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
+++
Primate Emeritus Archbishop Maurice McCormick, IOCC of America
+++
Bishop George Otieno Odhiambo, IOCC of Africa
+++
Father. Franz Devantier, IOCC South Africa
Invocatio:
P.
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. )
Confiteor:
A. O Lord, Thou hast created man to be immortal and made
him to be an image of Thine own eternity; yet often we forget the glory of our
heritage and wander from the path which leads to righteousness. But Thou, O Lord, hast made us for Thyself
and our hearts are ever restless till they find their rest in Thee. Look with the eyes of Thy love upon our
manifold imperfections and pardon all our shortcomings, that we may be filled
with the brightness of the everlasting light and become the unspotted mirror of
Thy power and the image of Thy goodness;
Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Absolutio:
P.
Deus Pater, Deus + Filius, Deus
Spiritus Sanctus, vos benedicat, custodiat atque sanctificet; Dominus in
clementia sua respiciat supra vos et misereatur vestri; Dominus vos + absolvet ab omnibus peccatis vestris,
vobisque gratiam det Spiritus Sancti et confirmationem. Amen. (God the
Father, God the + Son, God the Holy
Ghost, bless, preserve and sanctify you; the Lord in His loving kindness look
down upon you and be gracious unto you; the Lord + absolve you from all your sins and grant you the grace and
comfort of the Holy Spirit. Amen.)
23rd
Sunday after Pentecost – 27th October 2013 (Colour of Celebration – Green)
Intent: Precept and Practice.
Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom. We pray thee that
the words which we hear this day with our outward ears may through thy grace be
so grafted inwardly in our hearts that they may bring forth in us the fruit of
good living, to the honour and praise of thy name; through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
If there are only twenty three Sundays after Pentecost,
then the Mass of the “Last Sunday after Pentecost” is said today.
Daily Scripture Readings – 27 October –
2 November (Read the bible in a
Year)
Date
|
Morning
|
Evening
|
27
|
Jeremiah,
chapters 12,13,14
|
II
Timothy chapter 1
|
28
|
Jeremiah,
chapters 15, 16, 17
|
II
Timothy chapter 2
|
29
|
Jeremiah,
chapters 18, 19
|
II
Timothy chapter 3
|
30
|
Jeremiah,
chapters 20, 21
|
II
Timothy chapter 4
|
31
|
Jeremiah,
chapters 22, 23
|
Titus
chapter 1
|
1
|
Jeremiah,
chapters 24, 25, 26
|
Titus
chapter 2
|
2
|
Jeremiah,
chapters 27, 28, 29
|
Titus
chapter 3
|
Commemoration
of the Saints, for the coming week
Sunday October 27th
Feast of the Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The royalty of Christ rests upon a twofold basis. He is our King by right of birth and by right
of conquest. The first refers us to the
personality of the Son of God, whereby, in His divine nature as God and by virtue
of the hypostatic union. He is the
sovereign Lord and Master. The second
places before us the God-Man coming down on earth to rescue fallen man from the
slavery of Satan, and by the labours and sufferings of His life, and passion,
and death, to win a glorious victory for us over sin and hell.
Monday October 28th
SS. Simon and Jude, Apostles.
The holy Apostles Simon, a Cananean, called Zelotes (the
Zealot) and Jude Thaddeus, a brother of St James the Less, a cousin to Jesus,
called Lebbeus (the Courageous), preached the Gospel, the first in Egypt, the
second in Mesopotamia. They both
suffered martyrdom in Persia in the first century. St Jude wrote a short Epistle in which he
exhorts the faithful to beware of heretics.
Friday November 1st
The Feast of All Saints.
We can pay no greater honour to the Saints than by offering
up to God in their name the Blood of Jesus.
The efficacy of their past merits and present prayers is greatly
increased when offered to God in close association with the merits and prayers
of our Lord. Therefore the Church
commemorates on this day all the Saints in heaven without exception, and thus
honours also those who are unknown and who have no public recognition in the
Liturgy.
Saturday November
2nd
All Souls Day.
The practice of recommending to God the souls of the
departed in that we may mitigate the great pains which they suffer, and that He
may soon bring them to His glory, is most pleasing to God and most profitable
to all of us. For those blessed souls
are His eternal spouses, and they are most grateful to those who obtain their
deliverance from prison, or even a mitigation of their torments. Hence when they shall enter into heaven, they
will certainly not forget those who prayed for them. It is a pious belief that God manifests to
them our prayers for them, that they also may pray for us. Let us recommend to Jesus Christ, and to His
Holy Mother, all the souls in Purgatory, but especially those of our relatives,
benefactors, friends, and enemies, and, still more particularly the souls of
those for whom we are bound to pray; and let us consider the great pains which
these holy spouses of Jesus Christ endure, and offer to God for their relief
the Masses of this day.
Announcements:
We are actively recruiting members for Saint Titus,
Ordinary members, members who need baptism and confirmation, and candidate
Priests. If you are interested, then
please contact Fr. Franz devantierf@gmail.com
Special Prayer Requests:
=>
Let’s pray that our Church’s will be havens of love, harmony, peace, and
safety.
=>
Let’s pray for the continued safety and wellbeing of all of God’s creatures
whom we love so much.
=>
Let’s pray for the Salvation of all the souls on earth, and the return of Jesus
Christ.
News:
Join
the Saint Titus
Newsletter
Sacred References:
James, chapter 1, verse 19 onwards.
John, chapter 6, verse 28 onwards.
Homily:
Today’s sermon is about Precepts and Practice.
In the catholic tradition precepts are the commandments of
the church, also known as the Precepts of the Church. A precept is a rule or a principle to be
acted upon. A Precept is a guide, or
direction to follow, it is the law, or a warrant.
Today we are looking at Precepts as explained in the bible,
and how to put those precepts into practice.
Do you recognize this “be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to
become angry.” That was an example of a
precept, or a commandment from God or a rule of the church that we need to follow. The important thing is how do we put this
into practice? Well let’s think about it
a bit. Listening to what people are
saying is a very useful skill. After you
have listened for a while, then what you then have to say can be of improved
value, compared to speaking too quickly.
So being slow to speak is a very good principle to follow. Slow to anger is also a good principle to
follow. Look at what happens around a
person when they lose their temper and throw their toys out of the cot. Maybe they get their way on a specific point,
but they tend to lose the respect of the people around them. Who will have enough respect for a person who
loses their temper easily, to take what they say seriously enough to change
their lives. So if you need anger management
therapy, you better get started as soon as possible.
Here is a precept between the lines:
Get rid of the moral filth and evil
that is all around you, and that tends to permeate your soul. In humility focus on and accept the “Word”
that has been planted in you, that can save your soul.
It is good to read the word of God, or
the Holy Scriptures, but it is even better to do what the word of God
says. Doing what the word of God says,
is where you will seriously begin to put the precepts of God into practice. Look into the perfect law, which is contained
in the Holy Scriptures, and put that which you learn into action. If you do this great blessings will be your
reward. Reading your bible every day,
and spending some time in prayer are essential tools, which you need to action
in order to achieve this.
Now here is a hard hitting comment on
Precepts and Practice:
If you are serious about your
religious practice, but you are unable to control your tongue, in other words, you
are not slow to speak; then you put the practice of your religion in
question. So you need to control that
tongue, using the tools of prayer and Scripture reading, which is a good practice
to help you gain control over your tongue.
True religion is not praying five
times a day, or keeping a book of hours and praying at the top of every hour,
or being in a public place of worship once a week. Pure religion is visiting the fatherless, and
widows in their affliction, and giving assistance and help when and where
possible. True religion is the practice
of keeping yourself as far as possible, unblemished by the unreligious world
around you.
To do the work of God is firstly to
believe in the one whom God has sent, Jesus Christ.
While Jesus Christ was teaching in a
synagogue in Capernaum, his disciples asked for a sign.
Jesus explained that; Moses had asked
God for bread in the desert, and had received manna for the people from God. These people in the desert ate the manna, but
they still eventually died, they did not have eternal life as a result of
eating the manna. By contrast God the
Father was now offering the true bread from heaven. The bread of God is he who comes down from
heaven and gives life to the world.
Obviously they did not understand, because they said to Jesus Christ,
“then please give us this bread from now on.”
Jesus went on to patiently explain to
them, that he was in fact the bread of life.
“He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will
never be thirsty.” Jesus Christ was
explaining that if they ate of the bread that he was offering they would live
forever. This bread that Jesus Christ
was speaking about, was his flesh, that he would soon give in exchange for the
life of the world.
Jesus Christ explained that unless you
eat of his flesh and drink of his blood you will have no life in you. If you eat of his flesh and drink of his
blood, you will have eternal life.
If you think of the timeframe in which
this teaching went into; Jesus Christ had not yet died on the cross, and so for
most people thinking in normal ways, they had no way of comprehending what
Jesus Christ was talking about. If fact
for most of the disciples, this teaching was so difficult for them; that many
of them found that they could no longer follow Jesus. Jesus was left with the twelve
disciples. From our perspective it is
now so easy to understand, and it is not a difficult teaching at all,
especially since we have the advantage of the Crucifixion and the resurrection,
and the books of the New Testament to explain everything to us very carefully.
Many of us would take communion on a
regular basis, and symbolically eat the body of Jesus Christ, and symbolically
drink his blood, and it is no problem at all for us. Some families would take a bread, bless it
and brake it, and hand the pieces around, to be symbolically consumed as the
body of Christ. This is a very good
practice, however if you do it more than once a day, it will start to lose its
novelty. Once or twice a week is also an
acceptable practice.
Now that we have discussed some
precepts, and spoken about how to put them into practice, let’s put the prayer
of redemption into practice.
The Prayer of Redemption
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for dying
on the cross for my sins.
Please forgive my sins and give me the
gift of eternal life.
I ask you into my life and heart to be
my Lord and Saviour.
I undertake to be baptized as called
for in the scriptures, Mark 16, verse 16.
Amen.
Mark, chapter 16, verse 16. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Love Rev. Fr. Franz Devantier IOCC.
Church History – Article 18:
Into all the world
In the eighteenth century we
witness one of the most significant developments in Christian History, the
Modern Missionary Movement. This had
been facilitated or made possible by the earlier great revivals earlier in the
eighteenth century, and especially significant was the Wesleyan renewal in
Britain. Arising out of the evangelical
and pietist awakenings, came new inspiration to carry the Gospel of Christ to
other lands. Organized missionary
activities were organized by Protestants, and had swelled to major proportions
by the start of the nineteenth century.
Finally in 1792, after years of
discouragement, William Carey (1761 - 1834), was finally able to persuade his
fellow believers to organize the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS). The BMS was the first missionary organization
to get going, in the eventual vast missionary push that developed.
In 1793, William Carey sailed to
India on a missionary venture, and was destined to spend the rest of his life
in India. William Carey and his
colleagues settled in the Danish trading centre at Serampore, which is near to
Calcutta. There he started working on
translating the Bible into several Indian languages. Eventually they were able to print the bible
in several languages, and in other Languages they were able to print part of
the Bible.
William Carey and his colleagues
were able to establish a College, which up to the present day provides high
quality education in the preparation of Christian leaders. From an ecumenical point of view we see
evangelicals from several denominations organizing the London Missionary
Society, which was established in 1795.
Shortly after that in 1797, we find that the Dutch Christians have
started the Netherlands Missionary Society.
Shortly after that in 1799, the Church of England founded a society
called the Church Missionary Society. Of
especial significance we find the establishment of the first of many national
bible societies, the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804. Still in the
beginning of the nineteenth century, we find the establishment of the “American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions”, being established in 1810. Not to be outdone we find European pietists
establishing a “Missionary Training School” at Basle in Switzerland in 1815.
And so we find that as the
nineteenth century starts we have large numbers of missionaries being sent out
from Britain, America, and parts of Europe, to destinations all over the
world. Truly a magnificent start for the
“Modern Missionary Movement.”
(Next week we look at “revolutionary
responses”)
An Anglican Catechism
– Article 18:
Other Sacramental rites
=>
What other sacramental rites evolved in the Church under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit?
Other
sacramental rites which evolved in the Church include Confirmation, Ordination,
Christian Marriage, Confession and Absolution, and the Anointing of the Sick.
=>
How do they differ from the two sacraments of the gospel?
Although
they are means of grace, they are not necessary for all persons in the same way
that Baptism and the Eucharist are.
=>
What is Confirmation?
Confirmation
is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive
strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a
Bishop.
=>
What is required of those to be confirmed?
It
is required of those to be confirmed that they have been baptized, are
sufficiently instructed in the Christian faith, are penitent for their sins,
and are ready to affirm their confession of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
=>
What is Ordination?
Ordination
is the rite in which God gives authority and the grace of the Holy Spirit to
those being made bishops, priests and deacons, through prayer and the laying on
of hands by bishops.
=>
What is Christian Marriage?
Christian
Marriage, sometimes called Holy Matrimony, is a lifelong union into which the
woman and the man enter when they make their vows before God and the Church,
and receive the grace and blessing of God to help them fulfil their vows.
=>
What is Confession and Absolution?
Confession
and Absolution, sometimes called the Reconciliation of a Penitent, or Penance,
is the rite in which those who repent of their sins may confess them to God in
the presence of a priest, and receive the assurance of pardon and the grace of
absolution.
=>
What is the Anointing of the Sick?
The
Anointing of the Sick, sometimes called Unction, is the anointing of the sick with
oil. By this God’s grace is given for
the healing of spirit, mind and body.
=>
Is God’s activity limited to these rites?
God
does not limit himself to these rites; they are patterns of countless ways by
which God uses material things to reach out to us.
=>
How are the sacraments related to our Christian hope?
Sacraments
sustain our present hope and anticipate its future fulfilment.
(Next
week we will look at Angels)
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:
This meditation or prayer refers to the Kingdom of God,
establishing itself on Earth.
(In place of the word “Christ” below, you may be more
comfortable with the term “Lord Maitreya”, “the Imam Mahdi”, “the Bodhisattva”,
“the Messiah”, or 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.
Benedictio:
P.
Pax Dei, quae exsuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda vestra et intelligentias
vestras in scientia et amore Dei, et Filii ejus Jesu Christi Domini nostri; Et
benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris, + et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, descendat
super vos, et maneat semper vobiscum.
Amen. (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,
devantierf@gmail.com
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