Our 40 Day Lenten Retreat

February 17, 2021By

Ash Wednesday Evening 2021
Ashes are a sacramental so we should stir up our hearts and receive them devoutly.  By popular demand the reception of ashes was extended to all the faithful not just the public penitents.  We should imitate the penitents and catechumens during this spiritual retreat and practice acts of penance like prayer, fasting, almsgiving and studying.  Our Lord taught us about these in the Sermon on the Mount from which today’s Gospel comes.  We enter Lent with Christ as our Leader so we imitate Him in His sufferings and eventually in His Resurrection.
#20210217M

Listen Now

Ultimately Penance Is Love

February 14, 2021By

Ash Wednesday 2021
Neglect of practicing penance during Lent is a cause of the problems we experience in the world today.  The virtue of penance is a power from God which makes us hate sin, be sorry for it, make reparation for it and convert because sin offends God Who loves us.  Penance spurs us on to mortify our evil tendencies and remove the obstacles during Lent so to make room for Our Lord.  The Liturgy teaches us these things and the acts of penance are traditionally known as prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  Many ask for penances during Lent and several recommendations are given to help us make a good and holy Lent.
#20210217

Listen Now

Purity of Intention

February 14, 2021By

Quinquagesima Sunday 2021
In preparation for Ash Wednesday and Lent there is a review of the laws concerning fast and abstinence.  Today is also the feast of St. Valentine and his impact in our own day.  The Epistle for this Mass is taken from St. Paul and teaches us the importance of doing all our works, especially the upcoming penances, with purity of intention which is produced by charity.  The Gospel tells of the cure of the blind man by Our Lord.  We are that blind man who need God’s help to see our sinfulness and do something about it.
#20210214K

Listen Now

She Is In Bitter Grief

April 10, 2020By

Good Friday 2020
The Church mourns the death of God in an even more dramatic way this year.  The Solemn Liturgical Action expresses this loss through the Passion of St. John and the two prophecies.  Then we join with Christ on the Cross for His universal prayers for all.  We venerate our means of salvation by reverencing the Holy Cross and finally we join with our Savior in Holy Communion.  All of this inspires us to return the Divine Love of the Sacred Heart which shed every drop of the Precious Blood for us and to convert from sin which exacted such cruelty upon our innocent Lord.
#20200410M

Listen Now

Restore The Holy Eucharist

April 9, 2020By

Holy Thursday 2020
We celebrate the anniversaries of the institution of the sacrifice of the Holy Mass and the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders today.  The Mass is the central act and purpose for the Church which Christ commanded at the Last Supper to be offered and from it flows Our Lord’s Real Presence among us in the Blessed Sacrament.  He is our Food and the reason for the joy and freedom we experience even at the worst of times.  The Priesthood was established to accomplish this until the end of time.  St. John Vianney said that love of the Mass and the priesthood are signs of predestination.  Priests must cherish these things most of all.  St. Paul in the Epistle warns that our infirmities are caused because of the neglect of the Holy Eucharist.  These mysterious days in which we are living have as their root cause the mistreatment of Our Lord in the most sacred sacrament of the altar.
#2020409

Listen Now

Learn As A Catechumen In Lent

March 8, 2020By

2nd Sunday of Lent 2020
Lent is a long retreat for catechumens to prepare for Baptism and for penitents to prepare for Communion. We follow in their footsteps as we learn from each of the Lenten Masses as seen, for example, in this week’s story of Esau and Jacob.  Today’s Epistle stresses God’s holy will that we become saints while the Transfiguration Gospel reaffirms Our Lord’s divinity, especially in preparation for His suffering ahead which will test our faith as it did the apostles.
#20200308M

Listen Now

What Is Keeping Me From God?

March 1, 2020By

First Sunday of Lent 2020
This sermon begins with a review of the Lenten regulations and a recalling of the life and the struggle for his vocation of St. Thomas Aquinas, whose feast is this week.  Then we learn about the sacramental of ashes which is a powerful aid during this season which offers us more graces than at any other time during the year.  With this help we perform supernatural works which overcome everything that separates us from God.  After His forty days of fasting in the desert, Our Lord showed us how to defeat the devil and his temptations.  We are meant to follow Christ’s example.
#20200301K

Listen Now

The Grace Of Ashes

February 26, 2020By

Ash Wednesday 2020
The origins of this day date back to the beginning when God told Adam after his fall that he was dust and unto dust he would return.  To counter the sin of pride by eating the forbidden fruit we are called to practice humility by fast and abstinence.  All peoples have felt the need for penance and Catholics can accomplish it effectively and with merit.  Not to be forgotten is the need for love which must motivate our actions and make us imitate Christ who suffered and died out of love.  The Mass is the greatest work any of us can do and so it is critical during Lent.  The sacramental of the ashes will strengthen us today and throughout these forty days.
#20200226S

Listen Now

Take Courage And Fear Not

December 15, 2019By

Gaudete Sunday 2019
Today is a day of joy which is expressed in the rose color of the vestments.  Our crosses seem small in comparison with Our Lord’s coming at Christmas which is so near now.  Prayer is our best work as we prepare for the Nativity.  We should thank God for His gifts, especially our holy Faith.  Soon, He will come to save us.
#20191215K

Listen Now

Our Lord’s Retreat

July 21, 2019By

6th Sunday after Pentecost 2019

The Gospel has us join the Supreme Retreat Master as He conducts a three day retreat with over 4,000 people.  The intensity of the conferences was such that fasting and praying were done effortlessly under Our Lord’s gentle direction.  He then fed them miraculously at its conclusion so they were strengthened for their return to their daily lives.  What a beautiful goal for each of us to strive after by scheduling time for our own retreats with the Master.  Today is also the first Holy Communion for our convert and such a wonderful day to receive Jesus Christ for the first time.
#20190721S

Listen Now

Jan
15
St. Paul the First Hermit

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop
    To find out your shipping cost , Please proceed to checkout.
    Continue Shopping
    •‎  ‎ Sunday Mass: 9 AM  ‎ • ‎  719.985.4129 ‎  •