Vessel Of Election

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2021
Profession of Sr. Josepha

All profession days are beautiful moments for our religious communities and for the people.  Today is also unique and reminiscent of Jesus’ words about St. Paul at his conversion, “I will teach him to suffer for My Name”.   This joyful day is also a pure and perfect sacrifice in union with Our Lord on the Cross.  The means of this oblation are the evangelical vows of poverty, chastity and obedience that were professed this morning before Mass.  These are counsels from the Gospel which are for those called to embrace them and who are generous in doing so.  All the baptized must live the spirit of the vows but religious practice them.  Now begins the work of living the interior life deeply and thereby becoming a fruitful spouse of Christ.  There is much to learn about the theological virtues and the vows but the Sacred Heart and the Blessed Mother will be your guides.  Be stout-hearted because the Lord is your light and salvation  and He will never forget you.
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To Serve God Is To Reign

St. Matthias 2021
(Profession Day)
Today marks a step closer to the Sacred Priesthood as our brother officially becomes a member of our community with his profession.  Religious life is a secure path to holiness and happiness in this life which will blossom in heaven.  In recalling the first stirrings of a vocation one can see Our Lord gently calling to follow Him in His life of suffering for others.  Sacrifices and greater challenges are still in the future as Christ molds one into a perfect image of Himself on the Cross.  By a generous and humble acceptance of this will lead to our sharing in the glory of Our Lord.
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Ultimately Penance Is Love

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.
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The Mass Is Theocentric

9th Sunday After Pentecost 2020
Conference After Mass

After the Epistle and Gospel, Father spoke about the care he received the last few weeks and his attendance at Mass and how much it is centered on God.  Then he spoke about today’s feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori who is the patron of moral theologians and who propagated the system of probabilism through his newly founded congregation and its priest members.  St. Alphonsus’ father opposed his vocation to the priesthood until he heard his son’s first sermon and then he approached him in sorrow and repentance for causing him difficulty in pursuing it.  St. Alphonsus wrote many devotional works, was the instrument of miracles and the example for other saints like St. Gerard Majella.
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Bride, Spouse and Victim

Laetare Sunday 2020 – Carmelite Clothing Day
This is a joyful day and a preparation for the total gift of self that is to come at the religious profession.  All has been left behind and that includes any reliance on self because now it is time to rely on God alone.  Religious life is the proximate call to holiness and the ceremony of the clothing in the Carmelite habit is meant to impress this on us.  The habit, especially the Brown Scapular, is the constant sacramental reminder of the call to contemplative prayer and divine union.  As a chosen bride and spouse of Our Lord, the religious is joined to Him on the Cross as a victim for the Church, priests and the salvation of souls.  Do not look back but press on to the goal of union with Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.
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Transfiguration Conference

Feast Of The Transfiguration 2019
In this conference we learn that transfiguration is not uncommon in the lives of the saints.  The Collect for the Mass today is key to unlocking this feast day.  It says that the mystery or sacrament of the Faith is confirmed through this theophany.  The outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace is Our Lord Himself and the Father commands us to listen to Him.  Moses and Elias confirm this while speaking to Jesus about His upcoming Death.  This event marked Christ’s directing of His Life now to the Cross.  He relaxed in prayer and allowed His divinity to manifest through His humanity.  This strengthened Him and His apostles for what lay ahead.  The Transfiguration is our bulwark against all our trials today.
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The Peace Of God Surpasses All Understanding

Gaudete Sunday 2016

“Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say rejoice.  Let your modesty be known to all men: for The Lord is nigh.”   These words taken from St. Paul’s epistle to the Philippians for the Third Sunday of Advent may seem strange in today’s times because of all that is wrong in today’s world   However, they are as true now as they were when they were first written because they refer not only to the upcoming Feast of the Nativity but to the Second Coming of Our Lord and Savior at the end of time.  We can be joyous because we have already been saved through Baptism.  The promise of what lies ahead for us, if we are faithful, is far greater than any of the problems and sufferings that we endure in this life.  The Lord is indeed nigh and all we have to do is recognize His presence in our midst and pray that He keeps us true to our baptismal promises.

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Poverty And Fear Of The Lord

Feast of St. Stephen Of Hungary 2016 – First Friday Of September

In this first Friday conference, Father briefly talks about St. Stephen, the King of Hungary, whose feast it is today.  Father continues with the first words from the sermon on the mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and explains this beatitude and its relationship with the gift of the Holy Ghost known as fear of the Lord. 

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Spiritual Childhood

19th Sunday after Pentecost 2015
St. Francis is universally esteemed by both Catholics and non-Catholics alike.  Despite living many centuries apart, the lives of St. Frances and St. Thérèse share many similarities, particularly in regard to their practice of spiritual childhood.  The origins of this doctrine can be found in Our Lord’s words, “unless you become like this little child, you will not enter the kingdom of God.”  Spiritual childhood is closely linked to poverty of spirit, by which one receives a deep understanding of his need and utter helplessness.  This leads to childlike dependence on God’s grace.  Spiritual childhood is indispensable for all who wish to possess the Kingdom of God.
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Melt Our Frozen Hearts

Pentecost Sunday 2015
We must remember to pray for the fallen soldiers on Memorial Day.  We are not bound to love our government, but, in the virtue of patriotism, we are bound to love the country that supports us and the people who live in it.  A good Catholic soldier endures hardships and makes reparations for the sins of his fellow countrymen.  After the Ascension of Our Lord, the Apostles spent nine days in prayer.  These days are duplicated in every soul purified in the last stages of perfection.  The Apostles were deprived of the sensible consolations of the Savior so that they would be purified of all attachments, even misplaced attachments in the spiritual life.  We are given gifts from God that we may love Him more.
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