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
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
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
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
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul 2012 Today the Church focuses particularly on St. Peter. He was a simple fisherman, yet he was chosen to lead the Church. We should desire to imitate the great love and docility that St. Peter showed throughout his life. We observe the flaws of his nature in the Gospel. However, we also see that, by the hand of God, a supernatural edifice was built on that natural foundation, just as the Church was built on this rock. This great saint instructs us in the lesson he was taught by Christ – to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. He had such trust in Our Lord that during his imprisonment and in the face of his execution, he slept soundly in his cell. This is the feast which reminds us that we too must possess undying trust and hope in the providence of God. #20120629M
5th Sunday after Easter 2012 As we near the end of this season of great happiness, the Church never ceases to rejoice. St. James gives practical advice in this Epistle for the practice of virtue and avoidance of bad example. The theme of this Mass is one of prayer and sacrifice.
On this day on which we congratulate our mothers, we must remember the primary purpose of marriage and the evil of artificial contraception. The vocations most attacked by the world are those sacramental vocations of marriage and the priesthood. We thank God for the gift of good mothers who work alongside the priests for the salvation of souls. #20120513M
Low Sunday 2012 We should all pray for a happy death because we cannot merit it without asking for God’s grace in those last moments. We should also frequently ask that all the punishment due to our sins be removed on our deathbed by the reception of Extreme Unction. The Church has always taught that the priest can not only forgive sins but remove the punishment due to them.
This Mass is about faith, but we must remember that no saint has had great faith without great humility. It is only when we realize how much we need help that we ask God for help. We possess nothing good which we have given ourselves. Even faith is a gift from God for which we cannot take credit. Humility is the foundation, faith is the walls, and charity is the roof of the great structure God has built in us. #20120415S
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. #20120205
Feast of the Holy Family 2012 During this season the same gift given to the Gentile nations through the Magi is once again given to us. The divinity of Jesus Christ is demonstrated to each of us. The events and mysteries of Our Lord’s early life are made present once again, as if we were there to witness them firsthand.
When the Gospel says that Jesus “increased in wisdom, age, and grace,” it refers to Our Lord in His human nature. The human mind of Christ not only possessed the beatific vision but also all the secrets of nature. Along with this, in His human mind He also had acquired, experiential knowledge and was capable of increasing in this knowledge.
St. Joseph trustingly followed God’s guidance throughout his life. And just as he provided for all the needs of the Holy Family, St. Joseph has provided for the needs of our community which has put its special trust in him. #20120108
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Servants of the Holy Family, a Catholic religious community in Colorado Springs was founded on the Feast of the Holy Family in 1977 and is placed under the patronage of the Sacred Persons of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Read more
