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Homily #100127 ( 09min) Play – St Bernard of Clairvaux preached the second crusade. But, despite the fact that he was able to  perform many miracles to confirm that this was the will of God, the crusade failed resulting in the loss of many Christian soldiers and a setback for Christian control of the Holy Land. Fr. Ignatius points out that it is sometimes God’s will that we be humbled in order to bring about greater virtue.
Ave Maria! St. John Chrysostom, Confessor and Doctor of the Church – Mass: EF, In Medio Ecclesiae – Readings: 1st: 2ti 4:1-8 – Gsp: mat 5:13-19

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Homily #091224 ( 04min) Play – On the Vigil of Christmas (Christmas Eve) Father gives the account of the arrival of the Holy Family in Bethlehem. He notes how they are poor, chaste, docile to the will of God and full of charity. Let us imitate them and contemplate these great events.
Ave Maria! Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord – Mass: EF, Hodie Scietis – Readings: 1st: rom 1:1-6 – Gsp: mat 1:18-21

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Ave Maria Meditations

Mary’s humility

Our Lady teaches us the way of humility. This virtue ­should not be thought of as an essentially negative sense, even though it does involve a denial of one’s pride, a tempering of our ambition and the extinction of our ego­tism and vanity. Our Lady did not experience any of these temptations and yet was blessed with the highest degree of humility.

If we examine the word humility we find it to be derived from the Latin humus, which means earth, soil, or dirt. Humility signifies a recognition of our human origin in the dust of which Adam was made. The virtue of humil­ity, therefore, consists in the living out of a realistic appraisal of our comparative insignificance as creatures who are totally dependent on God. Humility,by inclining us towards the earth, recognizes our littleness, our poverty, and in its way glorifies the majesty of God.  The interior soul experiences a holy joy in annihilating itself, as it were, before God to recognize practically that He alone is great and that, in comparison with His, all human greatness is empty of truth like a lie. This self-abnegation in no way impoverishes the soul. It does not limit the legitimate aspirations of the creature. On the contrary, this virtue works to ennoble the soul, giving it wings on which to explore wider horizons. (more…)

Ave Maria Meditations

A soul united with Jesus can do anything…
Mother Cabrini

We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does it depend on arms and human industries, but on Jesus alone. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (feast day is November 13th)

Inspired by the grace of God, we join the saints in honoring the holy virgin Frances Xavier Cabrini. She was a humble woman who became outstanding not because she was famous or rich or powerful, but because she lived a virtuous life. From the tender years of her youth, she kept her innocence as white as a lily and preserved it carefully with the thorns of penitence; as the years progressed, she was moved by a certain instinct and supernatural zeal to dedicate her whole life to the service and greater glory of God.  It must also be mentioned that Mother Cabrini was a Third Order Franciscan. (more…)

Homily #090904 ( 06min) Play – St. Rose of Viterbo was a 3rd Order Franciscan who preached penance and to follow the will of God.

Ave Maria!  Readings EF – 1st: 2co 10:17-11:2 – Gsp: mat 25:1-13

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Ave Maria!– February’s Theme: The Will of God

“Ready your lips, as the Divine Redeemer did, and still drink with Him the black water of the Cedron, accepting with pious resignation the tribulations and the penance. Cross with Jesus this torrent, suffering the contempt of the world for love of Jesus, with constancy and with courage.”

Ave Maria!– February’s Theme: The Will of God

“The summit of the humiliation of the Lord was in His passion and in His death, in which – submitting Himself with the human will to the Will of His Father – He bore so many torments, until the point of tolerating the most infamous death, the death of the cross. […]. His obedience (and for the nobility of Him Who was obeying, and for the arduousness of the command, and for the spontaneity in giving Himself to such obedience to the Heavenly Father) was so pleasing to the Eternal Father that He exalted Him, ‘giving him a name’ says the apostle ‘which is above all names’”.

Ave Maria!– February’s Theme: The Will of God

“That which God wants from you is always just and good. […]. Let us get to work; in Heaven we will have no other job than to fulfill the Will of God. Let us try to bless the Lord in the humiliations and in the contempt/scorns of which we have been the target. Let us bless Him in the tribulations of our spirit and in the torments of our heart because everything is ordained by God with high counsel, and this in a most singular way and for a special predilection of the Heavenly Father.”

Ave Maria!– February’s Theme: The Will of God

“The Divine Master left us in writing to acknowledge as brothers only those who do the Will of His Father. Well then, do you not perhaps desire and do you not strive with all your strength to unite yourself to the Divine Will? Would you not give your life a thousand times before determining to go against the Will of God? Of this you are certain and you fell it in your heart. Well then, may this be as a rock of comparison to know and to convince yourself that your life is well spent.”

Ave Maria!– February’s Theme: The Will of God

“Certain sorrows are not consoled naturally […]. Therefore, it is necessary to raise oneself higher, to arrive at the beginning and the first cause of our suffering. Now, the cause and beginning of our sufferings is Jesus Whom we have chosen for our portion; He is the health of souls, for whom we have explicitly immolated ourselves to the justice of God. […]. To us then, there remains nothing else than the eternal Will which thus disposes.”

Ave Maria!– February’s Theme: The Will of God

“Let us not lose heart in Divine providence which, alternating in the lives of individuals and of nations…leads to the achievement of our ultimate end. Let us see behind the hand of man, which manifests itself thus, the hand of God which hides itself.”

Ave Maria!– February’s Theme: The Will of God

“We must have a heart that is virile; and as long as we will have our soul firm in the will of serving and loving God, we must not become troubled-neither of weaknesses nor of any other impediment.”

Ave Maria!– February’s Theme: The Will of God

“I desire that by now, our hearts do not live except under the obedience and commandments of the Heart of the Lord […] in this way we will always be sweet, humble, and charitable, because the Heart of our Divine Master has no law more amiable than that of sweetness, humility, and charity.”

Ave Maria!– February’s Theme: The Will of God

“I recommend to you obedience without reasoning to who holds the place of God. The obedient soul, says the Holy Spirit, will sing victory before God. Always esteem yourself a great nothing before the Lord, and always have great veneration for all, but in a special way for those who love God better than you; and rejoice for this, because that love which you are not able to give to God is given to Him by other souls dearer and more faithful to Him.”

Ave Maria!– February’s Theme: The Will of God

“For me, life is unbearable, and I only tolerate it to please the Spouse of souls Who wants it that way, even though-and I do not hide it from you-much violence is needed to make me emit this act of resignation. In certain moments, the strength I must use to force myself to do this act of resignation is such to dislocate all my bones. The desire to be freed to unite myself to Him is a sword that pierces me and has transfixed my heart for some years; it is a flame that is slowly consuming me.”