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Lent Restores Peace

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Ash Wednesday 2015
Not one word is said about punishment or damnation in the readings for this Mass, and that should give a hint to Catholics about the true spirit of this season.  There is no such thing as a private sin.  Not only are all our sins known to the heavenly court, but the whole universe is affected by them.  In the early years of the Church, public penitents were driven out of the churches, just as Adam was driven from Paradise after his sin.  This is a time of holiness, mercy, hope, and pardon, not condemnation and gloom.  We must begin Lent as we should examine our conscience, by looking at Our Lord and comparing ourselves with Him.  During Lent Christ pleads with us not to leave Him alone, so we may be united with Him forever.
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The Hymn of Charity

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Quinquagesima Sunday 2015
We are judged primarily by love.  This Epistle for today tells us that charity removes anger and evil thoughts.  Although anger can be justified and good, it can also be inordinate and sinful.  We must be patient with others, but especially with ourselves.  When they fall, those who are full of pride become impatient with themselves.  The humble thank God even for allowing them to fall to teach them how dependent they are.  We should petition God for our needs with all patience, knowing that God will answer our prayers in His own good time.  We must have a constant resolution to reject our sins and even our imperfections.
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Penance and Preparation

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Sermon From The
4th Sunday of Advent 2014
✟Father Violette
This is the last day of preparation for the birth of Christ.  To talk about penance, conversion, and self-purification is not opposed to the joy of Christmas, but necessary for true participation.  Even the Child Jesus had His Passion in mind when He first entered the world.  St. John the Baptist was the holiest man who had ever lived up to that point, yet he was not given power to change the soul through his baptism.  It is only through the merits of Christ that the sacrament of Baptism gives us new life.  Without prayer and penance, we will surely lose our way.
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+ Father Violette’s final sermon +



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Mercy For The Living And The Dead

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Sermon From The
21st Sunday after Pentecost 2014
The books of the Machabees are read in the Divine Office during this time.  We are given an important instruction from the Machabees, especially during the month of November, to pray for the dead.  We are fighting a seemingly impossible enemy to conquer.  But we must think of God, not of ourselves, and rely on His help and the help of the good angels.  We will be punished if we are hardhearted and do not forgive those who ask for mercy, or do not pray for the souls in Purgatory who are so much in need of our help.
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The Cost of Redemption

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Sermon On
Passion Sunday 2014
During the season of Passiontide, we see the cost of our Redemption.  The statues are veiled and every consolation is removed from us so that our attention may be focused on the sufferings of Christ alone.  We see in the Gospel the sin against the Holy Ghost in which one maliciously and deliberately interprets what is good as something evil.  Those guilty of this sin are the ones not worthy to receive forgiveness and will “die in their sin.”  In the face of such wickedness, seen especially in our own time, we should cling all the more loyally and faithfully to our suffering Savior.
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Lent Has Formally Begun

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Sermon On The
1st Sunday of Lent 2014
Father Violette✟
Our sins are an infinite offense, because they offend an infinite God and although we cannot make adequate reparation, Our Lord has still instructed us to do penance.  This penance can only be performed with God’s supernatural help of grace.  We are guided by the Church throughout Lent and given the weapons of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  When we use these weapons well, Lent becomes the best time of the year.  It is the time when we are preparing for our heavenly delights.
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Let Perpetual Light Shine Upon Him

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Funeral Mass, March 2014
Death hurts us all, but the Church gives us words of comfort in the face of death when she reminds us that on the last day all will rise.  The coffin of the deceased is surrounded by candles at the Requiem Mass, representing Christ, the Light of the World.  Even those who have left the true Church have admitted the great comfort the Church offers us in our last moments.  In praying for final perseverance, we are asking for all the help necessary to fight the final attempts of the devil to steal our souls from God.  The deceased soul’s work is over, but ours is not.  We must continually pray for the souls in purgatory and pray for our own salvation.
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Examination for the New Year

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Sermon From
Last Sunday After Pentecost 2013
At the end, Christ will come openly for all to see, and yet many evil people will remain unrepentant.  Why?  Because they do not want to be converted.  We must not be among them, and we must begin our preparation now by using the sacrament of Penance and by examining our conscience regularly.  We should be prepared for death at all times and pray for forgiveness and detachment in the coming year.
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The King of All Virtues

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25th Sunday after Pentecost 2013 – Part 1
St. Paul wrote the epistle to the Colossians while he was imprisoned.  In it, St. Paul emphasized the supremacy of Our Lord over all creatures and His equality with God the Father.  Mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience are virtues rarely found among Catholics today.  It is through charity that we reach perfection, the intimate union with God.  Charity unites and informs all the other virtues, changing them into true expressions of love.  A gift is only valuable when it comes from love.  If we do not increase in charity, the good works we perform will not increase our glory in Heaven.  We should consider how much we have grown in holiness after so many years of being a Catholic.  This Gospel contains one of the few parables for which Christ gave a direct explanation. It is the perfect parable for our own time.
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Humility Makes Us Happy

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Sermon From The
24th Sunday after Pentecost 2013
A Catholic should never be sad, despite his troubles.  We see the example of the Little Flower, who died a painful death, at the age of twenty-four, yet she died laughing.  It is pride that makes us sad, and humility which makes us happy.  The Epistle tells us to forgive friends and enemies alike.  We forgive and ask for forgiveness.  Comparing our lives to those of our neighbor will impede our progress, while comparing them to the lives of the saints will make us saints.  Prayer, rather than argument, is the most effective way of converting our neighbor.
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