ECCLESIA CATOLICA ECUMENICA CHRISTI
Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ
Iglesia Católica Ecuménica de Cristo
Ökumenische Katholische Kirche Christi
Ecumenical Kanisa Katoliki la Kristo
Œcuménique Église catholique du Christ
კონსტანტინეპოლის კათოლიკური ეკლესია ქრისტეს
Вселенската католическа църква на Христос
Вселенский католическая церковь Христа
 كنيسة المسيح الكاثوليكية المسكونية 
Igreja Catolica Ecumenica De Cristo
Chiesa Cattolica Ecumenica Di Cristo

Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, 
Latin America New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Russia, 
Ukraine, The Caribbean, The Philippines, USA 


Holy See of  The Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ

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Detroit, MI 48213
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 www.theneworderofsaintfrancis.org



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From the Office of the Ecumenical Primate

Archbishop Dr. Karl Rodig

Please share with all, and if possible translate in to your local language. Thank you!
Por favor, comparta con todos, y si es posible traduzca a su idioma local. ¡Gracias!
Si prega di condividere con tutti, e se possibile tradurre nella tua lingua locale. Grazie!
Моля, споделете с всички и, ако е възможно, преведете го на вашия местен език. Благодаря ти!
Будь ласка, поділіться з усіма, і, якщо це можливо, перекладіть на свою місцеву мову. Дякую!
Пожалуйста, поделитесь со всеми и, если возможно, переведите на свой местный язык. Спасибо!
Будь ласка, поділіться з усіма, і, якщо це можливо, перекладіть на свою місцеву мову. Дякую!






















 
 
Peace and Greetings in this Holy Seasons to you all in our
 Worldwide Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ!

       It is my sincere prayer and hope that you are all safe and well in this time that has become so different from times past. Our Advent's reflections this year might have been different this year as we had to take into account the onslaught of the Pandemic that has taken so many lives, and shown so much suffering and makes us speechless. We ask ourselves where can there be joy that we used to had, where are the big and happy family gatherings that we always were looking forward to...?     Many of our church families had to form new ways of coming together for Sunday service, or have it suspended because of the danger of gatherings that could cause harm to others spreading the covid19 virus.
      An yet, in all of this we are reminded that we can still find joy that is nearer than expected, a joy that is different from just casual social happiness, it is a joy of a deeper spiritual awakening that touches our hearts and moves our spirits. It comes from a Love that God has shown throughout the centuries, a Love that needs a response from us, and here is the key that changes our so settled minds. In the Gospel of Luke the well known Magnificat of Mary shall help us. What went through Mary's mind? She, like Anna in the book of Samuel (name meaning "God heard") giving their Sons to God, not holding back, but letting God lead in it all, becoming aware of a promise that finds fulfillment. 
    Only in her humility can Mary accept God's will expressed by the Archangel Gabriel. The struggle of the mind is present till she speaks this YES to God's Will and it changes everything that was not planned, that makes the ordinary extraordinary. For us this YES to God will lifts also our spirit removes the veil of our blindness caused by self-absorption and confusion, the worries that overtake our daily lives, the uncertainties toward what lies ahead for ourselves and our loved ones, our communities, our world...
    Mary's and our unconditionally Yes to God is the breakthrough to a inner joy that others might call crazy, useless, misguided, etc.
    Only in this simple yes to God find we the true meaning of the birth of Christ: our Savior is born! All the glitter and worldly glamour that we have become so keen to, as nice as it is, will no longer be the main reason why we celebrate Christmas, but our personal relationship to the human and divine Jesus of Nazareth will be our focus. And this can and will change us and the world around us when we take these words serious and make them our own: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid." This rejoicing shall be ours in these trying times, in our loneliness, in our despair, in our personal struggles, in our quest for the answers of the meaning of life, in our search for true and unconditional love, and the list goes on...
    Our Yes to God is already the answer, and to whatever calling we find ourselves in, God will give us this inner joy that helps us to walk through this dark times, and to find new longing for a better world that has written justice and peace on its banner, becoming more and more His hands of a loving people. 
    The Magnificat has touched me this year more than ever. Ask yourself, what word of Scripture can and will touch you to find an awakening toward God's message shown us in the birth of His beloved Son, born to bring a New Way of Life, sent to us to find meaning in His Word and Action, seeing in His suffering the agony and loneliness of the Cross, and yet in this darkest of moments the Light of that eternal Love of the Father ever present keeps the promise of the resurrection and our Salvation. You might find solace and inspiration in one of the great prophets like Isaiah, or other writings in Scripture that have changed the lives of millions of Christians in the history of Salvation.
 
     In this year's so fast changing world, we are being reminded that fear and suffering of this eon have not the last word, but that we shall become more aware, like Mary, in her Yes to God shown in her life's experience standing by her son's suffering, as he is put to death, and resurrect from the death beyond human imagination, she realizes that God's Love is always stronger than death, greater than earthly happiness, this Love that overcomes hate, denial, injustice, wickedness, deceit, war, cruelty and destruction... This God of so many names, so many mysteries, is the one that changes us, because "He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of His mercy even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever."

    From the bottom of my heart I wanted to thank you all for your great dedication in so many different services in our beloved Church, be it in the pastoral ministry, education, or social services, in the cultural and social environments we find ourselves in. 

    Wherever you are in this world, from the Philippines to Sri Lanka, to India, Pakistan, Europe, Africa, Latin America and North America, I want to thank you for the so many letters you have written throughout the past year, expressing your gratefulness for being in our Church, your Concerns, and your Joys. I see your love and honesty toward the hard work you are doing for the poor, the marginalized, the downtrodden, the abundant in society in building new communities, being present for the street children. I want to thank our St. Anthony's liturgical house of studies that has taken of ground and is expanding, and it will reach the ends of our worldwide church. I want to thank so many of you in your episcopal leadership of our Nuncios, and our bishops for welcoming in an ecumenical spirit clergy and faithful from other denominations finding a home in our ECCC, be it our brethren of the Orthodox Churches who have signed the Tomos with our Church, members from the Lutheran and Anglican Churches that have joined our Church, and the list goes on.
    At this moment, let our entire Church pray for our Synod in Italy that started in September 2020. It has been in preparation for quite some time. May it bear lots of fruit! God given, I shall be there for the Concluding Session in June of 2021.

    Wishing you all a Blessed and Joyous Feast of our Savior's Birth.
May He be reborn in our hearts, so that we can see anew with the eyes of Love.
And as this Pandemic has hopefully changed the way of living and thinking of so many in the World, may the New year bring for all of us and all of humanity a better and deeper understanding of a world where we are all God's Children that belong to each other.

May God give the Grace to see each other again and the so many I have not met yet.


With my Apostolic Benediction
Yours
Servus Dei
+Karl Ecumenical Primate
  


USA:

The Ecumenical Primate, Dr. Karl Rodig has recommended that Fr. Dr. Tom Roberts be the new Chancellor for our St. Anthony's Cathedral Liturgical House of Studies, and Archbishop Dr. Sunny Alappat from India to be on the Board as well.

We have a new Seminarian joining our ECCC in California, Brother Alexey coming from Utah, he will be trained and guided under the auspicious of our Metropolitan Archbishop for California, ++Dr. Tony Scuderri in Sacramento.
Our Parish in Los Angeles, Archangel, with pastor, Fr. Jacob, is under Archbishop ++Dr. Tony Sucerri's episcopal and diocesan leadership.
I want also to congratulate Archbishop Tony for his new book he just published, "And What Peace Can I Receive From God: The Miracle of Francis and the Leper"

Despite the Pandemic, our Cathedral of St. Anthony in Detroit, Michigan, has been distributing clothes and food for many homeless. We also have prepared Christmas gifts for over 50 Children.
Our Cathedral was hit by a heavy storm in November of this year, it has ripped of the roof of one of the Bell towers, and also damaged some of the upper windows. We have organized a fundraising to help pay the repairs.
 

These are also encouraging news from the reform movements around the world of which we are also a partner:
December 22, 2020
The 2022 Synod must be expanded to include lay people, especially women and young people
At this special time of our liturgical year
we are urging you to take some action steps to help move our church forward
Pope Francis has repeatedly said he wants us to be a "synodal" church. Understanding synod to mean “walking together,” it is our expectation that any coming synod will mean that lay people and especially women and young people are going to be walking together/side by side with the bishops and priests in this assembly.. But our fear is that they will be walking behind (two tiers, two rows, front and back) as has always been done in the past. In the Synodal Path assembly held in Germany this year, the bishops and lay people walked in side by side in a genuine synodal style. Pope Francis has called for a Synod in 2022. Our concern in advance is that this Synod will not be “the whole Church walking in a synodal way.”

At this moment, the Lineamenta (the preparatory document for the Synod) is already being drafted. Our concerns: Are lay people/women involved? Or is the document from the top down? Who is being consulted? Where is the distribution of the Lineamenta taking place? Is it going directly to a wider, inclusive group? In the old model, it went to the Conferences of Bishops, to the Pontifical University, and to the Union Superior Generals of men. But is it going to the Union Superior Generals of women or to International lay groups? Let us do all in our power to ensure that, finally, voting participants in this Synod will be more inclusive!

When the Lineamenta came out in Vatican documents on young people, there was no reference to the term “LGBT+” (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgendered, etc.). Young people requested that it be included in the document. It is a reality in our world and in humanity. On the synod floor, there were many disputes over this issue. African bishops declared they had no gay people in their country. When young people were asked what is missing from our Vatican documents, they said reference to sexuality. Rome is frightened of addressing this issue. When Francis came out with his Apostolic exhortation, these topics were left out. It was felt they were too controversial.

Our Opportunity to participate in submitting issues we want to see included in the 2022 Synod agenda
What can we do to address our concerns about the preparation for the October 2022 Synod? ln the name of our being a Synodal church, along with other reform organizations, let us commit to submitting our suggestions for agenda topics and positions to be addressed at this Synod. We insist on having lay people, especially women and young adults, included both in this process and in the right to vote.

Tomas Halik, Peter Neuner, Anna Hennersperger, and Paul M. Zulehner (from Austria) have created a survey and have invited all of us to take part in it. The survey is designed to give the Synod organizers a sense of the views of the People of God and encourage the participants to make bold deliberations and decisions. We strongly encourage every one of us to take the survey. Here is the link in English: https://survey.zulehner.org/index.php/514332?lang=en. Please pass this onto to your members and list of contacts. We must have a new way of thinking and writing about the church that is inclusive. This will not happen coming from the Bishops alone. We need to pressure them by making our voices heard.

The survey is available in both German and English. For another language, please use a computer program (e.g. https://translate.google.com/) to translate the questionnaire. Let us all commit to taking the survey and assuming a more responsible role in moving our church forward and joining in its governance.
Additional action steps we can all take
At the Amazonian Synod which was completed in October 2019, 185 members (mostly bishops but included some lay people from the nine countries that contain a share of the Amazon rainforest) at least a two-thirds majority reached approval to three resolutions: having a permanent diaconate for women; ordaining suitable and esteemed men of the community, who have had a fruitful permanent diaconate and received adequate formation for the priesthood; and introduce an Amazonian rite that expresses the liturgical, theological, disciplinary and spiritual patrimony of the Amazon.

We encourage all of us to reach out to Cardinal Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno, S.J. who is the new president of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network, Rede Eclesial Pan-Amazonica (REPAM). This body differs from the old way of organizing in that it includes lay people and bishops working together. Our objective is to encourage this ecclesial network to move forward taking the steps they already voted on to better meet the needs of the Amazonian people. By doing so, not only the Amazon will benefit but all of us in the universal church globally will profit as well. Once these changes occur in one part of the world, it will open up the possibility for them to happen on other parts as well.

Please share this request with everyone in your contact list. The greater number and more varied ways we reach these leaders, each in our own style and language, the greater impact our outreach will have on effecting change. You can reach Cardinal Barreto in any one of the following ways:
a. at his personal email pebaji44@gmail.com 
b. at the REPAM email communicaciones@redamazonica.org
c. leave a message for him at his personal telephone: [64)243.049
d. send a letter to the Archdiocese Physical Address: Puno 430, Huanacayo, Peru
e. leave a message at the Archdiocese telephone number: (64)234.952
f. fax the Archdiocese at (64)239.189

Reach out to Cardinal Hummus as the new head of the new Pan-Amazonian ecclesial conference (CEAMA), established as a direct result of the Amazon synod. Again we are congratulating the participants of the Amazonian Synod for their good work and to encourage them to delay no longer. Make their resolutions a reality:
a. by sending a letter to his home address: Quito, Equador – Ulloa n24-109 e Av. Colon
b. or email him at Claudio.hummes@terra.com.br.

We encourage all who agree to sign the petition sponsored by the Global Interfaith community. They are an ecumenical organization calling calling for an end to violence and criminalization against LGBT+ people and for a global ban on conversion therapy. Mary McAleese, the former president of Ireland, is one of the promoters. To participate, go to https://globalinterfaith.lgbt/.
Join with us and be part of reforming our Church
YOUR GIFT – IN ANY AMOUNT – IS PRICELESS
As you prepare to make your end-of-year donations, we ask you to consider us. When you make a donation to support our cause, you join with others who are investing in restoring our Church to what Jesus intended. If you are part of the movement to stop contributing to your local parish and/or diocese, you may consider a donation to CCRI in its stead. The dollars we receive are used to run our programs and to reach a broad spectrum of the People of God. We are focused on reaching out to the Faithful, reform activists, young adults as well as those who feel abandoned by the Church, to mention just a few. Your personal contributions in offering us suggestions and your donations are most appreciated.

We wish all of you the very best for this Christmas season. Thank you in advance for taking part in any or all of these actions. Every single outreach can make a difference in getting our church back on mission as Jesus intended it.

Rene Reid
CCRI director
Facebook ‌ Twitter ‌


India:
Our Nuncio and Archbishop Dr. Sunny Alappat has shown great work by reaching out and receiving more clergy and religious into our Worldwide Communion:

3 Benedictine Anglican Friars with the leadership of Bro. Robin Sebastian, are becoming one of our religious communities. Legal documents of the religious trust registration are in process. Once the legal formalities in India is completed, there would be diaconate ordination to 3 members. Later completion of theological studies (3 years)  we would proceed with priestly ordination.

We are praying for the church infrastructure in India, we are having the first cathedral religious house with a chapel at Kerala In India (Plot Size 8,700 Sq ft Appx. 5,000 Sq ft Building) . We have paid 70% of the amount and the balance 30% will be paid in Dec and the registration of the building will   take place together with the last payment. All the funds are borrowed. We would run some services to generate income and return the borrowings.

As directed / verified / informed by Fr. Fernandez in Pakistan, there are 3 brothers ready for diaconate ordination. And there is a sister for her first profession of vows. He has invited me to Pakistan. According to the pandemic situation / international flight  schedules on convenient travelling, further programs would be scheduled / organized.

Congratulations also to Archbishop Dr. Sunny Alappat for having become a member for the Human Rights Commission for India.



Pakistan:
Fr. Fernandez in Pakistan serves many poor people and has expanded his services. We have also received new inquiries for seminarians wanting to be in our Church. 3 brothers are ready for diaconate ordination and a Sister for her first religious vows.


Sri Lanka:
Fr. Nicholas, a former Benedictine Monk wants to revive the Order in his Country. Prayers and best wishes.
Fr Michael has expanded his mission and has 9 new lay ministers assisting him with the school and the new missions. Blessings for your work!


Africa:
Kenya: Our beloved Nuncio for the African Continent and Metropolitan Archbishop of Kenya, ++Godfrey Siundu, has been very active on many fronts, he is finishing the Church construction in Bungoma.
He had been chosen by different church and religious leaders, including the Roman Church to lead an ecumenical Conference in Kenya that was very successful. He also welcomed the Deputy President of Kenya and his delegation. 
Our Church is growing and showing her presence with a lot of respect by other denominations, religions, and politicians.
Thank you for your wonderful Work!



Cameroon:

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cameroon under the leadership of Archbishop Jean de la Résurrection AMOUGOU will ordain Father Ferdinand KOA to the sacred Priesthood of Jesus Christ on December 31, 2020. This brings the number of priests of the archdiocese to 13. We congratulate you and all your wonderful people!


Msgr. Didier with the Religious Order of the Companions of St. Augustine with their missions in Cameroon has become a Prelature. This will be a first step to establishing a new Diocese. Congratulations! Thank you for taking care of the orphanage and school for the poor children!


Ivory Coast, Senegal:
Fr. Emmanuel is working very hard for the poor in his country, especially for the abundant children. Prayers for all his good work!


Democratic Republic of Kongo:
Rev. Brother Munembwe Mukamba Damas, NOSF 
2020-2021 School year, Monsignor Karl Primary School opened its doors in Kabare for orphaned and most vulnerable children of society.
From March 2021, the Reverend Deacon MUNEMBWE MUKAMBA DAMAS will make pastoral trips to the following provinces: Maniema Province, Greater Katanga Province and North Kivu...Thank you for all your good work! Be all blessed, especially the abundant children!


Latin America:
Thanks to all the efforts of our beloved Archbishop and Nuncio for the Territories of Latin America, ++Sebastian Pla, we can report the following:

The Ecumenical Seminary founded in Costa Rica by Archbishop Sebastian Pla is providing service to seminarians in Central America and the Caribbean, to date we have 24 seminarians, we also provide training when requested by a brother Bishop of the church within our territory.

Central America and Caribbean: Active missions in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti

Bishops in South America, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Mexico, a new Vicar General in Colombia, Father Leiber Rojas.

Cuba: The NOSF, and the Ecumenical Franciscan sisters having  an new Mother Trinidad Mora Cabrera, the Orthodox Rite and the Latin rite are under Mons Fanurios Bishop Elect for Cuba and Canon Mons Stefanos.

Archbishop ++ Sebastian Pla has ordained 3 deacons in December 2020, including members of the NOSF.
The Latin rite is growing on the island. 

Mons Fanurios has worked very hard for the Church in Cuba, there were also confirmations and baptisms during Archbishop Sebastian's Pla visit in Cuba. A special Thank you also to Fr. Adalberto who has been instrumental for this event.

The names of the new deacons are:
1. Rev. Jesús Díaz Hernández
2. Rev. Maykel Crúz Rodríguez
3. Rev. Jorge Luis García Cesar (C. C. Brother Bernardo)

Congratulations for the Priestly ordination of Fr. Adalberto conducted in Italy by our Archbishop Agostino de Caro in Sicilia. Many years in the vineyard of the Lord!



Costa Rica:
Besides our missions in Costa Rica, there is also public soup kitchen for the poor within social works.
We have developed Catechesis, social pastoral, vocational pastoral, we have generated teaching and regulations based on the manifesto that has allowed us to regulate and govern the church in the territories added to this the result of the two local synods. We formed the Ecclesiastical Tribunal for the dissolution of the bond, by 2021 we are fostering our efforts for the expansion of the church.


El reporte de la administración apostólica y la Arquidiocesis Metropolitana de Costa Rica

Seminario Ecuménico fundado en Costa Rica bajo mi episcopado esta brindando servicio a los seminaristas de América Central y el Caribe, hasta la fecha tenenos 24 seminaristas, también brindamos la formacion cuando nos es solicitada por algún hermano Obispo de la iglesia dentro de nuestro territorio.

Tenemos activas las misiones en Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica Panamá, Cuba, República Dominica y Haiti

Lógicamente existen Obispos en Sur América, Perú, Ecuador, un Vicario en Colombia que es Padre Leiber Rojas, Venezuela y México.

En el territorio Cubano existe NOSF, y las hermanas Franciscanas Ecuménica teniendo a la Madre Trinidad Mora Cabrera y tememos el Rito Ortodoxo y el rito latino con el apoyo de Mons Fanurios Obispo Electo para Cuba y Mons Stefanos Canónigo,

En Costa Rica existen misiones y un comedor público para pobres dentro de las obras sociales, hemos desarrollado Catequesis, pastoral social, pastoral vocaciónal, henos generado magisterio y reglamentos basados en el manifiesto que nos ha permitís normar y regir la iglesia en los territorios sumado a esto el resultado de los dos sinodos locales. Conformamos el Tribunal Eclesiástico para las disoluciones del vínculo, para el 2021 estamos dirigiendo nuestros a la expansión de la iglesia

Cuba:
Archbishop ++Sebastian Pla ordenado 3 diáconos entre ellos miembros de la NOSF, el rito latino está creciendo alla en la isla y hemos tenido el apoyo de Mons Fanurios Obispo Auxiliar Electo de nuestro Rito Ortodxo para con ellos, Mons Fanurios es una persona que se ha esforzado y trabajado muy duro por la Iglesia en Cuba, tendremos confirmaciones y bautizos en m visita, la Madre Trinidad superiora de las franciscanas Ecuménica le envía su saludo, se hace necesario realizar estas 3 ordenaciones por necesidad pastoral para poder atender adecuadamente las comunidades de rito latino. Gracias tambien por Fr. Adalberto and Mons. Fanurios que eran instrumental por este eventos.

Los nombres de los nuevos diáconos son:

1. Rev. Jesús Díaz Hernández
2. Rev. Maykel Crúz Rodríguez
3. Rev. Jorge Luis García Cesar ( C. C. Hermano Bernardo)



Europe:

Italy:

1. In oct. 4th we begun the N.O.S.F. The two friars: fr. Andrea and fr. Pietro
2. We have ordained as a deacon rev. Piero Barulli
3 we have incardinated Rev. Mother Maria Vittoria Longhitano from the Anglican Church in Italy.
4. We begun the experience of the theological study within the St. Anthony's Liturgical House of Studies with our seminarians

On October 4th we will have the profession of the first two Italian friars of the new order of St. Francis and St. Clare.
On September 28th we will give the cassock to three new seminarians who will begin their formative journey with us this year.  They are very motivated and enthusiastic.  In all, at the moment our Archdiocese has 5 seminarians (4 men and 1 woman), one of them will be ordained deacon in December.
Almost all the offices are now open, albeit with many limitations, so finally on September 30th at 12.00 we will be in front of the public official to sign the founding act of the church .. after two years of hard work!

Attached in this email you also can see the planning and order of the Metropolitan Synod for Italy under the leadership of Archbishop ++Agostino di Caro

Archbishop di Caro is also appointed to be the Provincial for the New Order of Saint Francis and Saint Clare, NOSF, for Europe helping to better organize our Religious Order.



Hungary:
Rev. Akos Konya, NOSF who is a hospital chaplain, has reported of the sacrifices that the Pandemic has brought upon so many. He is doing his work with great vigor. Blessings and stay safe with your family!














Holy See of  The Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ

September 28th, Saint Wenceslaus, A. D. 2020


Peace and Greetings to my beloved brother in Christ, Archbishop Agostino, my beloved Priests, Deacons, Religious, Seminarians and all beloved faithful in the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Italy.

    It is with great joy to greet you all on the Eve of your Metropolitan Archdiocesan Synod for Italy that will bring deep spiritual moments of prayer gatherings, fruitful discussions, a new outlook for your ministry in Christ and a stronger sense of being growing and loving communities.

    Again, I want to greet you all with the beginning of the letter to the Philippians by Saint Polycarp, bishop and martyr (Cap. 1, 1-2, 3: Funk 1, 267-269) 

    "From Polycarp and his fellow presbyters to the pilgrim church of God at Philippi: May you have mercy and peace in abundance from Almighty God and Jesus Christ our Savior. 
    I rejoice with you greatly in the Lord Jesus Christ because you have assumed the pattern of true love and have rightly helped on their way those who were in chains. Such chains are becoming to the faithful; they are the rich crown of the chosen ones of our Lord and God. 
    I am glad, too, that your deep-rooted faith, proclaimed of old, still abides and continues to bear fruit in the life-giving power of our Lord Jesus Christ. He, for our sins, did not refuse to go down to death, and God raised him up after destroying the pains of hell. With a glorious joy that no words can express you believe in Christ without seeing him. This is the joy in which many wish to share knowing that it is by grace that you are saved and not by works, for so God has willed through Jesus Christ. 
    So prepare yourselves for the struggle, serve the Lord in fear and truth. Put aside empty talk and popular errors; your faith must be in him who raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and gave him a share in his own glory and a seat at his right hand. To him everything was made subject in heaven and on earth; all things obey him, who will come as judge of the living and the dead. All who refuse to believe must answer to God for the blood of his Son. 
    He who raised him from the dead will raise us too if we do his will and keep his commandments, loving what he loved, refraining from all wrongdoing, fraud, avarice, malice and slander. We must abstain from false witness, not returning evil for evil, nor curse for curse, nor blow for blow, nor denunciation for denunciation. Always remember the words of the Lord, who taught: Do not judge and you will not be judged; forgive and you will be forgiven; be merciful and you will find mercy; the amount you measure out to others will be the amount measured out to you. Blessed are the poor and those who suffer persecution, for theirs is the kingdom of God."

    Saint Polycarp's words are uplifting for our faith life -as they were 1900 years ago- when we want to get rid of the chains of our modern society and some extreme religious authorities posturing in their prejudices: hate, persecution and exclusion because of what one is and believes differently as a Christian, and so we experience often the chains of hopelessness. It is therefore the manifestation of our very existence that we believe in this Love of Christ that will liberate us and show us a light that shines for all of God's Children in this world who seek understanding, acceptance, and a life in love.
  
    A your Synod is guided by the Holy Spirit, it will open new horizons for the deepening awareness of Christ's Love and presence among you.

    It is my desire that you all read and deepen the spirit of our Church "Manifesto" and the different documents of our Church guidelines which can be easily accessed on our international website.
Please see them under the website page, "Church Documents":  The Worldwide Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ 


    May you find through your Synodal gatherings a better understanding of our Ecumenical Spirit as a Church in this earthly home, like:
  
The Christian Church is Ecumenical in Nature; Peace and Unity among all Churches; All are welcome means inclusive; A permanent way of living as a Catholic Christian: Renewed daily - A ministry of Hope through Christ Jesus - No matter what.

    Our Cathedral Mission Statement of St. Anthony may enlighten a little what we are all striving for, and what we represent:
The Cathedral Family of Saint Anthony is centered in Christ, 
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, anchored in the Holy Bible, 
And nourished by the Sacraments. 

We proclaim, witness, and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

The Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ in her liturgical services 
And community efforts shall advance the peaceful 
And continued building of the Kingdom of God. 

In our ecumenical relationships with other Church Denominations, 
We celebrate Church Unity to the Glory of our loving God.


    Dear beloved Sisters and Brothers, it is my prayerful wish that you are all -whatever the the state of your life might be right now- discover anew this inclusiveness and love that Christ showed us, that you bare rich fruits in the Holy Spirit, and that you always seek this unity of charity among you on your journey with your ordinary archbishop Agostino Caro, and with me your Ecumenical Primate, as we walk together towards the heavenly Kingdom.

    I pray for you and hope, God willing, I can be present at the conclusion of your Synod to which I look very much forward.

     I want to conclude with the letter of Saint Augustine in his famous words, "For you I am a bishop; with you I am a Christian" from his Sermon 340,1 PL 38, 1483-1484

    "The day I became a bishop, a burden was laid on my shoulders for which it will be no easy task to render an account. The honors I receive are for me an ever present cause of uneasiness. Indeed, it terrifies me to think that I could take more pleasure in the honor attached to my office, which is where its danger lies, than in your salvation, which ought to be its fruit. This is why being set above you fills me with alarm, whereas being with you gives me comfort. Danger lies if the first; salvation in the second.
    To be honest with you, my obligations involve me in so much turmoil that I feel as though I were tossed by storms on a great ocean. When I remember by whose blood I have been redeemed, this thought brings me peace, as though I were entering the safety of a harbor; and I am consoled, as I carry out the arduous duties of my own particular office, by the blessings which we all have in common. By finding my chief you therefore in the redemption, which I share with you, and not in my office, which has placed me over you, I shall the more truly be your servant; and so not only fulfill the Lord’s command, but also show myself not ungrateful to him for making me your fellow servant. For my Redeemer has a claim upon my love, and I do not forget how he questioned Peter, and asked: Do you love me, Peter? Then feed my sheep. He asked this once, then again and then a third time. He inquired about his love, and then he gave him work to do; for the greater one’s love is, the easier is the work.
    How shall I repay the Lord for all the blessings he has given me? I could say perhaps that I repay him by feeding his sheep, but even though I do this, it is not really I who do it, but the grace of God within me. So when all that I do is the gift of God’s grace, how can I possibly repay him? As a matter of fact, I hope to be repaid myself, and this for the very reason that I love him freely and feed his sheep. But, you may ask, if I feed his sheep because I love him freely, how can I demand payment for feeding them? It is indeed unthinkable to ask for a recompense for love freely given unless that recompense is the loved one himself.
    But even if feeding his sheep could repay him for redeeming me, what could repay him for having made me his shepherd? To be a good shepherd I depend entirely on his grace, for without his help I should be a very bad one, there is so much evil in me. Pray, then, that I may not be a bad shepherd, but a good one.
     And for you, my brothers and sisters...Make my ministry a fruitful one. You are God’s garden, and you should therefore welcome the laborer who does the visible work of planting and watering the seed, even though the growth comes from one who works invisibly within you. Help me both by your prayers and by your obedience, for then it will be a pleasure for me, not to preside over you, but to serve you."


Sending you all my Apostolic Benedictions
With my prayers united in your journey
In Christ, our Savior
Yours
+Karl







  • Pentecost, A. D. 2020

    (Please share with all your people! Por favor compartir con toda su gente!)


    Peace and greetings to you all throughout our worldwide Church Communion, on this Holy Feast of Pentecost as we celebrate the Coming and the Works of the Holy Spirit, the Birthday of the Christian Church!

        Thinking of you all in our different churches across the world, I am always touched by your love and service for all of God's people, and with whom we walk united toward the heavenly Kingdom.

        Through my personal contacts with our Nuncios, and the many of you who write me personally, we are connected through a sacred bond that the Holy Spirit bestows on us, the Love of God that emanates for us without cessation. It is exactly this divine presence of the Holy Spirit among us that keeps building our Church, and we see more and more people come to us seeking a place of a loving and accepting community where one can also find healing.    

        Today's Feast of the Holy Spirit reminds us of that divine power that we can experience in our lives, the gifts that he/she shows each one of us according to our needs and abilities. 
        Let us all reflect a little bit on the Holy Spirit with Saint Basil the Great, a bishop from the 4th Century who write so beautifully about the work of the Holy Spirit:

    "The titles given to the Holy Spirit must surely stir the soul of anyone who hears them, and make him realize that they speak of nothing less than the supreme Being. Is he not called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, the steadfast Spirit, the guiding Spirit? But his principal and most personal title is the Holy Spirit.

    To the Spirit all creatures turn in their need for sanctification; all living things seek him according to their ability. His breath empowers each to achieve its own natural end.

    The Spirit is the source of holiness, a spiritual light, and he offers his own light to every mind to help it in its search for truth. By nature the Spirit is beyond the reach of our mind, but we can know him by his goodness. The power of the Spirit fills the whole universe, but he gives himself only to those who are worthy, acting in each according to the measure of his faith.

    Simple in himself, the Spirit is manifold in his mighty works. The whole of his being is present to each individual; the whole of his being is present everywhere. Though shared in by many, he remains unchanged; his self-giving is no loss to himself. Like the sunshine, which permeates all the atmosphere, spreading over land and sea, and yet is enjoyed by each person as though it were for him alone, so the Spirit pours forth his grace in full measure, sufficient for all, and yet is present as though exclusively to everyone who can receive him. To all creatures that share in him he gives a delight limited only by their own nature, not by his ability to give.

    The Spirit raises our hearts to heaven, guides the steps of the weak, and brings to perfection those who are making progress. He enlightens those who have been cleansed from every stain of sin and makes them spiritual by communion with himself.

    As clear, transparent substances become very bright when sunlight falls on them and shine with a new radiance, so also souls in whom the Spirit dwells, and who are enlightened by the Spirit, become spiritual themselves and a source of grace for others.

    From the Spirit comes foreknowledge of the future, understanding of the mysteries of faith, insight into the hidden meaning of Scripture, and other special gifts. Through the Spirit we become citizens of heaven, we enter into eternal happiness, and abide in God. Through the Spirit we acquire a likeness to God; indeed, we attain what is beyond our most sublime aspirations—we become God." (    From the treatise On the Holy Spirit, Cap 9, 22-23)
     
        May we all pray for receiving more gifts of the Holy Spirit that God wants us to share and edify our Community, the Church.

    Especially in these trying times of humanity through the pandemic, let us be steadfast in our Faith, grounded in the Holy Scripture, always ready to serve, and filled with the divine love that draws us near to God. 
    I want to sent you all these words from the first Letter of the Apostle John 
    (4: 7-21)
     
    "7 My dear friends, let us love one another, since love is from God and everyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 Whoever fails to love does not know God, because God is love.9 This is the revelation of God's love for us, that God sent his only Son into the world that we might have life through him. 10 Love consists in this: it is not we who loved God, but God loved us and sent his Son to expiate our sins. 11 My dear friends, if God loved us so much, we too should love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God, but as long as we love one another God remains in us and his love comes to its perfection in us. 13 This is the proof that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us a share in his Spirit. 14 We ourselves have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as Saviour of the world. 15 Anyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he/she in God. 16 We have recognised for ourselves, and put our faith in, the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in  God and God in him/her. 17 Love comes to its perfection in us when we can face the Day of Judgement fearlessly, because even in this world we have become as he is. 18 In love there is no room for fear, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear implies punishment and no one who is afraid has come to perfection in love. 19 Let us love, then, because he first loved us. 20 Anyone who says 'I love God' and hates his brother/sister, is a liar, since whoever does not love the brother/sister whom he can see cannot love God whom he/she has not seen. 21 Indeed this is the commandment we have received from him, that whoever loves God, must also love his brother/sister."

    With my continued prayers, and apostolic benedictions
    united in the Holy Spirit
    yours
    +Karl



    ECCC NEWS:

    USA

    California:
    It is with great joy to announce that as of May, 2020, our Archbishop Dr. Tony Scuderi, NOSF has accepted to be the Protector for the Order of Franciscans of the Eucharist/Order of Franciscans Ecumenical under the leadership of Very Reverend Abbot Father Michael Cuozzo, OFE, M. Div. in Corona, California, Province of Saint Mary Theotokos. 

    May the new service of our Archbishop Tony be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and may the members under their Abbot Michael of the Province of Saint Mary Theotokos grow in the service of the Lord. Greetings and blessings to all.

    Metropolitan Archdiocese of the USA:

    Rev. Br. Dr. Sam Fratczak, NOFS ordination is being plant for 2020. 

    Br. Morgan Meis, NOSF

    Sr. Carolyn George, NOSF

    Congratulations!
    Prayers and Blessings


    A special invitation to our local dioceses throughout the world:

    Please check out our theological courses that are being offered in our online study programs. Our metropolitan archdiocese in the USA, and Italy have started to be involved with the Programs.



    St. Anthony's Cathedral Liturgical House of Studies will focus on preparing students for ministry and laity for deepening their studies.

    Please contact, Mr. Gary Stasack:

    E-mail:  admin@stanthonysliturgicalhouse.org

    Or

    Fr. Dr. Tom Roberts

    E-mail: sacralkingship@yahoo.com


    to find out more and to seek advice if you have seminarians, or lay people, who would like to attend courses.

    The variety of biblical, theological, and liturgical studies are a great way to help one prepare for ordinations. 
    And if you do not want to be a minister in the church, but would like to widen and enrich your understanding in these study fields, this is a great opportunity we offer for you. We also working on a Spanish translation for the courses. 

    I really wanted to encourage you to become part of our study programs. You will love it. 

    How we say in English: Go for it!

    It is never too late to study. I have studied 11 years at three different Universities for Master, and two Doctorates :o)



    Italy:
    Congratulations to the ordination of Diaconate of Rev. Fabio Mascaro in June 2020, in Calabria, by our Metropolitan Archbishop, ++Agostino Caro. Many blessings upon your new ministry. Sending you our prayers and greetings.

    Kenya:
    Our Archdiocese of Western Kenya has expanded their school/orphanage buildings, and almost finished the new cathedral building in Bungoma. Our local Christians work so hard to accomplish this task. Thank you all for your love and labor!

    India:
    We are getting new inquiries from former Roman priests into our Archdiocese of India. 

    Special Prayers for all our Christians in Africa who are suffering and being persecuted by war, famine, and hate!


    Last: as per new inquiries by new members of our Church, a reminder for our Eucharistic Celebrations in the different Catholic and Orthodox Rites:

    In our ecumenical liturgical prayers within the Eucharist where we commemorate the living in the Church we always say, 

    "We pray for the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, for the Eastern Patriarch, Bartholomew, for the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Justin, for our Ecumenical Primate, Archbishop Karl,..(which is followed by mentioning your local bishop of the ECCC) and your people you have summoned here before you in faith, and gather all your children throughout the world"
     
    Thank you!




    Paz y saludos a todos ustedes a través de nuestra comunión eclesial mundial, en esta Santa Fiesta de Pentecostés mientras celebramos la Venida y las Obras del Espíritu Santo, el Cumpleaños de la Iglesia Cristiana!

        Pensando en todos ustedes en nuestras diferentes iglesias en todo el mundo, siempre me conmueve su amor y servicio para todo el pueblo de Dios, y con quienes caminamos unidos hacia el Reino celestial.

        A través de mis contactos personales con nuestros Nuncios, y los muchos de ustedes que me escriben personalmente, estamos conectados a través de un vínculo sagrado que el Espíritu Santo nos otorga, el Amor de Dios que emana para nosotros sin cesar. Es exactamente esta presencia divina del Espíritu Santo entre nosotros la que sigue construyendo nuestra Iglesia, y vemos cada vez más gente que viene a nosotros buscando un lugar de una comunidad de amor y aceptación donde también se puede encontrar curación.    

        La Fiesta del Espíritu Santo de hoy nos recuerda ese poder divino que podemos experimentar en nuestras vidas, los dones que nos muestra a cada uno de nosotros según nuestras necesidades y capacidades. 
        Reflexionemos un poco sobre el Espíritu Santo con San Basilio el Grande, un obispo del siglo IV que escribe tan bellamente sobre el trabajo del Espíritu Santo:

    "Los títulos dados al Espíritu Santo deben seguramente conmover el alma de cualquiera que los escuche, y hacerle comprender que hablan nada menos que del Ser supremo. ¿No se le llama el Espíritu de Dios, el Espíritu de la verdad que procede del Padre, el Espíritu inquebrantable, el Espíritu guía? Pero su título principal y más personal es el Espíritu Santo.

    Al Espíritu se dirigen todas las criaturas en su necesidad de santificación; todos los seres vivos lo buscan según su capacidad. Su aliento capacita a cada uno para lograr su propio fin natural.

    El Espíritu es la fuente de la santidad, una luz espiritual, y ofrece su propia luz a cada mente para ayudarla en su búsqueda de la verdad. Por naturaleza el Espíritu está más allá del alcance de nuestra mente, pero podemos conocerlo por su bondad. El poder del Espíritu llena todo el universo, pero sólo se da a los que son dignos, actuando en cada uno según la medida de su fe.

    Simple en sí mismo, el Espíritu es múltiple en sus obras poderosas. Todo su ser está presente en cada individuo; todo su ser está presente en todas partes. Aunque compartido por muchos, permanece inalterable; su entrega no es una pérdida para sí mismo. Como el sol, que impregna toda la atmósfera, se extiende sobre la tierra y el mar, y sin embargo es disfrutado por cada persona como si fuera sólo para él, así el Espíritu derrama su gracia en plena medida, suficiente para todos, y sin embargo está presente como si fuera exclusivamente para todos los que pueden recibirlo. A todas las criaturas que participan en él les da un deleite limitado sólo por su propia naturaleza, no por su capacidad de dar.

    El Espíritu eleva nuestros corazones al cielo, guía los pasos de los débiles y lleva a la perfección a los que progresan. Ilumina a los que han sido limpiados de toda mancha de pecado y los hace espirituales por la comunión con él.

    Así como las sustancias claras y transparentes se vuelven muy brillantes cuando la luz del sol cae sobre ellas y brillan con un nuevo resplandor, así también las almas en las que habita el Espíritu, y que son iluminadas por el Espíritu, se vuelven espirituales ellas mismas y una fuente de gracia para los demás.

    Del Espíritu surge la conciencia del futuro, la comprensión de los misterios de la fe, el entendimiento del significado oculto de la Escritura y otros dones especiales. A través del Espíritu nos convertimos en ciudadanos del cielo, entramos en la felicidad eterna, y permanecemos en Dios. A través del Espíritu adquirimos una semejanza con Dios; de hecho, alcanzamos lo que está más allá de nuestras más sublimes aspiraciones: nos convertimos en Dios". (Del tratado sobre el Espíritu Santo, Cap 9, 22-23)
     
        Que todos recemos para recibir más dones del Espíritu Santo que Dios quiere que compartamos y edifiquemos nuestra Comunidad, la Iglesia.

    Especialmente en estos tiempos difíciles de la humanidad a través de la pandemia, seamos firmes en nuestra fe, basados en las Sagradas Escrituras, siempre listos para servir, y llenos del amor divino que nos acerca a Dios. 
    Quiero enviarles todas estas palabras de la primera Carta del Apóstol Juan 
    (4: 7-21)
     
    "7 Queridos amigos, amémonos los unos a los otros, ya que el amor viene de Dios y todo el que ama es hijo de Dios y conoce a Dios. 8 Quien no ama no conoce a Dios, porque Dios es amor.9 Esta es la revelación del amor de Dios por nosotros, que Dios envió a su único Hijo al mundo para que tuviéramos vida a través de él. 10 El amor consiste en esto: no somos nosotros los que hemos amado a Dios, sino que Dios nos ha amado a nosotros y ha enviado a su Hijo para expiar nuestros pecados. 11 Queridos amigos, si Dios nos amó tanto, nosotros también deberíamos amarnos. 12 Nadie ha visto nunca a Dios, pero mientras nos amemos, Dios permanece en nosotros y su amor llega a su perfección en nosotros. 13 Esta es la prueba de que permanecemos en él y él en nosotros, de que nos ha hecho partícipes de su Espíritu. 14 

     Nosotros mismos hemos visto y testificamos que el Padre envió a su Hijo como Salvador del mundo. 15 Todo aquel que reconoce que Jesús es el Hijo de Dios, Dios permanece en él y él en Dios. 16 Hemos reconocido por nosotros mismos, y hemos puesto nuestra fe en el amor que Dios nos tiene. Dios es amor, y quien permanece en el amor, permanece en Dios y Dios en él. 17 El amor llega a su perfección en nosotros cuando podemos afrontar sin miedo el Día del Juicio, porque incluso en este mundo nos hemos convertido en lo que él es. 18 En el amor no hay lugar para el miedo, pero el amor perfecto expulsa el miedo, porque el miedo implica un castigo y nadie que tenga miedo ha llegado a la perfección en el amor. 19 Amemos, pues, porque él nos amó primero. 20 El que dice "Yo amo a Dios" y odia a su hermano/hermana, es un mentiroso, ya que el que no ama al hermano/hermana que puede ver, no puede amar a Dios a quien no ha visto. 21 En efecto, este es el mandamiento que hemos recibido de él, que quien ama a Dios, debe también amar a su hermano/hermana."

    Con mis continuas oraciones y bendiciones apostólicas
    unidos en el Espíritu Santo
    el tuyo
    +Karl

    NOTICIAS ICEC:

    EE.UU.

    California:
    Es con gran alegría anunciar que a partir de mayo de 2020, nuestro Arzobispo Dr. Tony Scuderi, NOSF ha aceptado ser el Protector de la Orden de los Franciscanos de la Eucaristía/Orden de los Franciscanos Ecuménicos bajo el liderazgo del Muy Reverendo Abad Padre Michael Cuozzo, OFE, M. Div. en Corona, California, Provincia de Santa María Theotokos. 

    Que el nuevo servicio de nuestro Arzobispo Tony esté lleno de los dones del Espíritu Santo, y que los miembros bajo su Abad Michael de la Provincia de Santa María Theotokos crezcan en el servicio del Señor. Saludos y bendiciones para todos.
    Estados Unidos:
    Nuestra Catedral de San Antonio está preparando a nuestros candidatos al Diaconado:

    Rev. Hermano Dr. Sam Fratczak, la ordenación de la NOFS está siendo plantada para el 2020. 

    Hermano Morgan Meis, NOSF

    Hermana Carolyn George, NOSF

    ¡Felicidades!
    Oraciones y bendicione


    Una invitación especial y muy importante a nuestras diócesis locales en todo el mundo:

    Por favor, vean nuestros cursos teológicos que se ofrecen en nuestros programas de estudio en internet. Nuestra arquidiócesis metropolitana en los EE.UU. e Italia han comenzado a involucrarse en los programas.

    La Casa de Estudios Litúrgicos de la Catedral de San Antonio. Por favor visita la página web arriba. 


    La Casa de Estudios Litúrgicos de la Catedral de San Antonio se centrará en la preparación de los estudiantes...

    Por favor, contacte con el Sr. Gary Stasack:
    Correo electrónico: admin@stanthonysliturgicalhouse.org


    P. Dr. Tom Roberts
    Correo electrónico: sacralkingship@yahoo.com


    para saber más y buscar consejo si tiene seminaristas, o laicos, que quieran asistir a los cursos.

    La variedad de estudios bíblicos, teológicos y litúrgicos son una gran ayuda para prepararse para las ordenaciones. 
    Y si no quiere ser un ministro en la iglesia, pero le gustaría ampliar y enriquecer su comprensión en estos campos de estudio, esta es una gran oportunidad que le ofrecemos. También estamos trabajando en una traducción al español para los cursos. 

    Realmente quería animarte a que formaras parte de nuestros programas de estudio. Te encantará. 

    Nunca es demasiado tarde para estudiar. 
    He estudiado 11 años en tres universidades diferentes para el Master, y dos Doctorados :o)


    Italia:
    Felicitaciones a la ordenación diaconal del Rev. Fabio Mascaro en junio de 2020, en Calabria, por nuestro Arzobispo Metropolitano, ++Agostino Caro. Muchas bendiciones sobre su nuevo ministerio. Le enviamos nuestras oraciones y saludos.


    Kenia:
    Nuestra Arquidiócesis de Kenia Occidental ha ampliado los edificios de su escuela y orfanato, y casi ha terminado el nuevo edificio de la catedral en Bungoma. Nuestros cristianos locales trabajan muy duro para llevar a cabo esta tarea. Gracias a todos por su amor y trabajo!

    India:
    Estamos recibiendo nuevas solicitudes de antiguos sacerdotes romanos en nuestra Arquidiócesis de la India. 

    Oraciones especiales para todos nuestros cristianos en África que están sufriendo y siendo perseguidos por la guerra, el hambre y el odio!

    Por último: según las nuevas consultas de los nuevos miembros de nuestra Iglesia, un recordatorio para nuestras celebraciones eucarísticas en los diferentes ritos católicos y ortodoxos:

    En nuestras oraciones litúrgicas ecuménicas dentro de la Eucaristía, donde conmemoramos lo vivo en la Iglesia, siempre decimos, 

    "Oramos por el Obispo de Roma, el Papa Francisco, por el Patriarca Oriental, Bartolomé, por la Comunión Anglicana, el Arzobispo Justin, por nuestro Primado Ecuménico, el Arzobispo Karl,... (que es seguido por la mención de su obispo local de la CCE) y su pueblo que ha convocado aquí ante usted en la fe, y reunir a todos sus hijos en todo el mundo"

    ¡Gracias!


    Pace e saluti a tutti voi in tutta la nostra Chiesa mondiale, in questa Santa Festa di Pentecoste che celebra la Venuta e le Opere dello Spirito Santo, il Compleanno della Chiesa Cristiana!

        Pensando a tutti voi nelle nostre diverse chiese nel mondo, sono sempre commosso dal vostro amore e dal vostro servizio per tutto il popolo di Dio, e con il quale camminiamo uniti verso il Regno celeste.

        Attraverso i miei contatti personali con i nostri Nunzi, e con i molti di voi che mi scrivete personalmente, siamo legati da un sacro vincolo che lo Spirito Santo ci dona, l'Amore di Dio che emana per noi senza sosta. È proprio questa presenza divina dello Spirito Santo in mezzo a noi che continua a costruire la nostra Chiesa, e vediamo sempre più persone venire da noi in cerca di un luogo di comunità amorevole e accogliente dove si possa trovare anche la guarigione.    

        La Festa dello Spirito Santo di oggi ci ricorda quel potere divino che possiamo sperimentare nella nostra vita, i doni che egli mostra a ciascuno di noi secondo i nostri bisogni e le nostre capacità. 
        Riflettiamo tutti un po' sullo Spirito Santo con San Basilio il Grande, un vescovo del IV secolo che scrive in modo così bello sull'opera dello Spirito Santo:

    "I titoli dati allo Spirito Santo devono sicuramente agitare l'anima di chiunque li ascolti, e fargli capire che essi parlano di niente di meno che dell'Essere supremo. Non è forse chiamato lo Spirito di Dio, lo Spirito della verità che procede dal Padre, lo Spirito risoluto, lo Spirito guida? Ma il suo titolo principale e più personale è lo Spirito Santo.

    Allo Spirito si rivolgono tutte le creature nel loro bisogno di santificazione; tutti gli esseri viventi lo cercano secondo la loro capacità. Il suo respiro permette a ciascuno di raggiungere il proprio fine naturale.

    Lo Spirito è la fonte della santità, una luce spirituale, e offre la sua luce ad ogni mente per aiutarla nella sua ricerca della verità. Per natura lo Spirito è fuori dalla portata della nostra mente, ma possiamo conoscerlo per la sua bontà. La potenza dello Spirito riempie tutto l'universo, ma egli si dona solo a coloro che sono degni, agendo in ciascuno secondo la misura della sua fede.

    Semplice in se stesso, lo Spirito è molteplice nelle sue opere possenti. Tutto il suo essere è presente ad ogni individuo; tutto il suo essere è presente ovunque. Anche se condiviso da molti, egli rimane immutato; il suo dono di sé non è una perdita per se stesso. Come il sole, che permea tutta l'atmosfera, si diffonde sulla terra e sul mare, eppure è goduto da ciascuno come se fosse solo per lui, così lo Spirito effonde la sua grazia in piena misura, sufficiente per tutti, eppure è presente come se fosse esclusivamente a tutti coloro che possono riceverlo. A tutte le creature che condividono in lui egli dona un piacere limitato solo dalla propria natura, non dalla sua capacità di dare.

    Lo Spirito innalza i nostri cuori al cielo, guida i passi dei deboli e porta alla perfezione coloro che progrediscono. Egli illumina coloro che sono stati purificati da ogni macchia di peccato e li rende spirituali attraverso la comunione con se stesso.

    Come le sostanze chiare e trasparenti diventano molto luminose quando la luce del sole cade su di loro e risplendono di un nuovo splendore, così anche le anime in cui lo Spirito abita, e che sono illuminate dallo Spirito, diventano esse stesse spirituali e fonte di grazia per gli altri.

    Dallo Spirito viene la preveggenza del futuro, la comprensione dei misteri della fede, l'intuizione del significato nascosto della Scrittura e altri doni speciali. Attraverso lo Spirito diventiamo cittadini del cielo, entriamo nella felicità eterna e restiamo in Dio. Attraverso lo Spirito acquisiamo una somiglianza con Dio, anzi, raggiungiamo ciò che è al di là delle nostre più sublimi aspirazioni: diventiamo Dio". (Dal trattato sullo Spirito Santo, Cap. 9, 22-23)
     
        Preghiamo tutti per ricevere più doni dello Spirito Santo che Dio vuole farci condividere ed edificare la nostra Comunità, la Chiesa.

    Soprattutto in questi tempi difficili dell'umanità attraverso la pandemia, siamo saldi nella nostra Fede, radicati nella Sacra Scrittura, sempre pronti a servire, e pieni dell'amore divino che ci avvicina a Dio. 
    Voglio inviarvi tutte queste parole della prima Lettera dell'apostolo Giovanni 
    (4: 7-21)
     
    "7 Miei cari amici, amiamoci l'un l'altro, poiché l'amore è da Dio e tutti coloro che amano sono figli di Dio e conoscono Dio. 8 Chi non ama non conosce Dio, perché Dio è amore.9 Questa è la rivelazione dell'amore di Dio per noi, che Dio ha mandato il suo Figlio unigenito nel mondo perché noi potessimo avere la vita attraverso di lui. 10 L'amore consiste in questo: non siamo noi che abbiamo amato Dio, ma Dio ha amato noi e ha mandato suo Figlio per espiare i nostri peccati. 11 Miei cari amici, se Dio ci ha amati così tanto, anche noi dovremmo amarci l'un l'altro. 12 Nessuno ha mai visto Dio, ma finché ci amiamo l'un l'altro Dio rimane in noi e il suo amore raggiunge la sua perfezione in noi. 13 Questa è la prova che noi rimaniamo in lui e lui in noi, che ci ha dato una parte del suo Spirito. 14 Noi stessi abbiamo visto e testimoniamo che il Padre ha mandato suo Figlio come Salvatore del mondo. 15 Chiunque riconosce che Gesù è il Figlio di Dio, Dio rimane in lui e in Dio. 16 Noi stessi abbiamo riconosciuto e messo la nostra fede nell'amore che Dio ha per noi. Dio è amore, e chi rimane nell'amore rimane in Dio e Dio in lui/lei. 17 L'amore raggiunge la sua perfezione in noi quando possiamo affrontare il giorno del giudizio senza paura, perché anche in questo mondo siamo diventati come lui. 18 Nell'amore non c'è spazio per la paura, ma l'amore perfetto scaccia la paura, perché la paura implica una punizione e nessuno che ha paura è arrivato alla perfezione nell'amore. 19 Amiamoci, dunque, perché egli ci ha amati per primo. 20 Chi dice "Io amo Dio" e odia il fratello/sorella, è un bugiardo, perché chi non ama il fratello/sorella che vede non può amare Dio che non ha visto. 21 Infatti questo è il comandamento che abbiamo ricevuto da lui, che chi ama Dio, deve amare anche il fratello/sorella".

    Con le mie continue preghiere e le mie benedizioni apostoliche
    uniti nello Spirito Santo
    il vostro
    +Karl


    NOTIZIE CCEC:

    USA

    California:
    E' con grande gioia che annunciamo che dal maggio 2020 il nostro Arcivescovo Dr. Tony Scuderi, NOSF, ha accettato di essere il Protettore dell'Ordine dei Francescani dell'Eucaristia/Ordine dei Francescani Ecumenici sotto la guida del Reverendissimo Abate Padre Michael Cuozzo, OFE, M. Div. a Corona, California, Provincia di Santa Maria Theotokos. 

    Possa il nuovo servizio del nostro Arcivescovo Tony essere riempito con i doni dello Spirito Santo, e possano i membri sotto la guida del loro Abate Michael della Provincia di Santa Maria Theotokos crescere nel servizio del Signore. Saluti e benedizioni a tutti.

    Arcidiocesi Metropolitana degli Stati Uniti:
    Nostra Cattedrale di Sant'Antonio sta preparando i nostri Candidati per il Diaconato:

    Rev.do Fr. Dr. Sam Fratczak, NOFS,  l'ordinazione per il 2020. 

    Fratello Morgan Meis, NOSF

    Sorella Carolyn George, NOSF

    Congratulazioni!
    Preghiere e benedizioni


    Un invito speciale alle nostre diocesi locali in tutto il mondo:

    Vi preghiamo di dare un'occhiata ai nostri corsi di teologia che vengono offerti nei nostri programmi di studio online. La nostra arcidiocesi metropolitana negli Stati Uniti e in Italia ha iniziato a partecipare ai programmi.

    La Casa di studi liturgici della Cattedrale di Sant'Antonio si concentrerà sulla preparazione degli studenti al ministero e dei laici ad approfondire i loro studi.

    Si prega di contattare:

    Il signor Gary Stasack:
    E-mail: admin@stanthonysliturgicalhouse.org


    P. Dr. Tom Roberts
    E-mail: sacralkingship@yahoo.com

    per saperne di più e per chiedere consigli se avete seminaristi, o laici, che vorrebbero frequentare dei corsi.

    La varietà di studi biblici, teologici e liturgici è un ottimo modo per aiutare a prepararsi alle ordinazioni. 
    E se non volete essere un ministro nella chiesa, ma volete ampliare e arricchire la vostra comprensione in questi campi di studio, questa è una grande opportunità che vi offriamo. Stiamo anche lavorando a una traduzione in spagnolo per i corsi. 

    Volevo davvero incoraggiarti ad entrare a far parte dei nostri programmi di studio. Vi piacerà molto. 

    Non è mai troppo tardi per studiare. 
    Ho studiato 11 anni in tre diverse università per il Master e due dottorati :o)



    Italia:
    Congratulazioni per l'ordinazione del Diaconato di Rev. Fabio Mascaro nel giugno 2020, in Calabria, da parte del nostro Arcivescovo Metropolita, ++Agostino Caro. Tante benedizioni sul suo nuovo ministero. Le inviamo le nostre preghiere e i nostri saluti.

    Kenya:
    La nostra Arcidiocesi del Kenya occidentale ha ampliato gli edifici della sua scuola/orfanotrofio e ha quasi finito il nuovo edificio della cattedrale di Bungoma. I nostri cristiani locali lavorano sodo per portare a termine questo compito. Grazie a tutti voi per il vostro amore e il vostro lavoro!

    India:
    Stiamo ricevendo nuove richieste da parte di ex sacerdoti romani nella nostra arcidiocesi dell'India. 

    Preghiere speciali per tutti i nostri cristiani in Africa che soffrono e sono perseguitati dalla guerra, dalla carestia e dall'odio!

    Ultimo: come da nuove richieste di nuovi membri della nostra Chiesa, un promemoria per le nostre Celebrazioni Eucaristiche nei diversi Riti Cattolici e Ortodossi:

    Nelle nostre preghiere liturgiche ecumeniche all'interno dell'Eucaristia, dove commemoriamo i vivi nella Chiesa, diciamo sempre, 

    "Preghiamo per il Vescovo di Roma, Papa Francesco, per il Patriarca orientale, Bartolomeo, per la Comunione Anglicana, l'Arcivescovo Justin, per il nostro Primate Ecumenico, l'Arcivescovo Karl,... (che è seguito dalla menzione del vostro vescovo locale dell'ECCC) e del vostro popolo che avete convocato qui davanti a voi nella fede, e riunite tutti i vostri figli nel mondo intero".
     
    Grazie!




  •  
August 5th, Saint Afra, A. D. 2020


(Please share with all your people! Por favor compartir con toda su gente!)

Peace to you, Sisters and Brothers in Christ!

Hope you are all doing well in this time of the pandemic. It does give us time of reflection and soul searching.
My prayer life has increased. God is leading in all.

I wanted to share with you a survey that I already too. As you know we are also consultors of the CCRI (Catholic Church Reform International) that has members of Roman Catholic Church and other Christian denominations as well.

The Reform issues that are shown the ones we have also in our Manifesto from 1999. 
Please answer the survey, it would be a great help to foster the reforms within the Roman Church and the desire of so many Catholics to see a new Face of the Church.




Thank you.

ECCC NEWS

India:
I wanted also to welcome a New Congregation of Sisters in India who are joining our New Order of St. Francis, NOSF. Special thanks to our Nuncio for Asia, Archbishop Dr. Sunny Alappat who is guiding them and also will be their Superior as the Metropolitan Archbishop of India. 

Italy/Cuba
We also congratulate Fr. Adalberto from Cuba who was ordained by our Archbishop Agostino Caro in Licata, Italy. 

USA
We also welcome Fr. Frank Souza who is joining our worldwide Communion. He currently lives in Pennsylvania.

With my prayers for you all
Be blessed in our Good Lord
And stay safe in these trying times.

Yours
+Karl






Peace to you all,

Hope you are all doing well.

Sending you my greetings and best wishes for this 3rd sunday of Easter.
In these trying times, please keep staying at home and be safe. We hear now that many young people are also having problems with the covid19 virus, from strokes to blood clotting, etc.

I want to also reassure you -contrary to some extremist evangelical preachers out there- that God is not an ally of misery and evil. 
The Pandemic has nothing to do with God's wrath for Humanity!

We have our free will, and morally speaking nature has a certain freedom as well, different from ours though.
God wants healing among us and to restore our existence with health, Love and Peace.

I want to share with you an excerpt from a sermon of a Franciscan Priest, Fr. Cantalamessa (the house chaplain of the Pope), it is a little long, but I hope you take the time to read it, it is very helpful to understand a little of what is going on right now with the pandemic:

"The cross is better understood by its effects than by its causes. And what were the effects of Christ’s death? Being justified through faith in him, being reconciled and at peace with God, and being filled with the hope of eternal life! (see Rom 53:1-5).

But there is one effect that the current situation can help us to grasp in particular. The cross of Christ has changed the meaning of pain and human suffering—of every kind of suffering, physical and moral. It is no longer punishment, a curse. It was redeemed at its root when the Son of God took it upon himself. What is the surest proof that the drink someone offers you is not poisoned? It is if that person drinks from the same cup before you do. This is what God has done: on the cross he drank, in front of the whole world, the cup of pain down to its dregs. This is how he showed us it is not poisoned, but that there is a pearl at the bottom of this chalice.

And not only the pain of those who have faith, but of every human pain. He died for all human beings: “And when I am lifted up from the earth,” he said, “I will draw everyone to myself” (Jn 12:32).

Everyone, not just some! St. John Paul II wrote from his hospital bed after his attempted assassination, “To suffer means to become particularly susceptible, particularly open to the working of the salvific powers of God, offered to humanity in Christ.” Thanks to the cross of Christ, suffering has also become in its own way a kind of “universal sacrament of salvation” for the human race.

What light does all of this shed on the dramatic situation that the world is going through now? Here too we need to look at the effects more than at the causes—not just the negative ones we hear about every day in heart-wrenching reports but also the positive ones that only a more careful observation can help us grasp.

The pandemic of Coronavirus has abruptly roused us from the greatest danger individuals and humanity have always been susceptible to: the delusion of omnipotence. 
A Jewish rabbi has written that we have the opportunity to celebrate a very special paschal exodus this year, that “from the exile of consciousness”. It took merely the smallest and most formless element of nature, a virus, to remind us that we are mortal, that military power and technology are not sufficient to save us. As a psalm says, “In his prime, man does not understand. He is like the beasts—they perish” (Ps 49:21). How true that is!
While he was painting frescoes in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the artist James Thornhill became so excited at a certain point about his fresco that he stepped back to see it better and was unaware he was about to fall over the edge of the scaffolding. A horrified assistant understood that crying out to him would have only hastened the disaster. Without thinking twice, he dipped a brush in paint and hurled it at the middle of the fresco. The master, appalled, sprang forward. His work was damaged, but he was saved.

God does this with us sometimes: he disrupts our projects and our calm to save us from the abyss we don’t see. But we need to be careful not to be deceived. God is not the one who hurled the brush at the sparkling fresco of our technological society. God is our ally, not the ally of the virus! He himself says in the Bible, “I have . . . plans for your welfare and not for woe” (Jer 29:11). If these scourges were punishments of God, it would not be explained why they strike equally good and bad, and why the poor usually bring the worst consequences of them. Are they more sinners than others?

No! The one who cried one day for Lazarus' death cries today for the scourge that has fallen on humanity. Yes, God "suffers", like every father and like every mother. When we will find out this one day, we will be ashamed of all the accusations we made against him in life. God participates in our pain to overcome it. "Being supremely good” - wrote St. Augustine - “God would not allow any evil in his works, unless in his omnipotence and goodness, he is able to bring forth good out of evil.”[4]

Did God the Father possibly desire the death of his Son in order to draw good out of it? No, he simply permitted human freedom to take its course, making it serve, however, his own purposes and not those of human beings. This is also the case for natural disasters like earthquakes and plagues. He does not bring them about. He has given nature a kind of freedom as well, qualitatively different of course than that of human beings, but still a form of freedom—freedom to evolve according to its own laws of development. He did not create a world as a programmed clock whose movements could all be anticipated. It is what some call “chance” but the Bible calls instead “the wisdom of God.”

The other positive fruit of the present health crisis is the feeling of solidarity. When, in human memory, have the people of all nations ever felt themselves so united, so equal, so less in conflict than at this moment of pain? Never so much as now have we experienced the truth of the words of a great Italian poet: “Peace, you peoples! Too deep is the mystery of the prostrate earth.” Giovanni Pascoli.

The virus knows no borders. In an instant it has broken down all the barriers and distinctions of race, nation, religion, wealth, and power. We should not revert to that prior time when this moment has passed. As the Holy Father has exhorted us, we should not waste this opportunity. Let us not allow so much pain, so many deaths, and so much heroic engagement on the part of health workers to have been in vain. Returning to the way things were is the “recession” of which we should have the most fear.

The word of God tells us the first thing we should do at times like these is to cry out to God. He himself is the one who puts on people’s lips the words to cry out to him, at times harsh words and almost of accusation: “Awake! Why do you sleep, O Lord? / Rise up! Do not reject us forever! . . . Rise up, help us! / Redeem us in your mercy” (Ps 44, 24, 27). “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mk 4:38).

Does God perhaps like to be petitioned so that he can grant his benefits? Can our prayer perhaps make God change his plans? No, but there are things, St. Matthew explains, that God has decided to grant us as the fruit both of his grace and of our prayer, almost as though sharing with his creatures the credit for the benefit received. God is the one who prompts us to do it: “Seek and you will find,” Jesus said; “knock and the door will be opened to you” (Mt 7:7).

When the Israelites were bitten by poisonous serpents in the desert, God commanded Moses to lift up a serpent of bronze on a pole, and whoever looked at it would not die. Jesus appropriated this symbol to himself when he told Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-15). We too at this moment have been bitten by an invisible, poisonous “serpent.” Let us gaze upon the one who was “lifted up” for us on the cross. Let us adore him on behalf of ourselves and of the whole human race. The one who looks on him with faith does not die. And if that person dies, it will be to enter eternal life.

"After three days I will rise", Jesus had foretold (cf. Mt 9:31). We too, after these days that we hope will be short, shall rise and come out of the tombs our homes have become. Not however to return to the former life like Lazarus, but to a new life, like Jesus. A more fraternal, more human, more Christian life!"

Be all blessed
+Karl







Easter , A. D. 2020

(Please share with all your people! Por favor compartir con toda su gente!)

Alleluja, Alleluja, Christus resurrexit vere. 

The Peace of the Risen Christ be with you all, dear brothers and sisters in the service of the Lord, and all our beloved faithful around the World, 
wishing you all a blessed and joyous Easter!

    God has entered the world in His beloved Son, taking on and sharing our humanity while not leaving His Divinity. He walked among us as the living Word, preaching the Good News, suffering for us in unspeakable agony and humiliation, torture and cruel death in order to bring Salvation for us. He rose triumphantly from the dead, and sent us the Holy Spirit who groans within us in our earthly suffering as we joyful await His coming in Glory facing our own resurrection through Him.

    Easter is the feast that unites Heaven and Earth, the spiritual world and the earthly world. Easter is the moment that turns doubts into a manifestation of faith, showing that we cannot live by earthly evidence only, but by a spiritual awakening that shows that we are a New Creation in God. 
    Easter is the Feast of the New and Everlasting Covenant that God has given us. It can never be reversed as it is God's sworn promise, sealed with His Son's own blood. Therefore this once and for all given Sacrifice established the new and everlasting Priesthood that has replaced the old priestly order and of a royal people that are freed from sin, sharing His Kingdom.
    Easter is our response in faith to a spiritual reality that seeks God first in all our  wanting and doing. 
    Easter is the beginning of a new life in this world reminding us that we are stuarts of God's creation and not dominators and destroyers of it. 
    The three pictures you see on top of the letter shall remind us that Jesus is always near in our suffering, and with the empty tomb we have the chance to rethink our ways of life, including our ways of how to see mother Nature, not to exploit it in our selfish, self absorbed and greed driven ways...We need to respect Creation more than ever, including the the dignity and respect to the animal world. 
    We have again reached a cross road for humanity as we face deadly deseases that affect the whole world. We keep wondering how to survive in all of this as we face the devastating consequences. We are compelled to see our life in a new way, to correct so many of our bad decisions...
    How important is it that we see in this Easter Message of the Risen Lord, "Peace be with you, my Peace I leave you, and My Peace I give you" a message that is based on Love, a call to a new world in which we care and serve each other in Love and Peace. 
    How devastating is it when we face daily lies that control our world! I mentioned in one of the bulletins for Lent that we live in a post-truth era: entire nations are being misled, misinformed, and betrayed by ideological forces that make us believe in an alternative reality causing more suffering, showing disregard for the environment, in the end leading to a self-destructive behavior of humanity. One of the causes: An egocentric and self absorbed person with a narcissistic behavior that is driven by a self-made truth and reality. This person will do everything to dominate and to suppress the sincere desire for a deeper truth. This person will attack the facts, deny the evidence, mislead, confuse entire people, a constant liar in order to support its self-serving purpose...Such behavior evidently has demonic and evil roots. Only by the Grace of God can we as faithful see through it, not to follow blindly such a selfish person. And yet, many follow such a person as proven over and over in the history of humanity. 
    The Resurrection of Christ with its divine presence among us encourages all people to face their demons, to awaken the Goodness within us, and to look towards new horizons in order to be a better human race that prays in the Holy Spirit to renew the Earth in a true Sisterhood and Brotherhood. 
    For many of us around the world this Easter is so different. For the first time in our lives we are confined to our rooms, and sometimes frightened of what will happen next...
    It reminds me on the disciples after the crucifixion hiding in a room out of fear for the forces that can kill them...(As we say there is light at the end of the dark tunnel). It needed the presence of the Lord to remind them that they shall not be afraid, and that they had a task to fulfill to preach the Gospel and to be witnesses of the resurrection. He is alive, was the new message! He is not among the dead, but the living. We shall rise with Him! Here on earth we shall rise once again for the sake of the Gospel of the risen Lord to find ways to walk in a new togetherness toward the Kingdom. The current confinements give us an opportunity to reflect and find better ways and means for a humanity that cares for all, where the rich share with the poor, where we see more clearer that we are all together in this, not just a few privileged, where we rethink our behavior towards God and His creation so that future Generations can still live the dream of a dignified and caring life. One of our elderly homeless to whom I brought food over the past weeks has inspired me in so many ways as he wrote me with such a sincere heart words of faith and encouragement. He found in our church a place that gave him dignity and respect, a place where he could live the remaining years of his life in a loving church community. 
    Easter is our Hope for our own resurrection. We share this hope with each other being assured in our faith that this current situation will pass, that our Life is not defined by death, but by God's enduring Love that has conquered death. 

I wish you all from the bottom of my heart a Blessed and Joyous Easter !
May you all have the courage of faith to live toward a better future and care for each other as Christ cared for us giving us the promise that we are not left behind like orphans, but that we are called to be followers of this New Covenant of a holy people reconciled with God.

 With my prayers and apostolic benedictions until we shall see us again,
Yours
+Karl
Ecumenical Primate

ECCC NEWS

Russia:
On March 11th, A. D. 2020, the day of Saints Fina of San Gimignano and Euthymius II of Novgorod, We signed the Tomos with The Apostolic Orthodox Church of Russia represented by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Moscow and Primate, His Grace, Vitaliy Kujevatov. We welcome wholeheartedly our brothers and sisters in to our worldwide Church Communion. I wanted to give special thanks to our Nuncio for Eastern and Northern Europe, H. E. Archbishop ++Hristo Pissarov for his tireless work to have made this happen by the Grace of God!

Over the past years, we have signed 2 Tomos and 2 Concordats of Full Union with 4 Orthodox churches of the East: The Orthodox Church of Bulgaria, Ukraine, and two Russian Orthodox Churches. 
May God bless our work toward Unity in diversity. 

Hungary:
We welcome our new brother for the NOSF, Rev. Akos Konya, his wife and two sons into our Church. He serves as Hospital Chaplain in Hungary. May you all be blessed! 

India:
We welcome our new priests in India Fr. Philip Peter Lopez, Fr. Johnson Tomas!  Blessings to the ordination of Rev. Shinto. This brings the number of Priests for our beloved Church in India to 15. 
Thanks to our good archbishop and Nuncio for Asia, ++Dr. Sunny Alappat who works tirelessly.  

USA:
We welcome Fr. Frank Souza from the Orthodox Church who was referred to me by my good friend, H. E. Archbishop Mar Melchisedek.

Synod: Due to the Covid19 Pandemic, our Nuncio for Asia and I have decided to postpone the Synod to 2021. 
That means all other synods will follow a year later as well.



Cathedral of St. Anthony Communique Reducing the spread of infection: Clergy and congregation 

 You should always practice good hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene. Hand hygiene and respiratory hygiene are a series of actions to take which are designed to reduce the spread of disease, including COVID-19, to yourself and others. These actions include regular handwashing and covering your mouth and nose with a tissue or the bend of your elbow when you cough or sneeze.

Hand hygiene: Wash your hands regularly. You should wash your hands: after coughing or sneezing before, during and after you prepare food before eating after using the toilet before and after caring for sick individuals when hands are dirty after handling animals or animal waste Wash your hands with soap and running water when hands are visibly dirty. If your hands are not visibly dirty, wash them with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand rub. Respiratory hygiene: Cover your mouth and nose with a clean tissue when you cough and sneeze and then promptly dispose of the tissue in a bin and wash your hands. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into the bend of your elbow instead, not into your hands. Posters on preventing spread of infection are available on the HPSC website. Settings where religious services take place, including churches, should take the following actions

Religious leaders/clergy and congregation not to attend if they are ill. Supply tissues and alcohol based hand gel at religious services/gatherings. Provide bins for disposal of tissues at religious gatherings. Ensure hand-washing facilities, including soap and disposable towels, are well maintained. Ensure all hard surfaces that are frequently touched, such as door handles, hand rails, taps and pews are cleaned regularly with a household detergent. Have a plan for how the church will continue or suspend its activities in the event of religious leaders/clergy becoming ill with COVID-19. Religious leader/clergy administrations to sick laity should be carefully managed

Physical interaction during religious services, e.g. Sign of Peace

Most physical interaction during religious services, e.g. shaking hands while exchanging the ‘Sign of Peace’ in Christian religious services, involves a low risk of spreading the virus especially if members of the congregation who are unwell do not attend religious services while they are ill. However, because COVID-19 is a new disease that has not been seen in people before, we need to exercise extreme caution to limit the spread of the virus. Current information suggests that COVID-19 can spread easily between people and could be spread from an infected person even before they develop any symptoms. For these reasons we suggest that physical interaction during religious services, including the Sign of Peace, should be suspended. For Christian religious services, the priest may choose to give the congregation permission to carry out an alternative Sign of Peace that does not involve hand contact (such as smile/ nod/ bow) if so wished. The practice of shaking hands on greeting and departure at religious services/ gatherings should be suspended for both religious leaders/clergy and laity.

Communion Using communal vessels for food and drink during religious services, e.g. drinking from the Chalice during Holy Communion in Christian services To minimise the risk of spread of infection, the use of communal vessels should be suspended. For example, during Holy Communion in Christian religious services only the celebrant should drink from the Chalice. No one else should drink from the Chalice – this includes other priests, ministers of the Eucharist and members of the congregation. Alternatives to direct sharing of the Chalice should also be AVOIDED including: 1.Intinction, i.e.:  the Communion wafer is dipped in the Chalice and administered into the hand or the Communion wafer is administered into the communicant’s hand and they dip it into the Chalice. 2.Distribution of Communion wine through individual small cups Everyone administering Holy Communion should wash their hands or use alcohol based hand gel before beginning. Holy Communion should be administered into the hands only and NOT onto the tongue

Thank you, Health and Blessings +Archbishop Dr. Karl Rodig





March 4th, Saint Casimir, A. D. 2020

Peace, and greetings, dear brothers and sisters in the service of the Lord, and all our beloved faithful in this Holy Season of Lent!

    Hope you are all doing well, and that you all had a good start with the Lenten Season. 
I wanted to share with you the letter for Quaresma in several languages from our Nuncio for Western Europe, Archbishop Agostino de Caro in Italy which you can read followed after the ECCC NEWS.
    May you all enjoy the journey toward the Holy Feast of the Resurrection, bringing us closer to   the Kingdom of Heaven. 
ECCC Church News:

India:
Kerala:
Announcement of the Asian Synod: Second Week of November, 2020 in Mumbai.
Preparations are on the way. We are also planing the consecration for the 2nd bishop for India to help in the pastoral needs of the country at the Synod. 
Special Thanks to our Nuncio for Asia, Archbishop ++Dr. Sunny and his clergy and laity who work tirelessly for the growth of our Church in India.
We welcome also to the Church of India two New Priests:
Fr. Philip Peter Lopez and Fr. Johnson Thomas, and the ordination of Rev. Dn Shinto in April, 2020. 
With the Metropolitan Archdiocese of India we have so far one Metropolitan Archbishop and 15 priests. Congratulations for your growth. Thank you for your dedication to our Work of Christ in this World!

Africa:
Kenya:
Our Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kenya under the leadership of Archbishop and Nuncio for Africa, ++Godfrey Siundu is growing is building the new Cathedral in Bungoma, Western Kenya, it can seat 1,000 people. An unbroken faith, hard work and dedication to our Church made it possible. The Orphanage and school in Kitale has been expanding. Archbishop Siundu also received bishop John Kamiri and is working with him to reopen our diocese in Nairobi.

Cameroon:
We have elevated our Archbishop from Yaounde, ++Jan de la Resurrection to lead to the office of Metropolitan Archbishop to lead the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cameroon.

Bishop elect +Didier from the Order of the Companions of St. Augustin is preparing for his consecration being held in Kenya with Archbishop Godfrey as the main celebrant. We have elevated his Religous Order to a Prelature in order to serve the missions under his auspicious. We wish him, his clergy and all the faithful God's richest blessings.

Nigeria:
Our new bishop in Congo, +Celestine O. Ewerum is growing his diocese in the Delta Region. God speed, good brother.

Europe:

Italy: The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Italy, under the Leadership of our Nuncio for Western Europe, Archbishop ++Agostino is expanding.

France: Fr. Gabriel has been incardinated into our worldwide ECCC. He will be our first priest in France! Welcome and all the blessings in your service for the Lord.
We are also communicating with a Bishop in France who wants to join our Worldwide Church Communion.

Ukraine:
Our Vicar General, Fr. Yuri is fostering our ecumenical relations with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church in the Ukraine. He is attending symposiums and attending ecumenical services among the main stream churches. The mutual respect between the churches shows growth in Unity.

Latin America:


Costa Rica:
I want to thank our Nuncio for Latin America, Archbishop ++Sebastian Pla for his tireless work with the clergy of our Church, and new members who like to join us which requires a lot of diligent. 

Mexico:
Our bishop in Mexico has become of the years an important advocate for the rights of the indigenous in various area in Mexico. In dialog with our Nuncio for Latin America in Costa Rica and our Holy See in the USA, he is preparing his 2nd meeting with the Roman Catholic Nuncio for Mexico to further more cordial relations.

Panama:
It is with great joy to announce: We have elevated Panama to a Diocese under the tireless work of Bishop +Julian Castillo! 
Thank you to our Nuncio, Archbishop ++Sebastian Pla for Latin America who is instrumental in all of this. Many blessings on this new Journey!

 Plans for the Continental Synods are: Updated June 2020

Asia: 2021

Europe, including Russia and Ukraine 2022  

Africa 2022

Latin America 2023

I wanted to thank each one of you in our Worldwide Church Communion of the ECCC for your ministry. Many of you work quietly and with a dedicated heart in the vineyard of the Lord! 

May you all be blessed 
Remaining your humble servant
+Karl


¡Paz y saludos, queridos hermanos y hermanas en el servicio del Señor, y todos nuestros amados fieles en esta Temporada Santa de Cuaresma!

    Espero que todos estén bien y que hayan tenido un buen comienzo con la temporada de Cuaresma.
Quería compartir con ustedes la carta para Quaresma en varios idiomas de nuestro Nuncio para Europa Occidental, el Arzobispo Agostino de Caro en Italia, que pueden leer después de las NOTICIAS DEL ECCC.
    Que todos disfruten el viaje hacia la Santa Fiesta de la Resurrección, acercándonos al Reino de los Cielos.

Noticias de la Iglesia ECCC:

India:
Kerala:
Anuncio del Sínodo asiático en la segunda semana de noviembre de 2020 en Mumbai.
Los preparativos están en camino. También estamos planeando la consagración para que el segundo obispo de la India ayude en las necesidades pastorales del país. Un agradecimiento especial a nuestro Nuncio para Asia, Arzobispo ++ Dr. Sunny y su clero y laicos que trabajan incansablemente para el crecimiento de nuestra Iglesia en la India.

También damos la bienvenida a la Iglesia de la India a dos nuevos sacerdotes:
El p. Philip Peter Lopez y el p. Johnson Thomas, y la ordenación del reverendo Dn Shinto en abril de 2020.

Con la Arquidiócesis Metropolitana de India tenemos hasta ahora un Arzobispo Metropolitano y 15 sacerdotes. Enhorabuena por tu crecimiento.


África:
Kenia:
Nuestra Arquidiócesis Metropolitana de Kenia bajo el liderazgo del Arzobispo y Nuncio para África, ++ Godfrey Siundu está creciendo y está construyendo la nueva Catedral en Bungoma, Kenia occidental, con capacidad para 1,000 personas. La fe inquebrantable, el trabajo duro y la dedicación a nuestra Iglesia lo hicieron posible. El orfanato y la escuela en Kitale se han expandido. El arzobispo Siundu también recibió al obispo John Kamiri y está trabajando con él para reabrir nuestra diócesis en Nairobi.

Camerún:
Hemos elevado a nuestro Arzobispo de Yaounde, ++ Jan de la Resurrection para dirigirlo a la oficina del Arzobispo Metropolitano para dirigir la Arquidiócesis Metropolitana de Camerún.

El obispo electo + Didier de la Orden de los Compañeros de San Agustín se está preparando para su consagración en Kenia con el Arzobispo Godfrey como celebrante principal. Hemos elevado su Orden Religiosa a una Prelatura para servir a las misiones bajo su auspicioso. Le deseamos a él, su clero y todas las bendiciones más ricas de Dios.

Nigeria:
Nuestro nuevo obispo en el Congo, + Celestine O. Ewerum está creciendo su diócesis.

Europa:

Italia: la Arquidiócesis Metropolitana de Italia, bajo el liderazgo de nuestro Nuncio para Europa Occidental, el Arzobispo ++ Agostino se está expandiendo.

Francia: p. Gabriel ha sido incardinado en nuestro ECCC mundial. ¡Será nuestro primer sacerdote en Francia! Bienvenido y todas las bendiciones en tu servicio al Señor.
También nos estamos comunicando con un Obispo en Francia que quiere unirse a nuestra Comunión Mundial de la Iglesia.

Ucrania:
Nuestro Vicario general, p. Yuri está fomentando nuestras relaciones ecuménicas con la Iglesia ortodoxa ucraniana y la Iglesia luterana en Ucrania. Asiste a simposios y asiste a servicios ecuménicos entre las principales iglesias de la corriente. El respeto mutuo entre las iglesias muestra crecimiento en la Unidad.


America latina:
Costa Rica:
Quiero agradecer a nuestro Nuncio para América Latina, al Arzobispo ++ Sebastian Pla por su trabajo incansable con el clero de nuestra Iglesia, y a los nuevos miembros a quienes les gusta unirse a nosotros, lo que requiere mucha diligencia.

Mexico
Nuestro obispo en México se ha convertido con los años en un importante defensor de los derechos de los indígenas en varias áreas de México. En diálogo con nuestro Nuncio para América Latina en Costa Rica y nuestra Santa Sede en los Estados Unidos, está preparando su segunda reunión con el Nuncio Católico Romano para México para promover relaciones más cordiales.

Panamá:
Es una gran alegría anunciar: ¡Hemos elevado a Panamá a una diócesis bajo el trabajo incansable de Bishop + Julian Castillo!
Gracias a nuestro Nuncio, Arzobispo ++ Sebastian Pla para América Latina que es instrumental en todo esto. ¡Muchas bendiciones en este nuevo viaje!

 Los planes para los Sínodos continentales son:

Asia: 2021

Europa, incluidas Rusia y Ucrania 2022

África 2022

América Latina 2023

Quería agradecer a cada uno de ustedes en nuestra Comunión Mundial de Iglesias del ECCC por su ministerio. ¡Muchos de ustedes trabajan en silencio y con un corazón dedicado en la viña del Señor!
Que todos sean bendecidos

Quedando tu humilde servidor
+ Karl
Quería agradecer a cada uno de ustedes en nuestra Comunión de la Iglesia Mundial



From Archbishop Agostino de Caro in Italy

ENGLISH

"A Church in walk in the school of the Crucified Christ"

Message on the occasion of the Lent 2020

My beloved, peace and good.     

     In undertaking once again the path that the Lord proposes to us for our growth in faith and love, my humble message reaches you so that together we can go to the desert, the place where we must be one, the angels of the others; to then immerse ourselves with courage and determination in the mystery of the passion and death of our Lord in anticipation of the descent of the Holy Spirit.     

     Therefore, I would like to invite you to experience the path from Lent to Pentecost as a deeply unique time in the desert, like an image of our daily deserts that invites us to penetrate the presence of evil that makes the Innocent victims; it teaches us also to understand the mystery of forgiveness and of love and as we are called by name, we experience peace and the promises through the Comforter.

     A time of extraordinary intensity awaits us, very unique; it must be lived fully in personal and common prayer, in the liturgy, in real and active charity.

     Lent is a way that leads us from slavery to freedom, from sadness to joy, from death to life, from selfishness to love and opens our hearts to wider and more wonderful horizons because, through the breath of the Spirit, which is life, God saves us from the life which often tries to put out the flame of our faith, or to erase every little glimmer of hope that is able to diminish our works of charity.      

      Lent is the gift that God gives us of a new opportunity to start again!                                        

     The questions we ask ourselves then are: what to do? Where to start? We must start from Christ, the new Adam. Only in Christ and with his grace can we live our Lent as an authentic and flourishing life despite the evil that surrounds us. Unfortunately, we experience daily this evil, this perdition towards which the world seems to be rushing, but we Christians must have the ability to see beyond the darkness knowing that beyond Golgotha ​​there is a heavy overturned stone and an empty tomb.

     It is hope that characterizes our Christian thirst, the Samaritan's own thirst, that certain expectation that is not just a hypothesis but instead the certainty and the promises of God; the certainty that beyond the desert there is a promised land that awaits us. The certainty of a thirst-quenching water: the Holy Spirit.

    This hope does not disappoint and is strengthened through our thirst for true life, for fullness that is founded in Jesus. And so our Lenten journey which is the prototype of the path of our whole life becomes preparation for an intense existence, a full existence, an existence with motivation and enthusiasm: a life with joy.     

     My beloved, sometimes it seems that there is no longer a meaning, we lose the meaning of our life annihilated by the exhaustion of the wind against disappointments, rampant evil, the wickedness that surrounds us and therefore the large stone that seals our sepulchers imprisons us . Unfortunately, we all experience facts, situations that break us down, destroy us, but the Lord always enters with strength, with friendship, with love, in our sepulchers, in our abatement conditions, in our sadness and fears, in our disappointments . If we allow the Lord to dwell in our sufferings, He will enter to free us, to make us go out.

   Even Jesus, before to overturn the stone of the sepulcher, first had to enter dead. So do not be afraid to face daily death; we learn from the style of Jesus who is our "hero" of humility, poverty and simplicity. 

     Walking in the desert with him, and with him we enter the Jerusalem of our life and we will be able to celebrate Easter with Christ. Living his style, you will see that our life will be better.

    So what is the style of Jesus that we must incarnate? "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." So the program is love, a love of which a tangible sign is a body given and blood shed on the cross. He gives himself to us and invites us to do the same, sending us to share his love, with generosity and without fear: "Do this in memory of me" and "so that you too may do as I have done to you". Here is our program: to transmit the love received and experienced by us. Commitment becomes urgent so that love and mercy can prevail without fear.

       We must set out, not only towards the desert, but also running towards the sepulcher, otherwise we will never find it empty and we will never experience the Risen Lord. 

     We must overturn the stone of our sepulcher, we must overturn the boulders that hold our lives in check and seal it, so we experience the deepest hopes and expectations; we must strive to be witnesses of hope in a desperate and fearful world as Jesus did with the disciples of Emmaus.   

   It is not a question, however, of imitating the Lord, as if we were a kind of photocopies; but it is a question of letting ourselves be guided by the Spirit, so that the grace of God may act in us, overcoming our limits and with confidence we have our resistances therefore that, from this continuous intimacy with the Lord and his Word, the joy of life will spring abundantly with fire of the Holy Spirit who will help us to enlighten the world. 

Good journey!

“Chiesa in cammino alla scuola del Cristo Crocifisso”

Messaggio in occasione del tempo di Quaresima 2020

Miei amati figli, pace e bene.

     Nell’intraprendere ancora una volta il cammino che il Signore ci propone per la nostra crescita nella fede e nell’amore, vi giunga questo mio umile messaggio affinchè insieme si possa andare incontro al deserto, luogo in cui dobbiamo essere gli uni, gli angeli degli altri; per poi immergerci con coraggio e determinazione nel mistero della passione e morte di nostro Signore in previsione della discesa dello Spirito Santo.

     Desidero dunque invitarvi a vivere il percorso dalla Quaresima alla Pentecoste come un tempo profondamente unitario che dal deserto, immagine dei nostri deserti quotidiani, ci spinge a penetrare il mistero del male che rende l’Innocente vittima che ci insegna a comprendere il mistero del perdono e dell’amore e che, chiamandoci per nome, ci dona la pace e ci promette il Consolatore.

     Ci attende un tempo di straordinaria intensità, unico; che va vissuto in pienezza nella preghiera personale e comune, nella liturgia, nella carità reale e fattiva.

     La Quaresima è una via, la via che ci conduce dalla schiavitù alla libertà, dalla tristezza alla gioia, dalla morte alla vita, dall’egoismo all’amore e ci spalanca i cuori ad orizzonti più ampi e meravigliosi poiché, attraverso il soffio dello Spirito, che è vita, Dio ci salva da questa vita che spesso tenta di spegnere la fiamma della nostra fede o di cancellare ogni piccolo barlume di speranza e in fine, uccide la nostra carità.

     La Quaresima è il dono che Dio ci fa di una nuova opportunità di ricominciare!

     Le domande che ci poniamo allora sono: cosa fare? Da dove cominciare?Bisogna ripartire da Cristo, uomo nuovo, nuovo Adamo. Solamente in Cristo e con la sua grazia possiamo vivere la nostra Quaresima come un’autentica rifioritura nonostante il male che ci circonda. Purtroppo facciamo  quotidianamente esperienza di questo male, di questa perdizione verso cui il mondo sembra correre speditamente, ma noi cristiani dobbiamo avere la capacità di vedere oltre le tenebre sapendo che aldilà del Golgota c’è una pesante pietra ribaltata e un sepolcro vuoto.

     E’ la speranza a caratterizzare la nostra sete cristiana, la stessa sete della Samaritana, quella attesa certa che non è un’ipotesi e che è invece certezza nelle promesse di Dio; la certezza che aldilà del deserto c’è una terra promessa che ci attende. La certezza di un’acqua che disseta: lo Spirito Santo.

     Questa speranza non delude e si rafforza attraverso la nostra sete di vita vera, di pienezza che si fonda su Gesù. E così il nostro cammino quaresimale che è prototipo del cammino di tutta la nostra vita diventa preparazione ad una esistenza intensa, una esistenza piena, una esistenza con motivazioni ed entusiasmo: una vita con gioia.

    Miei amati, a volte sembra che non ci sia più un senso, perdiamo il senso della nostra vita annientati dallo sfinimento del vento contrario delle delusioni, del male dilagante, della cattiveria che ci circonda e quindi la grossa pietra che sigilla i nostri sepolcri ci imprigiona. Tutti, purtroppo facciamo esperienza di fatti, di situazioni che ci abbattono, ci distruggono, ma sempre il Signore entra con forza, con amicizia, con amore, nei nostri sepolcri, nelle nostre condizioni di abbattimento, nelle nostre tristezze e paure, nelle nostre delusioni. Se permetteremo al Signore di abitare le nostre sofferenze, Egli  entrerà per liberarci, per farci uscire.

     Anche Gesù, per ribaltare la pietra del sepolcro, ha dovuto prima entrarvi morto, quindi non abbiate paura di affrontare la morte quotidiana e impariamo dallo stile di Gesù che è il nostro “eroe” di umiltà, di povertà e di semplicità.

     Camminando nel deserto con Lui, con Lui entriamo nella Gerusalemme della nostra vita e potremo fare Pasqua con Cristo. Vivendo il suo stile, vedrete che la  nostra vita sarà migliore.

   Quale è allora lo stile di Gesù che dobbiamo incarnare? ”Avendo amato i suoi che erano nel mondo, li amò sino alla fine.” Quindi il programma è l’amore, un amore del quale segno tangibile è un corpo donato e il sangue versato sulla croce. Egli si dona a noi e ci invita a fare altrettanto, ci inviata a donarci con amore, con generosità e senza paure: “Fate questo in memoria di me” e “perché anche voi facciate come io ho fatto a voi”. Ecco il nostro programma: trasmettere l’amore ricevuto e di cui abbiamo fatto esperienza. Impegnarci diventa urgente per far prevalere l’amore e la misericordia senza più paure.

   Bisogna mettersi in cammino, non solo verso il deserto, ma anche di corsa verso il sepolcro, altrimenti non lo troveremo mai vuoto e non faremo mai esperienza del Risorto.

     Dobbiamo ribaltare la pietra del nostro sepolcro, dobbiamo rovesciare i macigni che tengono a scacco le nostre esistenze e sigillano, fino a renderle sterili, le speranze e le attese più profonde; dobbiamo sforzarci di essere testimoni della speranza in un mondo disperato e pieno di paure come fece Gesù con i discepoli di Emmaus.

     Non si tratta però, di imitare il Signore, come fossimo una specie di fotocopie; ma si tratta di lasciarci guidare dallo Spirito, perché la grazia di Dio agisca in noi, superando i nostri limiti e le nostre resistenze sicuri e fiduciosi dunque che, da questa continua intimità con il Signore e la sua Parola, scaturirà la gioia di una vita abbondante infiammata dallo Spirito Santo che ci farà illuminare il mondo.

Buon cammino!                                                                                   

Español

"Iglesia en camino a la escuela del Cristo crucificado"

Mensaje con motivo de la Cuaresma 2020

Mis amados hijos, paz y bien.     

     Al emprender una vez más el camino que el Señor nos propone para nuestro crecimiento en la fe y el amor, mi humilde mensaje los alcanza para que juntos podamos ir al desierto, el lugar donde debemos ser uno, los ángeles de los otros para luego sumergirnos en coraje y determinación en el misterio de la pasión y muerte de nuestro Señor en anticipación del descenso del Espíritu Santo.     

    Por lo tanto, me gustaría invitarlos a experimentar el camino de la Cuaresma a Pentecostés como un tiempo profundamente unitario que desde el desierto, imagen de nuestros desiertos diarios, nos empuja a penetrar en el misterio del mal que hace que la víctima inocente que nos enseña a comprender el misterio del perdón y de amor y que, al llamarnos por nuestro nombre, nos da paz y nos promete el Consolador.     

   Nos espera un tiempo de extraordinaria intensidad, único; que debe vivirse plenamente en la oración personal y común, en la liturgia, en la caridad real y activa.  

    La Cuaresma es un camino, el camino que nos lleva de la esclavitud a la libertad, de la tristeza a la alegría, de la muerte a la vida, del egoísmo al amor y abre nuestros corazones a horizontes más amplios y maravillosos porque, a través del aliento del Espíritu, que es la vida, Dios nos salva de esta vida que a menudo trata de apagar la llama de nuestra fe o de borrar cada pequeño destello de esperanza y al final, mata nuestra caridad.

      ¡La Cuaresma es el regalo que Dios nos da de una nueva oportunidad para comenzar de nuevo!

     Las preguntas que nos hacemos son: ¿qué hacer? ¿Dónde comenzar? Debemos comenzar desde Cristo, el nuevo hombre, el nuevo Adám. Solo en Cristo y con su gracia podemos vivir nuestra Cuaresma como un auténtico florecimiento a pesar del mal que nos rodea. Desafortunadamente, experimentamos diariamente este mal, esta perdición hacia la cual el mundo parece correr rápidamente, pero los cristianos debemos tener la capacidad de ver más allá de la oscuridad sabiendo que más allá del Gólgota hay una piedra volcada y una tumba vacía.   

   Es la esperanza que caracteriza nuestra sed cristiana, la propia sed del la samaritana, esa cierta expectativa que no es una hipótesis y que, en cambio, es certeza en las promesas de Dios; La certeza de que más allá del desierto hay una tierra prometida que nos espera. La certeza de un agua que calma la sed: el Espíritu Santo.      

     Esta esperanza no decepciona y se fortalece a través de nuestra sed por la vida verdadera, por la plenitud que se funda en Jesús. Y así, nuestro viaje cuaresmal, que es el prototipo del camino de toda nuestra vida, se convierte en preparación para una existencia intensa, una existencia plena, Una existencia con motivación y entusiasmo: una vida con alegría.

     Mis amados, a veces parece que ya no tiene sentido, perdemos el sentido de nuestra vida aniquilada por el agotamiento del viento contra las decepciones, el mal desenfrenado, la maldad que nos rodea y, por lo tanto, la gran piedra que sella nuestros sepulcros nos aprisiona.     

    Desafortunadamente, todos experimentamos hechos, situaciones que nos rompen, nos destruyen, pero el Señor siempre entra con fuerza, con amistad, con amor, en nuestros sepulcros, en nuestras condiciones de abatimiento, en nuestras tristezas y miedos, en nuestras decepciones. 

   Si permitimos que el Señor more en nuestros sufrimientos, Él entrará para liberarnos, para hacernos salir.

     Incluso Jesús, para volcar la piedra del sepulcro, primero tuvo que entrar muerto, así que no tenga miedo de enfrentar la muerte diaria y aprendemos del estilo de Jesús, que es nuestro "héroe" de la humildad, la pobreza y la simplicidad.

     Caminando en el desierto con él, con él entramos en la Jerusalén de nuestra vida y podremos hacer la Pascua con Cristo. Viviendo su estilo, verás que nuestra vida será mejor.

   Entonces, ¿cuál es el estilo de Jesús que debemos encarnar? "Habiendo amado a los suyos que estaban en el mundo, los amó hasta el final". Entonces, el programa es amor, un amor cuyo signo tangible es un cuerpo donado y la sangre derramada en la cruz. Se entrega a nosotros y nos invita a hacer lo mismo, nos envía a darnos con amor, con generosidad y sin miedo: "Haz esto en memoria mía" y "para que tú también puedas hacer lo que yo te he hecho a ti". Aquí está nuestro programa: transmitir el amor recibido y experimentado por nosotros. El compromiso se vuelve urgente para que el amor y la misericordia prevalezcan sin temor.

     Debemos partir, no solo hacia el desierto, sino también hacia el sepulcro, de lo contrario nunca lo encontraremos vacío y nunca experimentamos al Resucitado.

     Debemos volcar la piedra de nuestro sepulcro, debemos volcar las rocas que mantienen nuestras vidas bajo control y sellar, hasta que estén estériles, las esperanzas y expectativas más profundas; debemos esforzarnos por ser testigos de la esperanza en un mundo desesperado y temeroso como lo hizo Jesús con los discípulos de Emaús.

     Sin embargo, no se trata de imitar al Señor como si fuéramos una especie de fotocopias; pero es una cuestión de dejarnos guiar por el Espíritu, para que la gracia de Dios pueda actuar en nosotros, superando nuestros límites y nuestras resistencias seguras y confiadas, por lo tanto, de esta intimidad continua con el Señor y su Palabra, brotará la alegría de una vida. abundante inflamado por el Espíritu Santo que nos hará iluminar el mundo.

¡Que tengan un buen viaje!

Deutsch

"Kirche auf dem Weg in der Schule des gekreuzigten Christus"

Botschaft anlässlich der Fastenzeit 2020

Meine geliebten, Frieden und Gutes.

     Wenn ich noch einmal den Weg beschreite, den der Herr uns für unser Wachstum im Glauben und in der Liebe vorschlägt, erreicht mich meine demütige Botschaft, dass wir gemeinsam in die Wüste gehen können, and dem Ort, an dem wir eins sein müssen mit dem Engel; um dann mit Mut und Entschlossenheit in das Geheimnis des Leidens und des Todes unseres Herrn einzutauchen, in Erwartung der Herabkunft des Heiligen Geistes.

     Deshalb möchte ich Euch einladen, den Weg von der Fastenzeit bis zu Pfingsten als eine zutiefst einheitliche Zeit zu erleben, die uns aus der Wüste, dem Bild unserer täglichen Wüsten, dazu drängt, in das Geheimnis des Bösen einzudringen, das das unschuldige Opfer macht, das uns lehrt, das Geheimnis der Vergebung zu verstehen in der Liebe, die uns beim Namen nennt, uns Frieden gibt und uns den Tröster verspricht.

     Eine Zeit von außerordentlicher Intensität erwartet uns, einzigartig; die Zeit vollständig im persönlichen und gemeinsamen Gebet, in der Liturgie, und gelebt in aktiver Nächstenliebe.

     Die Fastenzeit ist ein Weg, der uns von der Sklaverei zur Freiheit, von der Traurigkeit zur Freude, vom Tod zum Leben, von der Selbstsucht zur Liebe führt und unser Herz für weitere und wundervollere Horizonte öffnet, da durch den Atem des Heiligen Geistes Gott uns rettet vor dem Leben, das oft versucht, die Flamme unseres Glaubens zu löschen oder jeden kleinen Hoffnungsschimmer aufzugeben, und am Ende unsere Nächstenliebe verwandelt.

Die Fastenzeit ist das Geschenk, das Gott uns eine neue Gelegenheit gibt, wieder von vorne zu beginnen!

     Die Fragen, die wir uns dann stellen, sind: Was tun? Wo soll ich anfangen? Wir müssen von Christus ausgehen, dem neuen Menschen, dem neuen Adam. Nur in Christus und mit seiner Gnade können wir unsere Fastenzeit als authentisches Gedeihen trotz des Bösen leben, das uns umgibt. Leider erleben wir täglich dieses Böse, dieses Verderben, auf das die Welt zuzustürmen scheint, aber wir Christen müssen die Fähigkeit haben über die Dunkelheit hinaus zu sehen und zu wissen, dass es hinter Golgatha einen schweren umgestürzten Stein und ein leeres Grab gibt.

     Es ist die Hoffnung, die unseren christlichen Durst kennzeichnet, den eigenen Durst des Samariters, diese bestimmte Erwartung, die keine Hypothese ist und die stattdessen Gewissheit in den Verheißungen Gottes ist; die Gewissheit, dass jenseits der Wüste ein gelobtes Land auf uns wartet. Die Gewissheit eines durstlöschenden Wassers: der Heilige Geist.

     Diese Hoffnung enttäuscht nicht und wird durch unseren Durst nach wahrem Leben, nach Fülle, die auf Jesus beruht, gestärkt. So wird unsere Fastenzeit, die der Prototyp des Weges unseres ganzen Lebens ist, zur Vorbereitung auf eine intensive Existenz, eine vollständige Existenz, eine Existenz mit Motivation und Begeisterung: ein Leben mit Freude.

Meine Geliebten, manchmal scheint es, dass wir den Sinn unseres Lebens verlieren, durch die Erschöpfung von Enttäuschungen, das grassierende Böse und Schlechtigkeit, die uns umgibt, und daher der große Stein, der unsere Gräber versiegelt, vernichtet wird. Leider erleben wir alle diese Tatsachen und Situationen der Zerstörung, aber der Herr tritt immer mit Kraft, Freundschaft, Liebe, in unseren Gräbern ein, in unsere Minderungsbedingungen, in unserer Traurigkeiten und unseren Ängsten, und unsere Enttäuschungen. Wenn wir dem Herrn erlauben, in unseren Leiden zu wohnen, wird er eintreten, um uns zu befreien.

     Sogar Jesus, um den Stein des Grabes umzuwerfen, musste zuerst den Tod erfahren. Hab also keine Angst vor dem täglichen Tod, da wir aus dem Stil Jesu lernen, der unser "Held" der Demut, Armut und Einfachheit ist.

     Wenn wir mit ihm in der Wüste wandeln, betreten wir mit ihm das Jerusalem unseres Lebens und können Ostern mit Christus feiern. Wenn du seinen Stil lebst, wirst Du sehen, dass Dein Leben besser wird.

   Was ist also der Stil Jesu, den wir erfahren dürfen? "Nachdem er seine eigenen geliebt hatte, die auf der Welt waren, liebte er sie bis zum Ende." Das Programm ist also Liebe, eine Liebe, von der ein greifbares Zeichen ein geopferter Körper mit dem Blut am Kreuz vergossen. Er gibt sich uns hin und lädt uns ein, dasselbe zu tun, sandte uns, um uns mit Liebe, Großzügigkeit und ohne Angst zu geben: "Tu dies in Erinnerung an mich" und "damit auch du tun kannst, was ich dir getan habe". Hier ist unser Programm: die von uns empfangene und erlebte Liebe zu übermitteln. Das Engagement wird dringend erforderlich, damit Liebe und Barmherzigkeit ohne Angst herrschen.

Wir müssen uns auf den Weg machen, nicht nur in Richtung Wüste, sondern auch in Richtung Grab, sonst werden wir es niemals leer finden und den Auferstandenen niemals erleben.

     Wir müssen den Stein unseres Grabes umkippen, wir müssen die Felsbrocken umkippen, die unser Leben in Schach halten und versiegeln, damit die tiefsten Hoffnungen und Erwartungen lebendig werden; Wir müssen uns bemühen, Zeugen der Hoffnung in einer verzweifelten und ängstlichen Welt zu sein, wie es Jesus mit den Jüngern von Emmaus getan hat.

     Es geht jedoch nicht darum, den Herrn nachzuahmen, als wären wir eine Art Fotokopie von ihm. Es geht darum, uns vom Geist leiten zu lassen, damit die Gnade Gottes in uns wirken kann und unsere Grenzen und unseren selbstbewussten Widerstand überwinden kann, damit aus dieser ständigen Vertrautheit mit dem Herrn und seinem Wort die Freude eines Lebens entspringt, reichlich entzündet vom Heiligen Geist, der uns die Welt erleuchten lässt.

Gute Reise!

FRANCAISE

"Eglise en route vers l'école du Christ crucifié"

Message à l'occasion du temps du Carême 2020

Mes bien-aimés, paix et bien.     

     En entreprenant à nouveau le chemin que le Seigneur nous propose pour notre croissance dans la foi et l'amour, mon humble message vous parvient pour qu'ensemble nous puissions aller dans le désert, le lieu où nous devons être un, les anges de la autres ; nous plonger ensuite avec courage et détermination dans le mystère de la passion et de la mort de notre Seigneur en prévision de la descente du Saint-Esprit.    

  Je voudrais donc vous inviter à vivre le chemin du Carême à la Pentecôte comme un temps profondément unitaire qui, du désert, image de nos déserts quotidiens, nous pousse à pénétrer le mystère du mal qui fait la victime Innocente qui nous apprend à comprendre le mystère du pardon et d'amour et qui, en nous appelant par son nom, nous donne la paix et nous promet le Consolateur.

Un temps d'une intensité extraordinaire nous attend, unique; qui doit être vécue pleinement dans la prière personnelle et commune, dans la liturgie, dans la charité réelle et active.    

  Le Carême est un chemin, le chemin qui nous conduit de l'esclavage à la liberté, de la tristesse à la joie, de la mort à la vie, de l'égoïsme à l'amour et ouvre nos cœurs à des horizons plus vastes et plus merveilleux car, à travers le souffle de l'Esprit , qui est la vie, Dieu nous sauve de cette vie qui essaie souvent d'éteindre la flamme de notre foi ou d'effacer chaque petite lueur d'espoir et au final, elle tue notre charité.    

  Le Carême est le don que Dieu nous donne d'une nouvelle occasion de recommencer!

    Les questions que nous nous posons alors sont: que faire? Par où commencer? Nous devons partir de Christ, le nouvel homme, le nouvel Adam. Ce n'est qu'en Christ et avec sa grâce que nous pouvons vivre notre Carême comme un authentique épanouissement malgré le mal qui nous entoure. Malheureusement, nous vivons quotidiennement ce mal, cette perdition vers laquelle le monde semble se précipiter, mais nous chrétiens devons avoir la capacité de voir au-delà des ténèbres sachant qu'au-delà du Golgotha ​​il y a une lourde pierre renversée et un tombeau vide. 

     C'est l'espérance qui caractérise notre soif chrétienne, la soif propre du Samaritain, cette attente certaine qui n'est pas une hypothèse et qui est plutôt une certitude dans les promesses de Dieu; la certitude qu'au-delà du désert il y a une terre promise qui nous attend. La certitude d'une eau désaltérante: le Saint-Esprit.

      Cette espérance ne déçoit pas et se renforce à travers notre soif de vraie vie, de plénitude fondée sur Jésus. Ainsi notre voyage de Carême qui est le prototype du chemin de toute notre vie devient préparation à une existence intense, une pleine existence, une existence avec motivation et enthousiasme: une vie avec joie. 

    Mon bien-aimé, parfois il semble qu'il n'y ait plus de sens, nous perdons le sens de notre vie anéanti par l'épuisement du vent contre les déceptions, le mal rampant, la méchanceté qui nous entoure et donc la grosse pierre qui scelle nos sépulcres nous emprisonne . Malheureusement, nous vivons tous des faits, des situations qui nous anéantissent, nous détruisent, mais le Seigneur entre toujours avec force, avec amitié, avec amour, dans nos sépulcres, dans nos conditions de réduction, dans notre tristesse et nos peurs, dans nos déceptions . Si nous permettons au Seigneur d'habiter dans nos souffrances, il entrera pour nous libérer, pour nous faire sortir.

      Même Jésus, pour renverser la pierre du sépulcre, devait d'abord y entrer mort, alors n'ayez pas peur de faire face à la mort quotidienne et nous apprenons du style de Jésus qui est notre «héros» d'humilité, de pauvreté et de simplicité.      En marchant dans le désert avec lui, avec lui nous entrons dans la Jérusalem de notre vie et nous pourrons faire Pâques avec Christ. En vivant son style, vous verrez que notre vie sera meilleure.

Alors, quel est le style de Jésus que nous devons incarner? "Ayant aimé les siens qui étaient dans le monde, il les a aimés jusqu'à la fin." Le programme est donc l'amour, un amour dont un signe tangible est un corps donné et le sang versé sur la croix. Il se donne à nous et nous invite à faire de même, il nous envoie pour nous donner avec amour, avec générosité et sans crainte: "Faites ceci en mémoire de moi" et "afin que vous aussi puissiez faire ce que je vous ai fait". Voici notre programme: transmettre l'amour reçu et vécu par nous. L'engagement devient urgent de faire prévaloir l'amour et la miséricorde sans crainte.

     Nous devons partir, non seulement vers le désert, mais aussi en courant vers le sépulcre, sinon nous ne le trouverons jamais vide et nous ne connaîtrons jamais le Ressuscité.

     Nous devons renverser la pierre de notre sépulcre, nous devons renverser les rochers qui maintiennent nos vies en échec et scellés, jusqu'à ce qu'ils soient stériles, les espoirs et les attentes les plus profonds; nous devons nous efforcer d'être des témoins d'espérance dans un monde désespéré et effrayant comme Jésus l'a fait avec les disciples d'Emmaüs.

     Il ne s'agit cependant pas d'imiter le Seigneur, comme si nous étions une sorte de photocopies; mais il s'agit de se laisser guider par l'Esprit, afin que la grâce de Dieu agisse en nous, dépassant nos limites et nos résistances confiantes et confiantes donc que de cette intimité continue avec le Seigneur et sa Parole jaillisse la joie de vivre abondante enflammée par le Saint-Esprit qui nous fera illuminer le monde.

Bon voyage!

† AGOSTINO DE CARO

VESCOVO