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 at times 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 OtienoOdhiambo, 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. God the Father, God the + Son, God the Holy Ghost, bless,
preserve and sanctify you; the Lord in His lovingkindness 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.
First
Sunday in Lent –9th March
2014 (Colour of Celebration –Violet
/ Purple)
O Lord, who for our solace hast appointed divers seasons
unto thy church, grant us so justly to examine ourselves that, discerning
clearly our faults, we may truly amend them and thus prepare ourselves fitly to
celebrate thy holy feast of Easter, O risen Lord, unto whom be praise and
adoration for evermore. Amen.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, directly after His baptism, prepared
Himself for His public life and mission by a fast of forty days in the desert,
which extends from Jericho to the Mountains of Judaea. Let us prepare ourselves by fast, prayers and
works of charity for the Solemn Feast of Easter.
Announcements:
We are actively recruiting members for Saint Titus,
Ordinary members, members who need baptism and confirmation, members who would
like a conditional baptism and confirmation certificate, Lay Preachers, Lay
Pastors, and candidate Priests. Full
practical training will be provided for the Candidate Priests, and a Diploma
issued on the successful completion of the training. If you are interested, then please contact Fr.
Franz devantierf@gmail.com
Special Prayer Requests:
=>
Let’s pray that our Church’s / Temple’s / Religious places, 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 to earth.
=> Let’s pray that as we have reached planetary limits,
with regards to greenhouse gases, pollution and etc; our leaders will make the
right green decisions on our behalf.
News:
Join
the Saint Titus
Newsletter and get all the latest news.
Sacred References:
Epistle: II
Corinthians, Chapter 5, verse 9 onwards
II
Corinthians, Chapter 6, verses 1 - 10
Gospel:
John, chapter 3, verse 16 onwards.
Matthew,
chapter 4, verses 1 – 11
Homily / Sermon:
On this first Sunday in Lent, we
contemplate or think about the relationship we have with Jesus Christ. We take the opportunity to look again at the
bigger picture, to see exactly where Jesus Christ fits into the bigger picture,
and exactly where we fit in.
As we look at the relationship , it
becomes obvious that it has to have arisen out of love; because it is not a
fair relationship. On the one side,
Jesus Christ dies on the cross for our sins.
On the other side, all we have to do is to accept our salvation. Such an arrangement can only have arisen out
of love, love for us. If it did not
arise out of love, then it would have been more like a business relationship. We would have had to provide a close to equal
input from our side.
If we look at Jesus Christ a bit
closer, we notice that something remarkable has happened. This was not just a messenger or a prophet
who had come to give us a message of some kind.
This was God incarnate. God
himself came to give us this message.
You see we speak of the Holy trinity, three Persons or Gods in one
God. God the father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit. All three are
simply different aspects of God that we can experience, but are in fact as much
one God as the other two aspects are. If
you deal with the Father, you deal with all aspects of God, likewise if you
deal with the Son you deal with all aspects of God. You see Jesus Christ is the one and only God,
the almighty God. Having three different
aspects of God, helps us in our limited understanding of things to understand
God a little bit better. God is
omnipresent, in other words God is everywhere at the same time. God is omnipotent, in other words God has all
power over everything.
The essential difference between Jesus
Christ, and any other prophet or messenger from God, is that Jesus Christ is
God himself. Yes Jesus Christ was also a
messenger of God, a Prophet of God, but he was also God. Jesus Christ came for everybody on earth, and
so regardless of specific religions or belief systems, Jesus Christ came for
you. The one and only God came for
you. You see thousands of years ago,
when mankind was less tolerant of their fellow men, then they are these days; mankind
was allowed to have tribal / regional / different religions. And so whether you were a Hindu, Budhist,
Muslim, Christian, Jew, or any of the other major or minor religions, or any of
the so-called earth religions, you believed in God, but described God in a way
that made sense to your specific group.
Many of the religions had lesser Gods, which were also part of God, but
easier for our fore-fathers to identify with.
So we had demi-Gods, Greek Gods, Egyptian Gods, Ancestors, Angels, and
in fact millions of names for God or aspects of God that mankind was able to
worship. Many were lesser Gods, but
because they were connected to God, it was like worshipping God. However when Jesus Christ came to Earth, he
came to earth as God Almighty. He came
for everybody on Earth. In this way
Jesus Christ has transcended all the diverse religions, because he came for
everybody. After the crucifixion of
Jesus Christ, it no longer made sense to persist with any of the major or minor
religions, because there was only one true religion left on this earth. That religion was not specifically
Christianity or Catholicism, or Protestantism.
The true religion was to recognise Jesus Christ as the Almighty God, and
to worship him. The true religion was to
accept your redemption or forgiveness of sins from Jesus Christ and to have
your place in Heaven assured. Of course
we are all asked to take the good news to the far corners of the earth, or
everybody on earth.
If you study many different religions,
you will notice that they all have vastly different belief systems, and
definitions of God. However when you
hear them speaking about God, or when you read writings that are specifically
speaking about God, then you will suddenly find that this God they are speaking
about seems to be the same God that you have always been speaking about. Jesus Christ came for all the world, and so
all the religions of the world should have become one. However even after two thousand years, they
have persisted in their various different forms. Even these days we hear news of
fundamentalist groups belonging to one of the major religions, dong the most
heinous things, in the name of God.
Religious groups maintaining that they are the only true religion and
everybody else is going to hell. Even
amongst Christians, some fundamentalist Baptists for example, will maintain
that the Catholics are going to hell. We
have so much work to do and so little time, and humanity in general has refused
to understand the significance of Jesus Christ.
So many believe that Jesus Christ came just for them or their group,
whereas God tells us that Jesus Christ came for everybody.
God told us over and over again, in
many different ways, that Jesus Christ was God, and that he had come to save
everybody on this earth. Jesus Christ did
not just come for the Jews and the Gentiles, but also for the Hindus, and the
Budhists, and the wicca’s and in fact everybody on this Earth.
John chapter 3 verse 16: “For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.
Now you notice that God did not single
out any religious group in this statement.
God loved everybody in the world, and Jesus Christ came to save
everybody on Earth, regardless of religion or anything else. If you live in this world, God loves you, and
Jesus Christ came to give you the gift of eternal life; it is that simple.
So now that we have finished
explaining who Jesus is, let’s look at what he did around this time to prepare
himself for the mission that he was about to undertake, that would end in his
crucifixion.
Jesus Christ goes into the desert and
fasts for forty days. Forty days is
about the limit that a human being can go without food, before the condition
becomes a medical emergency, or a serious medical condition. Now I am not saying that you should go ahead
and fast for forty days. Basically a
fast is taking away something, typically food, that is absolutely essential for
survival, for a set amount of time. So
now ask yourself the question, what do you have in your life, that if you were
to be without it, would make life difficult or uncomfortable for you. Cutting down on food, will certainly make a
big difference, however most people are not as healthy as they used to be all those
years ago. I know for example that if I
miss a meal, my stomach acid builds up, and I suffer some discomfort.
There are other things that we can cut
down on as we prepare for the great feast of Easter, the celebration of the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The celebration of the promise that we too will have eternal life, if we
will accept our redemption, our atonement for sin, our salvation.
Some of us smoke, and without
cigarettes we will end up feeling a bit deprived and grumpy. Yes that sounds like a good one, give up
smoking until Easter Sunday. Maybe you
are in the habit of consuming a beer or two at night. Give up drinking beer, until Easter
Sunday. Some of us treat ourselves to a
night out once a week, a meal at a restaurant, followed by a movie or a visit
to the state theatre or something along those lines. How about giving that up until Easter Sunday. Maybe you just enjoy a cup of hot chocolate
for example, when you go to bed; well give that up till Easter Sunday. There is sure to be something that has some
significance for you in your life that you can give up until after Easter. By doing that you are identifying with Jesus
Christ as he spent those forty days fasting in the desert.
These 40 days of fasting or
sacrificing something significant in your life is important, because fasting
goes with prayer and contemplation. As
soon as you voluntary deprive yourself of something that you enjoy or need for
survival, you will start thinking about the reason for it.
Yes, you are giving up this thing to
identify with Jesus Christ, but you are also thinking about other significant
things. You see all of us, regardless of
our religion will one day stand before the judgement seat of God, the Judgement
seat of Jesus Christ. Whatever you
believe or don’t believe, you will still stand before the judgement seat of God
Almighty. According to the deeds that we
have committed while in this Human body we will be justly rewarded or punished. There is no escape from this.
As you contemplate on this, you will
realize that very few people on this earth would have done well in front of the
judgement seat of God. It is only
because of our atonement for sin, or our redemption that we can confidently
stand in front of the judgement seat of God, knowing that the outcome will be
positive. God has come to earth in the
form of a man, and suffered crucifixion in order to give us this redemption or
eternal life. Those who have not taken
up this offer will simply exist in a state of separation from God, or as some
sources put it, in hell.
Now think of this, although God has
asked us to go into all the world, and take the good news of salvation to all
of mankind, we have not really done this too seriously. How are we going to explain this to God when
we stand in front of his throne? We will
still have our redemption, but I think that this will be an awkward
moment. If you had taken this message to
just one person, then at least you can tell God that you have shared the good
news with one person. Of course being
able to tell God that you have shared the good news with tens of thousands of
people from all races, backgrounds and creeds, would be even better.
We have been reconciled to God through
Jesus Christ, who is also the one and only God.
The below extract describes what Jesus
Christ subjected himself to for us:
“For he hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin; that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.”
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.
I undertake to regularly partake of
Holy Communion, as in Mathew 26, verses 26-28.
Amen.
Mark, chapter 16, verse 16
Whoever believes and is baptized will
be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Mathew 26:26-28
And as they were eating, Jesus took
bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said,
Take, eat; this is my body. And he took
the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For
this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission
of sins.
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.
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, or the return of Jesus Christ.
(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.)
1.) From the point of Light within the Mind of God
Let Light stream forth into the minds of men.
Let Light descend on Earth.
2.) From the point of Love within the Heart of God
Let Love stream forth into the hearts of men.
May Christ
return to Earth.
3.) 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.
4.) 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.
5.) Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on
Earth.
By using the Invocation and encouraging others to use it,
no particular group, organisation, or religion is sponsored. It belongs to all
humanity, it belongs to you. Say this
prayer every day, when you wake up in the morning.
Benedictio:
P. 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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