Wherefore in every act, but especially in the search after a Bishop, by whose model the life of all is formed, malignity ought to be absent, that by a composed and peaceful exercise of judgment he may be preferred to all who is to be chosen from all and who may heal all. For a gentle-minded man is the physician of the heart, of that whereof our Lord also in the Gospel has professed Himself a Physician, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.”
He is the good Physician, Who has taken upon Him our infirmities, Who has healed our sicknesses, and yet He, as it is written, “glorified not Himself to be made an High Priest,” but He that said unto Him, even the Father, “Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee,” as He saith also in another place, “Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck.” And as He was to be the type of all priests, He took upon Him our flesh, that in the days of His flesh, “He might offer up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto” God the Father, “and though He were the Son” of God, “might even learn obedience from the things He suffered,” in order to teach us, that He might become to us the Author of salvation. Finally, having accomplished His sufferings, and being Himself made perfect, He gave health to all, He bore the sin of all.
Thus He Himself chose Aaron the High Priest, that human ambition might not sway the choice, but the grace of God; no voluntary offering, nor taking upon himself, but a heavenly call, that he might offer gifts for sins, who could have compassion on sinners “for that he himself also,” it is written, “is compassed with infirmity.” A man should not take this honour to himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron; so also Christ did not assume but received His priesthood. — To the church of Vercellae, paragraphs 46-48.
I am overcome by grief that the Church of the Lord, which is among you, has still no Bishop, and alone in all the regions of Liguria and Aemilia, of Venetia and the adjacent parts of Italy, stands in need of those ministrations which other Churches were wont to ask at her hands, and, what causes me still more shame, the contention which causes this delay is ascribed to me. For as long as there are dissensions among you, how can either we determine anything, or you make your election, or any man accept the election, so as to undertake among men who are at variance an office difficult to bear the weight of, even among those that agree?
If the Lord has said, “If two of you shall agree as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven: For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in, the midst of them;” how much less, when many are assembled in the name of the Lord, where all agree together in their petitions, how much less ought we in any wise to doubt that there the Lord Jesus will be present to inspire their will and grant their petition, to preside over the ordination and confer the grace?
Make yourselves therefore worthy that Christ should stand in the midst of you; for wheresoever is peace there is Christ, for Christ is “Peace;” wheresoever is righteousness there is Christ, for Christ is “Righteousness.” Let Him stand in the midst of you, that you may see Him, that it be not said to you also, “There standeth One among you, Whom ye know not.” The Jews saw Him not, for they believed not on Him; we behold Him by devotion, and see Him by faith.
Let Him therefore stand in the midst of you, that you may have the “heavens” which “declare the glory of God,” opened to you; that you may do His will and work His works. The heavens are opened to him who sees Jesus, as they were opened to Stephen, when he said, “Behold I see the heavens opened, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” Jesus stood as an intercessor, He stood, as being eager to assist His soldier Stephen in his combat; He stood as being prepared to crown His martyr.
Let Him therefore stand in the midst of you, that you may not fear Him when seated on His throne, for seated thereon He will judge, according to the saying of Daniel, “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the books were opened, and the Ancient of days did sit.” And in the 82nd Psalm it is written, “God standeth in the congregation of princes, He decideth among gods.” So then being seated He judges, standing He decides. He judges concerning them that are not perfected, He decides among the gods. Let Him stand for you as a Defender, as the good Shepherd, that cruel wolves may not attack you. — To the church of Vercellae, paragraphs 1,3-6.
For He not only speaks to those in whose hearing He then spake, but even to all who came after them, before our time, and even to us, and to all after us, even to His last coming. but shall that day find all living, or will any man say that He speaks also to the dead, when He says, —Watch, lest when he cometh he find you sleeping?—
Why then does He say to all, what only belongs to those who shall then be alive, if it be not that it belongs to all, as I have said? For that day comes to each man when his day comes for departing from this life such as he is to be, when judged in that day, and for this reason every Christian ought to watch, lest the Advent of the Lord find him unprepared; but that day shall find him unprepared, whom the last day of his life shall find unprepared. — Epistle 199, 3 on the Gospel of St. Mark, verses 32-37.
There are many moments recorded in Scripture when the disciples were at a loss for words, or when their words were utterly inadequate. Faced with some wonderful revelation of God’s glory, their tongues were tied. And since the description of these revelations in Scripture comes from these same disciples, we must sadly acknowledge that we can never know fully what occurred. Since each of us would have wanted nothing more than to have been witnesses of Christ’s earthly ministry, we naturally feel deep regret at the lack. Yet God has deprived us for a purpose. He does not want us constantly to look back at those events hundreds of years ago. Those events are signs of what we shduld seek and discover here and now. Since Jesus healed people of their sicknesses, we should evoke that same miraculous power today. Since Jesus revealed himself in glory on the mountaintop, we should look for all the reflections of God’s glory in the people around us. Since Jesus transformed people’s souls, turned hatred into love and bitterness into sweetness, we should strive for that same transformation in our own lives. When God reveals his glory here and now, we, too, are at a loss for words; but in our dumbness we understand better the events described in Scripture.
From the Stratford Star: World AIDS Day service at St. Joseph’s Dec. 1
St. Joseph’s of Stratford National Catholic Church, 1300 Stratford Road, will host the annual World AIDS Day Interfaith Service Monday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
Bishop Anthony D. Kopka is the host pastor and Karen E. Lasecki is the parish organist.
The event is sponsored and conducted by the Stratford Clergy Association. Officers are President, the Rev. Julie-Ann Silberman-Bunn, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Bridgeport in Stratford; vice president, the Rev. Edward Rawls, pastor of First Congregational Church in Stratford; and treasurer, the Rev. Fredric Jackson, pastor of Stratford United Methodist Church.
World AIDS Day started in 1988 and the Stratford Clergy Association has embraced the effort to increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education about AIDS. Members also gather to remember those in their congregations and in the community who are suffering with AIDS or have died from it, as well as their families.
This year’s service was planned by Bishop Kopka, the Rev. Silberman-Bunn, the Rev. Robert Genevicz, the pastor of Stratford Baptist Church, and the Rev. Mary Snell Willis, the pastor of Lordship Community Church in Stratford.
The service will begin in the courtyard of St. Joseph’s with a candlelight ceremony, then proceed into the church. Interfaith hymns, prayers and readings will be offered by members of the town clergy. Three brief reflections and a history and perspective on World AIDS Day will also be offered by clergy. The congregation will be encouraged to remember by name those who have died from AIDS and those who are suffering, followed by silent meditation.
Afterwards, the parish members of St. Joseph’s of Stratford will welcome everyone into Prime Bishop Hodur Hall for a reception and time for sharing.
Clergy who wish to participate in the service are asked to notify Bishop Kopka by calling 203-377-9901.
Slave and free and simply names. What is a slave? It is a mere name. How many masters lie drunken on their beds, while slaves stand by sober? Whom shall I call a slave? The one who is sober, or the one who is drunk? The one who is the slave of a man, or the one who is the captive of passion? The former has his slavery on the outside; the latter wears his captivity on the inside. I say this, and I will not stop saying it, in order that you may have a disposition which serves the true nature of things, and may not be led astray by the same deception as most people, but may know what a slave is, what a poor person is, what an ignoble person is, what a fortunate person is, and what passion is. If you learn to distinguish these, you will not be subject to any confusion. — Sermon 6.
The sun gives forth light; it cannot help doing so. Animals breathe in and out; they cannot help doing so. Fish swim in rivers and the sea; they cannot help doing so. What, then, are the things which a Christian cannot help doing? First of all, a Christian cannot help praying. To be a Christian is to regard God as a loving Father; and it is natural to talk and listen to one’s parents. Second, a Christian cannot help praising God and giving praise to him. To be a Christian is to affirm God as creator of the universe; and when a Christian looks at the beauty and glory of what God has made, praise and thanksgiving pour from the lips. Third, a Christian cannot help being generous. To be a Christian is to acknowledge that everything belongs to God, and that human beings are merely stewards of what they possess; so they naturally want to share their possessions with those in need. Fourth, a Christian cannot help reading the Scriptures and also studying the insights of other Christians. To be a Christian is to rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit; and the Spirit speaks to us through the Scriptures and through the insights of our spiritual brothers and sisters.
a.) by our politics
b.) by our economics
c.) by our left-wing right-wing dichotomy
d.) by our love
I found a link to Frank Schaeffer’s Huffington Post article: Changing the Failed Strategy of the Religious Right Into a Winning Formula That Helps Heal Our Country at Huw’s site in Heal Our Country.
The Republican/evangelical right’s world view has been replaced by a battered, it’s-the-economy-stupid!, state of mind. Economic collapse and perhaps worse awaits us. We are losing one war, and the other war was clearly a mistake. And the fools who got us into this mess need not apply for any post higher than dog catcher for years to come. Most American know all this.
This knowledge signals not just a loss for the Religious right but a resounding and permanent defeat. It also signals (to anyone sane) that even if you except the Religious right’s view that, for instance, all abortion is murder, gay marriage an affront to God’s natural law and so forth, a change of tactics is in order. Obviously no one is getting convinced, but rather the culture is moving in the other direction. In fact the Religious Right has made its case so badly that with friends like them the right’s causes need no enemies.
What might a change of tactics be? How to effect change at the same time as practicing love for one’s neighbor without which love — by Christ’s standard anyway — everything else becomes mere sound and fury signifying nothing?
Here’s the answer. (Yes, I said the answer.)..
One of the reasons I love the PNCC. There is a distinct dearth of polemics in our Church. You do not see the ultra-conservative ultra-liberal dichotomy that exists in other Churches. We know that we can achieve nothing by conflict and everything through unity.
Perhaps it comes from Bishop Hodur’s focus on our regeneration in Christ. We are made new by our choice. We know that once we adopt regeneration we must learn to adapt to it — to become fully human as part of a community. Focusing on regeneration requires that we hold a high opinion of man’s value as a child of God. We see mankind as endowed with the intellectual capacity and moral capability to see, to learn, and to decide for God. That message counters those who seek division, who key on differences.
In valuing all we realize that we cannot and must not cast obstacles before those who come seeking. We know that they seek love — a love that differs — the love of God. Our evangelism requires that we show our members, and all who seek, that every aspect of the Church, from the liturgy which is an intimate encounter and an actualized unity with Christ, to our democratic form of governance, is an opportunity to work and struggle for ourselves, for our brothers and sisters, for mankind, and ultimately for union with and in Christ. In achieving that we achieve truth and the ultimate victory. In that we hold-up God’s model of love.
Christians and sharers of a heavenly calling, you country folk, and all who come from the towns, you who in concord have gathered at the present feast, — for by a general address I embrace you all, — has each one of you thoughtfully considered and realized why we are assembled? And why are martyrs honored by the construction of notable buildings and by these annual assemblies, and what end did our fathers have in view when they ordained the things we see, and left the established custom to their descendants? Is it not evident to one who concentrates his thought on this subject even for a short time, that these things have been given permanent form to rouse us to pious emulation, and that the feasts constitute public schools for our souls, in order that while we honor the martyrs, we may learn to imitate their sturdy piety; that lending the ear to the gathered teachers, we may learn some useful thing which we did not know before, — either the certainty of some doctrine, or the explanation of some difficult Scripture, — or may hear some discourse that will improve our morals?
But you seem to me to have abandoned your care for virtue, to have forgotten your zeal on behalf of your souls, and to have devoted all your thought to the rubbish of mammon and the business of the markets; some bargaining yourselves; some greedily haggling with competing dealers in order to reduce their prices. But transfer your love to the church, Abandon the love of money, that mad passion of the market. Turn from it as from a disorderly courtesan who, embellished with foreign stuffs and with the brilliant colors of the apothecary, smiles upon the multitude. Love the church, divine and discreet, modestly attired, with look august and grave. For thus Solomon says in the book of Proverbs, “Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.” Do not pass her by with contempt, nor deem the things that lie near us on this table of little worth because it is possible for you to procure them freely. But desire them all the more because we do not sit, as hucksters, with balance and scales; but seek only one gain, — the salvation of the hearer. — Sermon 3: Against Covetousness.
From Catholic Culture: ‘Declaration of Scranton’ casts shadow over dialogue with Polish National Catholics
The ‘Declaration of Scranton,’ issued by the bishops of Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) in April, cast a shadow over the PNCC-Roman Catholic Dialogue that met in Baltimore earlier this month…
Of course that statement is easily turned. ‘Role of pope casts shadow over every dialog that ever existed…’
What never ceases to amaze me in the endless ecumenical propaganda war (like we all need to score points) is that people are so surprised when a Church represents itself as actually believing in the things it believes in. Of course Rome has that right, but not only. The Declaration of Scranton is a restatement of the Declaration of Utrecht which was normative for the PNCC — and was for nearly one hundred years. We didn’t just pull this stuff out of a hat (or miter)…
So to the question: Who cast a shadow over whom? We all have perspectives, but in the end, we must be what we claim to be. We can only be who we claim to be if we truly believe that we proclaim the truth. Anything less and we’re just pikers.