Fr. Michael Rodriguez

The Transfiguration in Lent. Seeing Christ’s glory is the promise that awaits those who do prayer and penance. It is love for our Lord that should drive our prayer and penance. To help motivate us during the season of Lent in furthering those two objectives, let us consider seven revelations of the glory of Our Lord: [1] to Ss. Peter, James and John, [2] to St. Paul, [3]to St. Catherine of Alexandria, [4] to St. Gertrude the Great, [5] to St. Catherine of Siena, [6] to St. Vincent Ferrer, [7] and to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

The three hallmarks of Lent are prayer, penance and conversion.Fundamentally, conversion means moving from love of self to love of God. It means renouncing one’s own senses, passions, judgments, and will. It is never easy because our strongest inclination is towards love of self. Yet the only thing that brings true joy is a real and ongoing conversion. And all of us are always in dire need of conversion. Conversion is a grace, for which we must pray and which is not possible without penance. Here are seven examples of true Christian joy that ought to inspire us toward conversion. Each [...]

In a particular way the month of March is dedicated to St. Joseph. It is a time when we should foster a more fervent devotion to him. We may consider six of his glorious offices, his primacy of office, and our reliance on him (exemplified by St. Teresa of Avila). Let us pray that he intercede for the Church and help us grow in the virtues of purity, charity, humility, obedience, love of silence and conformity to God’s will. Note: Four brief daily sermons are linked as one in this audio file.

A reflection upon the first two sorrows of our Blessed Mother: [1] The Prophecy of Simeon, 'thy own soul a sword shall pierce' and [2] The Flight into Egypt, when Joseph arose and escaped with the Child and His mother by night, for Herod enviously sought to destroy the Child. Note: Two brief daily reflections are linked as one in this audio file.

Low Sunday. Blessed are those who have faith without seeing. We might call this a ninth beatitude upon which the other eight rest. Easter begins with faith. At our baptism, Christ calls us each to “be not faithless but believing.” Today, there is a grave crisis of faith amidst the members of the Church Militant, as so many seek to conform the teachings of Christ to the world (to what we see, experience, feel, and opine), instead of having the world conforming itself to Christ and His teachings. Many have even succumbed to the diabolical deception that pastoral practice may be [...]

God is holy, just and truth itself. Therefore, anything truly Catholic must also be holy, just and true. Holiness is union with God and separation from all else. Justice is the virtue by which we render unto others, at all times, what is strictly their due. Truth is the intellect conforming to reality; we could also say, that which Christ reveals to man through His Church. Every aspect of Catholicism can be evaluated by these three virtues, to see if it is truly Catholic and not a counterfeit. At the root of the crisis today is a rejection of the Catholic [...]

(PART I) Out of fidelity to Jesus Christ and His Church, we must proclaim, propagate and defend the truth. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6). His Church is the pillar and ground of all truth (1 Tim 3:15). God does not change and neither does the truth. If we wish to love God, we must love the truth.

(PART II) In the Church today, truth itself is in crisis. When the truth is set aside, God is set aside. We must remember, that if we wish to be saved, we must persevere in the truth; that is, the Catholic Faith. Our Lady came to Fatima to warns us about not allowing doctrine to be weakened, altered or forgotten. Sadly, many Catholics no longer know or believe the Truth. We find the Truth expressed in: [1] The infallible teachings of popes and councils; [2] the great catechisms approved by sainted popes; [3] the traditional forms of Catholic worship, prayer and devotion.

Crowning a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a way of acknowledging that she is Queen. In order to live this truth – the Queenship of Mary – we must understand it and believe it. The tradition of Catholic liturgy, devotions, saints, and papal teaching teach us the following: [1] Her preeminent greatness and dignity; [2] Her royal, nearly infinite power; and [3] The tremendous efficacy of her intercession. Our Queen is so generous, that she magnificently rewards our most trifling tributes of affection. But we must honor her with [1] souls free of sin and we must [2] persevere in our devotion to her. [The two papal encyclicals cited are Ad Cæli Reginam by Pius XII, 1954, and Adiutricem by Leo XIII, 1895.]