BISHOP LYONS'PUBLIC SCHEDULEAutumn 2024

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

Mass of the Feast of the Holy Archangels

with Rite of Incardination for Father Benjamin Stern

Saint Mary's Ministries

Greenwood, Indiana

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6

Episcopal Visitation

Saint Martin's Mission

Menominee Falls, Wisconsin

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7 

Quarterly Diocesan Clergy Meeting

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17

Episcopal Visitation

Divine Mercy Church

Aurora, Colorado

On all other Sundays, Bishop Lyons will celebrate Mass
at Saint Mary's Ministries, Greenwood, Indiana. 

Schedule subject to change.

Convergence 2024 in Photos

Convergence 2024 was held at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory, North Carolina from Monday, June 10 through Thursday, June 13. After Evening Prayer and supper together, attendees enjoyed a hilarious game of "Getting to Know You". Tuesday and Wednesday mornings featured teachings from Bishop Kenneth Myers on various aspects of the drama of the liturgical celebration. Mass was celebrated daily in the afternoon. Wednesday's Mass included the renewal of vows on the part of the ordained to the Archbishop, and the consecration of Holy Oils for the American Catholic Communities. Please enjoy the following photographs of our time together.

  

 

In Memoriam:Archbishop Dan Gincig

The American Catholic Communities announces the passing of Archbishop C. Daniel Gincig.

Archbishop Gincig was born November 3, 1943 and journeyed home to glory on May 1, 2024. Bishop Dan was raised in the Catholic Church from his youth, although it was not until later in life when the Lord called him - through what can only be called a Pauline experience - to shepherd the flock of the faithful. Bishop Dan answered that call with excitement and vigor.

Following his formation, he dissolved his business and moved from California to Colorado at the leading of the Holy Spirit. On February 26, 1995 he was consecrated Bishop for the purpose of leading a new Convergence Movement Catholic Church called the American Old Catholic Church. The early years were full of great strides and setbacks and yet Bishop Dan stayed the course. As the jurisdiction grew, he was asked to take on more prominent role on the international level. Through his leadership and with the assistance of the College of Bishops, the Communion of International Catholic Communities was established in 2009.

In June of 2015 Bishop Dan retired from his role as Archbishop of the Communion and resumed his pastoral role at Christ the King Church in Aurora, Colorado.

In your kindness, please remember him, his family, and those he faithfully served in your prayers.

May he rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen.

Convergence 2024 is Carolina Bound

The 2024 Convergence Conference will be held at The Catholic Conference Center near Hickory, North Carolina from June 10-12. 

Nestled on 180 acres, the Center boasts a variety of ways to re-energize the mind, body, spirit, and soul, including easy walking trails with many reflection points cut throughout the property's woodland. 

This year, we are thrilled to welcome Bishop Kenneth Myers of Graceworks back to Convergence as our featured speaker. He will be speaking on aspects of his work, "How Christians Worship" as we continue our growth and development in the theological, practical, and spiritual sides of the celebration of Divine Worship. Expect Texas-sized stories, and profound moments of revelation as he leads us deeper in discovering covenant connections with God. 

As usual, our agenda will include updates on the state of the Communion and our Diocese, as well as opportunities to pray the Daily Office, Mass, and other devotions together. Ample opportunity will also be provided to experience the beauty of the facility grounds.

Archbishop's Easter Message - 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we journey towards the close of the Holy Triduum and embark on the celebration of the Pascal Feast, I want to offer you (and your congregations) my heartfelt prayers and fidelity.  It is an honor and joy to serve you all on a daily basis and an even greater joy to do so collegially in the Paschal Celebration.  Remember that we are an Easter people.  It is in the celebration of the Resurrection that we have been restored to life and not merely life, but life eternal.  May we, with great excitement, proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ and may we live out our new life in Him.

Happy and Blessed Easter my Friends!  May the Lord make Himself known to you in a special way through the celebrations of the coming days!

Bishop's Triduum Messagefor Priests - 2024

My friends in Christ, Peace!

As I prepare to head to the altar today (a bit early - hospital time runs a bit different than parish time!) I want to share with you my prayers for a rich and meaningful Paschal Triduum.

In a particular way, today, I want to invite each of you to sit with the privilege and challenge of your priesthood. There is an amazing and beautiful reality that comes into our lives with the imposition of hands and ordination to the priesthood. Today, as we mark the institution of the Eucharist and the establishment of the priesthood, we each are given the opportunity to lay hold more deeply of our calling, and to ask ourselves how our ministry may be of greater use to God and to those whom he would have us serve. At the same time, we remember the challenges of our priestly calling. I don't want to offer any trite ideas about how to overcome the challenges - I simply want to acknowledge that they are there, they can be significant, and that neither you nor I are any the less for experiencing those challenges. 

While we will formally recommit ourselves to our ministries in June at our Retreat, I would invite each of you - as you celebrate the Eucharist today - to take a brief moment of private prayer to recommit yourself to the ministry you are called to.

For my part, my friends, I especially commit myself to each of you - to holding you in prayer, and to being here for you when you need me... and I seek to be your servant on our mutual journey to the kingdom.

Grace, peace, and blessings - this Triduum, and always!

Holy Thursday

Today, my brothers and sisters, we enter into the Paschal Triduum, and we enter that celebration with this solemn memorial of the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Holy Thursday also bears with it many other theological significances. All of them are very important… and yet today, all of them are irrelevant.

On the night before Jesus dies, as he prepares for a final meal with his disciples, he stoops down to wash the feet of those who have gathered with him in the Upper Room. In this act of unabashed humility, Jesus demonstrates in a profoundly personal way what his mission on earth is all about.

On the eve of the ultimate confrontation between good and evil, between hope and sorrow, between death and life, Jesus Christ demonstrates that everything he does is pervaded by a love that knows no bounds. None.

The Creator Word and God of Majesty stoops down with pitcher, basin, and towel to wash the dirty, gnarly feet of his disciples; because for God, nothing is more important that showing that he will go to any length to bridge the chasm that exists between him and his creation by virtue of the fall of Adam and Eve.

In the face of the hatred, cruelty, sinfulness, and brokenness of the world, the Jewish leadership, the Roman occupiers, and yes, even in the face of the Devil himself, Jesus ministers simple service and love and demonstrates them as the means to overcome every obstacle that would stand in the way of a new and eternal life with him.

What more is there to say?

What more needs to be said?

If perfect love casts out fear, then the image of Christ washing the feet of his disciples in one final, personal, quiet act of loving service to his disciples… his closest friends… and even his betrayer! should cast our own fears as far away from our minds as the Father casts our sins from us.

The Foot Washing… simple service in the face of unrelenting hatred.

Let us listen.

Let us learn.

Where Do You Stand? A Holy Week Reflection for 2024

My dear brothers in Christ as we approach Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum, I want to take a moment to ask you an important question: How close are we to the cross?

Our answer will give us an answer to what is, quite possibly, the most vital question we must ever consider: How close are we to Christ?

So, let us take a moment to consider: Are we close the cross…

• like Pilate and the soldiers of his cohort?
• like Simon of Cyrene?
• like the mockers atop the hillside?
• like the leading priests and the teachers of religious law?
• like Mary Magdalene and the other women?
• like the Blessed Mother?

Consider Pilate and his soldiers. Their role is plain – the execution of justice and the realization of its demands. They are, of course, impartial… Pilate goes so far as to wash his hands of the matter. The soldiers, of course, are ‘just following orders’. In their jeering, their striking, their nailing, they will be covered with blood, sweat, flesh, and spittle. They will become utterly filthy – and they will revel in it! ‘One more dead Jew to teach this nasty nation a lesson about rabble-rousing.’ For them, Christ is not the son of a woman, or, really, even a human being deserving of respect. With one solitary exception – the officer who presided over the entire sad affair and was convinced in his heart of the truth – we hear nothing but contempt from the civil officials charged with ‘maintaining truth and justice’, or, if we are being more honest, Roman terror, alive and well in Judea. Is this our connection to Christ? One of mocking and jeering and washing our hands of it? You might say, “Why would anyone be here, in this place, for a worship service on this day if this was the case?” And yet I can ensure you that, if you look within yourself, there are times when you have joined with those who loaded the burden upon the shoulders of Christ through words, actions, or inaction. This does not mean you cannot find redemption – certainly the Roman officer was led to confess Christ as Son of God… but renewal of life begins with honest self examination… and honesty demands we consider this as a possible proximity to the cross.

Next, let us consider Simon of Cyrene. To be honest, we don’t really know a lot about him. We know he was a passerby who was roped into carrying the cross for Jesus. We know he had two children, Alexander and Rufus. We know he was from a Greek colony in what is modern-day Libya. He was in town because there was a Cyrenian Jewish synagogue in Jerusalem where many from the colony would go to celebrate the Feasts of the Jewish faith. We know nothing else about him with any certainty. What we do know is that, of all the people who come into direct physical contact with the cross, he would have come away the cleanest. No nasty nailing through blood vessels, no blood running down upon him in droves… in fact, some of the blood and sweat on the cross may well have dried up before or during his carrying of it. He may have stayed relatively clean, but his importance to our consideration is still worth evaluating. Is our closeness to Christ rooted in compulsion, and not in a genuine love and desire for a relationship with him? Are we Christians simply because our parents and grandparents, our husband or our wife, or some other important person in our life is Christian? Have we never made the burden of discipleship our own? Regardless of what happened to Simon after he bore the cross, he was, at the moment he carried it, bearing the burden under compulsion, and not in freedom. Is this our closeness to the cross?

Our attention now turns to the mockers on the hillside. They are placed conveniently to remain clean. No blood will be found on them! None of the nastiness of the cross shall touch them. This is entertainment – a public spectacle. Some are Jews, some are Gentiles. All are the intended object of the work being accomplished upon that cross, and yet the will not draw near. They do not lift a voice of encouragement, only of taunting. Their words serve to slam the nails, the thorns, and the lance more deeply into Christ. Have we – and let us be honest with ourselves! – have we ever taken the place of the mockers? Have we ever maintained a convenient distance from the cross in order to be free from its scandal and its shame? Is this today our closeness to the cross?

Let us look together to the religious leaders… they too stand afar off, jeering and taunting. But their pedigree, their succession through ordination and instruction, makes them to be people who should know better. There is a lot they are divided on… indications were that things as diverse as calendar calculations and the proper journey length on a Sabbath were contested among various Jewish sects… but the one thing that united their leaders on Calvary’s plateau was their rejection of the patriarchs, the prophets, and of God himself. They knew so utterly well what was truth that, when they met truth face-to-face, they did not recognize Him. Is this our closeness to the cross? Has our familiarity with the customs and traditions of our faith caused us to become contemporary scribes, pharisees, and challengers of the Lord? Have we failed to see Christ in others, have we failed to touch others in his name, and – most importantly – have we failed to acknowledge our absolute, complete, utter, and total dependence upon his grace for our redemption – choosing instead religiosity over humble faith?     

Mary Magdalene and the other women now enter the scene… they were at something of a remove from the spectacle. Their hearts were surely breaking, seeing their rabbi, their teacher, their Lord as he hung upon the gibbet of the cross. What were they saying? What were they thinking? Scripture is silent. We can only assume, from what we are told, that they stood there, beholding in wonder, sorrow, fear, and hope – yes, all those conflicting emotions! – the greatest spectacle in human history, and turning their hearts towards prayer? Is this our closeness to the cross? Are we, who behold the Crucified, turned towards prayer? Towards repentance? Towards renewal? Do we find born in us, at a safe and yet uncomfortable remove from the experience of the cross, a security of faith? 

Finally, let us consider Mary, the Blessed Mother. Where is she in all this? In John’s Gospel we are told that she was close enough to the cross to be addressed by her dying son. His voice must have been raspy… the trauma of the passion was most exquisite. Having witnessed my share of trauma patients in my career who had been through being beaten to ‘within an inch of their lives’, I can say that, while some are quite vocal, many are so exhausted and defeated, that only whispers escape their lips. Mary, is firmly at the foot of the Cross as the blood, the sweat, and the tears fall upon her. Her clothing must have been covered with the blood, the most precious blood, of her beloved Son. And yet, in this moment of deep agony, foretold in the Temple by Simeon - the moment when her heart is pierced - she remains steadfast, unmoving, and faithfully stands under the cross, under the Body, and under the Blood. The fruit of her fiat hangs before her, pours upon her, and marks her, not simply as the Theotokos – the God bearer – but as an adopted daughter of the Most High. Her full and complete confidence, even in the midst of sorrow and pain, reigns above her on the tree, full of life and salvation for her… and for you.

Beloved… I ask you today to consider, as we adore the crucified, where do you stand?

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

READINGS

Genesis 37:2-4,12-13,15-28
Psalm 105
Matthew 21:33-46

REFLECTION

Envy and desire often breed discontent. It’s clearly evident in our readings today… 

When the discontent is within ourselves, it’s poisonous. Joseph’s discontented brothers wish him gone; the tenant farmers visit violence and death to the master’s servants, and to his son. 

When the envy is aimed at us, it’s painful. Rejection on the part of Joseph. The loss of a child for the vineyard’s master. 

These behaviors and the kind of greed, lust – really – for power, knowledge, prestige, all have their root in the fall. Even the Flood was unable to completely purge the earth. Given the new beginning we got with Noah, and viewing how his descendants have managed to handle themselves… I sometimes shudder to think what our world would have been like in this day and age without God’s intervention!

At the same time, one could argue that Joseph had it coming to him. He was a favorite, after all; and he didn’t exactly mind rubbing in the faces of his brothers just what God had revealed to him. His father treated him like royalty. Their own actions served to give fuel to the fire that brewed just beneath the surface of Jacob’s other sons… the fire that often brews just beneath our own surface. 

And yet, even with intervention, we are still suffering in a world of injustice, of envy, of malice. We live in a world where the rich decry living wages for the poor. A world where governments have no issue leveling villages, towns, and cities filled with defenseless people with the simple flick of a switch. Our reality is also one in which people believe they have born privilege, as well as one in which those who do not have privilege sometimes take it upon themselves to ensure that they get what they believe is fair… or more.

This isn’t what God has called us to… not at all! But it is the reality we face. And we, as people of God, marked in baptism by Christ Jesus and the Spirit, are called to do something about it. “But,” we may ask, “what can we do… I mean really do?”

To be honest, the question is so complex, it would be impossible for me to answer it directly… though I think that the prophet Micah has some suggestions.  

YAHWEH has told you what is good,
    and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
    and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

Will we solve injustice, cruelty, suffering, and hatred in the world, in our lifetime? No. We won’t. But we can do our part. We can walk in ways that minister compassion, instead of fostering envy. We can seek to help others, and in doing so, we can help ourselves. None of this is possible, though, without the active and vital participation of the Spirit… and so, this day, let us pray that the Spirit would help us to avoid the pitfalls of envy and of breeding envy in others, so that we may bring dignity, wholeness, and hope to those who so desperately need it, in our back yards… and throughout the world.

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

For those engaged in urban missionary work here in central Indiana,
that they may be given a sense of connectedness to those they encounter,
forging solidarity
and a groundswell of compassion
in the face of homelessness,
substance abuse,
mental illness,
and abandonment,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

For those engaged in foreign missions,
that differences in cultures and communication styles
would be no hindrance to sharing the message of the living God,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer. 

For those in positions of civil, economic, and educational authority,
that their primary concern would be for the people their actions effect,
not simply today,
but often for a lifetime,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

For those who foster envy, hatred, and jealousy,
that their hearts and spirits would be turned
through the gracious visitation of the Spirit,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

For all who feel abandoned by God,
that through the work of caring believers,
they may find in themselves the courage
to establish new
and reestablish forgotten ties
with the creator of the heavens and the earth,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

For the dying as they embark on their final journey,
that they may recognize God’s presence with them in their final moments,
so that, cleansed, forgiven, and fearful no longer,
they may rest peacefully in the promises of Christ,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

Hear us now, O Lord, as we bring to you our own personal needs and intentions...

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

READINGS
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm 1
Luke 16:19-31

REFLECTION

Lent is often times given a bad rap as a time where we rag on humanity. We focus on our failings, our weaknesses, our sinfulness. Our liturgy takes on a more reserved character, we give things up, we talk about the crucifixion perhaps, a touch more – or a lot more – than usual. Critics of the Lenten observance often feel that it’s just a time to trash ourselves.

I’d like to propose that they are missing something. Well, multiple somethings, in fact.

Lent, when observed rightly, is a time of profound balance. Today, in our readings from Sacred Scripture, we are exposed to our fallenness, our need for divine guidance, and the effects of divine guidance in the lives of the faithful. 

Our reading from the prophet Jeremiah, and our Psalm, both emphasize the fact that human wisdom is, essentially, useless when it is divorced from a relationship with God. Jeremiah especially makes the point when he talks about relying on human strengths and turning their hearts away from God. As human beings, we have wisdom… some might call it street smarts. We have an understanding of how things work in the ‘real world’, but when we rely on such an understanding to formulate the way we approach our lives, we fall woefully short of what God wants of us. He does not want us to turn our hearts away from him… he wants to channel that worldly wisdom we have, to temper it with compassion, with righteousness, with eternal truth, and make of us effective ambassadors for his mercy and love in the world around us.

All the wisdom in the world, and even beyond the world, that is devoid of God’s presence is, ultimately, useless. When we have squandered the Spirit, when we have failed to live justly and humbly before God by tempering ourselves, then we are reduced, not simply to being counted among the wicked, but to being truly pitiful.

Such is the case of the rich man in the parable from our Gospel reading. 

Here was a man who clearly had it all, and yet all his earthly wisdom wasn’t enough to save him. Contextually, it’s made clear that this man had some awareness of the Law and the prophets… and yet he still finds himself judged, and tormented by the fact that his brothers (and presumably his extended family) haven’t amended their lives, or subjected their worldly wisdom to the wisdom and the justice of God.

When we consider the kind of life that God wants us to live, one in which we balance our own needs with the needs of others, the message present here becomes clear: our own nature has fallen, it fails us. It leads us to selfishness beyond what is necessary for the meeting of our basic needs. Thus, it is only in God that our human nature can be redeemed and risen from its debased state… and yet it can be redeemed and risen and restored! We can be more than our fallenness indicates. But we can’t do it on our own.

We need God. Thus we need self-discipline. We need reflection. We need renewal. We need it to redeem the world. And we need it to be redeemed ourselves.

May this Lenten season help us to recover a balanced walk, through the working of the Spirit, by the example of Christ, and in the overwhelming mercy of the Father.

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

For a deeper realization of our need for divine guidance,

let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

For a more complete understanding of the Scriptures we hold dear, 

let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

For a continual conversion of heart, mind, and spirit, during Lent, and beyond,

let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

For an indwelling of wisdom as we reach out to others with the Gospel message, 

let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

For a peace beyond our understanding as we contemplate our mortality, 

and as we cope with the suffering and death that is a part of our world today…

let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer. 

For the needs and intentions we bring with us this day…

(silence for personal prayer)

…let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

READINGS
Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Psalm 50
Matthew 23:1-12

REFLECTION

When is the last time you examined your motivations for faith?

In our readings today, we are presented with two stark reminders of the ways that our faith can be motivated, and an indictment of our human nature, which stands in need of faith.

In our reading from Matthew’s Gospel today, we are presented with a powerful reminder of the wrong reasons for faith. We should not be believers for the external show, the power, or the prestige of being a believer. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day knew their scriptures well, and paraded their knowledge widely, but their righteousness was highly questionable, because their motivations were compromised. Their goal was self-justification… something less than God.

The prophet Isaiah, however, reminds us that listening to God’s law and following it righteously requires the intervention of God. He does not say “Though your sins are like scarlet, you can make them white as snow.” God reserves to himself the authority to cleanse of sin and to fill with the Spirit, a Spirit that produces righteousness as its fruit.

There is a component, of course, for us… we must be response to the Spirit’s work, firmly debasing ourselves of any idea that we, in and of ourselves, can wipe our own slates clean. When we listen to the voice of God, when we follow his commands, when we seek to live righteously, we are empowered to do so by the Spirit, not by ourselves. A righteous life is continually nurtured by the refreshing power of the Holy Spirit.

And so, our God approaches us daily… moment by moment. He is present in each and every aspect of our lives. Why bother to claim his name, or to walk in outward fidelity to him if we have no intent to foster the covenant relationship in Christ Jesus? We must accept the Father’s claim on us, secured by Christ’s blood, and nurtured by the presence of the Spirit… or else all our sacrifices, all our prayers, all our outward fidelity will be as nothing in the sight of Yahweh… for he beholds the heart, not the outward appearances. 

And, when our heart is right with him, and our faith’s motivations rest in our knowledge of our fallen-ness and our need for his presence in our lives, well… in those moments, all things are possible, and eternal joy stands squarely in our sight.

Don’t live, my friends, in false righteousness. Don’t seek the world’s approval. And don’t follow those who do. Walk in faithfulness to the Creator… and he will set you free to serve him with a power that knows no limit!

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

That each of us would take stock of our relationship with God,

and would honestly seek to understand our reasons, motivations, and practices of faith,

let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

That those in positions of leadership in the Church

would seek to minister in humility and love,

not seeking their own glory,

but always preaching the truth, 

whatever the cost, 

let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

That those who have walked away from their faith

on account of the fallen-ness of other believers

may find the courage to encounter Christ again 

and renew their relationship with him on his terms,

let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

That those who, today, are dying

may divest themselves of all self-reliance,

and entrust their spirits to the one 

who is able to do abundantly more than we can ask

or imagine, 

let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

That the needs of our hearts, 

and of those we love, 

would be known by God 

and ministered to through his faithful love…

(silence for personal prayer)

…let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer. 

Friday after Ash Wednesday

READINGS

Isaiah 58:1-9a

Psalm 51

Matthew 9:14-15

REFLECTION

As I was perusing my Facebook wall before bed on Ash Wednesday, I noticed several folks who had proudly posted articles such as "4 Reasons Why I Don't Observe Lent", or "I'm Giving up Lent for Lent". An article on a local news station's website about the local Episcopal Cathedral doing "Ashes on the Go" on Monument Circle had generated 19 comments. Every last one of them snarky repudiations of Lent, fasting, and Roman Catholicism... which is ironic, given the fact that the article was about Episcopalians.

Anyway, the jist of most of the articles is that Lent is just for show, it's works based salvation... that kind of thing. One of the kinder articles listed the following four reasons for why the author doesn't observe Lent:

• Lent can lead us to focus on giving up the wrong things and leads to a false righteousness.
• Lent often involves a fast which is frivolous.
• Lent can wrongly lead people to believe that they can be saved by their works.
• Lent often becomes ritualistic instead of deepening our relationship with God.

I have to confess... he's right about these cautions he puts out there. Lent can lead to all of these things, and worse. Lent is not something that is to be played around with. It's not a joke... not if it is to be done in a way that is truly God honoring and that will pay out dividends in your own spiritual life.

The writer illustrated his first point, about giving up the wrong things and leading to a false righteousness, with the example of a person who gives up chocolate for Lent by cheats with an ex. He rightly points out that such a practice is quite hypocritical, and is definitely not in keeping with the Gospel. I absolutely agree that sexual purity is of far greater importance than giving up chocolate. But was the transgression caused by keeping Lent? No. It was caused by the sin-nature residing in the individual, a sin nature that such an individual may not have been seeking the power of the Spirit to reign in. That gets back to a key tenant of Lent. 

If we think that Lent is about building our self discipline from our own reserves and willpower, we are going about it the wrong way. Lent needs to be, essentially, a time where we recognize that it is God, and not our own fallen nature, that will strengthen us against temptations... be it to chocolate, or to far more dangerous and sinful things.

This leads to the second observation, about a frivolous fast. Again, the commentator is right, but for the wrong reasons. His thoughts also bring with them a false assumption. First, a terminology check is in order. Fasting means to abstain from food, water, or both. Abstinence means eliminating something (or things) from our diet. When people 'give something up' for Lent, they are abstaining from it. On Fridays, when the fish come out in force in the cafeterias of the land, the reference is that people 'abstain' from meat. Abstinence and fasting are two different animals. Abstinence from, let's say, chocolate for a period of seven weeks is, on the surface, pretty frivolous. Same goes for TV, or coffee, or Facebook.  But there are people who have serious connections to these frivolous things. For them, the removal of these things from their lives for seven weeks is a massive sacrifice. How many of us log into Facebook dozens of times a day? Imagine the time we'd have free for other purposes, perhaps Scripture study or reflection, prayer, feeding the sick... if we didn't spend so much time plugged into the Net. Sometimes, these distractions can overtake our lives. They become reasons for living. The begin to become idols... gods, if you will, in our own lives. Overcoming our reliance, dependence, and addiction (at times) to them is vital for wholeness in life... and it is God who graces us with the ability to walk away and find renewal.

Third, we get into Lent and works-salvation. A few weeks back we addressed this issue, looking at the question of salvation by faith alone, comparing and contrasting Romans and James. As we read, the only place in Scripture where the phrase 'faith alone' is used is in James 2:24 where we are told "we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone." Our actions reflect our response to the God who pours out upon us his grace. When we choose works of faithfulness and righteousness, we do so because we are not refusing God's grace, but are willing to allow his grace to flow freely in our lives. When we choose evil deeds, it is because we are resisting the grace of God. No matter what we do, it is a manifestation of how we are responding to God. The saving work of Jesus Christ is still what brings salvation to us... but we have to manifest a desire to appropriate that work to ourselves, or we are wasting our time. My most compassionate moments of service as a hospital chaplain don't save me. The grace of God does, when I am open to it. If I slam the door on him, and on his abundant gift of grace, I'm exiling myself... and God's grace is not present in that moment.

Finally, of course Lent can become ritualistic. My morning routine is ritualistic. Humans are ritualistic creatures. The issue is not with ritual. The issue is with DEAD ritual. If I keep Lent because I have to - and yes, many people do keep Lent for precisely such a reason, then it's doing me spiritual harm, not spiritual good. Our family relationships can become ritualistic, and devoid of life. How many people do we know who 'stay married for the kids', for example, whose love grew cold years before. If it is all a show, then Lent is useless. 

But you see, the whole point of Lent is missed if we rail against it for all the ways it can be screwed up. Let me, then, summarize what Lent is and can be to you:

Lent is a time of intensive training for the soul. It's a human tradition, an adiaphora (thing indifferent) if you will. We keep it, though it's not specifically commanded in Scripture. It is a time where we join together with other believers in asking God for the strength to continually (not just for 40 days) amend our lives and grow spiritually more resilient.  It is a time where we rightly challenge ourselves, and where we succeed, when we do succeed, by abandoning the self and embracing God as the strength which leads us to overcome our bad habits, our sinful tendencies, and walk in the way of truth.

Lent is a time to lean on the Spirit with a greater trust than you've ever had before, and to transform your life permanently. Alas, we sometimes fail with the permanent part... I know I have. And yet, the good news is that we need not wait for Lent to come around again to pick up on spiritual disciplines and reliance on God. But if we can learn to do it for an extended period, and if we can perhaps continue to build upon past Lents in years to come, Lent can become a time of amazing transformation, setting us up for deeper experiences in our day to day walk with God.

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

That all who have adopted Lenten spiritual disciplines would learn to trust, 

not on their own strength, 

but on the power and presence of the Spirit in transforming their lives for the better, 

let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

That those who feel listless or unengaged in their spiritual lives, 

that God's transformative grace would encourage them 

to reconnect with him, and with others, 

as they walk the journey of this life, 

let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

That those who feel lost in their sins 

might find, in Christ Jesus, 

the sure hope of mercy, 

and the courage to confess and renew themselves in the Spirit, 

let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

That those who feel overwhelmed in this life, 

as they face critical decisions, 

or walk through their life seemingly alone, 

would recognize the loving care of the Father in their lives this day, 

let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

For our patients, their families, and our staff, 

that their needs and concerns would be heard with love by God, 

let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

For the needs dare to speak aloud...

... and for the needs we hold in the silence of our hearts...

...let us pray to the Lord:

Lord, hear our prayer.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

READINGS
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 1
Luke 9:22-25

REFLECTION

We face choices daily. Some of the choices are simple: what to eat, and what to wear. Others are more complex: how to handle our household or departmental budgets, what to do about concerns in our relationships.

But there is a third category of choices that we make: choices of utmost concern. In particular today, I want to focus on the choices we make when it comes to faith.

To be certain, walking a Christian life is not a simple matter. The basics of the faith might be easily summarized in a creed, but spouting off random lines from said creeds hardly cuts it when we are asked a question like, "It's surely OK to move some of this money around without telling anyone, right?" Reciting a creed doesn't tend to make an impact when we are presented with an enticement to a sin we enjoy far too much. I mean, when is the last time that a glutton stopped and recited the Apostles' Creed as a 'weapon' against eating that entire deep dish pizza that they just ordered? Creeds are great. Liturgy is wonderful. Scripture is powerful... but the three are effective only to the extent that we have allowed the Spirit to use them to reprogram our fallen nature. 

In our reading today from Luke's gospel, Jesus gives the crowd a choice - turn away from selfishness, take up the cross daily, and follow him. He clearly calls us to abandon any vestige of our lives that would drag us back into slavery to sin and death. This is in keeping with our Psalm too. Those who walk in the way of God's laws find joy and hope. They find peace. They have made a choice that bears life, and they are contrasted with the wicked, whose choices lead to death. 

Moses' words in our first reading are even more stark: You've got a choice - prosperity or disaster; life and death, blessings and curses. Your actions, your embrace of the Spirit, your following in the lead of God will determine the outcome. 

All three of our readings today extend to us an affirmation of free will. But it's important to remember that our free will is compromised by the fall. In Proverbs 14 we are reminded: "There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death." In fact, the phrase is so important that it's repeated again, two chapters later. Our free will has been marred by the fall. Our base instincts fail us, and respond in kind with this sinful world in which we live. We don't like to be reminded of that fact, but it's true. The world, and its inhabitants, are no longer in the state that God created them to be in. Emnity, hostility... both were foreign to God's plans in creation; but yet, because we were created in his image, we had to be created with a will that was truly free, even free to fall. And yet, while our wills today are in bondage to the havoc that the Enemy caused in the fall, the prevenient grace of God, and let me define that for you in case prevenient is a term you've never heard of: it means the grace that precedes or 'goes before'  —that grace which precedes human action and reflects God’s heart for his creation. It testifies to God’s being the initiator of any relationship with him and reveals him as one who pursues us. The words of the prophet Joel speak eloquently to this grace: "I will pour out my Spirit upon all people... In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike." (Joel 2:28a, 29). 

We are fallen, unable to save ourselves, unable even to reach out to God without his Spirit, and yet we are also fully accountable for our choices, and our choices have the power to change our lives, here, and hereafter. Sound like a contradiction? Well, I hope you're comfortable with contradiction, because sometimes, that's the way God works - using seeming contradiction to illustrate the faith which we hold. I think he does so, because we exist as contradictions. We were created in the image and likeness of God, and even in our fallen state we still bear that image and likeness, and yet we are fallen and far away from God. How's that for contradiction! There is a tension that exists in our faith between seemingly exclusionary concepts. Some can be easily explained, but others, like the balance between free will and our fallen nature, are far more difficult. I'd say that frankly, even the greatest theologian's attempts will fall short, because no matter what we do, we are still trying to explain the heart of our God in human terms, and he operates far beyond our limited vocabulary.

Suffice it to say, for today, that we cannot save ourselves. We must lean completely and totally on God to do that for us. And yet, as his word teaches, we are accountable for our choices, and he sends us the grace that 'goes ahead' of us to enable us to choose rightly. Next time you're faced with a situation that has the potential to lead you into sin, to rupture your relationship with God, instead of trying to recall the intricacies of the faith, a simple cry of your spirit to the Holy Spirit, "HELP!" might be far more beneficial. 

During this Lenten season, may we make it our goal, daily, to implore the Father to send the Spirit to us in unmistakable ways during times of decision-making, especially when our decisions are being made in difficult or tempting situations... so that, in the days to come, we will be more resilient when faced with the choices of this life, and comforted to know that Christ is preserving us through his passion and his power, unto life everlasting.

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

That the leaders of the Church
may consistently proclaim the mercy of Christ,
not just during Lent,
but day by day,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

That the hearts of those burdened today by difficult choices
would call upon the Spirit to help them choose life, prosperity, and blessings
in the midst of a world whose wisdom
would often lead us to disaster and death,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

That our minds may be so firmly rooted in the faith
that our cry during times of trial and temptation would be for the Holy Spirit's help,
and not for the pleasing of our own base instincts and desires,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

That those who struggle with feeling unforgivable
and unworthy of love
may find, in the suffering and resurrection of Christ,
the eternal message of worth and redemption
that brings salvation to all who respond to the calling of the Spirit,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

For our patients, staff, and visitors,
for our own families and friends,
and for the special needs and concerns that we bring with us this day...
... let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

Ash Wednesday

READINGS
Joel 2:12-17
Psalm 51
2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Matthew 6:1-6,14-18

REFLECTION: "Taking Out the Trash"

Perhaps I am stretching things a bit, but does anyone remember last year's Ash Wednesday homily? Do you recall the topic?

(Last year's homily may be read at this link)

No takers? Last year, we discussed the concept of Spring Cleaning, comparing it with the practice of cleaning for Passover in a Jewish home. You'll perhaps recall that leaven is routinely used in Scripture as a symbol of sin, and that it is vital to Jewish practice that all leaven be out of the house and, frankly, off the property of a Jewish family before the sunset that marks the Passover, which begins the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Now, one thing I didn't really discuss last year is what they do with all the leaven. 

Generally, in this day and age, the leaven is tossed out on the curb in the trash can, taken away by the garbage man. In some places, the final bits of leaven, especially those that the children are sent to find just before sunset, are burned outside and the ashes buried. Dishware and Cookware that are not to be used for Passover are still cleansed, but they are locked away and don't see the light of day for the whole week. 

That said, It's not unheard of for some individuals to engage in elaborate agreements in order to be free of leaven for the week of the Feast, and take it all back again at sunset on the final day. Those making such accommodations will write up a deed for all their chametz and will then 'sell' it to a Gentile through their rabbi for a token sum. Then, after the Feast, they buy it back through the rabbi, and take their stuff home. Granted, the Wonder Bread is probably going to be moldy by the time it makes it back to the dinner table, but the yeast packets, baking powder, boxes of crackers, and all the other goodies with leaven are still perfectly usable and in the same condition as when it was sold off.

When we look at these two contrasts, and we recall that leaven is equated with sin, we should pose ourselves a sincere question... which practice do we want to emulate? Selling and buying back the chametz is, in Orthodox circles, a perfectly acceptable practice. But the practice is, in essence, doing the minimum. All that leaven returns to you, nothing really changes - except that, for a week, you don't have the use of it. If leaven represents sin, is this really the path we want to take? Or, perhaps more importantly, is it the path that we hope and pray that God wants to take?

My brothers and sisters, we call today to a God who promises to remove our sins "as far from us as the east is from the west." (Psalm 103:12) Because our world is a sphere, you can run west and keep running forever... you'll still never run out of west. God promises to cast our sins away from us at an infinite distance. He will 'remember them no more'. (Isaiah 43:25). Yet many of us still, effectively, buy back our chametz.

Sometimes, we do it because we want to appear holy, but don't want to make the real sacrifices necessary to forsake sin and deepen our relationship with God.

At other times, we find the chametz we though we left behind... we come across it by chance. And because we haven't sent it away for good, we find it far too easy to revel in it.

Admittedly, there are times where the proverbial trash truck has started down the road with our spiritual chametz, only to see us run after the truck and pluck the bag out of the hopper before it can get onto the main road. Yes, even with the best of intentions, sometimes we crave our sinful nature... and will go to great lengths to recover it.

But the most damaging way that the leaven of sin undermines us, my friends, is when we fail to accept that the psalmist is right in saying our sins are put away... when we refuse to believe that Isaiah's words 'He will remember them no more' are true. We refuse to let go, because we believe that we can never be forgiven... that our own sins are so horrid, so terrifying, so filthy that God could never, ever, ever forgive me.

Beloved... today is a day, though wrapped in signs of mortality and penance, that should give us great hope. Today is a day that speaks to us, in Word and at this Table, of mercy, or forgiveness, and of peace with God and with one another. Do you understand that? I mean really? Do you understand that? Do you know in your heart that  "if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness"? (1 John 1:9)

DO YOU BELIEVE IT?

If you do, then I beg you to confess your sins... and I also beg you, with absolute earnestness... let go of them for good. Don't buy them back after Easter. Don't suddenly forsake yourself and sell yourself back into slavery to your old sins, sins you have rightly confessed and laid at the feet of the Savior. Don't surrender to the gnawing doubt that might say to you, "God can't possibly forgive me!"

The cross of Jesus Christ stands as eternal proof that God WILL forgive all who turn to him with faith, whose hearts are impelled by the Spirit to rightly confess and lay their sins at his feet... and then walk away.

So, today, I urge you to take out the trash. Leave it in the can. Don't even bother to watch the garbage collector pick it up... and certainly, don't follow it down the street. Don't seek to get it back, don't give it a second thought... 

And finally, when you have trouble with this precept... I am here. Your own pastor is available to you. Seek out those of us who have been called to minister the healing and the reconciliation of God in Christ in a unique way. Don't feel that you have to journey and struggle alone, because you don't!

Bishop's Lenten Message - 2024

Beloved friends, and co-laborers in the Vineyard, grace and peace to you all!

Tonight, as the sun sets, we close out this first portion of Ordinary Time and prepare for our Lenten journey. I wanted to take a moment to write to you to share my heart as we enter these solemn days.

The essence of the Gospel message is one of Divine Mercy. The very God who fashioned every quark, atom, and molecule that has or will ever exist took such care and compassion of his creation, that in the fullness of time he entered into the life of his creation, that we might be delivered from the first curse and returned to the blessedness that was and is our inheritance as the children of God. This deep mercy required God the Son to become both High Priest and Perfect Victim, and in walking these dual roles to the cross, the grave, and the sky, we have been given the courage to approach the Father tenderly, in the power of the Spirit, crying out "Abba" with full trust and perfect confidence.

And yet, our trust can be tenuous, and our confidence quite imperfect. And when we are such, we often feel discouraged or hopeless. Lent is a perfect time for us to remember that we should never surrender our hope. 

I call on each of you to, first and foremost, find the power of God's hope at work in your life... and second, to encourage those entrusted to your care to approach the Father tenderly, in the power of the Spirit, knowing that they are deeply loved. During these days, whatever our role in Christ's Church, may our ongoing work of refinement and drawing closer to Christ be a priority for each of us and for those we serve, that at least our little corner of the world might be touched with some new, bright, and amazing aspect of God's love.

Finally, I call on each of you - and those you serve - to hear the Gospel and to repent. For my part, I acknowledge to you that I have failed, sinned, and fallen short of the mark. I ask your forgiveness for any ways I may have hurt you. In turn, I ask you to make this same recognition that your service might be rooted in honesty, humility, and in the mercy that God alone can bestow.

With my prayers for your Lenten journey, I remain your servant,

The Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle

READINGS
Acts 4:5-13
Psalm 23
1 Peter 5:1-4
Matthew 16:13-19

REFLECTION: "Stupid is as Stupid Does"

No less a luminary than Albert Einstein is quoted as having defined insanity as: "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". Tom Hanks, playing Forrest Gump in the 1994 movie of the same name expressed a similar theme with the famous words, "stupid is as stupid does".

So, shocker, in our first reading today, we encounter the apostle Peter, at a point not too long after Pentecost, already courting the very same religious leaders who sent Jesus to the cross, confronting them with the Gospel and, essentially, daring them to believe, or to take action to eradicate them.

Now, Jesus had come and spread his Gospel across the land, and, within the span of three and a half years found himself hanging on a tree. Why on earth would Peter have expected any different reception of the Gospel a mere six or so months later (if that!)? In and of itself, such an expectation is plain stupid... but taken with the absolute intransigence that the religious authorities demonstrated repeatedly insofar as Jesus was concerned, Peter's conduct borders on the insane.

Or does it...

Contending for the truth is never insane, at least not in the conventional sense. Insanity implies a lack of rationality. Of course, there are those who would mock Christians for abandoning rationality and exchanging an evolved sense of logic for 'fairy tales'. Next time you hear someone speaking sarcastically about the 'Flying Spaghetti Monster' or asking in that kind of serious/mocking tone (you know what I mean) about your relationship with 'Our Lord and Savior Cthulhu', you can pretty much figure that you've met someone who would take a similar position, at least intellectually, to your beliefs as the religious leaders did to the faith of the Apostles.

So what makes Peter's situation, and by extension ours, any different from those who abandon rationality, and who believe that we are all the offspring of aliens, or that all vaccines are a government conspiracy, or that Barack Obama isn't really an American citizen and, thus, isn't qualified to be president? 

The difference is faith. In specific, it is the summary of faith that Peter confessed in the presence of Jesus under girds, or at least should under gird, every aspect of our lives. Our every work and witness should confess, with Peter that Jesusis the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. No matter how significant the act, or how insignificant the word, whatever we do must have, at its core, a Christian identity and perspective. True, at times we are going to fall short of that ideal, our faith at times waxes and wanes... we become fearful or we withdraw at times. Peter knew all about this. And yet, no matter the strength of our faith, no matter how we may, at times, try to avoid it, Jesus is always there and ready to forgive and renew us, just as he did with Peter after his resurrection.

There is another difference... one that is found rooted in the Spirit. We are given the grace to approach life with boldness, knowing that what we believe is true. We believe it because of the witness of Scripture, the witness of blood in the martyrs of the Church - including Peter, and in the witness of the countless lives changed over nearly two-thousand years of Christian history. Yes, the Jewish religious authorities and Roman civil government could kill a man, but the Spirit raised him to new life, and enflamed with that new life those marked by the name of the Risen One. 

And with every new life formed in the waters of baptism, and through the sealing of the Spirit, there once again echoes out the cry of Peter... "Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God".

This is the faith that makes Peter rock. And, when we profess it, it makes us rock as well. This is the faith of the Church. It is a sold, dependable faith. It is rock. And, as we hear in our Gospel, the Gates of Hades will not conquer it. To put it plainly, this faith will never die.

And that's just as it should be, because - worldly rationality aside - we serve a Savior who will never die again... one who assures us that our death is simply the birth into a new life, if we are found solid on rock.

PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL

That the leaders of the Church may serve,
not out of a sense of self-entitlement,
or with a desire for personal recognition,
but with the truth in their hearts
and the needs of the people foremost in their minds,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

That the people of God may cling to the solid rock of faith,
forever professing Jesus as Messiah,
and reaping the strength that comes from their profession,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

That those who oppose the the faith
based on false information,
or who ridicule believers for fun,
may have their hearts touched by the gentle presence of the Spirit,
and moved to understand more deeply the mystery of faith,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

That the young and the old,
the educated and the simple-minded,
may with one heart profess the faith that saves with earnestness,
in spite of every obstacle presented by religious leaders,
civil governments,
or those who would terrorize them and demand that they give up their faith,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

For the needs and concerns of our hearts...
that, as people of faith,
we may be confident that the Messiah is interceding for us
even now before the Eternal Throne,
let us pray to the Lord:
Lord, hear our prayer.

Anthony

Today the Church commemorates Anthony of Egypt, accounted by many as the founder of Christian monasticism.

Born in 251 in upper Egypt, Anthony died in 356. He gave away his possessions and sought the austere life and solitude of the desert at an early age. He attracted disciples who formed communities of hermits. The account of his life by Athanasius was extremely influential in the development and spread of monasticism. Yet Anthony remained involved in the theological controversies of his day, defending the divinity of Christ. He is remembered as the father of Christian monasticism.

Hilary

Today the Church commemorates the life and witness of Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, who is accounted as a confessor, and a Doctor of the Church.

Born in the year 315, Hilary of Poitiers lived and ministered during the midst of the Arian controversy. Hilary was exiled from his bishopric at Poitiers by the emperor because of his staunch opposition to the Arian teaching that Jesus Christ was not equally God, together with the Father and the Spirit. His exile, which began in 357, lasted three years, during which time he wrote several essays, including “On the Trinity”. Finally the Emperor was forced to send him back to Gaul because he was causing such difficulties for the Arians in the East. After a life of faithful service in defense of the orthodox Christian faith, Hilary died in the year 367.

Bishop's New Year Message for 2024

While we have been into Ecclesiastical 2024 for about a month now, let's admit it... secular New Year's hits a bit different, and it is still what most of us think of when it comes to things like new directions, resolutions, or (for those of us working in a calendar-year business environment) budgets. Whatever this January is beginning for you, I pray that it is a blessing.

The year 2024 is filled with many opportunities and challenges for us. This is true on an individual level as well as on a communal level. I know that each of you can speak to the individual challenges you face, decisions that are awaiting a next step, or opportunities that you are looking to really understand. Whatever they are or may be, please know that I will be praying for you through it all, and am available to you as you discern your path on the journey.

As we begin the journey ahead into 2024, I have three things that I would like to share as reminders:

First, please don't forget your parish/ministry reports for Calendar Year 2023. These are due by Ash Wednesday. Please reach out if you have any questions concerning the formatting of this report.

Second, please be in prayer and preparation for our Convergence Retreat in North Carolina in June. I am looking forward to this time together.

Finally, I want to take a moment to address a matter that will be in the collective face of all of us who are American citizens moving throughout 2024...

As we all know, this is a presidential election year. As is typical, the rhetoric of our political system is in full steam... yet it feels (at times) like we haven't had a break from the rhetoric since the last election, if not longer. I know that each of you have your own political sensibilities, and I respect that each of us has the freedom to hold to them. However, I want to make sure to speak to an important point as we enter into this year: the Church is not a party to the election cycle, and must never become one.

As clergy of the Church, therefore, your words, phrases, and statements with regard to political matters must be carefully considered, and should be few. There are two reasons for this. First, the Church is a house that is open to all people. The more determined we are as individuals to champion a particular political position, the more clearly we telegraph to those who do not share a view with us that they are unwelcome in our midst. I can assure you that the vast majority of us have people of every political stripe coming to our Churches and communing at our altars. Taking public positions that might in any way be construed as an official Church position must be avoided. To that end, I deeply encourage each of us to double check our social media postings (including what we are sharing from other sources) in the coming months. 

It also bears repeating that no official statements may be made on any parish website or Facebook page, from any pulpit, etc... in support of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office. To do so simply ratchets up the angst generated by the entire topic to begin with, and it can cause individual ministries and the Communion as whole to have its tax status called into question. The Church is free to educate her people on the morals and values she holds, and to encourage her people to participate (if they choose) in a manner that is in keeping with a formed Christian conscience, but the Church is not to tell her people how to cast a ballot. 

There is no political party in the United States that is a 1:1 standard-bearer for Christian values and ethics. We (us as clergy, and the people we serve) if we choose to participate in the political process, must do so with this recognition. If we choose not to participate, that choice also must be a principled one, based on a formed Christian conscience. In either state, we must consistently seek for the best for all people, proclaim the Gospel with clarity and truth, and showing the depths of the Divine Mercy of Jesus to all we encounter.

In this times where peace seems sorely lacking, may the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding keep your hearts and minds secure in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.