Sunday Sermon

Sunday Sermon 12/10/23

Friends, great writers, from Aristotle to Shakespeare to Melville, put a lot into their opening line, which often sets the tone for the whole work. This week we have the privilege of hearing the very opening of the Gospel of Mark, which, by scholarly consensus, is the first of the Gospels written: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.” In the manner of those great writers, this line matters a lot; in fact, every bit of it matters. And what sounds to us like familiar spiritual language was, in the first century, an edgy proclamation of the true Emperor to the powers that be.

Mass Readings

• Reading 1 — Is 40:1-5, 9-11
• Psalm — Ps 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14
• Reading 2 — 2 Pt 3:8-14
• Gospel — Mk 1:1-8

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Advent Monday

 

 

Resolution

 

We will strive to prepare our hearts for the reception of grace by the zealous practice of mortification.

Sunday Sermon

O Come O Come Emmanuel
 

Friends, we come to the First Sunday of Advent—the liturgical new year. I’ve said this before, but Advent is a time to get back to basics. Can I suggest we start with that familiar Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”? Until we get into the spiritual space opened up by that hymn, we are not understanding Advent—and more to it, we are not understanding Christianity. We are beggars asking Emmanuel—“God with us”—to come and “ransom captive Israel.” You’re in chains; you’re held captive. What can you do to save yourself? Nothing—except to cry out, “Come, come, someone, save me!”

Mass Readings

• Reading 1 — IS 63:16B-17, 19B; 64:2-7
• Psalm — PS 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
• Reading 2 — 1 COR 1:3-9
• Gospel — MK 13:33-37

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The One True King

Friends, Christ is the King of all things. His rule is characterized not by totalitarianism or despotism, but rather by loving kindness and sacrifice. He constantly reaches out his hands to defend the weak and sick, going to the limits of godforsakenness to bring back those who have wandered. We can cooperate with our King by being his ministers of mercy to the world.

Mass Readings

• Reading 1 — Ez 34:11-12, 15-17
• Psalm — Ps 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6
• Reading 2 — 1 Cor 15:20-26, 28
• Gospel — Mt 25:31-46

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Little Flower of Littlemore

The Wise Virgins

November 12, 2023

Friends, there’s a great temptation for us to turn the Lord into a distant spiritual entity or a difficult moral taskmaster. We incorrectly believe that we have to crawl our way to the divine by our own heroism, merit, and effort. But this is not the case. In actuality, God, in his wisdom, hastens to make himself known. He reveals himself to us, even before we’ve begun to see. In fact, our seeking is predicated upon the fact that we’ve already been found. To understand this is to understand the Bible as the story of God’s quest for us.

Mass Readings

• Reading 1 — Wis 6:12-16
• Psalm — Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
• Reading 2 — 1 Thes 4:13-18
• Gospel — Mt 25:1-13

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November 5

Friends, there’s only one real sadness in life—not to be a saint. But what does it mean to follow this path of righteousness? To follow the will of God, and God wills that we habitually direct our actions and thoughts to the good of others. Jesus says blessed are the merciful, the peacemakers, the pure in heart. Following Christ’s Sermon on the Mount leads to our beatitude; living in this way leads to sainthood.

Mass Readings

• Reading 1 — Mal 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10
• Psalm — Ps 131:1, 2, 3
• Reading 2 — 1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13
• Gospel — Mt 23:1-12

Discover more sermons from Bishop Barron here.

October 29, 2023

Friends, the Books of Moses teach that the three types of Israelite law—liturgical law, ritual law, and moral law—shape and direct God’s people toward holiness and purity. While the liturgical laws have been carried over and the ritual laws largely set aside, the moral laws remain unchanged, for they represent those great abiding intuitions by which our lives should be structured.

Mass Readings

• Reading 1 — Ex 22:20-26
• Psalm — Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
• Reading 2 — 1 Thes 1:5c-10
• Gospel — Mt 22:34-40

Discover more sermons from Bishop Barron here.

Sunday Sermon

Friends, a great theme of the Bible is that of God’s chosen people. At the same time, we also see that God’s salvific plan has to do with all of humanity—and indeed with all of creation. God chooses Israel—and the New Israel, the Church—precisely for the sake of the whole world. Remembering this helps us keep the delicate balance between bland spiritual relativism and a dangerous religious tribalism.

Mass Readings

• Reading 1 — Is 45:1, 4-6
• Psalm — Ps 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
• Reading 2 — 1 Thes 1:1-5b
• Gospel — Mt 22:15-21

Discover more sermons from Bishop Barron here.

Sunday Sermon

Friends, the mountain is a great image throughout the Bible. It is the place where we go up and where God comes down to meet us. Today’s first reading from Isaiah orients us to three holy mountains of the Lord: first, the historical Mount Zion; second, its fulfillment in the heavenly Mount Zion; and third, a sort of “middle mountain” of the Mass, where we raise our minds and hearts to God, who comes to gather us, to speak his word, and to feed us.

Mass ReadingsReading 1 — Is 25:6-10a
Psalm — Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
Reading 2 — Phil 4:12-14, 19-20
Gospel — Mt 22:1-14

Discover more sermons from Bishop Barron here.

Five Minute Story

Click on this Old German drawing to Enlarge

Herod, seeing the Magi did not return to him, became very angry, and, resolving to destroy this new-born King, ordered all the children in Bethlehem and the country round about to be put to death. He foolishly thought Jesus would surely be killed among the rest, little dreaming how easily God could shield Him.

Whilst Herod was preparing for the murder of the holy innocents, an angel appeared to Joseph in his sleep, and told him to take the child and its mother and flee into Egypt, and to remain there until told to return. Without a word of complaint, Joseph rose, and, taking the child and its mother, went into Egypt. 

(Catholic Bible History, Benziger Brothers, 1904)

Pray to Our Lady of Sorrows

Our Lady of Sorrows

Hand Painted French Holy Card, 18th century

Lourdes Museum,  2016
  

Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows

O Most holy and afflicted Virgin! Queen of martyrs! thou who didst stand beneath the Cross, witnessing the agony of thy expiring Son―through the unceasing sufferings of thy life of sorrow, and the bliss which now more than amply repays thee for thy past trials, look down with a mother's tenderness and pity on me, who kneel before thee to venerate thy Dolors, and place my requests with filial confidence, in the sanctuary of thy wounded heart; present them, I beseech thee, on my behalf to Jesus Christ, through the merits of His own most sacred Passion and Death, together with thy sufferings at the foot of the Cross, and through the united efficacy of both, obtain the grant of my present petition. To whom shall I recur my wants and miseries if not to thee, O Mother of mercy, who, having so deeply drunk of the chalice of thy Son, canst compassionate the woes of those who still sigh in the land of exile.  Amen.

Borrowed from - Mary's Seven Sorrows

Publisher - Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration

Clyde, Missouri, 1955

Exultation of the Cross or The Thirteenth Station

Terrible, pathetic and heart-rending were all the events in our Saviour's Passion and Death as presented to us in the Gospel, but the most touching and humanly appealing scene in the whole sad series is in the Thirteenth Station, which presents the moment when the bruised and mangled body of our Saviour has been taken down from the Cross and laid in the arms of his agonized Mother. 
If the spotless Son of God and His sinless Mother could willingly endure such suffering and grief for our sakes, how cheerful should we bear our own little trials and burdens.  Let us pray . . . .

Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
Stabat Mater - See Bottom

Lord have mercy on us.

Christ have mercy on us!

Lord have mercy on us.

Jesus hear us.

Jesus graciously hear us!

God the Father of heaven, 

Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost,

Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, Son of the living God,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, splendor of the Father,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, brightness of eternal light,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, King of glory,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, the Son of Justice,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, most amiable,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, most admirable,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, the mighty God,

Have mercy on us

Jesus, Father of the world to come,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, Angel of the great council,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, most powerful,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus most patient,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, most obedient,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus meek and humble of heart,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, lover of chastity,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, lover of mankind,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, God of peace,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, Author of life,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, Model of virtues,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, zealous for souls,

Have mercy on us. 

Jesus, our God,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, our refuge, 

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, Father of the poor,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, treasure of the faithful,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, good shepherd,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, true light,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, eternal wisdom,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, infinite goodness,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, our way and our life,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, joy of the angels,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, King of the patriarchs,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, Master of the apostles,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, Teacher of the evangelists,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, strength of the martyrs,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, light of confessors,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, purity of virgins,

Have mercy on us.

Jesus, crown of all saints,

Have mercy on us 

Be merciful, Spare us, O Jesus!

From all evil,,

Jesus, deliver us.

From all sin,

Jesus, deliver us.

From thy wrath,

Jesus, deliver us.

From the snares of the devil,

Jesus, deliver us.

From the spirit of fornication,

Jesus, deliver us.

From everlasting death,

Jesus, deliver us.

From neglect of thy inspirations,

Jesus, deliver us.

Through the mystery of Thy Holy Incarnation,

Jesus, deliver us.

Through Thy nativity,

Jesus, deliver us.

Through Thy infancy,

Jesus, deliver us.

Through Thy most divine life,

Jesus, deliver us.

Through Thy labors,

Jesus, deliver us.

Through Thy agony and passion,

Jesus, deliver us.

Through Thy cross and dereliction,

Jesus, deliver us.

Through Thy weariness and faintness,

Jesus, deliver us.

Through Thy death and burial,

Jesus deliver us.

Through Thy resurrection,

Jesus, deliver us.

Through Thy ascension, 

Jesus, deliver us.

Through Thy joys,

Jesus deliver us.

Through Thy glory,

Jesus deliver us.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, 

     Spare us, O Jesus!

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,

     Graciously hear us, O Jesus!

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,

     Have mercy on us, O Jesus!

Jesus hear us.

     Jesus Graciously hear us!

LET US PRAY

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who hast said, "Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you," grant, we beseech Thee, to us who ask the gift of Thy divine love that we may love Thee with our whole heart, in word and work, and never cease from showing forth Thy praise.

Grant, O Lord, that we may have a perpetual fear and love of Thy holy name for thou never failest to direct and govern those whom Thou instructs in Thy true and solid love.

Through Our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

STABAT MATER
A medieval Latin hymn on the suffering of the Virgin Mary at the Crucifixion.

Mater Dolorosa stood,

Weeping sore beside the Rood,

      Whilst on it hung her Son.

Tender moanings told the smart,

Told the anguish of her heart 

Through which a sword was run.

Oh! How doleful and distressed
Was that maiden-mother blest
      Of sole-begotten One.
Vast and deep was her lament.
Keen her grief with anguish blent,
      To see her Son's distress.

Who's the man, with feeling true,
That with tearless eyes could view 
      Christ's mother in such stress?

Who could see that mother mild
Grieving for her peerless Child,
      And not with pity mourn?

For the sins of his own race
She saw Jesus in disgrace,
      And with the scourges torn.

She beheld her only-born
Die forsaken―all forlorn―
      Whilst yielding up His soul.

Mother! Fount of love divine.
Make me feel that grief of thine;
      With thee let me condole.

Make my heart with fervor glow,
Make me in Christ's favor grow,
And in His love abide.

Mother dear! This boon I crave;
Deeply in my heart engrave 
      His wounds―the Crucified.

Let me share in thy Son's pains
Who by wounds and torments designs
      To prove His love for me.

Let Me grieve with thee yet more,
And the Crucified deplore
      As long as life shall be.

Near the Cross and by thy side
Willing would I still abide
      A sharer in thy woe.

Virgin Queen of virgin train,
Look not on me with disdain,
      But bid my tears to flow.

Let me in Christ's passions share,
Close His death about me bear,
      And in His sweet wounds dwell.

With His bruises make me sore,
With His Cross and crimson gore
      Inebriate me well.

Screen me, Virgin, judgement-day,
Let me not be cast away,
      To feed the flames of hell.

Lord! When hence I must repair,
Through Thy mother let me bear
      The palm of victory.

When this body turns to earth,
Bid my soul renew its birth,
      In Paradise with Thee.  Amen.  

P.  Pray for us, most Sorrowful Virgin.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.  

LET US PRAY

Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that the most blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, may intercede for us before the throne of Thy mercy now and at the hour of our death; through whose most holy soul in the hour of Thine Own passion the sword of sorrow passed. Through Thee, Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost forever and ever.  Amen.

Fargo Reviewed by Bishop Robert Barron

St. Dominic and the Rosary

Quebec, 1942

There is a glorious legend

Of the times now passed away,

Of the the times when faith was brighter

Than it is in this our day―

When the hearts of men were keener, 

For the things that are above―

For the glory of their Master

And the Mother of his Love.

A darksome cloud had risen

O'er the sweet and smiling earth,

And it fell upon the patriarch

And the infant at its birth:

Continue Reading from the Original Book

From the Scrapbook - Long Island, 1957

A Catholic nun prepares two young girls for First Communion.  This image was captured in 1957 on Long Island, New York by LIFE photographer  Joseph Scherschel .  LARGE IMAGE HERE.

O Wisdom Incarnate, we know nothing concerning Thine early years upon earth until Thou wast twelve years old.  And yet we know much, for Thy very silence crieth aloud in our hearts and bideth us admire both it and Thy humility.

Ascensiones in Corde - A Collection of Aspirations and Ejaculations Translated from the Latin, A. R. Mobray, London - 1912

From the Scrapbook - 1942

This first photo and the following were taken by Life Magazine's John Philips.  Here we see the Parish Priest and sacristan walking up the sidewalk on home visitation.   We can assume this is a serious visit as the children of the house are kneeling alongside the road. 

In this second photo we become aware of a second photographer who must have been standing alongside of the house.  The little girl continues to kneel in prayer.  

Life Magazine revealed to us that the Priest was indeed on a serious visit as he is carrying a Consecrated Host to a dying child. 

Location:	Quebec, Canada
Date taken:	1942
Photographer:	John Phillips

Quebec, Canada

1942

John Phillips

I Will Use Time

O My Lord Jesus, I will use time. It will be too late to pray when life is over. There is no prayer in the grave 🙏 there is no meriting in Purgatory. Low as I am in Thy all Holy sight, I am strong in Thee, strong through Thy Immaculate Mother, through Thy Saints; and thus I can do much for the Church, for the world, for all I love. O let not the blood of souls be on my head. O let me not walk my own way without thinking of Thee. Let me bring everything before Thee, asking Thy leave for everything I purpose, Thy blessing on everything I do . . . As the dial speaks of the sun, so will I be ruled by thee alone, if Thou will take me and rule me. Be it so, my Lord Jesus, I give myself wholly to Thee. Amen.

Sunday Sermons

Friends, they say that fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Well, today I’m going to rush in to some stormy waters by looking at the central issue of the Protestant Reformation: this issue of faith and works, or faith and the law. Martin Luther famously said that what he discovered in Paul is that we are justified or saved by faith alone. But why does the same Paul, in our second reading, say that “one who loves another has fulfilled the law”? The witness of the New Testament is richly complex on this question, and the Catholic position honors that richness and complexity.

Mass Readings

• Reading 1 — Ez 33:7-9
• Psalm — Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
• Reading 2 — Rom 13:8-10
• Gospel — Mt 18:15-20

Discover more sermons from Bishop Barron here.