Obedient Unto Death

Sermon From The Feast Of
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross 2012
We should study and meditate on the cross of Our Lord, because it was on this cross that His greatest work was accomplished.  While the Son of God was suspended on the cross, He was thinking of each of us.  This device used for torture and execution has become our symbol of consolation and hope.  It was under this sign that Emperor Constantine conquered, and it was St. Helena, his mother, who led the expedition to recover the True Cross from the Holy Land.  We should not be fearful and reluctant in the face of the trials Our Lord sends us.  If we embrace these crosses, then we too will be obedient to the Will of God even unto death.

#20120914K

Listen Now

God’s Gratuitous Gifts

Sermon From The
15th Sunday after Pentecost 2012
✟Father Violette
If we wish to know how we are to live our lives, we need only study the Holy Liturgy.  So often when we read the Gospels it is as if we are being instructed on a certain topic for the very first time.  Today’s Collect tells us that we should cry out to God in our helplessness.  Unfortunately, too few of us appreciate how helpless we really are.  We cannot do anything in our natural state to obtain our ultimate goal of Heaven.  We all bear one another’s burdens.  Not only do we suffer because of the sins of others, but we benefit from the merits of the saints.  We are called to live a holy life so that we may save our own souls and those of our neighbors.
#20120909V

Listen Now

The Solidarity of the Human Race

13th Sunday after Pentecost 2012
We cannot gain an increase of Sanctifying Grace for other souls, however through congruent merit, we have the ability to win an increase of divine assistance for our neighbor. The closer we are to God the more He will bless those around us. This is referred to as the solidarity of the human race. It is also why we pray for the intercession of the saints. It is as if the close friends of Our Lord have a claim on His goodness.

The most important of the moral virtues is prudence, because it governs all the other moral virtues. It is prudence which prevents both excess and defect in the practice of the other virtues
#20120826

Listen Now

The Honor of Our People

Sermon From
The Feast Of The Assumption 2012
At the moment of the Blessed Mother’s visitation, when St. John the Baptist leapt in the womb of Elizabeth, Our Lord was only three days old in the womb of the Virgin Mary. This is a biblical condemnation of the modern belief that the life of the child only begins after birth – an argument used to excuse the murder of the unborn.

The Blessed Mother did not carry herself to Heaven by her own power, she was assumed, body and soul, by the power of Almighty God. She was raised to the highest position in Heaven, second to the Holy Trinity, because of the degree of divine life she possessed. Sanctifying grace makes us lovable in the eyes of God, and it is the greatest of God’s gifts. The first fruit of Sanctifying Grace is sublime and supernatural divine love. We are not meant for this life. There is a place destined for us where there is no more sorrow or fear, and the Assumption of the Blessed Mother is the promise that one day we might enjoy it.
#20120815

Listen Now

The Example of the Saints

Sermon From
9th Sunday After Pentecost 2012
Catholics should be familiar with the story of St. Martha and what it teaches us about the importance of prioritizing the spiritual life over the good works of an active life. There are many who so spend themselves in “good works” that they have no time left for Our Lord. We should practice ardent, frequent, and brief prayers throughout the day.

Saints Abdon and Sennen are two saints from Persia. They were known for their great charity to the poor and needy, and in particular for their dedication to burying the dead – that corporal work of mercy which led to their arrest and martyrdom. The early devotion towards these two saints demonstrates the universality of the Church.

After being badly wounded in war, St. Ignatius of Loyola spent much of his convalescence reading the lives of the saints. It was this practice of spiritual reading that led to the conversion of his worldly life, and subsequently the founding of the Society of Jesus, with its countless missionary journeys throughout the world.

St. Alphonsus Ligori followed a vocation despite the great opposition from his father. He is considered one of the chief moral theologians of the Church.

Through divine inspiration Saint Peter Julian Eymard knew that he must dedicate his life, along with the religious orders he founded, to the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

St. Dominic met with great difficulty in converting the Albigensians to the Faith, until he, at the request of Our Lady, begin to use the Holy Rosary in combination with his preaching. With the help of this powerful prayer, he experienced astounding success in his mission.
#20120729

Listen Now

Miracles for Each of Us

6th Sunday after Pentecost 2012

Apparent death takes place when we can no longer observe the signs of life, but real death takes place when the soul leaves the body – a moment that cannot be observed.  This is why a priest should still be called after apparent death, so that he can conditionally anoint and absolve the deceased.

The Divine Office of today recalls the story of Nathan the prophet chastising King David for his sin, and David’s subsequent conversion.  This should be a reminder to all of us of the necessity of an integral confession.

We are given the leaders that we deserve.  In the face of bad leadership, we must remain faithful to the truth, and we must continually change our lives for the better.
#20120708M

Listen Now

The Blood of the Lamb

Feast Of The Precious Blood 2012

Pope Pius IX extended this feast to the entire Church in gratitude to Our Lord’s granting victory over His enemies.  The Gospel for today was written by St. John, the only Apostle to witness the last moments of Our Lord’s earthly life.  After the side of Christ was pierced on the Cross, copious amounts of Blood and water flowed forth.  This moment had been prefigured by the sacrificial draining of the paschal lamb’s blood and demonstrated that Christ was the perfect, spotless, victim offered to His Father.  The Blood of our Redeemer is called precious because it is the representation of the human life possessed by the Son of God.  In the total surrender of His life, to the last drop, Christ made infinite worship to God the Father and offered an inestimable gift to each of us
#20120701

Listen Now

The Sacrament of Perfect Union

Feast Of Corpus Christi 2012
On this day, a priest recognizes the purpose of his existence.  Before his duty of teaching and saving souls, the priest exists for the Holy Eucharist.  If a priest does not understand this, he is no true priest.  St. Bonaventure tells us that if this sacrament were to be taken from the Church we would have nothing but infidelity and error, and the Christian people would be no better than a herd of unclean animals.  We see these prophetic words proven true in our own day.  This day was instituted at the request of Our Lord to confirm faith in His true presence, to strengthen the faithful on their way to virtue by their love of the Blessed Sacrament, and finally, to make reparations for attacks against Our Lord in the tabernacle.  We should express our belief that Our Lord is truly present in the Sacrament of the Altar as soon as we enter the Church and kneel before Him.
#20120607

Listen Now

A Place Waiting For You


Pentecost Sunday 2012

With the celebration of Memorial Day, we should always remember that the soldiers who have served our country, both living and dead, are in need of our prayers.  Apart from the discussion of the politics and morality of war, these people who have suffered and died for us deserve our spiritual help.

Our Lord’s visible reign on Earth ended on the feast of the Ascension and on that day, Heaven became our home.  All the joys and pleasures of this world are as shadows compared to the happiness of Heaven.  The Holy Ghost was sent to mankind so that the presence of God would not be limited to the physical presence of Christ on Earth, but that it might be spread throughout the entire world.  There is a childhood, adolescence, and adulthood in the spiritual life which mirrors that of our natural development.  The Apostles passed through these stages as we all must, and their development reached its final stage on this day.  From that moment on, the Apostles were confirmed in grace and preserved from committing any grave sin.
#20120527

Listen Now

The Extraordinary Gift of Faith

Today is one of the only times when a dogma of the Faith was proclaimed by the angels. Our Lord predicted that the preaching of the Apostles would be confirmed by the miracles they would work.  Even a cursory knowledge of Church history gives ample confirmation of these words.  Miracles aid in belief, but they do not cause the virtue of faith.  We should pray for an increase of faith every day of our lives.

The Apostles were commanded on this day to make the world Christian, and we are put to shame when we remember the heroism of the missionaries who sacrificed their lives to follow that command.

Our Lord has prepared a throne for us in Heaven and gives us a foretaste of this coming happiness every time He comes to us in Holy Communion.
#20120517

Listen Now
×
Your Cart
Cart is empty.
Shop our collection of religious items
Go to our Store
$0.00
Final shipping & taxes re-calculated at checkout
$0.00
Protected by CleanTalk Anti-Spam