THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost 2 September 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Jesus does not condemn riches or food or even working in today’s gospel, but rather, He condemns undue solicitude for these things. We are elsewhere admonished to work to provide for ourselves and others. We must work and provide for ourselves as long as God has given us the means and the ability to do so. What we must avoid is becoming the servants or slaves to these things. The rich man often becomes a slave to his riches, guarding and protecting them with great care; and consequently having no care or solicitude for his soul. The luxurious, the glutton, and the vain do likewise seek to serve rather than rule over the gifts of God. When God created man He placed him over the rest of His creation to rule it. It is a gross inversion of right order when men willingly enslave themselves to the creature rather than to God the Creator.

We cannot pretend to serve both God and mammon (riches, pleasures, etc.) as Our Lord makes clear in the gospel for today. Our focus can only be in one direction either toward God or toward mammon. Man is the glory of all of God’s creation; he is above it all. We may even place men who were created a little less than the angels above the angels as God chose to become man and unite Himself with us rather than with angels. Creation then was made to serve us. In seeking creatures with great eagerness and solicitude we put them in the place of God and become guilty of idolatry. The same can be said when we seek the even lesser creations of men such as fiduciary currency. If it is a great sin and crime to esteem God’s creation before God, then it must be a much worse crime to pursue man’s “creation” more than God Himself.

The beauty of the carefree trust of the birds of the air and the beautiful adornment of the flowers of the field bear a very slight resemblance to the true beauty of a soul that loves God and trusts in His divine providence.

While we must not worry about food and clothing, shelter, etc. nor become slaves to these things; we must nonetheless prudently provide ourselves with these necessities. The temptation is to become lazy under the guise of great faith and trust in God. It is easy to forget the admonition of St. Paul: Those who will not work, neither should they eat (2 Thes 3:10). We must do all that we can using the gifts and talents God has placed at our disposal, ever careful not to waste or squander them; and at the same time always remaining humble in the knowledge that these are gifts entrusted to us that may be taken away at any time. There is no permanence or security in them. These gifts are given to draw us closer to the Creator not to become an obstacle to our love for Him.

Job shows us in both his richness and his poverty what our attitude should be towards the things of this earth and God the giver of these things: “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job used his riches to glorify God and he used his poverty to glorify God. Never did his wealth or poverty become an obstacle to his love of God.

Perfection is unattainable in this life because it is reserved for us only in Heaven. Riches only pretend to hold perfect happiness and more often than not bring bitter and utter misery with them. Food promises pleasure and satisfaction, but when pursued without reserve only brings ill-health and all manner of digestive discomfort. Beauty when pursued above all else brings the most profound suffering and ultimate ugliness in its train. How many torture their bodies seeking an ideal that the world holds out as beauty, only to find it unattainable or worse yet to find the ideal has now changed to its opposite?

The fashions of this world are constantly changing with the insatiable fickleness of men’s desires. Yet, how many foolishly strive with their entire being to conform themselves to the prevailing fashion at the expense of their souls? And in spite of all these endeavors these poor misguided people often ruin their health and bodies destroying any natural beauty God may have given them and are uglier than ever. True beauty is not to be found in bodily shapes and colors, but rather in virtue of soul.

We must therefore work to provide for ourselves with what God has given us, but always with and for the love of God, never allowing anything to so consume our efforts or attention as to draw us away from this love. Let us ever be ready to sacrifice the lesser (creation) for the greater (the Creator)!

“Now Jesus Christ, God and Man, enters into us and enacts a mystery similar to the one wrought in Mary’s womb….the Eucharist passes into our bodies and, uniting with us, prolongs, extends the Incarnation to each of us separately.

In becoming incarnate in the Virgin Mary, the Word had in view this incarnation in each one of us, this Communion with the individual soul; it was one of the ends for which He came into the world.

Communion is the perfect development, the full unfoldment of the Incarnation, as it is likewise the completion of the sublime sacrifice of Calvary, renewed each morning in the Mass…without Communion the Sacrifice would be incomplete. Thus the Body of Jesus Christ is united with our body, His Soul with our soul, and His Divinity hovers over both.”

St. Peter Julian Eymard Holy Communion

“At the true age of one month, a human being is four and a half millimeters long. Its tiny heart has already been beating for a week, its arms, legs, head, brain are already recognizable. At two months old, from head to the tip of its bottom, the human embryo is about three centimeters long. It could fit curled up inside a walnut shell. Inside a clenched fist, it would be invisible, and the clenched fist would crush it accidentally without even noticing.

But open your hand, the embryo is almost complete, hands, feet, head, organs, brain, everything is in its place and from now on will merely grow. Look more closely , you can already read the life lines in its palms and predict its good fortunes. Look closer still, with an ordinary microscope, and you can see its fingerprints. Everything is already there and it would be possible to issue its identity card.”

“The incredible Tom Thumb, the man no bigger than my thumb, actually exists ; not the one in the fairy tale, but the one which every one of us once was.”

Quote from:  Dr. Jerome LeJeune (the great pro-life scientist who discovered the cause of Down Syndrome)

“If a man were forced to sit all day long at table, he would get a disgust of the viands [meals] before him. If one were made to sleep day and night for a whole week in the softest and most comfortable bed, how long would the time seem... Now look down into the abyss of hell, and there thou wilt see thousands and thousands of these unhappy creatures in the lake of fire and torment. Many of them have already spent twenty, a hundred, a thousand, even five thousand years in this dreadful state of suffering. But what is before them? Not five thousand years more, not a hundred thousand years more… they must endure it forever and ever.” (Fr. Martin von Cochem, The Four Last Things, pp. 168-169)

 

Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.

St. Augustine - Feast day August 28

The Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Also known as The Franciscan Crown Rosary)
The Franciscan Crown Rosary, properly known as "The Franciscan Crown of Our Lady's Joys" dates back to approximately the year 1422. According to tradition, as related by the famous Franciscan historian Father Luke Wadding, a very pious young man who had been admitted to the Franciscan Order in that year was saddened and had decided to return to the world and quit the cloister. Before his entry into the Order, it was his custom to adorn a statue of the Blessed Virgin with a wreath of fresh and beautiful flowers. Now, he was unable to continue his act of piety and devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

Our Lady appeared to him and prevented him from taking such a step as he had planned. "Do not be sad and cast down, my son," she said, "because you are no longer permitted to place wreaths of flowers on my statue. I shall teach you to change this pious practice into one that will be far more pleasing to me and more meritorious to your soul. In place of the flowers that soon wither and cannot always be found, you can weave for me a crown from the flowers of your prayers that will always remain fresh and can always be had." When Our Lady had disappeared, the overjoyed Novice at once began to recite the prayers in honor of her Seven Joys, as she had directed. While he was deeply engrossed in this devotion, the Novice Master happened to pass by and saw an angel weaving a marvelous wreath of roses. After every tenth rose, he inserted a golden lily. When the wreath was finished, the angel placed it on the head of the praying Novice. The Novice Master demanded the Novice tell him the meaning of this vision. The joyful Novice complied. The good priest was so impressed that he immediately made it known to his brethren. Thus, the practice of reciting the Franciscan Crown of Our Lady's Joys soon spread as a favorite devotion of the Friars.

The Joys of Mary remembered in the devotion are these:

• The Annunciation of the Angel to Mary
  
• The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth
  
• The Nativity of Our Lord
  
• The Adoration of the Magi
  
• The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
  
• The Resurrection of Our Lord and His Appearance to the Blessed Mother
  
• and  The Assumption & Coronation of Our Lady, Mary, in Heaven as Queen

“Now Jesus Christ, God and Man, enters into us and enacts a mystery similar to the one wrought in Mary’s womb…the Eucharist passes into our bodies and, uniting with us, prolongs, extends the Incarnation to each of us separately.

In becoming incarnate in the Virgin Mary, the Word had in view this incarnation in each one of us, this Communion with the individual soul; it was one of the ends for which He came into the world.

Communion is the perfect development, the full unfoldment of the Incarnation, as it is likewise the completion of the sublime sacrifice of Calvary, renewed each morning in the Mass…without Communion the Sacrifice would be incomplete. Thus the Body of Jesus Christ is united with our body, His Soul with our soul, and His Divinity hovers over both.”

St. Peter Julian Eymard Holy Communion

Bishop Giles, OFM sermon for feast of St. Louis, Principal Patron the the Third Order
 Bishop Giles, OFM sermon for 13th Sunday after Pentecost

Bishop Bonaventure, OFM -Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost 

: “What greater peace can a soul feel than in being able to say on lying down at night: Should death come this night, I hope to die in the grace of God. What a consolation is it to hear the thunder roll, to feel the earth tremble, and to await death with resignation, if God so ordain it.” 

 St. Alphonsus (c. 1755)

"And he was returning, sitting in his chariot and reading Isaias the prophet. And the Spirit said to Philip: Go near and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip running thither, heard him reading the prophet Isaias. And he said: Thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest? Who said: And how can I, unless some man shew me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him."

Acts of the Apostles (chapter 8:28-31/DRV)

The greater part of their relics is kept in the church of the Franciscan friars at Brussels,

July 9

SS. Martyrs of Gorcum

NINETEEN priests and religious men, who were taken by the Calvinists in Gorcum, after suffering many insults, were hanged on account of their religion at Bril, on the 9th of July, 1572. Of these, eleven were Franciscan friars, called Recollects, of the convent of Gorcum, amongst whom were Nicholas Pick the guardian, and Jerom Werden, vicar of the same convent. The former was thirty-eight years old, an eminent preacher, and a man endued with the primitive spirit of his order, especially the love of holy poverty and mortification. He feared the least superfluity even in the meanest and most necessary things, especially in meals; and he would often say: “I fear if St. Francis were living, he would not approve of this or that.” He was most zealous to preserve this spirit of poverty and penance in his house, and he used to call property and superfluity the bane of a religious state. His constant cheerfulness rendered piety and penance itself amiable. He often had these words in his mouth: “We must always serve God with cheerfulness.” He had frequently expressed an earnest desire to die a martyr, but sincerely confessed himself altogether unworthy of that honour. The other martyrs were a Dominican, two Norbertins, one Canon Regular of St. Austin, called John Oosterwican, 1 three curates, and another secular priest. The first of these curates was Leonard Vechel, the elder pastor at Gorcum. He had gained great reputation in his theological studies at Louvain under the celebrated Ruard Tapper; and in the discharge of pastoral duties at Gorcum, had joined an uncommon zeal, piety, eloquence, and learning with such success, that his practice and conduct in difficult cases was a rule for other curates of the country, and his decisions were regarded as oracles at the university itself. For the relief of the poor, especially those who were sick, he gave his temporal substance with such tenderness and profusion as to seem desirous, had it been possible, to have given them himself. He reproved vice without respect of persons; and by his invincible meekness and patience disarmed and conquered many who had been long deaf to all his remonstrances, and added only insults to their obstinacy. Nicholas Poppel was the second pastor at Gorcum, and though inferior in abilities, was in zeal worthy to be the colleague of Vechel, and to attain to the same crown with him. The rest of this happy company had made their lives an apprenticeship to martyrdom. They were declared martyrs, and beatified by Clement X. in 1674. The relation of several miracles performed by their intercession and relics which was sent to Rome in order to their beatification, is published by the Bollandists. 2 The greater part of their relics is kept in the church of the Franciscan friars at Brussels, whither they were secretly conveyed from Bril. See the accurate history of their martyrdom written by the learned doctor William Estius, printed at Douay in 1603. Also Batavia Sacra, part. 2. p. 174. and various memoirs collected by Solier the Bollandist, t. 2. Julij, p. 736.

1

Note 1. John Oosterwican was director to a convent of nuns of the same order in Gorcum; he was then very old, and had often prayed that God would honour him with the crown of martyrdom.   The names of the eleven Franciscans were Nicholas Pick, Jerom, a native of Werden, in the county of Horn, Theodoric of Embden, native of Amorfort, Nicaise, Johnson, native of Heze, Wilhade, native of Denmark, Godfrey of Merveille, Antony of the town of Werden, Antony of Hornaire, a village near Gorcum, Francis Rodes, native of Brussels. These were priests and preachers. The other two were lay-brothers, namely, Peter of Asca, a village in Brabant, and Cornelius of Dorestate, a village now called Wick, in the territory of Utrecht. The three curates were Leonard Vechel, Nicholas Poppel, and Godfrey Dunen. This last was a native of Gorcum, who having been rector of the university of Paris, where he had studied and taught, was some time curate in Holland, near the French territories, but resigned his curacy and lived at Gorcum.   The other martyrs were John Oosterwican mentioned above; John, a Dominican of the province of Cologne, curate of Hornaire; Adrian Hilvarenbeck, a Norbertin of Middleburg, who served a parish at Munster, a village near the mouth of the Meuse; James Lacop of the same order and monastery, an assistant in a neighbouring parish to Munster; and Andrew Walter, a secular priest, curate of Heinort, near Dort. [back]

Note 2. Julij, t. 2, p. 823. [back]

Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73).  Volume VII: July. The Lives of the Saints.  1866.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost 26 August 2012

The Sunday Sermon

 

Dear Friends,

Leprosy is a sign of sin – not every kind of sin, but rather only outward sins; and chiefly the sins of heresy and schism. This evil disease is carried about by all those separated from the Church. Excluded from the Church as lepers are excluded from society, they are abandoned to fend for themselves when they have no means of providing for themselves. Those excluded from the Mystical Body search and attempt to feed themselves from the Sacred Scriptures only to find these truths indigestible so that they set out to season and modify God’s word to make it more palatable to their diseased souls. In this “seasoning” and watering down of the truth, the efficaciousness of this food is destroyed. It is very much like the “empty calories” that we hear about in the world today – fake food with calories but no nutritious value. This is what those excluded from the Church find in the Scriptures guided by their own “personal” interpretations and separated from the traditions of the Church.

All are sinners and all fail, but there is a difference between the sinner who falls within the Church and the one that falls outside the Church. Within the Church sinners humble themselves and fall prostrate on their faces before God. In this fall they see where they are going and can fall safely in all humility with the faith and hope that they will be lifted up again. Those who fall outside the Church are like the persecutors of Our Lord that, “They went backward and fell to the ground” (John xviii 6). The wicked cannot see where they are falling – the extent of pain and suffering in Hell is not visible to these just as one who falls backwards cannot see where he is falling. Those who fall inside the Church see the eternal punishment and with a contrite and humble spirit seek forgiveness and an opportunity to do penance and repair the evil of their sins before the fall is complete and irremediable. The lepers in the gospel today are outside the pale of society and find themselves in these desperate circumstances.

There are many – actually the majority of mankind – that find themselves outside of the True Church, but the number of those who recognize their misery are very few. Most of these continue to feed themselves with corrupted food – adulterated scriptures and traditions – falling backwards as it were into the depths of Hell. Some of those outside the Church through the grace of God see and understand their dire straits as the ten lepers in today’s gospel; They know that their only hope is in Jesus and His Church and seek to be healed by God. Jesus will have them enter the Church – “go show yourselves to the priests …” If we are to find the health giving food to give and sustain our spiritual lives it is only to be found in the Church. All heretics and schismatics are told to return to health by the same means: “show yourselves to the priests.” Those who will not obey this command will not receive true and proper nourishment for their souls and will continue in the leprosy of sin.

All ten of the lepers in the gospel today obeyed the command to show themselves to the priests and all ten were outwardly cleansed of their diseases. Of the ten only one returned to show his gratitude to God and consequently only one heard the consoling words of Jesus that healed not only his body but also his soul. The nine entered society again and were outwardly cleansed but inwardly still carried their sins on their souls. History and our own current observations concur that many of the conversions to the True Church are only outward conversions. Many appear as Catholics but still carry their damnable disease of sin within them. The healing is not complete. While claiming the name of Catholic they still criticize, mock or ignore what She says and teaches; they are hypocrites pretending to be Catholic while remaining rebels in their hearts.

In examining ourselves, if we find ourselves to be converts returning to the Faith of our ancestors, let us always strive to be grateful as the one leper and receive inward healing as well as outward. It is not enough to be Catholic outwardly; we must also be one inwardly.

It is a sad state that many in the world find themselves – they are children of Protestants (heretics and schismatics) who have inherited this leprosy from their parents often unaware of the terrible disease they carry; unaware that they are excluded from the Mystical Body of Christ. There are many Modernist (Novus Ordo) souls that have through the process of gradualism been robbed of the true Faith and contracted this leprosy seemingly completely unaware. Let us never cease to pray for these and try to awaken them to the terrible plight they are in. More heart wrenching than all these are perhaps those who call themselves “traditionalists.” These poor souls have sought to cleanse their leprosy and attempted to enter or retain the True Catholic Faith only to be deceived as to the real identity of the Church. The devils have set up many sects with the appearance of being the Church but are really not. One sure sign of these falsehoods is that they claim “independence” or lack of authority, or jurisdiction. These often appear outwardly as outstanding models of Catholicity but inwardly are far from the spirit of Christ and His Church.

May we always express our gratitude to God for having given us this priceless treasure of the True Catholic Faith; and continue to pray that those outside the Church may someday enter her not as the nine lepers but as the one who received internal as well as external life and health.

 

Dear Friends,

 

We have great news to announce! Beginning on Friday, September 7, 2012, The Catholic Faith Radio Program will expand its broadcast from two to three hours each Friday. The new broadcast time will be from 1:30 - 4:30 p.m., Central Time.

 

On tomorrow's program, the guest host will be Most Rev. Louis Vezelis, OFM who will speak on Apostolic Succession and its importance in the Church today.

 

I hope you are keeping up with the Radio Program by going to the home page of www.catholichour.org and watching the weekly schedule of guests, dates and times. This is the easiest way to keep abreast of the topics of our program.

 

We continue to look for benefactors and sponsors for this program. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

 

May God bless you,

Fr. Joseph, OFM

 

"For, were the Church in any time hidden and invisible, to whom would men have recourse in order to learn what they are to believe and to do? It was necessary that the Church and her pastors be obvious and visible, principally in order that there might be an infallible judge, to resolve all doubts, and to whose decision everyone should necessarily submit. Otherwise, there would be no sure rule of faith by which Christians could know the true dogmas of faith and the true precepts of morality, and among the faithful there would be endless disputes and controversies. "And Christ gave some apostles, and others pastors and doctors, that henceforth we be no more children tossed to-and-fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine" [Eph 4:11-14]. "
"But what faith can we learn from these false teachers when, in consequence of separating from the Church, they have no rule of faith. How often Calvin changed his opinions! And, during his life, Luther was constantly contradicting himself: on the single article of the Eucharist, he fell into thirty-three contradictions! A single contradiction is enough to show that they did not have the Spirit of God. "
"He cannot deny Himself" [2 Timothy 2:13]. In a word, take away the authority of the Church, and neither Divine Revelation nor natural reason itself is of any use, for each of them may be interpreted by every individual according to his own caprice. Do they not see that from this accursed liberty of conscience has arisen the immense variety of heretical and atheistic sects? I repeat: if you take away obedience to the Church, there is no error which will not be embraced. "

St. Alphonsus D. Ligouri

"The innovators have been challenged several times to produce a text of Sacred Scripture which would prove the existence of the invisible church they invented, and we are unable to obtain any such text from them. How could they adduce such a text when, addressing His Apostles whom He left as the propagators of His Church, Jesus said: "You cannot be hidden" [Matt 5:14].
Thus He has declared that the Church cannot help but be visible to everyone. The Church has been at all times, and will forever be, necessarily visible, so that each person may always be able to learn from his pastor the true doctrine regarding the dogmas of faith, to receive the Sacraments, to be directed in the way of salvation, and to be enlightened and corrected should he ever fall into error. "

St. Alphonsus D. Ligouri

"The innovators themselves do not deny that the Roman Church was the first which Jesus Christ founded. However, they say that it was the true Church until the fifth century, or until it fell away, because it had been corrupted by the Catholics. But how could that Church fall which St. Paul calls the "pillar and ground of truth" [1 Timothy 3:15]? No, the Church has not failed. The truth is, that all the false churches, which have separated from the Roman Church, have fallen away and erred. "

"To convince all heretical sects of their error, there is no way more certain and safe than to show that our Catholic Church has been the first one founded by Jesus Christ. For, this being established, it is proved beyond all doubt that ours is the only true Church and that all the others which have left it and separated are certainly in error. But, pressed by this argument, the innovators have invented an answer. They say that the visible Church has failed, but not the invisible Church. But these doctrines are diametrically opposed to the Gospel. "

~St. Alphonsus Ligouri

Against the Reformers

"A church which is not one in its doctrine and faith can never be the True Church. Hence, because truth must be one, of all the different churches, only one can be the true one, and outside of that Church there is no salvation. "

"Now, in order to determine which is this one true Church, it is necessary to examine which is the Church first founded by Jesus Christ, for when this is ascertained, it must be confessed that this one alone is the true Church which, having once been the true Church must always have been the true Church and must forever be the true Church. For to this first Church has been made the promise of the Savior that the gates of Hell would never be able to overturn it [Matt 16:18]. "

"In the entire history of religion, we find that the Roman Catholic Church alone was the first Church, and that the other false and heretical churches afterwards departed and separated from her. This is the Church which was propagated by the Apostles and afterwards governed by pastors whom the Apostles themselves appointed to rule over her. This character can be found only in the Roman Church, whose pastors descend securely by an uninterrupted and legitimate succession from the Apostles of the world [Matt 28:20]. "

St Alphonsus Mary De Liguori (1696-1787) Bishop and Doctor of the Church

THE MERCIFUL QUEEN OF PURGATORY

The most powerful means of helping the poor suffering souls in Purgatory is to have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass celebrated for them. But when one places the unlimited fruits of the Blood of Jesus in Mary's hands, that she may apply them for the relief of these dear suffering brethren, their deliverance is practically assured.

A certain good brother, and very devout religious, having died, appeared to one of his old comrades and told him that he was enduring the pains of purgatory; suffering, however, little from the pain of sense, but much from the privation of God. He begged him to ask the Prior to add a prayer at holy Mass for his intention. They hastened to satisfy him by granting this request, and the Prior saw the dear brother's souls full of joy and ecstasy beneath Mary's mantle, as she carried her love's glorious conquest triumphantly to heaven.

Practice: We should pray constantly to Mary to extend the Eucharistic reign of Jesus Christ throughout the whole world.

Aspiration: O Immaculate Heart of Mary, nuptial couch upon which the Spouse finds His delights, inflame us with the love that consumes thee!Taken from "Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament" by St. Peter Eymard

Bishop Bonaventure in conference with Grace

Bishop Giles, OFM Feast of the Assumption of Our Blessed Mother

Bishop Giles, OFM - 12th Sunday after Pentecost

Bishop Bonaventure, OFM 12th Sunday after Pentecost - Youtube

We have returned from a most beautiful, solemn and sublime week in Rochester.  Personally, our family now has one new Bishop, one new Third Order member, one newly confirmed member, two extremely thankful parents, one very sick little grandchild (who cried for about 2 days straight) and enough spiritual memories to last for the entire year!
That being said, I'd like to share a few pictures with you so that you can get a feel for how truly wonderful it was!

Here are the two altars before the ceremony.  Only one person was allowed to snap photos and there were  no recordings allowed either.

This is his "coat of arms" that he designed.  The caption says "Surge Maria Salve Nos" which means "Arise Mary, Save Us".   The Immaculate Heart of Mary has a "sword of sorrow" going through it and the cross has the "crown of thorns" around it.  Very significant for the days ahead!

Bishop Giles, Bishop Bonaventure and Bishop Madrigal from Mexico.  This was truly an "international celebration with people from Chile, England, Mexico, and from all over the United States including Alaska.

Here is Brother Dominic from Kentucky, Bishop Madrigal from Mexico, the Bishop's Mother, and Bishop Louis from the back

On the left is my brother Tom (who is Bishop's Godfather), myself, Bishop, and his father

Here is the cake with the emblem of the Blessed Mother

 

A very tender moment between Grace and  her Uncle the Bishop

Our daughter Elizabeth, son Brian, Bishop, daughter in law Alison and baby Grace

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost 19 August 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Those who have received the grace of true Faith and have come to know Christ like the Apostles are the ones to whom Christ says: “Blessed are the eyes that see the things that you see.” It is not with the eyes of the body that He is speaking but rather with the eyes of the soul that behold and contemplate Christ with Faith, Hope, and Charity as mystical members of His Body. It is only in the Catholic Church that we are able to see Christ clearly and thus become truly blessed.

The Fathers of the Church tell us in expounding the parable of today’s gospel that the man who fell among robbers represents all of mankind. Through the fall of Adam we have all fallen among robbers (devils) who have stripped us of all merits, wounded us with sins, and left us half dead (neither living in God’s grace – nor completely dead in the eternal fires of Hell). Christ is the Samaritan who has come to save us. The priest and the levite (the law and the prophets) draw near to fallen man but are unable to help him. It is only Christ, the good Samaritan, who has come down from Jerusalem (Heaven) who can and does truly help our fallen nature. Christ pours on the soothing oil of compassion that comes from His Human Nature upon our wounds and also the cleaning and purifying wine from His Divine Nature. Both the oil and the wine (The Human and Divine Natures) are necessary to cure us of the evil wounds which our fallen nature has sustained. He carries our punishment (but not our guilt) upon Himself as He suffered and died for us. He did not stop at this, but taking us to the inn (The Church) entrusts us to the inn-keeper (the bishops and priests) to look over us and care for us until He returns. The Church is given the two coins (the Old and New Testaments) to use in the care and cure of fallen men. The Church has been promised that anything above and beyond this, that She may expend in the care of these souls Christ will repay when He returns at the end of time.

We as members of the Mystical Body of Christ are to go in search of our fallen brethren (neighbors) as Christ has done – because we are one with Him – and bring them to the Church where they can be healed by the merits of the prayers and sacrifices of Her members. We are to be to the world both a good Samaritan as well as the inn where fallen men are entrusted to be restored to health.

As we go through our lives, let us not harden our hearts to the needs of our fellow men, but rather see and offer them through love what we would ourselves wish to receive. We must aid not only in bodily or physical necessities but even more importantly in the spiritual necessities of this life.

There are many in this world wounded by the devils that we should seek to heal and return to life by leading into the fold of the Church. The unbaptized as well as those baptized and led astray in the many false churches designed to deceive and lead astray those who might otherwise be saved, need to be sought out and offered the healing remedies of the Sacraments in the Church.

It seems that most of fallen men have or do reject the effects of Christ: both the members of His Mystical Body and His spouse the Catholic Church. This by no means gives us an excuse to stop seeking to offer all the aid that we can, or to stop searching for those whom we may assist. When our own families (those chosen people that God has appointed that we go to first) reject these graces let us then offer them to others just as He and His Church have done.

Christ is the Good Samaritan for all of mankind and He has come to save and heal us. He has showered us with His graces in pouring the soothing and healing oil and wine upon us; entrusted us to His Church that we may be further nourished with His teachings, and equally important nourishes us with the Sacraments. He now calls upon us all to be likewise good Samaritans in imitating Him. We, each and everyone, are in our own sphere of influence to come to the spiritual aid of all those we find dying in false religion and spirituality. Let us ever strive to bring these souls to the Church to be healed and fed with true doctrine and spirituality, which are aided and kept alive by the graces of the true Sacraments.

Audio Sermon for the feast of St. Clare given by Bishop Giles, OFM
Audio Sermon for the feast of St. Clare - given by Fr. Joseph OFM 

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Feast of St. Clare of Assisi 12 August 2012

The Sunday Sermon

At the beginning of the thirteenth century, when luxury and sensuality held sway, St. Francis of Assisi made his appearance, giving to the men the example of a poor and penitential life. But God wished also to give the vain and pleasure-loving women of that period an example of contempt of the world’s vanities. For this mission, He chose Clare, the daughter of a prominent and noble family of Assisi. Her father was Favorino Scifi, count of Sassorosso; her mother, the servant of God Hortulana, who died in the odor of sanctity.

She was eighteen years old when she heard St. Francis preach in the cathedral of Assisi in Lent of 1212. His words on contempt of the world and on penance, and particularly the holy example he set, so earnestly affected Clare, that she conferred with him and soon recognized that God was calling her to lead a life similar to his in the seclusion of a convent. She did not hesitate to carry out God’s plans. Realizing that her family, intent only on a brilliant future for her in the world, would oppose her vocation in every way, she had to leave home in secret.

On Palm Sunday she went to church, dressed in her richest garments, to attend divine services. That night, attended by an elderly relative, she went to the little chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, where St. Francis and his brethren came to meet her with lighted candles in their hands. Before the altar she removed her beautiful head-dress, then St. Francis cut off her hair and covered her head with a veil of common linen. In place of rich garments, she received a coarse penitential garb and was girded with a white cord. This was the way in which the mother and founder of the Poor Clares was invested on March 19, 1212. For the time being, St. Francis placed her in a convent of Benedictine sisters.

When Clare had successfully overcome the great opposition of her family, who had intended to force her to return home, her sister Agnes joined her in her sacrifice. St. Francis arranged a little convent for them near the church of St. Damian. There the number of consecrated virgins soon increased. They served God in great poverty, strict penance, and complete seclusion from the world according to a rule which our Seraphic Father gave them as his Second Order. Clare was obliged in obedience to accept the office of abbess and to continue in it for forty-one years until her death. But her love for humility found compensation in the performance of the lowliest services toward her sisters. In spite of her great physical sufferings, she gave her sisters the grandest example of zeal in penance and prayer. In the year 1240 an army of Saracens who were in the service of Emperor Frederick II drew near Assisi. They rushed upon the little convent of St. Damian that lay outside the city and had already scaled the walls of the monastery. In mortal fear the sisters had recourse to their mother, who was ill in bed.

The saint, carrying the pyx containing the most Blessed Sacrament, had herself conveyed to the convent gate. There she pleaded fervently with the Lord of heaven in the words of the Psalmist (Ps. 73:19): “Deliver not up to beasts the souls that confess to thee, and shield thy servants whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.” A mysterious voice issued from the Host, which said: “I shall always watch over you.” Immediately panic seized the besiegers. A ray of brilliant light which emanated from the Blessed Sacrament had dazzled them. They fell down from the walls and fled from the place. The convent was saved and the town of Assisi was spared.

After many years of uninterrupted sufferings, Clare felt that her end was drawing nigh. When she had received the last sacraments, she and one of her sisters beheld the Queen of Virgins coming with a great escort to meet the spouse of her Divine Son. On August 11, 1253, she entered into the joys of eternity, and on the following day her body was buried. Pope Alexander IV canonized her already in the year 1255. Consider what happiness St. Clare found even here on earth in her life of seclusion. This did not consist in material comfort, nor even in continual spiritual consolation, but in sacrifices made for God, by which she became ever more intimately united with the Source of all happiness. She once said to a young girl: “Our alliance is arrived at by self-denial and the renunciation of earthly things, by the crucifixion of the body and the sacrifice of the will, but the joys attached to it are eternal, the bond is indissoluble, it begins in the world, death puts the final seal to it.” In the morning of her dying day she received the holy Viaticum; in the afternoon, Pope Innocent IV paid her a visit and gave her the general absolution. But Clare felt happier at having received the Lord of heaven in Holy Communion than at having been honored by a visit from the pope. May we, too, become indifferent to all earthly glory so that we may be permitted to enjoy the eternal.

St. Justin Martyr (148): “… every man will receive the eternal punishment or reward which his actions deserve. Indeed, if all men recognized this, no one would choose evil even for a short time, knowing that he would incur the eternal sentence of fire.”

The Our Father and the Hail Mary which we have said devoutly over and over again and to which we have added good penitential acts, will never wilt or die and they will be just as exquisite thousands of years from now as they are today.”

St. Louis De Montfort

“He shall sit in the Temple of God as if he were Christ, and leading astray those who worship him For when he is come, and of his own accord concentrates in his own person the apostasy, and accomplishes whatever he shall do according to his own will and choice, sitting also in the Temple of God so that his dupes may adore him as the Christ...” “By means of the events which shall occur in the time of Antichrist it is shown that he, being an apostate and a robber, is anxious to be adored as God; and that although a mere slave. he wishes to be proclaimed as a king. For he being endued with all the power of the devil, shall come, not as a righteous king, not as a legitimate king obedient to God but as an impious, unjust, and lawless one; as an iniquitous and murderous apostate; as a robber, concentrating in himself a satanic apostasy, and setting aside idols to persuade men that he himself is God .

The antichrist will deceive the Jews to such an extent that they will accept him as the messiah and worship him .

The disciples of the apostles say (from oral tradition) that they (Elias and Henoch) whose living bodies were taken up from this world have been placed in an earthly paradise where they will remain until the end of the world .
At the time of his reign antichrist will command that Jerusalem be rebuilt in its splendour and will make it a great and populous city, second to none in the world and will order his palace to be built there.

 Prophesy of St. Irenaeus

TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - BISHOP LOUIS, OFM FROM ROCHESTER

FIRST FRIDAY IN AUGUST-BISHOP GILES, OFM

FIRST SATURDAY IN AUGUST - BISHOP GILES, OFM

TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST - BISHOP GILES, OFM

CATHOLIC FAITH RADIO PROGRAM - FRIDAY AUGUST 1 WITH FR. BONAVENTURE, OFM

FR. JOSEPH, OFM - TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

HOLY MASS FROM OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY - FR. BERNARD, OFM

Novena for the Assumption:

O glorious Queen of all the heavenly host!  Whose sacred body, the immaculate temple of the divinity, is now assumed into heaven, we unite our voices to the choirs of angels who celebrate thy triumph.  Winter is now past for thee, O Fervent follower of thy crucified Son.  In this world, like Him, thou hadst not any parts in its perishable possessions, but now all the treasures of heaven are thine;  they are thine to enjoy, and thine to distribute; for thy intercession is now an infinite treasure to man, by which they that use it become the friends of God.  Thou wert buried in obscurity in this valley of tears, but now thou art elevated, O Mother of God to the highest pinnacle of glory!  Should not thy triumphant exaltation encourage us to despise this world, and aspire after the next?  For, O amiable Virgin!  How short were thy sufferings on earth, yet for all eternity thou shalt be admired in the holy assembly; among the elect thou shalt have praise, and among the blessed thou shalt be blessed.   Look down then with compassion on us poor banished children of Eve;  draw our hearts exertions, to imitate thy virtues;  above all, obtain for us true humility, which neither seeks nor values any earthly distinction;  poverty of spirit - purity of heart - that thirst after the strong and living God, which can never be satisfied until His glory appears - and such ardent love of our Divine Spouse, as may cause us to despise the whole world, and incessantly sigh after those eternal joys, of which it is written:  "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him."  (Cor 2:9)

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Tenth Sunday after Pentecost 5 August 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

We have heard how necessary it is for us to pray and to persevere in prayer, so today our Holy Mother Church has chosen a gospel text that will teach us how to pray. God hates and detests the proud and He loves the humble. All who exalt themselves He will humble and those who humble themselves He will exalt.

The Pharisee went to pray, but prayed with himself and not with God. Even though this man had many works of justice to his credit he failed to pray to God, and only prayed to himself. It is kind of like he has forgotten God in his own prayers. Emboldened with his own works he does not stop to realize that these works were made possible by God and so attributes them to himself. He sees himself as not in any need of anything from God. There are many in the world today who are very much like this Pharisee and think that they need nothing more from God. Therefore they do not bother to pray at all. These poor souls think that they have made their own lives and God had no part in it. Perhaps even worse, they forget God and live and think as if there were no God at all. Even when they pray and go to the church their prayers are with themselves or as a show to all the others who may see them. Like the Pharisee their “good works” are now, in prayer united with the vice of pride. It is this one vice that tears down and destroys all the other good and renders it worthless in the eyes of God. It is therefore, necessary that we fight against this vice of pride at all times, but especially when we pray.

On the other side we see the prayers of the Publican. This man either has no good works to bring to his prayers or chooses not to bring them. All that this man has to lay before God is his sins. His prayer is simply: “O God be merciful to me a sinner.” The only good work that he has is humility. This humility is more pleasing to God than all the other virtues. He compares himself with no one else, he places himself before God all alone and sees what he is as he considers God and what God wants from him. Too often even today we judge ourselves by way of comparison with our neighbors. It is easy to see the faults of our neighbors and conclude that we are better because we do not have their particular faults, never stopping to consider that God’s graces are different for each of us and perhaps our faults are worse than the ones that our neighbor possesses. If our neighbors had received the graces that we have received perhaps they would be better than us.

We do need a standard to measure or compare ourselves with and that is why Christ came to this earth. Let us look to Him and see how miserably we have failed in this comparison. Our goal as Christ tells us is to be perfect because Our Heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt 5:48) As we place our lives next to God we see a stark difference; no matter how many virtues we may have, we are never as good or perfect as we should be; we could always have done better. With this before our eyes it is not hard to put on the virtue of humility. This virtue is more pleasing to God than all the others.

The proud man boasting of his good works in a sense challenges God to find fault with himself which God can easily do; while the humble man only shows God his faults and this encourages God to find that which is good. We therefore have no need to keep a tally of our good works because God already does that. When we do good therefore let us not dwell upon it and swell ourselves with pride, but rather forget it or even consider that we have even failed in this because we have not done it as well as we could have. This is the obvious truth and it is this that will keep us humble. It is this humility that pleases God to lift us up and exalt us; as opposed to pride that pleases God to humble. We must, therefore, never exalt ourselves but always humble ourselves, leaving it to God to exalt us if He finds anything good in us.

When good works are coupled with pride all is ruined and made worthless before God. When our many sins are coupled with humility, God readily washes away the sins and puts goodness in its place. How much more wondrous must it be if we unite good works with humility! In combining these two virtues we are guaranteed to find ourselves pleasing to God.

 Another installment from "Little Flowers of St. Francis " from our 3rd Order Meeting today:

CHAPTER III

HOW ST FRANCIS, HAVING ALLOWED AN EVIL THOUGHT TO ARISE IN HIS MIND AGAINST BROTHER BERNARD, ORDERED HIM TO PLACE HIS FOOT THREE TIMES UPON HIS NECK AND HIS MOUTH.

St Francis, the devoted servant of the crucified Jesus, through constant weeping and penance, had become nearly blind, so that he could scarcely see. Wishing one day to speak with Brother Bernard on things divine, he left the place where he was and went to join him. Being told, upon arrival, that he was in the forest praying, St Francis proceeded thither, and, calling out, said; "Come, O Brother Bernard, and speak with this blind man." But Brother Bernard did not make answer; for, his soul being rapt in divine contemplation, he did not hear him call; one of the special graces of Brother Bernard being that of holding converse with God Almighty, of which St Francis had often been a witness. The saint, therefore, since he wished specially to speak with him at that hour, called him again a second time and a third. Brother Bernard, not having heard him, neither answered nor went to him; at which St Francis went away somewhat saddened, and wondering in himself how it was that, having called him three times, Brother Bernard had not come to him. With this thought on his mind, when he had proceeded a little way, he bade his companion wait for him, and retiring to a solitary spot, fell on his knees, praying that God would reveal to him why Brother Bernard had not answered his call. As he prayed, a voice came from God, which said, "O poor little man, why art thou troubled? Is it meet for man to leave God for the creature? When thou didst call Brother Bernard he was with me, and could neither hear thee, nor go to thee; be not then surprised if he answered thee not, for he was rapt out of himself, nor did he hear aught of all thou saidst." St Francis, having received this answer from God, went back with great haste to Brother Bernard, to accuse himself humbly of the thought he had allowed to enter his mind against him. Brother Bernard, seeing St Francis coming towards him, went to meet him, and threw himself at his feet. Then St Francis bade him rise, confessing most humbly what his thoughts has been and the answer which God had made him; and with these words he concluded: "I command thee, by virtue of holy obedience, to do whatsoever I shall order thee." Brother Bernard, fearing St Francis would oblige him to inflict upon him some great punishment, as was his custom, would most willingly have avoided obeying him. "I am ready," he answered, "to obey thee, father, if thou also wilt promise me to do whatsoever I shall command thee." To this St Francis consented; and Brother Bernard then asked him what he wished him to do. "I command thee," said St Francis, "under holy obedience, in order to punish my presumption and the evil thought of my heart, when I lie down on the ground to place one of thy feet on my neck, and the other on my mouth. And this shalt thou do thee! Be humbled, thou son of Peter Bernardoni, for thou art but a vile wretch; how camest thou to be so proud, thou miserable servant of sin!" On hearing this Brother Bernard was much grieved, but out of holy obedience he did what St Francis had ordered him, striving withal to acquit himself thereof as lightly as possible. Then St Francis, having promised obedience to Brother Bernard, asked what he wished him to do, whereto the latter answered: "I command thee, in virtue of holy obedience, that whenever we are together thou reprove and correct with great severity all my defects." This order much surprised St Francis, for Brother Bernard was so holy that he held him in great reverence, and did not believe it possible to find in him any fault. From that time, therefore, the saint avoided being much with Brother Bernard, fearing lest, out of holy obedience, he might be obliged to reprove him; and when he was obliged to see or to speak with him, he parted from him as soon as possible. Most edifying it was to hear with what charity, what admiration and humility, St Francis, who was his superior, spoke of Brother Bernard, who was his first son in God - to the praise and glory of Jesus Christ and his poor servant Francis. Amen.

But Mary's power over the evil spirits will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait for her heel, that is, for her humble servants and her poor children whom she will rouse to fight against him. In the eyes of the world they will be little and poor and, like the heel, lowly in the eyes of all, down-trodden and crushed as is the heel by the other parts of the body. But in compensation for this they will be rich in God's graces, which will be abundantly bestowed on them by Mary. They will be great and exalted before God in holiness. They will be superior to all creatures by their great zeal and so strongly will they be supported by divine assistance that, in union with Mary, they will crush the head of Satan with their heel, that is, their humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ. 

St. Louis de Montfort - "True Devotion to Mary"