64 Pentecost 4th Sunday

Devotion of All Devotions

DVRodriguez2023-08-12T07:51:48-04:00

"The devotion of all devotions is love for Jesus Christ – and frequent meditation on the love which this amiable Redeemer has borne and still bears to us" (St. Alphonsus). Our holy religion is not primarily about saying prayers, following the commandments, or doing good deeds. Rather, all we do should first and foremost be a conscious and intentional expression of our love for Christ. We make little progress in the spiritual life and remain in the same sins because we take little care to acquire the love of Christ. This has great relevance for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, [...]

Devotion of All DevotionsDVRodriguez2023-08-12T07:51:48-04:00

Families Need A Spirit of Development

DVRodriguez2022-09-22T11:11:17-04:00

We are fighting a battle we can't afford to loose. Catholic families need to foster an environment that is all about continual development. Examine your level of desire to attain perfection and the means you are using to attain it. Spouses and parents must set goals, establish strategies, and provide accountability. This require constant communication, collaboration, and evaluation. Our weakness and strengths play a critical and unique role in how God is calling us to sanctity. When spouses say "I DO" they should be promising that every day, for the rest of their lives, they will slave away to build saints [...]

Families Need A Spirit of DevelopmentDVRodriguez2022-09-22T11:11:17-04:00

Public and Social Crime

DVRodriguez2022-09-20T14:14:12-04:00

Anyone who has authority - religious or secular - has that power from God and each one who exercises authority must exercise it in accordance with God's law. It is a public crime to act as if there is no God or that the true religion can't be known by a state. In Immortale Dei (1885), Pope Leo XIII explains the duties of the state towards God. He provides the doctrine all Catholics must believe; we must draw out its practical conclusion.

Public and Social CrimeDVRodriguez2022-09-20T14:14:12-04:00

Dignity and True Liberty

DVRodriguez2022-07-31T08:01:42-04:00

The immeasurable dignity of the unborn is markedly clear at the Visitation. Yet even 2500 years ago, the pagan Hippocrates vowed to oppose abortion. Pope Sixtus V explained that abortion is a 'double murder,' for it prevents the aborted baby from ever enjoying eternal life with God. Abortion is a terrible hallmark of the 'culture of a death.' To overcome it, we need to acknowledge true liberty. It is not just physical, or psychological, but a moral freedom (the power to do the good). Despite the eradication of Roe v. Wade, the unborn children remains a target. To recover his dignity, [...]

Dignity and True LibertyDVRodriguez2022-07-31T08:01:42-04:00

Fathers Provide Truth and Obedience

DVRodriguez2021-08-10T08:12:19-04:00

During the Miracle of the Sun, the saintly children received a vision of St. Joseph holding the Christ Child and blessing the world. Fathers, bring Christ into your marriage and home. Fathers, imitate and teach two very important virtues of St. Joseph: truth and obedience. This is why God has given you authority over your family: teach the truth and obedience to Christ's doctrine and the inspirations of the Holy Ghost. Fathers, you do this primarily by example (though words can help). The world, the Church, and families are in dire straits on account of the many failings on the part [...]

Fathers Provide Truth and ObedienceDVRodriguez2021-08-10T08:12:19-04:00

The Cloak of St Joseph

DVRodriguez2021-06-28T04:07:51-04:00

Holy Joseph of the Old Testament serves as a type prefiguring St. Joseph. Numerous details lead us to this spiritual insight, including his parentage, his cloak, his purity, his royalty, and his dreams. Yet the fulfillment is always greater than the prefigurement. He was Christ's example of manhood and an icon of God the Father for the Christ Child. He is the exemplar of what all human fathers should be. See good St. Joseph as a true example of holy masculinity and as a real father to you every day. The Church also possesses several relics from him: his leather belt, [...]

The Cloak of St JosephDVRodriguez2021-06-28T04:07:51-04:00

Laugh at Evils Short Lived Attempts

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:50-05:00

Saints can laugh in the face of martyrdom. We need their sense of humor. St. Albert describes the Valiant Woman's laughing as a swelling in joy of mind and heart which keeps propriety and grace. The cause of the saints' laughter is rooted in their union with God. There is never any laughing in hell. God allows wicked men to be cruelly chastised by fierce demons because they voluntarily submit themselves to the devil. God devastates every place where idolatry is practiced. We ought to see though, laugh at, and mock the communistic marxist phrases and techniques being used today. This helps us resist their brainwashing, not fall [...]

Laugh at Evils Short Lived AttemptsDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:50-05:00

We Desperately Need Fortitude

DVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:50-05:00

Fortitude is the gift of the Holy Ghost that strengthens our will to banish all timidity and human respect; it strengthens the soul to hate sin, to practice virtue, and to prefer contempt, temporal loss, persecution, and even death, rather than to deny Christ by word or deed. By this gift, we are empowered to fight and overcome the enemies of our salvation. Fortitude enables us to fulfill the will of God in the midst of temptations, difficulties, and persecutions. It makes us ready and courageous to undertake the greatest sacrifices for our salvation. Today, we need to grow in fortitude! [...]

We Desperately Need FortitudeDVRodriguez2020-11-13T21:49:50-05:00