Sanctity Needs Great Desire

Sermon From The
Feast Of All Saints 2013
Our Lord in the Gospel teaches the Beatitudes which show the blessedness of the saints.  We must have great desire to be holy and we can achieve this with prayer and effort.  Although non-Catholics criticize devotion to the saints they are not following Christian practice which dates back to the second century when several Apostolic Fathers recorded how relics, feastdays and prayers in honor of the Blessed Mother and the martyrs were already well-established.  We must go to the saints who are more powerful now in heaven than they ever were on earth.  We should take the words of St. Augustine to heart: “If they can become saints why can’t I?”  Prayer to the saints will be rewarded.  Heaven is our home and for that we have been created.
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Our Lady’s Sovereignty

Sermon From
14th Sunday after Pentecost 2013
The time between the Assumption and the feast of the Seven Sorrows is considered Our Lady’s thirty days.  The Mass texts of these feasts and that of the Immaculate Heart show her quality as Co-Redemptrix.  This adds fervor to the devotion we already have to our heavenly Queen and Mother.  The depictions of her most pure Heart, as in the Miraculous Medal, show her dependence on the Redemptive Incarnation even more than ours.  We are given confidence to draw close to her as our essential intercessor with her Divine Son.  Theologically we are speaking of her as the secondary instrumental cause of our salvation.  From here we are moved to join her in her sorrows and we practice mortification in union with Our Lord’s sacrifice on the cross.
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Her Fitting Assumption

Sermon From
The Feast Of The Assumption 2013
Congratulations to all the confirmands who received the Sacrament of Confirmation last Sunday.  You have received an increase of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost which were originally received at your Baptism.  You now are soldiers of Christ and represent the Church to the world.  This is a serious obligation which we all must honor in our lives.  The better to do so means not only knowing the names of the Gifts but what they are and do for us.  This is the feast of Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven body and soul.  It is a dogma of the Faith and must be believed by Catholics.  Critics complain that the Blessed Mother has been too highly placed by us but actually it is Christ Who is first exalted on this day.  It is most appropriate because His Mother imitated Our Lord in all His redemptive actions and so she should share in His Resurrection and Ascension.  Our Queen must reign in heaven and this is more perfect with her body.
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Our Glimpse of Heaven

Sermon From The
Feast Of All Saints 2012
We recall the great doctrine of the communion of saints while celebrating the Church Triumphant today.  The feast originated when the relics of the martyrs were removed from the catacombs and were brought in triumphal procession to be placed in the Pantheon, now consecrated to the Blessed Mother and all the martyrs.  There are far more saints than those we are able to celebrate throughout the year, so this feast is for all those other saints, both known and unknown.  In the liturgy we are given a glimpse of the Lamb of God surrounded by all His saints and angels.  At every Mass we practice the adoration which we will perform for all eternity in Heaven.  Our goal is to join all the saints of the Heavenly court along with our Divine Savior Who calls us to come to Him on this holy day.
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The Honor of Our People

Sermon From
The Feast Of The Assumption 2012
At the moment of the Blessed Mother’s visitation, when St. John the Baptist leapt in the womb of Elizabeth, Our Lord was only three days old in the womb of the Virgin Mary. This is a biblical condemnation of the modern belief that the life of the child only begins after birth – an argument used to excuse the murder of the unborn.

The Blessed Mother did not carry herself to Heaven by her own power, she was assumed, body and soul, by the power of Almighty God. She was raised to the highest position in Heaven, second to the Holy Trinity, because of the degree of divine life she possessed. Sanctifying grace makes us lovable in the eyes of God, and it is the greatest of God’s gifts. The first fruit of Sanctifying Grace is sublime and supernatural divine love. We are not meant for this life. There is a place destined for us where there is no more sorrow or fear, and the Assumption of the Blessed Mother is the promise that one day we might enjoy it.
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