Homily #090131 ( 09min) Play – Fr. Angelo Geiger preaches on the life of St John Bosco and how he started the Salesian Order that reformed many street children to be good Catholics and citizens and did so with minimal discipline but with religion, reason and maximum kindness.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
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ST. LOUIS–MARIE GRIGNION DE MONTFORT

1673 – 1716
Feast:April 28

PRAYER TO JESUS:  O most loving Jesus, deign to let me pour forth my gratitude before Thee, for the grace Thou hast bestowed upon me in giving me to Thy holy Mother through the devotion of Holy Bondage, that she may be my advocate in the presence of Thy majesty and my support in my extreme misery.

Alas, O Lord! I am so wretched that without this dear Mother I should be certainly lost. Yes, Mary is necessary for me at Thy side and everywhere that she may appease Thy just wrath, because I have so often offended Thee; that she may save me from the eternal punishment of Thy justice, which I deserve; that she may contemplate Thee, speak to Thee, pray to Thee, approach Thee and please Thee; that she may help me to save my soul and the souls of others; in short, Mary is necessary for me that I may always do Thy holy will and seek Thy greater glory in all things.

Ah, would that I could proclaim throughout the whole world the mercy that Thou hast shown to me ! Would that everyone might know I should be already damned, were it not for Mary! Would that I might offer worthy thanksgiving for so great a blessing! Mary is in me. Oh, what a treasure! Oh, what a consolation! And shall I not be entirely hers? Oh, what ingratitude!

My dear Savior, send me death rather than such a calamity, for I would rather die than live without belonging entirely to Mary. With St. John the Evangelist at the foot of the Cross, I have taken her a thousand times for my own and as many times have given myself to her; but if I have not yet done it as Thou, dear Jesus, dost wish, I now renew this offering as Thou dost desire me to renew it. And if Thou seest in my soul or my body anything that does not belong to this august princess, I pray Thee to take it and cast it far from me, for whatever in me does not belong to Mary is unworthy of Thee.

O Holy Spirit, grant me all these graces. Plant in my soul the Tree of true Life, which is Mary; cultivate it and tend it so that it may grow and blossom and bring forth the fruit of life in abundance. O Holy Spirit, give me great devotion to Mary, Thy faithful spouse; give me great confidence in her maternal heart and an abiding refuge in her mercy, so that by her Thou mayest truly form in me Jesus Christ, great and mighty, unto the fullness of His perfect age. Amen.

THE PRACTICES OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION (from a letter to the Friends of the Cross)

Christian holiness consists in this: Resolving to become a saint: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine;”2. Self-denial: “Let him renounce himself;”3. Suffering: “Let him take up his cross;”4. Acting: “Let him follow me.”

A. If anyone wants to follow me

If anyone,” says our Lord, to point out the small number of chosen ones willing to conform themselves to Christ crucified by carrying their cross. Their number is so small that we would be dumbfounded if we knew it.

It is so small that there is scarcely one in ten thousand, as has been revealed to several saints, including St. Simon Stylites (as is related by Abbot Nilus), St. Basil, St. Ephrem and others. It is so small that, should it please God to gather them together, he would have to call them one by one as he did of old through his prophet, “You will be gathered one by one;” one from this country, one from that province.

“If anyone wants,” if anyone has a genuine desire, a determination, not prompted by nature, habit, self-love, self-interest, or human respect, but by the all-conquering grace of the Holy Spirit, which is not given to everyone. “It is not given to all men to know this mystery.”

In fact, only a few people have the knowledge of how to live out the mystery of the Cross in daily life. For a man to climb Mount Calvary and allow himself to be nailed to the cross with Christ in the midst of his own people, he must be courageous, heroic, resolute; one who is close to God, and treats with indifference the world and the devil, his own body and his own desires; one who is determined to leave all things, to undertake all things, and to suffer all things for Christ.

You must realise, my dear Friends of the Cross, that should there be anyone among you without this determination, he is only walking on one foot, flying with one wing. He is not worthy to be one of your company, since he is not worthy to be called a Friend of the Cross, which we must, like Jesus, love “with a generous mind and a willing heart.”

It only needs one half-hearted member to spoil the whole group, like a mangy sheep. If such a one has entered your fold through the evil door of the world, then in the name of Christ crucified drive him out as you would a wolf from the flock.

“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine.” If anyone wants to follow me who so humbled and emptied myself that I became a worm rather than a man; who came into the world only to embrace the Cross, to set it in my heart, to love it from my youth, to long for it all the days of my life, to carry it joyfully, preferring it to all the joys and delights that heaven and earth could offer, and not being content till I had died in its divine embrace.

B. Let him renounce himself

If anyone, therefore, wants to follow me thus abased and crucified, he must glory, as I did, only in the poverty, humiliations and sufferings of my Cross. “Let him renounce himself.”

Excluded, then, from the company of the Friends of the Cross are those who take pride in their sufferings; the worldly-wise, the intellectuals and the skeptics who are attached to their own ideas and puffed up with their own talents. Away from you those endless talkers who make a great show but produce nothing but vanity. Away from you those so- called devout Catholics who in their pride display the self-sufficiency of proud Lucifer wherever they go, saying, “I am not like the rest of men;” who cannot endure being blamed without making some excuse, being attacked without answering back, being humbled without exalting themselves.

Be careful not to admit into your society those delicate and sensitive people who are afraid of the slightest pin- prick, who cry out and complain at the least pain, who know nothing of the hair- shirt, the discipline or other instruments of penance, and who mingle, with their fashionable devotions, a most refined fastidiousness and a most studied lack of mortification.

C. Let him take up his cross

“Let him take up his cross,” the one that is his. Let that man (or woman) so rare “far beyond the price of pearls,” take up his cross joyfully, embrace it lovingly, and carry it courageously on his shoulders, his own cross, and not that of another – his own cross which I, in my wisdom, designed for him in every detail of number, measure and weight; his own cross which I have fashioned with my own hands and with great exactness as regards its four dimensions of length, breadth, thickness and depth; his own cross, which out of love for him I have carved from a piece of the one I bore to Calvary; his own cross, which is the greatest gift I can bestow upon my chosen ones on earth; his own cross, whose thickness is made up of the loss of one’s possessions, humiliations, contempt, sufferings, illnesses and spiritual trials, which come to him daily till his death in accordance with my providence; his own cross, whose length consists of a certain period of days or months enduring slander, or lying on a sick-bed, or being forced to beg, or suffering from temptations, dryness, desolation, and other interior trials; his own cross, whose breadth is made up of the most harsh and bitter circumstances brought about by relatives, friends, servants; his own cross, whose depth is made up of the hidden trials I shall inflict on him without his being able to find any comfort from other people, for they also, under my guidance, will turn away from him and join with me in making him suffer.

“Let him take up,” that is, let him carry his cross and not drag it, or shake it off, or lighten it, or hide it. Instead, let him lift it on high and carry it without impatience or annoyance, without intentional complaint or grumbling, without hesitation or concealment, without shame or human respect.

“Let him take it up” and set it on his brow, saying with St. Paul, “The only thing I can boast about is the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Let him carry it on his shoulders like our Lord, that it may become the source of his victories and the sceptre of his power: “Dominion is laid upon his shoulders.”

Let him set it in his heart, where it may, like the burning bush of Moses, burn day and night with the pure love of God without being consumed!

“The cross”: let him carry it, for nothing is so necessary, so beneficial, so agreeable, or so glorious as to suffer something for Jesus Christ.

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Standing Fast #29 – Fr. Angelo speaks to the Teenagers ( 20min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Fr. Angelo gives a talk on chivalry to the older kids (12 and up) at the Knights of Lepanto Encampment, covering what chivalry meant popularly in Medieval times, what it has come to mean popularly today and the truly noble meaning it acquired with St Francis and how we need to live this noble and saintly chivalry today.

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #100530 ( 26min) Play – For Holy Trinity Sunday and the closing Mass for the Knights of Lepanto Father-Son Encampment, Fr Angelo preaches on how the Trinity is three Persons and yet united as if it where and Army, working as one for the salvation of all men. He stresses the need to acknowledge that the Second Person of the Trinity became man to win our salvation and so enable the Holy Trinity to dwell within us. Our hearts then become the divine fortress of the Trinity and this forms the base to sally forth and practice the virtues, especially charity.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
1: Prov 8:22-31
R: Ps 8:4-9
2: Rom 5:1-5
G: Jn 16:12-15

Audio (MP3)

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Conferences #131 – Type the Caption here ( 06min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Master Sargent Mike Cutone gives his conference on Catholic Leadership going through the acronym L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P. as he has outlined in his book Catholics Lead the Way. In this segment he is on “D” for “Discipline”. Develop a disciplined prayer life to prepare yourself for spiritual battle. Jesus gives an example of discipline through His own prayer life and through His obedience to the Father’s will.

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #120224 ( 10min) Play– Our motive of fasting is to do penance but we have to make room in our hearts for God. It is only God who can satisfy us – as we decide on how to  fast we should pray to Our Lady what will be pleasing to God and to seek advise from a Spiritual Director.

Ave Maria!
Mass: Ordinary Form – Friday after Ash Wednesday
Readings
1st Reading: Isaiah 58:1-9
Responsorial Psalm: 51:3-4, 5-6, 18-19
Gospel: Matthew 9:14-15

Audio (MP3)

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The post Feb 24 – Homily – Fr Angelo: The Spiritual Discipline of Fasting first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #130206 ( 06min) Play – Fr. Dominic explains how God disciplines those He loves to strengthen and encourage them on their path to virtue and lives of perfection. Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Paul Miki and companions – Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Wednesday 4th Week of Ordinary Time
1st: heb 12:4-7, 11-15
Resp: psa 103:1-2, 13-14, 17-18
Gsp: mar 6:1-6

Audio (MP3)

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The post Feb 06 – Homily – Fr Dominic: God Disciplines Those He Loves first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #130807 ( 06min) Play – Fr. Ignatius tells us of St. Cajetan’s zeal for ecclesiastical discipline and the divine worship, and how he is both an example and intercessor for us.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Cajetan, Confessor – 3rd Cl – Form: EF, Os Iusti
Readings: 
1st: sir 31:8-11
Gsp: mat 6:24-33

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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The post Dec 08 – Homily – Fr Maximilian: Mortify and Discipline Yourself OR How to Be Happy and Have Peace first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #140609b ( 12min) Play – Fr. John Joseph on the Beatitudes in the Gospel today. He focuses on the 8th beatitude, blessed are those who suffer persecution and he relates this to discipline and how justice and mercy can coincide.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Monday 10th Week of Ordinary Time – Wkdy – Form: OF
Readings: 
1st: 1ki 17:1-7
Resp: psa 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
Gsp: mat 5:1-12

Audio (MP3)

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The post Jun 09 – Homily – Fr John Joseph: Justice and Mercy first appeared on AirMaria.com.