One more point, so that we may have a perfectly clear idea of Saint Therese’s self-denial. Generally speaking we have a too material, too external idea of self-denial; we almost always picture self-denial under the form of privation, as the sacrifice of something material, or again as some external mortification. And so we tire ourselves out looking for something to give up instead of denying ourselves always and in everything.   

Self-denial is primarily and often solely something interior and spiritual; it is in no way synonymous with mortification, with privation. Even when there is no mortification, there ought always to be self-denial. Self-­denial is simply the disposition of the soul to live for self in nothing, a sincere and constant disposition, a fixed determination to turn the soul from its natural tendency to make self the centre of its life, a fixed determination not to think of self, to put self on one side. 

Saint Therese’s self-denial was often of this kind, wholly interior; the not doing something, the repressing of a natural eagerness, of a too vehement desire, of over-curiosity, of a feeling of antipathy, of feelings of complacency or gratification. Outwardly these little sacrifices were often imperceptible. Even when expressed by an exterior and material sacrifice, it was in the interior turning away from self, the interior turning to God, that they primarily consisted. The turning of the heart to God, and so, away from self: that is self-­denial.

If this interior movement is sincere, the exterior and material detachment will correspond to it when the occasion arises, but the exterior part is far from being the whole, the essential part of it. The essential part is the glance of the heart turned, not to self, but to God.

We can now see why Therese’s care not to miss any opportunity of little sacrifices, did not result, with her, in preoccupation or anxiety, constraint or scrupulosity, no more than did her desire to please God her Father in all things. Joyfully she goes on her way borne up by her all-absorbing desire. The very sincerity, the integrity of her desire to please God, tells her when- in this or that- there would be a slight self-satisfaction, and that she can please God by sacrificing it to Him. She makes her little sacrifice and passes on. A moment later a fresh opportunity comes, and she makes another and she goes on, freely, in simplicity. She is sincere in her desire to do everything to please God. That is all.

Her little sacrifices-of which she misses no opportunity-are but the spontaneous fruit of her ever watchful desire to love. There is no anxiety, no uneasiness, no narrowness, no restless preoccupation with self, no constraint of the heart, on the contrary, the heart is enlarged, the soul expands, there is joy; the joy of giving which is one with the joy of loving.

Pere Liagre C.S.Sp.

The post St. Therese on Self-denial first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #140307b ( 00min) Play – Fr. Elias on why Christians pray and fast as compared to non-Christians and Buddhists. We focus on love of God as opposed some sort of self-discipline or self-denial as an end to itself. Our goal is to put aside things in order to focus on God.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Friday after Ash Wednesday – Wkdy – Form: OF
Readings: 
1st: isa 58:1-9
Resp: psa 51:3-4, 5-6, 18-19
Gsp: mat 9:14-15

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post Mar 07 – Homily – Fr Elias: Why we Pray and Fast first appeared on AirMaria.com.

St. Mariana of Paredes was a Third Order Franciscan who reminds us that penance makes it possible for us to prepare for things of heaven. By her extraordinary mortifications in reparation for the sins of others, she teaches us the value of self-denial.
Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Mariana of Jesus de Paredes – Opt Mem
Readings: Saturday 8th Week of Ordinary Time
1st: jud 1:17, 20-25
Resp: psa 63:2, 3-4, 5-6 0
Gsp: mar 11:27-33

Audio (MP3)

+++

The post May 28 – Homily – Fr Peter: Preparing With Penance first appeared on AirMaria.com.

This illustrious Franciscan preacher (b. 1391, d. 1476) converted multitudes over the course of his long ministry throughout most of Christendom. His life is a testimony to the saving power of the holy Word of God preached by one who puts it into practice.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. James of the March – Mem

Readings: 
1st: Sir 45:1-5
Resp: Ps 16:1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 11
Gsp: Lk 10:1-9

Please like and share this video on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/90378558559/videos/10155870039618560

The post Nov 28 – Homily – Fr Alan: St. James of the Marches – Penitent, Preacher, Prophet first appeared on AirMaria.com.

For the homily on Ascension Thursday (May 10), Fr. Alan gives the homily at New Bedford on the hope we have in following Christ in this earthly life, to be with him in glory in the next.

Ave Maria!

Mass: Ascension of the Lord Thursday – Solemnity

Readings: 
1st: Act 1:1-11
Resp: Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
2nd: Eph 1:17-23
Gsp: Mk 16:15-20

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1827

Please like and share this video on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/90378558559/videos/10156321035283560

For Audio go to http://dev.airmaria.com?p=65487

By the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate http://marymediatrix.com

To Subscribe to this channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=franciscanfriars

To contribute to Franciscanfriars and AirMaria: http://dev.airmaria.com/contribute/

The post That Where I Am, You Also May Be – May 10 – Homily – Fr Alan first appeared on AirMaria.com.

On the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (Aug 06), Fr. Alan gives the homily on how the Transfiguration served as a “flash forward” to the future glory of the Risen Christ, and to the same glory that awaits us if we follow Christ, denying our self and carrying our Cross in this life.

Considering the Transfiguration in the context of the whole Gospel gives an insight into our own Christian experience as one of persevering through trials, sustained by the hope and faith in the Resurrection.

Ave Maria!

Mass: Transfiguration of the Lord – Feast

Readings: 
1st: Dn 7:9-10, 13-14
Resp: Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 9
2nd: 2 Pt 1:16-19
Gsp: Mk 9:2-10

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1125

Please like and share this video on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/90378558559/videos/10156533955968560

For Audio go to http://dev.airmaria.com?p=66751

By the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate http://marymediatrix.com

To Subscribe to this channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=franciscanfriars

To contribute to Franciscanfriars and AirMaria: http://dev.airmaria.com/contribute/

The post Transfiguration: A Flash of Future Glory – Aug 06 – Homily – Fr Alan first appeared on AirMaria.com.

In the homily for the Feast of the Stigmatization of St. Francis of Assisi (Sep 17), Fr. Alan explains the stigmata of St. Francis as “love crucified” (O’Brien), given as a sign for us, confirming the spirituality of St. Francis as a faithful model for all Christians.

As disciples of Christ, charity for Our Lord impels us to also deny ourselves and to embrace the cross, seeking metaphorical crucifixion of the flesh for the sake of love, after the example of St. Francis.

“Through his prayers may we be made conformable to the death of [Our Lord] and thus share also in His resurrection” (Collect for the Mass).

Ave Maria!

Mass: Stigmata of St. Francis – Feast

Readings: 
1st: Gal 6:14-18
Resp: Gal 2:16, 20
Gsp: Lk 9:23-26

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=709

The title of this homily is inspired by the title of the chapter on the Stigmatization in the biography on St. Francis by Fr. Isidore O’Brien, O. F. M., Francis of Assisi: Mirror of Christ (Franciscan Herald Press, Chicago, 1978 [6th ed.]).

Please like and share this video on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/90378558559/videos/716705525355975

For Audio go to http://dev.airmaria.com?p=67226

By the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate http://marymediatrix.com

To Subscribe to this channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=franciscanfriars

To contribute to Franciscanfriars and AirMaria: http://dev.airmaria.com/contribute/

The post Francis’ Stigmata, “Love Crucified” – Sep 17 – Homily – Fr Alan first appeared on AirMaria.com.

In the homily for the memorial of St. Agatha (Virgin and Martyr, Feb 05), Fr. Matthias explains how the virtue of chastity combined with the self-sacrificial love of martyrdom, as exemplified by St. Agatha, is what the Church needs today. Deflecting attention from the problem of unchastity and blaming the present crisis on “clericalism” may very well be itself an expression of clericalism. The crisis will go unresolved until the root cause is acknowledged: lack of virtue, particularly the virtues of chastity and fortitude.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Agatha – Mem

Readings: Tuesday 4th Week of Ordinary Time
1st: Heb 12:1-4
Resp: Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32
Gsp: Mk 5:21-43

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1030&r=1378

Please like and share this video on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/90378558559/videos/2165927757006283

For Audio go to http://dev.airmaria.com?p=70190

By the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate http://marymediatrix.com

To Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=franciscanfriars

To contribute to Franciscanfriars and AirMaria: http://dev.airmaria.com/contribute/

The post Church in Crisis Needs Chastity and Fortitude – Feb 05 – Homily – Fr Matthias first appeared on AirMaria.com.

After a brief overview of the life of the penitential Franciscan Saint John Joseph of the Cross (priest of the Alcantaran reform, Mar 05), Fr. Matthias offers guidance for making an effective and meritorious Lenten resolution (4:27). Identifying the main principle to observe, he offers three practical categories to choose from which are readily available in the life of everyone.

It is not necessary to find some creative penance in order to make this Lent a most spiritually fruitful time or penance, purification, and growth in love of the Lord, as life offers plenty of ready-made possibilities for meaningful and meritorious mortification.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. John Joseph of the Cross

Readings: Tuesday 8th Week of Ordinary Time
1st: Sir 35:1-12
Resp: Ps 50:5-6, 7-8, 14, 23
Gsp: Mk 10:28-31

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=616&r=1402

Also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/90378558559/videos/368848957289568
and YouTube: https://youtu.be/KMN8M1Bs5ys

To Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=franciscanfriars

To contribute to Franciscanfriars and AirMaria: http://dev.airmaria.com/contribute/

The post 3 Convenient Categories of Lenten Resolutions – Mar 05 – Homily – Fr Matthias first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fr. Matthias focuses on the opening prayer (Collect) of today’s Mass (Wednesday 1st Week of Lent, Mar 13), and draws out the practical implications of this Lenten prayer: “Look kindly, Lord, we pray, on the devotion of your people, that those who by self-denial are restrained in body may by the fruit of good works be renewed in mind.” The Lord inspires us to pray this way because He wants to give us that for which He instructs us to ask: true and lasting devotion expressed in consistent and prompt service of the Lord.

Ave Maria!

Mass: Wednesday 1st Week of Lent – Wkdy

Readings: 
1st: Jn 3:1-10
Resp: Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
Gsp: Lk 11:29-32

Also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/90378558559/videos/973761963014360
and YouTube: https://youtu.be/M3mEh6q94IM

By the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate http://marymediatrix.com

To Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=franciscanfriars

To contribute to Franciscanfriars and AirMaria: http://dev.airmaria.com/contribute/

The post Lenten Prayer for TRUE DEVOTION – Mar 13 – Homily – Fr Matthias first appeared on AirMaria.com.