Our Promised Land

March 30, 2024By

Easter Vigil 2024
Our time of training as catechumens and penitents is almost over.  We begin this ceremony in the darkness of the tomb where the light of Christ will be restored.  Without the Resurrection, our faith is in vain.  This light is carried by the clergy and the people and is meant to be spread throughout the whole world.  The deacon represents St. Mary Magdalene while he proclaims the joy of the Resurrection.  By God’s grace we may be restored to our baptismal innocence and be worthy to enter the true Promised Land of Heaven.
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We Must Be Changed

March 29, 2024By

Good Friday 2024
We do not have the Mass today because even though the Mass is the re-presentation of Our Lord’s death, it is also the reminder of His Resurrection.  The Church avoids even the slightest hint of joy on this day.  An infinite offense was offered to God and only an Infinite Being could make up for it.  Why did Christ do this?  So that we would appreciate the evil of sin, and the great love of God.  We prostrate under the weight of our sins at the beginning of this ceremony, and we recite the solemn prayers in union with Christ on the Cross.  We must pray that today we remove all the obstacles we have placed in the way of God’s grace.
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The Prerequisite of Charity

March 28, 2024By

Holy Thursday 2024
These are the most sacred days of the liturgical year, because they make present the very act of our Redemption.  The Holy Oils, from the Mass of the Chrism, receive their efficacy from the Holy Eucharist.  Today is the birthday of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which was offered in anticipation of Christ’s death on the Cross the following day.  A gift of Faith is required to believe the dogma of the Holy Eucharist.  The Holy Oils made this morning are prepared to sanctify us.  The exorcisms performed over these oils drive away the influence of the devil from the oils themselves and from all whom they will anoint.
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The Bravery of the Saints

March 17, 2024By

Passion Sunday 2024
Saint Patrick stood for the true God against the pagans in Ireland.  He threw down the idols of the druids and established the Catholic Church in what is now known as the Island of Saints.  Saint Cyril of Jerusalem fought against the Arian heresy and was persecuted for it.  His bravery and steadfastness in defending the Faith are examples we must follow.  Saint Benedict saw the corruption in Rome during his time and left to become a hermit.  He started his famous Benedictine Order, which has produced thousands of saints.  If we pray with confidence and humility, we have nothing to fear. We must stand courageously beside the saints in defense of God.
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We Witness the Miraculous

March 10, 2024By

Laetare Sunday 2024
We celebrate the midpoint of the season of Lent by looking forward to the glory to come.  The way we pray is the way we believe, which is why Catholic worship has been so attacked by the enemy.  A golden rose would be blessed and anointed on this day by the pope and presented to a favored Catholic monarch.  Our mother on Earth is the Holy Catholic Church, who leads us to the heavenly Jerusalem.  The Gospel text is the great impetus for joy at this Mass.  We know that even when God tests us our future is secure if we pray.  Catholics are surrounded by the miraculous, and we must never allow ourselves to take it for granted.
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Attraction to the Divine

March 3, 2024By

3rd Sunday in Lent 2024
As children imitate their parents, so must we imitate God.  When St. Paul in this Epistle says, “how unbecoming of saints,” he is not referring to canonized saints, but all Catholics.  We are all called to sanctity.  We must battle the temptations about which St. Paul speaks by the Rosary, mental prayer, spiritual reading, and devotion to our guardian angels.  Aristotle, judged from reason alone, without the help of Divine Revelation, that “man should be attracted to divine and immortal things as much as he is able, and however little of these things he experiences, he should love them above all inferior substances.”  We should all heed these words.
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The Great Evil of Venial Sin

February 25, 2024By

2nd Sunday in Lent 2024
St. Paul calls us to make “even greater progress,” but in order to do so, we must begin attacking our habits of venial sin.  Mortal sins kill the soul,  but venial sins are the great obstacle to sanctification.  These lesser sins can easily be overlooked if we are not on guard against them.  They lessen God’s grace in our soul and they kill fervor, making spiritual practices difficult.  Our habits of venial sin will inevitably lead us to serious sin.  This disease of the soul must be combatted with custody of the mind, sincere desire of amendment, and with hatred and horror of any offense against God, no matter how slight it may appear.
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Impurity and Penance

February 18, 2024By

1st Sunday in Lent 2024
We are particularly the objects of temptation during this season in which God is calling us to sanctity.  During the temptation of Christ in the desert, Our Lord was not drawn to the evil as we are.  St. Margaret of Cortona after discovering her lover’s body, made a complete conversion of life.  The great sin combatted during Lent is impurity.  Many vocations and many marriages are destroyed by pornography, which is now so accessible, even to little children.  Parents will be greatly punished if they are not vigilant in protecting their children from this danger to their souls.  Penance is a virtue that is infused by almighty God, which inclines a soul to hate its sins, because they offend almighty God.  It is up to us to make up for the sins we have committed.
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The Real Battle

February 14, 2024By

Ash Wednesday Evening 2024
Our heart should remain forever in the chapel with Our Lord.  Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the great practices of Lent.  The words that were spoken by God to Adam and Eve after the Fall are repeated for us today with the distribution of blessed ashes.  We are reminded of our mortality and the passing glory of this world.  If we always remember our mortality, we will certainly avoid sin.  When we fast it not only makes us weak, but it also brings us closer to God.  Christ came to Earth to suffer and die for our sins, and without His suffering we would not be saved.  How much do we owe Him in penance; how much do we owe Him in love?
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From Dust to Dust

February 14, 2024By

Ash Wednesday 2024
The Church reminds us of the fate that awaits all men.  We are mortal and destined to return to dust.  The sacramental of blessed ashes reminds us of our mortality and also the transient nature of worldly glory.  From the triumphant Roman generals to the Byzantine emperors,  a Memento Mori has been a common practice to remind men that if their hearts are set on perishable things, their souls will perish with them.  For good Catholics this is not a season of sorrow but of liberation from the attachments of the world.  We should see every day we are given as a merciful call from God for a conversion of life.
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