#20170115S
After a brief remark about the great reformer pope, St. Gregory VII, we learn what St. Paul means in his epistle to do all in the name of Jesus. The story of the Magi and the epiphany is explained. Finally, our patronal feastday of the Holy Family is spoken about, especially in light of the 40th anniversary of the founding of our religious community on this day.
#20170108
The Octave Day Of Christmas is a re-celebration of the Nativity.  It also commemorates the Circumcision of Our Lord as well as the Solemnity of The Blessed Virgin Mary.  The Church has long celebrated major feasts for more than just one day through what are called octaves or 8-day periods, week-long celebrations which include the day of the Feast itself. Today is the 8th day of the Octave of the Nativity and it gives us the opportunity to once again rejoice in this tremendous Feast Of Christmas. As well, it celebrates the Circumcision of Our Lord which is a “type” for our Christian Baptism, as it was for the Jews a sign of the individual’s acceptance into the “chosen people” or the Jewish religion of the Old Testament. Inasmuch as the circumcision of Jesus was carried out on the lap of the Mother of God, it also reflects the solemnity of Mary in Her singular role as Co-Redemptrix of the human race.
#20170101
St. Joseph’s care for Blessed Mother and The Holy Infant is explained.  We also learn of the significance of the swaddling clothes and that the Savior wrapped in them was how the shepherds recognized Him. Finally, the beautiful and consoling doctrine of the Incarnation is clearly stated for us to appreciate.
#20161225
The upcoming Feast of the Nativity celebrates not only Christ’s birth on earth but His Second Coming at the end of time. As the Gospel says: the Word came to St. John as the Voice of One Crying in the desert, make straight the paths of the Lord… for all mankind shall see the Salvation of God.”  The Ember Days this past week gave us the opportunity to do penance in preparation for this great feast of the Nativity. It is important for us to realize that sorrow in itself, though necessary and good, is not enough. Our Lord gave to the disciples the power to not only forgive sins but to retain them in the Sacrament of Penance. This is why the firm purpose of amendment attached to the Act of Contrition is so necessary.  For we must not only show sorrow for our sins and confess them to the priest, acting as Christ in the confessional, but we must resolve to live out our lives by doing good works and making reparation for our sins.  It is also important for us to realize that Our Lord is the Supreme Judge who will judge definitively at the end of time. Withholding personal judgments in this life is our only safe course.
#20161218K
“Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say rejoice. Let your modesty be known to all men: for The Lord is nigh.”  These words taken from St. Paul’s epistle to the Philippians for the Third Sunday of Advent may seem strange in today’s times because of all that is wrong in today’s world  However, they are as true now as they were when they were first written because they refer not only to the upcoming Feast of the Nativity but to the Second Coming of Our Lord and Savior at the end of time. We can be joyous because we have already been saved through Baptism.  The promise of what lies ahead for us, if we are faithful, is far greater than any of the problems and sufferings that we endure in this life. The Lord is indeed nigh and all we have to do is recognize His presence in our midst and pray that He keeps us true to our baptismal promises.
#20161211M
Our Lady was conceived without Original Sin, which every human being contracts because of Adam’s sin. Our own country is dedicated to Her under this title of the Immaculate Conception. Our Lady at Lourdes identified herself to St. Bernadette Soubirous by saying: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” In the epistle from today’s Mass taken from the book of Proverbs we see the excellence of Wisdom applied to Our Lady in the words: “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His ways, before He made anything, from the beginning, I was set up from eternity.” And, it is She who will crush the Head of the Serpent and those who find Her “shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord.”  So, we have a special opportunity to flee to Our Mother as the patroness of our Country and the One that will crush the Head of the Serpent.
#20161208
“Art thou he that art to come, or look we for another?” This question posed to Our Lord by the disciples of St. John the Baptist in no way implies that St. John himself had any doubts about the Divinity of Our Lord. St. John had been informed by revelation who Jesus was: “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” but John knew that he must decrease so that Christ must increase and he wanted his disciples to follow Jesus, not himself. In today’s Mass we have both the Joy of Christ’s coming on earth and the forewarning of Christ’s Second Coming in the scriptural readings for the Second Sunday of Advent. The big question is: will we be prepared for both? Unless we pray that we will be among the elect, it will not happen – so now is the time to do so.
#20161204S
The new Liturgical Year begins with the first Sunday of Advent. Liturgy is derived from a Greek word and means public worship. It differs from private prayer in that the ends of adoration, thanksgiving, reparation and petition are united with the entire church and its public prayer. The official prayer of the Mystical Body is then made sublime and sacramental through the presence of Christ. The best example, of course, is the Eucharistic Sacrifice wherein Christ Himself unites his prayer to the Father with our own. But the other sacraments accomplish the same type of worship in their own way – even the sacrament of Penance. The prayers of today’s Mass offer hope in the Final Coming to those who have kept the Faith with humility rather than the judgment of the proud predicted in last Sunday’s scriptural readings. The famous words: “Look up your salvation is at hand” are meant to give us that hope.
#20161127
Our Lord admonishes us that when the end of the world comes, many will not expect it and, more importantly, not be prepared for it. There have been numerous times when the world did not expect the widespread destruction that occurred, such as the total destruction of Jerusalem where “not one stone was left upon a stone.” Scripture tells us about the events that we will see in the final days citing the analogy of the fig tree, that when it sprouts and sends forth its buds you know that Spring is near. It also warns us not to believe the deceivers who give false statements about the presence of Christ in the final days. We should use the upcoming new liturgical year to prepare our souls to receive the Master when the Angels sound the et announcing His return.
#20161120K
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