Recent Sermon
Don’t Choose the Mammon!
Fr. McMahon
This week we celebrate the feasts of St. Raymond Nonnatus and St. Pius X. Every Catholic should know that one must attend all three of the principal parts of the Mass – the Offertory, the Consecration, and the priest's Communion – or he has not attended Mass at all. We should foster a special devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during these “Thirty Days of the Blessed Mother.” Our Lady is the great protectress against all heresies and the continual assaults of the world.
In this Mass, St. Paul’s Epistle juxtaposes the works of the flesh against the fruits of the Holy Ghost, and the Gradual instructs us to place all our trust in God rather than men. The Gospel has an especially sobering message for those who live by the dictums of the world. The lives of the saints are often hidden and ignored, while worldly success is lauded and encouraged. When considering the souls of the saints compared to the souls of famous celebrities, we need only ask ourselves, “Where are they now?” to realize how fleeting this world is. If we have not done all to choose the Kingdom of God and obtain Heaven in this life, then all the fame the world can offer will account for nothing in the end.
From Our Archives
Love is Superior to Knowledge
Bp. Ward
St. Joseph of Cupertino is almost humorously referred to as the “Flying Saint,” but there are great lessons that every devout Catholic can derive from his life. From an early age he was known to be clumsy, forgetful, and lacking intellectual ability. After failing in his attempts at several trades, he was accepted, out of mercy, into the Capuchin order. Despite his many shortcomings, God rewarded his great love by miraculously guiding him to priestly ordination. When examining his life, we cannot help but appreciate the superiority of love to knowledge in the mind of God. Our Lord does not ask for our mind, He asks for our heart, and when we die we will be judged on love. The ecstasies and levitations witnessed during this saint’s life were so many proofs of God returning his love through the divine embrace of those mystic phenomena.
In the lives of St. Januarius and St. Matthew we are given vivid examples of loyalty, detachment, and docility to the Will of God. We do not worship the god of the deists, who abandons his creation. Our God, through His divine providence, watches over and provides for even our smallest needs. If we seek first the kingdom of God, everything else we need will be given to us.
