Recent Sermons by Fr. Rodríguez
Primer on Prayer
Without the grace of God, man can do nothing towards his salvation. Yet grace is not given, in God’s ordinary providence, except to those who pray for it. Thus prayer is necessary for salvation. We ought to pray unceasingly and give thanks to God in all things. Prayer is an elevation of our soul to God to offer him our homage and ask His favors in order to grow in holiness for His glory. Prayer has four ends: adoration, thanksgiving, importation, and propitiation. We should always pray for: love of God, love of prayer, forgiveness of our sins, and a happy death.
March 23, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Help Us O God Our Savior
Year after year goes by and we don’t really live a conversion. This is because it is not easy to change our heart, intellect or will. We need God’s grace and we must never tie of praying for it. We sin because we don’t see supernatural realities. We fail to see the evil of mortal sin, the horrendous fires of hell, the beauty of Heaven, or Christ dying for us at Mass. Like the blind beggar, pray “Have mercy on me,” and beg “Lord, that I may see.” Make a serious effort this Lent to commit yourself to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Without them you will not have a conversion.
March 2, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
The Church and the Truth
Continuation of the course by Father Rodríguez on the Foundations of the Christian Faith.
Jesus asks every one of us "Who do you say that I am?" We all fall into the temptation of believing in Jesus as we want to; that is, we fashion God according to our own image. Many profess to be Christians and yet they reject the Church or selectively believe some of Jesus' teachings. One who truly believes in Jesus must adhere to the truth He taught and the Church He founded. Yet today it is impossible to remain perfectly faithful to both. The crisis is that terrible! We must strive to do our best.
March 13, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
The Key of Divine Treasures
God’s grace is absolutely necessary to perform any good work towards obtaining eternal life. The ordinary means for obtaining this grace is prayer. In general, God only gives His grace to those who ask for it and are disposed to receive it. Through the prayers selected for Lent, the Church is teaching us how to pray and prayer's great value. In prayer one 'sets himself apart' so as to be with God. The goal of prayer is to transform the heart and mind (conversion). By prayer, one offers his heart and mind to God.
March 16, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
We Have to Persevere
God calls us to conversion (a change of heart, intellect, and will). This conversion is not easy. We absolutely need God’s grace. One also needs to have faith and to do penance (prayer, fasting, almsgiving). All this comes from grace; so one must ask for these graces and continue to ask. The great and mysterious work of the Holy Ghost is to sanctify men’s souls via divine grace. He shows us what is good and virtuous. He strengthens us to do the good and avoid evil. Don’t let up asking for His help during Lent!
March 9, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Two Most Important Mysteries
First class in a course taught by Father Rodríguez on the Foundations of the Christian Faith.
Father discusses the two most foundational truths of the Catholic Faith. Every Catholic should know them and really believe them. (Father tests all his first communicants on these two points.) These two truths have innumerable consequences for how we live and how we practice the Faith. Knowing these principles helps us rebut those who ask "Well, where is that in the Bible?" or "The pope said such and such, so you have to accept it."
June 13, 2024 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Three Images for the Whole Year
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.
February 9, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Cooperate with Actual Graces
Each of us struggles mightily with conversion. Let us not receive the grace of God in vain. Sanctifying grace – the life of God – gives us eternal life. Actual grace is a supernatural help which God bestows upon us daily to work out our salvation. When we cooperate with grace we merit more graces. But the abuse of God's grace prevents us from receiving further graces. There is direct relationship between the amount of grace in our soul when we die and the level at which we will experience the beatific vision of God for all eternity. God is faithful. He wills to give us the grace to overcome all temptations.
February 23, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
My Son, Give Me Thy Heart
Septuagesima season is another example of the great need for us to recover our Catholic Faith. God is calling each of us to be converted to Him with all our heart [intellect & will]. Penitential practices – such as prayer, fasting and almsgiving – are meant to bring about this conversion. To give God our heart, we must be less attached to our own will (that's the biggest problem in all relationships). We also give him our heart by being faithful to the Church's lex orandi, lex credendi. In all this, we look to imitate the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary.
February 16, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Five Mysteries of Candlemas
Bringing the Christmas season to its glorious conclusion, the feast of Candlemas emphasizes: [1] Jesus is the Light and Salvation for all men. [2] Simeon's example. [3] Jesus was born to be sacrificed. [4] Strive to fulfill the will of God. [5] The Blessed Virgin Mary's role. Christ is obviously the Light, but it is God's will that she place Him into the arms of Simeon and then of Anna.
February 2, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Be Guided by Light of Faith
The Epiphany Star represents Jesus, the True Light. Secondarily, it represents the true Faith. Today, a Catholic simply can't rely on what this priest or that bishops says because so many of them are no longer guided by true worship and right doctrine. Instead, each Catholic has to strive to learn the truth. Live your vocation within the family so as to offer it as fitting adoration to the Christ Child. Parents are especially called to educate their children in the truth and to offer reparation for past failings.
January 26, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Ten Sins Against Marriage
Go spiritually to the cave at Bethlehem. Contemplate what you see: the Holy Family. You have a role within a family. Offer it to Baby Jesus as a gift; that it may please, serve and honor Him. We can't change someone else, but we must know the truth and stand fast in what Christ the King teaches regarding holy Matrimony. Do your best to live according to His truth, transmit these truths to others, and resist the errors and evil of others. Offer prayers and sacrifices for the failings of your past sins against marriage and in reparation for mankind's many violations against this holy sacrament.
January 19, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Pray to Imitate the Holy Family
The Feast of the Holy Family is a Christmas Feast. With His nativity, Jesus gives us not only Himself but also the Holy Family. Note how the Holy Family has a central role in all twelve mysteries of Christ's infancy. We are called to imitate the Holy Family and thereby grow in the grace of God. This is why God has placed us upon this earth. Yet mankind today is more than ever opposed to marriage. How terrible! A rejection of holy matrimony is a rejection of the Holy Family. Take these things seriously and really reflect upon them.
January 12, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Four Ways God Calls You to Grow This Year
At the start of the year, it is especially appropriate to ask 'What have I been doing with all the time God has me? What have I been striving to attain?" God speaks to us, yet we are inundated in the world. We constantly face the temptation to live in a secular way. Pay attention to the liturgy at the start of the year. It provides four clear ways to correspond more faithfully to God's love.
January 5, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Ponder These Christmas Mysteries in Your Heart
Both Jesus' Name and the shedding of His Precious Blood manifest that Christ has come to save us. He gave His life for us, so as to gain our affection. The ingratitude of men is a great source of sorrow to Him and Our Blessed Mother. Consider how insufficient an effort we make to love Him in return. Resolve this new year to love Him more faithfully.
January 1, 2025 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Twelve Mysteries of the Holy Infancy
The Light of Christ comes to us through the Heart of Mary, which is a vast sea of grace and an immense furnace of love. As Christians, our mission is to love Jesus and His Church with the same love as Our Lady. So let us reflect – with Mary – upon the Divine Child in the mysteries of His infancy. In these mysteries, Christ offers us salvation and His divine love. Yet they are also filled with His sufferings. Contemplating them moves us to sorrow and compassion; to share in the love of Mary for Her Son. "O Mary, may I have no other heart but thine, to love God with a love as pure and ardent as thine."
December 29, 2024 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Save Us Most Holy Theotokos
God came unto His own and His own received Him not. Mary and Joseph spend these days in contemplation and expectation; what about the multitude? The vast majority of Catholics live the Christmas season in a pagan way. We are too busy in worldly affairs; Mary and Joseph were totally focused on Christ. If we reflect and focus on Jesus, with a sincere and holy disposition, He sanctifies us. In giving us His Mother, He is imprinting upon our souls love of Him after the example of the Heart of Mary.
December 22, 2024 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Christmas Petitions
This Christmas Season, make the same petitions as the saints. Thus will you better understand what it means to truly love Jesus. St. Alphonsus repeatedly prayed to obey God alone, to seek to please God alone, and to desire God more and more (even while others crave worldly goods and fortunes). May God dispose of me and my affairs as He wills. St. Louis de Montfort constantly prayed for the grace to imitate the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was her heart which hastened the Incarnation, bringing the True Light to men. Reflect upon the fact that Christmas is a great feast of the Heart of Mary.
December 25, 2024 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Prepare for He is Near
We rejoice in the Lord because He is near. But we must also prepare for He is coming. God Himself teaches us that preparation is extremely important. The entire Old Testament is a great example of God's preparation. We could say preparation is one of the grand laws of the divine economy. This entire week, to prepare well, we beg God to move our hearts: "Stir up our hearts O Lord to prepare the ways of Thine Only Begotten Son." How well are we preparing?
December 15, 2024 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Value Grace Above All Else
The Immaculate Conception is a singular example of the infinite power of God's grace and how God grants grace to overcome sin. She gives us the perfect example of what it means to "put on Christ." In this mystery, we see the full grandeur of God's grace. Make it personal! God's grace can overcome any difficulty, temptation or sin which plagues you. This feast dispels a heresy, promoted by Bregoglio, that at times our "best effort" is a sin, or that God might ask of us a sinful act (in Amoris Lætitia). With God's grace you can always grow in holiness. And while this world will pass away, God's grace will never pass away. The grace with which your soul leaves this earth will be kept for ALL eternity.
December 8, 2024 by Fr. Michael Rodríguez
Sermons by Fr. Iakobus
The Golden Rose
The origins of Rose Sunday lie in antiquity. The Pope would bless golden roses and give them as gifts. The symbolism is deep: gold for Christ the king, flower for beauty, fragrance for the Gospel, and thorns for the passion. This tradition reminds us that Christian joy and suffering are inseparably bound. Those who desire a life of joy only (or pleasure) are always angry, for this can’t be attained. Suffering is inevitable. The soul that accepts suffering, unites it with Christ, and offers it to God, receives many graces and lives at peace.
March 30, 2025 by Fr. Iakobus
Christ Elevates Marriage to a Sacrament
God created marriage. At Cana, He elevated it to the level of a sacrament. Just as Christ was present at Cana, so He is present in every sacramental marriage. We should invite Our Lady to our marriage. Mary took note of the couples humiliating situation, interceded, and turned it to great joy. From water used for purification, Christ created a superabundance of the most exquisite wine, representing sacramental grace. Just as His disciples believed, so spouses should trust in Christ and His grace. What is a good reason for people to enter marriage? What should spouses do first thing in the morning? When do spouses receive the most intense marriage grace? The sermon answers these questions and provides vital teachings regarding marriage.
January 19, 2025 by Fr. Iakobus
Duty and Peace in the Family
Marriage is under attack: its roles reversed, ends inverted, and duties abandoned. We must look to the Holy Family. The man has authority and must make difficult decisions for the good of the family. He provides, protects and leads prayers. The woman must embrace [monotonous] house work, support and obey her husband, and guide the children. Children must obey, be respectful, and ease the family’s burdens. (Obedience does have limits; it may never violate God’s law.) Pray for the light and grace to imitate the Holy Family. The Reign of Christ spreads in the world through true families.
January 12, 2025 by Fr. Iakobus
Sermons by Fr. Clovis
Living Water from The Rock
Moses led the Hebrews –and Gentiles– in the wilderness. They had no water, which means certain death. God's people were ready to revolt and return to Egypt. Moses interceded, taking an impossible situation to God. But why was Moses unable to enter the Promised Land? Because he struck the rock (Christ) twice instead of obeying God. The two strikes from his wooden staff represent the two beams of a cross. This is a type of the Passion. Just as an abundance of water flowed from the Rock, so too an abundance of grace flows from Christ’s pierced side.
March 28, 2025 by Fr. Linus Clovis
Demon Returns with Seven Worse Demons
With his characteristic brilliance and insight, Father explains one of the most confusing gospels (Lk 11:14-28). The dumb and deaf man can't hear God's word or praise God, representing Adam and all his offspring born in sin. The strong man is satan. Christ overcomes him. The Jewish people represent the cleansed man. Waterless places are the Gentile lands whom Christ has won. The demon returns to the Jews. Their home is clean but no one dwells there, meaning the religion is one of pure externals and hypocrisy. Thus the devil abides there with seven worse demons. This has been the Jews' lot since they rejected the Messiah. St. Luke then turns our attention to Mary. Indeed, she is blessed, primarily because She believed and kept God’s word; this defeats the devil. All of this applies to us as baptized Christians individually and as the Catholic Church as a whole. Let us heed Our Lord’s warning and remain with Our Lady.
March 23, 2025 by Fr. Linus Clovis
Understanding the Transfiguration
We can learn many lessons for the spiritual life by studying precious details within the mystery of the Transfiguration. Why did Our Lord select the three particular Apostles to accompany Him? Why did Moses and Elijah appear with Him? Why does Peter suggest building three tents? How is it all connected to the central mystery of Christ's identity and mission?
by Fr. Linus Clovis
Sermons by Fr. Simplicius
The Doctrine of Predestination
God by the eternal resolve of His will has predetermined certain men to eternal blessedness. The number of the elect is predetermined and can not change (none added, none taken away). While God wills all men to be saved, not all men are saved. This is based not on God's providence but on a man's sin and lack of contrition. The heresy of "double predestination" holds that men are like brute beasts with God leading some to salvation and others to damnation by His (predetermined) divine will. For men how are saved, it is a gift from God; from men who are damned, it is their own fault.
November 26, 2023 by Fr. Simplicius
Great Pearl and Irrelevance of Novelty
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 this side of Heaven. Why waste time and energy focusing on the irrelevance of passing novelties when one has the Pearl of Great Price.
November 12, 2023 by Fr. Simplicius
Decline of Public Authority
Obedience is a moral virtue that inclines the human will to comply with the will of another who has the right to command. We must obey the just commands of superiors because they represent the authority that comes from God. A grave error is to think men ("the people") are the source of public authority. Our nation is founded upon this false principle. When those in authority do not acknowledge the divine source of their authority, they abuse their power, becoming despotic. Subjects in turn mock rulers and only comply out of fear. The result is social dysfunction. Having cast Christ from His throne, the only solution is to acknowledge the kingship of Christ and submit to His Law.
October 29, 2023 by Fr. Simplicius
Sermons by Fr. Ioannes Petrus
The Conscience of Man
God gave man a connection to Him - an interior voice, a conscience. St. John the Baptist is a symbol of that voice. We can chose to heed or suppress our conscience; yet, man only finds peace when he listens to it. The conscience is a proof of the soul's immortality. It witnesses, bonds and incites; it also accuses, torments, and rebukes. It incites a holy anger (hatred) against sin, so that man roots out faults instead of justifying them. Make friends with your adversary (conscience) before you are handed over to the Judge.
December 17, 2023 by Fr. Ioannes Petrus
Thou Shall Not Make a False Peace
Why is the Synod discussing so many un-Catholic things? Why is the Latin Mass being suppressed? Why is Russia once again at war? We must seek the cause. And we shall find an all encompassing answer to these problems. Christ's truth requires that man first conquer in the interior life; then he can conquer on the outside. Yet modern man has sought new avenues according to his own wisdom. He seeks an easy way apart from the cross. He chooses compromise with the world to accomplish only an external peace. Yet false peace brings perpetual war. As we ignore Our Lady of Fatima, the errors of Russia proliferate within the Church. We need instead devotion to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart.
November 12, 2023 by Fr. Ioannes Petrus
Prisoners of War and Purgatory
The saints see the connectivity of all history by typology. Yet this connectivity extends even beyond the confines of this world. A type for the poor souls in Purgatory can be noted in the true story of Robert Trimble. He was an American Air Force captain striving to rescue prisoners of war in WW2. Our hearts should be moved to do all we can to help the holy souls arrive at their heavenly homeland.
November 2, 2023 by Fr. Ioannes Petrus
Sermons by Fr. Iacomus Paulus
Hope and Daring
When you rise and when yo go to bed, ask yourself these two questions: [1] What drives you or fuels your desire? [2] What are you afraid of? We often know what we have to do but fail to do it because of something we fear. What keeps us from giving ourselves to God, and neighbor, as we are meant to do? During Advent, the Church calls to mind the example of St. John the Baptist and the Immaculate Conception. Saints change the world because they do what what others dare not. They achieve great virtue by their hope (the virtue that is born by the desire for difficult but possible things).
December 17, 2023 by Fr. Iacomus Paulus
Mystery is Essential to Christmas
Christ subverts the expectations of the worldly. Yet we are still in love with the things of this world – and our vice – because we have yet to see the true worth in tossing them aside. Christ changes the way we value things. The element of mystery, which surrounds Christmas, compels us to acts of greater virtue. (Note: Father's considerations of the Holy Family in Bethlehem touch upon matters not defined by Scripture or Tradition. Faithful Catholics are free to disagree on such details.)
December 3, 2023 by Fr. Iacomus Paulus
Be a Master of Your Craft
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 better at what you do.
November 12, 2023 by Fr. Iacomus Paulus
Fr. Chad Ripperger
Living Through The Crisis 1 - Faith
A divine chastisement is imminent. Our Lady has already warned us at Fatima and Akita. Very few Catholics, even in traditional circles, are spiritually prepared for what is coming. This series explores the virtues most needed to survive the coming years. Each one of us needs to be working on this now, while we still have the time. The first talk centers on the supernatural virtue of Faith.
by Fr. Chad Ripperger
Fr. James Mawdsley
Let Fear Not Rule the World
Christ is King, not the globalists. The world lies to us and perverts the fight for freedom. Anti-semitism laws, built upon exaggerated atrocities, are designed to prevent the truth from being known. So are all our good and simple works for nothing? No because the charity of God and true worship of God can never be perverted or defeated.
May 5, 2024 by Fr. James Mawdsley