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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Fr. Michael Ellis, Chancellor
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Religions for Peace
Statement Regarding Recent Anti-Asian American Rhetoric & Violence
March 17, 2021
Reports of the Atlanta shootings that left 8 people dead are appalling and of grave concern. On behalf of Religions for Peace USA, we lift up our prayers for the victims, their grieving families and the community. We condemn the tragic attack that took eight lives, six of whom were women of Asian descent.
We strongly denounce the rising hatred and violence against Asian Americans and stand with the Asian American and Pacific Islanders communities who have been targeted with increasing racial violence since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our religious traditions are those of peace and hope. We as religious communities are called to love our neighbors in the presence of evil in the world. We call upon all Americans to live together peacefully, knowing that whatever challenges we face, we face them together, and that our personal identities are enriched, not diminished or threatened, by love and peace.
Religions for Peace USA (RFPUSA) is the largest and most broadly-based representative multi-religious forum in the United States, with participants from about 50 religious communities, representing diversity within each of the major faith traditions and many of the minor ones. The mission of RFPUSA is to inspire and advance common actions for peace through multi-religious cooperation among our nation’s religious communities. We envision a nation in which people of faith and goodwill live
together in respect and mutual support, creating paths to peace and justice.
In Faith,
Rev. Youngsook Kang & Bruce Knotts
Co-Moderators, Religions for Peace USA
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Fr. Joseph Reynolds, Chancellor
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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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CACINA CATHOLICS VOCATIONS
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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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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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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
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Oriental, NC 28571
CACINA Welcome video
Video designed by Bishop Tony Green
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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:
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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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A reflection from the Saint Charles of Brazil Parish
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Reflection written by Alice Jo Weaver – St. Charles of Brazil Parish
The Gift of Abundance
As this pandemic extends into yet another month, it is easy to slip into boredom, despair, depression, even for the most optimistic among us. Embracing the gift of God’s abundance becomes an intentional exercise in living in an awareness of the present moment. God’s Kingdom is a place of abundance where every generous act overflows its original bounds and becomes part of the unbounded grace of God at work in the World. (Henri JM Nouwen)
In my purpose driven life, it is important for me to look beyond my frustrations and focus instead on the inventive sharing of the gift of my abundance with the greater community. Early on I found purpose and a new “routine” by making masks and offering them to family, friends, and ultimately in weekly donations to a local hospital. Materials for the masks are in great demand and difficult to find. As a quilter I tapped into my abundance of scrap fabric and elastic to produce masks to help keep those in the greater community safe.
Recently, encouraged by an e-mail invitation from Bishop Tony to a Zoom gathering for “praying and sharing”, I tuned in to the session facilitated by Mother Monica Kennedy. She focused our attention on abundance during these unprecedented times. In the days following this Zoom event my thoughts kept returning to the word “abundance”. Prayer and reflection opened my eyes to other resourceful gifts of abundance. For example, the Abundance of thoughtfulness as reflected through the Parish Life Ministry at St. Charles of Brazil. Since the pandemic keeps us physically separated from our faith community, this Ministry actively seeks ways to reach out in ways that serve practical, basic needs; spiritual enrichment; and lighthearted, socially-distanced events. Through a phone tree, we learned of the need for short-term assistance from several of our parishioners. We worked together to assist and empower them towards satisfactory resolutions to these challenges. In addition, St. Charles offers an abundance of outreach via virtual fellowship offered after live-streaming Sunday Mass which enables our parish family to continue to know and stay connected to one another in a different way.
In an abundance of creativity, the Parish Life Ministry offered a Zoom Coronavirus Bingo (complete with white elephant prizes). We also delivered Summer Solstice gift bags to every family, each containing a Blessing Jar. Families were encouraged to fill these jars with written acknowledgements of the abundance of God’s blessings.
An abundance of faithfulness is evident as we continue the Lectio Divina series on the first three Mondays of each month. These evenings encourage us to Read (Lectio) Reflect (Meditatio) Respond (Oratio) and Rest (Contemplatio) using the Sunday Gospel. We pray and reflect on the impact of God’s Words in these Scripture passages and the personal messages each participant hears in his/her heart.
The activities cited go a long way in strengthening our sense of a loving and supportive family community despite pandemic restrictions. These unprecedented times may have turned our lives upside down for right now but the gift of God’s abundance challenges and empowers us to carry on in our mission of service to others and to spread God’s love whenever and wherever we can. God has no hands but ours.
“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 1Cor. 9:6-7
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CACINA 
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