The Extraordinary Gift of Faith

Today is one of the only times when a dogma of the Faith was proclaimed by the angels. Our Lord predicted that the preaching of the Apostles would be confirmed by the miracles they would work.  Even a cursory knowledge of Church history gives ample confirmation of these words.  Miracles aid in belief, but they do not cause the virtue of faith.  We should pray for an increase of faith every day of our lives.

The Apostles were commanded on this day to make the world Christian, and we are put to shame when we remember the heroism of the missionaries who sacrificed their lives to follow that command.

Our Lord has prepared a throne for us in Heaven and gives us a foretaste of this coming happiness every time He comes to us in Holy Communion.
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Our Daily Duty

5th Sunday after Easter 2012
As we near the end of this season of great happiness, the Church never ceases to rejoice. St. James gives practical advice in this Epistle for the practice of virtue and avoidance of bad example. The theme of this Mass is one of prayer and sacrifice.

On this day on which we congratulate our mothers, we must remember the primary purpose of marriage and the evil of artificial contraception. The vocations most attacked by the world are those sacramental vocations of marriage and the priesthood. We thank God for the gift of good mothers who work alongside the priests for the salvation of souls.
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Contempt for the Things of God

4th Sunday After Easter 2012
Christ told His Apostles to pray lest they enter into temptation, and this was an instruction to us as well. How will we make an answer for our negligence when we are judged? We will reap the consequences if we treat the things of God with contempt. We should feel at home in the chapel while we watch with Our Lord.

The way we live is the way we die, so we must be preparing every day for a good death. We are tempted the most at the moment of death, so we should pray daily that we are given the gift of Extreme Unction before our end.
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The Qualities of a Glorified Body

3rd Sunday after Easter 2012
The name “Extreme Unction” means the “last anointing,” because this sacrament is only given when the danger of death is imminent. It is in our last moments that the devil has his final chance to strike out at God by tempting us to sin. Oftentimes this sacrament provides health to the body in addition to its spiritual aids.

Easter is the guarantee of the resurrection of all the just. The preternatural qualities possessed by the glorified bodies of the just at the end of time will include impassibility, subtlety, agility, and clarity.
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A True Shepherd for the Sheep

2nd Sunday after Easter 2012
Catholics should be familiar with the lives of the saints, from the great Evangelists like St. Mark, to humble servants like St. Zita.

No one can read the story of the Good Shepherd without feeling some degree of warmth in his heart.  This beloved parable followed the cure of the man born blind.  First Our Lord describes Himself as the door to the sheepfold, then He shifts the metaphor to refer to Himself as the shepherd.  It is the obligation of the shepherd to bring his sheep to pasture so they might eat and drink, but as the Good Shepherd Our Lord declared Himself willing to sacrifice His very life for these creatures who are infinitely beneath Him.  This is the obligation of every priest and bishop, to offer his life in order to ward off the enemy and to nourish his flock.  This parable is a prophecy that at the end of time all the scattered sheep will be gathered together under the one Good Shepherd, never again to be separated.
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The Eyes of Faith

Low Sunday 2012
We should all pray for a happy death because we cannot merit it without asking for God’s grace in those last moments. We should also frequently ask that all the punishment due to our sins be removed on our deathbed by the reception of Extreme Unction. The Church has always taught that the priest can not only forgive sins but remove the punishment due to them.

This Mass is about faith, but we must remember that no saint has had great faith without great humility. It is only when we realize how much we need help that we ask God for help. We possess nothing good which we have given ourselves. Even faith is a gift from God for which we cannot take credit. Humility is the foundation, faith is the walls, and charity is the roof of the great structure God has built in us.
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Supply What I Lack

Easter Sunday 2012
We pray that we may receive all the benefits of this Mass.  The Mass of today, the greatest of all feasts, is the crown of the liturgical year.  The historical event is made present again at the Mass.  The Resurrection is the central doctrine of the whole Catholic Church.  Christ came for the purpose of saving us.  When we receive Holy Communion at the Mass today, we can receive any graces we did not obtain this Lent.
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The Prophecy of the Resurrection

Easter Midnight Mass 2012
All the scenes of the paschal mystery are also prophecies of things yet to come. Before Christ comes to judge the living and the dead, cataclysms will affect the whole Earth, and He will send angels to announce the Savior in glory. Just as the soldiers were terrified and fell down as dead men, so too will the enemies who have fought Our Lord react to His coming in those days. It will be at the darkest moment when everyone is at the brink of despair and all seems lost, when Our Divine Savior will make His appearance and triumph over all. May we receive all the fruits God desires for us on this day while we confidently await the victory to come.
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A Taste of Triumph

Easter Vigil 2012
Our Lord is the Author and Minister of the holy liturgy, and because all the acts of Christ during His life on Earth were acts of worship, we relive His life through the liturgy.  These rituals are not empty, but are a true living memorial which places us as participants in these mysteries.  The liturgy also points to a time yet to come.  It points to the day when all the works of the Son of God will be fulfilled in the final victory over all His enemies.  This night we receive a foretaste of that triumph.  The sacramental order uses the simple elements of creation to impart supernatural favors.  When the fire is lit, God begins to renew His Resurrection from the dead, and our Redeemer, in the light of the candle, leads us to the baptismal water that purifies our souls.
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He Suffered All for You

Good Friday 2012
The liturgical prayer of the faithful for all people, united with the prayer of Christ for His enemies on the Cross, was a practice from the earliest days of the Church.  We prostrate in this ceremony to express our profound sorrow for having personally caused the death of Christ.  He died for love of each of us, and so that we would love Him in return.  The love God has for us is so far beyond reason that it is as impossible to grasp as He Himself.  God suffered in proportion to all the sins that have ever been and will ever be committed.  How much love must we give in return?  This is truly the saddest and happiest day in the history of the world.
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