ST TERESA of CALCUTTA CACINA CATHOLIC COMMUNITY
SATURDAY, 11/7, 11AM-12:30PM SUNDAY, 11/15, 12:15PM-1:30PM
FOOD COLLECTION
In a “normal” year, the Holiday Season lends itself toward a greater food demand for those who experience food insecurities. The pandemic has only increased that demand. Saint Teresa’s is collecting food to make the holidays just a little bit brighter for those in need. NO GLASS JARS, please.
SUGGESTED HOLIDAY FOOD ITEMS NEEDED
Canned Veggies – all kinds Apple Sauce (no glass)
Instant Mashed Potatoes
Canned Yams
Dry Gravy Packets
Pudding/Pie Filling (box) French Fried Onions
Pie Crust Mix
Cranberry Sauce
Stuffing Mix
Pumpkin Pie Mix
Mac/Cheese (box)
Cornbread Mix (e.g., Jiffy) Cream/Mushroom Soup
YEAR-ROUND Items Needed
Rice (1 or 2 lb. bags)
Canned or Dried Beans – all kinds Velveeta cheese (8 oz or 16 oz)
Baked Beans
Peanut Butter
Pasta’s (all but spaghetti)
CLOTHING COLLECTION
The “PARKING LOT GANG”
Saint Teresa’s PARKING LOT GANG serves those experiencing homelessness in the St. Pete area. The “GANG” regularly distributes clothing, sleeping mats, hygiene, snack, and other needed items.
Perhaps you’re cleaning out closets & drawers? Perhaps there are items you no longer need?
The “GANG” would be grateful to receive un- needed items along with any HIGH DEMAND items. Especially needed: men’s and women’s clothing, any size, but we also accept children’s clothing (Sorry, we’re unable to accept furniture or household furnishings).
HIGH DEMAND ITEMS NEEDED
Sneakers or Athletic Shoes T Shirts
Shorts – Jeans or Khaki’s
Pants – Jeans or Khaki’s
Socks & Underwear (new) Belts
Light Weight Jackets
Hoodies & Sweatshirts
Backpacks & Messenger Bags
Grocery Store Cloth Satchels
Single-serving Flip-Top Foods
Hotel/Travel-size Personal Hygiene items
(shampoo, body wash, etc) Bottled Water
We need to practice humility
Today’s Gospel teaches us the need for true humility and the blessedness of generous sharing with the needy. It warns us against all forms of pride and self-glorification. It presents humility, not only as a virtue, but also as a means of opening our hearts, our minds, and our hands to the poor, the needy, the disadvantaged and the marginalized people in our society – the personal responsibility of every authentic Christian.
At a dinner party where Jesus was a guest of honor, he explained the practical benefits of humility, connecting it with the common wisdom about dining etiquette. The Master advised the guests to go to the lowest place instead of seeking places of honor, so that the host might give them the place they really deserved. Jesus’ words concerning the seating of guests at a banquet should prompt us to honor those whom others ignore, because if we are generous and just in our dealings with those in need, we can be confident of the Lord’s blessings.
We need to practice humility in our personal and social life: Humility is based on the psychological awareness that everything I have is a gift from God and, therefore, I have no reason, to elevate myself above others. True humility requires us neither to overestimate nor to underestimate our worth.We must admit the truth that we do not know everything, and that we do not always act properly. Nevertheless, we must also recognize that we are made in the image and likeness of God, and that we are called to help build the kingdom of God with our God-given gifts.
The humility that Jesus is talking about has a sociological dimension too. Jesus is inviting us to associate with the so-called “lower classes” of the society — even the outcasts. Jesus invites us to change our social patterns in such a way that we connect with and serve with love the homeless, the handicapped, the elderly, and the impoverished — the “street people” of the world.
Showered and Empowered October was a powerful Month!
Showered and Empowered is a ministry with the mission to honor the humanity and dignity of those who do not have access to take a hot shower at home. They parked a mobile shower unit in the parking lot of Praise The Lord Outreach Ministries in South St. Petersburg today during the weekly Saturday Morning Celebrate Outreach breakfast and lunch event. Saint Teresa of Calcutta CACINA Catholic Community set up a pop-up pantry with clothes, socks, shoes, sleeping mats, masks, food and fellowship for those eating and waiting in line to take a hot shower. I would have completely understood anyone who tried to take as much as they could carry, but most people were not like that. People were reluctant to take too much in case those around them might not get something they needed. A young lady with five children came to find food for her family. We had to insist that she accept a grocery bag full of canned goods and snack bars because she was afraid that she was ‘taking too much’.What suprised me the most were the number of couples that we had the honor to serve today. So many stories…A freshly-showered, middle-aged woman sat on the ground in her newly acquired outfit. She opened a hygeine kit she had been given and pulled out a new comb to style her wet hair. She applied make-up to her clean face as her husband exclaimed how beautiful she looked. She looked at him, beaming. He beamed back at her.An expectant couple attended. She was ‘Mary on the road to Bethlehem’ far-along in her pregnancy, walking over in 3-sizes-too-large men’s slider sandles and thick socks. He found her a chair and waited on her as much as she would allow, while she sat in the shade eating the egg casserole that Frank Matzelle and Barb Fichter made for the event. Among other items, we were able to bless her with a right-sized pair of women’s athletic shoes to provide support for her swollen feet. Brian and Kelly rode into the event on bicycles with a cart that held all their earthly possessions. Brian asked for a nice outfit and maybe a clean pair of shoes because he is is starting a new job on Monday and he wants to make a good impression. He picked out a nice pair of shoes and an outfit that fit before he showered. Kelly was able to find a pair of shoes that fit her, so she donated back a pair of shoes that are too big for her, so that we may bless someone else. I promised Brian that we would pray for him and his new job. Please join us in prayers or good thoughts for Brian and all those with burdens greater than our own.
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St Teresa of Calcutta Parking Lot Gang
St. Teresa’s Parking lot gang members, Kelvin and Shelli Muncy @ Celebrate Outreach helping to get breakfast served. Thanks to both. Celebrate was short on volunteers this morning. God provides! Such a huge help. They also brought 100 sandwiches with them which I understand are yummy.
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How do you spend the sabbath ?
The glory of GOD” could easily be the catch phrase which runs through our readings today. In the First Reading, St. Paul praises the Philippians and thanks them for responding so faithfully to the Gospel which has been preached to them, all for the great glory and honor of God. In the Gospel, at a Sabbath supper, Jesus heals a man suffering with dropsy.He uses this occasion to teach about the purpose of the Sabbath – allowing people to fully give glory to God.
Jesus knows that some of the Jewish leaders are there to gather evidence against Him. Yet Jesus also knows that He is called to manifest the glory of God by bringing healing, wholeness, salvation to those who seek it. Realizing that the Sabbath was set aside to give glory to God, Jesus surpasses the legalistic interpretation of no work on the Sabbath in order to allow the suffering individual to give greater glory to God through the miracle He performs for the ailing man.
We need give great glory and honor to God on The sabbath by actively participating in the Eucharistic celebration and various ministries in the parish, by sending the children to Sunday schools, and by instructing them in the Catholic Faith. We are also to observe this day of rest and worship of God, Who is Love, by socializing with the members of our family and neighbors. We are also encouraged to engage in active works of charity in our parish and community – visiting the sick and praying for their recovery, comforting them, and encouraging them with words and deeds and, if possible and needed, with financial help.
When we do experience something glorious and awe-filled, we often fail to respond appropriately to the experience by giving glory and praise back to God. We say, “Isn’t nature beautiful!” We fail to see the source of the glories that are presented in front of us – in nature and other individuals. We fail to acknowledge the God Who has glorified us.
Good things happen at Holy Innocents parish CACINA
Beautiful hats and gloves were delivered to the Arkville Head Start program and Margaretville Central school by Father Dante and Bishop Frank. We are grateful to all who donated to this year’s drive.
Good thinks come from our parishes CACINA
Sister helped Bishop Frank and Father Dante prepare Halloween candy bags, for the children who come to the Interfaith Community Pantry. Sister’s ruler came out a number of times.Thank you to all who supported this Holy Innocents project.
When Jesus calls answer him
Jesus was clearly a keen observer of nature and of the animal world. He saw hens clucking about in the village, gathering their brood and watching over them. He too was bent on gathering people. He wanted to form them into a united community, including people who would not normally relate in friendship, Jew, Samaritan and Gentile, rich and poor, law abiding and sinner, male and female.
He is sorry because so many were not willing to be gathered by him. He longed to gather them but he was powerless before the mystery of human freedom. He could call and invite and plead, but could not coerce. When his desire to save people met with murderous resistance, and they nailed him to the cross, he continued to call and to invite, calling them still. “When I am raised up… I will draw all people to myself.”
After the resurrection, his work of calling and inviting and gathering continues to this day. He never ceases his work of gathering people for the kingdom of God and he continues to await our response. Various influences can block us from responding to the Lord’s call. To resist such forces we need the strength of grace, the armour of God. For this, says Ephesians, we should pray in the Spirit at all times.
We have the duty and responsibility to continue their good works
Today we celebrate together the great Feast of the Apostles of Our Lord Jesus Christ, two of the Twelve Apostles, namely St. Simon and St. Jude. St. Simon was also known as Simon the Zealot, likely referring to his past as a member of the Zealots, the extremists who fought against the Romans at the time of Jesus. Meanwhile, St. Jude refers to St. Jude Thaddeus, who was sometimes connected with Jude, of the extended family of the Lord.
Both of them would go on to serve the Lord and reach out to the peoples of various nations, answering to the call of the Lord to evangelise to the nations. St. Simon the Apostle went to many places, often together with St. Jude the Apostle, which is why both of them are celebrated together today. Both of them had committed themselves to the Lord and converted many, establishing firm foundations of the Church in many places, and gave everything to the Lord, even their lives, for His sake.
We can rejoice in the memory of these two glorious Apostles of the Lord, that the Lord has showed His love so wonderfully towards us by giving us His love and salvation through all those whom He had called and chosen to be the bearers of His Good News.
However, we also have to recognise that we have the duty and responsibility to continue the good works of the Apostles and their successors, for just as they had dedicated themselves to God and passed on their faith to all those to whom they had ministered, we too have the same responsibility to be faithful witnesses of our Christian faith and proclaim the Lord’s Good News to all.
How do we do this, we live out our faith with sincerity and do what we truly believe in. If we do not act and do things in the manner that we have professed our faith, then our faith is no better than empty and meaningless.
It’s the little things done that grow the Kingdom ofGod
The two images Jesus tells today are about surprising potential. Each of them compares something very small to what it can become. A mustard seed is tiny but grows into a tree where birds can nest. A tiny piece of leaven transforms a whole basin of flour into rising dough.
The kingdom of God is like that, where very small things can grow to become very significant. Even our smallest acts of kindness can have a good effect beyond what we might imagine. Small acts of service can create an opening for the grace of God. It’s mistaken to think that unless our efforts are big and impressive they don’t really count for much. It is everyday kindness, small initiatives, things may go unnoticed, that contribute to building up the kingdom of God.
To cooperate with the loving plan of God, we must cherish the hidden mustard seed of divine grace in our lives. Like the woman who so kneads the yeast into the dough that it rises to fresh-baked bread, we must try to nurture ourselves and others , so that we can all enjoy the freedom and dignity of the children of God.
A day set aside to reconnect with God
In our Gospel today, we heard about the confrontation between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees, who saw the Lord healing a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years. And the Lord healed her on the day of the Sabbath. We may think that there is no issue with this at all.
However, to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, rulers of the Synagogues, at that time, said what Jesus did was an aberration and travesty, tantamount to blasphemy, as they believed that the Sabbath day is a day when no activity of all sorts were allowed, regardless of circumstances p.
They rigidly interpreted and enforced the Law, that even as the Lord showed love and mercy to the suffering woman, they grumbled and were unhappy seeing what He has done before them and the people. They would rather that the woman suffered longer than to be flexible in their enforcement and application of the Law. They failed to understand and appreciate their faith properly.
The Law of God, as the Lord made it very clear, is not meant to oppress or make the people to suffer. The Law of God is meant for the people to rediscover their love and devotion to God. Through the Law, regulating the Sabbath, God wants us all to keep and devote some time, reminding us that He is the chief priority of our lives.
hrough His healing of the woman suffering for such a long time, the Lord in fact wanted to show them His wonderful love. He wanted us to recognise this love and learn to love Him more and more. And how do we do this, brothers and sisters? It is by living righteously and virtuously in accordance to His Law, dedicating ourselves, our time, attention and effort on Him.
May the Lord help each and every one of us to remain more faithful to Him, and may He bless each and every one of us in our every good endeavours from now on. May God bless us all at all times, and guide us in the journey of life. May God be with us, now and always. Amen
Sunday Mass 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Bishop Ronald Stephens (former Presiding Bishop of CACINA and former Pastor of St. Andrews the Apostle Church) is the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Holy Trinity serving at St. Andrews along with Fr. Craig Wilt (Pastor), Associate Priest Fr. David Monroe and Deacon Gil Brooker in Midland, Virginia. St. Andrew the Apostle Church is a CACINA parish which shares space at Grace Episcopal Church located at 5096 Grace Church Lane, Midland, Virginia. (Fauquier County)
Facebook.com/ St. Andrew the Apostle Independent Catholic Church Live streaming Mass every Sunday at 9:00am
at Facebook.com/ronaldstephens
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Find us at http://www.cacina.org or https://www.facebook.com or http://www.cacina.wordpress.com
Copyright © 2020, Catholic Apostolic Church in North America. All rights reserved.
Contact us at 1- (800) 603-0644
Our mailing address is:
Fr. Joseph Reynolds, Chancellor
9314 Doris Dr.
Oriental, NC 28571
Sunday Mass 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Holy Innocents Cathedral Church is a CACINA parish located on Halcottsville Road in Halcottsville, New York (Delaware County) in the Catskills region of New York. Bishop Francisco Betancourt, FCR and Fr. Dante Tarantini, FCR are the Co-Pastors of the community. Holy Innocents Church owns its own church.
Website: https://www.holyinnocentscacina.org Facebook.com/franciscobetancourt Live streaming Mass every Sunday at 11:00am on Facebook.
Please help us spread the word about 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 © 2020, Catholic Apostolic Church in North America. All rights reserved.
Contact us at 1- (800) 603-0644
Our mailing address is:
Fr. Joseph Reynolds, Chancellor
9314 Doris Dr.
Oriental, NC 28571
Love God Love your neighbor
In the Gospel today, Jesus combines the commandment to love God with the commandment to love one’s neighbor and gives the result as the one Commandment of supreme importance in Christian life. Jesus underlines the principle that we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves because, as God’s children, both of us bear God’s image, and to honor God’s image is to honor Him. Love for our neighbor should not be a matter of feelings, but of deeds by which we share with others the unmerited love that God lavishes on us.
We need to love God: Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, in response to His total love for us, means that we should place God’s will ahead of ours.P. We must keep God’s Commandments, and offer daily prayers of thanksgiving, praise and petition. We also need to read and meditate on His word in the Bible and accept His invitation to join Him in the Mass and other liturgical functions.
We need to love our neighbor: God’s will is that we should love everyone, seeing Him in each of them. Since every human being is the child of God and the dwelling place of the Spirit of God, we are giving expression to our love of God by loving our neighbor as Jesus loves him or her.
This means we need to help, support, encourage, forgive, and pray for everyone without discrimination based on color, race, religion, gender, age, wealth, social status or life style. Forgiveness, too, is vital. We love others by refusing to hold a grudge for a wrong done to us. We also express love through encouragement and by helping others to grow. We express agápe love in meeting the needs of others by using the talents and blessings that God has given us to comfort each other, to teach each other and to share the Gospel with each other, in deeds and words
Will you bear fruit
Today’s Gospel passage explains how God, our merciful and compassionate Father, disciplines His children, giving them painful experiences in life so that they may repent of their sins, renew their lives and produce the fruits of love, mercy, forgiveness, and service. Citing two tragic events, Jesus says to repent and reform. Repentance is turning from sin to God. With the parable of the barren fig tree, he also warns them that the merciful God will not put up with us indefinitely. Although God patiently waits for sinners to repent, giving them grace to do so, He will not wait forever. Time will run out; therefore, timely repentance is necessary.
We need to live lives of repentance, because we never know when we will meet a tragedy of our own; repentance helps us in life and in death. Repentance helps us to live with peace of mind as forgiven people and helps us to face death without fear. Scripture says repentance results in forgiveness, renewal, and redirection whereas failure to repent results in a guilty conscience which destroys our peace of mind and thus punishes us with a miserable life
Look for Jesus’ presence
We often talk about the weather in Eastern North Carolina . It’s a useful topic of conversation when we have nothing much else to say. Our weather coming in from the Atlantic is so changeable that it varies from day to day, so there is always something to say about it. It has either been raining a while back, or it is still raining or will be raining before long. A while week without rain considered worthy of special mention.
The people in Jesus’s time noticed the weather too. They knew what to expect from the direction of the wind, and so could “read the face of the earth and the sky.” Sadly they were unable to read signs of the times. They failed to recognise that God was among them in a special way.
We too can be very aware of the weather but not so aware of how God is present to us. Jesus will be with us always until the end of time. The signs of his presence can be subtle and non-dramatic, but true and real. We pray for sight to see how the Lord is present to us, especially in and through those whom we meet in the course of our day.
CACINA 
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