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Our priest, in making comment about the Supreme Court decisions this week, talked about how the country has lost its moral compass. It was a really good homily.
One point that he made was about outsourcing.
For context, he is a Syro-Malankara priest who is bi-ritual, so he is serving in a Latin parish. He just returned from a vacation back home in India a couple of weeks ago. He noted that he saw an incredible number of infertility clinics there (far, far more than he’d seen before). He asked a friend of his why all of these clinics have opened up recently, and his friend tells him that local women serve as surrogate mothers for wealthy women from the west.
Apparently, not only are surrogate mothers becoming popular for infertile couples, they are also becoming popular for women who want a child but who don’t want their bodies messed up by being pregnant.
His memorable rant from this: “We outsource hardware to China. We outsource software to India. Now, we are outsourcing wombs! Why? Because it’s cheaper to have a surrogate mother from a poor country than from our own!”
Think about it: children have been denigrated to being property for so long that now, now it is simply a matter of acquisition…including a child that shares the DNA of both the mother and the father.
May God have mercy on us all.
Our priest delivered a hum-dinger of a homily. Starting with the lectionary readings, he pointed out that Jesus requires a 100% commitment from us. He then eviscerated the Supreme Court ruling, and pointed out that several of the Justices who voted for it claim Catholic identity. He then challenged all of us about what level of commitment we were prepared to make to Jesus Christ. It was a barn burner.
We had a number of seminarians in church this morning. The local Large Catholic University sponsors a summer program for seminarians, and most of them show up for the high mass at the cathedral. I was glad they were there to hear this.
When Father P. shows up at your mountain hide-out, trying to avoid the pursuivants, please take him in.
Our Priest made a bit of a joke about Joseph Stallon or something, I don’t really pay attention to the jokes, but then went on to give quite a fiery sermon on the Scottish Government and their ridiculous efforts to try and legalise so-called “gay marriage” as they prepare to pass the bill. He also then went on to criticise the Health Minister of the UK government’s outrageous comment about stem-cell research when we said “It’s just a bit like replacing the battery-pack on a child”. Sad times when a human being says that. Sad.
Anyways, he went on with hope and inspiration. Telling us to remain ever-faithful to Church teaching and tradition. Telling us to reason with it, to find out exactly why we support this, and are against that. He made a great emphasis on the whole “Fides et Ratio” theological idea and told us that we can grow closer to Christ and his Church if we strive to increase our knowledge. He then finished off by saying, “but if you want to find out more about the Human DNA structure… don’t go killing human beings in the process.”
Our Priest, he’s a good man, his sermons vary from time to time, but today he did an excellent job at the Ambo. Deo Gratias!
We had a really good one! Father spoke about how Vatican II made the Church’s teaching on marriage (purposely) vague. He said a loose interpretation was encouraged in seminary. Where before the Church taught that marriage was for procreation, post-Vatican II the emphasis was on spouses “helping each other”. It’s no wonder then that so many people, including many Catholics, don’t think it’s essential for marriage to be between one man and one woman.
He also spoke about how homosexuals have an immense cross to bear, and that we should help them and love them. If we help them live according to the Catholic Church’s teaching, we are truly loving them, moreso than anyone else who claims to.
It was SO refreshing hearing a good sermon! I was actually a little frustrated that a kid was fussing in the crying room and I was struggling to hear. I’m not used to sermons that I don’t want to miss.
We can come in touch with God’s divine revelation if we have a strong prayer life, receive the sacraments and thoughtfully read scripture daily.
And the Catholic Church is the one true Faith and Religion.
Father’s sermon was much briefer than usual, because he is feeling poorly. He summarized what he had intended to say by quoting the Gospel. Since it is the External Solemnity of our patronal feast (Our Mother of Perpetual Help) the Gospel concluded “and from that hour, the disciple took her into his own.” Father advised us to do likewise.
Jesus has the power to forgive sins, and we could be the instrument that brings people to the Catholic Church…good sermon…
We had a newly ordained permanent deacon preach this morning.
Spoke well of listening to the call of Christ as well as ignoring it. Very nice vocation story.
The other mass i went to the priest spoke on the excuses we give as to why we don’t listen to God’s call. It was this priest’s last mass at our parish and like Pope Francis on his firs appearance, Father asked all of us to pray for him and give him our blessing before he gave the final blessing of the mass.
I finally have understood this Gospel. Luke 9: 51-62 Why can’t we bury our dead? Why can’t we say “goodbye” to loved ones? All explanations were too abstract for me. However, today, Father told us the story of a lighthouse keeper that was given an allotment of oil to run the light, every month. One month, a neighbor begged for some oil because they ran out and had elderly parents living with them, who needed to keep warm. So he gave them some of his oil. Another neighbor needed oil to keep his newborn warm. These were all excellent reasons and any good Christian would help another. Since the lighthouse keeper gave away some of his oil, he ran out before the end of the month. A ship was wrecked against the rocks and a hundred sailors lost their lives. The lighthouse keeper was arrested and brought to court and found guilty in the death of those 100 sailors. Although he meant well, by helping his neighbors, it was a bad choice. Both the lighthouse and the neighbors’ needs are good. However, the lighthouse keeper chose the lesser good.
The devil was actually mentioned. WOW!! Caught me by surprise.
Newly ordained FSSP Priest (June 1) invited by the bishop of Harrisburg (before his untimely demise a few weeks ago) to celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form at the reenactment commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. If this is the quality of young men…wow. I’m all over that. Received his blessing, had a chance to kiss his hands…anyway…talked about the Mass as not something that we do for God, but something that God does for us, through the efficacious (yes, he used that word) and ineffable (that one too) sacrifice of His Only Son. Talked about the necessity of confession, and how ‘participatio actuosa’ doesn’t NOT (but we knew that…) translate accurately as ‘actively participating and running around’ (I was thinking he’s a reader of your blog…:)) but as ‘actual participation’ in uniting our prayers with those of the priest who is praying, on our behalf to the Father.
It was hot, muggy, but, to see 150 mixed grey and blue troops, on their knees, at 8:30AM on a summer Sunday in Gettysburg at an Extraordinary Form Mass…Thank you, papa emeritus Benedict. Never would have thought it possible 10 years ago.
(And, my side lost today at Longstreet’s Assault. Oh well, we’ll do better next time)
I attended Hearts on Fire, a weekend retreat with the tagline “Living Faith in Daily Life with the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. These were – *gasp* Really Good young Jesuits. (And I whole-heartedly recommend the retreat to any young adults that get the chance to attend) After just over a day of giving us the basis of Ignatian spirituality, we ended with Mass. Father used the old painting of the Angelus to remind us to bring our Faith into every aspect of our lives, and reminded us that after a retreat we have to go back into the world and put into practice what God gave us during the time there.
“The early church was a church of martyrs, ala St. Peter and St. Paul. They died for the faith when the state tried to force them to do immoral things. Be prepared to do the same when they come knocking on your door.”
Awesome stuff!
We had our typical Protestant sermon again today. Laws and rules are only guidelines! All the we need is love!
We had a visiting priest, as ours is in Rome. He has filled in for Father before, so I wasn’t surprised that his sermon was good, but it was FANTASTIC. He’s a fairly young man, and I’m sure it wasn’t an easy one for him to give, but he gave it solidly and kindly. He told us about what Jesus had to say and what the Catechism and the Code of Canon Law has to say about marriage, and how we can never equate same sex relationships to marriage, based on moral and natural law…the complementarity of man and woman…the ordering of marriage for the good of both husband and wife, but also for the creation and raising of children…the right of children to a father and mother…that even though it is unpopular it is the truth and we must profess it. That telling the truth is the greatest charity.
God bless him.
In his Angelus address today, Francis said:
Today was the last day for our parish (or parishes, rather) pastor, who has been ordered to take a medical sabbatical due to suffering two heart attacks within the past two years. A lawyer by trade before answering the call to be ordained (eventually making it all the way to Monsignor, and I could tell by the cassock and piping he was wearing under his vestments to prove it, though not today), he’s always had a very metered tone and comes across as very methodical when delivering his homilies.
As usual, today was no different. He focused on the central theme of today’s readings, that of giving things up and letting things go to follow God. Msgr. started off with an anecdote (as he often does), this one involving capturing capuchin monkeys in the wild by hanging boxes on trees and filling them with nuts. The monkeys become trapped when they try to get the nuts out of the box because the hole their hand goes in is too small when it grasps one. Such as it is with the things in our life that we cling to that puts us in a similar position when dealing with our faith. Msgr. then brought up a good point: as it happens with any transition in a parish’s leadership, certain members will tend to bring up old grudges with the new pastor and/or parochial vicar with the expectation that something will be done about them because there is change being instituted in the parish. His answer was very simple: just let it go, and move ahead.
I turned to my wife and said to her, “I wonder who THAT was intended for…”
If you have to call me, the answer is no.
unfortunately i have Ménière’s disease and spend 99.9% of time home bound(except when husband and i make it to our front deck).I could only comment on Pope Francis Sermon. I do want to mention good advice from Fr Z; that could count as a sermon. He talked me into going to confession. It was difficult but worth every min. I saw the inside of our beautiful church again.Took my breathe away. After Father granted absolution he said,”you’re as pure as the day you were baptized.’ You always know the healing grace of confession but those words really brought it home. A life changing event again. The good news is that the Eucharistic ministers bring communion on the first Friday of every month :) thank you Father Z. I did hear a good sermon of Fr Menedez on EWTN. In fact it is on again so I am going to watch again. One quote from him stuck. Basically don’t do anything during the day that you could not give back to God at the end of the day.
I am in the Diocese of Lansing, Mich. One thing father has repeated the last few days, speaking to the recent Supreme Court rulings, is “We live in exciting times.” He is not being cavalier or sarcastic but saying it in a “bring it on” sort of way by also reminding us not to be afraid or despair, and that it is in periods of challenge and struggle that the Church is strengthened. He asked us to pray for courage for him, and ourselves, to continue to speak the truth in charity.
He then spoke on the second reading, Paul’s letter about freedom. He explained that God loves freedom and freedom is what makes it possible to love. But we have to use our freedom to do what we ought, not necessarily what we want. And why don’t we want to do what we ought? Well, father reminded us this is part of the consequence of original sin and something St. Paul specifically wrote about. He said it (loss of freedom) stems from listening to and trusting the father of lies rather than trusting God the father. He reminded us of the slavery of sin and the tactic of the devil to first tell us the sin was no big deal, then tell us how awful we are after we commit it. He encouraged us, if we sin, not to listen to the lie that encourages us to despair or self-hatred, but rather to shout for Abba – our Father – for help. God knows we are weak and can’t live on our own, and wants us to come to Him to seek forgiveness and strength. One thing he said that stuck with me was that Jesus got beat up for us, we don’t need to beat ourselves up. Rather, we need to repent and rely on God in order to be free as God intends.
It’s “that time of year” again, thus we got the talk on modesty from our priest (FSSP). It was long…almost 30 minutes, but it was actually pretty good. I will try to be brief, but this was one of the best sermons on modesty I’ve heard, and I’m sure many people could benefit.
-We’re all members of the fallen human race, and as such are subject to original sin
-Men have a strong disposition to sins against purity
-Modesty is a virtue which protects us from sins against purity
-We have an obligation to our neighbor, thus we can’t do as we please. If we do, it has endangered the salvation of one’s soul
-Acts which put the souls of others at risk are acts of scandal. God forbids them because of love of our neighbor
-We have to be cautious around the ordinary, and extraordinarily cautious around the weak
From thence onward he went over the cliché writings of Popes Pius the XI and XII with regards to modesty including the following four standards:
1) Tops are to not to be more than two finger widths below the pit of the throat. If someone can see cleavage, it’s too low
2) Quarter length sleeves on tops are tolerated, sleeveless shirts/dresses are not tolerated (Still waiting for this to be enforced at weddings…)
3) Skirts/Dresses must go from and beneath the knees – Men have “goo-goo eyes” and will look. That’s what they’re designed to do
4) See-through material is improper
Also:
“Spray-on pants and shirts” etc, (ie: tight clothing) are not appropriate. Men see it as painted on clothing and you might as well not be wearing any clothes at all because it doesn’t hide anything
At this point he transitioned into discussing the “Liturgical Police” with a story about someone whom he had gone to seminary with who had a sister who had left the Church and had become quite wordly. She became interested in the TLM and decided to attend one. When she got into the door of the church, the “Liturgical Police” told her, “YOU CAN’T COME IN THE CHURCH DRESSED WITH THOSE PANTS ON! HOW DARE YOU! GET OUT OF HERE!” and she never came back inside another church. He emphasized that the same thing happens in our parish (I mean emphasize as a euphemism. Our priest doesn’t mince words or dance around things).
He further went on to emphasize that those who stand up and chase after the ones whom they consider improperly dressed, “YOU are the ones who will stand before God as well if they lose their soul because you booted them out of church.”
He told us thank God when people come into church, even if they’re improperly dressed in what the world considers normal and pray for them, but don’t attack them. We don’t have the right aside from mothers and fathers with their own children, but we aren’t to go hunting other people.
He also reminded us to think about what other people think of “Latin Mass People” and how they see us all as Pharisees, going around telling people what they can and cannot do, meanwhile doing it themselves.
Finally, he closed by reminding us that people will follow holiness, but they won’t follow words. If they see you living and holy life, they’ll want to be like that, but if they hear you tell them what to do, they won’t listen.
We got a real stemwinder of a sermon on how fat, dumb, and lazy we as citizens and Catholics have been to allow the sickening decline of our culture and our country. Not that it’s news, but I suspect something made our pastor look into the abyss–and the abyss looked right back at him.
It might have been a seminal moment. I hope.
Our priest started by saying he had planned to talk about Peter and Paul and the papacy, but then the Supreme Court acted and he could not remain silent on it. What followed was a tour de force of the Church Militant! He made a number of points: Catholics were involved in this – poorly catechized or poor leadership of church leaders; connect the dots – divorce, Catholicism not emphasizing the purpose of children from marriage, contraception, abortion, we could see this coming. Our government and media are promoting. Now we are here and it is accelerating. Will not be easy for the future. Material comforts will suffer. Must live our Catholic faith publicly. Sign of the cross when eating out. Speaking up. Expect difficulties. Fight the good fight.
This was sobering but I am glad he spoke in this manner.
I just heard one of the best sermons ever today on the Feast of Peter and Paul, which is a holy day of obligation moved to the Sunday today. Father Dominic Rolls talked about Catholic identity through the Church’s apostolic succession. His sermon revolved around the fact that being Catholic was the unity we all have with Christ through, His Church and through the protection which the Church has given us concerning Scripture, and us not being a religion of sola Scriptura or sola Fide. Father remarked that being a Catholic is not creating your religion, but entering into the mystery of the Church which Christ established through Peter. Bravo, Father Dominic
In my homily, I attempted to develop a theme, based mostly on the severe comments of James and John, and the Lord’s rebuke. Namely, the way the apostles’ values were, to their surprise and dismay, at odds with our Lord’s. from there I explored current examples of this; first, the “ends justifies the means” approach on war and torture etc., and second, the question of marriage and family, which entails elevating “choice” over truth.
An excellent sermon by a recently ordained priest at Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Of the Supreme Court rulings this week, we have our work cut out for us and we must roll up our sleeves and get to work. Do not be discouraged if we are called names for blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of the Gospel. Being called a name is very little to endure compared with Saints Peter and Paul who went to the point of shedding blood for the Holy Name.
We had a brief “Thank God for the Papacy”, for the feast.
Then another excellent homily on Love as self-giving and self-forgetfulness, the only true way to happiness in this life. The self-concerned person is never at ease and always fearful. Thus he strives to be in control of everything in his life. Since this is impossible, he is doomed to frustration.
Fr’s challenge: spend 15 minutes a day (30 is better) for a month in meditation on the Blessed Sacrament, wherever you can manage. Don’t ask for anything, just think about Jesus present on our altars and the Love that puts Him there.
Our pastor at an Institute of Christ The King parish did mention the SCOTUS decision this past week. Then proceeded to continue his refresher course on the Mass in the Extraordinary Form (TLM).
I think this was the first time in my life I actually took notes during a sermon! Absolutely loved learning more about the TLM and how it all works. What a blessing to be able to pray the TLM each week.
@mamajen – The sermon you heard this weekend sounded great. I would have loved to have been there to hear it.
I heard Elisha accepted his vocation with zeal, just like we should today.
I was out of town so went to Mass knowing nothing about the parish or its priest. His homily was about following Jesus, first about those who wanted to say goodbye to family, bury father, etc., then about Elisha’s all-in commitment of burning his equipment and throwing a party, feeding everyone with his oxen. He also called James and John bigots for wanting to call down fire from heaven to smite those who had rejected the Lord. His final advice, after Mass was that if you go forth on the fourth with a fifth, don’t go forth on the fifth. He had also opened with a joke, which is not a style to which I’m accustomed at Mass.
We had an excellent visiting priest, who does not normally say Mass with a lay congregation. Withing five seconds, he said “One can not claim to be Christian on one hand and be cohabitation, supporting abortion, or supporting so-called same sex “marriage” on the other.” Jaws DROPPED. Afterward, most I talked to were impressed that he’d mentioned the ‘big bad three’ and one parishioner said “I’m glad he doesn’t have to worry about the spigot getting turned off, he can give a non wishy washy homily”.
Best line: “A divided heart is a restless heart. We will be restless until we abandon everything for Christ.”
I can’t tell if the sermon was good, but it sure was amusing. Vigil mass was said by a retired Polish priest who has a heavy accent and doesn’t write his sermons himself, which is very evident to us who are natives speakers here (in Scandinavia.)
Anyway. He began the sermon with “Deer brahthehrs ahnd seehstehrs. Deer brahthehrs.” [?!?] Later he he managed to tell us, that “the Christiahns wehre parboiled”! After quite some thinking, I came to the conclusion, that he meant *persecuted* (he skipped a consonant, changed a vowel and mixed up v and f.)
Mass in Latin, Pleeease!
at this point my
My priest brought up the many bad things happening in/to our nation. He stated that may might have a desire to turn toward violence, campaigns, defections, etc. which would be doomed to fail — that only through prayer our nation can come out of this crisis. He cited the Yellow Revolution in the Philippines and how Bishop Sin called for the nation to turn to prayer. Cited when the military went to destroy Bishop Sin’s radio tower (from which he has called the faithful to prayer, especially the Rosary) and how the military were told to run over the nuns and others kneeling, praying the rosary & blocking the rout to the bishop. The commander hated Catholics and was planning on doing so until he saw Mary, Mother of God who turned him away. She had answered the prayers of the faithful and as a consequence, the Church was restored her rights and the nation became a defacto Catholic nation. Likewise, we too must turn to the rosary. Now, every morning, when we pray the family Rosary, we offer an additional Hail Mary asking for a Catholic government and ask Fr. Murad (the priest recently martyred in Syria) to pray for us. Almost immediately after beginning, Obama delayed part of Obamacare — and we are praying & hoping that God blesses our prayers with success in the other areas of concern and eventually does give us a Catholic government.