THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Fourth Sunday after Pentecost 16 June 2013

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Our Lord while He walked upon the dry land healed many people’s bodies by His touch and even by His very presence. The people pressed upon Him for this bodily healing, and in their eagerness for the advantages of their bodies they were missing out in a greater gift – the healing of their souls.

Very often we act in a very similar manner. We come to God only for material things or material blessings. We want: health, long life, wealth, peace, comfort, etc. In our eagerness and solicitude for the things of this earth we miss out on many graces. These bodily things are not evil, but they are by no means the greatest blessings.

In order to impart healing for the souls of the people, it was necessary that Jesus get into the boat leaving the people on the shore. He needed to separate Himself from them physically so that they might receive spiritual healing.

This same thing is true for us. God must often pull away from us in the many physical blessings that He so generously bestows upon us, so that we might be able to lift our hearts up out of this world and look for the greater spiritual gifts.

We find many in the world today that are Catholic but, they have only the desire for the physical blessings. When the Modernists took over the houses of God, many longed for the statues, the altars, the beautiful hymns, the solemnity, the Latin and so many physical or material good things, that were cast out. Those who call themselves “Traditionalists” sought (and still seek) out principally or only these material things. They fell into the errors of materialism, seeking out only the “Latin Mass,” unconcerned for truth and order. So many bandied out the phrase: “It is the Mass that matters” as if the outward ceremony were enough.

The saying: “The rule of praying is the rule of believing” is true and these material things are very important, but the indifference to the spiritual aspects of doctrine and discipline was a grave mortal mistake. “Traditionalists” run after the symbols regardless of all right order. They found no difficulty attaching themselves to men who were heretics or schismatics as long as they said the “Latin Mass.” There were even some men presenting themselves as priests that are not priests because their “ordinations” were invalid. “Traditionalists” did find the outward signs and symbols (the material goods) that they were seeking, but in their eagerness and enthusiasm they blocked and prevented themselves from ever receiving the spiritual graces for their souls. They found beautiful statues, churches, altars, Latin, music, processions, ceremonies, etc.; and since this is all they were looking for, it was all they got. They have everything – except grace!

God has pulled away from these sects, in an attempt to wake them up so that they will lift up their minds and hearts to higher spiritual things. Tragically, the majority seem content with only the material goods of the Church and not the spiritual ones.

We still find a lot of these material things as remnants of the previous faith in the Modernist churches. There is no doubt that they have in their possession beautiful buildings, statues, music, etc. Much of it is very inspiring, but what they do not have is grace. God has left them and is now in the boat trying to draw their attention to greater things, but they cannot hear Him because they are only focused upon the earthy things.

St. Francis, imitating Christ, became indifferent to these worldly things and espoused poverty and simplicity. At the expense of earthly material goods, he sought out higher and greater goods for the soul. Today in the true Church and in the true followers of St. Francis we see this humble simplicity of heart. It is not a disdain for the beautiful symbols of the faith, but it is a much greater and eager pursuit for the spiritual ones that guide us. And this is what causes so many to despise and reject the faith we bring in the name of Christ.

When we consider that at every true Mass, transubstantiation takes place, and God is made present both Body and Soul, we realize that, at that very moment Heaven is brought to earth, and there is no better or greater place to be. The beautiful churches in the Vatican, or any of the others in the possession of the Modernist, and even all those in the hands of Traditionalists have nothing in comparison. The simple friars in their humble chapels and shrines offering up the Sacrifice of the Mass in all spiritual truth and right order have more than all these and even than all the world combined.

May we ever seek to follow Christ in the boat, ready and eager to count all the good things of this earth as naught so that we may hear and receive all the good things of heaven and the soul. What do the Modernists or the Traditionalists have in buildings, artwork, and ceremonies, when they do not have grace?! It is as Solomon tells us “vanity of vanity and all is vanity;” it is emptiness. The Traditionalists chasing after these material things have nothing but a “case after the wind.”

The ark of Peter consists in the truth – right order and doctrines – and not in the physical material buildings and ceremonies. We must keep refocusing our attention upon the soul rather than the body. The Church uses the material gifts of God, but they are not the end in themselves. Let us not make the mistake of forgetting the soul and the right order of authority and doctrine, and only focusing upon the external physical material symbols of the Faith. Let us not despise the truth simply because it is presented to us humbly and modestly. The saving faith is no longer found in the grand churches but in the humble modern day Portiuncula (little portion) of the Franciscans.

May we imitate Jesus as we give thanks to God that He has hidden the Spiritual Truths from the proud and haughty of this world and has revealed them to the humble.

 


Thursday Night Religion Class with Bishop Giles, OFM
Third Sunday after Pentecost - Bishop Giles, OFM 

Third Sunday after Pentecost-Holy Mass - Fr. Bernard, OFM 

Third Sunday after Pentecost-Fr. Joseph, OFM 

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Third Sunday after Pentecost 9 June 2013

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

We, mankind, form one hundredth or one tenth of God’s rational creation. The Nine choirs of Angels in heaven represent to us the nine coins or the ninety-nine sheep. Without man God’s flock or collection is incomplete. Christ has come to bring us back and return us to our proper place in God’s design. In this light Christ is both the shepherd and the woman. We are the lost sheep and the lost coin.

Jesus left all the angels safely in heaven to come after us. In returning us to His fold he neither punishes us nor scolds us. The shepherd does not beat the sheep nor drive the sheep in front of him, but rather picks it up and carries it upon his own shoulders. We have wandered away from the flock and have exhausted ourselves in our wanderings. We have been looking for joy and happiness; we have been looking for home but in all the wrong places. This has reduced us to the helpless and miserable condition of a stray sheep that is easy prey for the wolves (devils). Unable to find our way or return by our own power, Jesus does everything for us. He redeems us, paying the price for our sins upon the cross. He nourishes us and strengthens us by the graces of the sacraments. All that is truly left for us is to patiently and willingly receive and accept the ministrations of Jesus. This, sufficient numbers of men will do to fill up and make complete the number in heaven. The saved men will complete the ten or the hundred so that in the completion of the number the joy of all in heaven will be perfect.

Jesus also appears to us as the woman looking for the lost coin. We are that coin. Upon the coin is impressed the image of the King. Upon our souls is impressed the indelible mark of God – placed there upon our baptism. He shines the light of faith throughout the house, so that we may be found. When the light of faith shines upon us then we will be able to discern the image of God within us. Even when we have greatly offended God, His image remains upon our souls.

Some of the Fathers of the Church represent to us the Shepherd as Christ; and the woman as the Church. God came to this earth to save that which was lost – mankind. Mankind is found and saved when the number of the elect enters into the flock of angels in heaven. The Church shines the light of God’s grace upon souls; she sweeps the consciences and hearts exposing the sin and filth in our souls. In this thorough lighting and cleaning, the Church finds and returns us to unity with the angels in heaven.

While it is true that all depends upon God’s grace and that there is nothing that we can do to merit these wondrous graces; it is also true that we must cooperate with the grace we have already been given so that we may receive greater ones. We must allow the shepherd to not only find us but also to approach us and pick us up and carry us to His flock in Heaven. Too often sinners do not wish to be found, or to be approached by God, much less put upon His shoulders and returned to a life of holiness. As God approaches them in their consciences they run the other way refusing the graces of God.

Or if we consider the ministrations of the Church expounding and elucidating the truths of the faith and often exposing the evils of our lives and inviting us to repentance and union within the Mystical Body; all too often sinners ignore, refuse to listen, and even denounce and reject Her. They choose to reject the light She shines and very often convince themselves that the light is darkness. And the darkness of their disordered and perverse life they convince themselves is light. Rejecting the truth and the light they refuse to be found and returned to the others and be counted as one in the completion of the whole.

It is not enough to just believe for scripture informs us that faith without works is dead. Christ tells us that if we love Him we will keep His word. Etc.

We must begin first, by stopping and resting for a moment so that we can perceive the truth of what is happening. The sinner must pause in his sins; that is, he must cease his running wildly in sin. In this pause, the Shepherd will be able to approach nearer, and the light that Holy Mother Church is shining upon our lives will begin to reveal the desperate situation that all sinners are in.

Second, we must not fear the approach of the Shepherd, but welcome Him, knowing that He comes to help us and to save us. The false pleasures of sin must now begin to be hated for having led us away from Him and our love for Him must begin to grow. The light of truth that Our Holy Mother Church shines upon our lives rather than blinding us and filling us with fear, we must welcome and seek to illuminate every particle of our souls so that any and all evil may be exposed and humbly, repented of, confessed, and thus rooted out, in this thorough cleansing of the house.

Lastly we must rush forward with faith, hope, and charity into the arms of Christ, and we must likewise return to a holy and noble life within the Church, being refreshed and renewing the image of God upon our souls with the Sacraments.

In reaching this final state we then out of love for God and the Church we become like Christ and seek out our fellow men who have fallen and seek to bring them too back to the life of love of God and the Church.

Concerning those souls that we daily walk amongst: A stern message from the renowned exorcist, the late Father Dominic Szymanski, O.F.M.Conv.

"Outside the Catholic Church baptism has lost much of its importance and where the rite is retained, it has become only a ceremony of initiation, not a sacramental expulsion of Satan as the Saviour intended. As a consequence vast numbers of people-perhaps the majority you pass on the street- are still in the state of original sin and have never been released from the shackles of sin. "
Truly, Satan is the prince of this world, and he will rule for a time; but his head will be crushed by the heel of the Blessed Virgin. May we be granted the grace to persevere in prayer and penance.

In the bath of saving water, the fire of hell is extinguished.
St. Cyprian of Carthage (200-258AD) on Baptism

 

 

The fresco below s from the cycle of the life of Christ in the Sistine Chapel, it is located in the first compartment on the north wall. It was painted by Perugino and Pinturicchio, the latter being probably responsible for the landscape and minor scenes.

 There are two secondary scenes, Christ Preaching on the right and the Sermon of John the Baptist on the left.

The paintings were to be read in pairs, one from the left and one from the right. Thus the Baptism of Christ faces the Circumcision of Moses' son by Perugino and Pinturicchio.
A comparison of the pairs of scenes shows clearly that the principal concern was to show how the new religion of Christ was deeper and more spiritual than the Jewish religion. Thus the pair of frescoes showing the Baptism and the Circumcision emphasize how baptism - prefigured, according to Augustine and many of the Fathers of Church, by circumcision - represents a "spiritual circumcision."

 

Holy Sacrifice of the Mass-Our Lady of the Rosary, Waubeka-Fr. Bernard, OFM 

Fr. Joseph, OFM - 2nd Sunday after Pentecost 

Audio Sermon June 1 - Bishop Giles, OFM 
Second Sunday after Pentecost - Bishop Giles, OFM 

CHAPTER XIII
HOW ST FRANCIS AND BROTHER MASSEO PLACED THE BREAD THEY HAD BEGGED UPON A STONE NEAR A FOUNTAIN, AND HOW ST FRANCIS PRAISED THE VIRTUE OF HOLY POVERTY, PRAYING ST PETER AND ST PAUL TO MAKE HIM LOVE HOLY POVERTY GREATLY, AND HOW ST PETER AND ST PAUL APPEARED TO HIM
The wonderful servant and follower of Christ, St Francis, wishing to be in all things conformed to his Master - who, as the Gospel tells, sent his disciples two by two into all the cities and lands whither he intended to go to prepare the way for him - after he had assembled his twelve companions, sent them forth two by two into the world to preach. In order to set them an example of holy obedience, he first began to act himself like the Saviour Jesus Christ. Wherefore, having sent his companions to divers parts of the world, he took with him Brother Masseo, and set out towards the province of France. On arriving in a certain town, being very hungry, they went, according to the Rule, begging their bread for the love of God. St Francis took one street, and Brother Masseo the other. St Francis, being a little man, with a mean exterior, did not attract much attention, and gathered only a few bits of dry bread, whereas Brother Masseo, being tall and good-looking, received many large pieces of bread, with several whole loaves. When they had ended their task of begging, they met on a spot outside the city where there was a beautiful fountain and a large stone, on which each placed what he had collected. St Francis, seeing that the pieces of bread which Brother Messeo had collected were much larger and better than those he had received, rejoiced greatly, and said: "O Brother Masseo, we are not worthy of this great treasure"; and he repeated these words several times. At this Brother Masseo answered: "Father, how canst thou talk of a treasure where there is so much poverty, and indeed a lack of all things? for we have neither cloth, nor knife, nor dish, nor table, nor house to eat in, nor servant or maid to wait upon us." St Francis answered: "This is indeed the reason why I account it a great treasure, because man has had on hand in it, but all has been given to us by divine Providence, as we clearly see in this bread of charity, this beautiful table of stone, and this so clear fountain. Wherefore let us beg of God to make us love with all our hearts the treasure of holy poverty." Having spoken thus, they returned thanks; and when they had refreshed themselves with the bread and water, they rose and went on their way to France. And meeting with a church on the road, St Francis said to his companion, "Let us enter this church and pray." And entering in, St Francis cast himself down in prayer before the altar, and during his prayer the Lord visited him with a great increase of fervour, which so inflamed his soul with affection for holy poverty, that it seemed as if flames played around his head, and preceeded from his mouth; and going thus, all shining and burning with divine love, to his companion, he said to him, "Ah! ah! ah! Brother Masseo, give thyself to me"; and these words he repeated three times. At the third time he breathed on Brother Masseo, who, to his great surprise, was raised above the earth, and fell at some distance before the saint. He told his companion afterwards that, while thus raised in the air, he had felt such a sweet sensation in his soul, and had received such consolations from the Holy Spirit, as he had never before experienced. After this St Francis said to his companion: "Let us go to St Peter and St Paul, and let us pray them together that they may teach us and help us to possess the unbounded treasure of holy poverty, for it is a treasure so great and so divine, that we are not worthy to possess it in these vile bodies of ours. It is this celestial virtue which teaches us to despise all earthly and transitory things, and through it every hindrance is removed from the soul, so that it can freely commune with God. Through this virtue it is that the soul, while still on earth, is able to converse with the angels in heaven. This virtue it is which remained with Christ upon the Cross, was buried with Christ, rose again with Christ, and with Christ went up into heaven. This virtue it is which even in this world enables the souls who are inflamed with love of him to fly up to heaven; it is also the guardian of true charity and humility. Let us then pray the holy Apostles of Christ, who were perfect lovers of this evangelical pearl, to obtain for us from the Saviour Jesus the grace, through his great mercy, to become true lovers, strict observers, and humble disciples of this most precious, most beloved, and most evangelical grace of poverty." And thus conversing they arrived at Rome, and entered the church of St Peter, where St Francis knelt in prayer in one corner and Brother Masseo in another. After praying for some time with great devotion and many tears, the most holy Apostles Peter and Paul appeared to St Francis in much splendour, and thus addressed him: "As thy prayer and thy wish is to observe that which Christ and his holy Apostles observed, the Lord Jesus sends us to thee, to tell thee that thy prayer has been heard, and that it is granted to thee and to all thy followers to possess the treasure of holy poverty. We tell thee also from him, that whosoever, after thy example, shall embrace this holy virtue, shall most certainly enjoy perfect happiness in heaven; for thou and all thy followers shall be blessed by God." Having said these words they disappeared, leaving St Francis full of consolation. Then rising from prayer, and returning to Brother Masseo, he asked him if God had revealed anything to him in prayer. He answered, "No." Then St Francis told him how the holy Apostles had appeared to him, and what they had said. And both being filled with joy, they resolved to return to the Valley of Spoleto, giving up the journey into France.