The Advent Conferences 2024
Bishop’s Conference for Advent – Learn about the historical and liturgical meaning of the season of Advent, as well as the great danger of a vice we all suffer from – lukewarmness.
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First Friday, December 2024
Conference on Grace and The Immaculate Conception – When we speak of perfect passive conception, we refer to the moment in which the product of active conception is infused with a soul and becomes a human person. From this moment of perfect passive conception, the Virgin Mary was redeemed in a preservative, not a liberative, manner. The Blessed Mother from this point possessed a greater union with God than all the angels and saints. Our Lady was not only free from the guilt of Original Sin, but also the concupiscence of the flesh, of the eyes, and the pride of life. By a divine ligature, she was unable to consent to even the slightest imperfections.
Sanctifying Grace is a created share in the supernatural life of God. When God breathed human life into Adam, He breathed a share of divine life into him as well. Grace must be valued above all things. We must be willing to live and die to preserve it. The Blessed Mother was given the plenitude of grace in preparation for her role as the Mother of God, as well as Mother to each one of us.
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1st Sunday of Advent 2024
Today is New Year’s Day in the Church, and we are reminded by the violet color at the beginning of the liturgical year to do penance for our sins. We have a lot of work to do this Advent to prepare for the coming of Our Lord into our souls. This is the time to make spiritual New Year’s resolutions. If we wish to obtain our heavenly reward, we must perform the spiritual and corporal works of mercy and maintain purity of body and soul through prayer and mortification. The Son of God honored our flesh when He took to Himself a human nature. In following the purpose of this Advent season, let us “put aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light!”
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All Souls Day 2024 – Evening
The Vestment for tonight’s Mass displays a cross intertwined with the branches of a weeping willow, reminding us to weep for those souls who have not reached their heavenly reward. Because of its implicit denial of the general resurrection of the dead, the practice of cremation was so condemned by the Church that it incurred the penalty of excommunication. We see how ancient the practice of praying for the dead is from the account of the Machabees. To say that everyone goes to Heaven directly contradicts the words of Christ, the Scriptures, Tradition, and reason. The souls in Purgatory are so close to their eternal end, and we must do what we can to speed their journey.
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All Souls Day 2024
We come to this Mass to help the Poor Souls. Holy Mother Church does not neglect any of her children, even those detained in Purgatory, because God greatly desires that we care for the dead. The origin of the maniple that the priest wears was originally a handkerchief to wipe the tears from his eyes, and in union with him we all weep for the Holy Souls today. Everything is directed to the souls in Purgatory. Even on this First Saturday, when the Blessed Mother is usually the focus, she defers to the suffering souls. We pray for final perseverance, so that when we are attacked by the devil in our last moments, we will turn to God. Heaven is only for the perfect, and in order to enter we must have no attachment to sin. If we do not remove those attachments in this life, we must remove them in the next.
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20th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Rosary Conference – There are many sacramentals used by the Church, but none seem to be as favored by Our Lady as the Dominican Rosary. It is a prayer to Our Lord with the Virgin Mary, and after the Holy Mass and Divine Office, it is the most powerful prayer a Catholic can make. There is no request that is beyond its power. In this world of secularism, religious indifference, and apostasy, we have one thing left – the Holy Rosary. It originated as a replacement for the psalms for certain illiterate monks in the monasteries and was later used to assist the preaching of St. Dominic. This spiritual weapon has led to many military victories throughout Church history. It supplies in some way for what the faithful of today are being deprived of in the liturgy. The Rosary offers lessons in the practice of virtue, helps us forget our fears and troubles as we are plunged into the Divine Heart of Christ, and disposes us to receive the gift of passive, infused contemplation.
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Exaltation of the Holy Cross 2024
Emperor Constantine saw a vision of the Holy Cross in the sky which led to his victory. Years later, St. Helena led an expedition to the Holy Land and miraculously found the true Cross of Our Lord. Hundreds of years after that, Emperor Heraclius defeated the Persians and rescued the Cross which had been stolen. This feast was prepared by Our Lord through the many miracles He has performed. The Cross is the sign of victory over our enemies and gives us the knowledge of God’s love for us, which is, in the end, the only knowledge necessary. When God’s love is revealed to us, we must respond by offering all our love in return. The love we are given through the Cross raises us to such heights that we are able to love God with a share in His own sacrificial love.
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16th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Carmelite Perpetual Profession – The perpetual vows are received by the prioress of the convent, but the veil comes from the hands of the priest or bishop. In taking the black veil the novice shows herself to be a true bride of Christ, so it is fitting that it be given by him who is acting in Persona Christi. In the early days the veil sheltered the face of a married woman from the gaze of the world, her beauty and innocence being reserved for her spouse alone. So too with the perpetual vows of a nun. She is the spouse of Christ and she will accept no other lover. The nun is called to be generous and giving especially in the service of Christ’s representatives – the priests. The Carmelites in particular share in a special way in the interior life of the priest. This life is the means of sanctification and union with God. It requires great love and confidence in the unfailing assistance of Our Lord.
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13th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
The undying devotion of even a brute animal towards its master puts us to shame. How much should we love our Savior and how unwilling should we be to leave His side? Today we are reminded of our need for God’s help. The disease of sin that we carry is far worse than that of the lepers in the Gospel. Their disease did not make them enemies of God as ours does. We act as if there is nothing wrong with us, despite our sins. We must never forget what we owe to God, so that we will not remain ungrateful in the face of God’s generosity in our lives.
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12th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
This Epistle shows how God has accommodated Himself to mankind. Saint Paul reminds us to practice the Spirit of the Law. Although there were holy men who followed the Old Law, it had no grace in itself. However, it constantly promised the coming of the New Law, the coming of Jesus Christ. Today’s gospel reminds us that we must never stop loving. We must love God, our neighbor, and our enemies, and follow the example of Our Lord and the saints in doing so.
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