The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

"They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth a service to God."

History seems to have made a complete circle. Those with the true faith are always in the minority and are forced out and even excommunicated by the non-believers and heretics. The true believers were forced into the catacombs or private or hidden places, because they were not welcome in the buildings that were once houses of God. We see the same today as we often have to have Mass in private homes, rented hotel rooms, funeral parlors, etc.

The beautiful churches that were built by our Catholic ancestors for the use of Catholics are now in the hands of heretics and have had much if not all things sacred removed from them; they have been desecrated by false religious ceremonies.

Those that have kept some of the Catholic ornamentation and symbolism have become nothing short of museums rather than places of worship.

It is nauseating to see what the heretics have done to the houses of God. They are truly now dens of thieves, because they rob the people of the grace of God, and even the very means of His grace.

Though we are not yet routinely killed or even threatened with death there are a goodly number that have wished that we were dead, and I am sure that these people think that in some perverse way they are pleasing to God.

What have we learned from today's gospel and from the history of the Church?

Let us not be scandalized as our Lord warns us. If they have done this to Him what can we expect if we are His disciples? To be hated by the world; to be hated by the majority should be a badge of honor because the world and the majority hated Christ. Let us not fear the cross and suffering. Let us not fear the criticisms and insinuations of the heretics. Let us learn to love our cross and cherish it as it makes us like unto Christ.

The Shepherd's vicar has been struck and the sheep have been scattered. We find small groups and even individuals scattered here and there throughout the world. The truly blessed ones are able to attend the true Mass on Sundays, some may have the sacraments only once a month or once a year, and some even less than this.

The Apostles and the early Church were forced to endure this cross and we too are called upon to bear the same cross. We see in our day that the Church is sorely pressed and persecuted.

Let us not become pusillanimous. These sufferings and persecutions of the Church are clear testimonies in favor of her divine origin. Let us cling to the true bride of Christ and shun the harlot of the devil. Let us cling firmer to the Church the more she is oppressed and persecuted, consoling ourselves with the promise and assurance of Christ that the gates of hell shall never prevail against her.

The temptation is often very strong to conform or compromise the faith so that we can "get along" with our family, friends, and neighbors. And this is a very powerful weapon in the hands of the devils and all those who hate Christ. We must resist this temptation. The thought of living our lives only for God may prove a useful weapon against this temptation. It matters not what those around us think or say; the only thing that should concern us is what does God think of us and what will He say to us on the day of judgment? With this thought in mind we will find the strength to resist the onslaught of temptations proffered to us by our "loved" ones. We should, even like the Apostles before us, find consolation in being singled out and ostracized for our faith in Christ.

We must not let any passion reign in our hearts, for it is the passions that mostly blind men, so that they hold the greatest sins and vices to be right and lawful and even stamp them as virtues. Listen to the sermons given by true priests of Christ and avoid those of the heretics. Read good Catholic books and avoid the heretical and modernist ones. Live humbly and piously so that we may follow Christ into Heaven.

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