Lent I
Bishops, Priests, & Seminarians participating in the January retreat given by Bp. Dolan.
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Daily Sermons
March 3 – Fr. Lehtoranta – Loss of All Fear
March 4 – Bp. Dolan – Holy Face, Mardi Gras & St. Casimir
March 5 – Bp. Dolan – Remember – Dust! (Ash Wednesday)
March 6 – Fr. Lehtoranta – God the Father, Protector of Penitents
March 7 – Fr. Lehtoranta – Adore God with Bended Knees
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FROM FR. FRANCIS MILLER
Pax et Bonum
My name is Francis, a solemnly professed religious of the Order of Friars Minor, O.F.M.: Franciscans. My entrance into Religion was August of 1980, in Rochester, New York, at the Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 3376 Mt. Read Blvd., Rochester, NY 14616. I was ordained to the Priesthood in 1985 by Bishop Louis Vezelis. Currently I dwell in Lafayette, LA and serve at the Church of Christ the King, where the Traditional Mass, and Faith, of the Roman Catholic Church is offered. I write this short testimonial to review my memories of Archbishop Bishop Peter Martin Ngo Dinh Thuc, and to give a first-hand witness in order that others may know more of His Excellency….. Continued here on Quidlibet.
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✠ The Bishop’s Corner ✠
What an interesting and worthwhile week was ours. Thanks be to God. We started by praying to the Angels of West Chester, and all available angels, for protection in the coming storm. We were indeed protected, and provided for wonderfully.
It was Holy Face Sunday, and Our Lord promises that souls will thus “settle the affairs of their household.” We had enough people for each Mass, for congregation and servers and singing. A record number followed the Mass on our webcast. As far as I know, no one was hurt trying to come to church, although some turned back, or were turned away because of the ice. Fr. Cekada and I carefully negotiated our way down the grassy hillside by the Pieta. By the 11:30 the ice and sleet had melted under the salt, and things were quiet here until before Vespers when the snow started. Thank you, holy angels. Divine Jesus, through Thy Face and Name, save us.
As I mentioned in my Ash Wednesday sermon, we all enjoyed the sunlight which followed the storm, and melted the snow, leading into another effort at Spring. Mardi Gras, the Feast of the Holy Face, and St. Casimir occupied us on Tuesday, with paczki, hamburgers and brownies shared with the students at our little pre-Lenten party.
Prayer exercised the “coalition of the willing” for the rest of the week. First Friday we honored St. Thomas Aquinas with a Solemn Mass, and the Sacred Heart with our Communion of reparation and all night adoration. The first of our Friday Stations were before the Blessed Sacrament Exposed.
I don’t know about you, but I always do a lot of cooking in Lent. Ash Wednesday afternoon saw me out of “my fancy duds” and in an old cassock for soup making. Ditto for Friday. Nothing like homemade vegetable soup for Lent.
I’m grateful for our weekday Cucina Clerical cooks, braving the mysteries of vegan meals. Of course we love our Sunday regulars as well, when we let up a little for the “little Easter” Sunday is. God reward your charity, dear cooks. Bring along something meatless for our Lenten Friday potlucks, won’t you? This annual tradition at our church feeds both soul and stomach, and very well. After supper, there are Stations and the Sorrowful Mother Novena with Benediction.
We had a tremendous turnout for Ash Wednesday, both of faithful and visitors. The early morning Masses with ashes before and after worked well, especially for our workers. More and more are coming at the very early hour of 6 AM. Seventy-five assisted at the Solemn Mass at midday, and another good group for the final ashes in early evening. God reward your sacrifices.
Now, perfect your sacrifices this Lent by the perfect sacrifice, the Mass. Offer God to God in daily Mass during the week. What a lift it gives, and what glory to that God who is pretty much forgotten, even by His own, all week long.
Pat Harpen for years was a devout regular at the weekday school Mass, and on Saturday morning, until the secretly growing cancer sapped his strength. His is a beautiful example, which will not go without its reward. The same eternal reward is available to you. Any takers?
March is the month of St. Joseph, and of vocations. We were so pleased to have a religious vocation recently from the ranks of our young men, and hope God will call some of them to the holy priesthood as well. Pray with us for vocations. Esteem the priesthood and religious life, the integral Catholic Faith, the Kingship of Christ, lived in the family. These things foster vocations.
The vocation to the married state is under unprecedented attack by Pope Bergoglio and his cardinals. They are plotting an even more open “Catholic divorce” than the scandalous annulments provide. Nobody is saying anything (except, of course, Fr. Cekada; see “Divorce, Bergoglio style” at fathercekada.com) because they have long lost even a sense of the natural law. The Novus Ordo seeks only a way to “go along to get along” with the godless and corrupt culture today.
Stay informed about your faith and the daily Bergoglio attacks against it. Read Bishop Sanborn and Fr. Cekada, and listen to Restoration Radio. When people talk about “how wonderful the pope is” be ready to add something of value to the conversation.
Our first full week of Lent features the Ember Days. Even children do a little extra on Wednesday and Saturday in the way of meatless lunches. Join the children for Wednesday stations, or the beautifully sung weekday Masses during Lent, followed by Vespers, if you’re not a night driver. Of course, you could also pray to today’s St. Francesca of Rome, patroness of night vision. On the Church’s Angel Sunday, we this year honor a saint who also saw hers. Her companions never saw the angel, but they did benefit from the light the angel shed, as they moved through the dark streets of Rome.
Rome is dark, Cincinnati is dark, everywhere is dark. The Church is eclipsed Don’t stumble or fall. You won’t, if you stay with your angel, and honor the Holy Face, a powerful devotion for our day.
Keep your traveling padres in your prayers. Fr. McKenna visits the still frozen north every three weeks or so. Fr. Cekada makes his way to Tampa this afternoon via Atlanta, for his teaching week. Tomorrow I must start preparing for a big Mexican trip, which will take me for the first time to Baja California for next weekend with Fr. Hernan and his flock in La Paz. After that it’s on to Vera Cruz State and Dos Rios, which I have visited many times now. We are going to stop at Guadalupe on the way, as well as at the “Doctor’s office” (the Baby Dr. Jesus) and a new – for me – shrine of Our Lady. I will be gone almost a week.
Pray for me, and I will for thee! God bless you all for a blessed Lent.
In St. Joseph,
– Bishop Dolan
PS: Altar Boys – don’t miss your wonderful day this Saturday!