Homily #080519 ( 10min) Play – Wordly wisdom comes from experiencing the world but supernatural wisdom comes from experiencing God. Listen as Fr Angelo explains how through following the commandments of God, maintaining a prayer life and especially taking up our cross daily, we can experience God, and so gain wisdom and joy in this world and the next.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
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The post May 19 – Homily – Fr Angelo: Heavenly Wisdom first appeared on AirMaria.com.

St. Padre Pio: PRAY, HOPE, AND DON’T WORRY!

Padre Pio’s Prayer After Holy Communion

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You;

You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength,

that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life and without You I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light and without You I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much and alway be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for You,

a nest of Love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close and life passes,

death, judgment and eternity approaches.

It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that,

I need You.

It is getting late and death approaches,

I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows.

O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers, I need You.

Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread,

so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness,

the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death,

I want to remain united to You, if not by Communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for,

Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit,

because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth

and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity.

Amen.

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I have often raised my hand in the silence of the night and in my solitary cell, blessing you all and presenting you to Jesus and to our father, St. Francis of Assisi.

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O Jesus, impart to me also that same strength, when my weak nature foreseeing future evils rebels, so that like Thou, I may accept with serene peace and tranquility all the pains and distress which I may meet on this earth of exile. I unite all to Thy merits, to Thy pains, Thy ex­piations, Thy tears, that I may cooperate with Thee for my salvation and flee from sin, which was the sole cause of making Thee sweat blood and which led Thee to death. Destroy in me everything that does not please Thee, and with the sacred fire of Thy love write Thy sufferings into my heart. Hold me so closely to Thee, with a bond so tight and so sweet, that I shall never again abandon Thee in Thy Sufferings. May I be able to rest on Thy Heart to obtain comfort in the sufferings of life. May my spirit have no other desire but to live at Thy side in the Garden and unite itself to the pains of Thy Heart. May my soul be inebriated with Thy Blood and feed itself with the bread of Thy suffer­ings. Amen.

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The prayer that Padre Pio preferred was the Holy Rosary. He loved it and recited it so that he could be called a “saint of the Rosary.”   If one did not see Padre Pio at the altar or in the confessional, it was likely one would see him holding and praying his Rosary. From the time he was a boy he loved the Rosary. His first visit to a Marian shrine was the visit he paid to the shrine of the Madonna of the Rosary of Pompei.

From the time the Madonna appeared at Fatima as the Madonna of the Rosary and urged the Rosary as a powerful prayer for winning every blessing and banishing every evil, Padre Pio adopted the Rosary as the prayer he said ceaselessly and tirelessly day after day. He said, “If the Holy Virgin has urged the Rosary wherever she has appeared in her (recent) visions, doesn’t it seem that we have a special motive for praying it?”

The more the number of his spiritual children grew and spread out, the more he increased the Rosaries he would recite. It was with the Rosary that he banished sickness and obtained graces. He reached the point of reciting, in the course of a day, an inconceivable number of Rosaries. He spoke of the fact a number of times different people.

These facts bear out principally two things: first, that Padre Pio prayed uninterruptedly, having that mystical gift that some great Saints have had of prayer ­even while asleep or doing other things; second, it s evident that this uninterrupted prayer was something all Marian, as it all consisted of Rosaries. Here is something he said that eloquently preaches excellency of the Rosary: “I wish days had forty-eight hours so that we could double our Rosaries!”

Needless to say that the whole array of gifts and miracles that Padre Pio used for souls came about through the Rosary.  His power to draw sinners and stray souls who came from everywhere was the fruit of his Rosaries. All his projects and enlightened counsels and his victories over sin were linked with the power of the Rosary.   Ceaselessly praying the Rosary, he also upheld the truth that Mary is Mediatrix of all graces of which St. Bernard said, “The Lord gives nothing but what passes through the hands of the Queen of Heaven.”

Needless to say Padre Pio used to urge people with all his zeal to pray the Rosary. He gave away countless Rosaries. Someone asked him one day what the inheritance would be that he would leave his spiritual children. He answered at once, “The Rosary”.  Someone else asked him what prayer to choose for use throughout one’s life. He promptly replied, “ The Rosary.”

Shortly before his death, some of his spiritual children asked him for some words of wisdom. He answered, “Love the Madonna and make her loved by others. Always pray the Rosary”. Day and night Padre Pio used to entrust to the Madonna his spiritual children and his Home for the Relief of Suffering.

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He counted frequent confession important for him­self and for others. He made his own confession at least every week, and often several times a week, without counting those periods when he went to confession every day to whatever priest was at hand. As for others, he wanted weekly confession to serve as a golden rule of the Christian life. Even during the years when great throngs were coming to him, he never wanted his spiritual children to stay away from confes­sion more than ten days.

Once a spiritual daughter carelessly let a month pass without coming to confession. When she came to Padre Pio and told him that she had not gone to con­fession for a month, she received a severe rebuke from him, “Oh, how neglectful! That you would not yet under­stand the value of confession and what you lost by ne­glecting this sacrament!”

For Padre Pio was convinced that confession is a powerful means not only for removing sins, but also for increasing divine grace. He taught that an atom of grace is worth more than the whole created universe.

(excerpts from Padre Pio of Pietrelcina by Fr. Stefano Manelli,  F.I. )

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“A thousand years of glory in palaces of men cannot be worth the sweetness of one  hour spent before the tabernacle.”

–Padre Pio would describe himself as just a ‘friar who prays’.

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St. Pio of Pietrelcina was born Francesco Forgione in 1887. He entered the Franciscan Capuchin Order at age 15 as Brother Pio. He was ordained on August 10, 1910. While praying before a cross, he received the stigmata on September 20, 1918, the first priest ever to be so blessed.  His obedience to superiors was heroic.  He would hear confessions by the hour, reportedly able to read the consciences of those who held back. He became very well known during his lifetime and people would wait for days to have the opportunity to confess to him.  Many miracles were associated with his intercession during his lifetime and among the supernatural gifts he had was the gift of bilocation.  He had a great love for the Mother of God and prayed the rosary continually. He founded the House for the Relief of Suffering in 1956, a hospital that serves 60,000 a year.  He died in 1968 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

The post September 23rd: Padre Pio of Pietrelcina first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Marycast #73 ( 10min) Play – In this episode, Dr. Miravalle discusses what the Church means when She declares that a certain apparition or private revelation is “approved,” and worthy of belief, or “condemned”.  Who in the Church discerns the authenticity of an apparition?  What crucial role does the local bishop play in the process?  Listen as Dr. Miravalle concludes this important and fascinating short series.

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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The post Video – Private Revelation 301 – Dr. Miravalle: MCast 73 first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #100225 ( 04min) Play – Fr. Bonaventure preaches on today’s Gospel that tells us of the need to love God above all else because he knows what we need and we can love all others through Him.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
1: Esth C:12,14-16,23-25
R: Ps 138:1-3,7-8
G: Mt 7:7-12

Audio (MP3)

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The post Feb 25 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: Love God Above all Else first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #100415 ( 06min) Play – Fr. Ignatius preaches on being pro-life not just in regard to natural life but also in regard to the supernatural life.
Ave Maria! Low Sunday – Mass: EF, Quasi Modo – Readings: 1st: 1jo 5:4-10 – Gsp: joh 20:19-31

Audio (MP3)

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The post Apr 15 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: Supernaturally Pro-life first appeared on AirMaria.com.

MaryCast Specials #84 ( 09min) Play – In this set of three episodes Dr. Mark Miravalle promotes the importance of the apparition site of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City which paved the way to one of the greatest evangelical periods in the Church when over nine million people converted to the faith in less than a decade. In this segment Dr. Mirvalle describes the interesting human interactions between Our Lady, Juan Diego and Bishop Zumarraga and the gradual awareness of Juan Diego and the bishop of the supernatural nature of the events and their meaning for today.

To ask questions regarding Mary, email Dr Mark Miravalle: marycast@airmaria.com

Ave Maria!

Audio (MP3)

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The post Video – Our Lady of Guadalupe 3/3 – Dr Miravalle: Mcasts84 first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #100923 ( 07min) Play – Sorry, the first half of the homily did not get recorded. Today Fr Bonaventure preaches on the life of St Pio of Pietrelcina more commonly known as St. Padre Pio a Capuchin priest who is a modern example of a miracle worker who died in 1968. Father enumerates some of the miraculous events and gifts that Padre Pio had and describes his life as one great miracle since he lived almost a supernatural life. The Franciscans of the Immaculate celebrate this Mass as a Solemnity since he is one of our patron saints.  Fr Stefano, our founder, is a spiritual directee of Padre Pio.
Ave Maria! St. Pio of Pietrelcina – Mass: OF, – Readings:
1st: deu 10:8-9
2nd: gal 6:15-17
Gsp: joh 19:25-37

Audio (MP3)

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The post Sep 23 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: Miraculous St Padre Pio first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Homily #101118 ( 08min) Play – Today’s Gospel is the account of Peter coming to Jesus who is walking on water. Peter is able to walk on the water as well, so long as he keeps focused on Jesus. But, when he looks at the violence of the waves he panics and starts to sink. Fr Dominic uses this to exhort us to keep our lives focused on the supernatural and not on the many natural troubles we may have.
Ave Maria! Dedication of the Basilicas of St Peter and Paul – Optional Memorial – Mass: OF – Readings:
1st: act 28:11-16, 30-31
Resp: psa 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 9
Gsp: mat 14:22-23

Audio (MP3)

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The post Nov 18 – Homily – Fr Dominic: Focus on the Supernatural first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Conferences #104 – Dr. Timothy Noone ( 49min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Lecture 5 of the Newman-Scotus Symposium is by Dr. Noone: Bl. Duns Scotus and Bl. John Newman on Knowledge, Assent, and Faith

Dr. Noone basis his lecture on Scotus’ Tenet Philosphi Perfectionem Naturae addressing the need for natural and supernatural knowledge in faith and the place for each. Scotus teaches that natural intellect can come to some knowledge of God but cannot come to certainty that God is truly Triune and that we are destined to enjoy the beatific vision of Him.  A person can however at least understand what these concepts are saying.

Scotus deals with Philosophers pointing out the limits of their reasoning and conclusions and to use persuasion to show the continuity of the different elements of faith and so demonstrate its credibility. Some consider Scotus to be skeptical on this point but he is simply exhibiting his concern to maintain the distinction and coherence between reason and faith.

Newmanesque Intimations – Acquired natural faith is when we believe others on a natural level like the fact that Rome exists even if we have never seen it. This relates to Newman’s arguments that we accept that England is an island even without rowing around it, also, similarly argued by Augustine.

Dr. Noone then covers Scotus’ teaching on infused faith, how we believe with certainty, experiencing the higher forms of assent. He first outlines other forms of knowledge showing how complete Scotus’ analysis typically is. He then covers many points of comparison and contrast between Scotus and Newman.

Q and A

Fr Ed points out for reflection, if no universities start any earlier than Kant for philosophy and leave out Medieval Philosophyentirely, then how can we prepare our seminarians for ministry? And there are other interesting questions as well.

Ave Maria!

For more of this Symposium http://dev.airmaria.com/category/air-maria-shows/conferences/newman-scotus-symp-2010/

For the book that is the final fruit of this Symposium: https://academyoftheimmaculate.com/products/the-newman-scotus-reader-contexts-and-commonalities

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #110816 ( 05min) Play – Fr. Bonaventure explains how both the rich and the poor need God’s grace to learn to abandon everything in a human way in order to elevate all in a supernatural way.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Stephen of Hungary – Opt Mem – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: jdg 6:11-24
R: psa 85:9, 11-12, 13-14
Gsp: mat 19:23-30

Audio (MP3)

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The post Aug 16 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: The Rich and the Poor first appeared on AirMaria.com.