Dear Readers,
My
name is Franz Devantier.
Below
are references to some of the roots.
Primate Archbishop
George Le Mesurier, IOCC of America
Primate Emeritus Archbishop
Maurice McCormick, IOCC of America
+++
+++
Saint Titus IOCC
(South Africa), and the Church of Abundance
Franz
Devantier, Church of Abundance
Invocatio:
P.
In nomine Patris, et + Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
(In the name of the father, and of the
Son, +
and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.)
Confiteor:
A.
O Lord, Thou hast created man to be immortal and made him to be an
image of Thine own eternity; yet often we forget the glory of our
heritage and wander from the path which leads to righteousness. But
Thou, O Lord, hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are ever
restless till they find their rest in Thee. Look with the eyes of
Thy love upon our manifold imperfections and pardon all our
shortcomings, that we may be filled with the brightness of the
everlasting light and become the unspotted mirror of Thy power and
the image of Thy goodness; Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Absolutio:
God
the Father, God the + Son, God the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve
and sanctify you; the Lord in His loving kindness look down upon you
and be gracious unto you; the Lord + absolve you from all your
sins and grant you the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Announcements:
We
are actively recruiting members for the
Church of Abundance. We need a minimum of 250 members in order to be
allowed to register ourselves as marriage officers. You can be
resident anywhere in the world and still become a member of the
Church of Abundance. If you are
interested, then please contact Fr. Franz father@waseff.com
Special
Prayer Requests:
=>
Let’s pray for the unfolding of peace and love on earth amongst all
peoples, starting with ourselves.
News:
Watch
this spot.
Sermon
/ Talk / Homily:
Saturday
11th
July 2015,
Saint Benedict, Abbot (Colour
of Celebration - white)
Sent
to Rome for his studies, he gave up both them and his career in the
world, and retired to the solitude of Subiaco. He founded there
twelve monasteries, among them that of Monte Cassino, and wrote the
Holy Rule which bears his name. He is revered as the Founder
of the Benedictine Order, and Co-Patron Saint of Europe, He died in
A.D. 543.
It
has long been the tradition that Abbots,
such
as Abbot Saint Benedict,
were given the same status
as
Moses by the church.
Sacred References:
Ecclesiasticus,
chapter 45,
verses 1-6.
Beloved
of God and men, whose memory is in benediction. He made him like the
Saints in glory, and magnified him in the fear of his enemies, and
with his words he made prodigies to cease. He glorified him in the
sight of Kings, and gave him commandments in the sight of his people,
and showed him His glory. He sanctified him in his faith and
meekness, and chose him out of all flesh. For He heard him and his
voice, and brought him into a cloud. And He gave him commandment
before His face, and a law of life and instruction.
Matthew,
chapter 19,
verses
27-29.
27.
Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all,
and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
28.
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto
you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son
of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon
twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29.
And every one that has forsaken houses,
or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children,
or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall
inherit everlastng life.
This
sermon is about how God can sometimes
uplift his servants above others, and how this upliftment transcends
the bounds of physical reality and includes the same in Heaven.
In
the old testament reading we see how God exalts Moses above all other
men. God in his infinite wisdom can do these things. God chooses
when it pleases Him to uplift Patriarchs, Prophets, Judges, Kings,
and other worthy souls, and to hold them up as an example before
other men and Angels;
both on earth and in heaven.
The
Old testament passage was specifically speaking about Moses and his
brother Aaron, and Phineas, but more specifically about Moses. Now
you may be asking what was so special about Moses, and I will tell
you straight.
Moses
had two qualities that God was aware of, that set him apart from just
about any other man alive at the time. Moses had a faith in God that
was very strong. Secondly Moses was a very meek man. Have you ever
heard the saying “The meek shall inherit the earth”? Because of
these qualities, faith and meekness,
God chose Moses from all the people who were alive at that time. If
you want God to choose you and uplift you before men and angels, then
you can start by developing your faith, and developing your meekness.
These days it is not attractive amongst men to have a meek nature,
but it is attractive to God to have a meek nature. Also on this day
as we celebrate the Abbot Saint Benedict, who also had qualities of
faith and meekness that were recognized by the church and his fellow
man. An Abbot / Abbess is a very special person; they are the leader
of a group of people who have exceptional faith in their God, and
such a leader needs to display an even greater faith as well as great
meekness, while at the same time successfully leading the monastery
or nunnary. Since a monastery may have many functions, in as far as
providing support for the surrounding population both spiritually and
physically, as well as providing a place of learning. An Abbot /
Abbess can also be associated with a leader in the university or
training disciplines, and certainly this is true in spiritual
disciplines.
God
lifted Moses up so high that he was made like the Angels in heaven in
radiance and glory. You remember how Adam and Eve used to stroll
through the garden of Eden in the evening and talk to God. Well get
this; Moses used to frequently climb up the mountain to converse with
God for extended periods of time. Because of Moses's closeness to
God, he himself became radiant, and difficult for ordinary people to
look upon. Such is the gory that God bestowed upon Moses, and other
servants of his, and we believe to an
extent to special servants like Abbots,
who have the gifts of faith and meekness developed within themselves
to an extreme degree.
It
is not only Moses and Aaron that God has uplifted in this way but
many, many people all through the years, and including the disciples
that spent time with Jesus Christ. Also ordinary people like
yourself stand to receive the same honour and glory, if you can start
to develop a radical faith within yourself, and meekness. There
is no correlation between Moses and an Abbot / Abbess, but officials
in the church have noticed over the passage of thousands of years
that in order to be a well loved Abbot / Abbess takes a certain type
of person, and the make-up of such a person must include radical
faith, and radical meekness, to the extent that your faith and
meekness is stronger than all the people around you. Because of this
it is fairly easy to assume that God will also pick up on these
aspects of yourself, or the personality / faith aspects displayed in
an Abbot / Abbess. Remember we are ordinary people and so are prone
to mistakes and prejudices, but as far as God's dealings are
concerned, God is perfect and does not make mistakes in judgement.
Then
we come to the new testament reading, and we find that what God has
taught us in the old testament is re-enforced in some way in the New
testament. It is good to see how the old testament backs the new
testament up in many ways, which is why we can't have one without the
other, because together they paint a perfect
tapestry of God.
We
see Peter reminding Jesus that they have made great sacrifices in
order to follow Him, and Peter is really asking if there will be some
sort of preferential treatment because of this. You will notice in
this short passage how the twelve disciples correspond to the twelve
tribes of Israel, everything in the old testament is fully dealt with
in the new testament. Now if you read the bible verse again at the
top, you may say that it was a bit forward or even a bit rude of
Peter to ask such a question of Jesus. However it is really a valid
question and a relevant question, and in verse 28, we see Jesus
Christ answering this question in a very straight forward way, which
immediately makes us think back to the special treatment that Moses
received from God.
Jesus
Christ explains that for those disciples that followed him all the
way, until he was enthroned in Heaven, they too would one day be
glorified by having their own throne in heaven to judge the twelve
tribes of Israel from. Jesus knew that not all the disciples would
make it through this journey, but he also knew that there would be
those that would take the place of those that had failed or fallen
during the journey. Peter was not to have preferential treatment
above the other disciples, but was to have a glorified place in
Heaven, on the same level as the other disciples. Wow, it makes you
think about the many mansions in Heaven that Jesus also spoke about.
Heaven is going to be a wonderful place that is for sure.
The
times of regeneration refers to the new-birth, to the present
dispensation, where human kind is hearing the Gospel and responding
to it; and being born again. In this way people, especially those of
very strong faith, and those that are meek are being prepared to be
glorified and exalted by God, before human-kind, and before Angels
and all the host of heaven. Ask yourself this question: “How is
my life-plan proceeding with regards to being glorified by God before
all the host of Heaven”? Jesus Christ is explaining to those that
already believe firmly in him some of the glories that will be
bestowed upon them in the after-life.
Now
if we look at verse 29, we see how Jesus is speaking about the
sacrifices that the disciples, or for that matter we will ultimately
make in order to follow the path of Jesus Christ. We see Jesus
Christ making three promises to his disciples, and ultimately to us.
When we consider the magnitude of these promises it becomes apparent
that this cannot be a mere mortal making these promises. The only
one who could ever make such promises would be the one and only
almighty God himself. No mere Prophet or Holy man or Guru of any
description could make promises of this nature. So in this seemingly
lay-back talk with his disciples, Jesus Christ reveals himself to be
the one and only God incarnated onto this earth. You see every
religion has a trinity somewhere in its teachings. God is presented
to us as a Trinity, that is God the Father, God the Son and God the
Holy Spirit. Every part of the Trinity is as much the one and only
God, as any other part of the Trinity. The Trinity helps us to
understand God a little better, because omnipresent and omnipotent
concepts are not easy for us all to properly understand. The Trinity
helps us to understand how God can simultaneously be in heaven and
dying on the cross on Earth at exactly the same time, yet be part of
the One and Only God. This fully agrees with other parts of
scripture, for example where Jesus says, “If you know me, you know
the Father”. Jesus can say “No man comes to the Father except
through me”, because He is also the Father, as well as the Son, as
well as the Holy Spirit; God is Spirit, remember that.
This
is what Jesus Christ, the one and only God almighty promises to us:
1.)
There is multiplication on a vast scale of the wealth and financial
well-being that we are called upon to sacrifice in order to follow
Jesus Christ.
2.)
There is multiplication on a vast scale of the close family
relationships that we are called upon to sacrifice, be it temporary,
in order to follow Jesus Christ.
3.)
The promise of eternal life is made in these verses as well. For
example you will be sit on a throne in the Glory of the Son.
These
promises have strengthened Christians throughout the ages, and is
probably one of the reasons why in the early days of persecution, it
was remarked that the blood of the martyrs is like seeds for new
Christians. I believe that this is still true today, with regards to
astounding atrocities that are being committed against Christians all
over the word, in the mistaken belief that there is more than one
“One and only Almighty God”. The argument that you should
believe in this God or that God, or this religion or that religion is
pointless, because there is only one God, and ultimately there can be
only one religion, and that is worshipping the One and Only God. God
does not belong to any group, religion or philosophy; we all belong
to God.
So
from the above we can see a little of how God has singled out men and
woman throughout the ages who displayed extreme faith and meekness,
and since God incarnated himself on Earth, belief in Jesus Christ,
regardless of any imaginable criteria. With this thought in mind,
and regardless of who you are, because Jesus Christ came for
everybody on earth, with absolutely no exceptions, have a look at the
prayer of redemption below.
End
of Sermon / Talk / Homily:
(After
about forty years of study of most of the major religions, I came to
realize that this prayer is for all Homo Sapiens on this earth;
regardless of culture, race, creed, up-bringing, tradition, religion,
philosophy
or any other criteria. This prayer trancends everything else,
because Jesus Christ was the most advanced Avitar or Being that ever
incarnated on this planet, with
regards to any tradition or philosophy.)
The
Prayer of Redemption
Lord
Jesus Christ, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins.
Please
forgive my sins and give me the gift of eternal life.
I
ask you into my life and heart to be my Lord and Saviour.
I
undertake to be baptized as called for in the scriptures, Mark 16,
verse 16.
I
undertake to regularly partake of Holy Communion, as in Matthew 26,
verses 26-28.
Amen.
Mark,
chapter 16, verse 16. Whoever
believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe
will be condemned.
Mathew
26:26-28
And
as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it,
and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it the them, saying,
Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which
is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Love
Rev. Fr. Franz Devantier, Church of
Abundance.
Prayer:
Our
Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name: Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver
us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for
ever and ever.
Amen.
Benedictio:
The
peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son, Christ our
Lord; and the Blessing of God Almighty, the Father, + the Son
and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you and remain with you always. Amen.
Love,
Franz Devantier,
Franz Devantier,
P.S.
Please read the universal booklet by Father Mac Khruisium:
