No Longer Spectators

April 1, 2012By

Palm Sunday 2012
Each of us participates in the prayer of the Son of God offered to His Father.  We have received a character through Baptism and it has made us a priestly people.  The priest asks that his sacrifice and ours may be acceptable to Our Lord.  Despite all the distance in time and space, we are truly a part of this event which took place 2,000 years ago.  Today Christ entered the Holy City publicly as King.  After the celebratory part of this ceremony the mission of Our Lord begins in all gravity.  We must desire to be by His side at the Cross, knowing that we will triumph.  When we receive the palm, we are participating in the triumph of God over the devil every day of our life.
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The Flesh Of The Sea

March 18, 2012By

Sermon From
4th Sunday In Lent – Laetare Sunday 2012
This day marks the midpoint of Lent, so it is important to renew our spirit of penance for this season. If we desire to come in contact with Our Lord, we must inter into the waters of Baptism. This is why the fish has been used from ancient times as a symbol of the Holy Eucharist, because one must enter into the water to obtain the “flesh of the sea.” Like St. Peter who walked on the sea to reach Christ, through Baptism we are able to receive Our Lord in Holy Communion.

Too few Catholics know how to pray correctly. Our Lord cannot resist our prayers when they come from the soul. We may reach such a degree of prayer that we remain always recollected in the presence of God.

The Gospel readings from the previous week remind us how grateful we should be that our judgment is in the hands of such a loving Lord.

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Extreme Unction and Temptation

March 11, 2012By

3rd Sunday in Lent 2012

In the sacrament of Extreme Unction, the priest anoints the organs of the senses, the eyes, ears, hands, etc., in order to prepare the dying individual for Heaven.  He prays that any sins committed through the senses may be wiped away.  This sacrament is for those in proximate danger of death, and it restores health to the soul and sometimes to the body of the recipient.

Few of us want to face the consequences of sin, but today the Church urges us to do just that.  This season began with the temptation of Christ, in which Our Lord showed Himself attacked by the devil when He was weak from fasting.  We too should be on guard against the devil’s influence, which can affect us in many ways.
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The Doctrine of Indulgences

March 4, 2012By

2nd Sunday of Lent 2012
All Catholics have a serious obligation to know the catechism.  Our Lord made infinite satisfaction for the sins of mankind by His sufferings and death, and these merits, along with the superabundant merits of the Blessed Mother and the saints, are available to us in the Treasury of the Church.  By practicing works to which indulgences have been attached, we may remove the temporal punishment due to our forgiven sins.  Although the doctrine of indulgences is often condemned, because of past abuses in the use of indulgences, it is nevertheless a beautiful and salutary truth of the Faith.

Many deny the existence of Hell or the fact that souls are punished there, but we have just as much certainty of these truths as we do of the existence of God Himself.  It is necessary to believe that God rewards the good and punishes the evil. He gives us all sufficient grace to love Him, and it is up to us to do so.
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Confidence In Our Conquest

February 26, 2012By

1st Sunday of Lent 2012
This is the season in which saints are made.  All these days demand from us a great desire for holiness.  The devil temps us to sin so we may be his pawn in revenge against God.  In the Gospel we see Christ tempted in the inauguration of His public life, the theme of which was combat with the devil and his servants.  Temptations come to us so that we may be made strong in the virtues where we are the weakest.  We will be invincible in the face of temptation if we never fail to ask confidently for God’s help.

Stations of the Cross is among the most ancient devotions of the Church.  Through it we make a spiritual pilgrimage to share in the sufferings of our Redeemer.  This practice developed from the imitation of the Blessed Mother who visited the places where her Divine Son suffered.  We should ask to see the stations through the eyes of the Virgin Mary so we may reap the greatest profits from this devotion.
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We the Penitents and Catechumens

February 22, 2012By

Ash Wednesday 2012
The time leading up to the season of Lent is to help us follow the example of the catechumens and public sinners of the early Church.  The Sundays that comprise Septuagesima take to heart all that was in the mind of these two groups of people.

After God told Noah of His regret for creating mankind because of their rebellion, and after He destroyed the world with the deluge, he sent the dove with an olive branch to make peace with humanity.  It is important to remember that God desires not our damnation, but our salvation.

Many people dislike the season of Lent because they are forced to see their true sinful nature.  When we see ourselves in this way it should spur us to a deep detestation and a humble confession of our sins.  This humility is the recognition of the truth about ourselves.

The principal works of penance are prayer, especially the Holy Mass and mental prayer, spiritual reading, and the gift of alms.  If we can overcome one habit of sin through these works, we have made great progress towards sanctity..

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Penance in Charity

February 19, 2012By

Sermon From
Quinquagesima Sunday 2012
There is no question on the Catholic Church’s stance regarding contraception and abortion, despite the attacks of the world on these moral teachings in our day.

We have had St. Paul as our retreat master preparing us for Lent, and now that we have spent this time and know the malice of our fallen nature, we are prepared to perform penances during the coming season in all charity.  We will need faith and love to carry our cross with Christ through Lent.  This is our chance to do battle with the help of Christ. God will never abandon us.
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The True Origin of Mankind

February 12, 2012By

Sexagesima Sunday 2012
We must be on guard against the pseudoscience preached today in an attempt to undermine belief in God.  The teaching that the human soul is a more highly evolved version of the soul of a brute animal is false and is in direct contradiction to the teachings of Holy Scripture.  The Church has never denied the adaptation of animals to their environment, but there is no proof of evolution as it is taught by the enemies of the Church.

During this season it is important to understand the meaning of indulgences and how efficacious they are for our eternal welfare.
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Never Despair of the Mercy of God

February 5, 2012By

Septuagesima Sunday 2012
St. Blaise was a bishop who was arrested during the early persecutions and was blessed with many favors by God.  Devotion to him has been very popular throughout the history of the Church and so the Church has devised a special blessing which invokes his intercession.

St. Agatha was close to the last of the martyrs.  She was unwilling to submit to sins of impurity under the greatest pressures and even endure terrible torture rather than give up her virtue.

When a woman gave birth under the Old Law, she was considered ritually unclean and because of this she was commanded to submit herself to the temple after one month for her purification.  Although Our Lady was not subject to this because of the miraculous birth, she submitted so she might have a greater union with us sinners.  It is also the day of the first of the great sorrows of her life in the prophecy of Simeon.

These Sundays before Lent are meant to help us know ourselves.  If we put out just a portion of the effort for our reward, which will last forever, that the sports stars put into their victory, we will be sure to triumph over this life.
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