Second Sunday of Advent: The Immaculate Conception
by VP
Posted on Sunday December 07, 2025 at 12:00AM in Sermons
"The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His ways.”PROV. 8. 22.
1. The Redeemer and His Mother.
2. Therefore Immaculate for His honour.
3. No change of belief in the Church, but now all bound to believe the doctrine.
4. Effects: increase of devotion to Mary Immaculate; and more manifest proofs of the power of her intercession.
THE dominant thought in this holy time of Advent is the coming of the Redeemer. How appropriate it is, then, that there occurs at this time the Festival of the Immaculate Conception. For the Son of God offering Himself to become a Man to redeem us, a Mother had to be chosen for Him. A Mother of God! Picture the amazement of the angels in heaven that a human creature could possibly be so exalted! The purest, the holiest, the humblest of all the daughters of Eve was chosen.
But above all the endowments of grace, above all her virtues, one singular prerogative was needed and was granted. This chosen one should never for an instant be under the curse of fallen man. Original sin could not be allowed to taint her soul. "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His ways." This is what we believe in accepting and professing the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
But is it not the boast and glory of the Holy Catholic Church that its faith is and has been always the same? That what was believed from the first is the faith of all its children always and everywhere? How can this be, says the world, when within our memory the Immaculate Conception was declared to be an article of faith? The definition was simply a declaration that belief in the Immaculate Conception had always existed, and was the mind and sense of the Church. Proof irrefragable of this is found in holy Tradition, in the writings of the Fathers of the Church, in the unanimity of the rulers and the faithful of the Church in venerating our Lady's Conception as such. What had been formerly freely, willingly, lovingly believed, was now declared to be a necessary part of our belief. Henceforth obedience to the Church demanded full, explicit belief and profession of this doctrine, that Mary in the first instant of her Conception was preserved from every stain of original sin by the power of Almighty God, to His honour and glory, and the glory of His chosen Mother.
And why was this declaration necessary? To defend the honour and glory of Mary. Impiety was assailing her; disbelief was denying her holiness; and the world was sneering at her purity. Cowardly Catholics thought it prudent not to provoke impiety to insult our Lady and wished to be silent; and doubt was stealing into the souls of the poorly instructed, and of many seduced by the irreligious. Therefore for God's honour and glory, and of His Virgin Mother, it was made imperative to believe and to own that the Virgin Mary was Immaculate. What had formerly been professed in love, had now to be professed in obedience as well, by the loyal children of the Church.
The other saints and blessed ones of God are crowned with many graces, but Mary is "full of grace" and is favoured with one that no other can share with her. She is Immaculate! And this being her unique privilege, no other supplication to her touches her Mother's heart as this: "Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us, who have recourse to thee."
Two effects result from
this belief and profession in the Immaculate Conception. The first is a
wonderful increase in devotion to our Blessed Lady.
Not only have prayers been multiplied, but the wearing of her medals, the use of the Rosary, the holy pictures and statues in homes and in churches, all have increased. But above all we can notice the public testifying of our love and veneration of Mary. A few years ago, pilgrimages had almost died out in these countries. But now, not only is no one afraid to be a pilgrim, but publicly and enthusiastically pilgrimages are joined by rich and poor. The sneers of the world are silenced. Yea, even in non-Catholic papers we read paragraphs-tolerant, kindly, sympathetic-about the blind and ailing journeying to distant Lourdes in faith and hope, seeking the help of Mary Immaculate.
And does Mary fail to respond to her children's faith and trust? This is the second wonderful result in the belief in the Immaculate Conception: the miracles that Mary works through her intercession. There are countless wonders wrought in the souls of men; of those we know nothing. They are recorded by the angels. But we Catholics rejoice, and the world cannot deny, that there are many marvellous and incontestible miracles wrought year after year at Lourdes. In this age of doubt and unbelief, miracles are multiplied in behalf of those who turn to the Immaculate Virgin in their misery and distress. Thus this most favoured, honoured, exalted Queen of angels and of saints proves that she hearkens to and graciously answers the prayers of poor sinners. sinners. She loves to prove to us that, though she is the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, she is our Mother too. Though the Almighty "has done great things" for her, she does not disdain our humble prayers.
How meet and appropriate it is, then, that our Blessed Lady's festival is the harbinger of Christmas. Her unique dignity -Immaculate from the first moment of her Conception - was given that she might be worthy to be the Mother of our divine Saviour. Praise and glorify her on this great day, and for a reward for our devotion pray her to show us at Christmas her Son, our Saviour, and to obtain for us loyalty and fidelity to Him." Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Fr. Francis Paulinus Hickey
First Sunday of Advent: The Redeemer
by VP
Posted on Sunday November 30, 2025 at 12:00AM in Sermons
Cornelis Schut III (1629–1685)
"Your redemption is at hand.”—St. Luke xxi. 28.
SOLEMN and sublime thoughts should lift up our hearts at the beginning of this holy time of Advent. The anniversary of the coming of our Redeemer is at hand; and gratitude for that blessed coming bids us raise up the eyes of our soul, and reverently peer into the mystery of God's goodness in decreeing that a Saviour should be born to save His people from their sins. From all eternity the Almighty had determined to create mankind. From all eternity He knew of the fall, of man's sinfulness and rebellion against Him, so that it would come to pass, as the Scripture says, "It repented Him that He had made man" (Gen. vi. 6). His justice was outraged; His mercy despised. And poor fallen man, what could become of him? He could not retrieve the past. He could not atone for his own misdeeds. Was there no salvation for the human race? A God was needed to make reparation and atonement for the outrages against a God! for the outrages of unbelief, of blasphemy, of hatred, of the impurities, and of all the evils that spring up from the depraved hearts of sinners. Then was the mystery of love declared that astounded heaven; that caused countless angels to rebel; for poor fallen man was to be more honoured than themselves. The second Person of the Blessed Trinity willingly offered Himself to come to the rescue of mankind. As God, He could not suffer, but a body and a soul united to the divine Person, and behold Emmanuel-God with us, our Redeemer! "Behold! I come," He said. A Man to suffer; a God to offer! The justice of the Almighty to be placated; His mercy to be thanked; His love to be requited! And the gates of heaven to be opened to repentant man. This is the tidings of great joy that Advent brings to the faithful.
But how little did the world understand of the divine mercy that was to come! True, God's chosen people knew that a Messias, a Saviour, had been promised. The prophets had spoken of Him. Devout men had longed for His coming and prayed that they might live to see it. But as time went on these holy aspirations faded, and in a very different and earthly way the children of Israel looked for their deliverer. A leader, a ruler to establish an earthly kingdom, a prince of peace was their expectation. Vague was their knowledge, and their yearnings were for something infinitely lower than what was to come. Not an earthly kingdom but a heavenly one was their Saviour to establish, not transient glory that would shortly perish, but immortality amidst indescribable splendour and happiness. He was to come not to rule merely, but to love mankind. He was to come, not to be inaccessible and seldom to be seen, but to be with them, one of them, whose delight was to be with the children of men.
Oh how blessed are we, who know so well this Saviour, "this most high God and our Redeemer "(Ps. lxxvii. 35). He that had been promised, came not only for the people of Israel, but for all mankind. He came to "save His people from their sins" (Matt. i. 21). Let us realize it more intimately. He came not simply to proclaim a universal pardon for all the multitude of the children of men. He came for me! To pardon me, to win my love, my loyalty: to recognize me as His child for whom He had opened the gates of heaven. And is this all? What could hope expect more than this? If He had brought us redemption once, would not this have been an infinitely bountiful mercy?
Let us bow down in humble confusion as we think of this! Forgiveness once; restored to our heavenly Father's favour once! An eternity of thankfulness would not suffice to pay for such a mercy. But what is the reality? Oh! the times and times that He has poured out upon our souls His "copious redemption." Our very sins bring out His mercy more and more. We are the children of the merciful goodness of God! Let us recall with grateful hearts the times without number that our redemption—our forgiveness—has been renewed. It is always at hand indeed. An act of sorrow; a humble owning of our sins; and He that came to redeem His people from their sins ratifies the words of absolution, and our sins are forgiven us once again. And our relapses, what do they mean? Do we not believe in our forgiveness? Do we despise it? Are we not trespassing on the Almighty's patience, tempting Him to repent that He made us?
Let us resolve that this rejection of God's pardon shall never occur again. But as this blessed anniversary of the coming of our Saviour approaches, let us prepare our hearts to receive Him and bid Him welcome. No wonder good people rejoice at holy Christmas-time ! It is not a mere memory of the redemption that came, but it is an actual redemption that comes again to the souls of men. How many anniversaries of His coming have we celebrated, and yet we are no better than we are! To so many in the world the message of Advent finds no admittance to their hearts. But to us it must not be so. We must prepare a home for Him, lest the first coming should be repeated: "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not " (John i. 11). Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year by Rev. Fr. Francis Paulinus Hickey
Feast of all Saints: The Church reviews Her Successes
by VP
Posted on Saturday November 01, 2025 at 03:00AM in Sermons
Fra Angelico: The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs
"Our yearly liturgical course in living with Christ is fast drawing to a close. That is the reason why these last Sunday Masses have been showing us various aspects of the final reckoning when Christ our Judge will examine us to see how we have profited by all those countless opportunities of grace lavished upon us in every Sacrifice and sacrament throughout the year. What therefore could be more natural for us than, finding within ourselves the same un-Christly Christians as of yore, to feel a sense of frustration at the thought of so great a discrepancy between what was expected of us and what we have actually achieved? Can the liturgical life really be so marvelous a thing, if it shows so little proof of its power in our own daily living? Just such a sense of discouragement on our part the Church seems to have anticipated. For right here, almost at the close of her annual course, she gives us in review a veritable pageant of successful lives lived by those whom she has already graduated into eternity summa cum laude.
These multitudes of human beings from every race and nation, from every clime and century - what are they, one and all, but drops of water in the vast ocean of Christ's redemptive work? Each one, as a member of the Mystical Body on earth, has not only been saved thereby but has also helped to "fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ,...for his body, which is the Church." Col. 1:24. Douay-Rheims.
The ocean of redemptive merits became so vast a thing in its multiple human aspect that we could only gaze in wonderment at its unfathomable extent and depth. This is why, for those of us who are able to go to weekday Mass, the liturgy allowed us to examine this redeeming accomplishment of Christ a drop at a time, while we celebrated the feast days of the saints. Thus holding up a tiny particle of Christly glory to the great sun of God's infinite perfections, we could study their separate rays as they were refracted in the various hues of those personalities through which they passed. For the divine attributes, incarnate in mortal men, are, as it were, split into tiny human colors, so that we may more easily study them and try to adapt them to our own poor way of life.
To say, for instance, that God is love does not pass beyond the cold, clear realm of our intellect. But to learn that Francis of Assisi, in reflecting this divine charity, loved every flower and bird and uncouth clod of humankind to romantic folly, has set seven hundred years ablaze. When we are told that God is good, we nod assent and stifle a yawn. But when we read that a Peter Claver, filled to the brim by a participation in this goodness, could spend years of devoted service amid the nauseating slave ships in his endeavor to salvage souls for eternity- ah! then we begin to think that goodness is something real after all.
Thus through this past year the Church has carefully marshaled before us her procession of successes, men, women, and even children. All from the dawn of Christianity have chosen to live the Christ-Life to its fullest extent, regardless of the cost. Each of these heroes has paid in some way the price of life itself, if not by the actual shedding of his blood, then at least by the slow and relentless extermination of self in every form, so that it might be no longer he that lived but Christ in him.
Since, however, the vast majority of Christians, unable to go to daily Mass, cannot study this pageant of Christ's heroes gradually throughout the year, the Church has set aside this feast as a day of obligation. Now all her members may see in one grand review all those whose outstanding success bears witness to the potency of the Christ-Life as lived in and through the liturgical signs which make that Life an ever present reality.
Also the Church's object in thus honoring her heroes is to make us realize her great doctrine, the Communion of Saints. This is that celestial plan of distributive wealth, whereby the millionaires of heaven from their own abundance may effectively subsidize us, their needy brethren. This means that through the very special grace of today's feast of All Saints, we may fill our souls to overflowing with all the riches of Christ's members, who have traded with their talents so as to enrich not only themselves but also their brethren of every age and race and nation." Companion to the Missal, Sister M Cecilia OSB
"Oh! (...) My brethren, let the world have its gods and worship them; let it have its wisdom, which is foolishness with God; let it deride and mock at penance, at asceticism, at Religious vows, at practices of humiliation, at pilgrimages, at devotions, at prayer itself. But let us remember that Christ, and His Church after Him, have cursed the world. Voe Mundo! Let us stand firm, though power, and wealth, and culture be in conspiracy against us. Let us stand firm, though we be persecuted and vilified, and our name cast out as evil for Christ's sake. Let us keep the faith. Let us be imitators of the Saints as they also were of Christ. Let us fix our eyes on the end of all things, on the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus. Let us never forget those words, so full at once of terror and consolation: "Then shall the just stand with great constancy against those that have afflicted them and taken away their labors. Those seeing it, shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the suddenness of their unexpected salvation, saying within themselves, repenting, and groaning for anguish of spirit: These are they, whom we had sometime in derision, and for a parable of reproach. We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honor. Behold, how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the Saints." Sermons by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, Vol. 3, Feast of all Saints.
Inaccuracy
by VP
Posted on Sunday October 19, 2025 at 01:00AM in Sermons
François-Auguste Biard: The Sermon
"A preacher will be careful to shun doubtful narratives, historical fallacies, exaggerated and unreliable statistics (for instance, such as exalt Catholicity and depress its adversaries), discredited legends, pious fictions, ludicrous incidents, frivolous references and childish anecdotes - all of which, though perhaps acceptable to vulgar minds, bring ridicule and contempt on the Catholic pulpit. "It is unseemly," says St. Augustine, "for Christians, -turpe est et perniciosum - who pretend to speak according to the Scriptures, to give utterance to absurd views which pagans cannot help laughing at." "As to legends, pious stories, miracles, and holy apparitions," observes Dr. Hedley, "I would always be pleased to see pious credulity rather than indifference on the part of the flock ... but I should on no account force them on others or think the worse of those who rejected them: and if Protestants inquired, I should try to impress upon them that it was entirely a matter of evidence." And the Second Synod of Baltimore directs a preacher to use the greatest caution - summa prudentia - in relating miracles and prodigies."
Source: The Priest of today : his ideals and his duties by Rev. Thomas O'Donnell, pub. 1911 (page 225)
The Compassion of Christ
by VP
Posted on Sunday July 20, 2025 at 01:00AM in Sermons
Le retour de l'enfant prodigue, Jacques Tissot
"For some of them
came from afar off.”—MARK 8. 3.
1. What drew that crowd to follow our Lord ?
2. In our days, who are those that are from afar off? Those who know not Christ, and those who have fallen away.
3. The danger of wandering afar off.
4. May the compassion of Christ win us back and keep us near Him.
"We wonder, as we read this Gospel, how this multitude had been drawn to our Blessed Lord; how they stayed with Him for three days, and some of them had come from afar off. What a divine attraction it must have been that made these men forget their comfort, their hunger, their weariness, to press round our Blessed Saviour, and listen to the words that fell from His divine lips! As our Lord drew the crowds to Himself in life, so now He is constantly, by His grace, drawing the hearts of men to His service. And as then, so now, "some come from afar off "; and it is for these that He shows His tenderest compassion, lest they faint on the way to their home - the Kingdom of heaven. Without His help no one can win their way to that blessed home.
Then who are those, in these days of ours, who come from afar off? Those who have not the Faith. Those who have never heard of Him, or been taught the wonders of His mercy. Prayers of others attract them: good example attracts them. The fair fame of holy Church, with its unity, its progressiveness, with its crowds of faithful worshippers, attracts them. Each of us can help, each of us is bound to help, some soul to follow Christ.
Others, again, from afar off, are children of bad parents, who have not been taught the practice of their religion; who have had no good example at home shown them: the leakage of the Church, who are swept along in the torrent of godlessness, sinfulness, and riotousness of the wicked world.
Others, again, who have fallen away. Once they were innocent children of God, but neglect and carelessness crept in; they wearied of the restriction of a good life; and at last they left their Father's house, and they were seen no more at Mass or the Sacraments. Many, thank God, have not wandered thus far from God; but how few of us have not fallen away to some degree! How few of us can say that we are as good and earnest as once we were as good as we should be!
The danger of wandering far off, or a little way off, from keeping close to our Lord, and listening to Him, and obeying Him, is this. Whatever the distance may be, it is far enough, and too far, for us to find our way back of ourselves. Many think that they can return to the good life of their early days when they choose, and so put God off. But this is a sad mistake. They cannot of themselves, but only if God in His mercy draws them.
What gratitude should be ours to remember that Christ's mercy and compassion are always seeking to attract us. Patiently and in many most varied ways He is seeking us out and drawing us to Himself. But it is all His merciful doing, and not our own doing. You will say, The prodigal son found his way back to his father, so why cannot I when I make up my mind?
Yes, the prodigal, happily for himself, did return, and was lovingly received by his father. But what prompted him? What gave him the impulse and the resolution "to arise and go to his father"? What sustained him on the long, hungry journey, and enabled him to face the shame of it, to be "a hired. servant" as he expected, where once he was a son? It was the memory, the sweet memory, of his loving, patient father! The poor boy never dreamed that his father, with yearning eyes, was looking for him time after time; he never dreamed of such an affectionate welcome; he only expected to be fed, to be under a roof, to be safe.
When our Blessed Lord was describing that loving father He was portraying Himself. For how many souls from afar off is the Redeemer looking this day! For some He has been waiting for years. The danger is, the longer we are away, the greater chance of forgetting the memory of our Father, of forgetting the compassion of the Sacred Heart of our Lord. If we forget His mercy, where is the power that can draw us back? If we are only beginning to slip away from fervour, let us be afraid; and pray that a loving memory of that compassion may ever live in our hearts.
Realize that kindness of Christ, and we should trust in Him more and more. See what He did, as recorded in the Gospel. He worked a miracle for those who had come from afar off, lest they should faint on the way. They had followed and listened to Him, and in return, in compassion, He worked the miracle. And for us as well, if we only come humbly back, He works the miracle of miracles, and nourishes us with the Bread from heaven, lest we should faint on the journey through life. How sad when our Blessed Lord is thus longing for us, and is prepared to receive us and strengthen
us, that so many are kept back from entering again into His holy
service, from attendance at Mass, from frequenting Holy Communion, by
false shame and through human respect, for fear of what some carping neighbour may say! Oh, may the good God so strengthen us with the memory of His compassion, the confidence
in His mercy, that we may arise, determined never to be far from Him
again; but rather to cling to Him, cherishing His words, doing His holy
Will, faithful to the end!" Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Rev. Fr. Francis Paulinus Hickey OSB 1922 (6th Sunday after Pentecost)
The Words of Christ
by VP
Posted on Sunday July 13, 2025 at 01:00AM in Sermons
"But I say to you." -MATT. V. 22.
1. The words of Christ, the Son of God.
2. What are they? Words that countermand the law of Moses, as regards murder, adultery, swearing, revenge.
3. Finally, His word of love and forgiveness.
4. Even many Catholics careless in respecting these words of Christ.
"In this chapter of St. Matthew these words, "But I say to you," are repeated by our divine Lord six times. They occur in His first sermon on the mount; and were a bold and manifest declaration that Christ our Lord came to change the traditions and customs of the Jews, and to insist on His own doctrine.The multitude that listened must have been amazed. Teachings and practices sanctioned for centuries were ruthlessly condemned and set aside, and a new code of conduct laid down by this new Teacher. And it came to pass, when Jesus had fully ended these words, the people were in admiration at His doctrine. For He was teaching them as one having power" (Matt. vii. 28, 29).
And if they, who heard Him for the first time, were subdued and awed, how much more reverential and obedient should we be, who know Who this is Who repeated these words so often, "But I say to you." Christ our Lord, the Son of God! Yes, that is what He claimed and proved Himself to be. But that multitude knew it not. To them He was the new Teacher from Nazareth. It was after this He claimed to be Son of God. You remember how, after He had opened the eyes of the man born blind, and who had been cast out of the synagogue for his adherence to Him, Jesus said to him: "Dost thou believe in the Son of God? He answered and said: Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? And Jesus said to him: Thou hast both seen Him" (yes, with the eyes He had opened),"and it is He that talketh with thee. And he said: I believe, Lord! and falling down adored Him" (John ix. 35, 38).Yes, we also adore Him as God, and accept His words as eternal truth, for God can never change and never err. Then let us look into this chapter of St. Matthew, and find what are these words, which being the words of the Son of God must never be disobeyed, omitted, nor altered by man.
First: "You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not kill . . . but I say to you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment . . . be reconciled to thy brother " (Matt. v. 21). Alas! how often is this doctrine disobeyed and disregarded by the world.
Secondly: "Of old it was said: Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart" (ibid. 28). Not actions alone, but thoughts and desires denounced as guilty before the eyes of God.
Thirdly: "But I say to you, that whosoever putteth away his wife and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery" (ibid. 32). With these words of the Son of God before them, how dare the iniquitous laws of divorce be passed, to make sin easy and to be thought of no account?
Fourthly: not only perjury forbidden, "But I say to you not to swear at all . . . but let your speech be yea, yea; no, no; and that which is over and above these is evil" (ibid. 34, 37).
Fifthly: the law of retaliation is condemned--" an eye for an eye," and instead, this neighbourly spirit insisted on: "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not away (ibid. 42).
And the last word: Instead of "love thy neighbour and hate thy enemy," the Son of God inculcates that doctrine of love and perfection: "But I say to you: love your enemies, do good to them that hate you; pray for them that persecute and calumniate you; that you may be the children of your Father Who is in heaven" (ibid. 43-45.)
How sad it is to look around us and behold the world ignoring these emphatic words of Christ; at variance with them; yea, acting in defiance of some of them. Christian states passing laws about divorce, utterly abrogating the law of Christ, as if the divine Lawgiver were a God of yesterday and not of today. What answer at the judgment day will be found for having gainsaid the words of Christ? Have they forgotten that He said, "My words shall not pass away" (Luke xxi. 33; Mark xiii. 31)?
And do Catholics, even those who think that they are fairly good Catholics, take all these words to heart and keep them as religiously as they should? Are they as careful about being angry and unforgiving as He commands? Lustful thoughts, swearing -are they avoided with that holy fear that they should be? Have they learned and do they practice, "Give to him that asketh" and "Love your enemies and pray for them that calumniate you"? And if not, are they Christ's disciples? for He says, "If you continue in My word, you shall be My disciples indeed" (John viii. 31). "And if any one love Me, he will keep My word " (John xiv. 23).
We must beware of being led astray by the maxims of the world. We have in very truth and in all exactitude to accept the words of Christ and keep them. It is hard for flesh and blood; it is supernatural work, beyond our powers; but grace and help from God will crown our endeavours to obey, if we ask for His assistance. Be solicitous to remember His words and to keep them, for if we fail and disobey He has said, "The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him at the last day " (John xii. 48)." Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Francis Paulinus Hickey 1922 (5th Sunday after Pentecost)
Five-minute Sermons: How to Pray
by VP
Posted on Sunday July 06, 2025 at 01:00AM in Sermons
"Launch out into the deep."—St. Luke v. 6.
IN this account of the miraculous draught of fishes which we have just heard in the Gospel we see a striking illustration of what real prayer should be, and how it is rewarded. Suppose we devote these few moments this morning to the subject of Prayer.
We know that prayer is an absolute necessity of the spiritual life. We are strictly bound to pray, if we would save our souls. The manner and the matter of our prayers are, within certain limits, left to our own judgment. There are no conditions of length or place or time. Long prayers are not necessarily the best ones; on the contrary, the Publican said only seven words, and the Penitent Thief nine; and we have yet to hear of prayers more promptly efficacious. We need not come to church in order to have our prayers heard; God will hear us anywhere and any time—as He heard Jeremias in the mire, Ezechias on his bed of death, Daniel in the den of lions, the Three Children in the fiery furnace, Peter and Paul in prison...
Note that our Lord first desired Peter to "thrust out a little from the land," and afterwards to 'launch out into the deep." So with our prayers. We must thrust out a little from the land—that is, from attachments and affections of earth, before we can fully launch ourselves into the deep of perfect spiritual union with God.
Do we "thrust out from the land" when we pray? And have we Jesus Christ in the vessel of our heart when we make the launch? Our prayers, to be good for anything, should have four characteristics: they should be recollected, detached, definite, and persevering.
1. Before we begin to pray, we must place ourselves in God's presence. We must collect all the powers of our minds and hearts, and set them on the one supreme object. The Memory must be called away from every-day affairs, and used to furnish food for our meditation; the Understanding summoned from its ordinary musings on worldly things, to reason and reflect on what we pray for, and Whom we pray to; the Will steadily fixed on God--striving to conform itself to the divine will, producing affections and forming resolutions suitable to our present needs.
2. Without detachment there can be no recollection. We must thrust out from the land." And how can we do this if the vessel of our soul is moored to the shore by a thousand and one little cords of earthly desire, and worry and care, and anxiety and passion? All these cords must be cut away, and we must "launch out into the deep," if we would pray aright and have God's blessing in ourselves.
3. Let us have a clear, definite idea of what we are going to pray for. Vague, meaningless generalities are out of place in such a serious business. Let us make up our minds beforehand about what we want, and then pray for that. It will not profit us much to ask for all the Cardinal Virtues and allthe Gifts of the Holy Ghost at one time. It will be quite sufficient, and decidedly more profitable, to single out some one virtue of which we stand in special need, and make that the particular burden of our prayers and thoughts and efforts for weeks, and months and years, if necessary, until we gain it.
4. And this, after all, is the true test of a genuine prayer-perseverance. 'We have labored all the night, and have taken nothing; but at Thy word I will let down the net." "Never despair" is the Christian's motto. Never mind how long we may have labored and prayed in vain; never mind how weary the spirit, or how weak the flesh; never mind how little seems our progress and how far away the "mark of the prize of our supernal vocation." God will, as He has promised, finally and gloriously reward our perseverance. Him that overcometh I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of My God." Five minute Sermons for Sunday by the Paulist Fathers, 4th Sunday after Pentecost
Five Minute Sermon: Love of our Neighbor
by VP
Posted on Sunday June 29, 2025 at 01:00AM in Sermons
"This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them."St. Luke xv. 2.
"THIS practice of our Divine Lord is continued by His Church to the present day. We receive sinners; we eat with them, work with them, recognize them as friends and brethren. Outside the Church religious sects act otherwise. They turn sinners out of their organizations, put a ban on them publicly, draw a plain line between the good and the bad. The result is that our sinners are always within easy reach of our words of admonition, our entreaties, our edifying example, and for the most part are finally won back to a good life.
If a man is a great public sinner he is excommunicated-a case which occurs very rarely. If he is but a poor common sinner, he is not torn from our Saviour's bosom, but is hoped for, prayed for, left among the faithful and finally reclaimed.
But, my brethren, if such is the rule in the Church generally, it is nevertheless true that a sinful man's immediate associates are bound by divine charity to let him know that he is a sinner and to endeavor to save him. There are some Catholics who seem to be ignorant of their duty in this respect. To admonish a sinner, to try to make him change his life-this, they think, is a duty which belongs exclusively to the priest. The sins of others are in no sense their concern, it is none of their business to interfere with a sinner unless he violates some of their rights. On the other hand, there are others who have some dim perception of their duty in behalf of these sinners, but are too timid and cowardly, are too much afraid of sneers and rebuffs, too much afraid of giving offence, to say a word for God's honor and their neighbor's soul.
All this is wrong, my brethren; it is un-Christian. For if we are Christians in reality, if we love God sincerely, we must have a deep concern for His honor, we must see to it that others love Him and therefore serve Him. And we can often do this better than the priest. We can in cases reach men more easily, we can talk to them more freely, we can more readily make them feel that we are in sympathy with them and understand their difficulties. It is the precept of fraternal charity that makes us realize that we are all alike children of our Father who is in heaven. It is only by our observance of this precept that we have a right to call ourselves Christians. "By this shall all men know that you are My disciples," says our Blessed Lord, "that you love one another even as I have loved you." The love our Saviour bears for each one of us is the measure of the love we should bear our neighbor; and as He loves us in spite of our sins, as He received sinners and ate with them, so should we manifest our charity in behalf of poor sinners, so should we by our words, our example, and our kindness to them seek to lead them back to their allegiance to Almighty God.
How am I going to do this? I have a friend who never goes to Mass, who has not made his Easter duty for years, who is an habitual drunkard, whose mouth is defiled with profane and filthy words, and who in many ways sets God's laws at defiance; how am I to fulfil my duty of fraternal charity in his behalf?
In the first place, make him love you. There is no influence so strong as love, there is nothing which it cannot accomplish. If you gain a man's love you have a strong hold on him. He confides in you, he will readily listen to your advice, he will be quick to follow your suggestions. In the next place, always show him good example. The strongest words of warning and exhortation are of little or no avail unless you yourself show the truth of what you say in your own life. You cannot preach from a higher platform than your own practice And the first proof of the love we bear our neighbor is the good example we show him. Finally, don't be afraid to talk to him seriously and boldly about the manner of his life. Show your concern for his soul by strong, earnest words of exhortation, of admonition and reproof. Your earnestness will be the proof of your conviction, of your sincerity. He may not like this; it may make him angry, but he will not forget your words easily; they may make him think of his soul in spite of himself, and they may, under God's providence, become the initial grace of his conversion. In any event, you will have done your duty. Yes, brethren, like our blessed Lord, we “receive sinners and eat with them"; we do not exclude them from our prayers, our solicitude, our love. We seek to regain them to Christ, to win them back again to the blessings which His love has purchased for us all." Five-minute Sermons for Low Masses on All Sundays of the Year, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost
Authority and Discipline, Saint Peter and Paul
by VP
Posted on Sunday June 29, 2025 at 01:00AM in Sermons
Flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father Who is in heaven."-MATT. xvi. 17.
I. The chosen ones of Christ.
2. St. Peter, the pillar of the Faith.
3. St. Paul, the preacher of the Faith.
4. The same blessed Faith bestowed on us; how we should treasure it.
THE Combined festival of Saints Peter and Paul is rightly celebrated as one of the great and important festivals of the year. Rome especially glories in this festival of the Apostles who, by shedding their blood there, consecrated the eternal city to the service of God. But the whole Church, in all lands and in all ages, rejoices on this day of the triumph of the two chief Apostles, who were chosen by God to establish and consolidate His Church on earth. The Church that was destined by God to be universal and imperishable needed divine authority and divine doctrine. And these were given by the Son of God, and entrusted in a special way to the Apostles whose festival we celebrate to-day. The authority of St. Peter was to be handed down in the unbroken line of Sovereign Pontiffs; and the doctrine of St. Paul, divinely revealed to him, was to live for ever in the inspired words of his epistles.
Let us renew our faith by recalling the proofs of this authorization by Christ our Lord, that a poor illiterate fisherman should rule His Church and hold the Keys of the Kingdom of heaven; and how a Pharisee, a persecutor, should be a vessel of election to teach and preach the doctrines of the God of truth. In the gospel we read on two occasions of the great faith of St. Peter. In St. John (vi. 68), when many disciples left our Lord and walked no more with Him, our Blessed Lord said to the twelve: "Will you also go away? And Peter answered Him: Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we have believed and have known that Thou art Christ, the Son of God." And in St. Matthew (xvi. 15-19): “ Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona; because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father Who is in heaven. And I say to thee: Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee the Keys of the Kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, it shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven." This was the glorious commission bestowed on St. Peter, to whom our Lord also said: "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not " (Luke xxii. 32). And this authority, given to St. Peter, was destined to be handed down to all his successors, the chief pastors of the Church, the Sovereign Pontiffs, Pope after Pope, in succeeding ages. Invested with this power, their faith should fail not, as the supreme authority in the Church.
"Teach all nations" was the command of Christ, and therefore His Church was endowed with divinely revealed doctrine. And in this regard St. Paul speaks to us with no uncertain voice. "For I give you to understand, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For neither did I receive it of man, nor did I learn it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal. i. II, 12). Your memory instantly recalls the great truths of religion, with the express testimony of the Apostle regarding them, and how one after the other have been impugned, explained away, or denied, not only by the godless world --the enemy of God—but by those who profess to be Christians, and to believe in the Holy Scriptures.
Take the doctrine of the Resurrection. "For I delivered to you first of all, which I also received, how Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day" (1 Cor. xv. 3, 4). Doubting, denying this is common in these days; and disbelief in it is so condoned that it does not disqualify from the highest positions in the Church in the land! Should not such men remember and fear these words of St. Paul: "If Christ be not risen from the dead, your faith is vain, for you are yet in your sins" (ibid. 17)?
And that sweet and blessed doctrine of our Faiththe divine Presence in the Holy Eucharist. Alas, how often denied and blasphemed by various sects in the face of such evidence as this! "I speak as to wise men; judge ye yourselves what I say. The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of Christ? And the Bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the Body of the Lord ?" (1 Cor. x. 15, 16).
These words, which you know so well, let them not weary you, but glory in them as the great doctrines of our Faith. We hear on all sides that religion is old-fashioned and out of date. Doctrines must be changed, so as to embrace all the variations of modern thought. And do such people think they are something new, something original ? Be not led away with various and strange doctrines," says St. Paul (Heb. xiii. 9). And St. Peter says (2 Peter iii. 3): "In the last days there shall come deceitful scoffers." Can the eternal truth be out of date? "From eternity to eternity Thou art God . . . for a thousand years in Thy sight are as yesterday which is past" (Ps. lxxxix. 2, 4).
For ourselves how grateful we should be to God for the Faith which He has bestowed upon us--its authority and its doctrines. Let us pray to those glorious Apostles - who typify this authority and doctrine - to strengthen our faith, that we may live up to it, peacefully yet manfully, humble yet glorifying God by our obedient and holy lives." Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Rev. Fr. Francis Paulinus Hickey OSB 1922 (Saint Peter and Paul)
Superstition
by VP
Posted on Sunday May 18, 2025 at 01:00AM in Sermons
"There are some sinful practices forbidden in these words which it is well to consider to-day, beside fortune-telling and the observing of dreams and omens. These are the use of charms, and the consulting of spirits, or seeking of the truth from the dead.
First, then, with regard to charms, amulets, and the like. Christians are unfortunately to be found, even at the present day, who use, in a superstitious way, and it may be for sinful purposes, things which can have no natural power to accomplish the end desired, but must derive any efficacy which they can be supposed to have from the devil, whose aid is therefore implicitly invoked by those who possess such things. Let every one, then, understand that the use of these charms and amulets, though it might be even for a good object, as the preservation of one's life, is a great sin, and will bring a curse instead of a blessing on any one who perseveres in it. If any one, then, has any such object which he has been told will keep him from danger, give him success in his undertakings, or anything of that kind, let him cast it aside or burn it up without delay. Doubly sinful, of course, is it to keep or use such objects with the hope of working harm to others, or of exciting evil passions in them; and the sin will in no case be avoided by the absurd character of the things employed in this way.
"But how," it may be asked, "about holy things, such as relics, medals, Agnus Dei, gospels, scapulars, and the like? Surely you would not call it superstitious or sinful in any way to keep or wear such things as these, or to think that they might do us some good, not only spiritually but even in the temporal order?" No, you are right about this. It is not sinful even to ask for miracles by the aid of things like those, which are either sacred by their nature or by the blessing of the Church. And the reason why it is not sinful is very plain. It is because God is invoked by means of them, and that any favors which are obtained by them will be for His honor and glory. Still that this should be so, they must be used with piety and devotion. To wear a scapular, for instance, simply as a sort of charm, without any desire or intention of honoring the Blessed Virgin by it, or to invoke her aid to escape from sin, would be not only useless but highly displeasing to her Divine Son. Almost every one feels this; few dare to profane holy objects of this kind by such. use of them; those who have really given themselves up to the devil seldom try to protect themselves in his service by such means.
Well now, to pass to the other subject, that of consulting spirits, or seeking, as the Jewish law has it, the truth from the dead. You see it is no new thing, this spiritism, though the rapping and table-tipping business is rather a new form of it in these days. It has been and is still very common among us, though it may be losing ground somewhat lately. But I do not think that Catholics have at any time been much interested in it compared with some other people. With regard to the next life, we have our faith to instruct us and are not inclined so much as others to ask the spirit-rappers to give us information. But still many Catholics have gone to their meetings, and would have little scruple in going now, just, as they say, from curiosity. They think there is nothing in it; that it is only a more or less clever piece of jugglery. Now, in this they should understand that they are likely to be greatly mistaken. Jugglery and trickery it is sometimes, no doubt; but there is the gravest reason to suspect that in many cases the spirits actually have a hand in the matter. Not, it is true, the spirits of the departed who are invoked, but evil and lying spirits who personate them, and wish by information seeming to come from them to weaken or destroy our belief in the truth of revelation. It is, then, no joking matter, but a very serious and dangerous one, to put one's self in the power and under the influence of these spirits from hell; and this is what one who goes to these spiritual seances, as they are called, may probably do. Remember, then, to have nothing to do with them if you value your immortal soul." Fourth Sunday after Easter Five Minute Sermons by the Paulist Fathers
Resources:
Bishops’ new guidelines condemn Reiki therapy as ‘superstition’ (CNA)
Guidelines for evaluating Reiki and Alternative Therapy (USCCB)
Reiki, not for Catholics. Not now, not ever by Mary Ellen Barrett (Amazing Catechists)
Yoga Isn’t an Exercise, it’s a Spiritual Practice: Why Catholics Shouldn’t Practice Yoga. Jenny Dubay (Missio Dei)
Demonic Possession from Yoga, Reiki, and the New Age with Adam Blai (Divine Intimacy Radio)
Q. Crystal Energy and Healing Stones? My Catholic Life! A journey of personal conversion!
Can Shamanism Be Compatible With Christianity? (Women of Grace)
‘Intergenerational healing’ has no basis in Catholic doctrine, Spanish bishops affirm (World Report)
Superstition! Healing Your Family Tree (Australian theologian, Fr Peter Joseph)
Korean Bishops Condemn 'Family Tree' Healing Practice (2007, UCANews)
