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Born a pagan, St. Ambrose embraced Christianity and its joys

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Photo of Fr. Brankin. Go to Fr. Brankin's bioWed., Dec. 7, 2011
Fr. Anthony Brankin
Gospel: Matt. 28: 11-13 “Take my yoke upon you”

Homily summary (Mass for grammar school children): Today is the feast of St. Ambrose. St. Ambrose was born into a pagan family. Imagine not being brought up in a Catholic home, but a pagan one. The Roman, Greek and Aztec gods were not nice gods. People lived in fear of them. They would pray, “Please don’t hurt me.”

Picture of St. Jane de Chantal. Click and go to Visitation website.Candor and true purity were virtues that St. Jane de Chantal spoke to her sisters about concerning making preparation for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8. Learn more about this on the website Visitation Spirit by reading “Advent with St. Jane—Day 12 .”

But Ambrose became a Christian. We, like him, pray that Jesus blesses us and helps our families. If we don’t believe in the true God, we will believe in false gods. We will believe all kinds of things, such as in newspapers. Don’t believe them — they don’t know more than we do.

People still talk about St. Ambrose seventeen hundred years later. You must treasure your faith. It is fragile. Go to church. Otherwise you will lose your faith, and lose your soul. Then the world will collapse. You must believe in God; lead a good life. Then you will go to heaven.

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St. Teresa’s life is an example: “Keep the faith”

Saturday, October 15th, 2011

Read Fr. Baldeon's bioSat., Oct. 15, 2011 – Feast of St. Teresa of Avila
Fr. Elvio Baldeon
Gospel: Luke 12:8-12 The Holy Spirit will teach you

Homily summary: Today’s Gospel is a warning about persecution. It is a message of perseverance — be faithful. Even if it’s jail or death — be faithful. Jesus says that there are angels in heaven and my Father will recognize you.

Today is the Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila.  She was a great witness. She didn’t deny Jesus Christ. She showed us a way of perfection. She wrote wonderful books to help us become holy. She never denied Jesus Christ, although her own community and family denied her. Because of St. Teresa, there was a reformation of the Carmelite order. Today, we are blessed with Carmelite nuns who pray for the pope and the people.

The Gospel today says, “Do not give up. Be faithful always.” At the end, God will give us happiness, eternal life.

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Every age has its wheat and its weeds

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

Read Fr. Jason's bioFeast of Sts. Anne and Joachim, July 26, 2011
Fr. Jason Welle, O.F.M.
Gospel: Matt. 13:16-17 “Blessed are your eyes, for they see….”

Homily summary: It is sometimes heard, “I would not want to bring children into this world.” The reason given is that things are worse now than they were before.

Every age has its wheat and its weeds. St. Augustine wrote about how the Roman Empire was collapsing around him. He said the same things that were said about the world in his day. He said that if those people who said this were able to live in that day, when things were better, they would hear others make the same complaint.

Joachim and Anne brought Mary, the Blessed Mother, into a world of wheat and weeds. Thus we have the children of Canaan and the children of the Evil One. Mary was asked to bring the Son of God into the world. She had a clear choice to say yes or no. God blesses each of us with a call to be faithful, and we have a choice to say yes to God’s will.

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Make no excuses: Jesus’ burden is light

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Read Fr. Jason's bioThursday, July 14, 2011
Feast of Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha
Fr. Jason Welle, O.F.M.
Gospel: Matt. 11:28:30 “My yoke is easy and my burden light.”

Homily summary: We make excuses of why we won’t make commitments. “I can’t attend Mass on Sunday because of my work.” This is the kind of excuse of why we can’t follow Jesus the way we should.

Moses and the Israelites led a bitter life of oppression. Even after God freed them into the land of milk and honey, they were stiff-necked and struggled to keep faithful.

Go to the Dominican Sisters' websiteThe foundress of a community of Dominican sisters was only 18 when she entered a religious community and found herself heartsick over leaving home and missing her native Poland. What did her superior say that resolved her anxiety? Read “Mother Superior Frightens Roza Out of Her Homesickness.”

Go to the website of the Dominican Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.

Blessed Kateri didn’t wait for life to get easy to follow Jesus. Her tribe was not mostly Christian, and yet she accepted Baptism and was persecuted. She remained a virgin, and yet was not a religious. She learned the faith through the Blackrobes, the Jesuits. She so  fell in love with Jesus so much that she gave up marriage. Her love for Jesus made her burden light. It made any burden seem insignificant.

Whatever obligations we have in life, if we are faithful to the Lord, He will make our burden easy and light.

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Flying cows and the challenge of friendship

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Bio of Kevin BanetFeast of St. Thomas Aquinas, Jan. 29, 2011
Homily reflection by Kevin J. Banet

Kevin’s take: Our daily Mass goers are usually a quiet group, but today the sermon by Fr. Jason Welle, O.F.M., elicited a few chuckles from the pews. Father told a story about Thomas Aquinas, who was known by his fellow students as a very smart boy. “No one likes a smarty pants,” Fr. Jason offered. So his friends decided to play a trick on him. When Thomas was in the classroom, they looked out the window and cried out, “Look, the cows are flying!”

Thomas scurried over to the window, and of course, the cows were not flying. His school chums laughed in derision, having fooled the most intellectually gifted among them. But Thomas had a quick comeback: “I would rather believe that cows could fly than my friends lie to me.”

Blessed Virgin Mary of MercyThe many allurements and problems of our modern world hold many Christians captive from knowing and practicing their faith. Help those whose faith is in danger. Become a Mercedarian friar. Visit Fr. Joseph Eddy’s Facebook page, or the website of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy.

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