Impurity and Penance

February 18, 2024By

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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Crave The Eucharist

April 1, 2021By

Holy Thursday 2021

St. Paul warns us in the Epistle not to abuse Our Lord by receiving Him sacrilegiously in Holy Communion.  This is especially so because the Holy Eucharist is the greatest gift God has given us and the sign of His love for us.  To betray this love is like the kiss of Judas.  The Mandatum is part of the ceremony and this is Christ’s commandment of love which He taught the apostles by His own example.  In giving us Himself in the Holy Eucharist Our Lord asks us to love Him in return.  We have many heroic ancestors to follow who inspire us when we experience our own difficulties in returning love for love.  Eucharistic miracles are God’s frequent way of proving the truth of the Faith and with all these aids we should not be discouraged.
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Baptism Rite Is A Mini-Lent

March 7, 2021By

3rd Sunday in Lent 2021
Today is also the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas who is a model of many things including fidelity to a vocation.  The Liturgy of Lent continues to prepare the catechumens and penitents for the Sacred Triduum.  The daily Masses for this week are geared by the Church for this purpose.  Today’s Gospel returns our attention to the enemy of our spiritual life, namely, the devil.  We can draw all the defense we need against this foe from the Mass and Sacraments, especially the exorcising power of priests.  We are reminded at the end of this account from St. Luke of Our Lady’s role in combating the evil one.  The Blessed Mother has empowered us with the Holy Rosary which carries the mysteries of our Faith in our hands whenever we are unable to be at the altar.
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Prayer and Fasting

February 21, 2021By

1st Sunday In Lent 2021
Jesus Christ leads us by example as we begin Lent.  He sanctified the forty days we have begun by first spending that number of days in prayer and fasting in the desert before He started His public life.  Upon its completion He overcame Satan and his temptations.  We will do the same during this Lent as we walk in Christ’s footsteps by doing penance that will regain control of ourselves.  We make up for the sin of eating that Adam and Eve committed.  We follow our ancestors who made Lent holy and would not mar these forty days with war, court proceedings and other distracting activities.
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Jan
15
St. Paul the First Hermit

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