The sacrifice of Rejoicing

– A Homily for Gaudete Sunday (Advent III)

Today , the 3rd Sunday in Advent, is also known as ‘Gaudete Sunday’ from the Latin for ‘rejoice.’ Its the one Sunday in Advent, a time of prayer reflection, similar to Lent, when we have flowers 💐💐💐in church, bringing colour to the Advent display. 

We also light the rose candle on our Advent 🕯️wreath. This is to remind us of what Advent is all REALLY about – the JOY that SHOULD always sit at the centre of our faith and calls out to all human hearts. 

So it may be surprising that today is also associated with John the Baptist. What has he to do with joy, when he is described as strict, almost puritan in his faith, a man who made the local Jews fear his inveterate ravings, dressed in camel-hide and dust. Well, after all, he was a 'crazy' hermit who lived in the desert🏝️, whose appearance among daily life set him out, to many, as a loony😜 at worst, a prophet🥠 at best. Dressed in leather skins, rumoured to exist on honey🍯 and locusts🪰, he preached repentance🙏    & other-worldly judgement⚡😔.

So, to the modern ‘traditionalist’⛪, this could cause them to think that this is how a Christian should live our lives. The more suffering we endure, the better our faith will be rewarded, because we simply ARE… NOT… WORTHY of Christ’s love, and must constantly suffer to gain that love, and some, as we know, even whip themselves, in between the natural slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, just in case they're not suffering enough! As a fellow cleric so poorly put it:

“We must direct our will power into being faithful disciples through moral purity and costly struggle, ever on the lookout for immoral impurity in a fallen world”. 

Sure, it can be tempting, especially when there is so much hatred, selfish, often violent behaviour and other odiousness currently rampaging across the planet that makes it easy for us to feed into it, in the belief that THAT is what we must do.

However, here I ask you to return to the word ‘Gaudete’/’Rejoice’, the name given to today, the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Of course, as Christians we are urged to always be self examining of our conscious/subconscious, actions and to be truly sorry, to repent. And here I ask you to bring to mind the all too recent conflicts across the world, in the Levant where our Jewish and Muslim friends are caught up in an all too UNholywar, where the masks of faith are used, wrongly, to hide the true, humanly base evil ambitions behind those directing the campaigns, in the far too long struggle in Ukraine, the all too frequent press headlines of “person stabbed in High Street” or “sex pest pa3do convicted of abusing a 10yr old boy/girl/child”. And whilst these are all despicable, and we should fight, Fight & FIGHT through our prayers and peaceful actions to wipe these inequities from society, not because we are Christians but because, AS Christians, we should be front and centre in our communities inspiring others to live by the 2nd Great Commandments of Jesus, our heavenly mediator/advocate as part of the wider human race!

And this we do by ‘rejoicing’ in our daily lives, not by mourning as that unfair portrayal of John the Baptist would suggest.

In a few week’s time we move from the purple dressings (ironically not only the colour of the power of Kings and Bishops, but also my favourite in the spectrum) to the White and Gold of the shortest period of the liturgical calendar (but which, along with Easter, should be the longest in my ‘not-always-as-humble-as-it-could-be’ opinion😅); Christmas, and here is an allegory we can adopt in our human suffering/life. 

If we see the dire, savage image of John the Baptist, a warrior of the Essenes whose miserable appearance was the result of living in fear under the barbarity of both Herod and the Roman dictatorship, as a mirror image of the over 4 decades of Syrian faces, trampled and stamped on by the crimes of two of the most heinous dictators of that beautiful country in memory, supported by the ‘imperial’ strength of Russian influence, then see him change from dour and downtrodden to being redeemed by & for his faith when he baptized his cousin Jesus in the same river Jordan that touches Syria today, reflected in the sheer relief and hope in the faces of those same Syrians just this week after their human ‘redemption’ through revolution “set them free” from the ignominy of the Assads' barbarity and "dominion of death".

And that, my friends, is why we should not mourn it but rather, CELEBRATE our faith in the inevitable coming of our liberty in our relationship with that baby, shortly to arrive in the middle of all our pain, as He does each and every time we call on Him so to do.

In the name of the Father, the Son (+) & the Holy Spirit

and we all MUST say AMEN! 

+Barry Melita

LCCSSI Diocesan Bishop of Dorset & the Meditteranean

11/12/24_

_______________________________________________________

08/12/24

Primatial Statement on events in Syria

To our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus - greetings.

Being mindful of Jesus' words:

'My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working'” (John 5:17, NIV)

we give thanks for the great work of liberation taking place in Syria at this time.

When the forces of darkness pollute God's creation through such heinous despotism, we are assured that our heavenly Parent will ALWAYS bring about His righteous and just plan back on track, as is happening right now in that once beautiful, historic country, steeped in faith, reassured by hope and now, granted His grace.

Whether we are aware of it taking place, when the last drop of hope has long since evaporated and wherever this might be, if God is for us, we SHALL triumph.

So now that the evils of the Bashir al Assad regime have been overcome, by the workings of the Holy Spirit inspiring the brave 'rebels' (surely 'patriots' is a better description) actions, we pray for Almighty God to fulfill His promise of hope for a better future for us all, especially our Syrian brothers & sisters right now, as we ask you to join with us in this prayer, saying:

"Almighty & everliving God/Allah/Jehovah*, thank You for HOPE, thank You for freedom & thank YOU above all things that test our resolve and our trust in You. Thank You for the light that hope now coming to the people of Syria, united in that light now dismissing the darkness of recent years. Thank You that, no matter how dark the night, YOU are with us to the end of the world and beyond.

Bring justice, equity and mercy to those now charged with running Syria, that ALL peoples in the country plus the dyasphora of those displaced around the planet, may be guided through the strength of Your Holy Spirit flowing through all people. In Your name of love Amen"

(* as you prefer)

++Ryan Cleminson KCSJ

Primate of the LCCSSI

made this 8th day of December 2024CE

_______________________________________________________

23/11/2024

As Dean of our Seminary, it is with the greatest of pleasure that I can announce our latest GRADUATES.

By the grace of God, and a lot of prayerful study,

++Ryan Cleminson

Rev Fr Morgan N Frank

have both concluded their coursework and, following examinations, both oral and written, have attained the

CERTIFICATE IN PASTORAL MINISTRY

(Cert. P. Min) 

This 23rd day of November in the year of our Lord

2024CE

"LAUS DEO"

+Barry Melita

Dean of the Seminary of the LCCSSI

The Order of the Holy Knights of St John the Divine and Mary of Magdala (O.S.J) elevates Postulants (including members of the LCCSSI) to full professed clerical and lay members

The current Grand Master of the OSJ; Abbot General  Brother Bishop Barry Melita is pleased to promulgate and welcome the Order's newest professed members as of 08.09.24:

Lay Sergeants (SSJ)

Bro John Jenkins

Bro Michael Cleminson

Sister Kim Schinkel

 

Lay Knight (KSJ)

Bro Knight Peter Church

 

Clerical Knight (KSJ)

Bro Fr Morgan Frank (also to the post of Guest Master)

 

Clerical Knight Commander (KCSJ)

Bro Bishop Ryan Cleminson (also to the post of Order Nuncio to other Chivalric Orders)

 

All the above have been professed following their living their lives following with spiritually or socially the Rule of the Order which requires obedience to living a humble and generous life of service in their communities by deeds under the Great Commandments, and example of, our first Grand Master and Primes inter Pares; Master Jesus of Nazareth and by their lives exemplifying also the motto of the Order: "Suaviter et Fortiter", they have furthered fulfilled His Great Commission.

 

Laus Deo

 

++Barry Melita KGCSJ(OM)

Abbot and Knight Grand Cross with Order of Merit

LCCSSI takes over the ICSJ & welcomes new Bishop into post

 

Our Primate; ++Ryan Cleminson, is delighted to announce that negotiations for us to welcome clergy and members of the former jurisdiction of The International Community of St John the Divine (ICSJ) into fellowship as full & proper members, in good standing, of the Liberal Catholic Church of St Stephen International, who now take over all rights, duties, dioceses and responsibilities of the ICSJ.

In doing so, he also welcomed the Rt Rev Barry Rathbone, (Emeritus Moderating Bishop & Primes inter Pares of the global ICSJ), into full & proper episcopal membership within the LCCSSI, under his (++Ryan's) Ordinariate. ++Barry's bio can be found elsewhere on the site

LCCSSI Ordains new priest in ceremony in Swansea

The LCCSSI ordained it's 1st member of the priesthood on June 29th 2024 at a ceremony held at The St Phillip's Community Centre in Swansea (Wales).

 

The Reverend Fr. Morgan Frank was raised from the diaconate & ordained priest by the Primate; the Rt Reverend Ryan Cleminson, in a service where Rev Morgan's husband, family and friends from both Sweden and the UK came together to celebrate with Fr Morgan.

Speaking after the service ++Ryan said " I wish our new priest the very best as he starts his new journey in ministry with us".

 

The LCCSSI joins the Free Christian Alliance 

 

 

The Liberal Catholic Church of Saint Stephen is pleased to announced that it has today joined The Free Christian Alliance which has been set-up by ++ Brian Putzier, ++ Rob Ponsford and ++ Chris Oliver. We look forward to working with the FCA over the coming weeks, months and years to build a strong and unified community and look forward to attending/contributing to the next conference. 

Mandate of Elevation

The Diocese of St Thomas More is delighted to announce that it will be ordaining Deacon Morgan N Frank to the Office of the Priesthood in June 2024 in a ceremony in Swansea. The above decree was issued on the 19th March 2024 by Primate & Bishop; ++Ryan  Cleminson. Anyone wishing to object to the decree should email Bishop ++Ryan on mostreverendryan@yahoo.co.uk