Knowledge of Self

11th Sunday after Pentecost 2025

St. Paul corrected the Corinthians who doubted the General Resurrection.  Not only was the Resurrection of Our Lord a type of our own, but without this dogma, our “faith is vain.”  It was St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, who brought the Faith to the non-Jewish world.  Yet, despite all he did for the Church, he knew himself to be the least of the Apostles.  With the help of a daily examination of conscience and true self-knowledge, we too will appreciate that all the good we possess and all we accomplish in this life is due to God’s grace.  Through our examination of conscience, God allows us to see ourselves as we really are, which prepares our path to perfection.  In the words of St. Augustine, “This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfections.”
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We the Hypocrites

10th Sunday after Pentecost 2025

The gifts St. Paul refers to in this Epistle were given to the early Church to help spread the Faith.  They were not meant to sanctify the one with the gift, but those who witness it.

The pharisee of the Gospel begins his hypocritical prayer by praising himself, while the publican, keenly aware of his sins, refers to himself as “the sinner.”  True prayer is not self-praise, but rather the lifting up of the mind and heart to God.  It is for His glorification and our own self-abasement.

We should continually rely on our “books and beads” to better participate in the liturgy, so that we may progress through the stages of the spiritual life.  By tapping into these prayers, we may be united to the never-ending prayer of Christ.
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A Warning for Vocations

4th Sunday after Pentecost 2025

In today’s Epistle, St Paul speaks of the curse placed on all creation due to the fall of Adam.  All creatures desire to be freed of this curse.  With great hope, we look forward to the day when our bodies will be glorified and our adoption as sons of God complete.

The initial call of St. Peter in the Gospel account for today teaches us valuable lessons about the pursuit of a vocation.  The devil will do everything in his power to prevent a man from becoming a priest.  He frequently tempts the soul to delay his vocation needlessly, to substitute a vocation with a less-perfect life, or to be paralyzed by a feeling of unworthiness.  These temptations, as well as other attacks from the devil, can be expected by all who consider offering their life to God, and it is only through prayer and confident reliance on Our Lord’s assistance that one can persevere towards such a lofty calling.
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No Longer Servants But Friends

Feast of Saints Peter & Paul 2025

Priestly Ordinations

During the ordination ceremony, it is as if Heaven is opening as our Divine Savior unites with the ordinands and fuses them to His priestly Nature.  From that moment, the new priests are able to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to renew all the divine mysteries of the Faith through the liturgy, to forgive sin, to govern, to teach, to baptize, to bring souls to Heaven.  The priest is called Father because he provides life to the people and spiritually nourishes them.  The Laity should look at the priest and see the likeness of Christ.  By the physical transformation of the soul through Holy Orders, for all eternity, the priest is now a relative – a brother – of Our Lord.
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Be On Guard

3rd Sunday after Epiphany 2025
As Catholics, we should be well informed about the feast days celebrated this week.  We should know the details of the account of St. Paul’s conversion and how it changed the course of the Church, as well as the lives of Saints Polycarp, Francis de Sales, John Bosco, and Ignatius of Antioch.  In the Epistle for today’s Mass, St. Paul instructs us to avoid the sin of revenge.  We must believe that God will reward the good and punish the wicked, either in this life or the next.  In this Gospel account, the deforming disease of leprosy is shown as a symbol of sin.  We are reminded to have gratitude toward God for both spiritual and corporeal favors.  The Roman centurion was a friend to the Jewish people and a monotheist.  His beautiful words of faith have echoed through the centuries at countless Masses.  We must imitate the virtues of this good centurion if we wish to be cured of our spiritual illness and live a holy life.
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He Is in Our Midst

3rd Sunday of Advent – Gaudete Sunday 2024
This is a season of penance, but today we have a glimpse of the coming joy of Christmas.  On this day, the Holy Ghost instructs us to rejoice.  The Blessed Virgin is one of the models for this season, especially during the Ember Days of Advent.  We are part of those generations prophesied in Holy Scripture who would call the Virgin Mary blessed.  St. Paul instructs us not to be anxious nor attached to the passing things of this world.  We must make the right choices, not because it will benefit us financially, but because of our love for God.  Although we are joyful on this day, we still have work to do.  Let us detach ourselves from the money and pleasures that so easily control us and follow Christ Our Lord to freedom.
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Our Spiritual Resolutions

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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We Must Answer to God

26th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
In this Epistle St. Paul encourages the Thessalonians, who were enduring persecution for the Faith, instructing them to persevere in their struggle.  The parables in the Gospel similarly encourage Christ’s followers by explaining the external growth of the Church as well as our internal growth in sanctity.  God’s ways are not ours; His way is irresistible.  We should be encouraged by the words of this Gospel and never forget the favors God has sent us.  Our battle is with principalities and powers, and it is easy to be fooled by the sophistries of a pagan society – a society which constantly makes excuses for the murder of the unborn.  Each of us, even the great and powerful, will have to make an answer to God for the choices of his life.
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An Audience With The Almighty

10th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Today’s liturgy is directed towards the proud.  St. Paul corrects the Corinthians who took pride in the gifts given to them by God and reminds them that these gifts are for the assistance of our neighbor.  An imperfect form of humility begins with a focus on self – our weakness, dependence, and need.  A more perfect humility remains focused on God and acknowledges both our gifts and shortcomings, without allowing pride to enter.  With prayer we can obtain true humility.  God offers us an audience at all times of the day or night.  Without asking Him for the graces necessary, we will not obtain salvation, but when we pray in all humility, we invite His assistance into our lives.
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God, Help Your Spouse!

Feast of Saints Peter & Paul 2024
This feast is considered so great that, since the earliest days of the church, it was given a vigil for preparation.  Red vestments are used on this day to symbolize not only the blood of these two great martyrs, but more importantly the fire of their love.  They died for everything that true Catholics believe today.  This Epistle reminds us that God is protecting us, even in our darkest moments.  We must respond to the graces of God generously and promptly, following the example of St. Peter.  The conversion of St. Paul demonstrates God’s power to bring good out of evil.  We should be inspired to see how these two great sinners became two of the greatest saints.
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