Feast days
Ash Wednesday
(Sermon of Pope Saint Leo the Great) I. The Lenten fast an opportunity for restoring our purityIn proposing to preach this most holy and important fast to you, dearly beloved, how shall I begin more fitly than by quoting the words of the Apostle: behold, now is the acceptable time, behold now is the day…
Read MoreTransfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ (August 6)
[Sermon of Pope Saint Leo The Great, Father and Doctor of the Church] I. Peter’s confession shown to lead up to the TransfigurationThe Gospel lesson, dearly-beloved, which has reached the inner hearing of our minds through our bodily ears, calls us to the understanding of a great mystery, to which we shall by the help…
Read MoreFeast Saint Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary (July 26)
[“The Liturgical Year” by the Right Rev. Dom Prosper Gueranger, Abbot of Solesmes] Uniting the blood of kings with that of pontiffs, the glory of Anne’s illustrious origin is far surpassed by that of her offspring, without compare among the daughters of Eve. The noblest of all, who have ever conceived by virtue of…
Read MoreFeast Of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel (July 16)
(“Mary In Her Scapular Promise”, 1940) It is eight hundred and sixty years before Christ. A striking scene is being enacted in Palestine. The entire Jewish nation is assembled there on the summit of the Scripturally famous Mount Carmel. Within a circle formed by the thousands of Israelites, eight hundred and fifty pagan priests…
Read MoreFeast Of The Visitation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary (July 2)
[Sermon of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church] God, who is One, loves unity and union; and all that is not unified is displeasing to Him, as the great Apostle Paul says: One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. [Gal. 3:20; Eph. 4:5-6]. But if He…
Read MoreFeast Of The Most Precious Blood Of Our Lord Jesus Christ (July 1)
[“The Liturgical Year” by the Right Rev. Dom Prosper Gueranger, Abbot of Solesmes] John the Baptist has pointed out the Lamb, Peter has firmly established his throne, Paul has prepared the bride; their joint work, admirable in its unity, at once suggests the reason for their feasts occurring almost simultaneously in the cycle. The alliance…
Read MoreFeast Of The Nativity Of Saint John The Baptist (June 24)
(from the writings of Archbishop Alban Goodier, S.J.) THE COMING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST It was the fulness of time. That strange, unruly people had waited long. Jericho, as they passed it on their way to and from the Holy City, had stood there through the centuries, to remind them forever of that day when…
Read MoreFeast Of Corpus Christi
(Saint Peter Julian Eymard) I. THE TESTIMONY OF THE CHURCH “Ecce Agnus Dei.” Behold the Lamb of God. (John i. 36.) Saint John the Baptist’s mission on earth was to announce the coming of the promised Savior, point Him out to men, and prepare the way for Him. The Church fulfills the same mission with…
Read MoreFeast of Pentecost Sunday (50 Days After Easter)
(Sermon of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church) We celebrate today the Feast of the Divine Presence and the greatest of all gifts, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, Who was sent from the Father and the Son, under the form and figure of tongues of fire, upon the Apostles and…
Read MoreAscension of Our Lord Jesus Christ (40 Days After Easter)
(Sermon of Pope Saint Leo the Great, Father and Doctor of the Church) I. The events recorded as happening after the Resurrection were intended to convince us of its truth After the blessed and glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, wherein by Divine power He “raised up in three days” the true Temple of…
Read MoreThe Apparition of Saint Michael the Archangel (May 8)
(“The Liturgical Year”, by the Right Rev. Dom Prosper Gueranger) David foretold that the Emmanuel’s coming into this world would be greeted by the Angels, and that they would humbly adore him on his first appearing among us. We saw this prophecy fulfilled on the Night ever blessed, when Mary brought forth the Fruit of…
Read MorePalm Sunday
(Sermon of Saint Vincent Ferrer,O.P.) Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord,” (Saint Matthew 21:9). This text is taken as the basis of our sermon. It is a short and very devout song composed by the Holy Ghost, and today sung with devotion to Christ, when He solemnly entered…
Read MoreEaster Sunday
(Sermon of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Father and Doctor of the Church) This great solemnity of the Sunday of the Resurrection gives us a fitting occasion for speaking to you: for it would indeed be unfitting that the tongue of our body should be silent in the praises that are clue this day; that…
Read MoreAnnunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (March 25)
(Sermon of Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church) Saint Thomas Aquinas calls the mystery of the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, “the miracle of miracles”. What greater prodigy could the world behold, than a woman become the Mother of God, and a God clothed in human flesh. Let us therefore…
Read MoreFeast of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (March 19)
(from the writings of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church) All virtues and perfections were then reflected absolutely in Saint Joseph, so that it almost seemed as if he were as perfect and possessed all virtues in as high a degree as the glorious Virgin Mary. Certainly, Saint Joseph is most…
Read MorePurification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (February 2)
[From a sermon of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church] Our Lord comes to the Temple today to be offered to God His Father, subjecting Himself to the observance of the Law which He had formerly given to Moses, written on stone tablets [Exodus 24:12; 34:1; 2 Cor. 3:7]. In this…
Read More