The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

It has been said that the evils of society may be laid directly at the feet of lax Catholics. Christ has promised us that anything we ask the Father in His name, He will grant it to us. If so many evils in the world today are present and so many souls are being lost, who are to blame? Do not those who have the true Faith have an obligation to pray for those who do not? Are not souls being lost every day because no one asked God for the grace of their conversions?

Granted that we are in the Great Apostasy and that there is no turning back, it is certain that we do not have to be a part of it or contribute to it. What is it that God asks or demands of us in order to save our own souls? Are there not perhaps souls that were to be saved by the prayers, sacrifices and petitions of Catholics that are now suffering for all eternity in the flames of Hell? How many souls could Catholics have saved from the fires of Hell by gaining extra graces for their fellow men? Can Catholics who fail to assist in the salvation of others be saved themselves?

All too often we tend to think that the work of converting people only belongs to the missionaries. The work of the missionaries is important, but even the missionaries themselves have told us that they could only accomplish what they did because of the prayers, sacrifices and penances of so many religious constantly imploring God's grace for this end.

In this Great Apostasy where are all the missionaries, religious, and priests? There are very few. And why should there be so very few? Is it not because vocations were not fostered by the prayers of parents, relatives and friends?

None of us is an island. We are all interdependent upon each other. There is a reason why God has allowed each and every person who has come into our lives to be there. Have we done our part? Have we given a good example, encouraged, prayed, and offered sacrifices for the salvation of our family, friends, and neighbors?

This year is 2008 and it has been forty years ago (1968) that the new rite of ordination was universally implemented in the Novus Ordo Church. We hold that with this new rite of ordination there were no longer any valid ordinations in the Novus Ordo. The ramifications of this are truly apocalyptic. If these men are not priests it does not matter what ceremonies, or rites they may perform as they can under no circumstances offer the true Mass. They cannot consecrate the Body of Christ nor can they absolve the poor sinners of their sins. With just a little thought on our part we can begin to see how broad and deep this evil is.

This could only have happened because we had become lax! But, let us not look back from this date but forward. What happened after the source of God's grace was taken from us? Here in the US we see that we began to allow people to "legally" murder their unborn children soon after this (Roe vs Wade _ Jan 22, 1973). We saw the wider use of divorce (no fault divorce), the acceptance of "alternative" lifestyles (sodomy), "anti-hate" laws, "anti-terrorism" laws etc. What lays ahead, euthanasia, bestiality, a completely Godless and freedom-less society? Remember that freedom is a gift from God not the state. The state recognizes it as a right (God given). In the liberalization (demoralization) of our society, we have been loosing all true freedom at an alarming pace.

Again, we must lay the evils of society at the feet of lax Catholics. Have we been as faithful in our petitions to God our Father as we should have been? He has said ask and you shall receive! Non Catholics do not have this power because they cannot ask in the name of Jesus Christ. They cannot ask in His name because they do not believe in Him. Many have created a new "Jesus Christ" in their own image and likeness and they may ask in the name of their new "Jesus Christ" but they cannot ask in the name of the true Jesus Christ because they do not know Him, and logically if they do not know the Son they cannot know the Father. This leaves everything up to those with the true Faith. We are the ones who must pray without ceasing, and offer our sacrifices and penances for the rest.

We can not turn back the Great Apostasy, but we can refuse to be promoters of it. We can and must do all that we are capable of in saving ourselves and those we love from this terrible darkness. And yet it is so simple "Ask and you shall receive."

Franciscan Benefactor Seraph Subscription Vocations Have you remembered God?