Greetings to All the Sisters, Brothers, and Friends of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion!

By now you may have already received news of the death of our dear brother and co-worker in Christ, Father Mark Jaufmann.

On the afternoon of this past Good Friday Mark died of natural causes while hiking at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California. His body was discovered by another hiker later that evening. News of this spread quickly to the members of the Sts. Andrew and Paul Ecumenical Catholic Church of Glendale. I had learned of it on Holy Saturday afternoon.

Like everyone who knew Father Mark I was stunned by the news and found myself overcome with deep sadness. Ten years ago Father Mark had contacted me and asked if I would be willing to be his bishop and that of the newly formed faith community of Sts. Andrew and Paul. This was the first time that a community other than Saint Matthew's had ever approached me with such a request. This would be the first of such requests that would culminate in the eventual formation of the ECC. So Mark was with us from the very beginning. Or perhaps it would be better said that Mark was the beginning of the ECC.

At the time I met Father Mark he was serving as the Chaplain of the Glendale Memorial Hospital. For the last ten years he had also served the faith community of Sts. Andrew and Paul as their pastor. He was constantly involved in facilitating the formation of new ministries, most notably the order of the Missionaries of Peace, as well as developing ecumenical relationships on behalf of the ECC.

His efforts led to the eventual membership of the ECC in the Southern California Ecumenical Council of Churches where he served as our official ECC representative. Most recently, he was able to have the ECC recognized as an endorsing ecclesial organization for chaplains throughout the country opening the doors for ECC priests to serve as chaplains for hospitals and other organizations.

He was a founding member of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion and gradually became one of our most enthusiastic members. Although his community remained small, numbering not more than 40 members at any one time, they were large in their dedication to ministry and support of the ECC. He is dearly loved by his parishioners who are now grieving the loss of their beloved pastor. He will always be remembered fondly by those who knew him well. His life exemplified the love, compassion, and commitment which is the call of the Gospel of Jesus upon each of us.

Father Mark was a graduate of Saint John's Roman Catholic Seminary in Camarillo, CA. Soon after he was ordained an Old Catholic priest and started the work that would become Sts. Andrew and Paul. This was a second vocation for him. He was born and grew up in New York where he also became a lawyer and political activist. He served on many national and local political campaigns.

Later in life, he came to realize the limitations of political life and came to believe that he could do more good for others by serving as a priest. He was right. He did more good for others than anyone could have imagine.

Father Mark will be deeply missed by all those who loved him not the least of which by his life partner, Abott. I, too, will miss his joyous laughter, his contagious love for people, his constant grin, and his loud singing. I shared many good times with Mark that now have become treasured memories. Father Mark gave me hope that friendship and love can really make a difference in people's lives.

The last time I saw Mark was last Wednesday at the Chrism mass. There he once again renewed his priestly vows and received the anointing of his hands as a reminder that the work and ministry he does is truly sacred. I remember looking into his eyes that sparkled with holy joy along with his warm smile. I will always remember him as a man who was truly alive and always tried to see the best in everyone.

The Funeral Mass will be held at Sts. Andrew and Paul on Verdugo Road in Glendale this Saturday at 11:00 AM; visitation and rosary at the same location the night before.

Enclosed is an article from a local newspaper that pays tribute to one of the ECC's best and finest priests, Father Mark Jaufmann.

In the Bond of Christ's Love,

+Peter

Greetingsto All the Sisters & Brothers of The Ecumenical Catholic Communion!

A new year has begun! We are all one year older and one year closer to the Second Coming of our messiah, Jesus the Son of God! This is the time that we typically make resolutions to live better and healthier lives. New diets begin with great resolve as well as the implementation of those long overdue exercise programs. This is the year that we will be better organized. We will stop overeating, under exercising, and overspending. This is the year to finally give up those addictions that seem to diminish the quality of life and to take on new disciplines that will enhance a more effective life. Yes, 2008 is sure to be much better than this past year of 2007. Or will it?

Am I not as uncertain about 2008 as I was about 2007 when that year began? Will I have the wisdom and fortitude to make the best choices for my life? Will I have what it takes to stand up to the challenges that a new year will inevitably bring? It remains to be seen.

Of all the possible resolutions I could make perhaps the most important one, and likely the most neglected, is becoming more serious and determined to live the spiritual life of discipleship in Christ. Will I attempt "to follow Jesus more nearly and love God more dearly?" I wonder.

So now I already feel the challenge. Can I truly make living a truly Christian life my highest resolve and greatest priority? Am I willing to take on that yoke which Jesus called easy and that burden which he called light? Did he really mean that? As far as I can tell Jesus calls us to live an impossibly difficult life. For him, to truly live a full and joyful life means that you have to die first.

He calls us to die to our old self life and to live a new kind of divine life. It appears to me that this divine life means living for God and others which is about loving God and everyone else, especially people I don't like, even my worst enemies! In other words I am called to be a God-centered person rather than a self centered person. What could be more difficult? It is intensely radical. To be a serious follower of Jesus, if I understand him correctly, is to live a radical life, a life of radical love. Just like He did.

When I think about it, this kind of challenge makes me afraid. It makes me afraid of failing. Who, in his right mind, wants to be a failure? So why even attempt something that I most certainly will fail at doing? Am I not just setting myself up to feel bad about myself? So why even bother? Perhaps I should stick to something more attainable like a new diet or something like that.

Yes, this God-centered life that Jesus wants us to live is impossible for me to do. It is precisely at this point of realization that Jesus speaks. For me it is impossible but with God all things are possible. Yes, apart from Christ I can do nothing. But through Christ I can do all things for He will strengthen me.

Jesus never expected us to do it alone. This life of radical love can only be realized in me through the help of Jesus Christ. He does this by sending me another Helper, the Paraclete, who is the Holy Spirit. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit I can meet this challenge and live this God-centered life of radical love.

So, my dear brothers and sisters let us forsake all of the ordinary new year's resolutions. They never really work anyway. Rather, let us resolve to live the life that Jesus calls us to live. Anything else we may achieve pales by comparison. Let us go for the highest. Let us reach for the best thing of all. Why not?

We can, if we want, do this very thing with great success. Why? Because we do not do it alone. We have the help of Jesus who has already done it with great perfection. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit who gives us the power to do it. We have the very life of God within us, and that will enable us to meet this resolve. All we have to do is to make this our constant resolve.

So may 2008 be the year that, despite whatever else happens we begin to live this impossible life of radical God-centered love. Now, for me, that would be quite a difference. But, when I think about it, it is a difference that I can't afford to be without!

May this new year of 2008 be filled with abounding love and overflowing joy for you and all those you love!

+Peter

TheFeast of The Holy Family

from Bishop Peter

The firstSunday after Christmas, on the liturgical calendar, celebrates the Holy Family. Pope Leo XIII instituted this feast in 1892. He established this feast day to remind families of the sacredness of the family. Prior to the calendar reform undertaken by the Second Vatican Council, the Feast of the Holy Family was celebrated on the Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany; that is to say, on whichever day, from January 7 through January 13, fell on a Sunday. It is now observed on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year's Day, the Octave of Christmas.

In 1974 Pope Paul VI wrote, in his Apostolic Exhortation, Marialis Cultus:

On the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph the Church meditates with profound reverence upon the holy life led in the house at Nazareth by Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man, Mary His Mother, and Joseph the just man.

In the mystery of the incarnation, God in the person of Jesus, shares with us that experience which is at the heart of human existence, the life of the human family. Jesus knew the love of his mother and his earthly father. He knew the helplessness of a child that is totally dependent upon the nurture, care, and protection of a father and mother.

Jesus received his formation as a human person through his parents. From his mother, Mary, he learned of the tenderness of love and compassion. From his father, Joseph, he learned what it meant to be a man of courage and responsibility. He learned from Joseph creativity and how to make a living as a carpenter. From both he received the rich tradition of his Jewish heritage with both a faith in the God of Israel and the belief that each human person is made in the image of God.

In the life of the family of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary we recognize that the life of each human family is sacred and holy. We are reminded that the saving work of God is worked out in the context of our relationships within the family structure. We also realize that the local community of faith is characterized by warm and loving familial relationships. We are, in truth, as a parish, a kind of holy family that lives out the mystery of a love with is both human and divine.

O Loving Jesus, You were born in a stable to become divine light in a dark, sinful world. Your little holy family was full of love, grace, kindness, and generosity. I ask Mother Mary and Father Joseph to pray for my family to grow in the virtues that spring from unconditional love. I also ask them to pray for the growth of our faith. O Savior, increase our unity and give us a shared devotion to Your Holy Family. Purify me and teach me to acknowledge when I am wrong and change my ways so that Your light increases within me. Show me how to let your light shine so brightly that my family sees You and is transformed by Your presence.

Holy Family, pray for us.

Amen.

Spiritus Dei Ecumenical Catholic Community

Western Washington State: Greater Puget Sound area

"There is another way to be Catholic"

Letters from Bishop Peter

TheFeast of The Holy Family

from Bishop Peter