20 Epiphany 5th Sunday

Three Images for the Whole Year

DVRodriguez2025-03-08T14:18:28-05:00

Jesus was born in order to die for us. Colossians 3:17 aptly describes our fitting response. Three 'Christmas' images which help us keep this response in mind are: [1] The Blessed Mother offering her Son in sacrifice in the temple. [2] Jesus teaching the truth in the temple. [3] Jesus the King teaching from His cathedra. It is necessary to hear and transmit the teaching of Christ and to worship God rightly. Keeping these three images in your mind and heart will help you be faithful to God's grace and to grow in His grace.

Three Images for the Whole YearDVRodriguez2025-03-08T14:18:28-05:00

The Marriage Vows

DVRodriguez2025-02-28T20:13:45-05:00

Marriage is under terrible attack in our society. Even many Catholics are succumbing to the errors which have proliferated society. In order to live holy matrimony well, the wedding vows and the nature of the sacred contract must be understood and appreciated. This contract can only end by death (God does not permit divorce). The primary end of marriage is the procreation and formation of children. The secondary end is the mutual good of the spouses. Unity and indissolubility are essential properties. These deep truths have very practical consequences for how marriage must be lived on a day to day basis.

The Marriage VowsDVRodriguez2025-02-28T20:13:45-05:00

Glorious is God in His Saints

DVRodriguez2024-11-21T16:48:59-05:00

Christ the King has redeemed and transformed all time. Living in accordance with the liturgical year is a basic and daily way by which we truly live as Christ's subjects. Yet the vast majority of Catholics ignore His being Lord of all time. The recent feasts emphasize the importance of the saints. Make a special effort to draw closer to them. The examples of St. Rita of Casia (+1457), saint of the impossible, and St. Humility (+1310), illustrate how the saints made Christ sovereign over mind, will, body, time, and life. By their intercession may we too enthrone Christ over our [...]

Glorious is God in His SaintsDVRodriguez2024-11-21T16:48:59-05:00

The Great Thought

DVRodriguez2023-12-08T16:58:46-05:00

For Christ to truly be King, He must reign in men's minds. This means man assents – with perfect submission and firm belief – to the doctrines taught by Christ and His Church. How terrible that many occupying high places in the Church are instead seeking to undermine His teachings. We instead must remain steadfast and faithful to the Great Truth. As an example, consider the Church's teachings on the Four Last Things. Review a 'Short Catechism on Eternity.' Heed the example of St. Anthony Mary Claret. And in all thy works, remember thy last end, and thou shall never sin [...]

The Great ThoughtDVRodriguez2023-12-08T16:58:46-05:00

Be a Master of Your Craft

DVRodriguez2023-11-26T19:38:16-05:00

Here are three means to progress and excel in the spiritual life. [1] An ability to identify defects. We usually don't want to hear any critique of ourselves. Yet seeing our [minor] defects, which aren't easy to self detect, is the only way to make progress. [2] Humility in the spirit of collaboration. Every criticism has an element of truth, so be hungry for criticism (not paranoid or angry). [3] Love what you do and study your craft. Be obsessed with being Catholic. If you love your state in life, then at every moment you will try to learn how to [...]

Be a Master of Your CraftDVRodriguez2023-11-26T19:38:16-05:00

Great Pearl and Irrelevance of Novelty

DVRodriguez2023-11-20T08:46:34-05:00

False religions deny Christ and thus have the spirit of anitchrist. Modern Jews are defined by their rejection of Christ. Protestants identify themselves by their denial of the Church. This same pattern, of finding one's identity by denial or rejection, is found in the novus ordo liturgy. Many of its advocates harbor a virulent animus against Tradition, wishing to sentence the traditional liturgy to death. Revolutionaries long for the complete destruction of the old order, otherwise their revolution can't fully succeed. Traditional Catholics should not fall prey to identification by being against the new order for they have the most beautiful thing [...]

Great Pearl and Irrelevance of NoveltyDVRodriguez2023-11-20T08:46:34-05:00

Teach Catholic Men to Fight

DVRodriguez2022-04-05T06:48:52-04:00

Catholic manhood is under attack. Modern men suffer from effeminacy of the body, mind, and will. Man is attached to pleasure and fears that which is difficult. He suffers an inability to seek the truth, preferring emotion over truth. He rationalizes and justifies everything to get what he wants. Christ's rebuke of the Apostles during the storm illustrates three points integral to a manhood: [1] Christ wanted them to face something difficult and overcome fear. [2] Christ was intentionally asleep; wanting them to wake Him. [3] Christ called the Apostles to get into the boat, to cast out into the deep. [...]

Teach Catholic Men to FightDVRodriguez2022-04-05T06:48:52-04:00

The Flight Into Egypt

DVRodriguez2022-04-01T13:27:35-04:00

The latter six Mysteries from the Infancy and Childhood of Christ clearly manifest and admirably summarize the Holy Family. The Mystery of Christ can't be fully understood apart from the Holy Family; for Christ does not just bring us salvation, but He does so with and through the Holy Family. Our response to these Mysteries must not just be to believe, love and obey, but also to reflect upon them -- and to do so with faith! Let us consider the Flight into Egypt. This Mystery provides many important lessons for how we are to save our souls, especially in these [...]

The Flight Into EgyptDVRodriguez2022-04-01T13:27:35-04:00

Three Brief Lessons on Holiness

DVRodriguez2021-11-20T06:36:59-05:00

Holiness consists in being united to Christ. [1] Jesus Himself calls us to holiness through the Church Triumphant and the Church Suffering. [2] We are the Church Militant because we are fighting for what? for holiness! To be Catholic is to strive to be holy. God's plan for our holiness is His Church, and outside His Church there can be no true holiness. [3] Holiness consists in conformity to the will of God.

Three Brief Lessons on HolinessDVRodriguez2021-11-20T06:36:59-05:00

Population Control for the Dead

DVRodriguez2021-11-09T08:30:19-05:00

This is an ugly sermon, but the topic needs to be preached. The modern world immersed in a culture of death largely hates the body of man. This is seen in how we treat the remains of the deceased. Cremation is forbidden by traditional Catholic teaching. Yet even this desecration is insufficient. The environmentalist ideology, embraced by some prelates, now promotes the liquifying of human bodies or turning them into compost. The body effectively becomes a sacrificial offering to the diabolic earth goddess pachamama. It is truly Catholic to respect the human body in the womb and in the tomb.

Population Control for the DeadDVRodriguez2021-11-09T08:30:19-05:00