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In
Festo Sanctae Hyacinthi
(On
the Feast of St. Hyacinth, Confessor)
VII
Augusti A.D. MMIX
On
the Growth of Continuing Anglican Churches
Dearest
Brethren in Christ,
Sometimes
being a Continuing Anglican, an Anglo-Catholic, or a Traditional
Anglican (What's in a name?) can be frustrating. It appears sometimes
to be as if time is standing still for parish growth, while the
trendy, contemporary protestant church down the street that
advertises on television and with colorful billboards is growing by
leaps and bounds. The fact is, though, that the Anglican churches are
growing, albeit slowly.
In
this age of modernism, cheap thrills, and instant gratification,
many have lost the sense of giving. They seek a church and are
attracted to a church, whether catholic or protestant, that provides
them with instant warm fuzzy feelings and drug-like emotional highs.
This, however, is not true religion. It warps the message of the
Church and instills in the people a belief that what they get out of
the service is paramount. What a disservice.
To
thrive in a traditional mass means learning a bit of sophistication.
It means preparation and historical study. It means giving of
yourself every time in the true and living sacrifice on the altar. It
means, in short, doing your homework and being in the proper frame of
mind. This work that the mass requires is certainly more than sitting
in a pew down the street listening to Christian rock music as the
minister shouts out words of praise, getting the congregation worked
up into a frenzy. The rewards for those who choose to do the work and
dedicate themselves truly to Christ and His Church, though, are far
greater. With a bit of work, the worshipper finds that he does indeed
get something out of the mass. So often in life opportunities are
disguised by hard work.
The
Anglican mass is a mass celebrating the beauty of God's world. We
offer the best we have. We have beautiful and colorful appointments
for the eyes to see, to reflect on the beauty of God’s
creations and the grandeur of his Son, our Lord. We have music and
bells for the ears, to reflect on the order in nature brought about
out of chaos. We have incense for the nose, to reflect on the
sweetness of the gift of Christ. Our tongues taste the Precious Body.
Our fingers feel the rosary beads. All the senses are involved in the
greatest prayer known to man, the Holy Mass.
It
is not that we do not change. We are not stuck in the past, but
rather we are stuck in the mass. The mass is not a theatrical
performance ready to change at a moment's notice when the
every-fickle trends of the world change. It is instead a living thing
that evolves like any living thing. Evolutionary, not revolutionary.
The revolutionaries in the church, who seek to ensure the church
keeps up with the times of the secular world, are nothing more than
rebels against the authority of Christ. They seek to bring chaos out
of order and create ugliness where there once was beauty.
Continuing
Anglican parishes, though few and far between in some areas, though
sometimes at odds with each other, are still here and they will
always be here. They are growing, one dedicated Christian at a time.
One by one, each flock shall increase.
Pro
Deo et Maria,
+Rutherford Johnson
Metropolitan
of the Southwest
In Festo
Assumptionis B.M.V.
(On the Feast of
the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
XV Augusti A.D. MMIX
Dearest Brethren
in Christ,
All around us now
are nepharious plans to increase the lack of respect for human life
in the world today, even in the bastion of human rights, the land of
the free, the United States of America. Actions and intended actions
by various government officials to reduce personal freedom seem to be
underway. The issues are far too numerous to discuss in detail here.
However, suffice it to say that a government that fails to safeguard
the rights of the people, both as a society and as individuals, loses
its just authority to govern under God. America is, after all, a
nation under God.
The fact that we
are one nation under God was proclaimed in the Pledge of Allegiance,
recited daily by school children when I was myself a school child.
Now it has been banned in many locations. Even when I was young, I
recall the son of none other than an Army officer refusing to say the
Pledge of Allegiance. Others objected to the “under
God” portion. How sad it is when those who live under the
blanket of freedom of America, their own country, refuse to attribute
that freedom and success to its proper source, the Almighty. I even
heard this evening on the news that a school athletic director is
facing heavy fine and possibly jail time for saying a blessing over a
meal at a school function. What has happened to our society that we
would consider putting a man with a long and distinguished career of
teaching children and serving the community simply for saying a
prayer over food at a dinner?
We have become an
increasingly secular society, forgetting our roots, and feeling as if
we no longer need God. Yet, this goes against the very nature of our
creation and existence. Perhaps this accounts, at least in part, for
the ever-increasing reduction of respect for others, for freedom, and
for individual rights we see in our society today.
Perhaps the most
disturbing thing I have seen recently is the discussion on health
care. I am neither a physician nor an attorney, and so cannot
properly comment on those aspects of the various plans I have heard
about. What I can say, though, is that any system that places
decisions about who needs various medical procedures or who is worthy
of care in the hands of the government, when that government seeks to
make decisions based on what it perceives the needs of society are,
is an affront to the dignity of humans.
Furthermore, it is
dangerous. Who among us would want to see our parents denied medical
care (or forced to pay exorbitant fees for it) just because they are
deemed too old to need such a procedure, or are deemed no longer of
use to society? Can you imagine hearing "Your grandmother is 80
years old, so she does not qualify for a hip replacement because she
probably won't live much longer. So, it isn't worth it to society to
pay for it. She will just have to suffer." Where is the respect
for the individual? Where is the freedom and the choice? This borders
on communism, the anathema of the Christian Faith.
You have all heard
this proclaimed, discussed, and debated in all forms of news media.
There is no need to repeat what you have heard. As a bishop, it is my
duty to counsel the faithful of the nation, and especially the
President and all government officials, to oppose socialized medicine
in any form. This is not a political statement. The Church has the
moral authority to comment on these issues, and further has the duty
to do so.
Let us all pray
for the elected leaders in the United States; especially for the
President, for the Senate, and for the House of Representatives. May
God guide them and soften their hearts, so that they may respect
life, respect individual rights, and respect the freedom upon which
this one nation under God was founded.
Pro Deo et Maria,
+Rutherford Johnson
Metropolitan of
the Southwest
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