Help people find jobs

Last week I went with a friend of mine Michael to get a fresh flower church  arrangement for the Christmas/winter season.  We went to Pottery Barn, Fort Lauderdale .  Got the fake flowers and then started walking around the big box store....every item I picked up was manufactured in China  the only thing I could find that wasn't made here was the bar of candy  at the check out register.  I looked at dishes, none made by our workers here, chairs, same thing, on and on.

Just recently a politician running for federal office berated black poor kids because of their work ethics.
He claimed they didnt have any.   What are we to do export all our youth to china to be able to help them find jobs?    Yesterday I went to Moroney's Religious Art Store, in Fort Lauderdale to buy the new renewed Roman Missal to use at the altar during our Mass.  The clerk told me the Missal was published by the Catholic Book Publishing Corp, New Jersey.  Good deal I said because I am not buying anything that has contributed to our people not being able to find work or being forced to work for minimum wages.  Lo and behold I tear off the cardboard packaging and read the first page and then turn over to the second page  and what jumps out to me is  that this 1341 page book was not printed by anyone in New Jersey, or let alone in the United States.   It was printed in Korea (it didnt say north or south).

And now i am finding the black clerical shirts that priests are putting on their back  are being made in China as well as vestments too.    The Pope yesterday came out talking abut distribution of wealth...there is really only two classes of people here   the super rich and the upper poor (which used to be called the middle class). and of course those at the bottom of the barrel the poor who never have a chance to make life better for themselves or their children.

My fellow church people have to make a stand now and reach to help those who are mentally physically and spiritually suffering because our jobs have been taken away  and sent off shore , the biggest  of which is China.    I personally wont buy any goods made in China.  I went to the less than a year Frigidaire  refrigerator in my kitchen and looked on the inside and saw it was made in Mexico, the Whirpool Microwave  read made in ROC (sneaky for the Republic of China)  Mr. Coffee Maker as well as the filters took more jobs away from us, made in China.    Been asleep all these years but not any more  I dont buy anything unless it is made in the USA  that includes cars, everything and if I cant find something made here I will be yelling and screaming.       Why dont you join me and help our brothers and sisters get back on their feet.....              Father John Joseph Reid

Mariage Equality

And what do you know about marriage, Fathers?  Well for one thing Father Larry and I are married according to the rules and regulations of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Over 38 years we have been living in a loving relationship, and that includes the time we have been legally married .  We declared out love before God and for the past 38 years he has continually blessed us.  How do you like them apples.   There is a clergyman I know who now refuses to marry in his church unless all can marry and that means same and opposite genders. 

I marry opposite gender couples here in Florida, they appear with their license issued by the state and declare their love before God and all their family members and friends.  I bless their love and sign their legal papers.   Same gender couples also ask me to bless their love and legally we call it a Holy Union.  Of course this does not give them all the many many rights that opposite couples receive when they marry.  That is in the State of Florida.  Now if they were married in many other states these same gender couples would receive all that the state offers.

I say to those religious groups who are on the opposite side of gay marraiges, then dont marry them.  And dont worry you wont be getting many gay couples coming asking for it.  After all you have chased them
away from God's love because of your naming them evil and bad people. There are more and more religious organizations now willing to marry same gender couples and they are reaching out to help them see God loves them as he made them, gay.   And we will take in all those that you kick out.   Bring them on. 

So Father Larry and I can talk about love in a long term loving relationship.  We cant share with you the joys of giving birth but we sure can tell you about love, the love that God has for us and for others and the mandate he gave to us to love everyone (and that includes those religious groups who put down gay people).   So if you dont want to see love in action, dont come to us.  If you want to see loving people, both straight and gay, then come to Divine Mercy Chapel, 2749 NE 10 Ave., Wilton Manors, 954-567-1930  http://www.newdivingmercy.org/

St. Blaise Blessing, Feb. 3, what happens there ?

Growing up in Boston, the seat of Irish Catholicism, the kids in my block, on Feb. 3 would always be saying "you going to get your throat blessed?"  We heard about this Saint Blaise and he cured someone who choked on a fish bone. Of course we Catholics ate fish every Friday, 52 times at least and then we had days during the 40 days of Lent when we didnt eat meat but instead it was fish again.   And  now if St. Patricks Day fell on a Friday the Cardinal (an Irishman from my neighborhood) would give us a dispensation and we could eat cornbeef and cabbage.  

So this little catholic boy was not taking  any chances of choking on fish bones and so did the other kids.  Off we all went into the church and there were lines of people standing in front of the Priest.    He held two candles crossed up against our throats and said a prayer  that St. Blaise would intercede  for us to God and protect us from choking on those fish bones.    Of course the candles were not lit so we werent sacred of getting burned.    And that was back then.

And now.   We here in the Chapel of Divine Mercy, will conduct the age old blessing attributed to St. Blaise, the 4th century Bishop, who was martyred for this faith and who while in prison perfomed a miracle of saving a young boys life who was choking on a fish bone.    Father John Joseph will hold two gold candles (not lit) crossed against your throat and say "Through the intercession of St. Blaise, Bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness, in the name of the Father, Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  He will also bless you with holy water.  You wil be holding a small white candle in your hand and you then take this candle home, as a reminder of the blessing you received today.   You might later also lite this candle should you be coming down with the flue, etc.     Father John Joseph Reid, Divine Mercy Chapel, 2749 E 10 Ave, Wilton Manors, Fl. 33334   954-567-1930     http://www.newcatholic.us/

SAINT BLAISE THROAT BLESSINGS

On February 3, 2011, from 7 PM to 8 PM in the Chapel of Divine Mercy, 2749 NE 10 Ave., Wilton Manors (954-567-1930) St. Blaise throating blessings will be offered to all.

 Heres a little history of St.Blaise, whose feast day we celebrate February 3.  St. Blaise was the Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia and suffered martydom A.D.316.  While the persecution of Christians  was going on. St. Blaise moved from town to town  and also lived as a hermit in a cave.  Wild animals, according to tradition, visited him and he healed many that were sick and wounded,  After he had been captured and was being taken to prison St. Blaise encountered a woman whose pig was being seized by a wolf, St. Blaise commanded the wolf to release the pig and it was freed unhurt.

While he was in prison and before he was tortured and beheaded, he miraculously cured a small boy who was choking to death on a fishbone lodged in his throat.  By the 6th century, in the  East,  his intercession was invoked for diseases of the throat. In the 8th century records attest to the veneration of St. Blaise in Europe and he became one of the most popular saints in the spiritual life of the Middle Ages.   One reason St. Blaise's popularity  arose was the fact he was a physician who cured , even performed miraculous  cures  .  Eventually the custom of blessing of throats arose whereby the priest held two crossed candles, touching the side of the throat and invoking the prayer of the saint and imparting God's blessing.

Please come to St.Blaise Blessing,, Thursday, Feb. 3, 7-8 PM, Father John Joseph Reid, Fathers of Divine Mercy

We find Christ and He finds us.

Teaching An Older Priest New Tricks

At age 78 it was learning how to use the computer.  Thanks God the nuns in high school prevailed upon me to take a course in typing.  (A special thanks to Sister Wilma, Sister of St. Joseph, Gate of Heaven High School South Boston, Ma.)  So armed with the typing knowledge I muddled through learning the computer, the internet, deleting when I should have not and every few years getting a new computer as technology  grew by leaps and bounds.

Now we are blogging, trying to make Constant Contact work for us, building on our web page NewDivine Mercy.org, (thanks to Bill Woeppel of Wilton Manors guiding us along, )having a video  view of our Sunday Mass uploaded to you tube and reaching out on  Facebook.  And learning how to be sociable  in our social networking . More New Speak. 

Jesus  invited and used fishermen, the uneducated, former prostitutes, the despised,  the rejected and sinners to help him get his message out:  The message of love, acceptance and forgiveness.    No computer stuff for him back then.  Of course his miracles thrown in now and then helped.  But I marvel today how his message travelled all over the world.    In todays world a click of the computer key can be seen eveeerywhere. But yet, with all the magic of today, his message of love, acceptance and forgiveness gets lost .

May this priest in a small mission in Wilton Manors do his best to spread His message.  Love to you all.    A Servant of Divine Mercy, Father John Joseph Reid

Letting Go and Letting God

A very long time ago I thought I learned how to Let Go and Let God.  That is, get out of the way and let God run the show.  It seems my sometimes big Ego gets in the way and wants to do what it thinks is best.
Its then I get frustrated, angry with myself ,because it doesn't turn out just how I wanted it.  

A case in point:  my ego says that after all this time I should be running a church, the size of course of a cathedral.  After all I know how to run things.  The key word is run things.  Then God steps in and says wait a minute.  You want all the headaches of running a big church.  After all, there are just two of you and today a newspaper salesman try to sell you an ad for $50..00 and you don't get  anywhere that in donations  in your weekly Mass.  Then the lesson of being humble and accepting humility kicks in.

 Someones once said to me that  humility is knowing what you should be doing, when you should be doing it and how you should be doing.    Lesson learned, for today anyway, that by myself I have to let go and let God show me what, when and how.  And for me this has to be a daily petition to God as I look at the big mega churches and the voice says why haven't you accomplished this yet.? After all, you are 78 and you shcould be sitting back and enjoying a nice fat liturgical pension instead of getting a social security check every month.  And you really deserve a big crew of helpers out there to make the big show a reality.

I am laughing now as the salesman  just called back and said what can you pay and I said $10.00, he is going to his publisher and see what he can do.

In the meantime I will take some time and spend it quietly in the Divine Mercy chapel  and continue to learn more lessons.  And then be ready to get to work again.   Keep going I am hearing. 

Wilton Manors deleted scenes

Wilton Manors deleted scenes


Please take a moment and watch this. Thanks Father John Joseph Reid