Sermon, Trinity Sunday, June 19, 2011

Trinity Sunday, June 19, 2011

Matthew 28: 18-20

There is much to be learned from today’s reading, which is taken from the last three verses of Matthew’s Gospel. Christ tells eleven disciples to baptize people “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” This is the clearest statement of the Trinity in Scriptures. We are told in Deuteronomy 6: 4, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord,” but we begin to see the Trinity in Genesis 1: 26, “Let Us make man to Our image and likeness.” Together these two statements clearly indicate there is more than One Person in One God.  

It is with the appearance on earth of the promised Messiah, Jesus the Christ, that we have the key to understanding these Scriptures. Where is the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament?  Solomon uses grand expressions in speaking of Him who is Eternal Wisdom, and the divine essence of this Wisdom. Isaias heard the voices of the Seraphim around the throne of God singing, “Holy! Holy! Holy! Is the Lord.” (Isaias 6: 3) The world did not understand these passages until the Father sent His Son to teach us Who this Eternal Wisdom is, and why the triple Sanctus, Holy, Holy, Holy. Today the meaning of these Old Testament Scriptures is clear: there is a Father, there is a Son and there is the Holy Ghost – and the name of this Trinity is “One God.”

“All power is given to me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28: 18) All power comes from God through Christ, Who is both man and God. In virtue of His power, Christ commissions His Apostles and their successors, to teach all nations and to baptize them. This is a stumbling block to some Jews, who thought that the Messiah would come for their salvation only. Notice also that our Lord gives his Apostles an order of doing things: first, teach all nations; second, baptize them; and third, teach them all things they must do in obedience to Christ. To teach is to teach the faith. If we say, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty,” that is an act of faith, but if we go to Mass on Sundays, that is what we must do. Attending Mass is an act of obedience to a rule given us by our Lord’s Church.

Some may infer from the words “teach all nations” that faith alone is sufficient. But Christ continues His instructions, telling the Apostles to teach “them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” This is a command to teach people what they must do to live a holy life. And among all the things we must do to live a holy life is charity, good works, which St. Paul tells us is foremost: “And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.” (1 Corinthians 13: 13)

The Lord also tells His Apostles, “Behold I am with you, even unto the consummation of the world,” These instructions must be extended to their lawful successors then until the end of the world. Jesus makes good His promise by always dwelling in the hearts of the faithful, by His presence in the Eucharist and by His care and protection of the Church.

Bishop Bossuet of France (1627 - 1704) wrote that today's reading clearly demonstrates the infallibility and indefectibility of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. These two big words mean pure and lasting and incapable of finding error in faith and morals. If ever a doctrine is changed, if ever holiness of life is not present in the Church, then it can be said that Christ has abandoned those who have abandoned Him.

There are many heresies seen today and many within the Catholic Church, both in the so-called Vatican II churches and in traditional chapels and societies. In the 4^th Century the Arian heresy took control of most of the church dioceses in the East and many in the West, but the true Catholic Church and the True Faith survived the power of the Arians, just as it will survive the fleeting power of today’s so-called Modernist heretics. Pope Pius IX called Modernism the “synthesis of all heresies.”

Christ has abandoned today’s heretics, as He abandoned His Chosen People, to “their own inventions.” (Psalm 80: 12, 13. KJV 81) The Jews referred to in Psalm 80 were disobedient and refused to listen to God’s counsel, but they remained His Chosen People even though God withdrew His grace from them. It is the same today. Baptized Catholics remain Catholics, even if they abandon the True Faith and follow Modernist heresies.

Our Lord's words at the end of Matthew's Gospel tell us that Jesus will live forever and that He will never abandon those who believe in Him and, further, that there will always be those who are worthy of being a fit and holy place where God will take up His abode.

In the Gospel for the First Sunday after Pentecost, which is also today, our Lord says, “Forgive and you shall be forgiven. Give and it shall be given to you.” (Luke 6: 37, 38) St. Augustine says these are the two works of mercy which free us. “Give and it shall be given to you” is the promise of receiving God’s favor. “Forgive, and you shall be forgiven” is the promise of pardon. We have all hurt others and would like to be forgiven for what we did, and we have all been hurt by others, and we gladly forgive that.

With regard to God’s favors, think of people who beg from us. When we pray, we are beggars to God. What does a beggar ask of us?  Bread. And what do we ask of God but that Christ, who is the Living Bread that came down from heaven, to take up His abode in us. If you wish to be forgiven, then forgive. If you wish to be pardoned, then pardon. If you wish to receive, then give and it shall be given unto you. +++

 (Thanks to St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. Bede, Bp. Bossuet, Dom Guéranger,

Dr. Robert Witham of Douai, Estius, and Rhabanus Maurus for today’s sermon.)

We Celebrate the Traditional Tridentine Latin Mass: The Mass of the Ages

Sermon, Pentecost, June 12, 2011

Hope this touches your soul:

Pentecost, June 12, 2011

The Birthday of the Catholic Church

John 14: 23-31

             “And my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him.” Suppose the governor was coming to visit us. Would we not clean up our house before he came? God Himself comes to our home, our souls, in the Eucharist, but many of us quickly forget what we cleaned up, what we repented of, and we turn right back to former sins. For those who truly love God, the Lord does make His abode with them – He stays with them because the love of God has so penetrated these people that in time of temptation they will not turn their backs on that love.

          The Lord continues: “He that loveth me not, keepeth not my words.” Let none of us fool ourselves, we do not truly love God unless that love is confirmed by good works. If our love of God does not result in good works, it is not love because “faith without works is dead,” (James 2: 17)

          Our Lord also tells His Apostles “the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.” Paraclete is a Greek word that translates as Advocate or Comforter. He is called Advocate because he pleads with the mercy of the Father for us. As St. Paul puts it: “The Spirit himself asks for us with unspeakable groanings.” He is called Comforter because he uplifts our soul when we are dejected and depressed.

          The Holy Ghost appeared as tongues of fire on this, the birthday of the Church. What we can learn from this sign is that Holy Mother Church, filled by this Spirit, shall speak with the voice of every nation. In Babel, long ago, they tried to build a tower against God, and lost the language they then had in common. But in those who humbly fear God, all tongues are made one, “one Lord, one faith, one Baptism.” (Ephesians 4: 5)  In Babel, their pride brought confusion. But with the Spirit of God, lowliness merits power, the power to be free even when living under tyranny, and the power to be full of joy even during persecution.

          Why did the Holy Ghost appear as tongues of fire above the Apostles and appear as a dove above the Lord when He was baptized by John? The Lord sends fire on Earth when, by the breath of His Holy Spirit, he sets fire to the hearts of unspiritual men. And the Earth begins to catch fire when our hearts put away the desires of this life and become inflamed with the love of God. In every heart that the Holy Spirit enters, He drives out the coldness of apathy and ignites in us a desire for Eternity in heaven.

          Why then did the Holy Spirit appear as a dove above the L ord? He did not want to crush sinners but to draw us to Himself through mildness and patience, which are represented by a dove. We could not bear His justice if He had searched into our sins with harsh exactness. He humbled Himself to become like us in the person of Jesus, and revealed himself as a gentle God.    That the Holy Ghost appeared in fire above men and as a dove above our Lord teaches us that through our own zeal for justice, we should search out our own sins, which the Lord bears in great patience, and then we are to consume them in the fire of the penances we perform.

          Job wrote that “His Spirit hath adorned the heavens.” (Job 26: 13) These adornments of heaven are the virtues that St. Paul lists in (1 Cor. 12: 8) as wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy and tongues, what we call the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. We know how lacking the Apostles were in these gifts before the coming of the Holy Ghost, but look at what these men were like after His coming.

          In the courtyard of the High Priest Caiaphas, a young maid accused Peter of being one of the followers of the Lord, and three times Peter, whom Christ called the Rock, denied Him. Contrast this with Christ’s crucifixion when a common thief confessed Him and asked Jesus to remember him. But after Pentecost, Peter and the Apostles were scourged by the Jewish authorities and were ordered not to preach in the name of Jesus any more. Without hesitation Peter responded, “We ought to obey God, rather than men.” (Acts 5: 29) The Apostles then left that place “rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus.”

          We have a prayer to the Holy Ghost: “Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, enkindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created and Thou shalt renew the face of the Earth.” This prayer comes from Psalm 104, v. 30. This same Spirit inspired a youthful harpist and created the psalmist, who was King David (1 Kings 16: 18). He moved the soul of a “herdsman plucking wild figs: and made him a prophet,” (Amos 7: 14). He entered a young boy who was disciplined in the spirit, and made him a judge (Daniel 13: 45).  He entered into a fisherman and made him a preacher of the Gospel and head of His Church, St. Peter (Mt. 4: 19). He filled a persecutor of the Church and made him the Doctor of the Gentiles, St. Paul (Acts 9). He filled a publican and made him an Evangelist (Luke 5: 27,28). This is how the power of the Holy Ghost renews the face of the Earth, by inflaming people with the love of God, and these people in turn doing God's work in the community. The Apostles, who before were afraid of their enemies, now under the influence of the Holy Ghost, dominate them with their authority.

          Many don't know the Holy Spirit and are limited to worldly thinking, and so they ask: How can I love someone whom I cannot see? We can agree with them. A mind that is taken up with visible things only cannot see the invisible. However, we can see God by looking at a metaphor from nature. We cannot watch the sun directly as it rises, but if we turn to the west, we can see the beauty of the sun on the face of the earth. God is like that. We can see His beauty in His saints; we can see His beauty in our good works, because His beauty is like sunlight shining upon the earth. +++

Sunday Within the Octave of Christmas, Dec 26, 2010

Sunday Within the Octave of Christmas – December 26, 2010

The Presentation – Luke 2: 33-40

Just before today’s reading Simeon recites his canticle after taking the Christ Child in his hands: (Luke. 2: 29-32):

“Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace;

Because my eyes have seen thy salvation,

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:

A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”

Then Simeon blesses both and turning to Mary prophesies that, “This child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted.”  Understand in these words that there is a harmony in prophesies, because the same God speaks both in the Old Testament Prophets and in the New Testament. That is why we read Isaiah telling believers in his day that the Messiah would be a “stone of stumbling” – a stumbling block as we say today. (Isaiah 8: 14-15) As St. Peter puts it, “a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal,” (1 Peter  2: 8) or a “sign of contradiction” as Simeon put it in today’s gospel. Isaiah, St. Peter and Simeon are telling us that although the Messiah comes for the salvation of all, many will not accept Him and they will be lost due to their own unwise choice.

And what of us who fall into sin? Our Savior has given us the means of our resurrection – the Sacrament of Penance, called Confession. When a lustful person becomes chaste, when a miser becomes merciful, when a cruel person becomes gentle then we have a resurrection, because sin has died and justice has arisen.

The sign of contradiction Simeon spoke of is the cross – that the One who promises eternal life, the One Who is Judge of all, is Himself condemned and dies a horrible death on a cross. This is seen by all, but understood only by those of faith.

Simeon also tells Mary, “Thy own soul a sword shall pierce.” Consider ourselves: if we knew what sorrows were in store for us in the future, would we suffer those sorrows every day or our lives in anticipation of their coming?  God has given us the grace of not knowing our future and therefore not having to suffer in anticipation. He did not grant this grace to Mary. As an  angel revealed to St. Bridget, “That sword of sorrow was every hour approaching nearer to the Blessed Virgin, as the time for the Passion of her Son drew near.”

Mary suffered all the contradictions prophesied by Simeon. The High Priest Caiphas called her Son a blasphemer: “He hath blasphemed. He is guilty of death.” (Matthew 26: 65) He was despised as a peasant: “Is not this not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mark 6: 3) He was treated as ignorant: “How doth this man know letters, having never learned?” (John 7: 15) He was mocked as a false prophet when he was blindfolded and struck and they asked Him: “Prophesy, who is it that struck Thee?” (Luke 22: 64) He was treated as a madman: “He is mad, why hear you Him?” (John 10: 20) He was called a drunkard, a glutton and friend of sinners: “Behold a man that is a glutton, and a drinker of wine, a friend of publicans and sinners.” (Luke 7: 34) He was condemned as a sorcerer: “By the prince of devils He casteth out devils.” (Matthew 9: 34) And he was condemned as a heretic and possessed by the evil spirit: “Do we not say well of Thee that Thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil?” (John 8: 48) Mary’s Son was considered so wicked that the Jews told Pilate that no trial was necessary: “If He were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered Him up to thee.” (John 18: 30) She saw Christ’s Passion approaching and these sorrows, taken to her heart and suffered for 33 years, have made Mary the Refuge of Sinners.

In ancient Judea there were cities that criminals could go to for safety and to escape punishment for their crimes. Today there is only one city left. This city, says St. Albert the Great, is the most holy Virgin Mother of God, fenced in with grace and glory. Go there and be silent says the Prophet Jeremiah. We dare not invoke the Lord Whom we have offended. Be silent and Mary will invoke Him and ask for everything we require to return to grace. +++

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Basil of Seleucia¹ (d. c 458-460) encourages sinners, saying,

“O sinner, be not discouraged, but have recourse to Mary in all thy necessities; call her to thine assistance, for thou wilt always find her ready to help thee; for such is the divine will that she should help all in every kind of necessity.”

We Celebrate the Traditional Tridentine Latin Mass:

¹ Seleucia, a great city of Greek and Roman times on the Western Bank of the Tigris near present day Bagdhad. It was probably abandoned after the Tigris shifted course.

Christmas Day, Dec 25, 2010

Christmas Day, December 25, 2010

(John 1: 1-14)

           

Christmas is usually thought of as starting today and continuing for 12 days, but Christmastide extends 40 days, from today to the Purification of Mary, February 2^nd. The Church’s Liturgy celebrates the miracle of the virgin birth on each of those days.

            Today’s Modernists make a false claim that we do not know the date of Christ’s birth. They claim that December 25^th was chosen in order to “Christianize” the Roman festival of the sun. In fact, there were no Roman holidays on December 25^th. The nearest one was the drunken festival of Saturnalia which always ended no later than December 23^rd. St. John Chrysostom notes that the public records of births were available to the Church, and it can be easily assumed these records were looked at in order to confirm the birth date of December 25^th.

            The date of December 25^th is also arrived at by noting in Luke 1 that an angel appeared to Zachary on the Day of Atonement in late September to tell him his wife, Elizabeth, will bear a son who is to be called John. Then in Luke 1: 28 the Archangel Gabriel tells Mary that Elizabeth is now in her sixth month. Adding six months to late September when the angel appeared to Zachary brings us to late March for the conception of Jesus, and adding nine months to that brings us to late December for the birth of the Lord.

            Why was Bethlehem chosen as the birthplace of the Lord? It was the City of David, where King David came from, and the name Bethlehem means City of Bread. Later, Jesus tells the Jews at John 6: 51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven.”

            Pope St. Gregory the Great tells us it is St. Thomas the Apostle, Doubting Thomas we call him, who had more to do with solidifying our faith than the faith of all the other Disciples. We just celebrated Thomas’ feast day on December 21^ST. Thomas thrust his fingers into the Wounds of his Master. He felt, and cried out, “My Lord and my God.” Thomas saw only the Perfect Man before him, but touching Him he believed in the Perfect God which he could not see. Thomas was a witness for us of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. He touched Christ’s wounds for us so that we today may believe. The words of our Lord which followed, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed, (John 20: 29) are meant especially for us, who have not seen Christ in the flesh, but believe in his Divinity. We have also not seen the birth of Jesus, but we have many evidences of His birth and life, His death and resurrection, and we believe.

            We are often asleep in sin, asleep with our concerns for the things of the Earth. Use, but do not abuse, the things of the Earth to clothe us and to feed us. Work with our hands and minds to provide these things for us. Enjoy, but do not worship, the beauty of the Earth with our body’s senses. But with our souls, worship God Whom we cannot see, Whom we cannot sense, but Whom we can believe as Thomas touched Him and believed before us. With the whole desire of our souls let us embrace that “true light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world.” (John 1: 9)

            Reflect  Who it is we receive in the Eucharist today, and Who has received us into Himself. The Lord Jesus by being born has become our flesh, and we by being reborn have become His Body. Therefore, we are both members of the Body of Christ, the Church, and temples of the Holy Ghost, and for this reason St. Paul tells us to “Glorify and bear God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6: 20) While we take Him into ourselves in the Eucharist He says to us, “Come to me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart, and you shall find rest to your souls.” (Matthew 1: 28-29)

            A blessed Christmas to you and to your families. +

We Celebrate the Traditional Tridentine Latin Mass: