In the Scripture our people are shown to be made one; so that just as many grains collected into one and ground and mingled together make one loaf, so in Christ, who is the heavenly Bread, we know there is one body, in which our whole company is joined and united.
St. Hilary of Poitiers (315-368AD) on the unity of the Catholic Church

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL FATHERS!

Bishop Giles,OFM-Saturday, June 16-
Bishop Giles, OFM-3rd Sunday after Pentecost 

HOLY MASS -3RD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST-FR. BERNARD, OFM 
 
Here you will find the link for the latest Youtube video sermon recorded at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel in Rochester, NY.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-BNgqZtsLg 

"........In other words, it is the law of things as they actually are that we must continually suffer from others;  it is the condition of our being that we shall be the victims of others' abuse of their free wills; it belongs to our position that our desires and inclinations should be continually thwarted and that we should be at the mercy of circumstances.  And it is our duty to bear that without resentment and without rebellion.  To rebel; is to assert practically that such things are not our due, that they do not belong to our position.  It is to refuse to recognize that we are fallen members of a fallen race.  The moment we feel resentment at anything painful that happens to us through the activity of men or things, at that moment we are resentful against God's Providence.

If we expect or look for a mode of existence in which we shall not endure harshness, unkindness, misunderstanding, and injustice, we are actually rebelling against God's Providence, we are claiming a position that does not belong to us as creatures.  This is to sin against humility.  It is Pride."

Reverend Father Edward Lee, In the Likeness of Christ

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Third Sunday after Pentecost 17 June 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Our Lord associated Himself with sinners and justified these actions with the parable given in today’s Gospel. The flock of one hundred represents a completion. One hundred is ten decades. If only one is missing the hundred is not complete. For there to be peace and joy there must be completion even in the smallest part; all must be fulfilled or present.

So we see the ninety-nine left safely in the wilderness while the shepherd goes in search of the one. We must not consider that the ninety-nine are of less importance than the one, but rather that, the Shepherd can only be happy and content when all of the sheep are safe and secure in the flock. The loss of even the smallest one makes the flock incomplete and disturbs the peace and joy that can only be had when all is in order -- complete. The sinner that has fallen therefore is vital and precious in the eyes of God. This is why God left all the angels in Heaven and came to this earth to find and save lost mankind.

The ten decades also remind us of the Ten Commandments. In this light we learn that we must be faithful in every detail of each Commandment. Nothing stained in the least way can ever enter into Heaven. We must be perfect because our Heavenly Father is perfect. Every sin is a void of the grace that should be there. If we are failing in any commandment or even in only one small part of that commandment we must go after it searching and working to fill that void. We are never going to find true peace or joy until we have fulfilled all the law in all its aspects.

The silver coins present us with similar ideas. Every coin was impressed with the king’s image. In like manner every human soul bears the image of God its creator and King. When we are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost and our souls are cleansed of all sin and we are raised from the death of sin to the life of grace, the image of God upon our souls becomes complete. To insult or abuse the image of the king is considered an insult or abuse on the king himself. Likewise if we defile our souls we insult or abuse God. When we lose grace through sin, the image of God in our souls is insulted and defaced. In this manner this image born on the coin is lost with the very coin of our soul itself. So we are given this lesson that when we look into our souls and see some reflection of God missing, that it is time to light the lamp with prayer and grace from God and to begin sweeping with an examination of our conscious with the spirit of penance.

Our lives then become because of sin a constant searching and sweeping. God and the Church respectively, in a certain manner, search and sweep in an effort to restore us to God and to the Church. We must likewise do our part. It is not enough for us to passively wait to the found and saved. It is said that Christ redeemed us without our cooperation but that He cannot save us without our help. We need to do our part to fill up what was lacking in Christ’s efforts to save us. (Col 1, 24) We should actively seek to be found; we must not resist being found and returned to the flock of Christ. Above and beyond this we must make the effort to search our own selves. God has given us a conscience so that we may seek ourselves out when we have gone astray or have been lost to the life of grace.

This entire life of ours has been given to us so that we will have sufficient time to find ourselves and our way into Heaven. The Catechism teaches us that God has made us to be happy with Him in Heaven and that to reach this goal we must know, love, and serve Him in this life. In seeking the knowledge, love, and service of God we make ourselves docile and receptive of God’s graces and available to be found by Him and brought to His Church – the flock here on earth – and through the Church we are brought into the flock of Angels and Saints in Heaven.

TAKE 18 MINUTES OUT OF YOUR LIFE AND PRAY THIS NOVENA TO OUR GREAT SAINT ANTHONY!!

The Hymn 

This the Confessor of the Lord, whose triumph

Now through the wide world celebrate the faithful,

At his departure entered with rejoicing

Heavenly mansions.

Fervent and holy, prudent in his converse,

Humbly and chastely here on earth he sojourned,

Curbing all passions, and in peace and meekness,

Constant abiding.

What though the grave now hold his hallowed relicks?

He, ever living, ever interceding,

Reigns with the Blessed, nor from us his brethren

Is he divided.

Whence we in chorus gladly do him honour,

Chanting his praises with devout affection,

That in his merits we may have our portion,

Ever and ever.

Glory and virtue, honour and salvation,

Be unto him that, sitting in the highest,

Governeth all things, Lord and God Almighty,

Trinity blessed.  Amen.

HERE IS A VIDEO LINK TO THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS THAT CAN BE VIEWED DAILY FROM OUR HOMES. PERFECT ACT OF CONTRITION, SPIRITUAL COMMUNION AND MASS.