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Video – Fr. Angelo – Face of Pro-life#3: The March of the Culture of Death

apostolate — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:33:18 +0000

Face of Pro-life #3 – Fr. Angelo and Corinn Dahn on the state of Pro-Life>>> Play

Ave Maria!

The swearing in of a Democratically-controlled Congress in 2006 was a setback for the Culture of Life. Today’s public assault against the virtue of chastity and the sanctity of family life began in 1965 with the Supreme Court case of Griswold vs. Connecticut that legalized contraception. Ever since then, emotions have trumped right reason in the public discourse. Without a total conversion of our own hearts, others will never see the light of truth, and the slaughter of innocents, the trivializing of sexuality, and the emptiness of our cultural experience will continue. In this program, Fr. Angelo and Corinn touch on all the consequences of electing a party whose foundation rests on the principles of the Culture of Death.

Ave Maria!

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Video – Fr. Peter: The Ultimate Dignity of Humility

apostolate — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:14:35 +0000

NACEPF #10 – Fr. Peter speaks to John Primeau on our sublime dignity before God>>> Play

Ave Maria!

The reward for Christ’s humility is His glorification and ours as well. Humility is the cornerstone of our faith. Pride, vanity, curiosity – all the vices that make up a successful worldly career are the gifts of Satan and the fruits of original sin. Possessing many college degrees in not the formula for sanctity. Fr. Peter once again speaks with authority on the harmony of humility and dignity in the lives of Christ, Our Lady, and in our own lives.

Ave Maria!

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Jul 02 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: The Holy Priesthood

apostolate — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:43:13 +0000

Homily #080702 ( 05min) Play – The principle duty of the priest is the salvation of souls. The priest is an instrument of grace to the faithful for their sanctification and salvation. Keep priests in our prayers and commend all priests to Our Lady to fulfill his responsibities as a priest. Ave Maria! Mass readings +++

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Aug 10 – Homily – Fr Angelo: Jesus Walks on Water

apostolate — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:52:16 +0000

Homily #080810 ( 28min) Play – On this 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Fr. Angelo preaches on the miracle of Our Lord walking on the water. Listen as Father explains how Peter’s faltering when he tries to join Our Lord points to the need for us to work on our own faith and sanctity.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
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Cause of Our Joy! The Nativity of Mary

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:00:30 +0000

Ave Maria Mediations

September 8th: Nativity of Mary,

the CAUSE OF OUR JOY

Causa nostrae laetitiae, ora pro nobis

CAUSE OF OUR JOY

(1) MARY, we greet you as the Cause of our Joy because you brought forth the Redeemer and thereby shared in the work of our redemption. Your Son Jesus is the only cause of our joy, for He alone redeemed us from sin and hell, reconciled us with God and opened for us a pathway to heaven. If our first mother Eve had not consented to the temptation of Satan, sin with all its evil consequences would not have entered into the world. Eve was the cause of sin and perdition.

Having given your consent to become the Mother of God, you also became the cause of our joy, for you cooperated in the work of our redemption. Your great sanctity consists in a perfect conformity of your thoughts and will with the thoughts and will of God. You shared with God that wonderful com?passion in the sacrifice of His Son, and you gave and offered for us the Son of God, who was also your Son, with the same love and willingness as God did. Though you loved Jesus with all your heart, it was even your wish that He should suffer and die for us, because you knew that our redemption was only possible through His Passion and death.

You sacrificed your Son, whom you loved more dearly than heaven and earth ana your own life. And I value my salvation so little that I will make no sacrifice for it! In order to save my soul, help me to overcome every evil habit and inordinate desire and to shun every dangerous occasion of sin.

(2) MARY, through you God distributfS to us all the graces we need for our salvation. God made you His treasurer. He filled you with all graces that through you as through a channel men might obtain every blessing. God has deposited in you the fulness of all his blessings, to teach us that all hope, all grace, and salvation come to us through your hands. For this reason the Church applies to you the words of the Book of Wisdom: “In me is all hope of life and virtue;” “in me is all grace of life and of truth;” “he who finds me, finds life and draws salvation from the Lord.”

Cause of Our Joy, how much God desires us to know you! How I should always have recourse to you and place my confidence in your help! May I always appeal to you when I desire to obtain a grace, that it may the more surely be granted to me and be a source of true joy to my soul. When I appeal to the Saints, or your Son, I know that the grace I receive from Him will be given to me through your hands.

(3) MARY, you take the deepest interest in our wel?fare and obtain for us pardon and salvation. You are like the rainbow which God caused to appear in the sky as a messenger of peace to men after the deluge and which rejoiced their hearts. As God on behold?ing the rainbow was reminded of His covenant, so through your intercession He forgives sinners their offences against Him and makes peace with them.

The Church applies to you the words of the Canticle: “Thou art fair as the moon.” As the moon is between heaven and earth, so you stand between God and man, that you may pacify heaven, enlighten sinners, and lead them back to God. God Himself has given you the power of helping the miserable.

Cause of Our Joy, may my greatest happiness be to possess the love and grace of God; my greatest glory to be a disciple of Jesus and a child of yours. I rejoice in this happiness and exult in this glory. Let not human pride and worldly desires keep me from perfect devotion to you and your Son.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies and God of all consolation, grant in Your loving kindness that we who joyfully venerate on earth Mary, Your most pure Mother, as our comforter, may deserve to enjoy with her the unending happiness of heaven. Who live and reign forever. Amen.

Fr. Lawrence Lovasik

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Sep 18 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: St. Joseph Cupertino

apostolate — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:02:42 +0000

Homily #080918 ( 8min) Play – On this Feast of St. Joseph Cupertino, Fr. Ignatius Manfredonia describes the life of this great saint who despite many limitations and difficulties in regard to natural ability rose to such heights of sanctity that he was often found levitated off the ground.? Ave Maria! +++

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From Swordfighter to Saint: Bernard of Corleone

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:10:05 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

From the swashbucklers garrisoned in his hometown in Sicily, the young Philip Latini learned a dubious skill that was immensely popular in the 17th century: swordsmanship. Indeed, he acquired the reputation of being the best blade in Sicily…

But mortally wounding his opponent after being challenged to a dual,

he knew his life must change.

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ST BERNARD OF CORLEONE : Feast day is January 12th

Born in 1605 in Corleone, Italy, St. Bernard followed the footsteps of his father and became a cobbler. But he also was enamored by the soldiers stationed nearby. From them he learned the art of fencing, or swordfighting. He was very good and considered ‘the one’ to beat and so he would be challenged to fights. But one fight turned deadly. Seeking sanctuary in the Franciscan Capuchin church, where he remained for a week, he had time to take stock of his life. Conversion ensued and he decided to join the Franciscans and become a lay brother in the order. And so Philip Latini became Brother Bernard in 1632.

The way in which Brother Bernard strove particularly to make amends for his violence towards others was in directing his violence against himself. He led a most penitential life as a Franciscan. But along with his stern self-discipline and fasting, he advanced by giant steps in his prayer life. Many spiritual gifts were reported of him as time passed: prophecies, wonders, miracles.

Among the more unusual graces bestowed on Br. Bemard was the ability to heal animals. In a truly Franciscan spirit, he felt loving kinship with all lesser creatures. He was sad to see them in pain, for, as he said, they could not speak in order to tell human beings of their illnesses, and there were (at that time) no doctors to prescribe for them or medicines to cure them.

Because of the reputation Bernard acquired of curing animals, owners of all sorts of animals brought them to this “supernatural veterinary”. He would usually say the Our Father over them, and then lead them three times around the cross that stood in front of the Capuchin church. “He cured them all,” says a biographer.

St. Bernard cherished a special love for the Blessed Mother, and encouraged others to do the same. The Blessed Mother appeared to him and placed the Divine Child in his arms. Moreover, she gave him knowledge of the day of his death four months in advance. He died at Palermo on January 12, 1667.

His biographers stated that, attracted by the fame of his sanctity, there gathered for his burial so many people who raised their voices in praise of the deceased, that it was less a funeral cortège than a triumphal procession. Numerous miracles occurring at his grave promoted the cause of his beatification in 1767 and subsequent canonization in 2001.

God our Father, you have given us St Bernard
as a wonderful example of penance and of Christian virtues.
By the power of your Spirit make us firm in faith and effective in our work.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

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Jun 13 – Homily – Fr Angelo: St Anthony Wisdom and Holiness

apostolate — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:28:58 +0000

Homily #090613 ( 11min) Play – The wise man sets aside everything to purchase wisdom. Listen as Father explains that true wisdom is to take up your cross and follow Christ as did the St. Anthony, Franciscan and Doctor of the Church.
Ave Maria! Mass readings

Audio (MP3)

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Jul 18 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: St. Camillus de Lellis

apostolate — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:14:58 +0000

Homily #090718 ( 10min) Play – The life of St. Camillus de Lellis is proof that anyone can become a saint and how sickness is an opportunity for the sick to turn to God and for the healthy to practice charity to them. [Sorry the recording was cutoff early.] Readings 1Jn 3:13-18 John 15:12-16
Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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The Mission of St. Joseph

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:00:01 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

And Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary,

of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. (Mt.1:16)

Among the Jews, as among other peoples of nomadic origin, the genealogical tree was of vital importance. A person was known fundamentally of the clan or tribe to which he belonged rather than by the place where he lived. Among the Hebrews we have the added circumstances of belonging to the chosen people through ties of a person’s ancestry being traced through the male. Joseph, as the husband of Mary, was the legal father of Jesus and, as such, carried the duties of a true father. Joseph, like Mary, was of the house and family of David of whom would be born the Messiah.

It would also be Joseph’s responsibility to name the Word incarnate, in accordance with the instructions given him by the angel: You shall call his name Jesus.

God had foreseen that his Son would be born of the Virgin Mary, in a family just like any other, and that in her he would develop in his humanity. The life of Jesus had to be in this respect the same as that of other men. He was to be born defenseless, in need of a father who would protect him and teach him the things that all fathers should teach their sons. The essence and ultimate meaning of Joseph’s life had to lie in the fulfillment of his mission as Mary’s husband and as the father of Jesus. He was born into the world to act as the father of Jesus and to be Mary’s most chaste spouse, in the same way that every person who comes into the world has a specific vocation from God, in which is rooted the whole meaning of his life.

When the angel revealed to him the mystery of the virgin birth of Jesus, Joseph quietly accepted the vocation to which he was to remain faithful until death. St Joseph’s whole glory and happiness lay in his knowing how to understand what God wanted of him and in his having faithfully carried it out to the end.

Let us contemplate Joseph at the side of the Blessed Virgin, who is with child and soon to give birth to her only begotten Son. And let us resolve to spend the time of Christmas at St Joseph’s side, a place as unnoticed as it is privileged: How good Joseph is!

Joseph’s relations with Jesus:

Joseph, we read in a sermon of St Augustine, not only claims the name of father, but has a greater claim to it than any other. And then he adds: How was he a father? All the more effectively, the more chaste the paternity. Some thought that he was the father of our Lord Jesus Christ in the same way as other fathers, who beget sons of the flesh and do not receive them only as the fruit of a spiritual love. This is why St Luke says: ‘he was thought to be the father of Jesus.

St Joseph was deeply in love With Mary. He must have loved her so much and with such generosity of heart that, when he learned of her desire to preserve the consecration she had made to God, he agreed to marry her. He would rather renounce having children than live apart from the woman he loved. His was a pure, refined and deep love. It was full of respect with no hint of selfishness. God himself had definitively sealed their union with a new and even stronger bond, which was their joint earthly mission of bringing up the Messiah. And they had already been betrothed, which was why the angel had said: Do not be afraid to take Mary to be ‘your wife’.

What kind of relationship would Joseph have had with Jesus? Joseph loved Jesus as a father loves his son and showed his love by giving him the best he had. Joseph, caring for the child as he had been commanded, made Jesus a craftsman, transmitting his own skill to him. So the neighbors in Nazareth would call Jesus the son of the craftsman. Jesus worked in Joseph’s workshop and by Joseph’s side. What sort of man must Joseph have been, and how must grace have been active in him, that he was able to carry out the task of bringing up the Son of God?

For Jesus must have resembled Joseph: in his way of working, in the traits of his character and in his way of speaking. Jesus’ realism, his eye for detail, the way he sat at table and broke bread, his preference for using everyday situations in his teaching – all this reflects his childhood and the influence of Joseph.

We stay close to Joseph as we meditate on the approaching Nativity. He only asks us to be simple and humble in our contemplation of Mary and her son. There is no room for the proud in that little group in Bethlehem.

Go to Joseph, so that he may teach us to live side by side with Jesus and Mary:

Joseph is only a silent witness to the Holy Maternity. Joseph, full of admiration, unspeaking and respectful, contemplates the child and its mother. After Mary, he was the first person to see the Son of God made man. No one could have experienced more happiness than he when he took in his arms the Messiah, who in no visible way could be distinguished from any other child. Initially, Joseph’s participation in the mystery had come about through the knowledge given him by the angel’s revelation of the mission he was to carry out for these two exceptional people.

St Joseph was present later when the shepherds arrived. He saw them approach the cave, timid and curious, to see for themselves the ‘babe wrapped in swaddling clothes’. He heard them explain to Mary about the apparition of the heavenly messenger who had told them about the birth of the Savior in Bethlehem and about the sign by which they would recognize him, describing how a multitude of angels had gathered with this first herald envoy, glorifying God and promising peace on earth to men of good will … Joseph also contemplated the radiant happiness of the woman who was his wife, this marvelous lady who had been entrusted into his keeping. Enthralled by the way she gazed at her son, he saw her own unspeakable joy, her own overflowing love, her every gesture so full of exquisite tenderness and meaning.

If we stay close to Joseph during these few days between now and Christmas, he will help us to contemplate this tremendous mystery of which he was a silent witness and to gaze lovingly at Mary as she holds in her arms the Son of God made man.

From the very start Saint Joseph grasped the fact that his whole reason for living was this child, precisely because he was a child, and as such, in need of help and protection, as Mary was too, for God himself had commissioned him to take her into his home and give her protection.

How grateful Jesus would be for all the vigilance and attention that Joseph paid to Mary. That is why the Church has always paid him great tribute and been fervent in his praise, having recourse to him in times of greatest difficulty. Saint Joseph, pray for them (for our loved ones), pray for me (for I too need your help). In whatever need, the Holy Patriarch, together with the Blessed Virgin, will hear our prayers. Today, we ask him to make us simple of heart so that we will know how to show our love for the child Jesus as he did.

From “In Conversation with God” by Fr. Francis Fernandez

…Joseph likewise draws near to adore. The earthly shadow of the Eternal Father rests softly on the Child. Joseph draws near, that most hidden of all God’s saints. His soul is an abyss nameless graces, of graces deeper than those from which ordinary virtues spring. We can give no name to the character of his sanctity. We cannot compare him with any other of saints of God. As his office was unshared, so was his grace. It followed the peculiarities of his office; it stood alone.

He stood to Jesus visibly in the place of the Eternal Father. The human soul of Jesus must have regarded him not only with the tenderest love but also with deep reverence and an inexplicable submission. Meek and gentle, blameless and loving as St. Joseph was, it is not possible to think of him without extreme awe, because of that identity with the Eternal Father which belongs to him We cannot describe his holiness, because we have no term of comparison. It was not only higher in degree than that of the saints but it was different in kind. But it was eminently hidden in God.

From “Bethlehem” by Father Faber

MEDITATION FROM ST. PETER JULIAN EYMARD (to be an adorer like St. Joseph): But I think it is no less necessary to leave in the hands of Divine Providence the care of our spiritual life and of our perfection; for it is nothing else than our excessive solicitude for ourselves that makes us lose our peace of mind and puts us into strange and changeable moods. When we commit a fault, however small, we think that everything is lost. You may be so often troubled with dryness that you are not close to God Who is so full of consolation… we must be like St. Joseph, who was calm in trial and leave it to the Lord to free us when it pleases Him. (Sadness returns as we fall back on ourselves and cease to dwell on the thought of Our Lord’s goodness)

I love you, St. Joseph…

And Jesus and Mary too!

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