Homily #080817 ( 18min) Play – On this 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Fr. Ignatius Manfredonia preaches on the need to join the one true religion in order to worship the one true God. He also covers the importance of perseverance in prayer when God seems to remain silent.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
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Homily #090209 ( 06min) Play
Ave Maria! Fr. Bonaventure says, “Let us always pray that the Lord will continue to work the miracles.  But let us more earnestly pray that we may persevere in His grace so that we may become witnesses to His love at the end of our lives.”  Mass readings
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Homily #090224 ( 05min) Play – St. Matthias is elected successor to Judas who betrayed Our Lord and hanged himself. We know little of St Matthias except this, he persevered when Judas had not. This one fact is an important lesson for our world that lacks perseverance like no other age.
Ave Maria!
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Homily #090522 ( 08min) Play – When Our Lord seems to be absent from our lives we should persevere in our faith as the Apostles did prior to Pentecost and St. Rita of Cascia who’s feast day it is today.
Ave Maria! Mass readings

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Homily #091008 ( 05min) Play – Today’s Gospel tells us that prayer is all important for our relationship with God. Lack of prayer explains the increasing evils in our day. To counter this we must persevere in prayer and Our Father will not refuse to open the door to holiness even for our entire society.
Ave Maria! Mass readings

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PRESENCE OF GOD – O Lord, increase my confidence in Your help and grant that in this confidence, I may always find courage to begin again.

MEDITATION

What most distresses souls of good will who are seriously trying to live a spiritual life, is to find themselves falling so many times, despite their continual and sincere resolutions. When they begin a program of asceticism, they are usually very brave and have no doubts concerning their success; but being still inexperienced, and not having yet faced the demands of more advanced virtue, they know nothing of the struggles that await them on this way. And herein lies the danger: meeting with new difficulties, they fall; they rise and fall again; again they rise, and shortly after, find themselves prostrate once more until they are at a certain point, attacked by that most dangerous temptation:  to give up the undertaking which henceforth seems impossible. How many souls have fervently begun the ascent of the mount of perfection, but discouraged by their continual falls,  have stopped halfway up or even turned back, because they lacked the courage to begin anew every day and every moment.

Humility is needed for the exercise of courage; we must be convinced that in spite of our lofty aspirations, we are fallible men like all the rest. Sacred Scripture affirms that the “just man shall fall seven times and shall rise again” how, then, can we, who are not just, pretend never to fall?

The real evil is not so much in falling as in failing to rise. The distinguishing mark of fervent souls, and all of saints, is less their lack of faults, than their prompt rising after each fall. The annoyance felt by so many souls when they see themselves continually falling, is not the fruit of humility but of pride. They are not yet convinced of their own misery and are astonished to experience it so constantly. They rely too much on themselves, and God, who wishes to lead them to the full realization of their nothingness, permits them to fall again and again.

In the plan of divine Providence these falls are for the definite purpose of convincing us that we are miserable creatures. If we wish to adhere to the divine plan, we have but one thing to do: to humble ourselves. But if, on the contrary, we become discouraged, and give up what we have begun, we shall be going farther away from our goal, to our very great loss.

Some souls justify their discouragement saying that they cannot bear to offend God. That is well, for the first condition required for sanctity is a hatred for sin and a firm determination to avoid even the slightest sin, at the cost of any sacrifice. However, we must make a distinction: if we cultivate the sincere disposition not to tolerate in ourselves the slightest offense against God, it signifies our intention to make no truce with the faults and failings which, in spite of our good will, escape us.

However, if do fall, notwithstanding all our efforts, this disposition does not authorize us to become so discouraged that we are unable to rise. It is just because we do not wish to tolerate in ours anything displeasing to God that we should never surrender in the struggle, but begin again vigorously, in order to avoid future falls. On this field, he who surrenders is already conquered. In fact, if even when we are fighting without respite, we are liable to fall, what will happen if we surrender our arms? It will always be better to fight maimed and wounded, than not to fight at all.

But to have the courage to persevere in the struggle especially when we fall repeatedly-either as a result of our imperfection and frailty, or because God permits it in to humble us more-we must join to humility an immense confidence in the divine help. Having experienced our misery we know….that we cannot rise relying on our own ­strength, but there still remains to us a much more powerful resource: trust in the help of God; We shall find the strength to keep beginning again, precisely in trust. God alone can give us this strength, and He will give it in the measure are insufficient for attaining so much the more should we be convinced that God will furnish us with the help needed to answer His call. There is nothing illogical in God. He asks something from us; He cannot refuse us the help needed to give it to Him. Not finding this strength in ourselves, we shall surely find it in Him, in His omnipotent help.

He that shall persevere unto the end shall be saved.(Mt. 10:22) said Jesus.  He who shall persevere to the end is not he who will never fall, but he who after every fall will  humble  himself and rise again, relying on the infinite strength of God. 

Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene (Divine Intimacy)

PRAYER:  O Jesus, You see that I am a very little soul and can offer only very little things. I frequently miss the opportunity of welcoming these small sacrifices which bring so much peace but I am not discouraged and bear the loss of a little peace and to be more watchful in the future. You are so good to me; it is impossible for me to fear You. 

If it is Your will that at throughout my whole life, I would feel a repugnance to suffering an humiliation, or permit all the flowers of my desires and good will to fall to the ground without producing any fruit, I shall not be disturbed. In the twinkling of an eye, at the moment of death, You will cause rich fruits to ripen on the tree of my soul. 

 (St. Therese of the Child Jesus)

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Homily #101129 ( 07min) Play – Today is the feast of All Saints of the Franciscan Order where we honor all the Franciscan saints. Fr. Dominic explains how St. Francis founded his three orders in order to produce saints and great ones. He exhorts us friars to be one of those saints by following the four Ps: Penance, Perseverance , Prayer, Preaching,
Ave Maria!
Mass: All Saints of the Franciscan Ord. – Feast – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: sir 44:1, 10-15
Resp: psa 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Gsp: mar 10:17-21

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #120401 ( 34min) Play – On Palm Sunday Fr. Bonaventure preaches on the paradox of Holy Week where it starts with the triumphal entry of our Lord in to Jerusalem, greeted by a cheering crowd and ends with His exit in revilement as He carries His cross to Calvary with the very same crowd heaping insults on Him. Father uses this paradox to point out our own lack of conviction when it is based on natural enthusiasm and thus our need to always ask for the grace of perseverance and to confirm this in habitual acts of self denial and charity.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Palm Sunday – Sunday – Form: OF
Readings: 
1st: isa 50:4-7
Resp: psa 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
2nd: phi 2:6-11
Gsp: mar 14:1-15:47

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #120601 ( 08min) Play – Three things are needed for prayers pleasing to God; A good dispositon, praying for things that are good for us, and perseverance in prayer.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Ordinary Form – St. Justin Martyr – Memorial
Readings: Friday 8th Week of Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 1Peter 4:7-13
Responsorial Psalm: 96:10, 11-12, 13
Gospel: Mark 11:11-26

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #120827b ( 08min) Play– On the memorial of St. Monica Fr. Elias preaches on the virtue of perseverance and how all the other virtues are tied to this since a good deed by itself is not a virtue until we repeat it, make it habitual and persevere in it. In St. Monica’s case she persevered in tears to beseach the Lord for the grace of her son’s conversion, St. Augustine.
Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Monica – Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Monday in the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
1st: 2th 1:1-5, 11-12
Resp: psa 96:1-2, 2-3, 4-5
Gsp: mat 23:13-22
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