To Serve God Is To Reign

February 24, 2021By

St. Matthias 2021
(Profession Day)
Today marks a step closer to the Sacred Priesthood as our brother officially becomes a member of our community with his profession.  Religious life is a secure path to holiness and happiness in this life which will blossom in heaven.  In recalling the first stirrings of a vocation one can see Our Lord gently calling to follow Him in His life of suffering for others.  Sacrifices and greater challenges are still in the future as Christ molds one into a perfect image of Himself on the Cross.  By a generous and humble acceptance of this will lead to our sharing in the glory of Our Lord.
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Prayer and Fasting

February 21, 2021By

1st Sunday In Lent 2021
Jesus Christ leads us by example as we begin Lent.  He sanctified the forty days we have begun by first spending that number of days in prayer and fasting in the desert before He started His public life.  Upon its completion He overcame Satan and his temptations.  We will do the same during this Lent as we walk in Christ’s footsteps by doing penance that will regain control of ourselves.  We make up for the sin of eating that Adam and Eve committed.  We follow our ancestors who made Lent holy and would not mar these forty days with war, court proceedings and other distracting activities.
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Our 40 Day Lenten Retreat

February 17, 2021By

Ash Wednesday Evening 2021
Ashes are a sacramental so we should stir up our hearts and receive them devoutly.  By popular demand the reception of ashes was extended to all the faithful not just the public penitents.  We should imitate the penitents and catechumens during this spiritual retreat and practice acts of penance like prayer, fasting, almsgiving and studying.  Our Lord taught us about these in the Sermon on the Mount from which today’s Gospel comes.  We enter Lent with Christ as our Leader so we imitate Him in His sufferings and eventually in His Resurrection.
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Ultimately Penance Is Love

February 14, 2021By

Ash Wednesday 2021
Neglect of practicing penance during Lent is a cause of the problems we experience in the world today.  The virtue of penance is a power from God which makes us hate sin, be sorry for it, make reparation for it and convert because sin offends God Who loves us.  Penance spurs us on to mortify our evil tendencies and remove the obstacles during Lent so to make room for Our Lord.  The Liturgy teaches us these things and the acts of penance are traditionally known as prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  Many ask for penances during Lent and several recommendations are given to help us make a good and holy Lent.
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Purity of Intention

February 14, 2021By

Quinquagesima Sunday 2021
In preparation for Ash Wednesday and Lent there is a review of the laws concerning fast and abstinence.  Today is also the feast of St. Valentine and his impact in our own day.  The Epistle for this Mass is taken from St. Paul and teaches us the importance of doing all our works, especially the upcoming penances, with purity of intention which is produced by charity.  The Gospel tells of the cure of the blind man by Our Lord.  We are that blind man who need God’s help to see our sinfulness and do something about it.
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Give All To Receive All

February 7, 2021By

Sexagesima Sunday 2021
Saints this week are our friends like St. Apollonia.  The Liturgy is our ordinary means of sanctification and reception of sacramentals is a practical aspect of this.  St. Paul is the dominant character during this season of Septuagesima and tells in the Epistle of all he has sacrificed in fulfilling Our Lord’s prophecy about his suffering for the Name of Jesus.  The Gospel shows the Word of God gently warning all to receive Him well and thereby receive a hundredfold.  Finally, we need to follow Catholic principles in our daily lives and imitate the Catholic Supreme Court justice and not the famous author who wrote that lying is permitted if done for the sake of the nation.
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Liturgy: Yesterday, Today and Forever

February 5, 2021By

First Friday – Feast Of St. Agatha 2021
With the beginning of the Easter Cycle through the season of Septuagesima it is a good time to review what the Sacred Liturgy is and how it leads our spiritual lives through the purgative, illuminative and unitive states.  The Holy Mass is the highest form of prayer in the worship of the Mystical Body of Christ and this vocal prayer is also the springboard for mental prayer which culminates in contemplation.  An analysis of the liturgy, the essential element in the lives of all saints and the foundation of all of schools of spirituality, is a profound and deep one that should make us appreciate ever more the treasure we have been given.  The praying of the Rosary is our daily link to all these divine benefits.
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Purification, Presentation and Candles

February 2, 2021By

Feast Of The Purification 2021
This feast was already old in the fourth century.  It celebrates Our Lady’s fulfilling the Law by going to the temple forty days after giving birth so she could be admitted once more ceremonially to worship.  Her humility was extraordinary because she was not bound by the Law but she freely submitted as her Divine Son did also.  In addition, on this same day, Christ was presented in the temple as the first born Son to receive His rightful place and to be ransomed for a time until His hour has come and He will return to complete the sacrifice.  The candle which is blessed and used in today’s procession reminds us of the Holy Infant being carried in the first procession centuries ago which revealed the Light of Revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel.
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Season of Examination

January 31, 2021By

Septuagesima Sunday 2021
This week is the feast of St. Agatha whose veil is a precious relic that has protected the city of Catania from various cataclysms throughout history.  The significance of wearing a veil is explained.  Septuagesima season is a transition from the Christmas to the Easter cycle and an immediate preparation for Lent.  It is a time for the catechumens and penitents especially.  We recall the story of Genesis and the fall of Adam and Eve whose crime is inherited by us and known as original sin.  This week examines the effects of original sin in our lives so we are ready to combat these vices as soon as we reach Ash Wednesday.
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The Conversion of St. Paul

January 24, 2021By

3rd Sunday After Epiphany 2021
The showing of Our Lord’s divinity through the time after the Epiphany continues this Sunday with His cures of the leper and the centurion’s servant. Tomorrow is the feast of the conversion of St. Paul and because Christianity hinges on this event it is described in detail for us to appreciate it.  Because of the miraculous nature of this, the sermon during today’s Q&A teaches us about miracles, their purpose and how to judge them.  We then learn more about Saul, the persecutor of the Church, and what he accomplished for God after the unexpected and dramatic moment of his meeting Our Lord on the road to Damascus.
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