http://livingchurch.org/covenant/2017/01/25/evangelical-catholicism-the-ecclesiological-vision-of-archbishop-michael-ramsey-2/?platform=hootsuite
Fr. Troy Beecham
Monday, January 30, 2017
Evangelical Catholicism
http://livingchurch.org/covenant/2017/01/24/evangelical-catholicism-the-ecclesiological-vision-of-archbishop-michael-ramsey/
Fr. Troy Beecham
Fr. Troy Beecham
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Hope for unity
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-christian-unity-cant-happen-if-we-linger-on-problems-of-the-past-15924/
Fr. Troy Beecham
Fr. Troy Beecham
Friday, January 27, 2017
Never again
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/holocaust-calls-us-to-have-respect-for-the-dignity-of-every-person-11534/
Fr. Troy Beecham
Fr. Troy Beecham
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Unity
An image of Christian unity, imperfect though it may yet be...
Grace builds on grace as Archbishop David and Metropolitan Gennadios join Pope Francis not only in physically giving the blessing but in saying the words of the blessing at the end of the Papal Vespers for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
From Pope Francis' homily:
Reconciliation, he said, is a gift from Christ. Prior to any human effort by believers who strive to overcome their divisions, he said, reconciliation is God’s gift given freely to each one of us.
“How do we proclaim this Gospel of reconciliation today after centuries of division?”, the Pope asked. St Paul himself makes clear that reconciliation requires sacrifice and a revolution of our way of living, he said. Just as Jesus laid down his life for us, so we are called to lay down our lives, by living no longer for ourselves and our own interests, but living instead for Christ and in Christ.
Leave behind isolation and self-absorption
For Christians of every confession, the Pope said, this is an invitation not to be caught up with programmes and plans, not to be obsessed with contemporary fashions, but to be focused on the Cross where we can “discover our programme of life”. The Cross invites us to leave behind all isolation and self-absorption which prevents us from seeing how the Holy Spirit is at work outside our familiar surroundings.
Joint Reformation commemorations "a remarkable achievement"
While looking back can be helpful and necessary to purify our memory, the Pope said, being fixated on the past and the memory of wrongs done can paralyze us and prevent us from living in the present. Pope Francis recalled in particular the fact that Catholics and Lutherans are today joining in commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, something he described as “a remarkable achievement”.
Pray, proclaim and serve together
Greeting especially Metropolitan Gennadios, representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Archbishop David Moxon, representing the Anglican Communion, Pope Francis urged all those present to take advantage of every occasion to pray together, to proclaim together and to love and serve together, especially those who are the poorest and most neglected in our midst.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Grace builds on grace as Archbishop David and Metropolitan Gennadios join Pope Francis not only in physically giving the blessing but in saying the words of the blessing at the end of the Papal Vespers for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
From Pope Francis' homily:
Reconciliation, he said, is a gift from Christ. Prior to any human effort by believers who strive to overcome their divisions, he said, reconciliation is God’s gift given freely to each one of us.
“How do we proclaim this Gospel of reconciliation today after centuries of division?”, the Pope asked. St Paul himself makes clear that reconciliation requires sacrifice and a revolution of our way of living, he said. Just as Jesus laid down his life for us, so we are called to lay down our lives, by living no longer for ourselves and our own interests, but living instead for Christ and in Christ.
Leave behind isolation and self-absorption
For Christians of every confession, the Pope said, this is an invitation not to be caught up with programmes and plans, not to be obsessed with contemporary fashions, but to be focused on the Cross where we can “discover our programme of life”. The Cross invites us to leave behind all isolation and self-absorption which prevents us from seeing how the Holy Spirit is at work outside our familiar surroundings.
Joint Reformation commemorations "a remarkable achievement"
While looking back can be helpful and necessary to purify our memory, the Pope said, being fixated on the past and the memory of wrongs done can paralyze us and prevent us from living in the present. Pope Francis recalled in particular the fact that Catholics and Lutherans are today joining in commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, something he described as “a remarkable achievement”.
Pray, proclaim and serve together
Greeting especially Metropolitan Gennadios, representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Archbishop David Moxon, representing the Anglican Communion, Pope Francis urged all those present to take advantage of every occasion to pray together, to proclaim together and to love and serve together, especially those who are the poorest and most neglected in our midst.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Dictatorship of Relativism
Before he was elected pope, Benedict delivered a pivotal sermon calling for the Church to regain a common sense of what is truth, how to understand truth, and the real power of truth.
I have seen quite a bit of chatter about alternate facts being bandied about recently, but the issue goes deeper than partisan politics. This is one of the central, perhaps the central, artifact in Western thought that has become deeply fractured and has resulted in a host of societal and ecclesiastical confusion: what is Truth?
This is the sermon where Benedict coined a phrase: the dictatorship of relativism.
Worth reading, contemplating, and discussing, especially during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
http://www.vatican.va/gpII/documents/homily-pro-eligendo-pontifice_20050418_en.html
Fr. Troy Beecham
I have seen quite a bit of chatter about alternate facts being bandied about recently, but the issue goes deeper than partisan politics. This is one of the central, perhaps the central, artifact in Western thought that has become deeply fractured and has resulted in a host of societal and ecclesiastical confusion: what is Truth?
This is the sermon where Benedict coined a phrase: the dictatorship of relativism.
Worth reading, contemplating, and discussing, especially during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
http://www.vatican.va/gpII/documents/homily-pro-eligendo-pontifice_20050418_en.html
Fr. Troy Beecham
Unity
On this seventh day of Prayer for Christian Unity we pray
Eternal Father,
we praise you for sending your Son
to be one of us and to save us.
Look upon your people with mercy,
for we are divided in so many ways,
and give us the Spirit of Jesus to make us one in love.
We ask this gift, loving Father,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Eternal Father,
we praise you for sending your Son
to be one of us and to save us.
Look upon your people with mercy,
for we are divided in so many ways,
and give us the Spirit of Jesus to make us one in love.
We ask this gift, loving Father,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Monday, January 23, 2017
Unity
On this sixth day in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we pray
God of all, we pray as one, that we may be one, just as the Lord Jesus prayed we may be one in Him. Your son Jesus compels us to be reconciled to one another. May our spirits be joined to your Holy Spirit so that our lives may witness to the visible unity of your Church. May we all recognize that we are truly one with you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and grow together in peace. We as this in the name of Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Fr. Troy Beecham
God of all, we pray as one, that we may be one, just as the Lord Jesus prayed we may be one in Him. Your son Jesus compels us to be reconciled to one another. May our spirits be joined to your Holy Spirit so that our lives may witness to the visible unity of your Church. May we all recognize that we are truly one with you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and grow together in peace. We as this in the name of Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Unity
On this fifth day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we pray
O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace:
give us grace seriously to lay to heart
the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions.
Take away all hatred and prejudice,
and whatever else may hinder us
from godly union and concord;
that, as there is but one body and one Spirit,
one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may henceforth be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Fr. Troy Beecham
O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace:
give us grace seriously to lay to heart
the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions.
Take away all hatred and prejudice,
and whatever else may hinder us
from godly union and concord;
that, as there is but one body and one Spirit,
one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may henceforth be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Unity
On this fourth day in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we pray
Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Friday, January 20, 2017
Unity
On this third day in the week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we continue to pray with our Lord Jesus Christ that we all may be one.
Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior.
Amen.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior.
Amen.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Reconciliation
Pray for a spirit of mercy, compassion, and repentance among all the divided Body of Jesus, the Church.
http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5826/reformation-anniversary-statement-from-the-archbishops-of-canterbury-and-york
Fr. Troy Beecham
http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5826/reformation-anniversary-statement-from-the-archbishops-of-canterbury-and-york
Fr. Troy Beecham
Sunday, January 8, 2017
The Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ
Today, the Church commemorates the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are many reasons why his baptism is important to the life of the world and of the Church. In his baptism, Jesus charts an alternate course and redefines what it means to be the Savior, the Lord.
His cousin, John the Baptist, wanted to present him to the great masses who had come out to be baptized, and to anoint him as the messiah and King of the Jews. John had spent years confronting the power of the Herods and the empire, and expected Jesus to do the same.
Instead, Jesus knelt in the river with the crowds, crowds of faithful Jews, gentiles, outcasts...with the great mix of the human family that he had come to redeem. John tried to prevent it...great kings don't kneel with the lowly masses!
But Jesus insisted. And the heavens were torn open, and the voice of God proclaimed "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
In this, and through the duration of his ministry, Jesus consistently inverted our human expectations about power, our obsession with having the power to compel others to be and do as we desire. He showed us that the power of God is manifested in humility, self-offering, compassion, and love.
We keep on believing that power has to do with the authority to compel others, usually through threat of force or through violence, and that this power will bring us peace, or security, or lead us to utopia. Human history has shown, if nothing else, our ability to deceive ourselves, our ability to believe the great lie, and our willingness to sacrifice others to achieve some proposed good. We have made the world a graveyard with our millennia of empires, kingdoms, political philosophies and movements, and economic philosophies.
Jesus teaches us that it is impossible to return to paradise without God, and that to ascribe to God any association or blessing upon our using power over each other is a lie.
And for this we murdered him.
We want to keep believing that we are able, on our own, despite the witness of history and of current events, that we can achieve paradise if only we can force people to act right, and failing that if we can only eliminate them.
Dear ones, we are unable to redeem ourselves, or to engineer paradise. Jesus refused to take up a sword; he refused to get into a contest of will with the empire. Instead, he dismissed the authority of empires and kings, and set about proclaiming the good news, that God is self-emptying love, and that God will one day restore the human family to paradise; and he asks us each to turn away from our quest for power and to embrace the power of God through lives of compassion, humility, reverence, and self-emptying love.
All of this is set in motion by his baptism, which we remember today. A baptism rather than a coronation. Kneeling with, rather than standing above, the masses, even those who would one day reject him.
How can we do any different?
Fr. Troy Beecham
There are many reasons why his baptism is important to the life of the world and of the Church. In his baptism, Jesus charts an alternate course and redefines what it means to be the Savior, the Lord.
His cousin, John the Baptist, wanted to present him to the great masses who had come out to be baptized, and to anoint him as the messiah and King of the Jews. John had spent years confronting the power of the Herods and the empire, and expected Jesus to do the same.
Instead, Jesus knelt in the river with the crowds, crowds of faithful Jews, gentiles, outcasts...with the great mix of the human family that he had come to redeem. John tried to prevent it...great kings don't kneel with the lowly masses!
But Jesus insisted. And the heavens were torn open, and the voice of God proclaimed "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
In this, and through the duration of his ministry, Jesus consistently inverted our human expectations about power, our obsession with having the power to compel others to be and do as we desire. He showed us that the power of God is manifested in humility, self-offering, compassion, and love.
We keep on believing that power has to do with the authority to compel others, usually through threat of force or through violence, and that this power will bring us peace, or security, or lead us to utopia. Human history has shown, if nothing else, our ability to deceive ourselves, our ability to believe the great lie, and our willingness to sacrifice others to achieve some proposed good. We have made the world a graveyard with our millennia of empires, kingdoms, political philosophies and movements, and economic philosophies.
Jesus teaches us that it is impossible to return to paradise without God, and that to ascribe to God any association or blessing upon our using power over each other is a lie.
And for this we murdered him.
We want to keep believing that we are able, on our own, despite the witness of history and of current events, that we can achieve paradise if only we can force people to act right, and failing that if we can only eliminate them.
Dear ones, we are unable to redeem ourselves, or to engineer paradise. Jesus refused to take up a sword; he refused to get into a contest of will with the empire. Instead, he dismissed the authority of empires and kings, and set about proclaiming the good news, that God is self-emptying love, and that God will one day restore the human family to paradise; and he asks us each to turn away from our quest for power and to embrace the power of God through lives of compassion, humility, reverence, and self-emptying love.
All of this is set in motion by his baptism, which we remember today. A baptism rather than a coronation. Kneeling with, rather than standing above, the masses, even those who would one day reject him.
How can we do any different?
Fr. Troy Beecham
Friday, January 6, 2017
Epiphany
Happy Feast Day of the Epiphany!
Epiphany, meaning "manifestation", is also called the Theophany, the "appearing of God" in the Eastern Churches, and Dia de Reyes, Kings Day, in Latin American and Hispanic cultures. On this day, the Church commemorates the arrival of the magi in Bethlehem to worship God, who has so wondrously become one of us in the the infant Jesus, God incarnate.
In his humanity, Jesus is a Jew, a rabbi, a descendant of David. In eternal faithfulfulness to the covenant made with the Jewish people, God promised to send them a savior, who will also be a light to all nations and peoples.
Born in the most humble circumstances, in an animal pen, with a feeding trough for a crib, God shows us that there is no place so despised or situation so hopeless where his love will not make a home. Adored first by shepherds, God shows us truly that the meek and lowly in heart are nearest to seeing the glory of the Lord. And with the arrival of the magi, God reveals to us that the gift of grace, the invitation to a life of transforming redemption in Jesus, is freely offered to all people, even those whom we might think of as being foreigners, outsiders, or unclean. In the magi, we see that the Gentiles, and that means me, are included in the promise of salvation.
So today, we rejoice and give thanks for the revelation of the astonishing love and amazing grace given to the world by God, who became one of us in Jesus, and who invites all nations and every people to love one another and to live in peace.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Epiphany, meaning "manifestation", is also called the Theophany, the "appearing of God" in the Eastern Churches, and Dia de Reyes, Kings Day, in Latin American and Hispanic cultures. On this day, the Church commemorates the arrival of the magi in Bethlehem to worship God, who has so wondrously become one of us in the the infant Jesus, God incarnate.
In his humanity, Jesus is a Jew, a rabbi, a descendant of David. In eternal faithfulfulness to the covenant made with the Jewish people, God promised to send them a savior, who will also be a light to all nations and peoples.
Born in the most humble circumstances, in an animal pen, with a feeding trough for a crib, God shows us that there is no place so despised or situation so hopeless where his love will not make a home. Adored first by shepherds, God shows us truly that the meek and lowly in heart are nearest to seeing the glory of the Lord. And with the arrival of the magi, God reveals to us that the gift of grace, the invitation to a life of transforming redemption in Jesus, is freely offered to all people, even those whom we might think of as being foreigners, outsiders, or unclean. In the magi, we see that the Gentiles, and that means me, are included in the promise of salvation.
So today, we rejoice and give thanks for the revelation of the astonishing love and amazing grace given to the world by God, who became one of us in Jesus, and who invites all nations and every people to love one another and to live in peace.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Thursday, January 5, 2017
12th Day of Christmas
Happy 12th Day of Christmas!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_iLXNSIaYc
Fr. Troy Beecham
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_iLXNSIaYc
Fr. Troy Beecham
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
11th Day of Christmas
Happy 11th Day of Christmas!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1mItWsC8RtM
Fr. Troy Beecham
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1mItWsC8RtM
Fr. Troy Beecham
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
10th Day of Christmas
Happy 10th Day of Christmas!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WHWqj6gKS9g
Fr. Troy Beecham
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WHWqj6gKS9g
Fr. Troy Beecham
Monday, January 2, 2017
9th Day of Christmas
Happy 9th Day of Christmas!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yxDZjg_Igoc
Fr. Troy Beecham
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yxDZjg_Igoc
Fr. Troy Beecham
Sunday, January 1, 2017
8th Day of Christmas
Happy 8th Day of Christmas!
Today the Church also observes the solemnity of the Holy Name of Jesus, the feast of the naming of the child Jesus; as recounted in the Gospel read on that day, "at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb."
The faithful are called to contemplate again this wondrous mystery: that the one who called the galaxies, stars, and worlds into being, and gave each a name, loved us so much that he became vulnerable to us, entrusted himself to us as an infant, and allowed us to give him a name.
So today we call upon the Incarnate holy child, the Prince of Peace, to came among us again, to bring peace to our confused, lost, yet ultimately loved human family, and call us each by our true name: beloved, redeemed, holy, child of God.
Fr. Troy Beecham
Today the Church also observes the solemnity of the Holy Name of Jesus, the feast of the naming of the child Jesus; as recounted in the Gospel read on that day, "at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb."
The faithful are called to contemplate again this wondrous mystery: that the one who called the galaxies, stars, and worlds into being, and gave each a name, loved us so much that he became vulnerable to us, entrusted himself to us as an infant, and allowed us to give him a name.
So today we call upon the Incarnate holy child, the Prince of Peace, to came among us again, to bring peace to our confused, lost, yet ultimately loved human family, and call us each by our true name: beloved, redeemed, holy, child of God.
Fr. Troy Beecham
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