, we only become more fearful, more hardened and more alienated. We experience ourselves as separate from the whole. This separation becomes like a prison for us – a prison that restricts us to our personal hopes and fears and to caring only for the people nearest to us. Curiously enough, if we primarily try to shield ourselves from discomfort, we suffer. Yet, when we don’t close ourselves off, when we let our hearts break, we discover our kinship with all beings.
Pema Chodron in WHEN THINGS FALL APART
Quotes for Reflections
How do geese know to fly to the sun? Who tells them the seasons? How do we humans know when it is time to move on?
As with the migrant birds, so surely with us, there is a voice within, if only we would listen to it that tells us certainly when to go forth into the unknown.
Elizabeth Kubler Ross
A New Serenity Prayer by Fr. James Martin, S.J.
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the people I cannot change,
which is pretty much everyone,
since I’m clearly not you, God.
At least not the last time I checked.
And while you’re at it, God,
please give me the courage
to change what I need to change about myself,
which is frankly a lot, since, once again,
I’m not you, which means I’m not perfect.
It’s better for me to focus on changing myself
than to worry about changing other people,
who, as you’ll no doubt remember me saying
I can’t change anyway.
Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up
whenever I think that I’m clearly smarter
than everyone else in the room,
that no one knows what they’re talking about except me,
or that I alone have all the answers.
Basically, God,
grant me the wisdom
to remember that I’m not you.
AMEN
Lexio
Love is what we long for and were created for – in fact love is what we are as an outpouring from God – but suffering often seems to be our opening to that need, that desire and that identity. Love and suffering are the main portals that open up the mind space and the heart space (either can come first) breaking us into breath, depth and communion.
Richard Rohr in The Naked Now
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Readings: Isaiah – Chapter 58 verses 9b-14 / Psalm 86 verses 1-6 / Luke – Chapter 5 verses 27-32
Gospel:
Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, “Follow me.”
And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.
Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house,
and a large crowd of tax collectors
and others were at table with them.
The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying,
“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
Reflection:
Friends, last night I was able to see the movie, “Jesus Revolution” which is a movie based on the true story of pastor Greg Laurie’s autobiographical book of the same title on how in the early 1970s, Greg Laurie and a sea of young people descend on sunny Southern California to redefine truth through all means of liberation. Inadvertently, Laurie meets a charismatic street preacher and a pastor who opens the doors to a church to a stream of wandering youth. What unfolds is a counter culture movement that becomes the greatest spiritual awakening in American history. (Film synopsis)
Friends, if you look at your own calling, how God has called you, to reexamine your life and open to what God is leading you to. We must ask ourselves, have we responded to what we have been called to? To what purpose are we being called? How are we answering to our God’s gentle promptings and then leading us further to share this calling with our fellow sisters and brothers inspiring them to do the same?
It doesn’t mean that we are meant to have big communities of faith as Pastor Laurie has been called to, but to how we hear and answerer God’s call to be present to the suffering of those among us. Are we responding with an open heart instead of reacting in fear to what we are asked to enter into?
Have we paid attention to the simple, instead of being afraid, running away from answering the call? Do we sit patiently, trusting to see what God is asking us to do?
Bishop Michael Theogene
Co-Pastor
The CACINA Catholic Parish of Saint Benedict &
Abbot of the Benedictines of Peace and Justice
The Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA)
Please feel free to share, like, subscribe, comment, and post any content that you see on our CACINA and individual CACINA community’s social media pages.
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Copyright © 2023, Catholic Apostolic Church in North America. All rights reserved.
Contact us at 1- (800) 603-0644
Our mailing address is:
Bishop Michael Theogene
3259 NW 32nd Terrace
Oakland Park, Florida 33309
Friday after Ash Wednesday
Friday after Ash Wednesday
Readings: Isaiah – Chapter 58 verses 1-9a / Psalm 51 verses 3-6ab, 18-19 / Matthew – Chapter 9 verses 14-15
Gospel:
The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.”
Reflection:
Friends, we know what fasting entails. When I was growing up, I remembered how fasting was something that was necessary for one to do from time to time because it made you realize the plight of suffering in our world. I also recall that fasting was also a way to be centered to be one with the world. Also fasting was good for my own self-reflection to be attuned to what God was trying to speak to my heart.
I am also amazed how so many other faith traditions beside Christianity, how fasting in all its forms is utilized in our care for not only from our action to self but concern for the other, our world. Oh, how we have learned so much from one another. In addition to fasting in whichever way we are called, besides from food, how about we fast from gossip, speaking ill of someone else in trying to assert ourselves to others, getting involved in situations that don’t involve us and we trying to fix it all, complaining how our children or a close friend doesn’t reach out to us as often and all the complaining and the likes of it?
Let us be grateful in whatever way we are called to fast in the hopes that new vision and realizations will abound in our minds and hearts making us ready for the kingdom, for the world at hand.
Bishop Michael Theogene
Co-Pastor
The CACINA Catholic Parish of Saint Benedict &
Abbot of the Benedictines of Peace and Justice
The Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA)
Please feel free to share, like, subscribe, comment, and post any content that you see on our CACINA and individual CACINA community’s social media pages.
Please help us spread the word of God through the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America by forwarding this message to others.
Find us at http://www.cacina.org or https://www.facebook.com or http://www.cacina.wordpress.com
Copyright © 2023, Catholic Apostolic Church in North America. All rights reserved.
Contact us at 1- (800) 603-0644
Our mailing address is:
Fr. Michael Ellis, Chancellor
175 Fairway Drive
South Burlington, Vermont 05403
Thursday after Ash Wednesday Reflection
Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Readings: Deuteronomy – Chapter 30 verses 15-20 / Psalm 1 verses 1-4, & 6 / Luke – Chapter 9 verses 22-25
Gospel:
Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
Then he said to all,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?”
Reflection:
Friends, God does not want us to suffer. God knows that life alone has its
own sufferings and things that happen in our lives, our world brings
enough of its own struggles and strife. We see the struggles and God
knows that the struggle is real. With the struggles that take place in our
lives, yes, we are to work through them as best as we can through the
grace of God. When we let certain things that distract us from God, it
keeps us from being our true selves. When we are not our true selves, we
are unable to truly receive the blessings that God has for us. We are no
good to ourselves or to anyone else. Once we free ourselves from all that
does not serve God, our eyes and minds, and hearts will be ready to
receive what our God has in stored for us. All we have to do is give up our
egos, letting go of all that we have held onto awaiting the new
transformation, the new way of life that awaits us. Are we ready for that
healing love?
Bishop Michael Theogene
Co-Pastor
The CACINA Catholic Parish of Saint Benedict &
Abbot of the Benedictines of Peace and Justice
The Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA)
Please feel free to share, like, subscribe, comment, and post any content that you see on our CACINA and individual CACINA community’s social media pages.
Please help us spread the word of God through the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America by forwarding this message to others.
Find us at http://www.cacina.org or https://www.facebook.com or http://www.cacina.wordpress.com
Copyright © 2023, Catholic Apostolic Church in North America. All rights reserved.
Contact us at 1- (800) 603-0644
Our mailing address is:
Fr. Michael Ellis, Chancellor
175 Fairway Drive
South Burlington, Vermont 05403
Ash Wednesday Reflection
Ash Wednesday
Gospel:
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
Reflection:
Friends, during this Lenten season, let us be mindful of not wanting to give
something up, but what we will be doing, addressing the things that we can
do that we paid no attention to. What will we do? What will I do different in
my life that will draw me closer to God and my neighbor? Will we easily
forgive, when it has been hard to? Am I going to give up resentment, anger,
judgment, quitting? Am I going to give up anxiety, mulling over and over
things in my head, that I enhance because I am so hurt and angry with
someone who offended or reprimanded me? Am I so self-righteous, that I
keep talking about my hurt, that I want others to side with me as I assemble
my own jury swayed to the verdict I want?
Sisters and brothers, this Lent, all we can do is be able to do and be our
best. It is incumbent upon us to be able to realize our limitations and know
that we can’t go alone. We need God in our lives. We not only need God
in our lives, but we also need each other. The same way that Jesus
showed us what we have missed in life being distant from God, Jesus
shows us that we need to be united with God in all of God’s wonder and
splendor. Our God is overwhelming, and we wouldn’t be able to contain the
amount of love God has for us. It would be too much for us. We can show,
as best as we can, the love we have for others without restrictions, as
Jesus showed how to love one another as we love ourselves. No matter
what it is, no matter what it is, the answer is always love.
Co-Pastor
The CACINA Catholic Parish of Saint Benedict &
Abbot of the Benedictines of Peace and Justice
The Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA)
Please feel free to share, like, subscribe, comment, and post any content that you see on our CACINA and individual CACINA community’s social media pages.
Please help us spread the word of God through the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America by forwarding this message to others.
Find us at http://www.cacina.org or https://www.facebook.com or http://www.cacina.wordpress.com
Copyright © 2023, Catholic Apostolic Church in North America. All rights reserved.
Contact us at 1- (800) 603-0644
Our mailing address is:
Fr. Michael Ellis, Chancellor
175 Fairway Drive
South Burlington, Vermont 05403
Advent Reflections Wed and Thurs of the 4th Week of Advent
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Readings: Song of Songs – Chapter 2 verses 8-14 or Zephaniah – Chapter 3 verses 14-18a / Psalm 33 verses 2-3, 11-12, 20-21 / Luke – Chapter 1 verses 39-45
Gospel:
Mary set out in those days
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
Reflection:
Friends, sometimes when we travel, we look to ascend to the mountain top. Challenging ourselves to do good and be good. We look hard at ourselves and strive to be a better version of ourselves. In what we have done and seek to be changed for, we have to be present in the moment. We no longer need to look at the past to see who we were but live in the now for who we can become. We should savor the moment, savor the journey. When we reach our milestones in life, when God unveils so much to us and our spirits become tuned to God, we can really bring Gods presence to those we encounter as our God is present to us. We than begin to see, speak, and feel with the very spirit of God.
“The Lord is coming – always coming. When you have ears to hear and eyes to see you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent – life is recognizing the coming of the Lord.”
Henri Nouwen
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Readings: 1 Samuel – Chapter 1 verses 24-28 / Psalm meditation 1 Samuel – Chapter 2 verses 1, 4-8abcd / Luke – Chapter 1 verses 46-56
Gospel:
Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months
and then returned to her home.
Reflection:
Friends, we must remember that our God never forsakes us. God never leaves us alone. God is continually walking with us. You may feel God is sometimes distant at times, but our God continually is with us, in us and showering us with love, but we are not aware of it. It is all about trust.
Bishop Michael Theogene
Co-Pastor
The CACINA Catholic Parish of Saint Benedict &
Abbot of the Benedictines of Peace and Justice
The Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA)
Please feel free to share, like, subscribe, comment, and post any content that you see on our CACINA and individual CACINA community’s social media pages.
Please help us spread the word of God through the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America by forwarding this message to others.
Find us at http://www.cacina.org or https://www.facebook.com or http://www.cacina.wordpress.com
Copyright © 2022, Catholic Apostolic Church in North America. All rights reserved.
Contact us at 1- (800) 603-0644
Our mailing address is:
Fr. Michael Ellis, Chancellor
175 Fairway Drive
South Burlington, Vermont 05403
Advent Reflections Mon and Tues of the 4th Week of Advent
Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Readings: Judges – Chapter 13 verses 2-7, 24-25A / Psalm 71 verses 3-4A, 5-AB, 16-17 / Luke – Chapter 1 verses 5-25
Gospel:
In the days of Herod, King of Judea,
there was a priest named Zechariah
of the priestly division of Abijah;
his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was Elizabeth.
Both were righteous in the eyes of God,
observing all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren
and both were advanced in years.
Once when he was serving as priest
in his division’s turn before God,
according to the practice of the priestly service,
he was chosen by lot
to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.
Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside
at the hour of the incense offering,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him,
standing at the right of the altar of incense.
Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you shall name him John.
And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth,
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,
and he will turn many of the children of Israel
to the Lord their God.
He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah
to turn the hearts of fathers toward children
and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,
to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”
Then Zechariah said to the angel,
“How shall I know this?
For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
And the angel said to him in reply,
“I am Gabriel, who stand before God.
I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.
But now you will be speechless and unable to talk
until the day these things take place,
because you did not believe my words,
which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah
and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.
But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,
and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary.
He was gesturing to them but remained mute.
Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.
After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,
and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,
“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit
to take away my disgrace before others.”
Reflection:
Friends, God wants to shower us with so much that it can’t be described in words. It is similar to us who have been parents or reared children that you know you want to give so much to them that all that you wish to do, may have some limits, but you want to do it all, as best as you can. God wants so much to do the same and more for each one of us. It can’t be explained, and it doesn’t need to. All that we need to know and do, is to be free and willingly to accept the gifts that God gives to us.
Think back to when God gifted you with something that you know that God was definitely involved. How did you respond to it? Did you receive it humbly with great care? What did you do with that gift? How were you able to share it with others? Or did you keep it for yourself?
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Readings: Isaiah – Chapter 7 verses 10-14 / Psalm 24 verses 1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 / Luke – Chapter 1 verses 26-38
Gospel:
In the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
Reflection:
The gift of the presence of an angel is a strong manifestation of God. When we respond with awe it doesn’t require much. Only for us to be open to the surprise that is unfolding right in front of us. This gift of presence is the splendor and awe of it that something new and different is about to happen. No matter how many times the encounter, it is always a visit from and with God. The divine presence is working in our midst, allowing God to work, manifesting God’s self in the Spirit to reveal this and more.
When we allow people to come into our lives, we not only share a bond with each other, we invite God into it in the name of Jesus. When we allow this to take place, we open ourselves to grace upon grace, not only for ourselves and the others we gather with, but also for our world.
Co-Pastor
The CACINA Catholic Parish of Saint Benedict &
Abbot of the Benedictines of Peace and Justice
The Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA)
Please feel free to share, like, subscribe, comment, and post any content that you see on our CACINA and individual CACINA community’s social media pages.
Please help us spread the word of God through the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America by forwarding this message to others.
Find us at http://www.cacina.org or https://www.facebook.com or http://www.cacina.wordpress.com
Copyright © 2022, Catholic Apostolic Church in North America. All rights reserved.
Contact us at 1- (800) 603-0644
Our mailing address is:
Fr. Michael Ellis, Chancellor
175 Fairway Drive
South Burlington, Vermont 05403
Advent Reflections Thurs Fri Sat of the Third Week of Advent
Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
Readings: Isaiah – Chapter 54 verses 1-10 / Psalm 30 verses 2 and 4-6, 11-12a and 13b / Luke – Chapter 7 verses 24-30
Gospel:
When the messengers of John the Baptist had left,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John.
“What did you go out to the desert to see a reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine garments?
Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously
are found in royal palaces.
Then what did you go out to see?
A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom Scripture says:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
he will prepare your way before you.
I tell you,
among those born of women, no one is greater than John;
yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.”
(All the people who listened, including the tax collectors,
who were baptized with the baptism of John,
acknowledged the righteousness of God;
but the Pharisees and scholars of the law,
who were not baptized by him,
rejected the plan of God for themselves.
Reflection:
What do people see when they meet us? What would it be that we would like them to see? When people meet us, do we put on airs and pretend to be someone or something that we are not? What do people see?
When people meet me, I would hope that people see a genuine person filled with hope of one who wants to love as Jesus loved. I want to be to others as God is for me, for us. Eternal happiness and bliss for my fellow sisters and brothers who live a non-judgmental life who gives unconditional love that gives the glory to God. I work on giving up my ego and not feed all that does not serve me and God. I work on living in the now in the present moment and not trying to live in the past and the future that has gone or has not come yet. How I live in this life gives me an indication on how I will live in the next. By accepting God’s plan for my life gives me the blessed assurance that I am cooperating with God and God with me.
Friday of the Third Week of Advent
Readings: Isaiah – Chapter 56 verses 1-3a, 6-8 / Psalm 67 verses 2-3, 5, 7-8 / John – Chapter 5 verses 33-36
Gospel:
Jesus said to the Jews:
“You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept testimony from a human being,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
John was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.”
Reflection:
When the prophets foretold the coming of Jesus and the ones who came after Jesus lived his message of love, have and will people continue to believe them? Who are the ones in our lives who are prophets? Have we listened to them? How about the prophets, God used to speak to us? Do we recall the times when those ordinary persons in our lives are the prophets speaking God’s word to us? Who are the ones who we look to who have helped us to see with spiritual eyes? Have you or I been a prophet bearing God’s love and healing to those we encounter?
Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Readings: Genesis – Chapter 49 verses 2, 8-10 / Psalm 72 verses 1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17 / Matthew – Chapter 1 verses 1-17
Gospel:
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.
Reflection:
It is always said that you don’t choose the family you are born into. We may think we have not picked the family we are in, but I believe before we were born, God gave us a choice and we picked our family for a reason we will know when we return to God. If we think back from our beginnings to the present, the journeys we are on, we can see the members of our families in the happiest of times and in the saddest of times. We can see the members of our families who have made an impact on the family within and without. We can see the ones who have strived to keep the family together and those for whatever reason have left the family. And did you know, like Jesus we too have a mission to fulfill in our lifetime? Are we ready like Mary to say YES?
Bishop Michael Theogene
Co-Pastor
The CACINA Catholic Parish of Saint Benedict &
Abbot of the Benedictines of Peace and Justice
The Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA)
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