The Holy Name of Jesus

We are a Free Catholic Church in the heart of Ozarks Mountain Country, while rooted in sacramental tradition we are independent and not affiliated with the Roman Catholic church. We are Interfaith, as in truly non-denominational welcoming anyone who wants to experience and share in the Joy and Love of God’s Grace. We believe in the true teachings of Jesus Christ, the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and Apostolic Tradition. Perhaps you have been searching for a small fellowship where you, your talents, and gifts are appreciated or perhaps you have been searching for something more spiritual, a form of worship that is only possible in a small group setting where you know everyone. Whatever the case may be, perhaps our fellowship is what you are looking for, so why not give us a try? You’ll never know if we are the answer to your questions unless you try by attending service. We celebrate the Mass of the holy Eucharistic each Sunday at 11:00 A.M. For more information or service schedules, call Bishop Ed Crabtree 417-598-9096.

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On the 21^st day of April in the year of Our Lord 2010, the most Reverend Francis John Sahuque, Archbishop of the Holy Name Of Jesus Anglo Catholic Communion, in a Pontifical Rite, did Consecrate W. Edward Crabtree as a Bishop, with other clergy and visitors present.  On the insistence of Bishop Sahuque, the newly made Bishop as his first act, did ordain Deacon Ann Crabtree as a Priest.  Bishop Crabtree and Mother Ann did then concelebrate the Mass of the Holy Eucharist as Bishop and Priest as well as husband and wife.  A meal was served following Mass, the food and good fellowship was enjoyed by all. [photo -  left to right: ++Francis Sahuque, Mother Claire Sahuque, Mother Ann Crabtree, and +Ed Crabtree]

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Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

A blessed Easter to you all.

In Old Testament times, the priest would bring bulls, goats or a spotless lamb without any blemishes to be sacrificed as a sin offering for himself and for the people. The blood would purify and make atonement (forgive, make amends) for their sins. This was the old order of atonement. When Jesus came, He was a representation of the sacrificial lamb to take away the sins of the world. He was the final sacrifice. We no longer have to sacrifice animals to make atonement for our sins. Jesus has done this once and for all. It’s His blood that cleanses us from all sin. He was crucified on the cross (the form of execution in those days). The sin of the world was upon Him, yet He was without sin and blameless. He bore it all. This is why Jesus is referred to as the ‘Lamb of God’. He was bodily resurrected (came back to life) on the third day. He appeared to many – eating and drinking with them. He appeared to them for 40 days, then ascended (went up to) Heaven. 31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

The King on a Cross

32 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. 33 And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, 34 they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. 35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

“ They divided My garments among them,And for My clothing they cast lots.”

36 Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. 37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. 39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.

Jesus Dies on the Cross

45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” 48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. 49 The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.

He was bodily resurrected (came back to life) on the third day. He appeared to many – eating and drinking with them. He appeared to them for 40 days, then ascended into Heaven.

Matthew 28

He Is Risen

1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” 8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

The Women Worship the Risen Lord

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

The Soldiers Are Bribed

11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

The Great Commission

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

I am with you always…

I pray that all of you and your families have a blessed Easter full of love for each other and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

*Bible excerpts taken from the KJV

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Jesus is in Galilee, on the shore of the lake of Gennesaret, that is, the Sea of Galilee. He teaches the people who are gathered there and who are captivated by the discourse they heard. The people pressed upon Jesus to hear the word of God. For what Jesus says inflames spirits and hearts, it fills the mind with many thoughts and with ever more numerous unanswered questions… Jesus proclaims eternal Life, that Life which belongs to the heavenly Father; the Holy Spirit, as his mission, is to bring that Life to germination and make it bear fruit in the souls of the men and women of all time!

And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which were Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

This is where Saint Luke situates the meeting of Jesus and Simon Peter, a meeting that, according to the evangelist, seems to be the first of its kind. In fact, another evangelist, Saint John, who wrote his Gospel after Saint Luke did, left us the testimony of the very first meeting between the Master and he who was to change his name and henceforth be called Peter, or Cephas, in Aramaic: One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). (Jn. 1:40-42)

This first meeting between Jesus and Peter remained quite unknown and was more or less secret, for it was a completely private conversation, about which, in any case, we shall never know anything except for the word Jesus had spoken to Simon: “You shall be called Cephas.” (Jn. 1:42)

Everything that Christ himself and Simon Peter said on that occasion remains, and will forever remain their secret. It was like a preparation for the great Work they were both going to do for the salvation of the world, a work done by Christ as a divine Rock, and Simon as a human Rock.

Today, Jesus finds Simon and Andrew cleaning or repairing their fishing nets. Wanting to leave the shore, Jesus gets into Simon and Andrew’s boat, and asks them to move a short distance away from the shore in order that he might thus be able to teach the crowd assembled before him. There is no doubt that Simon Peter is very attentive! He does not want to miss any of this discourse; moreover, he now has a front-row seat!

For, ever since the day when Jesus gave him his new name “Cephas”, Simon never stops asking himself questions, such as: “What does this mean for me? Why would a fisher of fish be given such a name?” etc…

And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets. “

Simon is truly dismayed… He expected to hear a beautiful discourse addressed solely to him, sublime words on the new Life the Master proclaims so well, words so impassioned and so convincing, and instead he is asked to go fishing once again… Truly, what a paradox! But Simon has already understood something: Jesus is the Master, and Simon is the pupil, the disciple, he who must obey the commands of the Lord. For Simon is not to do his own work, but rather to collaborate in the Work of God: he must help the Master and do the Master’s Will and not his own.

This is something he is always ready to do, no matter what the cost. And he will keep his promise, even though, before receiving the “power from on high” (Lk. 24:49) on the day of Pentecost, he did deny his Master, due to weakness and presumption…

To Simon, Jesus’ command is truly surprising. Not only does Jesus not address spiritual words to Simon, but he gives him a command which goes against all he knows as a fisherman: Simon knows perfectly well that if he did not catch anything during the entire night, he will not catch anything now that the sun is up either… Truly, this is the summit of obedience! Jesus asks Simon to give up absolutely everything in order to do his will, the will of the Master of all things. But Simon received from Jesus a special grace and favor, that of his new name, which for him is already a power from on high… And Simon will cast the nets on the Lord’s command: “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

Here is obedience being rewarded! It is commonly said that obedience produces miracles! So then can we say that Simon Peter was the author of this miraculous fishing? No, certainly not; but Simon Peter was truly there for a reason… Was it not necessary for someone to cast the net, in order for someone else to fill it with fish? It is clear that Simon Peter collaborated in the Work of the Lord Jesus. This is truly the role and the mission of Peter. The Lord Jesus wanted to perform this miracle – the miraculous catch of fish – in order for Simon Peter to finally understand what he, the Master, expected from his disciple. It was necessary for Simon to be carrying out his own trade, his human work, in order that, through it, based on this foundation he understood perfectly, he might truly grasp all that the Lord Jesus expected from him. The proof of this is Simon Peter’s reaction to this miracle.

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

Simon Peter and his companions are truly terrified, terrified by their unworthiness as sinners who, through a simple motion – throwing their nets – a motion that they have undoubtedly done hundreds and thousands of times, contributed in this way to the realization of a miracle that surpasses them in the kindness and mercy directed to them which it signifies. Jesus, the Master, who is there with them, has just testified to his endless, boundless love for them, for those sinners… Truly, they are terrified by the motion which they have dared to do, on the Lord’s command…

And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Jesus reassures Simon in particular:  Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.”  From a fisher of fish, Peter becomes a fisher of men! What a noble mission! But it is also an intimidating one. For men and women cannot be treated like fish… So Jesus makes a point of reassuring Simon Peter: “Do not be afraid…”  Is it not fear that paralyzes us and stops us from accomplishing marvelous things? For we who live in the twenty-first century are also, with Peter, with the Lord Jesus, called to be fishers of men. So may fear not be our counselor!

Like Simon Peter and the other disciples, let us follow the Lord Jesus! Let us be guided by the Spirit! Let us place our trust in our heavenly Mother, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary: who else could teach us faith and obedience to the words of her Divine Son?

Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

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Jesus is in Nazareth, his hometown, and he preaches in the synagogue. What the Lord is saying truly strikes his listeners, so much so that they are very surprised at the discourse given by someone they had once known and who, now, appears to them as another man, a man unlike any other, a man who surpasses all others, for, in fact, he is at once God and man: “They wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.”

Jesus is God and man, and he who does not yet know this is surprised by the action – a mysterious action – which is effected when he hears him speak. Jesus is the very Word of God, the Son of the Father begotten from all eternity in the Holy Spirit, and thus Jesus is, as God, the very author of grace, which is the divine creation that allows a rational creature to enter into communion with the Creator. When the man Jesus speaks, the words he pronounces serve to communicate to his listeners the grace of which he is the author: he thus pronounces “gracious words”.

“They said, Is not this Joseph’s son? And he said to them, Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Physician, heal yourself”; what we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here also in your own country.”

The grace of God is almighty, and the words of grace that Jesus speaks to the inhabitants of his village truly have the power to convince everyone of this astounding fact: Jesus, one of their own, is not only man, but also, and first, God. However, a man, any man or woman, remains free with respect to the almighty grace of God: this is the Mystery of Love, this is the very Mystery of God! Now, Jesus knew in advance that the inhabitants of Nazareth would reject him, as Saint John wrote, speaking in a general manner: “He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.” (Jn. 1:11)

This is why Jesus does not intend to perform any miracles in order to try to prove his divinity: a miracle is an exemption from the laws of nature, and God does not produce miracles in vain, for what he has created is good and perfect in itself, even if man and sin have corrupted this initial creation. Thus, Jesus will not perform the same miracles in Nazareth that he had in Capernaum. But there is more. Jesus, from the very start of his preaching, seems, to some extent, to want to leave aside his people, the Jewish People, in order to give a certain preference to the people of the pagan nations. This is what the continuation of his discourse leads us to think…

“But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

The Son of God came to earth and took on flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary in order to save all men. But who has the greatest need for salvation? Is it not those who do not yet have any link to God, the True, the Only? The Jewish People had been elected by God to be his People: already, the fact of being Jewish established in them a certain link to God, a link of the corporeal order. Furthermore, he who was not Jewish lacked this link. But when the Son of God came to earth, he brought with him grace, a created divine good, which was capable of establishing between God and any man or woman a link of the spiritual order. “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (Jn. 1:17)

In fact, the grace of God is destined for both the Jews and the pagan Nations. The first disciples of Christ, the Apostles, were all Jews. Jesus did not want to reject his People, but rather he wanted grace to dominate in them, he wanted the corporeal link they had with God to be dominated by a link of a higher order, a spiritual one, that of grace. If Elijah was sent to a widow of Zarephath, if Elisha cured Naaman the Syrian, it was to announce the coming of the long-hoped-for grace: that of the Messiah in person! Israel was being led by the Lord to understand that, from now on, spiritual grace was to dominate all that was corporeal in them.

“When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But passing through the midst of them he went away.”

“Alas!” Three times “Alas!” The inhabitants of Nazareth did not want the grace of God… Their conversion was not to take place at that time… And what about us, today? How would we react? Would we be ready to welcome the grace of God which would help us to detach ourselves from worldly goods, and especially from ourselves? Of course, we have already taken a few steps in this direction, but don’t all the material things in our life count for too much in our sight? When the grace of God is offered to us, let us seize it! Let us fear that the grace of God may pass us by, never to return … ever!

Let us ask the Most Holy Virgin Mary to lift up our spirit to the realities of heaven. May the Lord grant us his grace in order that we might grow in all the virtues, especially in those of faith, hope, and charity. The grace of God is almighty: in it lies OUR HOPE!

Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

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In order to fulfill the law of Christ, in the true way it was meant to be, praying for each other, worshiping together, going out and teaching the word of God to all creatures, is not easy work. But who told us that it would be?

When Archbishop Francis approached me about assisting him in building up a new communion I admittedly didn’t answer right away. I took a deep breath and thought to myself, “Do I really want to do this after all the turmoil that has happened in the past?” So I prayed. Archbishop Francis can tell you that this is something that I do not take lightly. I pray a lot. I ask our Lord for guidance all of the time. I take this very seriously.

I prayed and prayed and then I prayed some more. But the only thing that kept running through my mind…the only answer I could seem to be getting was that I had been consecrated a Bishop. I had accepted the responsibilities handed down through the Apostolic Succession. Whatever challenge presented, whatever mountain placed in the way, whatever evil that Satan through at me could never compare to the suffering that my Lord experienced for me…for us…to forgive us all of our sins. So then the answer to my Brother and dear friend was very easy. Yes. Yes I would be honored to help in any way I could be of use.

So now we are working toward building up our new communion. We have a fantastic and wonderful opportunity here to build something that we can all be proud to be a part of. We have a clean slate – tabula rasa – a clean, sound and strong foundation to build this communion on.  But we have our work cut out for us.

Why? Because with all that is happening within the religious world people are afraid. They are scared to become a part of something, especially if it is unknown to them. But that’s human nature. We are all afraid of something…especially if we don’t know or understand it. This is something that we will all have to work together to overcome and to show our brothers and sisters in Christ that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. But what’s the first step? What can we do to get the word out there? In my opinion we can simply start by Spreading the Word of our new communion. Of its existence, it’s location on the World Wide Web (http://hnjacc.com) and what we stand for. We need to re-insure our brethren that it is OK to belong to a religious group…that they can find a home with us…that we are unified in our work to pray for and bear each others burdens.

We need to Spread the Word to our family, our friends, our co-workers and anyone that we know who needs a home and family to pray with, break bread with and someone to care about them.

We have an opportunity to build and be a part of something great. It’s not going to be easy…but as the old saying goes “…nothing ever worth anything ever is.”

So the first thing we need to do is –

Spread the Word

Acts 6:7 “The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.”

The second thing we need to do is –

Spread the Word

Take notice how Jesus’ disciples followed him throughout his ministry and they all had a different point of view yet at the same time leading to God’s message. Their story varied a little bit, but when you read all their stories, you’ll discover that one story will help you to better understand the other.

The third thing we need to do is –

Spread the Word

Unity arises out of the love of God in Jesus Christ; this binds us to one another. It is the earnest desire of this communion that all members are bound closer to Christ and therefore closer to one another. In the bond of His love, we will desire continually to pray for one another and to strengthen one another, in worship and in witness, bearing one another’s burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ.

And finally my fellow followers of Christ we must –

Spread the Word

There have been many who have come before us. Some have been successful. Some have failed miserably. We have the golden opportunity to do it right and do it the way that our Lord wants it to be done. All of our labors and sufferings, all of our successes and failures,  and everything in between is done for and in the glory of God and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I pray for our continued unity and success.

In Jesus and Mary,

+Patrick, ODF

Vicar General

Questions and Comments should be forwarded to Bishop Patrick at bishop.patrick@hnjacc.com – Thank you.

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Our Lady of the Rosary Anglo-Catholic Church & Pro-Cathedral (http://olracc.com) – Professing one Faith, one Lord, and one Baptism, Our Lady of the Rosary Church is an Anglo-Catholic church of the people of God redeemed by Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Strengthened by Prayer, the Sacraments, and the Word, we seek to know Jesus Christ fully, to serve Him faithfully, and to experience the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Through the stewardship of our clergy we strive to minister to the spiritual and material needs of all God’s Children. Empowered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we proclaim the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ and invite everyone to join us in the Kingdom of God where the Justice, Peace, and Joy of Christ abound.

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“On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. “

The episode in the life of Jesus in which he attended the wedding in the village of Cana is well-known. Who hasn’t heard of the miracle of the water changed into wine? Moreover, as Saint John said, it was “the first of his signs.” (Jn. 2:11) But what does this – “the first of his signs” – mean? Was it just a small miracle, done only to see if it would work? A first attempt, not too spectacular, in case it would fail? Not at all! Far from it! To think that one of Jesus’ miracles could fail would be, for the Lord, the greatest of insults!

No, Jesus cannot fail when performing a miracle. It is true that he had not performed any others before, even though certain apocryphal Gospels invented a large quantity of miracles that they claim Jesus performed during his childhood. Before he performed his first miracle, Jesus knew, in the Holy Spirit who favors the communication between the Word of God and Jesus-Man, that this miracle was for him something absolutely possible and realizable: Jesus does not believe it to be so, he knows it!

When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come. “

One can see from the very start that Jesus will not realize this first miracle entirely on his own: Mary, his Mother, intervenes. Of course, it is the divine Power of Jesus the Son of God that will produce the miracle and change water into wine. But this divine Power wants to act in response to prayer: Mary believes that her Son is able to perform a miracle and so she asks him to do so, simply by telling him that the wedding guests did not have any more wine. Thereafter, each time Jesus performs a miracle, the faith and prayer of man will have first invited the Power of God to manifest itself through an exemption from the laws of nature – that is, through a miracle.

Something that has been much cavilled at is the appellation given by Jesus to Mary: “Woman…” Despite all the scriptural interpretations of the word “Woman”, one absolutely must take into account the fact that Mary holds a privileged place, one that is unique, in the History of Salvation. In the light of faith, Mary, who is first the model of the Church, is also, in a certain sense, the entire accomplishment and the fullness of the Body of Christ: as Saint Louis-Mary Grignon of Montfort clearly says, if all of the members of the Mystical Body of Christ live in Christ, with Him, by Him and for Him, then they also live in Mary, with Her, by Her and for Her. Also, as the Church is the mystical Bride of Christ, Mary, as the Church, is also the Bride of Christ, and it is in this sense that Jesus, at the wedding of Cana, refers to Mary as “Woman” rather than “Mother”. Moreover, since husband and wife are one, it is truly in this way that Jesus intends to perform his first miracle: with Mary, his Mother, and not without her!

” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water. ‘ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them,  ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast. ” So they took it. When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him,  ‘Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now. “

In order for Jesus to perform his first miracle, Mary asked her Son to act and she reiterated to him all her faith. But what can Mary do alone? Alone, Mary is but a believer among believers, although she is the first among them. But Mary in union with the rest of the faithful becomes, in a way, the entire Body of Christ, and goes from being the Mother to becoming the Spouse of Christ, in order to work with her Son, to collaborate, through her faith, in the Work of God. It is for this reason that Mary needs our aid. Thus, she says to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you.” And the servants associated themselves to the faith of Mary through their obedience to the commands of Christ. Doesn’t obedience produce miracles?

What strikes the steward of the feast concerning the wine that is presented to him now, towards the end of the meal, is its quality: he finds it better than all the other wine that had been served until then! Truly, the steward of the feast is surprised by this departure from custom: “Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus clearly did not fail the first time he acted as a miracle-worker! The Lord foresaw everything and it was necessary for his first miracle to invite men to a change of life and to conversion: the tradition of men is not the Tradition of God!

” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him. “

This is the first miracle! This is a seed of faith in the soul of the disciples of the Lord! Soon, the Holy Spirit will descend upon the Apostles and disciples. Mary will be there too, in the Cenacle, on that day of the first Pentecost! Mary will have prayed with them in order that the Power of the Almighty, who had already come upon her on the day of the Annunciation, might pour itself upon the disciples of her Son and allow them to perform their own first miracles. Truly, the disciples of the Lord believed in him and came to the aid of Mary so that, by Her and with Her, the Church would be born and see the light of day, in order that it might ceaselessly grow until the fullness of time!

Mary needs each one of us to collaborate in the Work of her Son: let us not hesitate to deeply believe and to pray with perseverance in order for the Kingdom of God to come and for the Glory of the Lord to be poured forth throughout the entire the Universe!

Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

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Loving Father,
I praise you, I love you, I adore you.
Send your Holy Spirit to enlighten my mind
to the truth of your Son, Jesus,
Priest and Victim.
Through the same Spirit guide my heart to his Sacred Heart,
to renew in me a priestly passion
that I, too, might lay down my life upon the altar.
May your Spirit wash away my impurities
and free me from all my transgressions
in the Cup of Salvation,
Let only your will be done in me.
May the Blessed Mother of your dearly beloved Son,
wrap her mantle around me and protect me from all evil.
May she guide me to do whatever He tells me.
May she teach me to have the heart of St. Joseph, her spouse,
to protect and care for my bride.
And may her pierced heart inspire me
to embrace as my own your children
who suffer at the foot of the cross.
I humbly cry to her:
please be my consoling mother,
and help me to be a better son.
Lord, make me a holy priest,
inflamed with the fire of your love, seeking nothing
but your greater glory and the salvation of souls.
I humbly bless and thank you, my Father,
through the Spirit, in Christ Jesus,
your Son and my brother.
Amen.

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The Holy Name of Jesus Anglo-Catholic Communion (HNJACC)

Membership Acknowledgment:

By belonging to the Holy Name of Jesus Anglo-Catholic Communion a church/ministry/person acknowledges its/his/her willingness to identify itself/himself/herself in a visible, sustained and organized way with the goals of the ecumenical movement and the search for deeper fellowship.

Member churches/ministries/persons of the Communion seek-

• to nurture the ability to pray, live, act and grow together in community, dealing with disagreements through theological discussion, prayer and dialogue;
• to take responsibility for one another in a spirit of common faithfulness to the gospel rather than of judgment and exclusion;
• to join in service that extends beyond their own boundaries and to link their own local contexts with the global reality;
• to recognize that they are part of a fellowship that has a voice of its own and thus to give serious consideration to what the Communion says and does on behalf of that fellowship;
• to implement within their own life the agreements reached through joint theological study and reflection by the fellowship as a whole;
• to support one another in times of need and struggle and to celebrate each others joys and hopes;
• to understand the mission of the communion as a joint responsibility that is shared with others, not undertaken in competition with them;
• to enter into a fellowship of worship and prayer with other churches/ministries/persons;
• to take a full part in the life and work of the HNJACC and its activities and to contribute to the resources the Communion needs to carry these out.

All this is summarized in the members recognition of their “common calling” – a dynamic understanding of the HNJACC as a fellowship of pilgrims moving towards the same goal.

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