Fasting

He Has Loved Us to Folly

April 18, 2025By Servants Of The Holy Family

Good Friday 2025
This is the day on which we put our God to death, and when we sin, we attempt once more to destroy the God Who created us. The prostration in this ceremony is an expression of our utter nothingness. Friday was the day on which man was created, and so it is on this day he is redeemed. God loved us from eternity – loved us to folly. We are the perpetrators of the Passion, and yet Christ still gave us the grace to be sorry. The Blessed Mother would have willingly died a million times for our sake, yet she was sustained through the unimaginable pain of soul she endured. We hope that we might share in our Redeemer’s death today, so that, like the Good Thief, He might remember us also in His kingdom. The Cross of Christ, along with all His sufferings, will be offered for all eternity to the Trinity for us. Even if we were saints, we could not fathom how our God could love us in this way.
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The Infinite Worshiper

April 17, 2025By Servants Of The Holy Family

Holy Thursday 2025
Today we are celebrating the birthday of the Sacrifice of the Mass, the Holy Eucharist, and the priesthood. We have been warned that we must learn from the sacred things we witness during this time, and it is incumbent upon us to call to mind the details of Our Lord’s life during these last days and moments before His death. Christ explained to the Apostles at the Last Supper that the bread, wine, and lamb of the Passover meal are all one in Him. For all priests all Thursdays are a day of retreat in commemoration of this great anniversary of the priesthood. After the moment of the Incarnation all the prayers of the angels now pass through the Son of God made man. First, He gave us Himself in the consecration of the bread, then in the consecration of the wine He gave us the Mass, and lastly, He instructed the Apostles to “do in like manner” and in these words He gave us the priesthood. Today we continue the great feast of love practiced by the early Church and thank God for the birthday of the Eucharistic Christ.
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Impurity and Penance

February 18, 2024By Servants Of The Holy Family

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 Servants Of The Holy Family

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 Servants Of The Holy Family

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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Catechumen To Neophyte

April 16, 2022By Servants Of The Holy Family

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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The Only Solution

April 14, 2022By Servants Of The Holy Family

Holy Thursday 2022
Today is a good day to remind everyone about how to receive Holy Communion properly. The Epistle is a warning from St. Paul that is timely because we live in a time of unprecedented sacrileges against Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. The Gospel describes the Mandatum when Christ washed the feet of His apostles. This was the first interruption of what was the last Passover meal. The second interruption near the end when when Our Lord gave His most precious gift just before His death – Himself in the Holy Eucharist. This is the supreme sacrament in the Church that everything revolves around. The Mass and priesthood which were instituted this night with the Holy Eucharist are essential to Its continuation to the end of time. All the problems which face us can and will be solved by God in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.
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The Devil Hates Us

March 6, 2022By Servants Of The Holy Family

First Sunday In Lent 2022
This Friday begins Stations of the Cross and this is an appropriate devotion for Lent that was begun by our Mother of Sorrows. Fasting and abstinence began on Ash Wednesday and their origins go back to Noah. These practices are essential to our Lenten retreat days. This week is the feast of St. Dominic Savio who was a student of St. John Bosco and died young at the age of 15. This account of his spiritual life is moving and an exemplary example for the young of all ages. Finally, we learn from today’s Gospel about Our Lord’s temptations in the dessert after His forty days of fasting at the beginning of His public life. The devil was permitted to tempt the Son of God without the least degree of success; however, the devil vents his anger against God now through his attacks on us, especially during holy times like this season preparing us for Holy Week and Easter.
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Lent Is A Season Of Joy

March 2, 2022By Servants Of The Holy Family

Ash Wednesday 2022
Septuagesima season has prepared us for this time of removing sin from our lives. This should comfort us as we begin this time of penance. When examining our conscience we should not look at self but at Our Lord crucified to realize the effects of our evil on Him. Lent is the bond of unity in the Church when we all struggle together. By Penance we understand different things. It is the sacrament, a moral virtue and the acts flowing from it. Ashes are given today because they are one of the three major sacramentals in the Church and remind us powerfully of death which is the consequence of Adam’s sin. Finally, practical suggestions are given to help us choose and practice spiritual exercises which will make Lent truly beneficial for us.
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