The Necessity of the Intercession of Mary for our Salvation.

STORY
In Germany a man fell into a grievous sin; through shame he was unwilling to confess it; but, on the other hand, unable to endure the remorse of his conscience, he went to throw himself into a river; on the point of doing so, he hesitated, and weeping, he begged that God would forgive him his sin without his confessing it.  One night, in his sleep, he felt someone shake his arm, and heard a voice which said, “Go to confession.”  He went to the church, but yet did not confess.  On another night, he again heard the same voice.  He returned to the church; but when he arrived there, he declared that he would rather die than confess that sin.  But before returning home he went to recommend himself to the most Blessed Virgin, whose image was in that church.  He had no sooner knelt down than he found himself quite changed.  He immediately arose, called a confessor, and weeping bitterly, through the grace which he had received from Mary, made an entire confession of his sins; and he afterwards declared that he experienced greater satisfaction than if he had obtained all the treasures of the world.

PRAYER
I will address you, O great Mother of God, in the words of St Bernard; “Speak, O Lady, for your Son hears you, and whatever you ask you will obtain.”  Speak, speak, then, O Mary, our advocate, in favor of us poor miserable creatures.  Remember that it was also for our good that you did receive so great power and so high a dignity.  A God was pleased to become your debtor by taking humanity of you, in order that you might dispense at will the riches of divine mercy to sinners.  We are your servants, devoted in a special manner to you; and I am one of these, I trust, even in a higher degree.  We glory in living under your protection.  Since you do good to all, even to those who neither know nor honor you, rather, more, to those who outrage and blaspheme you, how much more may we not hope from your benignity, which seeks out the wretched in order to relieve them, we who honor, love, and confide in you?  We are great sinners, but God has enriched you with compassion and power far exceeding our iniquities.  You can, and have the will to save us; and the greater is our unworthiness, the greater shall be our hope in order to glorify you the more in heaven, when by your intercession we get there.  O Mother of mercy, we present you our souls, once cleansed and rendered beautiful in the blood of Jesus Christ, but, alas, since that time, defiled by sin.  To you do we present them; do you purify them.  Obtain for us true conversion; obtain for us the love of God, perseverance, heaven.  We ask you for much; but what is it?  Perhaps you can not obtain all?  It is perhaps too much for the love of God bears you?  Ah, no! for you have only to open your lips and ask your divine Son; he will deny you nothing.  Pray, then, pray O Mary, for us; pray; you will certainly obtain all; and we shall with the same certainty obtain the kingdom of heaven.

The post The Glories of Mary #14: Mary Our Advocate first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Conferences #172 – Fr. Jeffery Keefe on the Varieties of Guilt ( 82min) >>> Play

Fr. Jeffrey Keefe, O.F.M. Conv., director of Courage in Syracuse, NY, gives his talk at the 2012 International Courage Conference on the “The Varieties of Guilt” which we face on our pilgrimage to God and the appropriate pastoral approach to cope with them in a world where temptation and sin are increasing. In the process he explains the nature of shame and how shame and guilt are our built in monitors of our behavior. Yet, no matter how bad we mess up, we should look to God to help straighten out the mess and so find peace.

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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The post Video – Conf #172: Courage2012-6 – The Varieties of Guilt first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #140914b ( 12min) Play – On this feast of the Triumph of the Cross, Fr. Elias highlights the paradox of the Cross where the ultimate instrument of torture, defeat and death has become the ultimate triumph of life itself over death. We must ever strive and pray for the grace to give God proper thanks for what He has done for us with His precious sacrifice.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Triumph of the Holy Cross – Feast – Form: OF
Readings: 
1st: num 21:4-9
Resp: psa 78:1-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38
2nd: phi 2:6-11
Gsp: joh 3:13-17

Audio (MP3)

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The post Sep 14 – Homily – Fr Elias: Sign of Shame and Triumph first appeared on AirMaria.com.

In the homily for the memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (Abbot and Doctor of the Church, Aug 20) Fr. Alan explains that the Church, once again mired in sexual abuse allegations, needs saints to overcome this crisis. Public relations consultants and lawyers will not help the hierarchy bring about the needed reform; only holy ministers, consecrated religious, and laity can do this.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Bernard of Clairvaux – Mem

Readings: Monday in the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
1st: Ezel 24:15-24
Resp: Dt 32:18-19, 20, 21
Gsp: Mt 19:16-22

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1138&r=918

St. Bernard’s admonition to Blessed Pope Eugene III can be found in The Thirty-Three Doctors of the Church, by Fr. Christopher Rengers, O. F. M. Cap., TAN Books.

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The post The Church in Crisis Needs Saints – Aug 20 – Homily – Fr Alan first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fr Terrance gives the homily at Bloomington, IN on Jan 24, 2022, on the 6th Mark of Charity, love is not rude, continuing his series on the Marks of Charity (1 Corinthians 13:5)

Rude refers to behaving disgracefully or shamefully and thus is an admonition against sexual misconduct.

to not confuse love and lust, Love is not rude but lust is

Also is against all pornography, form of false intimacy

Respect the commandments of God

love and lust are opposites on all points.

love has nothing to do with crude or foul in speech:

1 we are called to righteousness

2 desacralizes what is sacred, our sexuality

3 contributes to misconduct as it make sin feel at home

4 weakens inhibition and resistance to temptations

Love is not ambitious

Charity is not ashamed because it is not ambitious

Luke 19:10 come to seek the sinners

St Basil love of Christ did not reject harlots and washed feet

John Chrysostom charity knows not what dishonor or disgrace she covers with her wings of gold all our sins

proverbs Love covers over a multitude of sins

Sweeps sins under the rug

Love is not rude in that it helps us to forgive, let go of offenses

More from this series, Marks of Charity:
YouTube Play List: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLejh_e0-LN4zbDleFGSzczRhHHIz6_883
On AirMaria: http://dev.airmaria.com/tag/marks-of-charity/

Marks of Charity are from First Corinthians Chapt 13 – https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/13

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Francis de Sales – Mem
Readings:  – https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/0124-memorial-francis-de-sales.cfm
1st: eph 3:8-12
Resp: psa 37:3-6, 30-31
Gsp: joh 15:9-17

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1019

Also on Facebook: https://fb.watch/aKA8SzNQdy/
and YouTube: https://youtu.be/CiTaGR7247Q

The post Not Rude: 6th Mark of Charity – Jan 24 – Homily – Fr Terrance first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fr Terrance gives the homily at Bloomington, IN on Mar 04, 2022, on how to avoid making a bad confession and get right with God.

A humble and contrite heart, O Lord, you will not spurn.

4 ways of a confession would be bad.

1 – Not making an examination of conscience, not being prepared. Mostly a problem if we are dealing with mortal sin

2 – Intentialnally holding back a mortal sin. Will have the sins still on us and additional sin of

3 – Unintentionally not confessing all of our sins because we don’t have a sense of what sin is, requires learning the moral doctrines of the church, ten commandments, and what they mean

4 – Not intending to avoid mortal sin in the future. No repentance = No forgiveness

Repentance is not in our feelings but in our will. Choosing to not do them again whether it feels good or not.

Determination, resolution, to avoid near occasion of sin, change of lifestyle.

Believe what the Church believes is faith and this involves how we live.

We should not receive communion if in mortal sin – first confession, then communion

Let us not take confession for granted.

Ave Maria!

Mass: Friday after Ash Wednesday – Wkdy
Readings:  – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/030422.cfm
1st: isa 58:1-9
Resp: psa 51:3-4, 5-6, 18-19
Gsp: mat 9:14-15

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1738

Also on Facebook: https://fb.watch/by010UPjee/
and YouTube: https://youtu.be/QxFbIVzHVww

The post Bad Confessions: Getting Right with God – Mar 04 – Homily – Fr Terrance first appeared on AirMaria.com.