A Warning for Vocations

July 6, 2025By

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.
#20250706B

Listen Now

No Longer Servants But Friends

June 29, 2025By

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.
#20250629

Listen Now

The Infinite Worshiper

April 17, 2025By

Holy Thursday 2025
Today we are celebrating the birthday of the Sacrifice of the Mass, the Holy Eucharist, and the priesthood.  We have been warned that we must learn from the sacred things we witness during this time, and it is incumbent upon us to call to mind the details of Our Lord’s life during these last days and moments before His death.  Christ explained to the Apostles at the Last Supper that the bread, wine, and lamb of the Passover meal are all one in Him.  For all priests all Thursdays are a day of retreat in commemoration of this great anniversary of the priesthood.  After the moment of the Incarnation all the prayers of the angels now pass through the Son of God made man.  First, He gave us Himself in the consecration of the bread, then in the consecration of the wine He gave us the Mass, and lastly, He instructed the Apostles to “do in like manner” and in these words He gave us the priesthood.  Today we continue the great feast of love practiced by the early Church and thank God for the birthday of the Eucharistic Christ.
#20250417M

Listen Now

The Holy Family Provides

January 12, 2025By

Feast of the Holy Family 2025
The Blessed Mother kept the mysteries of Our Lord’s life in her heart, and we should invoke her help whenever we meditate on those mysteries.  Holy Scripture shows St. Joseph to be the clear head of the Holy Family, not by his words but by his actions.  The event recorded in the Gospel took place when Christ was twelve years old, at the time when He became a “Son of the Law.”  By His words Christ makes it evident to the whole world that He knew He was God at every moment of His life.  St. Paul tells us in his Epistle the virtues of the Holy Family which we must imitate and use in examining our consciences.  The father is the head of the family and must be the example of the virtue of religion.  The mother is the heart of the family, who keeps all the spiritual and material needs of the children in her heart.  God has given us parents to assist us in attaining Heaven, and children are called to submit to their parents in holy obedience.  Nothing bad will ever happen to us but that which our loving Father allows.
#20250112M

Listen Now

No Lover But Christ

September 8, 2024By

16th Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Carmelite Perpetual Profession – The perpetual vows are received by the prioress of the convent, but the veil comes from the hands of the priest or bishop.  In taking the black veil the novice shows herself to be a true bride of Christ, so it is fitting that it be given by him who is acting in Persona Christi.  In the early days the veil sheltered the face of a married woman from the gaze of the world, her beauty and innocence being reserved for her spouse alone.  So too with the perpetual vows of a nun.  She is the spouse of Christ and she will accept no other lover.  The nun is called to be generous and giving especially in the service of Christ’s representatives – the priests.  The Carmelites in particular share in a special way in the interior life of the priest.  This life is the means of sanctification and union with God.  It requires great love and confidence in the unfailing assistance of Our Lord.
#20240908

Listen Now

God, Help Your Spouse!

June 29, 2024By

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.
#20240629K

Listen Now

A Vocation Worth the Fight

June 2, 2024By

2nd Sunday after Pentecost 2024
Tonsure Ceremony
With first tonsure one becomes a cleric.  This ceremony has been part of the Church since the 5th century.  Just as slaves were shorn to show their complete ownership by their master, so the cleric shows that he now belongs to Christ.  The surplice is imposed to represent putting on the new man, because holiness is no longer an aspiration but a direct call.  Our Lord promised to those who give up the world a hundredfold in this life.  The candle carried in procession represents the soul of those to be tonsured, and when the bishop receives and extinguishes the candle, it demonstrates that the very will of the cleric is offered to God.  God will grant the necessary graces to do everything he asks, if the cleric remains confident in Him as he forges on towards the goal.
#20240602

Listen Now

Necessity of Priestly Vocations

April 14, 2024By

Good Shepherd Sunday 2024
If we have charity, we desire the salvation of all our neighbors and pray for both our loved ones and our enemies.  The words, “I know mine and mine know me,” refer especially to the clergy.  How could we be saved without the priest – without his prayers and instructions.  Those who do not answer the call to follow their vocation are in grave danger.  We must follow our calling even if we lack the sensible feeling of enthusiasm towards that state of life.  The Blessed Mother loves priests as she loves her own Son.
#20240414S

Listen Now

The Prerequisite of Charity

March 28, 2024By

Holy Thursday 2024
These are the most sacred days of the liturgical year, because they make present the very act of our Redemption.  The Holy Oils, from the Mass of the Chrism, receive their efficacy from the Holy Eucharist.  Today is the birthday of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which was offered in anticipation of Christ’s death on the Cross the following day.  A gift of Faith is required to believe the dogma of the Holy Eucharist.  The Holy Oils made this morning are prepared to sanctify us.  The exorcisms performed over these oils drive away the influence of the devil from the oils themselves and from all whom they will anoint.
#20240328K

 

Listen Now

Impurity and Penance

February 18, 2024By

1st Sunday in Lent 2024
We are particularly the objects of temptation during this season in which God is calling us to sanctity.  During the temptation of Christ in the desert, Our Lord was not drawn to the evil as we are.  St. Margaret of Cortona after discovering her lover’s body, made a complete conversion of life.  The great sin combatted during Lent is impurity.  Many vocations and many marriages are destroyed by pornography, which is now so accessible, even to little children.  Parents will be greatly punished if they are not vigilant in protecting their children from this danger to their souls.  Penance is a virtue that is infused by almighty God, which inclines a soul to hate its sins, because they offend almighty God.  It is up to us to make up for the sins we have committed.
#20240218

Listen Now
View Cart Checkout Continue Shopping