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Homily #100926 ( 32min) Play – In today’s Gospel we have the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Fr. Bonaventure uses this to emphasize the impossibility of compromising the culture of Christ with that of death. He mentions that many Fathers of the Church call this a factual story and so we should take it very seriously. The rich man’s sin was not so much the indulging in extravagant pleasure but doing so when Lazarus was literally dying from poverty. On the contrary Lazarus went to heaven not so much because he suffered but in his misery did not condemn the rich man but prayed for him. The rich man did not have regard for the unique dignity of his fellow man while Lazarus did. The rich man thus followed the culture of death that lead to eternal death while Lazarus followed the culture of life and entered eternal life. Father relates this to modern forms of this same culture of death.
Ave Maria! 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: amo 6:1, 4-7
Resp: psa 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
2nd: 1ti 6:11-16
Gsp: luk 16:19-31

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Homily #100923 ( 07min) Play – Sorry, the first half of the homily did not get recorded. Today Fr Bonaventure preaches on the life of St Pio of Pietrelcina more commonly known as St. Padre Pio a Capuchin priest who is a modern example of a miracle worker who died in 1968. Father enumerates some of the miraculous events and gifts that Padre Pio had and describes his life as one great miracle since he lived almost a supernatural life. The Franciscans of the Immaculate celebrate this Mass as a Solemnity since he is one of our patron saints.  Fr Stefano, our founder, is a spiritual directee of Padre Pio.
Ave Maria! St. Pio of Pietrelcina – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: deu 10:8-9
2nd: gal 6:15-17
Gsp: joh 19:25-37

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Homily #100911 ( 10min) Play – In today’s Gospel Our Lord gives us the parable of the house built on sand. Fr. Bonaventure preaches on the fact that the true foundation of Rock is, indeed, Christ but more precisely on doing Christ’s will, ‘hears my words and does them’. He then points out how unbiblical is the Protestant doctrine of faith-alone when Our Lord clearly states the need for works. The poor understanding of this foundation explains why they have broken apart into thousands of sects. Father goes further and says that this is the base error of our modern society which builds on a foundation of the seven capital sins.
Ave Maria! Saturday in the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: 1co 10:14-22
Resp: psa 116:12-13, 17-18
Gsp: luk 6:43-49

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Homily #100909 ( 06min) Play – In today’s Gospel Our Lord asks us to give what ever is asked of us. Fr. Bonaventure explains that Our Lord did not mean we should give what is bad for someone’s soul. This is false generosity and is a common form of compromise today. True generosity is concerned with a soul’s salvation.
Ave Maria! Thursday in the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: 1co 8:1-7, 11-13
Resp: psa 139:1-3, 13-14, 23-24
Gsp: luk 6:27-38

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Homily #100905 ( 35 min) Play – In today’s Gospel Our Lord tells us that we must love Him above all things and be well prepared in our engagement with the world. He tells us this in the form of two parables, the building of the tower and the king who contemplates going into battle. Fr. Bonaventure explains this in the context of Catholic action, where our preparation consists in building up our love of, and trust in, God who has forces vastly stronger than the enemy and that action starts with prayer and contemplation and only secondarily with physical action. Father also outlines the many ways that we are in true, open and explicit battle with the modern culture and philosophy, always relating it back to its spiritual nature.
Ave Maria! 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: wis 9:13-18
Resp: psa 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14-17
2nd: phm 1:9-10, 12-17
Gsp: luk 14:25-33

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Homily #100815 ( 18min) Play – Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, body and soul into Heaven and Fr. Bonaventure preaches on the connection between Mary’s prerogatives to the Kingship of Christ and so relates her dignity to his, her Queenship to his Kingship , His Ascension to to her Assumption. All granted by one and the same decree of predestination revealed by Paul in Eph 1:3-10. And given this connection between Mary, the New Eve, and Jesus, the New Adam, Father stresses the connection of upholding the honor of Our Lady with the general defense of Christianity against secularism and atheism.
Ave Maria! Readings:
1: Rev 11:19; 12:1-6,10
R: Ps 45:10-12,16
2: 1 Cor 15:20-27
G: Lk 1:39-56

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Homily #100814 ( 20min) Play – St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Martyr of Charity who gave up his life to save that of another in the Concentration Camp Auschwitz. This is after a life of dedicated service to God by spreading devotion to Mary through the most advanced mass media operation in Poland at the time and the largest such operation of a religious nature in Europe. Fr. Bonaventure explains how important his  ideals are to our modern world and especially for the Franciscans of the Immaculate who take St. Maximilian at their Patron. Catholic Online

Ave Maria! – St. Maximilian Kolbe Mass: OF

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Homily #100802 ( 15min) Play – Today is the feast of the chapel of Our Lady of the Angels also known as the Portiuncula or “Little Portion” and it is there that St Francis took up residence after his conversion and where the Order of Friar Minors first started to grow. Also it was known for being frequented by angels and thus its name. It is one of the three churches that St Francis rebuilt as preparation for his mission from Christ to rebuild the entire Catholic Church in general. So it had a very dear place in St Francis’s heart and he commanded his brothers to never give up possession of it. In fact, he asked his brothers to bring him there when he was dying and there passed from this life to the next.
Ave Maria! Our Lady of the Angels of the Portiuncula – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: sir 24:1-4, 16, 22-34
Resp: psa 34:5, 7, 9-10, 18-19
2nd: gal 4:3-7
Gsp: luk 1:26-33

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Homily #100731 ( 22min) Play – In today’s Gospel Herod has John the Baptist beheaded. Fr. Bonaventure compares the lives John the Baptist with that of Herod. John’s life stands as an ideal that leads to heaven. Herod’s life stands as warning against a life of decadence, spent in frivolous luxury and broken marriage vows which leads to Hell, and so is a most pertinent waring to our modern culture.
Ave Maria! St. Ignatius of Loyola – Saturday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: jer 26:11-16, 24
Resp: psa 69:15-16, 30-31, 33-34
Gsp: mat 14:1-12

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Homily #100730 ( 07min) Play – The world is always looking for high-born messiahs who can give them a good show and so the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus in today’s Gospel because he was low-born, a carpenters son and was one of their fellow townsmen. Let us not seek sensation in religion but seek eternal life.
Ave Maria! St Peter Chrysologus – Friday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: jer 26:1-9
Resp: psa 69:6, 8-10, 14
Gsp: mat 13:54-58

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Homily #100729 ( 09min) Play – In Gospel for the memorial of St Martha Our Lord arrives at the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus after Lazarus dies. Here Martha runs out to greet Our Lord and expresses her great faith in Him to raise up her brother. This shows how much progress she has made since the last visit of Our Lord when He reprimanded her for being too concerned with many things. Let us pray for the grace to progress like Martha.
Ave Maria! Memorial of St Martha – Thursday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: jer 18:1-6
Resp: psa 146:1-2, 2-4, 5-6
Gsp: joh 11:19-27

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Homily #100728 ( 06min) Play – Fr. Bonaventure preaches on the parables of the Kingdom of God, the treasure found in the field and the Pearl of Great Price. To enter the kingdom we must put aside all other concerns and things of lesser value in exchange the one great gift.
Ave Maria! Wednesday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: jer 15:10, 16-21
Resp: psa 59:2-3, 4, 10-11, 17, 18
Gsp: mat 13:44-46

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Homily #100727 ( 07min) Play – Fr. Bonaventure preaches on the parable of the wheat and the tares where Our Lord sows good seed but His enemy sows bad seed by night. Father points out that this is primarily referring to heretical teaching, and those who do not repent of their errors will end in eternal fire on the final judgment.
Ave Maria! Bl. Mary Magdalene of Martinengo – Tuesday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: jer 14:17-22
Resp: psa 79:8, 9, 11, 13
Gsp: mat 13:35-43

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Homily #100716 ( 10min) Play – Today is the feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel which commemorates the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St Simon Stock a Carmelite Monk. During the apparition Our Lady gave St Simon the scapular, an apron-like piece of cloth worn outside of all Carmelites’ habits (and by any lay person who wants to wear it under their clothes) as a sign of their trust in Our Lady’s intercession. Father explains the symbolism of the scapular and the importance of Marian apparitions and devotions for upholding Christian doctrine and devotion.
Ave Maria! – Mass: – Readings:
Genesis 3:9-15, 20
First Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8
Luke 2:27-35

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Homily #100715 ( 11min) Play – Today is the Feast day of St. Bonaventure and Fr. Angelo preaches on how St Bonaventure combined true sanctity and high education and so he became the Seraphic Doctor in the footsteps of his spiritual father, St. Francis, the seraphic saint. St Bonaventure focused on the importance of the will in theology as opposed to St Thomas who focused on the intellect. He also worked to ‘refound’ the order when it was in danger of splitting.
Ave Maria! St. Bonaventure – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: wis 8:2-7, 16-18
Resp: psa 16:5-5, 7-8, 9, 11
2nd: 1co 2:6-13
Gsp: mat 5:13-19

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