Homily #130212 ( 12min) Play –

Fr. George reminds us today that if we do not keep the commandments of God, our worship is in vain. Lent, which starts tomorrow, is a time for us to repent and do penance for sins. Many people follow a tradition of giving up coffee, candy, or the like. This is good, but not if such sacrifices replace the primary purpose of Lent which is repenting from our sins and doing penance for them and for the sins of others.

Ave Maria!

Mass: Tuesday 5th Week of Ordinary Time – Wkdy – Form: OF
Readings: 
1st: gen 1:20-2:4
Resp: psa 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Gsp: mar 7:1-13

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #130215 ( 05min) Play –

Fr. Ignatius preaches over today’s lesson and points out that if we approach Lenten penance without interior conversion and in a self-willed manner then our fasting is in vain. Instead, let us accompany our fasting with interior conversion and works of justice, for then our prayers shall be heard and we will reap the rewards of this season.

Ave Maria!

Mass: Friday after Ash Wednesday – Ferial – Form: EF, Audivit Dominus

Commemoration of Sts. Faustinus and Jovita 

Readings: 

1st: isa 58:1-9

Gsp: mat 5:43-48, 6:1-4

Audio (MP3)

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Variety #228 – The First Station ( 01min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

PRACTICE TEST: Canon 5D, After Effects, Slow Motion, Snow Flakes

Ave Maria!

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The story of the approved apparition of Our Lady of Laus: http://www.apparitions-of-our-lady.com/our-lady-of-laus.html

Mary revealed herself in Laus as the reconciler and refuge of sinners,  and therefore she offered signs to convince them of the need to repent.   She told Benedicta that the oil from the sanctuary lamp would work  miracles with the infirm if they received the anointing with faith in  her intercession.

Our Lady of Laus, Refuge of Sinners, look down with kindness and compassion upon the physical and moral miseries of our age! Have mercy on thy children and deign to convert us all entirely to the love of thy Divine Son!

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“I never reject a contrite heart.” (Diary of St. Faustina #1485)

 (Isaiah 1:18):  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

 (Luke 7:47): “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

There is no limit to God’s mercy. He never rejects us because of our sins, He never grows weary of our infidelities, never refuses to forgive us. He is always ready to forgive our offenses and to repay our ingratitude with graces. He never reproaches us for our offenses, even when we fall again immediately after being forgiven. He is never angered by our repeated failures or weakness in the practice of virtue, but always stretches out His hand to us, wanting to help us. When men condemn us, God shows mercy to us; He absolves us and sends us away justified, as Jesus did with the woman taken in adultery. “Go, and now sin no more”(Jn.8:11). By His words and example, Jesus has shown us the inexhaustible depths of God’s mercy. Let us think of the prodigal son, the lost sheep, Magdalene, and the good thief. But He has also said to us: “Be ye therefore merciful, as Your Father also is merciful” (Lk.6:36).

How far does our mercy go? How much compassion do we have for the faults of others? The measure of our mercy toward our neighbor will be the measure of God’s mercy toward us, for Jesus said, “With what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Mt. 7:2) God does not require us to be sinless but that He may shower upon us the fullness of His mercy, but He does require us to be merciful to our neighbor, and moreover, to be humble.

In fact to be sinners is not enough to attract divine mercy; we must also humbly acknowledge our sins and turn to God with complete confidence. “What pleases God,” said St. Therese of Lisieux, ” is to see me love my littleness and poverty; it is the blind hope I have in His mercy. This is my sole treasure.” This is the treasure which supplies for all our miseries, weaknesses, relapses and infidelities, because by means of this humility and confidence we shall obtain the divine Mercy. And with this at our disposal, how can our wretchedness discourage us?

PRAYER TO SAINT MARY MAGDALENE

Saint Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who by conversion became the beloved of Jesus, thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of love. You, who already possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that some day I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen

+Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene (Divine Intimacy)

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A Day With Mary #97 – ( 21 min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Fr. Andre speaks on Our Lady during the “Day With Mary” held at Santa Clara Parish in Bentley, Western Australia on 5 October 2013.

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #131208n ( 17min) Play – Fr. Maximilian joins his voice with St. John the Baptist and call us to repent and make straight the way of the Lord. In order to call us to repentance, God will allow us to suffer various evils in order to wake us up to the sin in our lives. If we want to be happy and have peace of soul, he shows us, we must come before the Lord and ask to be able to see our sins, and once we see them, to mortify, discipline, and correct them. And let us do this now, for “Already the ax has been put to the root of the trees, so that every tree which does not shew good fruit will be hewn down and cast into the fire.”
Ave Maria!
Mass: 2nd Sunday of Advent – Sunday – Form: OF
Readings: 
1st: isa 11:1-10
Resp: psa 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
2nd: rom 15:4-9
Gsp: mat 3:1-12

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #131214n ( 05min) Play – Today’s gospel shows that Elijah was supposed to return before the Messiah, and Our Lord tells us that this prophesy was fulfilled by John the Baptist. This reference to Elijah is providential because today is the memorial of St. John of the Cross, a Carmelite, and the Carmelites claim Elijah as their founder. Elijah, St. John the Baptist, St. John of the Cross, and Our Lord Himself all tell us the same thing—authentic Love of God is always accompanied by much prayer, much sacrifice, and much mortification, but once we have come into the presence of God, we will never desire anything else.

Ave Maria!
Mass: St. John of the Cross – Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Saturday in the 2nd Week in Advent
1st: sir 48:1-4, 9-11
Resp: psa 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
Gsp: mat 17:10-13

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #140201n ( 13min) Play – Fr. Louis Maximilian shows that King David’s repentance after the adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah is an example of the need for repentance, and also that sin incurs punishment, even when it is forgiven. Father ties this in with the message of Fatima and the Five First Saturdays and highlights the need for us to repent from all of our sins, venial and mortal. One of the results of sin is spiritual blindness, and the First Saturdays are a lifeline to bring us to acknowledge our sins, and then to do penance for them. Finally, he reminds us that God doesn’t do “damage control”, but heals. Let us ask Our Lady for the strength to bear , crying out with David, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.”
Ave Maria!
Mass: Saturday 3rd Week of Ordinary Time – Wkdy – Form: OF
Readings: 
1st: 2sa 12:1-7, 10-17
Resp: psa 51:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
Gsp: mar 4:35-41

Audio (MP3)

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I had just placed ashes on his head. I was looking at him – with his dirty forehead lying there on the white sheets of the hospital bed – when he said, “Father can I ask you a question?”

“Yes,”, I replied, realizing full well there was an ashen cross on this sinner’s forehead too.

Then he asked: “Why do I need Lent?”

I thought for a moment and answered: “Lent confronts the horror of my sin before the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who knew no sin (See 2 Cor. 5:21). Without coming to grips with my sin, I can’t see how much I need God’s love. I need to see His love for me in the cross of Christ and the glory of Easter.”

Sins really do matter. We deceive ourselves into thinking we are not really that bad compared to everyone else – God is not really concerned about my little sins. We have an eternal soul and Lent is a mini-purgatory. In purgatory the soul stands before God Almighty, helpless, stripped, naked just like the Lord has always seen us. We can’t dress up our sin to hide it from God. We stand like our Lord Jesus stripped of His garments before He was nailed to the cross.

Every pain in purgatory points to His cross and our failure to see our need of accepting Christ’s pardon of our sins. Purgatory will not let us go until we discover how Jesus wants us to love Him. Our sins nailed Christ to the cross and His love for our souls held Him there.

The Way of the Pilgrim, a work by an unknown Christian, has this prayer: “Lord, make me worthy to love you as I have loved sin in the past”, and then the pains of purgatory will become the joyous peace of Easter. 

Fr. J.B.

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