Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Blessed George Herbert P 1632


Friends in Christ,
Isaiah 55:10-11Psalm 34:4-7, 16-19Matthew 6:7-15
Our Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Isaiah's prophetic words should deeply move our hearts, fill them with joyful hope; for in them God promises to provide perfectly for His children's physical needs; and, through His holy Word being sent to them, He will renew their human spirits and offer them salvation. God's Word, Christ, came to us as a humble child; then as a man He put our sin to death in His own human flesh. But through His resurrection He conquered death and now offers us a new life in Him. Isaiah conveys our Father's promise that His Son will not return to Him void but will draw many souls with Him. We play an essential part in the fruition of God's plan.Jesus tells us our Father-God will fulfill our heart's deepest desires if we will ask Him. There is one qualifying word in this promise; we are to ask for something "good." We earthbound creatures often define "good" to be health, riches, beauty, fame, talents, intelligence, esteem and power. However, God sees as our greatest "good" to be the forgiveness of sin and the renewal of our minds and hearts in His love and truth. If we first ask for and accept this gift, we will then ask "rightly," for our desires will be centered on our love for God rather than our love for self and this world's "goods." God's omniscience sees the "larger picture" and answers prayers in ways assuring the greatest good to all.Savior God, turn our eyes to follow Your light, that we may see our need to be reborn and then grow to maturity in our new life, daily drawing ever closer to You.
Amen.
A blessed Tuesday,
Ed

Monday, February 26, 2007

Feria

( the image represents the sanctuary of Saint Stephens Anglican Catholic Church, Athens Texas, USA )

Friends in Christ,

Mark 9:30-37

Whoever welcomes a child in my name welcomes me. As Catholics, we are taught that our churches are holy ground. That’s because the Blessed Sacrament, the body of Christ, is placed inside the tabernacle on our altars. It’s for this reason that we genuflect before sitting down or leaving our seats. It’s an outward sign that we acknowledge Jesus as our King, that we worship and adore him, and that we are willing to receive him into our hearts and submit to his will.
But what about when we leave the church? Jesus is present out there in all the people we meet as well. Everyone, not just those we are close to and comfortable with, is made in the image and likeness of God, and when we see them, we’re really seeing a reflection of his glory. So how do you treat them? Do you show them the honor and respect they deserve? As Jesus tells us, whenever we receive even a little child in his name, we are receiving him.
If we can really grasp this truth, we can understand how it is possible to become “the servant of all” (Mark 9:35). It’s not a matter of just “doing”; it has to start on the inside. When we start to worship God for his greatness and majesty, we begin to see that majesty in his creation as well, and to love this world as he loves it. When we let the Holy Spirit dwell in us, we come to see others’ needs as God sees them, and we want to reach out to them with his compassion.
During this most Holy Season of Lent, let us ask the Lord to help us appreciate the people in our lives. Let’s ask that we would see him more clearly in those we love, and in those we find it hard to love: those who are argumentative and hostile, those who are cold and indifferent, or those who are demanding. This is one way we can deny ourselves—by finding the goodness we can find in such “difficult” people. Who knows? Instead of dreading them, we may end up loving them—and they, in turn, will draw us closer to Jesus!
“Lord, may this Lent be a time when I see the riches you have placed in those around me. Help me to see the blessing that they are. Give me your Spirit to bless them in return!”

God bless you,

Ed


Thursday, February 22, 2007

Saint Peter's Chair at Antioch


Friends in Christ,
SAINT PETER’S CHAIR AT ANTIOCH(ca. 36-43)
That Saint Peter, before he went to Rome, founded the see of Antioch is attested by many Saints of the earliest times, including Saint Ignatius of Antioch and Saint Clement, Pope. It was just that the Prince of the Apostles should take under his particular care and surveillance this city, which was then the capital of the East, and where the faith so early took such deep roots as to give birth there to the name of Christians. There his voice could be heard by representatives of the three largest nations of antiquity — the Hebrews, the Greeks and the Latins. Saint Chrysostom says that Saint Peter was there for a long period; Saint Gregory the Great, that he was seven years Bishop of Antioch. He did not reside there at all times, but governed its apostolic activity with the wisdom his mandate assured.
If as tradition affirms, he was twenty-five years in Rome, the date of his establishment at Antioch must be within three years after Our Saviour’s Ascension, for he would have gone to Rome in the second year of Claudius. He no doubt left Jerusalem when the persecution which followed Saint Steven’s martyrdom broke out (Acts 8:1), and remained in Antioch until he escaped miraculously from prison and from the hands of Herod Agrippa, while in Jerusalem in 43 at the time of the Passover. (Acts 12) Knowing he would be pursued to Antioch, his well-known center of activity, he went to Rome.
In the first ages it was customary, especially in the East, for every Christian to observe the anniversary of his Baptism. On that day each one renewed his baptismal vows and gave thanks to God for his heavenly adoption. That memorable day they regarded as their spiritual birthday. The bishops similarly kept the anniversary of their consecration, as appears from four sermons of Saint Leo the Great on the anniversary of his accession to the pontifical dignity. These commemorations were frequently continued by the people after their bishops’ decease, out of respect for their memory. The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter was instituted from very early times. Saint Leo says we should celebrate the Chair of Saint Peter with no less joy than the day of his martyrdom, for as in the latter he was exalted to a throne of glory in heaven, by the former he was installed Head of the Church on earth.
Reflection: On this festival we are especially bound to adore and thank the divine Goodness for the establishment and propagation of His Church, and to pray earnestly that in His mercy He will preserve it and extend its dominion, so that His name may be glorified by all nations and all hearts even to the boundaries of the earth.
Sources: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894); Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral)

Have a blessed day,
Ed..

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Ashwednesday ( the Beginning of Lent )


Lent
Lord, bless to me this Lent

Lord, let me fast most truly and profitably,
By feeding in prayer on the Holy Spirit.
Reveal to my myself
In the light of Thy Holiness.


Suffer me never to think
that I have knowledge enough to need no teaching,
widsom enough to need no correction,
talents enough to need no grace,
goodness enough to need no progress,
humility enough to need no repentance,
devotion enough to need no quickening,
streght sufficient without Thy Spirit,
lest standing still, I fall back for evermore.

Show me the desires that should be disciplines,
And sloths to be slain,
Show me the omissions to be made up
And habits to be mended.
And behind these, weaken, humble and annihilate in me
Self-will, self-righteousness; self satisfaction,
Self-sufficieny, self-assertion, vainglory.
May my whole effort to be to return to Thee;
O make it serious and sincere
Preserving and fruitful in result,
By the help of the Holy Spirit,
And to Thy glory,
My Lord and my God.
(Borrowed from The Anglican Digest, Lent AD 2007 - the author is Eeric Milner-White, 1884-1963)
May I wish you and all those you love and pray for a Holy Lent,
Yours in Christ,
Ed Bakker
Postulant TAC - New Zealand
By clicking on this link you will be able to read a medition for Ashwednesday - by the way see you in Church at Mass this evening.
Ed

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Feria


Friends in Christ,
The Traditional Anglican Communion rejoyced last week with the visit of our Bishop David Chislett to Oxford, in the South Island of New Zealand and also to Auckland, which is our biggest city on the North Island of New Zealand. The Oxford visit was Mission and we marked a historical occassion by having a Mass at local level. There is one thing that I am quite sure about and that was the presence of the Holy Spirit. Slowly , but surely we shall build a community of Traditional Anglicans in the South Island of New Zealand. So my friends, if you read this and you are searching for Christ in your life and you want to be part of this community of Orthodox, but Evangelical Christians, please contact me. Details on my website. Bishop David also conducted a confirmation service in our Parish of St.Hilda and St.Sebastian in Auckland. Again the Holy Spirit was present and we received two new members into the flock of Christ. Details of our Auckland Parish are also on the same website, just follow the links.
I recall my own confirmation at St.Paul's Cathedral, Wellington many years ago, the late Bishop Henry Baines, Bishop of Wellington confirmed me. On my confirmation certificate it has written:" He that endureth, shall be saved." Indeed the Christian Pilgrimage is far from easy, but let's join in the wonderful hymn: " O Jesus, I have promised to serve you to the end."
With every good wish in Christ,
Ed Bakker - Postulant TAC New Zealand

Friday, February 16, 2007

Feria


Friends in Christ,
For the Lord shall comfort Zion... and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. ( Isaiah 51:3)
Let us focus on the word " comfort " for one moment. I do believe that it is very much part of human nature that we have such a desire to have "comfort", which offcourse comes in many different ways, it comes in material possessions, and comes to us also in having a lot of loving relatives and friends around us. You only have to switch on your television set and all of sudden you fave a barrage of commercials telling you that you this deserve this lifestyle, in other words you deserve this comfort. Then comes the contrast, all of sudden the news bulletin comes on and yet we are faced with barrage of misery, crime and sufferings. Well, all this is far removed from our " comfort zone " We are so used to bad news , that we dont flick an eyelid. Or am I really incorrect in making this statement" Do we as Catholic Christians really understand that God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but TO MAKE US COMFORTORS.
Is there a message for you and I in Isaiah, that we should move more often out of our comfort zone and go out into the world and be " comforters"
What do you think?
Have a blessed weekend,
In XC
Ed Bakker

Thursday, February 15, 2007

The Martyrs of Japan


Friends in Christ,
The following information comes from the Catholic New Advent website :
There is not in the whole history of the Church a single people who can offer to the admiration of the Christian world annals as glorious, and a martyrology as lengthy, as those of the people of Japan. In January, 1552, St. Francis Xavier had remarked the proselytizing spirit of the early neophytes. "I saw them", he wrote, "rejoicing in our successes, manifesting an ardent zeal to spread the faith and to win over to baptism the pagans they conquered." He foresaw the obstacles that would block the progress of the faith in certain provinces, the absolutism of this or that daimyo, a class at that time very independent of the Mikado and in revolt against his supreme authority. As a matter of fact, in the province of Hirado, where he made a hundred converts, and where six years after him, 600 pagans were baptized in three days, a Christian woman (the proto-martyr) was beheaded for praying before a cross. In 1561 he diamyo forced the Christians to abjure their faith, "but they preferred to abandon all their possessions and live in the Bungo, poor with Christ, rather than rich without Him", wrote a missionary, 11 October, 1562. When, under the Shogunate of Yoshiaki, Ota Nobunaga, supported by Wada Koresama, a Christian, had subdued the greater part of the provinces and had restored monarchical unity, there came to pass what St. Francis Xavier had hoped for. At Miyako (the modern Kiyoto) the faith was recognized and a church built 15 Aug., 1576. Then the faith continued to spread without notable opposition, as the daimyos followed the lead of the Mikado (Ogimachi, 1558-1586) and Ota Nobunaga. The toleration or favor of the central authority brought about everywhere the extension of the Christian religion, and only a few isolated cases of martyrdom are known (Le Catholicisme au Japon, I, 173).
It was not until 1587, when there were 200,000 Christians in Japan, that an edict of persecution, or rather of prescription, was passed to the surprise of everyone, at the instigation of a bigoted bonze, Nichijoshonin, zealous for the religion of his race. Twenty-six residences and 140 churches were destroyed; the missionaries were condemned to exile, but were clever enough to hide or scatter. They never doubted the constancy of their converts; they assisted them in secret and in ten years there were 100,000 other converts in Japan. We read of two martyrdoms, one at Takata, the other at Notsuhara; but very many Christians were dispossessed of their goods and reduced to poverty. The first bloody persecution dates from 1597. It is attributed to two causes: (1) Four years earlier some Castilian religious had come from the Philippines and, in spite of the decisions of the Holy See, had joined themselves to the 130 Jesuits who, on account of the delicate situation created by the edict were acting with great caution. In spite of every charitable advice given them, these men set to work in a very indiscreet manner, and violated the terms of the edict even in the capital itself; (2) a Castilian vessel cast by the storm on the coast of Japan was confiscated under the laws then in vigour. Some artillery was found on board, and Japanese susceptibililties were further excited by the lying tales of the pilot, so that the idea went abroad that the Castilians were thinking of annexing the country. A list of all the Christians in Miyado and Osaka was made out, and on 5 Feb., 1597, 26 Christians, among whom were 6 Fransciscan missionaries, were crucified at Nagasaki. Among the 20 native Christians there was one, a child of 13, and another of 12 years. "The astonishing fruit of the generous sacrifice of our 26 martyrs" (wrote a Jesuit missionary) "is that the Christians, recent converts and those of maturer faith, have been confirmed in the faith and hope of eternal salvation; they have firmly resolved to lay down their lives for the name of Christ. The very pagans who assisted at the martyrdom were struck at seeing the joy of the blessed ones as they suffered on their crosses and the courage with which they met death".
Ten years before this another missionary had foreseen and predicted that "from the courage of the Japanese, aided by the grace of God, it is to be expected that persecution will inaugurate a race for martyrdom". True it is that the national and religious customs of the people predisposed them to lay down their lives with singular fatalism; certain of their established usages, religious suicide, hara-kiri, had developed a contempt for death; but if grace does not destroy nature it exalts it, and their fervent charity and love for Christ led the Japanese neophytes to scourgings that the missionaries had to restrain. When this love for Christ had grown strong in the midst of suffering freely chosen, it became easier for the faithful to give the Saviour that greatest proof of love by laying down their lives in a cruel death for His name's sake. "The fifty crosses, ordered for the holy mountain of Nagasaki, multiplied ten or a hundred fold, would not have sufficed" (wrote one missionary) "for all the faithful who longed for martyrdom". Associations (Kumi) were formed under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin with the object of preparing the members by prayer and scourgings even to blood, to be ready to lay down their lives for the faith. After the persecution of 1597, there were isolated cases of martyrdom until 1614, in all about 70. The reigns of Ieyasu, who is better known in Christian annals by the name of Daifu Sama, and of his successors Hidetada and Iemitziu, were the more disastrous. We are not concerned now with the causes of that persecution, which lasted half a century with some brief intervals of peace. According to Mr. Ernest Satow (quoted by Thurston in "The Month", March, 1905, "Japan and Christianity"): "As the Jesuit missionaries conducted themselves with great tact, it is by no means improbable that they might have continued to make converts year by year until the great part of the nation had been brought over to the Catholic religion, had it not been for the rivalry of the missionaries of other orders." These were the Castilian religious; and hence the fear of seeing Spain spread its conquests from the Philippines to Japan. Furthermore the zeal of certain religious Franciscans and Dominicans was wanting in prudence, and led to the persecution.
Year by year after 1614 the number of marytrdoms was 55, 15, 25, 62, 88, 15, 20. The year 1622 was particularly fruitful in Christian heroes. The Japanese martyrology counts 128 with name, Christian name and place of execution. Before this the four religious orders, Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians and Jesuits, had had their martyrs, but on 10 Sept., 1622, 9 Jesuits, 6 Dominicans, 4 Franciscans, and 6 lay Christians were put to death at the stake after witnessing the beheading of about 30 of the faithful. From December until the end of September, 1624, there were 285 martyrs. The English captain, Richard Cocks (Calendar of State Papers: Colonial East Indies, 1617-1621, p. 357) "saw 55 martyred at Miako at one time. . .and among them little children 5 or 6 years old burned in their mother's arms, crying out: 'Jesus receive our souls'. Many more are in prison who look hourly when they shall die, for very few turn pagans". We cannot go into the details of these horrible slaughters, the skilful tortures of Mount Unaen, the refined cruelty of the trench. After 1627 death grew more and more terrible for the Christians; in 1627, 123 died, during the years that followed, 65, 79, and 198. Persecution went on unceasingly as long as there were missionaries, and the last of whom we learn were 5 Jesuits and 3 seculars, who suffered the torture of the trench from 25 to 31 March, 1643. The list of martyrs we know of (name, Christian name, and place of execution) has 1648 names. If we add to this group the groups we learn of from the missionaries, or later from the Dutch travellers between 1649 and 1660, the total goes to 3125, and this does not include Christians who were banished, whose property was confiscated, or who died in poverty. A Japanese judge, Arai Hakuseki, bore witness about 1710, that at the close of the reign of Iemitzu (1650) "it was ordered that the converts should all lean on their own staff". At that time an immense number, from 200,000 to 300,000 perished. Without counting the members of Third Orders and Congregations, the Jesuits had, according to the martyrology (Delplace, II, 181-195; 263-275), 55 martyrs, the Franciscans 36, the Dominicans 38, the Augustinians 20. Pius IX and Leo XIII declared worthy of public cult 36 Jesuit martyrs, 25 Franciscans, 21 Dominicans, 5 Augustinians and 107 lay victims. After 1632 it ceased to be possible to obtain reliable data or information which would lead to canonical beatification. When in 1854, Commodore Perry forced an entry to Japan, it was learned that the Christian faith, after two centuries of intolerance, was not dead. In 1865, priests of the foreign Missions found 20,000 Christians practising their religion in secret at Kiushu. Religious liberty was not granted them by Japanese law until 1873. Up to that time in 20 provinces, 3404 had suffered for the faith in exile or in prison; 660 of these had died, and 1981 returned to their homes. In 1858, 112 Christians, among whom were two chief-baptizers, were put to death by torture. One missionary calculates that in all 1200 died for the faith.
May the souls of the faithful rest in the mercy of Christ and rise in glory. Amen.
Ed Bakker

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Saint Valentine

Friends in Christ,

The information below comes from the " New Advent " website :



At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under date of 14 February. One is described as a priest at Rome, another as bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), and these two seem both to have suffered in the second half of the third century and to have been buried on the Flaminian Way, but at different distances from the city. In William of Malmesbury's time what was known to the ancients as the Flaminian Gate of Rome and is now the Porta del Popolo, was called the Gate of St. Valentine. The name seems to have been taken from a small church dedicated to the saint which was in the immediate neighborhood. Of both these St. Valentines some sort of Acta are preserved but they are of relatively late date and of no historical value. Of the third Saint Valentine, who suffered in Africa with a number of companions, nothing further is known.
Saint Valentine's Day
The popular customs associated with Saint Valentine's Day undoubtedly had their origin in a conventional belief generally received in England and France during the Middle Ages, that on 14 February, i.e. half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair. Thus in Chaucer's Parliament of Foules we read:
For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.
For this reason the day was looked upon as specially consecrated to lovers and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lovers' tokens. Both the French and English literatures of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries contain allusions to the practice. Perhaps the earliest to be found is in the 34th and 35th Ballades of the bilingual poet, John Gower, written in French; but Lydgate and Clauvowe supply other examples. Those who chose each other under these circumstances seem to have been called by each other their Valentines. In the Paston Letters, Dame Elizabeth Brews writes thus about a match she hopes to make for her daughter (we modernize the spelling), addressing the favoured suitor:
And, cousin mine, upon Monday is Saint Valentine's Day and every bird chooses himself a mate, and if it like you to come on Thursday night, and make provision that you may abide till then, I trust to God that ye shall speak to my husband and I shall pray that we may bring the matter to a conclusion.
Shortly after the young lady herself wrote a letter to the same man addressing it "Unto my rightwell beloved Valentine, John Paston Esquire". The custom of choosing and sending valentines has of late years fallen into comparative desuetude.
Well, is their a Christian message for this day, Saint Valentines Day? I believe there is, the theme for this day is " love " , although we know that it is basically a day for the retailers, perhaps I can say this, If have you love some-one so much and you go out of your way to get him or her a Valentine, that is exercising great care for that person. Could we as Catholic Christians make every day a special day, a " Valentines" day, to show that we care so very much for all those we love and pray for ? And " Love one-another, as Christ has loved us"!!
Well, on that note, enjoy your day with your love ones.
In XC
Ed Bakker

Monday, February 12, 2007

Feria

Friends in Christ,

Christ " sighed from the depth of His spirit", when the people were asking for signs. ( refer to Mark 8:1 ) It does make one wonder if our own actions cause Jesus Christ frustration and/or sadness.

We have an advantage over the people who lived in the time of Christ in that they had not experienced the reality of His horrendous death for our redemption and they had no way of realizing about His resurrection. We have that history, and yet even with it there are those seeking other evidence that Christ is God. Their search for signs continues.

Baptized Christians are to live as " resurrection people, ", full of love, hope and and faith, ready to pass the Good News on to others. We are to be the signs for others. How are we really doing with that tremendous responsibility? We must remember that we dont do it on our own. We are to let Christ work in and through us. Thy Will be done in us, O Lord.

With every good wish in Christ,

Ed Bakker - Postulant TAC New Zealand



Sunday, February 11, 2007

Sexagesima Sunay

Friends in Christ,
I have written a meditation on this Sunday, which you can read by clicking on this link. I just want to spend a few minutes reflecting on this day and then focussing on the week ahead.
During Mass this morning, a gentleman from the Churches Evangelization committee talked us about the Missions they will be conducting in Parishes , where they will visit people in their homes and to see where they spiritually are, to pray with them and to conduct seminars in the Parishes. Sounds like a wonderful idea to me, because a Parish Priest can only do so much work and there is a lot that we as Parishioners can do in the service of the Church and the Lord.

I like to pray for the forthcoming visit of our Bishop +David, who will celebrate Mass at my home.That we may let our light so shine , that others may come from the darkness into that Great Light. Let's pray for a blessing on our daily tasks, my work at home and yours perhaps in the cities of our nation. May we really have a blessed week.

In XC

Ed Bakker


Thursday, February 08, 2007

Saint John of Matha, Confessor


Friends in Christ,

Saint John of Matha was born in Provence and studied in the University of Paris and decided to devote himself to the service of God and his neighbour in the Priesthood. During his first Mass he was rapt in ecstasy and had a vision which led him to found, with the help of Saint Felix of Valois, the order of the Trinitarians for the redemption of Christian captives from slavery under the Moors. Saint John of Matha died in Christ in 1213.
The subject of Visions, yes it can be a touchy one. A lot of Catholic Christians dont really believe that Visions can occur in the times that we live in. I, personally believe that they can occur. It is not that I have seen one myself, should I be that blessed indeed ! But.. I ll take the opportunity to share a Vision had by an Anglican Priest I used to know. This Father preached years ago in the Anglican Church of Saint Luke in Waikanae, which is north of Wellington, New Zealand. Before he came to the Priesthood, who owned a printing business in the city of Wanganui. One afternoon he was in his warehouse and he was called by a voice, which he identified as the voice of God. God spoke to him and told him that he was to leave his job, his career and train for the Anglican Priesthood and on top of all that, once ordained he was to travel to Port Elizabeth in South Africa to work as a Missionary amongst the poor blacks. And all this was fullfilled.
What can we learn from the life of this Saint today? And perhaps also from the true story I just told you? God still speaks to us in many different ways, we can still be called to serve Him in particularly capacity. Are you ready to receive His call ? Are you ready to obey His call?
With every good wish in Christ,
Ed Bakker, Postulant TAC New Zealand

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Saint Romuald, Abbott


Friends in Christ,
Having shared the lives of two Saints during the past few days, this evening I would like to quote briefly from Psalm 31:23 " O love the Lord , all ye His Saints.
My daughter and I, some years ago, visited the city of Miami and the ancient Spanish Monastry of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, which is also home to an Episcopal Church. We went to the Eucharist there on one Sunday and were made very welcome by Priest and People. And it is from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux I wanted to quote come comments in relation to the verse of the Psalm:
" You wish to hear from me why and how God is to be loved ? My answer is: the reason for loving God is God Himself, and the measure in which we should love Him is to love Him without measure. "
The Peace of the Lord be always with you.
Yours in Christ,
Ed Bakker
Postulant - TAC New Zealand

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Saint Titus, Bishop & Confessor

Friends in Christ,
This from an Orthodox Church website :
Saint Titus, Apostle of the Seventy was a native of the island of Crete, the son of an illustrious pagan. In his youth he studied Hellenistic philosophy and the ancient poets. Preoccupied by the sciences, Titus led a virtuous life, not devoting himself to the vices and passions characteristic of the majority of pagans. He preserved his virginity, as the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer (December 20) testifies of him.
For such a manner of life the Lord did not leave him without His help. At age twenty St Titus heard a voice in a dream, suggesting that he abandon Hellenistic wisdom, which could not provide salvation for his soul, but rather to seek that which would save him. After this dream, St Titus waited yet another year, since it was not actually a command, but it did guide him to familiarize himself with the teachings of the prophets of God. The first that he happened to read was the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Having opened it to the 47th Chapter, he was struck by the words, speaking as it were about his own spiritual condition.*
When news reached Crete about the appearance of a Great Prophet in Palestine, and about the great miracles He worked, the governor of the island of Crete (an uncle of Titus) sent him there. This Prophet was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, incarnate of the Most Holy Virgin Mary Who came into the world for the redemption of the race of mankind from the oppression of ancestral sin.
At Jerusalem, St Titus saw the Lord. He heard His preaching and believed in Him. He witnessed the suffering and death of the Savior on the Cross, His glorious Resurrection and Ascension to Heaven. On the day of Pentecost the future apostle heard how the Twelve Apostles, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, spoke in various languages, among which was the Cretan language (Acts 2: 11).
St Titus accepted Baptism from the Apostle Paul and became his closest disciple. He accompanied St Paul on his missionary journeys, fulfilling the tasks entrusted to him. He was involved in establishing new churches, and was with Paul in Jerusalem.
St Titus was numbered among the Seventy Apostles and was made Bishop of Crete by the Apostle Paul. Around the year 65, not long before his second imprisonment, the Apostle Paul sent a pastoral epistle to his son in the Faith (Tit. 1:4).
When the Apostle Paul was taken like a criminal to Rome to stand trial before Caesar, St Titus left his flock in Crete for a time and went to Rome to be of service to his spiritual Father. After St Paul’s death by martyrdom, Titus returned to Gortyna, the chief city of Crete.
St Titus peacefully guided his flock and toiled at enlightening the pagans with the light of faith in Christ. He was granted the gift of wonderworking by the Lord. During one of the pagan feasts in honor of the goddess Diana, Titus preached to a crowd of pagans.
When he saw that they would not listen to him, he prayed to the Lord, so that the Lord Himself would show to the mistaken people the falseness of idols. By the prayer of St Titus, the idol of Diana fell down and shattered before the eyes of all. Another time St Titus prayed that the Lord would not permit the completion of a temple of Zeus, and it collapsed.
By such miracles St Titus brought many to faith in Christ. After bringing the light of faith to the surrounding regions, St Titus died peacefully at the age of 97. At the time of his death, his face shone like the sun.
You would recall reading that Saint Titus was one of the seventy-two disciples Saint Luke talks about in chapter 10, the verse 1-9. You must come to the conclusion just like me, that the tasks the seventy-two disciples were given by our Lord were not quite easy. Just think being told that you are to go out as a lamb between the wolves? Also they were hitting the road in a very humble capacity, i.e. they were not to carry a purse, a wallet or shoes. And yet if you like at the live of one of the seventy-two disciples Saint Titus, you come to the conclusion that he did his utmost in the service of our Lord.
There is a particular situation, which remains the same as at the time of Saint Titus. The Harvest is still plentiful , but the labourers are few. In other words even in 2007 there is still so much work to be done.Let us pray for more labourers in the field, because the Kingdom of God is close upon us.
Amen.
With every good wish in Christ,
Ed Bakker
Postulant TAC - New Zealand

Monday, February 05, 2007

Saint Agatha, Virgin & Martyr


Friends in Christ,

When Agatha, a young Christian maiden of Catana in Sicily, refused to marry Quintianus, a pagan noble, she was torured and mutilated. Her wounds were healed in prison by Saint Peter, but after fresh torture she died for faith under the emperor Decius. By her intercession Catana was saved from a torrent of lava during an eruption of Mount Etna. Devotion to her is widespread in Italy, and her name occurs in the Canon of the Mass.
Saint Agatha is indeed an illustration of God's choice of the weak ones of this world to confound the powerful and mighty enemies of the Faith.
If you take the opportunity to read through Blessed Saint Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians 1:26-31 you will understand this illustration a lot better.

We are challenged by Blessed Saint Paul to consider the circumstances of our own calling, pointing out that not many of us are wise, not many of us are powerful or well born in the world's fashion. So, we as Catholic Christians often are looked upon by the world as being very foolish. My former Parish Priest from Melbourne, a strong defender of the Traditional Catholic Faith was often seen by the powerful and liberal leaders of the Anglican Church as a pious fool. And yet.. the pious fools are called by God to abash the high and the mighty of this world. The same goes for our Church , the Church of God, the Traditional Anglican Communion, in the eyes of the world we do not appear to be strong or we are oftten called, again by those in the world, as a small group of Orthodox trouble makers, and yet as Blessed Saint Paul says " God has chosen what the world holds weak , so as to abash the strong.
So.. this little Chapter about Saint Agatha might help us all to look at our circumstances, which might seem to shaky and bad at this point in time, but we shall overcome. We take our origin from Jesus Christ, given to us by God, the Father and this Jesus is our wisdom, our justification, our sanctification, our atonement, so yes... the Scriptures will be fullfilled.
Amen.
Ed Bakker
Postulant TAC - New Zealand

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Septuagesima Sunday


Friends in Christ,
We do not hear the term ' Septuagesima Sunday being used that often in the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, it has been replaced by the 5th Sunday in Ordinary time, which, to be quite honest does not mean a great deal to me. The word Septuagesima means 70th, and it recalls the seventy years captivity in Babylon of the Jewish people, which is a figure of the bondage of sin from which we were set free by the merits of the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Very worthwhile reflecting on this, I think. I am glad that in the Traditional Anglican Communion of which I am a member, we still obverve this Sunday, the way it ought to be observed. May we this evening pray that we, who are justly afflicted for our sins, may be mercifully delivered from them for the Glory of the Name of God.
When Blessed Saint Paul wrote to the Cortinthians, 9:24-27, 10:1-5 he taught us that life is an arena in which man must constantly strive against sin. We are reminded that we must run the race, which is set before us all, and we must run for victory, victory over sin.
In a world, which is so obsessed by sport and focus so much on the capabilities and strenghts of our sports people, what a pity it is that we cannot run this race as decicated sportspeople, putting everything into it what we can. What a different world we would live in. There would be so many Saints. Of course a wonderful exemple of how we are to run this race is given to us by the Saints, not only the New Testament ones, but also the Old Testament ones, which I have in fact been studying this evening as part of my postulant's Course. They had faith, but they never saw Jesus on earth, but they are still united with the New Testament Saints as they are rejoying around the throne of God. We must detach ourselves from earthly goods and especially sin, which clings so closely to us. Do fear disease, don’t fear affliction, but fear sin.
May God bless us and keep us and we run this race and may we finally reach our goal, victory.
Ed Bakker