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)
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EASTER IN JERUSALEM
EASTER IN JERUSALEM
Saturday April 3, 2021
Saturday April 3 | 9am PT | 12pm ET | 7pm Palestine
The first Easter celebration took place in Jerusalem. The Palestinian Christian community has kept the celebration going ever since. Every year on Holy Saturday Palestinians participate in a unique commemoration of the resurrection via a stream of candles from the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulchre). Last year the pandemic didn’t allow this unique tradition. Friends of Sabeel North America and our partners Sabeel Jerusalem (The Palestinian Liberation Theology Center) created a virtual worship service to continue the spirit of the tradition. We will again offer the powerful service in which all participate with Palestinian Christians in their traditions, and connect with their current struggles. Like those living in the land in the time of Christ, Palestinians are under a brutal military occupation. Like the early Church, Palestinians find hope in Jesus’ message of liberation, his solidarity with the oppressed, and his resurrection. Our preachers this year to further the themes of interconnected liberation struggles. Palestinian Christian activists Nora Carmi and Jean Zaru will be joined by Bishop William J Barber II, of the New Poor People’s Campaign. Plus, we will participate in a ceremony led by Canon Naim Ateek. This ceremony will bring together a community of care to work for collective liberation.
Ash Wednesday Mass homily
Father Al Risdorfer is the Pastor of Our Lady UnDoer of Knots which is a CACINA parish located at 1620 Reisterstown Road Pikesville, Maryland 21208 (Baltimore County) Our Lady UnDoer of Knots shares space at St. Mark’s On The Hill Episcopal Church.
Website: https://www.our-lady-undoer-of-knots.org Facebook.com/undoerofknotsparish
Live streaming Mass every Sunday at 6:00pm on Facebook.
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Fr. Joseph Reynolds, Chancellor
9314 Doris Dr.
Oriental, NC 28571
Ash Wednesday Lenten Service
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), 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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Our mailing address is:
Fr. Joseph Reynolds, Chancellor
9314 Doris Dr.
Oriental, NC 28571
CACINA CATHOLICS THE SAINT CHARLES INSTITUTE
Bishop Tony Green interviews Bishop Ronald Stephens on an overview of the Saint Charles Institute / Saint Charles Seminary.
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Fr. Joseph Reynolds, Chancellor
9314 Doris Dr.
Oriental, NC 28571
CACINA CATHOLICS VOCATIONS
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Fr. Joseph Reynolds, Chancellor
9314 Doris Dr.
Oriental, NC 28571
ALL ARE WELCOME TO BE CACINA CATHOLICS
CACINA sometimes refers to itself as an independent Catholic church, but it also sometimes avoids the term, “independent,” and talks about itself as a distinctive kind of Catholicism, CACINA Catholicism. So what makes us distinctive? CACINA is a community of believers that seeks to bring the gospel to all people without regard to who they are or where their journey has taken them. CACINA welcomes everyone, regardless of marital status, political belief, or sexual orientation to participate in the life and sacraments of the Church. It asks its members only for the love of self and others that is the privilege of all Christians.
Independent Catholic Churches are, by and large, very small Churches, some of them consisting of one congregation, that claim valid Apostolic Succession of their bishops, though these are often dismissed in mainstream Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican circles as episcopi vagantes (“wandering bishops”)”. Others are real communities made up of real people with a clergy dedicated to service and spreading the gospel. I believe that we in the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America (CACINA) are one of those real communities. You can check us out on the web at http://www.cacina.org.
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Contact us at 1- (800) 603-0644
Our mailing address is:
Fr. Joseph Reynolds, Chancellor
9314 Doris Dr.
Oriental, NC 28571
CACINA Presiding Bishop Anthony Santore FCR
Saint Jude the Apostle Mission – Home of the Presiding Bishop of CACINA Bishop Anthony Santore FCR. Also assigned to St. Jude is Associate Pastor Father Joseph Reynolds, CACINA Chancellor and treasurer. St. Jude the Apostle is based in Oriental, North Carolina. (Pamlico County) Facebook.com/ Saint Jude the Apostle Mission Live streaming Mass daily at 9:00am
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Fr. Joseph Reynolds, Chancellor
9314 Doris Dr.
Oriental, NC 28571
A reflection by Bishop Michael Theogene
The good Samaritan stops to help the man in need as others just pass him by.
MONDAY OF THE TWENTY – SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Monday of the Twenty – Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: Galatians Chapter 1 verses 6-12 / Psalm 111 verses 1B-2, 7-9, & 10B /
Luke Chapter 10 verses 25-37
Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saints Faustina Kowalska, Virgin
Ephesians Chapter 3 verses 14-19 / Psalm 103 verses 1bc-2, 3-4, 8-9, 13-14, 17-18a / nting
Matthew Chapter 11 verses 25-30
Optional Memorial of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Priest
Friends, ever wonder when we are in some type of relationship with someone, for example like a co-worker or friend and then all of a sudden that person disappears from your life not wanting anything to do with you? For whatever rhyme or reason. It sort of makes you wonder, especially when you know for sure or really ponder what did I do to that person? Did I do something wrong to offend them?
When people come into our lives, it is for a reason, the people we encounter are messengers. Whether we invited them or not. There definitely is always a learning process through our encounters with one another.
What happens to the people who are in our lives when we do not respond to them or they do not respond to us?
One particularly important vow that I appreciate the most when in community is the vow of stability. Yes, we may and others in our lives may step in out of said relationships for certain and appropriate reasons, but what about all those other times when people become comfortable to be part of the throw away culture. We dismiss people at the drop of a hat when we feel that they have wronged us in the slightest way, and we leave with no true communication or effort to reconcile.
Do I want to hang out with only people who agree with me, who I like, and they like and approve of me all the time? What about the people who do not agree with me? Am I not called to like them as well?
Sisters and brothers the God of our understanding stands on no formalities. God makes God self-available through our everyday existence. God never appears to tap out and says okay I had enough, and surly God never leaves.
bp. Michael Theogene
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Sunday Mass 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mother Monica Kennedy is the Pastor of Saint Charles of Brazil which is a CACINA parish located at 116 Marydell Road in Linthicum, Maryland (Anne Arundel County). The church shares space with St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church.
Website: https://www.stcharlesofbrazil.org Facebook.com/St. Charles of Brazil Independent Catholic Church
YouTube.com/ St. Charles of Brazil Livestreaming Mass every Sunday at 10:30am on Facebook and YouTube.
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Contact us at 1- (800) 603-0644
Our mailing address is:
Fr. Joseph Reynolds, Chancellor
9314 Doris Dr.
Oriental, NC 28571
Sunday Mass 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Parish of Saints Francis and Clare is a CACINA parish located at 2300 NW 9th Avenue (Powerline Road) in Wilton Manors, Florida (Broward County) the greater Fort Lauderdale area. Fr. Joseph Spina, OSF is the Pastor and is accompanied by Fr. Vincent Treglio, OSF, Associate Pastor. Assisting clergy are Fr. Peter Sanchez, OSF and Fr. Paul Pfadenhauer. The Franciscan Friars of Fort Lauderdale are the Guardians of the parish. Francis and Clare rents an entire building. Livestreaming Mass every Sunday at 10:30am on Facebook. Homily posted on YouTube.
Website: https://www.stsfrancisandclare.org Facebook.com/stsfrancisandclare Youtube.com/stsfrancisandclare
Please help us spread the word about the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America by forwarding this message to others.
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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
CACINA Welcome video
Video designed by Bishop Tony Green
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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
A reflection by Bishop Tony Green from Saint John of God Parish
If you would like to have a reflection considered for publication, please send your writing to Bp. Tony Green at revtonygreen@gmail.com
Independence Day – Celebrate or Observe?
A reflection by Bishop Tony Green
I listen to NPR every morning on my drive to work at Ellis. This morning, Thursday, July 2nd, I heard reporter Juana Summers report on how every year on the 4th of July we reflect on the promises of the United States of America. Summers goes on to say, “This year we will reflect on how those promises are not equally fulfilled.” I listened to several Black Americans describe their struggle to reconcile systemic racism with pride in our country.
One interviewee, Trevor Smith, said, “You grow up hearing and saying …one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, and then you realize, oh, wait…it has never really meant liberty and justice for all.” Another interviewee, Timothy Berry, class president of his graduating class at West Point Military Academy, said he finds a lot of contradiction in what the United States says it is and what it actually is. Berry said he feels his role is to do his part to hold the country accountable.
In years past, I have simply thought of Independence Day in too shallow a way. I have known since grade school that it represents the Declaration of Independence from British governance. I have celebrated a lifetime of July 4th’s on the lake, family barbeques, fireworks shows, and cans of Budweiser.
This year I will re-think, hopefully in a deeper way, what has happened, and has not happened that should have happened in this country since July 4th of 1776. This year, I will observe Independence Day rather than celebrate it. It is difficult, if not impossible to celebrate the great ideal of liberty and justice when it has yet to become a reality for all – especially for communities of color.
It is a good thing to know history, or we are doomed to repeat it. I’ll leave you with a paragraph from a speech that Frederick Douglass delivered on July 5, 1852, entitled, What to the Slave is the 4th of July?
“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.”
If you would like to have a reflection considered for publication, please send your writing to Bp. Tony Green at revtonygreen@gmail.com
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A reflection by Mary Desantis – St. John of God Parish CACINA
If you would like to have a reflection considered for publication, please send your writing to Bp. Tony Green at revtonygreen@gmail.com
Ordinary Time
A reflection by Mary Desantis – St. John of God Parish CACINA
The word TIME can be a topic of reflection all on its own. For example: What is it? How is it used? How does it impact life? How do we view it? All are valid ways of reflecting on time. My reflection today has been influenced by the Liturgical Calendar, which in the Catholic Tradition is used throughout a year to refer to different liturgical periods. Presently the liturgical season being observed is called “Ordinary Time”. Only a few major feasts occur in this liturgical season in contrast to other seasons of the Church Year like Advent, Christmas, Easter, etc. This is what is particular to Ordinary Time.
However, Ordinary Time it is NOT! Not in our society today! Not within our everyday lives currently being reflected in our culture. This is a time of deep division, civil unrest, frustration, deaths occurring in our streets, total disregard for human life, etc. Coupled with this is a health pandemic the wake of which has not been experienced before in our country. And we are told by scientific data that it is not over by any means as others might have us think. Most want to see it contained if not eradicated all together. Too many lives have been lost to death and/or changed forever by this beastly virus. Ordinary Time it is not.
In the midst of all this suffering, where is God? Where God always is: right in the struggle with us. Does God have a message for humanity as we endure the trauma of this time? No matter what takes place in human life God always has a message. No different now, here in this time than in other times. Part of the message always is that God continues to be among us, continually loving us because God is Love. However, another part of the message from God always contains an expectation of us. What might that be in these dark times?
Perhaps it is to be light for the world, to be salt for the earth, to take a stand against evil, to speak out against injustice, to show compassion. LISTEN to one another. Really Listen. Learn from one another. “Work” together, side-by-side sharing your talents and resources in building a future far better than the present for everyone. We are in grave circumstances that threaten the very life of the soul of humankind and this country.
By no means is this Ordinary Time. But we can make it a productive time, a cohesive time. A time we can right the wrongs of history, set a new course that is an all-inclusive one, bury the division among us, quit the blaming and move forward. Not an ordinary nor an easy task but one that is very much doable. The next generation deserves no less a legacy from us.
Amen
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Website
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Our mailing address is:
Fr. Joseph Reynolds, Chancellor
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A reflection by Mike Ellis – CACINA Seminarian
If you would like to have a reflection considered for publication, please send your writing to Bp. Tony Green at revtonygreen@gmail.com
A Conversation With Jesus
A reflection by Mike Ellis – CACINA Seminarian
“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak . . . the man touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled . . .Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God . . .’ ” Genesis 32:24-25,28 (NIV)
It had been one of those conversations that just goes on and on. You think you’re done with it, and then, discovering there’s another piece of it, something left unsaid, unprocessed and unredeemed, it resurfaces, intruding on your day, your mind, your heart, and your relationship.
In my case, it was further complicated because this was a conversation I was having, or at least attempting to have, with Jesus. And it seemed it just wouldn’t end. Either he or I just couldn’t let go of it and move on. Not yet, anyway.
Finally, exhausted and depressed, I gave up. “Ok Lord, I’ll apologize to her.”, I said. “Even though my intentions were good – you’re my witness – and she clearly overreacted, threatening to quit our volunteer group because either what I said or the way I said it hurt her feelings (how childish!), I’ll bite the bullet, be the bigger person, and somehow find some way of apologizing to her that doesn’t offend my own sense of integrity. Now can we just move on?”
But still it didn’t work. He wasn’t having it. And all my sincere pleas for him to quiet my unrest, to grant me peace, and to “return to me the joy of my salvation”, seemed to fall flat. He wouldn’t let it be. He wouldn’t let me be.
I was Christ-haunted.
I had experienced Jesus this way before. It usually started with some realization of vulnerability on my part, and, when that was not easily or readily processed by me, it progressed to anxiety. It was then that I would start talking to Jesus about it, and he would usually relieve me of it pretty quickly, sometimes in ways that seemed quite miraculous, both in their method and timing. (I mean, the stories I could tell! Really!)
But every once in awhile, he would respond differently. We’d go deeper, both into my brokenness and our conversation about my brokenness. And even though I was learning that he would walk with me through it, that we would eventually come out of it (we always had before), and that he would leave me with a deeper sense of belonging to him, I have to say I actually dreaded those times. They were hard on me, mostly because I wasn’t actually sure I would come out of it.
This was one of those times, and it went on and on.
It ended, finally, with this exchange:
Him: “Forget, forgive, love and laugh.”
Me: “I’ll try.”
Him: “Don’t let anything that anybody does to you change the way you treat them. Love everybody I send your way.”
Me: “I honestly don’t know how to do that. I just don’t feel that way towards everybody.”
Him: “Then treat them as you would treat me.”
Me: “Ok. . . That helps. . . (long pause) But they don’t always act like you.”
Him : “I know. . . (equally long pause) Will you just do this for me?”
Me: (heart-pierced) “For you? Yes.”
(then, after a very long pause) . . . “I can be pompous sometimes.”
Him: (silence)
Me: “This apology, it’s . . .”
Him: “ . . .my way of keeping you close to me.”
Me: (suddenly tearful) “. . . your way of keeping me close to you.”
“Israel is the name of everyone who has been made lame by God.” Elie Wiesel
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