Advent II

Recent Short, Daily Sermons
Pope St. Clement & St. Felicitas

With Mary as Your Mother

St. Catherine of Alexandria

St. Leonard of Port Maurice

Miraculous Medal

The Divine Fisherman

zelusdomustuae
✠ The Bishop’s Corner ✠
Happy St. Nicholas Day. We all could use a visit from St. Nick, with a gift of increased courage and generosity. He was the bishop who grabbed the arch-heretic Arius by the beard, and punched him in the face. Pop! What a bishop. He was imprisoned for his fortitude, but Our Lady restored him to his episcopal dignity and the Emperor set him free.

It snowed for December 1st, a pretty harmless snow, and properly “Christmassy” to set the tone. But I’m grateful for a few more mellow days of Autumn.

The Commies are out to cancel Christmas, just as they did Easter. Remember? Resist. Only keep Christmas like a Christian, not a worldling who knows only presents and parties. Now is Advent. Come to church, say your Rosaries, light the Advent wreath. Even manage some extra prayer. Read to the kids. Everybody be quiet a bit. He comes. Get ready.

I don’t think anybody celebrated it (perhaps due to the death of Fr. Cekada), but September actually marked the 25th anniversary of the seminary. Fr. Cekada wrote in his Quidlibet blog that the 1993 Consecration made possible its opening. Fr. Cekada was a faithful promoter and professor all the way through, until God called him in the anniversary month. The seminary has turned out many fine (and just a few not so fine) priests. We are so grateful to Bishop Sanborn and his staff for dedicating their lives to training future priests. They will have special need of our support and prayers as they plan to move back north in the new year, leaving the relatively safe harbor of Florida for the “Communist Commonwealth” of Pennsylvania. God protect them and Mary keep them in this dark hour.

We have been happy to host “Tea Party” meetings in Helfta Hall for a number of months now. They are fine people who are looking to understand and oppose this anti-American revolution. Tuesday’s meeting featured a state representative who gave an excellent talk. Afterwards I met some of the members. Quite a mix. One man had given up Methodism for belief in reincarnation. Another followed the “Jews for Jesus” religion. But the third man I met was quite interesting. He was one of the original Presbyterians in Sharonville, very actively involved, from whom we purchased our first church. They had just built a new church and classroom wing in 1980. Imagine how much support they had, how much money was raised. But now, this man tells me, they are reduced to 17 congregants on a good Sunday, ministered to by a lady minister. The rest of the building is Baptist now, housing a congregation that split off in Lockwood. It seems the minister was fired by the denominational authorities, without consultation with the congregation. But how the mainline Protestant churches have shrunk on their way to oblivion. Meanwhile our church, while certainly having its ups and downs, is now again growing. But then again we have unchanging Catholic truth, and the real Mass.

The 7 AM Mass on the Holy Day will be in the dark, it’s a “Rorate” this year. Don’t be intimidated. Just bring your beads, or pray quietly according to the four ends of the sacrifice, the saints say: Adoration, Thanksgiving, Atonement and Asking or Petition. The bad guys want to keep us in the dark, but this is the kind of darkness which lights the way: to Jesus through Mary. God bless you for another Advent week.

–Bp. Dolan