7. The Causes of Delay. (Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Friday December 06, 2024 at 11:00PM in Advent Sermons
"1. If the wickedness of the world in heathen times was so great, how was it that the coming of the Redeemer was so long delayed? To this question we can only give one answer with absolute certainty, that it was so decreed by Almighty God in His infinite wisdom. We cannot hope in this life to comprehend the mysteries of the providence of the Most High. We can only humbly bow our heads and say that the Redeemer came when God so willed, and that what God wills is necessarily the best.
2. Yet we can at least form some kind of conjecture as to the causes of delay. God works by natural means. In order that the religion of Jesus should spread all over the world by the ordinary working of the laws that govern the affairs of men, it was convenient that the world should be subject to one central power. This was never the case until, at the time of Christ’s nativity, the Roman Empire was mistress of the world. Thus God prepares the way for His designs of mercy, and arranges the world’s events according to His will, yet without forcing the wills of men.
3. There was another reason for the long delay. It was to teach us that God does nothing hurriedly. He always waits before putting into execution His decrees. In this He wishes us to imitate Him. The eternal wisdom of the Most High needs no time for deliberation. His works are not gradually perfected, or improved on second thoughts. But ours are, and the slow action of the providence of God should impress upon us the importance of waiting before we act, and considering and reconsidering all our plans. "
Meditations for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891 Digitized by google
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priests
Jesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank
Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests
are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted
the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls
themselves.
Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them,
and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good
laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and
preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city
placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And
in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they
shepherded on earth. Amen.
Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more!
St. Nicholas, Bishop and Confessor, A.D. 342.
by VP
Posted on Thursday December 05, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
Čeština: Jaroslav Čermák (1831 - 1878) - Sv. Mikuláš
ST. NICHOLAS was a child of prayer, being obtained of God, like Samuel, as the reward of his parents' virtue. A good lesson for parents to recommend their children daily to God, through whose blessing alone they can be secured against the corruption of the world, and the many dangers of sin.
His life was the practice of abstinence, mortification, and extraordinary charity in relieving the distressed. Follow his example, as far as your circumstances permit. Pray against all immoderate love of yourself, and seeking your own ease: and begin to fear that a sensual method of indulging and pleasing yourself will not lead you to that crown, which our forefathers gained only by self-denials.
St. Nicholas was chosen by a particular direction of heaven, archbishop of Myra, a city of Lycia in Asia. In that charge, he was a light shining to men, in all piety, liberality, hospitality, and the care of his flock. Pray that all who are raised to that dignity may be prepared by his virtues, and may be the choice of heaven. Pray for all bishops now in God's Church, and in particular for that Prelate, to whose flock you belong, that they may be every way faithful to their charge, and that their zeal and charity may be answerable to their dignity.
St. Nicholas died at Myra in the year 342, and was buried in his own cathedral. This saint is esteemed the patron of children, because he was from his infancy a model of innocence and virtue; and to form that tender age to piety was always his first care and delight. To impress on the minds of children perfect sentiments of devotion, religion, and virtue, is of the utmost importance. But instruction must be enforced by example. Precepts and exhortations lose their force, when contradicted by bad example. Pray that all parents and instructors may do as well as teach, and that children may be docile and virtuous." The Catholic Year; Or Daily Lessons on the Feasts of the Church by Rev. Fr. John Gother
Prayer to St. Nicholas: O God , who by innumerable miracles hast honored blessed Nicholas , the bishop grant , we beseech thee , that , by his merits and prayers , we may be delivered from the flames of hell . Through our Lord Jesus Christ... (1 Pater, 1 Ave) The Glories of Jesus with Prayers at Mass by Rev. Fr. Vincent HUBY, SJ 1835
6. The Golden Thread (Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Thursday December 05, 2024 at 11:00PM in Advent Sermons
1. All through the long ages that elapsed from the promise to the coming of the Redeemer, a golden thread of light from heaven ran athwart their darkness. In the chosen people of Israel there ever prevailed a strong conviction of the coming of a Savior, Who was to deliver His people from all sin and evil. It was handed down from generation to generation, and was again and again renewed by the inspired declarations of the prophets of Israel. Thus God in His mercy never leaves Himself without a witness to reveal to men of good-will the message of hope.
2. So through all the centuries that have passed since the coming of Our Lord, the Catholic Church has been the golden thread of light amid the darkness of heresy and heathendom. What a bright and glorious thread! What a contrast to all around! How it has, through God's mercy, enlightened my life! How can I ever thank God sufficiently that, led by its divine light, I am traveling on in peace and safety to the heavenly Jerusalem!
3. So too there runs through the life of all those who are to attain at last to the eternal happiness of heaven a golden thread which never wholly disappears, even though their steps may wander far from the right path. Sometimes it is kindness to the poor; sometimes devotion to the holy souls; very often it is a reverence to the holy Mother of God that thus runs through the whole of life. In my life God has interwoven some such thread. Do I follow it up with grateful perseverance?
Meditations #6 for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891 Digitized by google
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priestsJesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls themselves.
Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them, and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they shepherded on earth. Amen.
Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more
Saint Nicetius, Bishop of Treves, France (513-566)
by VP
Posted on Wednesday December 04, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
CATHOLICISM AND HERESY.-St. Nicetius, bishop of Trèves, one of the most distinguished prelates of Gaul, as well on account of his virtues as for his eloquence, zeal, and untiring labours, thus wrote to Queen Clodosinde, the wife of Alboin, king of the Lombards, who was an upholder of Arianism: "To procure the conversion of Alboin, do what your ancestress, Clothilde, accomplished for the conversion of Clovis. And if the king hesitates as to the truth, let him send to the church of St. Martin of Tours; there his envoys will behold the blind restored to sight, the deaf to hearing, the dumb receiving the power of speech, and lepers their speedy cure. What wonders have not you yourself witnessed at the tombs of the holy bishops, Medard and Remigius ? My tongue could not recount all the miracles of the bishops Germain, Hilary, and Lupus. Is anything similar to be met with in the churches of the Arians? No; for the spirit of darkness cannot work miracles." Such, in reality, is the distinguishing characteristic between the true religion and heresy; the latter is utterly sterile. St. Nicetius died full of days and good works, about the year 566.
MORAL REFLECTION.-"If any one abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch," says the Saviour, "and shall wither."(John xv. 6.) Pictorial half hours with the saints by Rev. Fr. Auguste François Lecanu
5. Transient Gleams.(Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Wednesday December 04, 2024 at 11:00PM in Advent Sermons
1. From time to time there broke through the thick darkness of heathendom a gleam of light that seemed to be a harbinger of the coming day. Some sage or poet sang of a golden age that soon would be at hand. But the flash of light soon disappeared, and only left the darkness even darker than before. So in the life of those who have hardened themselves against God there are sometimes moments when the devil seems to have forsaken his prey, and there seems a hope of better things. But if Jesus' coming is still far away, the improvement soon passes, and the evil seems to have even a more complete mastery than ever before.
2. There is something very beautiful in the sentiments of the old Greek and Roman poets. Their minstrelsy rings sweetly in our ears. Their poems proclaim them men of the highest genius. But they have no power to effect a change of heart, such as is wrought by the inspired words of some great saint or servant of God. God must speak through man's voice, if it is to avail to turn others to God. Do I pray God thus to rule and direct my words that they may do His work?
3. So, too, many of the deeds of the heroes of antiquity appear worthy of the holy ones of God. Some may have been done from a supernatural motive, and may even have merited eternal life. But no act, however noble in the natural order, is of any value in the sight of God, unless it be done with some sort of conscious desire to please and serve Him. Do my ordinary actions possess this necessary characteristic?" Meditations #5 for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891 Digitized by google
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priestsJesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls themselves.
Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them, and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they shepherded on earth. Amen.
Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more
Saint Barbara, Virgin and Martyr
by VP
Posted on Tuesday December 03, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
PARENTS ACCORDING ΤΟ THE ORDER OF NATURE.- Those parents who seek to corrupt either the faith or morals of their children are guilty of a heinous crime. Such there are, even in the bosom of Christianity. Let us cite one example, however, borrowed from paganism and from another period. St. Barbara, a young virgin of Nicomedia, had been brought up secretly in the Christian religion. It was not possible, however, that her father, a headstrong supporter of the superstitions of paganism, should remain ignorant of the fact. On learning it, he broke out into a violent rage, and then, being unable to move his daughter either by tears or threats, he shut her up in a tower, and kept her in prison there. Finding that he gained nothing by such treatment, of his own accord he denounced her to the judges during the persecution of Maximinus. To the application of burning coals to her body, the cutting off of her breasts, to the rack, and the dislocation of her limbs, the Christian virgin bravely submitted. She was beheaded in the year 255 or 256. The acts of her martyrdom are not well known, but she is held in universal veneration.
MORAL REFLECTION. -The Saviour has foretold it: "You shall be betrayed by your parents and brethren, but in your patience you shall possess your souls."-(Luke xxi. 16.) Pictorial half hours with the saints by Rev. Fr. Auguste François Lecanu
Prayer to St. Barbara: O GOD, Who hast chosen St. Barbara to be the consolation of the living and of the dying, grant, we beseech Thee, through her intercession, that we may always live in Thy holy love, and place all our hopes in the merits of the most bitter Passion of Thy Son, so that we may never be surprised by the death of sin, but that, fortified by the Sacraments of Penance, Holy Eucharist and Extreme Unction, we may enter without fear upon the journey to eternal glory. This we ask most earnestly through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen. ( Leo XIII., March 21, 1879.) Devotions and Prayers for the Sick-room by Rev. Fr. Joseph Alois Krebs 1889
4. The Long Darkness (Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Tuesday December 03, 2024 at 11:00PM in Advent Sermons
"1. The light extinguished at the Fall was rekindled in the hears of our fist parents when the promise was given them of a Redeemer Who should undo the fatal mischief that had been done. But in their children Adam and Eve had to lament the fatal effects of that deadly evil that they had introduced into the world. As generation followed generation thicker and thicker grew the darkness, farther and father did men wander away from the light, that gave to each the power of guiding his feet aright from earth to heaven. Thus it is that each ill deed goes on bearing its deadly fruit, often long after the doer is dead and gone.
2. Yet every man had light and grace sufficient, and more than sufficient, to enable him to walk in the ways of God, and to find his way to the kingdom of heaven. But non save a very few availed themselves of it. "They loved darkness more than light." The world gradually lost all regard for virtue of for God. How grateful should I be to God that I live in happier days!
3. If I had lived then, what should I have been? Even with all my countless graces and advantages, what a poor specimen I am of one made by God, for God, and in the image of God! In heathen days should I not have been among the most depraved? Should I not have recklessly indulged my own inclinations, irrespective of the voice of God warning and reproaching me? What chance should I have had of saving my soul in those days of dark corruption and depravity?"
Meditations for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891 Digitized by google
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priests
Jesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank
Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests
are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted
the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls
themselves.
Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them,
and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good
laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and
preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city
placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And
in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they
shepherded on earth. Amen.
Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more!
St. Francis Xavier, Apostle of the Indies, Confessor, a.d. 1552.
by VP
Posted on Monday December 02, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
Saint Francis Xavier
"AMONG those who have laboured most successfully in the conversion of nations in these latter ages, is St. Francis Xavier. He prepared himself by extraordinary application to prayer and mortification, and thus obtained of God that great spirit with which he undertook and discharged with so wonderful success the mission of the East. When John III., king of Portugal, had requested of Pope Paul III. some labourers for the East, of the Society of Jesus, then recently established, St. Francis Xavier was commissioned by the Pope to proceed upon the important work, with the powers of Apostolic Nuncio. On his arrival in the East Indies, he at once acquired by divine inspiration the knowledge of the most difficult languages of those nations, to whom he came to preach. He travelled over numerous provinces, always on foot, and often barefoot. He carried the faith of Christ into Japan, and six other countries. He converted many hundreds of thousands to Christ in the East Indies, and baptised several kings. The Almighty was pleased to confirm this his ardent zeal and courage in diffusing the gospel, by the multitude and splendour of the miracles which he was enabled to perform; among which were four dead persons restored to life. He was also favoured with the gift of prophecy, and foretold many things far distant as to time and place. Worn out at length with labours, and full of merits, the saint died in the island of Sancian on the 2nd of December, 1552.Pray for all who are preparing to become labourers in our Lord's vineyard, that they may obtain a spirit and zeal like those of St. Francis Xavier. Pray for those nations whom this saint enlightened, but who are now returned to darkness, that the light of faith may again shine upon them. Pray for all who labour in the care of souls; and that you yourselves be faithful to your own duties." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
3. The Announcement of His Coming ( Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Monday December 02, 2024 at 11:00PM in Advent Sermons
"1. For a short time after their creation our first parents lived in perfect peace and happiness in the Garden of Eden. If they had continued obedient to the authority of their Creator during their whole time of probation there would have been no need for the advent of the Son of God as their Redeemer from sin, for sin there would have been none. It was their deliberate rebellion that was the occasion that determined the visit of the Word to this world of ours. No wonder that the Church sings, O felix Culpa! O happy transgression, which earned a Redeemer such as this! Admire God's wonderful providence in thus bringing good out of evil and advantage to man for his very sin.
2. The promise made was couched in words that gave no immediate prospect of the crushing of the serpent's head and the destruction of his power. It left the curse of sin upon the earth and its inhabitants, and announced the sorrows that would accompany them through their time of sojourn here. That law still hols. Christ came to abolish sin, but not its temporal consequences. He who sins shall suffer, is a law which Christ fulfilled and in no way destroyed.
3. Yet the promise of a Redeemer rekindled the light of hope in the souls of Adam and Eve. They and all their children were ever looking and praying for His coming. God's intention was to keep them in expectancy. So too with His second coming. There has always been a tradition of expectation. "Blessed is the man whom his Lord, when He cometh, shall find watching." Hence learn to watch and pray. Com quickly, O Lord Jesus!"
Meditations for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891 Digitized by google
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priests
Jesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank
Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests
are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted
the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls
themselves.
Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them,
and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good
laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and
preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city
placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And
in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they
shepherded on earth. Amen.
Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more!
St. Bibiana, V. M. A.D. 363.
by VP
Posted on Sunday December 01, 2024 at 11:00PM in Saints
.jpg!Large.jpg "St. Bibiana, 1626 - Gian Lorenzo Bernini")
"She was a virgin: pray for all under the profession of virginity. She was a martyr, and her father, mother, and sister, were all martyrs. Pray for your parents and relations, that God would perfect them in faith and charity.
St. Bibiana, and her sister Demetria, after the death of their holy parents, were stripped of all they had in the world, and suffered much from poverty for five months; but spent that time in their own house in fasting and prayer. The governor of Rome had flattered himself that hunger and want would force them to renounce their faith; but seeing himself mistaken, he gave orders that St. Bibiana should be put into the hands of a wicked woman, who was extremely artful, and undertook to bring her to another way of thinking; but Bibiana, making prayer her shield, remained invincible. The judge, enraged at the courage and perseverance of a tender virgin, at length passed sentence of death upon her, and ordered her to be tied to a pillar, and whipped with scourges loaded with leaden plummets, till she expired. The saint underwent this punishment cheerfully, and died under the hands of the executioner.
Pray for a like fidelity and patience under all trials, that neither convenience nor any worldly advantage may ever prevail upon you to transgress your duty; but that you may be proof against all flatteries, and choose all evils before that of sin. The only affair of a Christian in this world is to seek God, to attain to the possession of his grace and love, and in all this perfectly to do his will. In this consists all his joy and happiness. By this disposition of heart, he is raised above all created things, and united to the eternal and unchangeable object of his felicity." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
