O Happy Fault

March 21, 2021By

Passion Sunday 2021
Today is also the feast of St. Benedict whose influence has had such an impact on western civilization.  Later this week we have St. John Damascene who defended our use of images of the saints.  The liturgical year is our response to Our Lord’s command at the Last Supper to “Do this in memory of Me”.  Passion Sunday continues this on the road to Calvary by having us veil the statues of the saints as a penance and suffering.  This unites us with the sufferings of Christ and sanctifies our own sufferings which are our means of sanctification.  With this appreciation for our living in this vale of tears we can look upon Adam’s sin as something from which we can and should benefit.
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Father Of God

March 19, 2021By

Feast Of St. Joseph 2021
The Incarnation and the Redemption depend also on the head of the Holy Family, St. Joseph, who was the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the father, although not the biological father, of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Without St. Joseph our salvation would not have been accomplished.  God the Father infused a spark of His own paternal love and care into the heart of St. Joseph so this man would love His Son on earth and raise Jesus to be the Perfect Man.  Although Christ looked like His Mother, Jesus acted like St. Joseph.  As he cared for Our Lady and Our Lord, St. Joseph has cared for us and all those dedicated to him.  The vestments today attest to that care by St. Joseph and miracle of the Holy Stairs in Santa Fe do also.  Go to Joseph because he watches over us.
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Baptism Rite Is A Mini-Lent

March 7, 2021By

3rd Sunday in Lent 2021
Today is also the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas who is a model of many things including fidelity to a vocation.  The Liturgy of Lent continues to prepare the catechumens and penitents for the Sacred Triduum.  The daily Masses for this week are geared by the Church for this purpose.  Today’s Gospel returns our attention to the enemy of our spiritual life, namely, the devil.  We can draw all the defense we need against this foe from the Mass and Sacraments, especially the exorcising power of priests.  We are reminded at the end of this account from St. Luke of Our Lady’s role in combating the evil one.  The Blessed Mother has empowered us with the Holy Rosary which carries the mysteries of our Faith in our hands whenever we are unable to be at the altar.
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To Serve God Is To Reign

February 24, 2021By

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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Prayer and Fasting

February 21, 2021By

1st Sunday In Lent 2021
Jesus Christ leads us by example as we begin Lent.  He sanctified the forty days we have begun by first spending that number of days in prayer and fasting in the desert before He started His public life.  Upon its completion He overcame Satan and his temptations.  We will do the same during this Lent as we walk in Christ’s footsteps by doing penance that will regain control of ourselves.  We make up for the sin of eating that Adam and Eve committed.  We follow our ancestors who made Lent holy and would not mar these forty days with war, court proceedings and other distracting activities.
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Our 40 Day Lenten Retreat

February 17, 2021By

Ash Wednesday Evening 2021
Ashes are a sacramental so we should stir up our hearts and receive them devoutly.  By popular demand the reception of ashes was extended to all the faithful not just the public penitents.  We should imitate the penitents and catechumens during this spiritual retreat and practice acts of penance like prayer, fasting, almsgiving and studying.  Our Lord taught us about these in the Sermon on the Mount from which today’s Gospel comes.  We enter Lent with Christ as our Leader so we imitate Him in His sufferings and eventually in His Resurrection.
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Ultimately Penance Is Love

February 14, 2021By

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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Purity of Intention

February 14, 2021By

Quinquagesima Sunday 2021
In preparation for Ash Wednesday and Lent there is a review of the laws concerning fast and abstinence.  Today is also the feast of St. Valentine and his impact in our own day.  The Epistle for this Mass is taken from St. Paul and teaches us the importance of doing all our works, especially the upcoming penances, with purity of intention which is produced by charity.  The Gospel tells of the cure of the blind man by Our Lord.  We are that blind man who need God’s help to see our sinfulness and do something about it.
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Give All To Receive All

February 7, 2021By

Sexagesima Sunday 2021
Saints this week are our friends like St. Apollonia.  The Liturgy is our ordinary means of sanctification and reception of sacramentals is a practical aspect of this.  St. Paul is the dominant character during this season of Septuagesima and tells in the Epistle of all he has sacrificed in fulfilling Our Lord’s prophecy about his suffering for the Name of Jesus.  The Gospel shows the Word of God gently warning all to receive Him well and thereby receive a hundredfold.  Finally, we need to follow Catholic principles in our daily lives and imitate the Catholic Supreme Court justice and not the famous author who wrote that lying is permitted if done for the sake of the nation.
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Season of Examination

January 31, 2021By

Septuagesima Sunday 2021
This week is the feast of St. Agatha whose veil is a precious relic that has protected the city of Catania from various cataclysms throughout history.  The significance of wearing a veil is explained.  Septuagesima season is a transition from the Christmas to the Easter cycle and an immediate preparation for Lent.  It is a time for the catechumens and penitents especially.  We recall the story of Genesis and the fall of Adam and Eve whose crime is inherited by us and known as original sin.  This week examines the effects of original sin in our lives so we are ready to combat these vices as soon as we reach Ash Wednesday.
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