In the last several issues of "The Seraph", a series called"Muhammad the Prophet of Blasphemy" by Reverend William Claybourne has been running. If you haven't seen or read it, PLEASE take the time to read it and digest it.  This morning I ran across two things in regard to this.  First of all, how our Father Francis dealt with the problem of "Islam":

The "interfaith dialogue" of St. Francis of Assisi (The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi, chapter XXIV):
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"The Sultan said to him: "Brother Francis, most willingly would I be converted to the faith of Christ; but I fear to do so now, for if the people knew it, they would kill both me and thee and all thy companions. As thou mayest still do much good, and I have certain affairs of great importance to conclude, I will not at present be the cause of thy death and of mine. But teach me how I can be saved, and I am ready to do as thou shalt order." On this St Francis made answer: "My lord, I will take leave of thee for the present; but after I have returned to my own country, when I shall be dead and gone to heaven, by the grace of God, I will send thee two of my friars, who will administer to thee the holy baptism of Christ, and thou shalt be saved, as the Lord Jesus has revealed to me; and thou in the meantime shalt free thyself from every hindrance, so that, when the grace of God arrives, thou mayest be found well disposed to faith and devotion." The Sultan promised so to do; and did as he had promised."

 The true Catholic way is exactly how St. Francis handled it - he loved this man enough to tell him the truth!  Now see how the bogus ordo handles this - It seems that many of the false churches planned to read the Koran from the pulpit on June 26 - what they claimed was the Feast of Corpus Christi.  Here is what happened at one of the bogus parishes and what this heretic had to say about it:

A Jesuit parish in Charlotte has canceled plans to read the Qur’an from the pulpit on June 26, the feast of Corpus Christi.

“Just having something public is not going to be a big, big deal here, but to have someone come in and read from the Qur’an and to recognize publicly the existence of Islam and to reverence and respect is a good thing for the Church to do,” Father Patrick Earl, SJ, said on May 27. “I’ve heard from Muslim imams about what they and their congregations have suffered just from the fear, the fear of what they call Islamophobia.”

The one world religion is right around the corner - all the pieces are in place.  The indifference and sloth of the world is complete.  

Catholics - hold fast to your faith and defend it - even if it costs you your life!

Father Eusebius Nieremburg, who resided at the College of Madrid, where he died in the odor of sanctity in 1658, relates the story of a noble and exceedingly pious lady, who asked God to make known to her what displeased His Divine Majesty most in persons of her sex. The Lord vouchsafed in a miraculous manner to hear her. He opened under her eyes the eternal abyss. There she saw a woman a prey to cruel torments and in her recognized one of her friends, a short time
before deceased. This sight caused her as much astonishment as grief:
the person whom she saw damned did not seem to her to have lived
badly. Then that unhappy soul said to her: "It is true that I
practiced religion, but I was a slave of vanity. Ruled by the passion
to please, I was not afraid to adopt indecent fashions to attract
attention, and I enkindled the fire of impurity in more than one
heart. Ah! If Christian women knew how much immodesty in dress
displeases God!" At the same moment, this unhappy soul was pierced by
two fiery lances and plunged into a caldron of liquid lead.

He cometh and findeth them sleeping.  And He saith to Peter: "Simon, sleepest thou? Couldst thou not watch one hour with Me?"   Mark 14:37   Capacity for sacrifice is the measure of friendship.  Only that intimacy which has grown strong enough to forget self and suffer pain unites two hearts as friends.  Of a friend I can and do ask that which I could ask of none other, and the closer the bond the more I may ask and never hear denial.  Thus it is too with the highest and holiest friendship, that with Christ our Lord.  It is of His friends He can and does ask sacrifices.   As I kneel then before Him today, let me see how near I am to Him.  Only one question need be answered:  Am I intimate enough with Christ for Him to ask a sacrifice of of me?  As I come and kneel before Him, can He look out from behind the tabernacle door upon one from whom He knows no refusal will ever come?  Or must the Sacred Heart treat me as one beyond the circle of His dearest friends?  Must He turn from me in sorrow and heaviness of heart, as once on a time in the shadowed agony of Olivet He turned back from the sleeping forms of His weak disciples?   It may be He would ask the mother that kneels in prayer to give for "the nurseries of Heaven" the little one she suckles at her breast.  It may be He bends over the toil-worn father to ask for the gift of his well-loved boy that He may have him for Himself to stand as priest at God's altar.  Young men and women in the full powers of youth bend low in adoration, and maybe He would call them "out from all glare and glory to the shade, the shadow of the Cross, where saints are made," Out from the glamour of a passing world to the peace and other-world contentment of a cloistered home.  But are all these intimate enough to make the sacrifice?   Christ, our Lord, like any other friend, has sacrifices to ask of those who know Him, little sacrifices most of the day, big sacrifices when our love is very strong, sacrifices within the convent walls, sacrifices beside the simple hearth; and shall He feel afraid to ask me?  Few they are whom Christ may ask, and shall I make that small band smaller?   Ah!  Jesus, dearest Lord, "Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love Thee," love Thee since my day began, for other changeless Friend I have not.  Fear not then to seek a sacrifice of me, halt not in the asking for a gift that costs,  All I have and all I am has come from Thee, and little should it be to give it all for Thee.  Trust me for Thy friend;  weak, yes, and feeble, yet Thy friend;  poor indeed to give, but yet Thy friend.  Jesus, ask the gift - and it is Thine.  "My God must have my best".  I tasted all the sweets of sacrifice, I kissed my cross a thousand times a day, I hung and bled upon it in my dreams, I lived on it - I loved it to the last."

3. Reading the works of St. Augustine we find in them all that his sole idea was the exaltation of God above the creature as far as possible, and as far as possible the humble subjection of the creature to God. The recognition of this truth should find a place in every Christian mind, thus establishing-----according to the acuteness and penetration of our intelligence-----a sublime conception of God, and a lowly and vile conception of the creature. But we can only succeed in doing this by humility.

Humility is in reality a confession of the greatness of God, Who after His voluntary self-annihilation was exalted and glorified; wherefore Holy Writ says: "For great is the power of God alone, and He is honored by the humble." [Ecclus. iii, 21]

It was for this reason that God pledged Himself to exalt the humble, and continually showers new graces upon them in return for the glory He constantly receives from them. Hence the inspired word again reminds us: "Be humble, and thou shalt obtain every grace from God." [Ecclus. iii, 20]

The humblest man honors God most by his humility, and has the reward of being more glorified by God, Who has said: "Whoever honors Me, I will glorify him." [1 Kings ii, 30] Oh, if we could only see how great is the glory of the humble in Heaven!

‎"To bring the abortion ban before Parliament under Poland's political system, the sponsors needed to collect 100,000 signatures within three months. They got 600,000 in two weeks."

Poland to vote on historic bill banning all abortions after massive grassroots campaign

www.lifesitenews.com

After months of shielding the initiative from English media, organizers of a massive pro-life grassroots campaign in Poland have now told LifeSiteNews.com that Parliamentarians in the country are preparing to vote this week on an historic bill that would enshrine total protection for children in the...

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," says St. Paul (Heb. x 31). If we now dread hell, we shall not have any reason to fear or endure it in the next life. Every one has sufficient grounds for dreading it. The just and holy should fear hell, because they may yet fall into it. So long as they remain on earth, they are surrounded by not only exterior, but also interior, dangers. Outside of them there is the world with its allurements, its scandals and temptations, and human respect. Within them dwell violent passions and a weak will. Only a single mortal sin suffices to cause their condemnation to the infernal abyss. How many are now in hell, who for a time were remarkable for their piety and virtue, but who gradually grew careless in the service of God, and finally fell into mortal sin and died without having become reconciled with God. Even the great St. Teresa was in danger of damnation, for God showed her the place destined for her in hell, if she did not give up certain faults. The greatest saints have shuddered and trembled at the thought of the danger they were in of committing mortal sin and of being condemned for it to the endless torments of hell. St. Peter of Alcantara, who performed such great penances, dreaded even in his last moments the danger of falling into hell. St. Augustine and St. Bernard were filled with terror at the very thought of hell and of the danger they were in of deserving it.

The careless, the lukewarm Catholic should, above all, dread hell, for he is continually walking on the brink of the infernal abyss. He makes little of the precepts of hearing Mass, of the prescribed abstinence from flesh meat, he scruples not neglecting the religious training of his children, he associates with persons and frequents places that are to him an occasion of sin, he yields to impure thoughts, commits sins of impurity without remorse, gives way to his vindictive feelings against his neighbor, appropriates to himself the goods of his neighbor, indulges to excess in eating and drinking, neglects prayer and the sacraments. Now is the time for him to be aroused from his life of sin, now is the time for him to give up sin and change his life, for if he defers doing so, it may soon be too late. This may, indeed, be the last warning that God gives him. Oh, if the damned could come back to life, to what penances and austerities would they not eagerly and cheerfully submit!

The prophet Isaiah asks: "Which of you can dwell with devouring fire?" (Is. xxxiii. 14.) Canst thou stand the fearful torments of hell for all eternity, thou who art so fond of comfort and so sensitive to the least pain? Which of you has deserved to dwell in hell? Every one of us already deserved, immediately after our first mortal sin, to be condemned to that abyss of misery and woe ! It is owing to the divine mercy that we have not been so condemned. "Unless the Lord had been my helper, my soul had almost dwelt in hell" (Ps. xciii. 17). We are certain of having deserved hell, but we are not so certain of having been forgiven. "Man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred" (Eceles.ix.x). What a dreadful uncertainty? How much should it cause us to tremble!

Isaias asks again (xxxiii. 14): "Which of you shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" The answer is: All those sinners who do not give up sin, who do not grieve and confess their sins and amend their life, shall dwell with everlasting burnings!

Let us, dear reader, make every effort, strain every nerve, undergo every suffering, make every sacrifice in this life, that we may escape the horrible fate of those who fall victims, through their own fault, to the divine justice! No pain is too great, no sacrifice is too dear, when there is question of avoiding eternal torments. Let us then say with St. Augustine "Lord, burn us here, cut and bruise us in this life, provided Thou spare us in eternity!"

2. Jesus Christ calls us all into His school to learn, not to work miracles nor to astonish the world by marvelous enterprises, but to be humble of heart. "Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart." [Matt. 11, 29] He has not called everyone to be doctors, preachers or priests, nor has He bestowed on all the gift of restoring sight to the blind, healing the sick, raising the dead or casting out devils, but to all He has said: "Learn of Me to be humble of heart," and to all He has given the power to learn humility of Him. Innumerable things are worthy of imitation in the Incarnate Son of God, but He only asks us to imitate His humility. What then? Must we suppose that all the treasures of Divine Wisdom which were in Christ are to be reduced to the virtue of humility? "So it certainly is," answers St. Augustine. Humility contains all things because in this virtue is truth; therefore God must also dwell therein, since He is the truth.

The Savior might have said: "Learn of Me to be chaste, humble, prudent, just, wise, abstemious, etc." But He only says: "Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart"; and in humility alone He includes all things, because, as St. Thomas so truly says, "Acquired humility is in a certain sense the greatest good." [Lib. de sancta virginit. c. xxxv] Therefore whoever possesses this virtue may be said, as to his proximate disposition, to possess all virtues, and he who lacks it, lacks all.

Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,

Here are the audio sermon links for both of Father Bonaventure's sermons for the 2nd Sunday After Pentecost. 

2nd Sunday After Pentecost 

2nd Sunday After Pentecost at St. Anthony's in Waterloo

--

Many years ago, I read a wonderful series of 9 books called "My Changeless Friend" by Francis P. Le Buffe, SJ (1924).  Today, in our library at church, I ran across the series and thought that it would be wonderful to share excerpts from the books from time to time.   Unfortunately, I will be typing these word for word because there is no link for these books to just copy and paste.  But I really don't mind at all because as you will see, these are extremely uplifting and inspirational! (Just for your information, I couldn't locate book #1 so I will be starting with #2.  It really doesn't matter because they are not in any particular order anyway!)

 

Second Series 

Chapter 1

"Thou also wast with Jesus of Nazareth"   (Mark 14:67)

 

Companionship always tells on character. 

 

In the frequent intercourse with friends we are slowly but surely fashioned to their likeness and sooner or later we find the good or evil of their lives present in our own.  The loud laugh that speaks the vacant mind and the uncouth word will tell of friends with whom we have kept company - but to our shame.  If our friend has held to high ideals and kept his mind and heart pure amid the sinful ways of men, we too shall have caught some little sweet from the rich aroma of that life.  We cannot thwart the moulding influence of a constant friend.

 

Measured by this standard should we be known as the friends of Christ?  We should.  Yet if these many years of companioning with Christ have placed  us on more than speaking terms with the Man-God, would not, at least, some faint traces of His character be visible in ours?  Can we have been really friends with the choicest of friends and not have stolen a bit of the sweetness of His tenderest, yet strongest, of ways?  When we leave the circle of our daily friends or part with chance companions, does every lip instinctively murmur: "You too were with Jesus of Nazareth?"

 

At home, at work, at recreation, there must be that in my life that will make all men think of One who was most perfect of the sons of men, of One whose company we have long kept and from whom we have caught the sweet contagion of His ways.  When the restive pranks of the little ones in nursery or in classroom have thwarted our every effort for their good, the calm, unruffled manner of our ways must tell of One, who for three years bore ungrudgingly the backwardness of twelve, whom He had chosen to be His Apostles, If our lives are cast with those whose rough ways, and ruder words, vex our every moment, the gentleness of thought and word and act must speak of a Friend who in His dying pleaded for those who had nailed Him to the cross.

Sickness comes and the sharp thrust of pain snaps our puny strength.  Then it is men must know whose company we have kept.  The fullness of our resignation and the calmness of our patient suffering must tell of the Man of Sorrows, who by His agony nerved our hearts to do and to dare and trained our eyes to look beyond the shadows of this world.  In joy and in sorrow, in success and in failure, in the morning of life and as its evening hours pass noiselessly by, the strength of our selfless, saintly lives must stamp us as the friends of Christ.

 

Dear Jesus, Friend from long ago, I wonder who, from watching all my ways, would know that You had been my Friend these many years?  Of other friendships all have left deep impress - and Your own!  Is it alone without its mark?  I trust not, dearest Lord.  There is at least some faint vestige of the beauty of Your life in mine, some dim ray of light from out Your own.

Oh! Let that beauty grow, and let the likeness grow, until the happy day when I may cry:  "I live, now not I:  but Christ liveth in me."

 

 

HUMILITY OF THE
HEART

Thoughts and Sentiments on Humility

IN Paradise there are many Saints who never gave alms on earth: their poverty justified them. There are many Saints who never mortified their bodies by fasting, or wearing hair shirts: their bodily infirmities excused them. There are many Saints too who were not virgins: their vocation was otherwise. But in Paradise there is no Saint who was not humble.

1. God banished Angels from Heaven for their pride; therefore how can we pretend to enter therein, if we do not keep ourselves in a state of humility? Without humility, says St. Peter Damian, [Serm. 45] not even the Virgin Mary herself with her incomparable virginity could have entered into the glory of Christ, and we ought to be convinced of this truth that, though destitute of some of the other virtues, we may yet be saved, but never without humility. There are people who flatter themselves that they have done much by preserving unsullied chastity, and truly chastity is a beautiful adornment; but as the angelic St. Thomas says: "Speaking absolutely, humility excels virginity." [4 dist. qu. xxxiii, art. 3 ad 6; et 22, qu. clxi, art. 5]

We often study diligently to guard against and correct ourselves of the vices of concupiscence which belong to a sensual and animal nature, and this inward conflict which the body wages adversus carnem [Gal. 5,17] is truly a spectacle worthy of God and of His Angels. But, alas, how rarely do we use this diligence and caution to conquer spiritual vices, of which pride is the first and the greatest of all, and which, sufficed of itself to transform an Angel into a demon!

"The lost sinner will, in a word, remember with how little trouble he might have saved his soul and avoided hell. He will say to himself: "So little effort was required for my salvation; even after my numerous sins a good confession would have sufficed. But through shame, through human respect, I did not make it. How foolish I was ! How often did my conscience, my family, my friends urge me to go to confession ! But it was all in vain. Others committed greater sins than I did, but they bewailed them, went to confession and changed their life, and now they are enjoying unspeakable happiness in heaven ! And as for me, I am lost forever, and that through my own fault, for I had at my disposal a superabundance of means of salvation. But now repentance is unavailing, it is too late!"

"

But let us consider the expressions of regret of the various lost sinners. Their sorrow is vain, for, like that of Judas, it is the sorrow of despair. "During life," these lost sinners will say to themselves, "I loved ease and comfort and luxury, fine garments, costly jewelry and princely mansions. To gain these I did not scruple to defraud my neighbor in every available way. I stole from my employers, I took false oaths, I joined secret societies, I even sold my virtue! I stayed away from Mass, I ate meat on forbidden days, I neglected the sacraments, I went so far as to deny my faith. I contracted marriage before a civil magistrate, or before a heretical minister; I contracted a mixed marriage without dispensation; I got a divorce and than ventured to break the laws of God and of the Church by getting married again! I wished to be free, to do just as I pleased. The laws of God and of His Church forbade me to frequent dangerous occasions, and I spurned these laws because I wished to enjoy myself and gratify my passions by going with persons and into places that were dangerous to me, and thus I fell repeatedly into sins, even the most shameful. God commanded me to be pure and chaste, and I took delight in gratifying my basest passions in every possible way, and sought every occasion of doing so. How criminally I acted in neglecting to give my children a religious education, and thus caused them to lose their souls! During life I was fond of listening to and joining in backbiting, calumny, obscene discourses, and even irreligious conversations. I loved to read filthy novels and to gaze on immodest pictures and objects. While on earth, I yielded to my passion for strong drink, and indulged in it to excess, until I degraded myself below the brute and committed crimes innumerable against my wife and children, against my neighbor. During life I delighted, in cursing, swearing, in uttering fearful oaths and imprecations and in quarreling, in gambling and in almost every crime. And now I find myself in the gloomy prison of hell, in company of a countless multitude of villains, murderers, of the most degraded beings that have ever lived! I have no longer a loving parent, a loving child, a sympathizing friend. No; all the ties of friendship, all the ties of nature, are forever broken, forever turned into devilish hate. Every evil spirit, every reprobate insults me, curses me, tortures me, seeks to make me suffer the more. I must submit to all this, because during life I refused to submit to the holy will of God. I could so easily have been saved, and now I am lost, lost forever, and that through my own fault! Never shall I see God, never shall I enjoy the delights of heaven, never more shall I be released from these terrible torments. It is now too late!" 

FOUR LAST THINGS: DEATH, JUDGMENT, HELL, HEAVEN 

DEAR CATHOLICS:  PLEASE PRAY FOR THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS!  THE ABOVE IS WHAT THEY HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IF THEY DO NOT REPENT!

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Second Sunday after Pentecost 26 June 2011

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

“He that loveth not, abideth in death.” (1 John 3:14)

There are many who imagine that they love but they really do not love. Self-love is not true love. If one truly loved himself he would seek only that which is best for his eternal welfare and would resist and fight off this disordered self-love.

Self-love is filled with pride and vanity and is therefore lacking the grace of God. In this we see that self-love is not the friend of one’s self but is actually an enemy. Self-love undermines true love and ck becomes an eternal enemy to ourselves.

We witness in today’s gospel how one person after another excused himself from attending the supper. Each one in his turn filled with self-love rather than true love found an excuse not to go when they should have gone. Their own disordered will and love of self became the obstacle to their own eventual peace and happiness.

They assumed that in following their own wills they would find happiness, but in the end they are denied ever being able to taste of the supper.

After indulging our own wills we are left disappointed and frustrated. The joys that our self-love promised us prove to be deceitful illusions. We usually only discover this after we have already been barred from the supper. It is then too late to return to the great supper. There is no turning back. The grace that was rejected by us will never return. In God’s mercy He may offer us another grace but the one that was rejected is forever gone. Instead of amassing treasure for heaven we have too often lost precious treasures and time by rejecting God’s graces, just as the men in today’s gospel rejected the invitations.

We have chosen to prefer passing and fleeting enjoyments of self-love in pride and vanity rather than embrace the truly good things offered to us by God. As often as these graces and opportunities (invitations) are repulsed by us the less likely are we to receive another. Eventually those who have rejected their allotted number of graces will receive no more. They will be forever barred from ever tasting of the heavenly supper.

Those on the other hand that accept the invitation and cooperate with the grace are given not just any supper but a great supper. They are filled with sumptuous delights without end, because of their cooperation with the graces that God has given them. They not only increase the current grace but have many others added to them. God again and again invites them until one day they are welcomed into the eternal feast of heaven.

Those who have rejected God’s graces and invitations the allotted number of times will ultimately be rejected for all of eternity and will never taste of the joys of heaven. Their self-love which is not true love at all caused them not to love and as we quoted from St. John above: He that does not love abides in death. These poor souls having chosen to pursue their own disordered self-love throughout life, rejecting over and over again God’s invitation to come to His supper, find nothing but disillusionment and frustration in this life, but even worse than this, they will never taste of any true happiness because they have forever barred themselves from heaven. They will die the second death and suffer for all of eternity for their folly. They will hate themselves forever because they will now see how easy it would have been for them to accept and correspond to the invitation.

Many times the invitation is rejected and the messenger feels the pain and the rejection as if it is he that has been rejected. Even though the messenger is often criticized and blamed, our Lord tells us that it is not the messenger who is being rejected but it is the one who sent the messenger (God) who is truly being rejected. Many criticize and condemn the Church and Her ministers but do not understand that in doing so they have not rejected the Church and her ministers, but they have rejected God who sent them. So as we find our wishes and desires for our fellow men constantly rejected and repulsed by them we should not take it as a personal insult; it is not we that have been slighted but, God. God’s desire for his servants is that they return over and over again to invite others until eventually His house will be filled.

Let us strive for and pray for those whom God has sent us to invite into His Kingdom, but if we find that they are rejecting the invitation and are choosing to abide in death rather than life, let us move on to find others who are more cooperative with the grace of God. Let us not continue to cast pearls before swine or to invite to a supper those who have chosen death and cannot eat.

Dear Friends,

Of those of you who have spoken to Catholics who attend the New Mass, how many have wished you had a document or cd which you could have given this person to provide a full explanation of why you cannot and will not attend the New Mass?

 

How about those of you who attend the New Mass and simply cannot understand or agree with those who only attend a Latin Mass and reject the Mass?

Further still, regarding those of you who object to the very notion of rejecting what you perceive to be legitimate Church authority even though it can be clearly shown that these individuals have been teaching or preaching heresy for many years.

 

For those of you who attend the New Mass, how many of you are willing to listen to BOTH sides of the discussion?

Friday's program will have Most Rev. Louis Vezelis, OFM on as a guest from Waterloo, NY. The topic will be "Why we cannot be a part of the New Order (Church)?

How many of you are brave enough to listen, either live or recorded, and seriously consider the statements being made?

 

The Catholic Faith Radio Program is broadcast live from the studios of KRFE AM580, Lubbock, Texas each Friday from 2 - 4 p.m., Central Time.

For those listening to the live stream, go to www.ustream.com and search for "Catholic Faith Radio Program."

 

May God bless you all, and may He give you the courage to listen and the wisdom to understand,

 

Fr. Joseph, OFM

 

Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,

Here is Bishop Louis' Trinity Sunday Sermon Audio Link

Trinity Sunday Bishop Louis Vezelis, OFM

Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,

The audio link is now ready for the Pentecost Sunday Sermon by His Excellency Bishop Louis Vezelis, OFM. May you profit from it immensely. 

Bishop Louis on Pentecost Sunday 2011 at the Portiuncula 

INTRODUCING MR. AND MRS. BRIAN STRANDT!!

AUDIO SERMON GIVEN BY BISHOP GILES, OFM FOR THE FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Trinity Sunday 19 June 2011

The Sunday Sermon

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Dear Friends,

Jesus has given the disciples His guarantee to remain with them all days – even to the consummation of the world. As we celebrate this feast of the Most Holy Trinity we are reminded of many things concerning God. We know that He is three Persons in One God, and as St. Paul tells us that God’s judgments are incomprehensible for us and His ways are unsearchable by us. More than this, let us consider His omnipresence.

We cannot ever escape the presence of God. Some have said that God’s presence is like the air all around us. Even more so than this we find God’s presence inside us as well as all around us. God is with us at all times.

For the virtuous person this is a very consoling thought that God is a witness to all that he does, to all that he says and thinks. To the wicked individual it is a very frightening thing to recall that God is a witness to all his crimes and schemes.

Beyond this we must realize that God’s presence is necessary for our very existence. We have been taught that if God were to ever cease thinking of us then we would cease to be. We exist in God constantly. We live not only in His presence, but by and for Him also.

When we sin we must realize that not only have we forgotten God and His presence, but we have forced Him in a way to participate at least by His permissive will in our evil. God is not just a silent witness to our evil thoughts, words and actions, but He is in a sense forced to cooperate with our evil actions because of His existence in the creatures which we abuse.

All that God has made is good, holy and pleasing to Him. Men have been given the capacity to take these things and use them against God. Men have taken good things and used them for evil purposes. Because, God is present in all these things, men in their sins are directly attacking God and abusing Him. The abuse is not just against His creation, but it is oposed to Him because we find Him in His creation.

This understanding of God’s gifts to us has often led men to mistake His creatures for Him and then place the creature in the place of God. Idolatry is a mistaken or perverted understanding of reality.

All the world around us is sacred and holy in the sense that it has come forth from the hand of God and these things are contained in God, but these things are not God. In their beauty and suitability for their purpose we see a reflection of God’s perfections. We see God in His work, but we must realize that it is His work and is not Him even though He always remains with His work.

We too are His work – we are His creation. He lives in us in an even more intimate manner than He does in the rest of His creation. We therefore are even more sacred and holy than the rest of creation. We are still not God but we are higher than the rest of the material world. This material world was made only for us. Just as we must respect and not abuse the material world because it is God’s gift and He is present in it, so we must have a greater sense of the respect and sacredness of our own bodies and those of our fellow men. We are not just material objects to be studied and manipulated on a purely material plane. We have immortal souls and we are temples of the Holy Ghost.

Our bodies are not our own, our children are not our own. Children are more than a mass of cells or a mass of tissue. They are God’s creation, and are His temples; they are sacred and deserve the respect, dignity, and honor as such at all stages of life. We are not free to drag the sacred down to the level of the profane. We are not free to consider men on the same level as other animals. We are not free to manipulate them for our own designs and pleasures.

As we contemplate the mystery of God and the Trinity, let us not fail to contemplate His life and presence in and through us. Let us repent for having ever offended Him. Let us beg His mercy upon all those who have abused Him when they have abused their own bodies or the bodies of others. We are members of Christ -- living members. “Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” (Mat. 28, 20)

  "They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth a service to God."

Gay ‘marriage’ passes in New York Assembly - Senate vote next

by Peter J. Smith

ALBANY, New York, June 16, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The fate of true marriage in New York now depends on Senate Republicans after the Democrat-controlled Assembly voted to extend the legal definition of marriage to include same-sex couples.
The Assembly voted Wednesday evening 80 – 63 to legalize same-sex “marriage.” Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo has campaigned heavily for the bill along with Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy, meeting with Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to secure their support.
Already two Republicans, Sens. Jim Alesi (Rochester) and Roy MacDonald (Saratoga Springs), have switched their votes from “no” to “yes” on same-sex “marriage.” Alesi has claimed that he only cast his vote against gay “marriage” in 2009 as a political move, to help Republicans reclaim the chamber in 2010.
An unofficial vote count has the Senate split 31 – 31. If that count is accurate and the GOP allows the bill to come to the floor, then the tie-breaking vote would fall to Duffy as lieutenant governor, resulting in the bill’s passage. Alesi has predicted that several more Republicans would join him if GOP leaders allowed them, resulting in an even wider margin of passage.
Only one Democrat, Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. (Bronx) is voting against the same-sex “marriage” bill. Diaz also is the strongest pro-marriage leader in the Senate, and has been urging the GOP to block the bill’s passage.
Diaz has been the subject of numerous death threats for his stance. Pro-gay “marriage” advocates even held a “F*** Ruben Diaz Festival”, the brainchild of an online forum of homosexuals called The New Gay. (see story)

Diaz, an Hispanic evangelical minister has received support from the New York Catholic Conference of Bishops, which has allied with Diaz in opposing the bill. Ironically, that pits the Catholic Church with Diaz against both of the bill’s major proponents, Cuomo and Duffy, who are self-proclaimed Catholics. 

The GOP conference met Wednesday to discuss whether they would allow the bill to come to the floor before Monday, when the legislature goes into recess. Sen. Majority Leader Dean Skelos has given no indication of whether the GOP will bring the bill to the floor.
The Conservative Party, a critical ally in New York for GOP candidates campaigning on multiple party ballots, has vowed that they will oppose any GOP senator who votes for same-sex “marriage” – meaning that control of the Senate could flip back to Democrats in the 2012 election if gay “marriage” is passed with the help of Republicans.

Dear Friends,

The topic for tomorrow's edition of The Catholic Faith Radio Program will be a continuation of our discussion on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We'll resume with the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) and discuss the differences with the New Mass. I hope you can join us, many have told us how much they learn each time they listen. Knowledge of the subject is vital if you don't wish to be fooled by the Modernists. Believe me, they are getting ready to pull more devilish tricks with the intent of fooling as many Catholics as possible.

 

The Catholic Faith Radio Program is broadcast live each week from the studio of KRFE AM580 Radio, Lubbock, TX on Friday from 2 - 4 p.m. (Central Time). To catch the live stream go to www.ustream.com and type Catholic Faith Radio Program in the search engine which will take you directly to the LIVE broadcast.

 

We invite all to call in with your questions or comments during the live broadcast. The phone number is (806) 745-5800.

 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support,

Fr. Joseph, OFM

 

PS  We continue to look for tax-deductible donations, sponsors or advertisers. Thank you for any help you are able to give us.

 

THE HAIL MARY
Saint Bonaventure

Ave Maria! That blessed greeting of the Angel Gabriel, where we honor and greet Our Lady every day, is also grounded in the Gospel, as you have heard before, but I will tell you more, to guide your devotion more in reciting that greeting. In understanding this greeting in the manner as holy Church has ordained it to be said, it has five parts; in which may be understood specially the five joys of Our Lady, and in those five joys, five virtues that she had in them above all earthly creatures: humility, chastity, faith, hope, and charity.

In the first part of this greeting, which consists in these two words Hail Mary, you may understand the first joy that she had in Jesus' gracious conception, of which humility was the ground, as perhaps you have heard before. As these words Hail Mary are the first and beginning of this greeting, so the feast of the Annunciation was the beginning of and ground of all others; and as humility was the beginning of Mary's joy and all mankind's, so is it the beginning and ground of all virtues. Therefore, in these first words, Hail Mary, you may with reason understand the first joy that she had in her annunciation of the conceiving of her Blessed Son Jesus, and that specially through the virtue of humility.

In the second part, that consists in these words Full of grace, may be understood the second joy that Mary had in Jesus' birth and her joyful childbearing, in which she had sovereignly, the virtue of chastity and purity; and therefore she was specially full of grace, in that she, clean maiden and mother, bore child without sorrow, which no woman ever did but only she.

In the third part, in these words the Lord is with thee, may be understood the third joy that she had in the glorious resurrection of her Son Jesus, specially by the virtue of steadfast faith and true belief. For from His death until that time, He dwelled only with her, by the steadfast belief that she had in Him as God, when all His Apostles and disciples were separated from Him by misbelief, and by despair that He was God. And therefore the faith of Holy Church stayed in her alone for those three days; so that in that time it might specially be said to her, Our Lord is with thee, that is to say by true faith and belief. And afterwards, at His resurrection, Our Lord is with thee was fulfilled more specially by His bodily presence, which first appeared to her.

In the fourth part, that is in these words, Blessed art thou among women, or else, above all women, may be understood the fourth joy that she had, in the sight of her Son Jesus mightily ascending to Heaven; in which sight the hope that she had in His Godhead was fully strengthened and confirmed, seeing that which no other woman ever did, when that part which He took of her in flesh and blood was bodily born up to Heaven through power of the Godhead; and so hoping without doubt that she should follow after. Well then might it be said to her, then and now, "Blessed art thou sovereignly among women," seeing thy Son Jesus mightily to Heaven ascending.

In the fifth part, Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, may be understood the last joy that she had in her blessed Son Jesus, when He took her up with Him to bliss, and there honorably crowned her Queen of Heaven everlasting. Then was her desire of love fulfilled, when, through fullness of charity, she was forever joined to her blessed Son Jesus, and He to her, and was so fed with that blessed fruit that she hungered no more; for thereby she was filled with all goodness, bliss, and joy without end. And thus briefly in the fifth part of this salutation Ave Maria, may be understood the five joys of blessed Mary, with five virtues that she had sovereignly in them, as I have now said.

The greeting, according to the common understanding, may be said in English tongue: "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou sovereignly among women, and ever blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus!" And as the list in this greeting specifies the five joys with the five virtues aforesaid, you may say it in short: "Hail Mary, maiden meekest, greeted by the Angel Gabriel in Jesus' gracious conception; full of grace, as mother chaste, bearing thy Son Jesus without sorrow or pain! Our Lord is with thee by true faith and belief at Jesus' joyful resurrection. Blessed art thou sovereignly among women by firm hope, seeing thy Son Jesus with power to Heaven ascending. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, in everlasting bliss, through perfect charity gloriously crowning thee Queen of Heaven. Obtain for us these virtues, that for our gain we may be pleasing to thy Son Jesus and to thee. Be thou our help in all our need, and our succor at our last ending. Amen."

AUDIO SERMON FOR PENTECOST GIVEN BY BISHOP GILES, OFM

 VERY ENCOURAGING!!

EVERY TRIAL MUST BE BORNE FOR THE SAKE OF ETERNAL LIFE

THE VOICE OF CHRIST

MY CHILD, do not let the labors which you have taken up for My sake break you, and do not let troubles, from whatever source, cast you down; but in everything let My promise strengthen and console you. I am able to reward you beyond all means and measure.

You will not labor here long, nor will you always be oppressed by sorrows. Wait a little while and you will see a speedy end of evils. The hour will come when all labor and trouble shall be no more. All that passes away with time is trivial.

What you do, do well. Work faithfully in My vineyard. I will be your reward. 

Write, read, sing, mourn, keep silence, pray, and bear hardships like a man. Eternal life is worth all these and greater battles. Peace will come on a day which is known to the Lord, and then there shall be no day or night as at present but perpetual light, infinite brightness, lasting peace, and safe repose. Then you will not say: "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" nor will you cry: "Woe is me, because my sojourn is prolonged." For then death will be banished, and there will be health unfailing. There will be no anxiety then, but blessed joy and sweet, noble companionship.

If you could see the everlasting crowns of the saints in heaven, and the great glory wherein they now rejoice -- they who were once considered contemptible in this world and, as it were, unworthy of life itself -- you would certainly humble yourself at once to the very earth, and seek to be subject to all rather than to command even one. Nor would you desire the pleasant days of this life, but rather be glad to suffer for God, considering it your greatest gain to be counted as nothing among men.

Oh, if these things appealed to you and penetrated deeply into your heart, how could you dare to complain even once? Ought not all trials be borne for the sake of everlasting life? In truth, the loss or gain of God's kingdom is no small matter.

Lift up your countenance to heaven, then. Behold Me, and with Me all My saints. They had great trials in this life, but now they rejoice. They are consoled. Now they are safe and at rest. And they shall abide with Me for all eternity in the kingdom of My Father.

A PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
(By Cardinal Mercier)

I am going to reveal to you the secret of sanctity and happiness.
Every day for five minutes control your imagination and close your
eyes to all the noises of the world in order to enter into yourself.
Then, in the sanctuary of your baptized soul (which is the temple of
the Holy Spirit) speak to that Divine Spirit, saying to Him:

O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide
me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do; give me Your
orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to
accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your
Will.

If you do this, your life will flow along happily, serenely, and full
of consolation, even in the midst of trials. Grace will be
proportioned to the trial, giving you the strength to carry it and
you will arrive at the Gate of Paradise, laden with merit. This
submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity.

Please keep my mother in your prayers.  She died 29 years ago today and I think I've  shared with you how special a lady she was.  If it wasn't for her, the chances are that we would not have our beloved Father Bonaventure.  She fought the good fight and passed it on to me so I could pass it on to him.  It is MUCH appreciated!
Eternal Rest Grant Unto Her O Lord and Let Perpetual Light Shine Upon Her.  May She Rest In Peace Amen.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Pentecost Sunday 12 June 2011

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

“If anyone love Me, he will keep My Word and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and will make Our abode in him.”

Today we celebrate the coming of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles. The words of Christ were fulfilled for those who loved Jesus. They loved Jesus and they kept His word and so God the Holy Ghost came to them and dwelt with them. They became temples of God.

We too have been invited to receive the Holy Ghost. God wishes to come and dwell within us. Jesus has given us the test whereby we shall know if we are loved by God. If we love God, God will love us. And if God loves us He will live within us. But, how shall we know if we truly love God, or if we love Him correctly? That is answered by Jesus also: “If you love Me you will keep My Word.” If we keep the word of God we will love God and He will dwell within us.

Jesus has also given us the sacraments through which He gives grace to all who properly receive them (without placing any obstacles in the way of God’s grace). In the sacrament of Confirmation we receive the Holy Ghost through the instrumentality of the bishop. This sacrament brings to us the Holy Ghost and all His gifts, and through this sacrament we are made soldiers of Jesus Christ. We are truly fitted for spiritual warfare.

We are now soldiers fitted for battle with every help that we need and yet so many have fled their posts or given completely in to the enemy. How is it that they do not use the means that God has given them? How are we to protect ourselves from falling into a like misfortune or how are we to return to that state once we have lost it?

The answer to all our questions is “love.” It is love that places the armor upon us and the weapons in our hands. It is love that enables us to fight the spiritual battles courageously. It is love that enables us to keep the words of Christ. It is the Holy Ghost whom we receive in Confirmation that is known as the God of love.

The Holy Ghost dwelling within us is both the gift and the reward. He is an unmerited free gift to draw us to Himself and He is also the reward for our cooperation with Himself.

Once we begin to love then our eyes are opened. God is love and in loving God we begin to know Him. In knowing Him we serve Him. In serving and knowing Him we love Him.

A simple examination of our conscience is enough to tell us if we have kept the word of God. This in turn will tell us of the depth of our love for God.

Our goal today and always is to strive to love God more and more each day. The greater our love for God becomes the closer God will dwell within us. The more intimately we are untied with God here on earth the greater will be our reward and intimacy with Him in heaven.

Let us strive to love the word of God. We must cherish the words of Christ more than we do any others. In this state of love we will not find it difficult to keep the commandments. In every aspect of our lives we will find a relevant word from the scriptures to help us. As we dwell in the words of God we will find that God will dwell within us. In this dwelling upon the word of God we will love and grow in love for God. In this way the Holy Ghost the God of Love will come to us and within us the Trinity will live. We will be temples of God, but more importantly we will find ourselves in God. We will find ourselves immersed in the presence of God rather than God circumscribed within us.

Dear Friends,

We will resume our discussion on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on today's program. It  has been since April 8 when we last discussed this topic on the program.

Numerous people have told me over the past months of how much that are learning from listening to the program. I am happy to hear this since this is the main focus of the program - to teach the Catholic Faith.

The Catholic Faith Radio Program is broadcast live each Friday from 2 - 4 p.m. on KRFE AM580, Lubbock, TX. It is streamed on www.ustream.com  Use the search engine and type in The Catholic Faith Radio Program, which will  take you directly to the live broadcast.

 

For those who are inclined to call the Program, the phone number is (806) 745-5800.

 

Thank you for your prayers and support,

Fr. Joseph, OFM

 

Dear Barbara Lyons - YES we do oppose tax dollars being spent for contraceptives!  The National Right to Life is NOT a truly pro-life organization!  The only true pro-life organization in the state of Wisconsin is Pro-Life Wisconsin.  They are truly opposed to abortion AND birth control:
Wis. Right to Life director: "No one would object to [Planned Parenthood] receiving tax dollars [for contraceptives]"
The Badger Catholic
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
http://badgercatholic.blogspot.com/2011/06/wis-right-to-life-director-no-one-would.html

Barbara Lyons, director of Wisconsin Right to Life was on WI Public Radio 2 weeks ago.
http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=jca. Wednesday May 25, 7am.

During the interview at about 5:50, she states, Planned Parenthood could make a choice -- they could say, 'We're no longer going to provide abortion services' and then no one would object to their receiving tax dollars… Let me say again, If they just worked on health care for people[free birth control], no one would object to their receiving tax dollars. She basically reiterates the same thing when people call in.

Ahem.... yes, some of us indeed to oppose taxpayer funded contraception since for starters it leads to abortion [and many contraceptives are abortifacients in one way or another]. And we have a name too; Catholics.

Also did you know that Archbishop Weakland was one of the founders of Wisconsin Right to Life? Just sayin.

Planned Parenthood mocks St. Philomena with “Pillamena, Birth Control Girl”

St. Philomena is a Catholic martyr, murdered on account of her faith, for refusing to marry a  Roman emperor. Read about her here. So it is only fitting that Planned Parenthood should mock this Catholic saint — martyred for protecting her virginity — with “Pillamena,” Birth Control Girl. Photo of Pillamena, left (or view it on Planned Parenthood’s Facebook page here.] And regarding the possibility that Planned Parenthood just happened to give their walking birth control advertisement a similar name…  that’s naive. PP has never shied away from digs at the Catholic Church and Her unchanging rejection of contraception.

http://blog.prolifewisconsin.org/2011/06/08/planned-parenthood-mocks-st-philomena-with-pillamena-birth-control-girl/

Christians Flung To The Wild Beasts

Christians Flung To The Wild Beasts

In addition to the sinister obscurity that prevails in hell, caused by the stifling smoke that rises in dense clouds from the lake of brimstone, there is the presence of frightful demons who increase the pain and torment of the damned.

We read in the legend of St. Anthony the Hermit, that the demons frequently appeared to him under various forms, plaguing and frightening him in indescribable ways. Sometimes they took the shape of wild beasts, lions, bears, dragons or savage dogs; at other times they appeared in human form, that of fierce-looking men, beautiful women, or monsters of hideous aspect. Sometimes they beat and maltreated him so barbarously that they left him half dead; sometimes they caused him such terror by their strange spectral apparitions, that had not God and his angel guardian come to his aid, he would have expired.

Now if they did all this to a man of saintly life, over whom they had no rightful power, what will they not do in hell to the ungodly sinners who are completely at their mercy?

Doubtless these diabolical terrifying images, assuming the shape of wild animals, will fall upon the wretched sinners and mishandle them shamefully. This will be a fresh misery for them. No one can imagine what new terrors and torments the ingenuity of these spirits of hell will devise to harass the damned and pour out on them their devilish malice.