A Vocation Worth the Fight

2nd Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Tonsure Ceremony
With first tonsure one becomes a cleric.  This ceremony has been part of the Church since the 5th century.  Just as slaves were shorn to show their complete ownership by their master, so the cleric shows that he now belongs to Christ.  The surplice is imposed to represent putting on the new man, because holiness is no longer an aspiration but a direct call.  Our Lord promised to those who give up the world a hundredfold in this life.  The candle carried in procession represents the soul of those to be tonsured, and when the bishop receives and extinguishes the candle, it demonstrates that the very will of the cleric is offered to God.  God will grant the necessary graces to do everything he asks, if the cleric remains confident in Him as he forges on towards the goal.
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Where Joy and Sorrow Meet

Feast of the Purification 2024
The candle is one of the great sacramentals of the Church.  It is like a sacrament in the sense that it is an outward sign, but unlike a sacrament, it does not give grace automatically.  This day links Our Lord and the Blessed Mother so closely.  Today we remember both the joyful mystery of the Rosary and the first of the Virgin Mary’s great sorrows.  Because the Mother of God was not affected by original sin, and because of the Virginal Birth, she was not subject to the law requiring purification.  However, she submitted to it in all humility.  God used the New Eve to carry the New Adam into the Garden, when the Blessed Mother carried Our Lord into the temple.
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Complete Trust In The Shepherd

2nd Sunday after Easter 2023
There is only one fold and one shepherd. We have complete trust in Christ as our Good Shepherd, and it is the call of all priests and bishops to watch over the flock and to bring those who are lost back to the true fold. As we have heard before and we continue to reiterate, the price of our salvation is the Blood of the Lamb – the Blood of Christ, shed for our salvation. The beautiful Paschal Candle stands as a consoling reminder of Christ’s presence with us for the forty days after His Resurrection.
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The True Passover

Easter Vigil 2023
Everything is dark at the beginning of this ceremony, just as it was before the creation of the cosmos.  The darkness is representative of the Old Testament, while the Lumen Christi, or Light of Christ, is the New Testament.  The completion of the Passover takes place this evening.  Evidence has been found in recent years of the passage through the Red Sea, but tonight, in a real way, we celebrate the true Passover, which is renewed through the liturgy.  All of creation is made clear to us this night.  Our faith is made perfect in the Resurrection.
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Catechumen To Neophyte

Easter Vigil 2022
The Easter Vigil is the culmination of our Lenten retreat and especially for the catechumens who are baptized and who will receive their first Holy Communions at the Mass which follows.  The Liturgy brings light to the darkness of the world of sin and sings the praise of Our Lord’s Paschal candle.  Then we are reminded of the miracles around water in preparation for the blessing of the Easter and baptismal waters which lead to the baptism of our catechumens.  The Mass of Christ’s triumphant Resurrection will end with our Easter communion and our union with the Risen Savior.  The newest members of the Church now begin their lives as part of the faithful.
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Charity Lifts To Heaven

4th Sunday After Epiphany 2022
This week we will bless throats in honor of St. Blaise.  The Holy Ghost through St. Paul writes that we should owe no man anything except to love one another.  This endorses living debt free, as much as possible, but it does not include being free of charity which all must practice.  Charity is the greatest of all the virtues, including the other theological ones.  Without charity we are lost. It is the only thing that can make us happy here and in heaven.  The second part of today’s Mass is the reminder that Christ is in complete control of everything and that we must never lose trust in Him.  Finally, we learn about the upcoming feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple.
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Marriage of the Incarnation

The Holy Name Of Jesus 2022
This day can also be called the feast of God’s friendship with man.  It began to be celebrated in the fifth century but its origins reach back to the Old Testament when God first gave His Name of “Yahweh” which means “I am, Who Am” to Moses.  The reverence towards this Name was such that it could only be spoken once a year by the high priest in the Holy of Holies.  Once God became man He was given the Name of Jesus meaning Savior.  Now we are encouraged to say God’s Name often and if done repeatedly on our deathbed St. Francis de Sales said we will have a peaceful death.
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Guardians Of The Liturgy

Easter Sunday 2021
We gather at the stational Church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary because she was the first to see her Risen Son Who truly died and rose again.  At this Mass we join with those from last night’s vigil in renewing our baptismal promises and the renouncing of Satan and all his works and pomps.  This Mass is mystic and the Introit expresses the eternal unity of the Blessed Trinity and much more.  The priests and those preparing for the priesthood must heed the last prophetic reading from the vigil last night which carries a warning for those commissioned to protect Our Lord in the Mass and sacred liturgy.  Happy Easter.
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Easter Vigil Baptisms

Easter Vigil 2021
During this Vigil in anticipation of Our Lord’s Resurrection at midnight we begin outside in the darkness by lighting the Paschal Fire.  Then we carry the Light of the World in through His Candle which is praised in the exquisite praeconium called the Exsultet.  Prophetic readings and the Litany of the Saints ready us for the making of the baptismal water and finally the solemn Baptism of our catechumens.  Mass begins and we join with the neophytes as they receive their first Holy Communions.  Happy Easter.
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Give All To Receive All

Sexagesima Sunday 2021
Saints this week are our friends like St. Apollonia.  The Liturgy is our ordinary means of sanctification and reception of sacramentals is a practical aspect of this.  St. Paul is the dominant character during this season of Septuagesima and tells in the Epistle of all he has sacrificed in fulfilling Our Lord’s prophecy about his suffering for the Name of Jesus.  The Gospel shows the Word of God gently warning all to receive Him well and thereby receive a hundredfold.  Finally, we need to follow Catholic principles in our daily lives and imitate the Catholic Supreme Court justice and not the famous author who wrote that lying is permitted if done for the sake of the nation.
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