We the Hypocrites

August 17, 2025By

10th Sunday after Pentecost 2025

The gifts St. Paul refers to in this Epistle were given to the early Church to help spread the Faith.  They were not meant to sanctify the one with the gift, but those who witness it.

The pharisee of the Gospel begins his hypocritical prayer by praising himself, while the publican, keenly aware of his sins, refers to himself as “the sinner.”  True prayer is not self-praise, but rather the lifting up of the mind and heart to God.  It is for His glorification and our own self-abasement.

We should continually rely on our “books and beads” to better participate in the liturgy, so that we may progress through the stages of the spiritual life.  By tapping into these prayers, we may be united to the never-ending prayer of Christ.
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The First Fruit of the Redemption

August 15, 2025By

Assumption Evening 2025
Judith of the Old Testament is a figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary who crushes the head of Satan and defeats sin.  In the Gospel, the Blessed Mother was early with child when she traveled to visit her cousin Elizabeth. With the infant Jesus only three days old in her womb, the Virgin Mary was affirmed by St. Elizabeth to be the Mother of God.  Tradition teaches us that when the Blessed Mother was near death, the Apostles were inspired to come to the place where she was to die.  Before the Apostles’ very eyes, she rose from the dead and was assumed into Heaven.  The Blessed Mother is the first fruit of the Redemption.  It was only in view of the coming Redemption that she was preserved from Original Sin.  Today is a true homecoming.  Heaven, not Earth, is our home, and we pray that Our Lady will lead us to that home one day.
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Hail Mary, Full of Love

August 15, 2025By

Feast of the Assumption 2025
In the Epistle for today’s feast, the applied sense of Scripture is used to connect Judith’s conquest over the prince of the Hebrew’s enemies in the Old Testament to the Blessed Virgin Mary’s victory over the Prince of Darkness.  The passive word Assumption is used to express the direct action of the Trinity on Our Lady in bringing her, body and soul, into Heaven.  One can only imagine the great joy in Heaven at the entrance of its Queen.  In the Hail Mary we are meant to greet the Holy Virgin with fervor and love.  Divine Charity, which we possess in Sanctifying Grace, far surpasses the greatest and most noble of human love.  The intensity of this Divine Love in the Blessed Mother is unimaginable, and it transformed even her smallest works into actions warranting the greatest merit.  What our Savior desires most from us is that we love Him in return.
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No Longer Slaves of the World

August 10, 2025By

9th Sunday after Pentecost 2025
When St. Lawrence was commanded to turn over all the treasures of the Church to the Roman rulers, the holy deacon brought all the poor among the Christian faithful before the Roman prefect. St. Lawrence desired to show them that the true treasures of the Church are to be found in the poor and humble. He was martyred by being burned alive, and his heroic endurance of this torture showed his complete union with Christ in prayer.

The theme of the Epistle for this Mass is conversion of life. St. Paul reminds the Corinthians not to fall back into sin, particularly sins of the flesh. He uses examples from the Old Testament to warn us about the punishments in store for those who turn away from God. Although, as Christians we remain ever hopeful, let us never presume we are safe in our spiritual life. Souls holier than we have fallen.
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Never Forget the Gifts You Receive

August 3, 2025By

8th Sunday After Pentecost 2025
The whole world is dependent on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The merits of the death of Our Lord are being poured out around the world to this very day. We should always be prepared to make an answer to God for how we have chosen to spend the life He has given us. The unjust steward of the parable is praised by his master, not for his deception, but for his forethought and planning. If we were to preserve the spiritual riches we possess as those in the world protect their riches, we would surely save our souls. We should thank Our Lord daily for the spiritual and temporal gifts we have been given.
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To Bear Our Fruit in Due Season

July 27, 2025By

7th Sunday after Pentecost 2025

The main theme of this Mass is the tree and the fruit it bears.  When we practice good works, we bear good fruit and edify our neighbor, but if we practice evil, we bear bad fruit and scandalize our neighbor.  Our Lord warns us to beware of false prophets and tells us to judge them by their fruits.  Immodesty among Catholics offends the Sacred Heart of Jesus and is a temptation to our neighbor, so we must strive to remain always modest, especially during the heat of summer.  It is important for all Catholics to read the lives of the saints so we might imitate their virtues and become “the tree planted beside the water, which bears fruit in due season.”
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Baptized in His Death

July 20, 2025By

6th Sunday After Pentecost 2025
This beautiful Mass refers to us when it speaks of the faithful who have come to hear the word of God.  Our Lord has compassion on our weakness and provides us with the Bread of Life to sustain us.  The Body and Blood of Christ is only for the baptized who are united to Our Lord through grace.  We have a solemn duty to preserve sanctifying grace in our souls.  No longer are we under the slavery of the devil but rather true children of God.  Our Lord and His Mother demonstrate unbounded solicitude for our salvation.  Our Lord conquered death and sin by His Sacrifice on the Cross, and it is by that death that we are given life.
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Slow To Anger

July 13, 2025By

5th Sunday After Pentecost 2025
We should read the account of the martyrdom of St. Speratus and his companions from the year A.D. 180, which recounts the uncompromising heroism of the faithful in the early Church.

Catholics should represent Heaven on Earth.  Most of the world has never heard of the State of Grace, yet we have been given the privilege of possessing it.  While we remain in Sanctifying Grace, we are intimately tied to the Trinity and are part of the army of Christ.

This Mass warns us against the sin of anger and how it first grows in our mind before it is expressed in action.  Holy Scripture has many warnings against the capital sin of anger.  However, anger is a passion and is meant to be used only for a good purpose.  As with all passions, the use of anger should be directed by prudence.
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A Warning for Vocations

July 6, 2025By

4th Sunday after Pentecost 2025

In today’s Epistle, St Paul speaks of the curse placed on all creation due to the fall of Adam.  All creatures desire to be freed of this curse.  With great hope, we look forward to the day when our bodies will be glorified and our adoption as sons of God complete.

The initial call of St. Peter in the Gospel account for today teaches us valuable lessons about the pursuit of a vocation.  The devil will do everything in his power to prevent a man from becoming a priest.  He frequently tempts the soul to delay his vocation needlessly, to substitute a vocation with a less-perfect life, or to be paralyzed by a feeling of unworthiness.  These temptations, as well as other attacks from the devil, can be expected by all who consider offering their life to God, and it is only through prayer and confident reliance on Our Lord’s assistance that one can persevere towards such a lofty calling.
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No Longer Servants But Friends

June 29, 2025By

Feast of Saints Peter & Paul 2025

Priestly Ordinations

During the ordination ceremony, it is as if Heaven is opening as our Divine Savior unites with the ordinands and fuses them to His priestly Nature.  From that moment, the new priests are able to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to renew all the divine mysteries of the Faith through the liturgy, to forgive sin, to govern, to teach, to baptize, to bring souls to Heaven.  The priest is called Father because he provides life to the people and spiritually nourishes them.  The Laity should look at the priest and see the likeness of Christ.  By the physical transformation of the soul through Holy Orders, for all eternity, the priest is now a relative – a brother – of Our Lord.
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