Liturgical Year

A Specific Devotion for Our Time

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

Every single soul wants to be happy; yet few know how. Only by loving God - putting Him first - can man be happy. This is what Mary's Immaculate Heart does so perfectly. She desires God and His will alone. This is the fundamental reason why we must be devoted to her Immaculate Heart. It is not just a 'Marian devotion,' but it is at the heart of the Mystery of God and of man's existence. Man's problem is he does not love God enough! The more you contemplate Mary's heart, the more you will overcome your selfishness. And God has [...]

A Specific Devotion for Our TimeDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

Two Special Intentions

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

This feast day is particularly noteworthy for us as this location is consecrated to Our Lady specifically under the title of today's feast. Please pray the following two special intentions often. Consider as well the relationship between Mary's Heart and the Love of God. Finally, let us renew our consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. - "O Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary, be thou the way whereby I shall go to my Savior, Jesus Christ. Help me to seek and follow Jesus." - "O Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary, help me to learn from thee purity, humility and above all, [...]

Two Special IntentionsDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

Neo-Gnosticism is Fatherless

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

Neo-gnostics believe the created universe to be their 'god' and strive for self-salvation. Thus they reject God as our Creator, our Savior and our Father. Literature influenced by neo-gnosticism rarely ever has good and strong father figures who lead, teach and defend their families well. It is a terrible tortue for a soul to suffer the lack of a good father. Without good fathers, man can't make heroic acts of loving sacrifice. A father's love is the highest form of love for a man. Piety needs a father. Our society - and our Church - desperately need fatherhood to be restored and maintained. Fortunately, [...]

Neo-Gnosticism is FatherlessDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

The Assumption Crushes Neo-Gnosticism

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

The world is currently enduring neo-gnosticism, which is a form of occultism. Gnosticism was the first heresy to attack the Church. It offers salvation through secret knowledge. Yet its very essence is to reject the revealed Genesis account of creation and substitute an unreal world for the real. Thus, it cannot be reconciled with Christianity. The reemergence of gnosticism constitutes the very essence of modernity. The fact that gnosticism has returned so strongly, and we are inundated in it, ought to concern us - especially since it has deeply infiltrated the Church. Neo-gnostics have given up on Heaven above and instead look to salvation by 'moving forward' to [...]

The Assumption Crushes Neo-GnosticismDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

Truth, Faith, and Authority

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

In today's epistle (1 Cor 15), St. Paul teaches on the first foundation of our salvation (faith!) and on the scope and purpose of apostolic authority. Christ gives His Church authority for a purpose: to teach, transmit, guard and defend the truth which He taught (deposit of faith). Church leaders are to faithfully transmit what they have received from Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture - and thus save souls. The vast majority of Catholics do not believe in the pope in a truly Catholic way, for our love and loyalty to the pope must be rooted in our more fundamental love and loyalty [...]

Truth, Faith, and AuthorityDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

To Hide Sins Well Confess Them Well

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

St. Thomas Aquinas taught "there are three sources of trial for the Church: (i) external persecution; (ii) undermining of the Truth from within by heresy and spreading of error; and (iii) corruption of members through sin." Under the guidance of the Holy Cure d'Ars, let us consider the third source. St. John Vianney could be tough in the confessional, but he would also shed tears and himself perform most of the penance due to his penitents. He knew that sin ties man to his shameful bonds (enslavement) and that absolved sins are completely gone! He had such a love for God and the [...]

To Hide Sins Well Confess Them WellDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

Humility Builds Great Things to Gods Glory

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

In today's gospel, the pharisee tithed and fasted, but all to no avail as his motivation was false. The pharisee prayed badly, looking instead to see what the publican was doing... and criticizing him. This is a tendency in sinful man. Avoid this at all costs for it stems from human pride and is destructive. The best way to contribute towards building up any community (including our families) is through a concerted effort to grow in the interior life; to grow in holiness. Pray with humility as did the publican. Bear in mind that God exalts the one who humbles himself. [...]

Humility Builds Great Things to Gods GloryDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

Danger of Becomming Demoralized

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

In many ways, demoralization is the greatest enemy to the spiritual life. It is a great threat to the survival of a nation and of the Church Militant. It is one of the devil's greatest weapons against us: to depress us so that we lose all hope and give up. This is also a strategy of leftist marxist revolutionaries. They know that the first stage in collapsing a free society is to demoralize. People ashamed of their own culture won’t defend it when it is attacked. Many Americans—particularly younger ones—have been conditioned to believe that one belief system is as good as [...]

Danger of Becomming DemoralizedDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

Fortress of the Valiant Woman

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

During Holy Week, Our Lord taught in Jerusalem every day, but ate and rested elsewhere - for example, in the house of Lazarus, Martha and Mary in Bethany. Jerusalem represents the world ruled by forces opposed to Christ, whereas Bethany is the Fortress of the Valiant Woman. It represents the Church and models our family home. Are our homes places for the Lord to rest? In commenting on Psalm 31, St. Albert the Great describes the many elements of this fortress. It has a moat of mortality. We must suffer and die because this saves us from pride and reminds us this [...]

Fortress of the Valiant WomanDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

Athanasius Against the World

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00

Once Constantine legalized Christianity (313 AD), the Church's exterior threats were largely eliminated - for a time. Yet the devil never rests and the threat of interior enemies, amongst the baptized, grew. In the 4th century, the heresy of Arianism (denial of Christ's divinity) infested the Church. More than 90% of bishops betrayed Christ by accepting an Arian or Semi-Arian creed. During this crisis, God raised up a true champion: St. Athanasius the Great, Patriarch of Alexandria and Champion of Orthodoxy. It seemed almost every civil and ecclesial institution was set against him. He was only supported by a small number [...]

Athanasius Against the WorldDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:49-05:00