Dear
Readers,
My
name is Fr. Franz Devantier of Saint Titus, Independent Old Catholic Church
(IOCC) of Africa, operating in South Africa, and also creator of this blog. My background was that of a liberal Catholic Priest, and a Traditional Catholic Priest in South Africa, and then an independent Priest in the Catholic tradition. I was incardinated into the IOCC by
Archbishop-Primate Emeritus Maurice McCormick founder of the IOCC of
America.
Primate Archbishop George Le Mesurier, IOCC of America
Primate Emeritus Archbishop Maurice McCormick, IOCC of America
+++
Bishop George Otieno Odhiambo, IOCC of Africa
Primate Emeritus Archbishop Maurice McCormick, IOCC of America
+++
Bishop George Otieno Odhiambo, IOCC of Africa
+++
Father. Franz Devantier, IOCC South Africa
In
nomine Patris, et Filii, + et Spiritus
Sancti. Amen (In the name of the father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. )
9th
Sunday after Pentecost – 21st July 2013 (Colour of Celebration – Green)
Intent: Confidence
O Lord, who never failest to help and govern them whom thou
dost bring up in thy steadfast joy and love; may we abide for ever under the
protection of thy good providence and be filled with perpetual reverence and
love for thy holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
God is our Helper, and He will always come to our aid: He will open the ears of His mercy to our
prayers, and will not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength. Let us obey therefore with joy the precepts
of the Lord, let us worthily attend the Mysteries of holy Mass, and partake of
the Body of the Lord, the manna of our souls.
Commemoration
of the Saints, for the coming week
July 21st
St Laurence of Brindisl, Confessor, Doctor of the Church
Died in Lisbon 1611
St Praxedes, Virgin
Died in A.D. 164
July 22nd
St Mary Magdalen, Penitent
The sister of St Martha and St Lazarus. Christ showed himself to Magdalen and made
her the messenger to announce His Resurrection to the Apostles.
July 23rd
St Apollinaris, Bishop, Martyr
He was consecrated Bishop of Ravenna. The Apostle of Ravenna was beaten to death in
A.D. 79.
July 24th
St Christina, Virgin, Martyr
St Christina of Tuscany was martyred at the age of ten,
under Diocletian, A.D. 300
July 25th
St James, Apostle
Herod condemned him to death, and he was beheaded in A.D.
42
July 26th
St Anne, the spouse of Joachim, was the mother of Our Lady
and the grandmother of Our Lord, Devotion to St Anne has increased very much in
the whole Church. She is highly
venerated as the Patron of Brittany.
July 27th
St Pantaleon, Martyr
St Pantaleon, a medical doctor of Nicomedia, and patron of
doctors, was martyred during the persecution of Diocletian A.D. 303.
Announcements:
We are collecting members for Saint Titus, Ordinary
members, members who need baptism and confirmation. We want to provide for our members, all sorts
of services that they may need, such as burial, marriage, confession, and etc. We are hoping to attract as many as possible,
people who would like to start the path towards Priesthood, men and woman are
welcome. If you are interested, then
please contact Fr. Franz devantierf@gmail.com
News
Sacred References:
Philippians, chapter 2, verse 2 onwards
John, chapter 12, verse 23 onwards
Homily:
We
start this teaching off with a call to be likeminded with Christ Jesus. This is a very profound and powerful
call. In fact if we had been able to do
it, then I am sure that the Kingdom of heaven would have already manifested on
Earth.
The
lesson is to aspire or to try to reach the goal, however lofty or out of reach
it may seem. Christ Jesus was all about
love. Very often we expect our God to be
a powerful warrior, who can vanquish our enemies with a single thought. A God that can burn those who oppose us in
the fires of condemnation. Christ Jesus
came with love, with the teaching, and the lessons of love. Christ wanted us to learn to love more than
we were presently able to love. His life
was a display of love for humankind.
So
after all the lofty ideals, all the philosophies, and all the theologies, after
all the study, after everything else; it comes down to love. The teaching is to love all around you. To love your neighbour as you love
yourself. To love your enemy, that is a
hard one. At the end of the day, you
love your enemy, your grumpy neighbour, for yourself, more than the benefit of
your neighbour.
Now
that is a thought, let me give an example.
When you love somebody who is doing something bad to you, it is like
putting burning coals on their head. You
are purifying yourself, and preparing yourself to become a more fitting part of
Gods plan on earth. You are very simply
preparing a far better eternity for yourself with this simple act. Your neighbour is forced to adjust his
behaviour with regards to eternal truths.
You see if you have burning coals on your head, you need to quickly do
something about it, you can’t just leave them to burn there. So as your neighbour improves his eternal
relationship with God, you score additional points in your favour. Love is that powerful. You can’t afford not to love everyone,
because love helps you to progress towards your eternal soul destination. The more you love everybody around you,
regardless of who they are, the closer to God you get, on a big eternal scale.
Of
course it goes deeper than that. The
more you love all of God’s creatures, the closer to God you get. So be kind to animals, hey why not give some
animals some love. Do something nice for
an animal everyday. Actually you need to
give love to all of Gods kingdoms, the mineral Kingdom, the plant kingdom, the
animal kingdom, and the human kingdom.
The more you do this, the more chance of the Kingdom of God manifesting
on earth. So using snail bait,
insecticides and pesticides is a no-no.
Poisoning trees and cutting down trees is a no-no. Instead we should be giving love to all of
God’s creation. Using natures natural
ways of preventing undesirable creatures from destroying herbs, vegetables, and
fruits. Avoid huge excavations when you
build a house for example, because the earth is part of God’s creation and we
need to love the earth. In fact we need
to become green people, people who protect all of God’s creation in loving and
peaceful ways, in passive ways. And of
course, don’t forget to love yourself, because you are also a creation of God,
who needs loving from you.
You
see fitting in with god’s plan is all about Love. It’s all just, all about Love. Christ Jesus spoke about love. The only way that the Kingdom of Heaven can
be established on earth is with Love, and lots and lots of Love. We need to seriously start practicing Love.
Often
it seems that if you love somebody that has harmed you, you are losing your
life to some abstract concept. Christ
Jesus explains to us that is exactly what we should be doing. You see in terms of physical reality, it
seems that you are losing your life, even perhaps your sanity. You are losing your grip on what is right and
what is wrong. You are losing your grip
on the things of this world. In actual
fact you are not at all. You are gaining
life or enhanced consciousness on an eternal basis, that would not have been
possible otherwise. You will not really
lose your grip on the material things of this world. Yes you will work for a living, and do
everything that everybody else does, but your perspective is different. So subtle, that other people don’t recognise what you are doing. They may just think that you are a spineless
person. The lessons of turn the other
cheek, went over their head. You may
hear them say “Don’t speak to me, speak to my lawyer”, no love in that of
course.
Actually
if you hang on too tightly to the things of this world, you stand a chance of
losing both the worldly possessions, as well as your eternal progress, that you
could have made. “Seek ye first the
Kingdom of Heaven, and all these things shall be added unto you”. Do you remember characters in the bible who
were very close to God, and yet had amazing amounts of earthly treasures as
well. They had sought the Kingdom of
God, and so God could let them have all the earthly treasures, because their
hearts were already purified. Think of
people like King Solomon, Job. These are
probably the two best known examples.
Once you learn how to love, the normal restrictions that most of us are
suffering from, will fall away.
In
closing, do not forget to be humble.
Sometimes the best way of not being arrogant or appearing so, is to
simply say nothing. Let everybody else
talk about the progress that they have made, and smile at them with love, talk
when it is appropriate, don’t pretend to be an expert on eternal subjects. Christ Jesus did not boast about being God,
but simply and humbly fitted in with the human beings whom he loved so
much. Human beings much like us. If you sum up everything that Christ Jesus
did and said, then you could describe his life’s work, including everything he
said and did in one word. “Love”. Love is the lesson that we need to embrace,
the lesson that we need to learn, the lesson that we need to teach. Love is what we need to give, more and more
everyday. Love.
Church History – Article 4:
Christian Hallmarks
Apostolic Christianity had very
straight forward hallmarks: Simplicity, Community, Evangelism, and Love. They were able to keep the hallmarks simple
in the beginning, because there was no formal organization, no church buildings
or lists of members. The doctrines were
easy to understand. The financing plan
was also elementary, they simply followed a program of personal giving to
finance activities that the early church was involved in.
The early teachings of a
community of love appealed to many people who were otherwise without hope, or
desperately lonely. This community of
Love was sealed with Baptism, which made it special. Even in those early days, many people in
society felt that they world had grown too large and impersonal. The type of intimate fellowship that was
offered by the Christian congregations, appealed to the masses. The early Christian communities made no
distinction between race, nationality, cultural status, slave or free people,
or gender. In fact the early communities
were trying to gather people from every nation, language group and types of
people.
Love feast or Agape feast. After the services it was the custom for
everybody to bring what food they had, and it would all be shared out amongst
everybody in this love feast. Those who
had no food could share food as equals at the Love feast. This tended to give people a sense of identity
with the communities, and a sense of identity with something. The practice of the Love feast was eventually
discontinued, because it did lend itself to abuse.
The early Christian communities
were evangelistic, and aggressively so.
They believed that they had been tasked to spread the word to all the
world, and that is what they set out to do.
The early Christians believed that they had the absolute truth, in the
teachings of Christ Jesus, and there was nothing that could stop them from
evangelizing the entire world.
An Anglican Catechism
– Article 4:
The Ten Commandments
=>
What are the Ten Commandments?
The
Ten commandments are the laws given to Moses and the people of Israel.
=>
Recite the Ten Commandments.
I
You shall have no other gods before me.
II
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the
water under the earth.
III
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
IV
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
V
Honour your father and your mother.
VI
You shall not kill.
VII
You shall not commit adultery.
VIII
You shall not steal.
IX
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
X
You shall not covet.
=>
What do we learn from these commandments?
We
learn two things: our duty to God, and our duty to our neighbours.
=>
What is our duty to God?
Our
duty is to believe and trust in God.
I
To love and obey God and to bring others to know him.
II
To put nothing in the place of God.
III
To show God respect in thought, word, and deed.
IV
And to set aside regular times for worship, prayer, and the study of God’s
ways.
=>
What is our duty to our neighbours?
Our
duty to our neighbours is to love them as ourselves, and to do to other people
as we wish them to do to us.
V
To love, honour, and help our parents and family; to honour those in authority,
and to meet their just demands;
VI
To show respect for the life God has given us; to work and prayer for peace; to
bear no malice, prejudice or hatred in our hearts; and to be kind to all the
creatures of God;
VII
To use all our bodily desires as God intended.
VIII
To be honest and fair in our dealings; to seek justice, freedom, and the
necessities of life for all people; and to use our talents and possessions as
ones who must answer for them to God;
IX
To speak the truth, and not to mislead others by our silence;
X
To resist temptations to envy, greed, and jealousy; to rejoice in other
people’s gifts and graces; and to do our duty for the love of God, who has
called us into fellowship with him.
=>
Since we do not fully obey them, are they useful at all?
Since
we do not fully obey them, we see more clearly our sin and our need for
redemption.
Prayer:
Our
Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name: Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread. And forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil.
[Protestants
can optionally add: For Thine is the
kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.]
Amen.
A Meditation for all Humanity, The Great Invocation:
(In
place of the word “Christ” below, you may be more comfortable with the term “Lord
Maitreya”, “the Imam Mahdi”, “the Bodhisattva”, “the Messiah”, and etc.)
From the point of Light
within the Mind of God
Let light stream forth into the minds of men.Let Light descend on Earth.
From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ return to Earth.
From the centre where the Will of God is known
Let purpose guide the little wills of men –
The purpose which the Masters know and serve.
From the centre which we call the race of men
Let the Plan of Love and Light work out
And may it seal the door where evil dwells.
Let Light and Love and
Power restore the Plan on Earth.
By using the Invocation and encouraging others to use it, no particular group or organisation is sponsored. It belongs to all humanity.
Benediction:
The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep
your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son, Christ
our Lord; and the Blessing of God almighty, the Father, + the Son and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you and remain with you
always. Amen.
Love,
Rev. Fr. Franz Devantier of Saint Titus, IOCC, South Africa,
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