Morning Mass

Today Heaven Became Our Home

Today’s sermon can be broken into two parts.   The first part is a reflection on the great Pope of Tradition, St. Pius V, whose feast falls on May 5th, but today gives way to the Feast of the Ascension.   The second is of course on the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven.  St. Pius V essentially gave us the Traditional Mass we celebrate today and codified it for all posterity.  He also did so much in the relatively short time of his papacy (7 years) that it would take many books to describe the impact he had on the Faith.  He promoted missionary activity, fought and won battles against both protestantism and mohammedanism and left us a catechism based on the doctrine of the Council of Trent.  Our Lord ascended to Heaven to prepare a place for us which is foretold by Jesus saying to his disciples: “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s s house there are many mansions. If not, I would have told you: because I go to prepare a place for you. And if I shall go, and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will take you to myself; that where I am, you also may be.”  So, we can take from this being bonded to Our Lord through the Eucharist that Heaven is our real and final home.  It is our destiny if only we will keep the Faith.

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Evening Mass

Treasure In Heaven

Father mentions the words that Fr. Superior spoke this morning regarding St. Pius V whose feast day is May 5th but today gives way to the Feast of Ascension Thursday.  Though of relatively short duration, the pontificate of St. Pius V has enormous significance for us and the entire Church.  He gave us the Mass that we have today, taken directly from Saints Peter and Paul, and codified it for all eternity.  In regards to the epistle and gospel for the Ascension, Father mentions that we are required to regulate our affections. This means that if our hearts are for God, then our efforts will be towards the good, but if our hearts are towards evil, then our efforts will be towards evil.  Christ said: “where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”  This should also cause us to engage in mental prayer, which is the raising of our hearts and minds to God and showing Him how much we love Him.  This is especially important on this day when our Lord gives us the promise of our own entry into Heaven.  Mental prayer is really the easiest form of prayer but is often neglected in the rush of today’s world.

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