Sunday Within the Octave of Christmas-Bishop Bonaventure, OFM
Here are the lyrics for the hymn "Salve Regina":

Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiæ,

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevæ,

ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos

misericordes oculos ad nos converte;

et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Here is a link to St. Alphonsus' Treatise on Prayer

Sunday Within the Octave of Christmas - Fr. Joseph, OFM

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

Midnight Mass 2012 from Rochester, NY - Bishop Bonaventure OFM DD

Audio Sermon for December 15- Bishop Giles, OFM DD 
Third Sunday in Advent- Bishop Giles, OFM DD 
4th Sunday in Advent - Bishop Giles, OFM DD 
Midnight Mass - Bishop Giles, OFM, DD 
Christmas Morning - Bishop Giles, OFM DD 

4th Sunday in Advent - Fr. Joseph, OFM 
Christmas, 2012 - Fr. Joseph OFM 

4th Sunday in Advent-Fr. Bernard, OFM 
Midnight Mass - Fr. Bernard, OFM 

CHRISTMAS HYMNS BEFORE HOLY MASS 

BEHOLD a new and wondrous mystery.

My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory. All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.

Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side, the Sun of justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed; He had the power; He descended; He redeemed; all things yielded in obedience to God. This day He Who is, is Born; and He Who is, becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became He God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassability, remaining unchanged.

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.

Since this heavenly birth cannot be described, neither does His coming amongst us in these days permit of too curious scrutiny. Though I know that a Virgin this day gave birth, and I believe that God was begotten before all time, yet the manner of this generation I have learned to venerate in silence and I accept that this is not to be probed too curiously with wordy speech.

For with God we look not for the order of nature, but rest our faith in the power of Him who works.

What shall I say to you; what shall I tell you? I behold a Mother who has brought forth; I see a Child come to this light by birth. The manner of His conception I cannot comprehend.

Nature here rested, while the Will of God labored. O ineffable grace! The Only Begotten, Who is before all ages, Who cannot be touched or be perceived, Who is simple, without body, has now put on my body, that is visible and liable to corruption. For what reason? That coming amongst us he may teach us, and teaching, lead us by the hand to the things that men cannot see. For since men believe that the eyes are more trustworthy than the ears, they doubt of that which they do not see, and so He has deigned to show Himself in bodily presence, that He may remove all doubt.

Christ, finding the holy body and soul of the Virgin, builds for Himself a living temple, and as He had willed, formed there a man from the Virgin; and, putting Him on, this day came forth; unashamed of the lowliness of our nature.

For it was to Him no lowering to put on what He Himself had made. Let that handiwork be forever glorified, which became the cloak of its own Creator. For as in the first creation of flesh, man could not be made before the clay had come into His hand, so neither could this corruptible body be glorified, until it had first become the garment of its Maker.

What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of days has become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men. He Who has broken the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infants bands. But He has decreed that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of His Goodness.

For this He assumed my body, that I may become capable of His Word; taking my flesh, He gives me His spirit; and so He bestowing and I receiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life. He takes my flesh, to sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit that He may save me.

Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been Ўin planted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.

Why is this? Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven; on every side all things commingle. He became Flesh. He did not become God. He was God. Wherefore He became flesh, so that He Whom heaven did not contain, a manger would this day receive. He was placed in a manger, so that He, by whom all things are nourished, may receive an infants food from His Virgin Mother. So, the Father of all ages, as an infant at the breast, nestles in the virginal arms, that the Magi may more easily see Him. Since this day the Magi too have come, and made a beginning of withstanding tyranny; and the heavens give glory, as the Lord is revealed by a star.

To Him, then, Who out of confusion has wrought a clear path, to Christ, to the Father, and to the Holy Spirit, we offer all praise, now and forever. Amen.

St. John Chrysostom Nativity Sermon 386 - First known Christmas Sermon

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Christmas 25 December 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

The angels sing and worship God Himself in the new born Christ child. The angels who are far superior to men, appeared to simple humble shepherds to proclaim the birth of Jesus; the angels guided the Magi with a star; and the angels sang. Even to this day the angels stand beside us to encourage us in the love of God. These heavenly beings want us to realize and to appreciate the tremendous gift that God has given to us in becoming one with us. God chose not to become an angel, rather He chose to become man.

In the Old Testament we see that men bowed down before angels, but after Christ was born the angels refuse to allow men to bow before them, reminding men that they (the angels) are creatures just like men and both must bow before God.

The song of the angels on this day is clear “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to men of good will.” Every true Catholic receives the peace of God. The angelic song however has been methodically distorted. Modernists would have us believe that the angels sang and continue to sing of peace for all men. It is illogical to desire that evil should be rewarded. The angels could never sing of, much less desire an injustice where men of evil or perverse will should obtain peace and joy in Heaven or even in the presence of God on earth. We see in the Gospel of St. John for the Third Mass today that Jesus – The Word – is Light, and was born into the darkness of the world. He came to His own, but His own received Him not. There was not to be any peace for those who refused Him. The peace and the light are only for those who welcome Him and thus become sons of God.

The angels appeared to the shepherds to reveal to them this great joy because the shepherds were humble and receptive of the Light. The proud and worldly were rejected by the angels and God, and so it was not to them that Christ brought peace, nor did the angels sing of peace for these. These poor souls are the darkness that Christ entered among when He came to this earth but St. John informs us that the darkness grasped not the Light. Sin and darkness cannot comprehend the Light. Though Christ came among them they would not receive Him and therefore they made themselves incapable of receiving Him so we can also say that they (the darkness) could not receive the Light. The Modernists have twisted the words and meaning of this angelic song so that everyone (both good and bad) should receive equally a divine grace of peace. This is an idea that is repulsive to reason and justice, as even the smallest of children can see. God’s peace and light is for those who receive Him. The shepherds, the Magi, the poor, the hubmle received Him and His peace and light. The proud and vain rejected Him and continue to this day to reject Him and consequently they reject His peace. We have seen many deliberately false translations of this angelic song, all with the obvious intent to deceive people into denying the justice of God and logically: the punishment of sinners; the eternal damnation of sinners; the very existence of Hell; etc. Many in the world today therefore celebrate the birth not of true God made Man, but rather of a false God made to accommodate the illogical fancies of evil man. They use the name of Jesus but the “Jesus” they worship is not the True One. Their god is not the same Jesus who said: “What God has joined together let not man put asunder;” (Mark 10:9) “He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he that does not believe will be condemned;”(Mark 16:16) “He who does not gather with Me, scatters;” (Luke 11:23) “Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man you shall not have life in you;” (John 6:54) “Unless your justice exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees you will not enter into the Kingdom;” (Matthew 5:20) “Deny yourselves and take up your cross daily and come follow Me;” (Matthew 16:24) etc.

Jesus clearly came to bring a sword and to divide. It is only to a few that His peace comes as we see that it was only a few who came to Him at His birth. Therefore, it is imperative that we make ourselves numbered among these few. In doing this then we may rejoice with the angels, humbly seeking the peace of God in our lives to the extent that we are truly of good will.

Stain Glass Window at Our Lady of the Rosary Waubeka, WI

4th Sunday in Advent - Fr. Joseph, OFM

4th Sunday in Advent-Bishop Bonaventure, OFM DD

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Fourth Sunday of Advent 23 December 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Once again, this Advent season, our thoughts are directed to St. John the Baptist. Today the approach of Christ is imminent and St. John warns and instructs us in the preparation we must make.

If Jesus is to enter into our hearts and souls we must prepare a way for Him. With the grace of God we must tear down the hills and mountains of pride and vanity; we must fill up the valleys of doubt and unbelief ; we must straighten out the crookedness of evil in our lives; and we must smooth out the rough ways of anger and tempestuousness in our lives. 

When all this is done we will have an appropriate “welcome mat” set out for Christ our King this Christmas Season. The accomplishment of all these things is an impossible task without the grace of God. We must, therefore, do penance, mortifying ourselves; we must pray, begging God’s mercy and assistance; and we must give alms in reparation for our deficiencies. Tobias instructed his son to give alms. “If you have much, give abundantly; if you have little, take care even to bestow willingly a little.” (Tob. 4:9) 

St. Francis of Assisi teaches us that in giving we receive. As much as we open up and offer of ourselves and what we have been given, so much do we make ourselves the beneficiaries of God’s graces and blessings. Pope St. Gregory says: “He who therefore gives temporal aid to those who have spiritual gifts to bestow, is a co-operator in this spiritual giving. For since they are few who possess spiritual gifts, and many abound in temporal things, through this means they who have possessions, partake in the virtue of those who are needy, by relieving, from their own abundance the wants of these sanctified poor.” In St. Matthew we read “He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a prophet.” (Mat. 10:41) 

In aiding a prophet we make ourselves participators in his works; and as such we merit the same reward as the prophet. In aiding the poor we make ourselves participators in their prayers, sacrifices, and offerings which they make to God. So the more barren we find ourselves of spiritual goods and the more blessed we find ourselves in material goods, so much the more must we redeem ourselves by almsgiving especially to those who are rich in the spiritual gifts. In this manner we fill up the voids in one another – we complement each other and when we are thus all united as one, we form a whole-single and complete body in Christ. No one is found lacking in anything. Those rich in material things have nothing left over and those poor in these things are not left wanting. The same is true in spiritual works: those who have more share with those who have less. 

We must not forget to also do our part in prayer and penance; we cannot purchase our way into heaven. In prayer we receive the many graces we need to fulfill our other obligations: we express our gratitude for what we have received; we see further what is required of us; and our hearts are opened up with the love of God. In penance we atone for our sins and offences; we are united to Jesus in His Sacrifice on the Cross; we fill up in ourselves that which is lacking on our part for the washing of sins from our souls. With our prayers and penances we come to the aid of one another especially to the aid of the Poor Souls in Purgatory. We build up by all our good works a treasure in Heaven for ourselves and aid and abet others in a similar manner in building up their own treasures. To the extent that others merit a spiritual reward through our efforts, likewise do we gain from their merit – their merit is our merit and our merit becomes their merit. 

When we give to good people we share in their goodness; likewise, if we support or aid evil people in evil we share in their evil deeds. Just as aiding a prophet merits for us a prophet’s reward; so aiding heretics and evil men merits for us the punishment of heretics and evil men. 

Christmas is fast approaching and the time of preparation is running short, let us redeem these last days with an extra effort of prayer, penance, and alms. May we aid and abet one another in every good thing, sharing in one another’s merits and building up the Mystical Body of Christ within ourselves and in each other. In this manner we will open an inviting path for Jesus to enter into our hearts and lives.