Sermon for the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, December 25th, 2021

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen

 

My dearly beloved in Our Lord,

 

“The grace of God our Savior hath appeared to all men; instructing us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world.” These are the word of St Paul to his disciple Titus, in the Midnight Mass of the Nativity.

In the second Mass “at dawn” we have heard, from the same epistle: “The goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared...”

Yes, my dear fellow Catholics and children of God: God is good and kind, and He is showing this foremost in the Incarnation of His Son, of whom we are all witnesses today.

God has sent His own Son into this world, like the rich man in the Gospel who, after having sent his servants and having received the most vile and unworthy response to their call, sends his own son (cf. Mt 21,37). So God had sent the prophets of the Old Testament, and the unfaithful chosen people killed most of them. At long last He decided to send his own co-eternal Son – whom we have honored in the Midnight Mass particularly – with the mission and the power to save those of the human race who were of good will.

And God has become man, the Word has become flesh not as a perfect and complete man in adulthood. But He has made himself likely to us in all things, except sin (Hebr 4,15). He has come into this world in order to solicit our adhesion to all that he is: kindness, goodness, meekness, grace... For who is not charmed by the countenance of a little new-born child?! Its innocence and its very helplessness must make the heart of even the greatest sinner or villain tender.

This is what happened in Bethlehem during the Holy Night of Christmas. Not only Our Lady and St Joseph were delighted about the heavenly Child; but also the shepherds and all the simple-minded who have followed them during the days to come, have been won over to the grace of God by “the goodness and kindness of God” who had appeared before their very eyes.

We just need to follow them. We have the devotion to the Holy Infant Jesus, particularly the one venerated in Prague which is close to where we live. We are simple Catholics, and the more simple-minded we are in our Faith, Hope and Charity, the better!

But not all have adhered to God incarnate, quite to the contrary. Heaven had opened to pour forth all its blessings, announced by Angels in Bethlehem and in many other places throughout the world. And there was the strange Star that appeared all of a sudden before the eyes of all. No-one could ignore it for it was shining more brightly than the sun! (cf. Breviary, hymn at Lauds, Epiphany) But only a handful followed the sign which they had recognized to be the “star of Jacob”. Herod, king over a tiny stretch of land, will make himself to be the champion of all those who are of the opinion that God has no right to interfere in this material world. No-one can help them, for God himself has chosen to be powerless in front of the ill will of the angels or humans He created.

This is why we must confirm and enact our decision for God anew, every day. Otherwise we could just find ourselves being part of that crowd and issued with a one-way ticket to Hell; for Hell is the place from which good will is definitely and totally excluded.

The beautiful Messianic Psalm 2 from which the Introit of the Midnight Mass has been taken, speaks not only of Christ being the true and co-eternal Son of God. But it goes on to ask: “Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things?” There is an obvious reason for these words standing where they stand – because usually the beginning of the Psalm is used for the verse. But really – could Holy Church not have found anything less “combative” and “negative” for the First Christmas Mass? No, by no means! By all means these words are carefully and most properly chosen to figure in this place, at this very solemn moment. For Christ has come as the double-edged sword, he the Word of God (cf. Hebr 4,12). It is futile to think that there is peace on earth - “pacem in terris”, cf. Roncalli/John XXIII. There is no peace for the earth which is a battlefield and which is bound to perish in fire! There is only peace for souls of good will on earth, i.e. during the time of trial and combat of the Christian life.

The disciple is not greater than his master. Christ has been persecuted, even as a little child. We cannot hope to be left alone by the ill-willed men surrounding us if we choose to adhere to Christ. Adhere to Christ we do, and this we hope to do to our last breath.

The only way we can achieve this is by faithfully and fruitfully participating in Christ’s life. He has been born at Bethlehem, “the house of bread”, for he would declare himself to be the true food for our spiritual soul.

May the Christ-child, the Son of God made man, have mercy on us. The true shepherds have deserted his Church for many decades now. Let us pray that his real presence in Holy Communion be not entirely taken from us, as it has been taken from most tabernacles in the nominally Catholic churches, through the wickedness and guile of Christ’s enemies. May each of us obtain and retain the true life that Christ has brought to the world.

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

 P. Arnold Trauner (paterarnold@hotmail.com), njemački i engleski

 

Sermon for Christmas Midnight Mass, Dec. 25th, 2018

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

 

My dearly beloved in Our Lord,

 

In this “silent night”, I wish you all a blessed Christmas filled with true joy and peace!

In the first Mass at the middle of the night, the Church of Rome prays “at St Mary Major, at the crib” (station church), one of the four major papal basilicas where the rests of the wooden crib, the manger of Bethlehem, are kept and venerated beneath the main altar.

There is no fitter time than the middle of the night for the contemplation of the mystery of the eternal Son of God made man. The midnight Mass proposes to the regard of our faith, in the Psalm verses of the sung parts, the contemplation of the eternity of the divine Person of the Christ child.

The chants themselves are masterpieces. For example the Introit only uses five different notes, thus reflecting something of the life of the Blessed Trinity reposing in its own self, in the total beatitude of unchanging eternity. The same is true for the Communio.

I want to draw your attention for a brief moment to another passage sung in this night, in the divine Office at Matins. It is a verse from the 9^th chapter of the prophet Isaias: “For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.” (v.6)

All these are most fitting names for the Emmanuel, the God with us, the Christ-child.

He is Wonderful and God the Mighty: for who else but God in His infinite wisdom could have devised such a wonderful plan for the Redemption of the fallen human race, and executed it with such might as to set into motion the entire world by the census of the Roman Empire?

Our Lord is the Counselor, foremost by giving us the evangelical counsels of perfection. He himself gives us the most eminent example from the first hour of his earthly life: The poverty of the manger; the chastity of those closest to him, namely his Virgin Mother and his foster-father, a virgin also; the obedience through which at every instant he offers his sacred humanity to the Father: “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith: Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldest not: but a body thou hast fitted to me: Holocausts for sin did not please thee. Then said I: Behold I come: in the head of the book it is written of me: that I should do thy will, O God.” (Heb 10,5-7; Ps 39,7-8)

The Christ-child is the Father of the world to come, for he through his life, death and resurrection sets the stage for the final condition of the world which he will bring about by his last coming.

And he is the Prince of Peace. “In the 42^nd year of the reign of the Emperor Octavian Augustus, in the 6^th age of the world, while the whole earth was at peace, Jesus Christ, Himself Eternal God and Son of the Eternal Father (...) was born of the Virgin Mary at Bethlehem of Juda made Man”, we have read from the Roman Martyrology. God had given peace to the entire world at the moment Our Lord entered the world. And as he is about to leave it again, he says to his Apostles: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you.” (Jn 14,27) The peace the world promises or gives, is always relative and short-lived. “They said: peace, peace; and there was no peace.” (Jer 6,14) But God gives the true peace of heart and of mind to those who hear and follow his voice, and the voice of the Church which Christ has founded.

So let us be grateful for the coming of Christ. Let us make good use of the spiritual and mystical gift that God has granted us through the birth of His Son, Our Lord Jesus-Christ! Let us follow the light of Truth which Our Lord has come to kindle in the world, and which he wants to burn through the works of the Faith. Let us not diminish or betray the light of the world; but follow it, as the Holy Kings did, until we find Our Lord himself, to adore him at the day of eternity.

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

 

P. Arnold Trauner (paterarnold@hotmail.com), njemački i engleski

G.S. Patton: "Razorili smo dobru rasu, i zamjenili je mongolskim divljacima"

 Pokoj mu duši. Smetao previše. 

"I cjela Evropa bit će komunistička"

Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Advent, December 19th, 2021

 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

My dearly beloved in Our Lord,

Today St Paul reminds us that we are “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” (Epistle) A steward must be trustworthy, he explains.
What is the stewardship to which we have been appointed? - Divine Revelation, Redemption and all the means that Christ has given us so that he may remain with us until the end of times, through the Church which he has founded.
As I have often told you by now, Catholic doctrine is mostly about making the right distinctions in the right places. It is true that we possess nothing in this world, being only “migrants”, strangers and pilgrims on earth between our birth and death. This in no way contradicts private property – Catholics are not to be taken for Communists!
The right distinction to be used here, is that we possess nothing as coming from our own self, or with an absolute right or freedom of use. Everything has been created by God, and entrusted to the care, the stewardship of man; and man will have to give a most rigorous account of his stewardship to God.
Therefore we must be trustworthy and faithful and loyal, as a steward must be with regards to the things entrusted to him by his master.
Today's Gospel is a most beautiful illustration of true and untrue, faithful or unfaithful stewardship.
We have mentioned St John the Baptist before during this Advent season. He is the forerunner announcing the coming of the promised Savior. He is being found loyal to him who has sent him, to such extent that Our Lord attributes him the first place among those born from women (Mt 11,11, i.e. the verse following the Gospel of the 2nd Sunday of Advent). Today he announces what his listeners should do, in the words of the Prophet Isaias: Prepare the ways of the Lord... all mankind (flesh) shall see the salvation of God. (cf. Gospel, end)
But before speaking about John, St Luke, as a striking contrast, is mentioning the temporary rulers of that time in Palestine. Not only are they the historical witnesses and proofs of Christ’s true coming and Passion; but also have they been very unfaithful stewards! The Holy Land is divided among all kinds of rulers – the land which had been promised to Abraham and given to his posterity, the Hebrews, after several centuries. What had once been the desire of all the just, is now degraded to a series of small counties being ruled by princes who cannot stand each other.
But not only the land is divided, even the religious leadership is disunited. Two high priests are being named although there could only be one single acting high priest in the Old Testament – as there is also one Pope ruling Holy Church (when there is a Pope). This was because a former high priest would also keep his title – and his influence, of course.
Thus we see that, much like today, the natural and supernatural institutions which God had given to mankind for its material and spiritual benefit had become a hostage of human desire for power and wealth. Mankind has forgotten about the all-powerful, the almighty God who has created and who is sovereignly governing the world. As a consequence God is leaving man to his own devices for his punishment. For can we not see how true Our Lord's word is: “Every kingdom divided in itself will be devastated; and no city or house divided in itself will last” (Mt 12,25)?
The family is falling to pieces because it has been divided – over 200 years ago a deadly virus, that of civil divorce, totally contrary to Our Lord's institution (cf. Mt 19,6), has been introduced into Europe which was on a long descent into apostasy. Civil divorce has laid this most important of divine-human institutions, the family, in ruins.
The state is falling to pieces because it cannot stand upright without sane and strong families; and because it has given itself over to greed and lust as its ruling powers.
Even the spiritual kingdom instituted by Our Lord, in as much as it can be altered by man, has been laid waste. Its princes, led by apostate-minded popes, have sought to “conform themselves to the world” – an enterprise explicitly condemned by Our Lord (passim) and the Apostles (Jac 4,4).
What is the remedy? What is our hope? The same as that of all ages! Christ Our Lord, coming into this world “propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem – because of us humans, and for our salvation” (Creed); coming in no other form but in humility, poverty, purity, integrity. He, the prince of peace announced by Isaias, chooses not to be born in a prince's palace, but in the meekness, humility and poverty of the heavenly King described by the Gospels. As he has been the guiding light of “all those who have received him” (Jn 1,12), and to whom therefore “he has given power to become children of God” (ibid.), so he shall be our guiding star in this utter darkness of all human institutions and in this eclipse of the light of Holy Church.
Let us make a great effort during these last days of Advent, and all throughout Christmas time, to clear the way for his coming, and to keep that road clear.
Let us focus on the Emmanuel, God-with-us announced by the Prophet Isaias (Is 7:14). Nothing shall disturb us, as St Therese of Avila prayed, all things pass; God alone remains, God alone suffices. Let us stand, as faithful servants and stewards, by Christ Our King in Bethlehem and on Calvary – for he has come to save us by dying on the Cross – and we will be safe, and set for Heaven!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Poruka Alexandera Tschugguel o dramatičnoj situaciji u Austriji

 

Ovo je poruka Alexandera Tschugguel, mladića onda od 25 godina koji je bacio idol Pachamama, izloženog u jednoj crkvi u Rimu baš u vrijeme prije plandemije. Ovaj katolički aktivist poručuje svima o dramatičnoj situaciji u Austriji, koja počinje od prvog sječna iduće godine. Samo jedna opaska dragi Alexander: ne pozivaj se na demokraciju, jer ovo nam je demokracija dala. I samo da znate jednu stvar: svi oni koji se cjepe, učestvuju i doprinose ovom kriminalu. Obratite se dok imate vremena:

Danas su austrijske novine objavile pravila koja austrijska vlada želi uvesti već 1 siječnja ovdje u Austriji. Ta pravila kažu da ako niste cjepljeni možete biti kažnjeni do 2000 eura SVAKI PUT kada vas „uhvate“ necjepljene.

Ovo može značiti i eksplicitno je rečeno da možete biti kažnjeni više od jedan put dnevno...3, 4, 5 puta... ako ste necjepljeni. Ako odbijemo platiti vlada želi da nas stavi u odvojene zatvore, koje napravili za necjepljene... do godinu dana!!!  Ako niste cjepljeni možete se suočiti sa zatvorskom kaznom do godinu dana.

To je razlog zašto trebam vašu podršku... svi mi austrijanci, mi trebamo vašu podršku... Molim vas, otiđite kod vaših državnih zvaničnika, do lokalnih austrijskih ambasada ili zatražite od svojih ambasada u Austriji da primjene što više pritiska na austrijsku vladu... samo da vas informiram, naš novi kancelar, kao što znate naši kancelari se brzo mjenjaju posjednjih tjedana, naš novi kancelar Karl Nehammer je bivši šef policije... on ja taj koji je uspostavio pravila policijske države posljednjih mjeseci i sada želi nastaviti sa tim na način koji se jedino može nazvati tiranski i totalitarni. Trebamo vašu podršku. Molim vas zaustavite austrijsku vladu da pretvori Austriju u policijsku državu. Mi Austrijanci smo laboratorijski miševi zapadnog svijeta... slobodnog zapadnog svijeta... Ako se ovo dogodi nama, dogoditi će se i svim drugim zamljama. Ne želimo imati te „karantinske kampove“. Mi ne želimo imati ta užasna pravila koja razdvajaju obitelji, razdvajaju ne samo vjernike nego i sve Austrijance. Samo razmislite... jedna trećina Austrijanaca je necjepljena... austrijska vlada sada vrši pritisak na te ljude. Znači jedna trećina populacije ili se mora cjepiti ili se suočava sa zatvorom... samo da vam dam sliku cijele situacije... ovo znači da austrijaska vlada zvanično kriminalizira opoziciju... opoziciju ovome. Dakle ovo je još jedan korak, ovo je jako nedemokratski i stoga se moramo boriti protiv ovoga. Apelujem MOLIM VAS DIJELITE OVAJ VIDEO. Molim vas primjenite što je moguće više pritiska na vaše političare da zatraže ili prisile austrijsku vladu da se udalji od ovih užasnih pravila... i da ih ne uvodi.

Hvala vam svima!!! Budite blagoslovljeni... neka vam je blagoslovljeno vrijeme adeventa u ovim zbilja ludim i tiranskim vremenima... mislim da je jako važno da slavimo Božić što ljepše i bolje jer ovo može biti posljednji Božić barem ovdje u Austriji, gdje možemo biti sa svojm obiteljima na način kako smo to bili posljednih godina... Bog vas sve blagoslovio... Hvala!!!

Sermon for the 3rdSunday of Advent, December 12th, 2021 (from Dec. 2014)

 (Samo pozvati pažnju na kvarte, koje su između treće i četvrte nedjelje došašća, srijedom petkom i subotom, posta, nemrsa i molitve. Održavale su se do reforme drugog vatikanskog. Četiri puta na godinu. Držimo dobre običaje.)

This week, between the 3^rd and the 4^th Sunday of Advent, is Ember week. The Ember days which occur four times a year (during Advent, Lent, Pentecost and September), are days of fast, abstinence and prayer. Traditionally they have always been ordination days, especially Ember Saturdays. Please honor these days – Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of this week – as best you can!

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen

 

My dearly beloved in Our Lord,

 

St. Paul in today's reading encourages us not to be worried, not to worry ourselves! We should not worry about anything, but make our petitions known to God, in our prayers and our demands, with thanksgiving.

It is indeed difficult for us on many occasions not to worry and to be concerned, since we are living in very “interesting“ and strange times: Several decades without a Pope, without bishops, without the teaching by which they normally give us and keep up our faith; a time seemingly without safe laws and sure orientations for our way to Heaven; a time when the signs of the crisis preceding Christ's final coming are getting clearer and stronger every day.

What are we to do?

Firstly, let us consider the words of St John the Baptist in today's Gospel: “I baptize with water; but in your midst is one standing whom you do not know.“

My dear Catholics: Christ has been with us, with the human race, and particularly with his Church, for 2000 years. And it would seem that we still do not really know HIM! He “is coming after John the Baptist, but he was made before him.“How difficult do we find it to acknowledge the true nature of Our Lord Jesus Christ... How easily are we scandalized by him, as his apostles have been at the time of trial, at the time of his sacred Passion... Oh we poor men of little faith: He is God, and he can do whatever he wants: “Omnia quaecumque... God hath done all things whatsoever he would, in heaven and on earth” (cf.Ps 113); he is God made man, so he is our mediator with the Father – he can give us, and he does give us more than we need, in order to make our way to eternal salvation, to Heaven.

May he enlighten the darkness of our mind by the grace of his coming! (cf. Collect)

Secondly, we may look at the example of Our Blessed Lady, the Virgin Mother of God.

We might think that everything was easy and straightforward for her, that she had no problems serving God. This is true in as much as she had been preserved from all stain of sin, and she effectively never sinned.

But God in no way exempted her from suffering, trials and grief! The Church honors her rightly as the Mother of Sorrows. And not only did she suffer, but God also put her faith and her endurance to a very strong trial: After having inspired her to consecrate her life to God in perpetual virginity, she was told by the priests that she was to leave the temple where she had been educated, and to marry. They even found a spouse for her, St Joseph from the house of the king David. Shortly after that, “antequam convenirent – before they lived together”, as the gospel clearly states (Mt 1:18, see Gospel on Christmas Eve), the Archangel Gabriel announces her that she is to be the Mother of God. She asks how this could happen, since she does not know a man. The Angel answers that this will be by the power of God; and that nothing is impossible for God. Upon this she simply answers with the beautiful words which we repeat three times a day: “Ecce ancilla Domini. Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.”She has no idea, in which way exactly God will act. But she manifests complete faith and trust in him. She does not worry herself, once God has given his promise; she does not “play Providence”. And St Elisabeth blesses her, she praises her because of her faith: “Beata quae credidisti – blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.” (Lk 1:45)

My dearly beloved! Like the true Christians, the children of God at all times, we are today living in the desert: Not only has the world become a very rough place – for the least – but also the beneficial power of Christ's Church has become almost imperceptible. If we want to use an expression from Our Lady's words at La Salette (1846), we can say that the Church is eclipsed. So the Church is there, she cannot perish, but she is practically imperceptible for most. But just as even the elect would not be saved if these times were not shortened, so the Church seems to be doomed in our days. - What is left for us? The words of Our Lord; the teaching of the Church and her holy and sanctifying rules and laws, together with the Sacraments. It is just like in the desert: There is barely enough to survive; but for him who knows the herbs, there is enough food, even in the desert. He who is used to pick and choose his food from an overloaded table, cannot possibly survive on a desert diet, but he will soon die. This is why we cannot afford to, and we do not want to rely on anything but on Catholic dogma and sound theology. It might seem like tough food sometimes, but it is very safe, nourishing and life-giving.

Oh if we could only truly believe in God's goodness; in His providence which cares for us at every instant of our life. Our faith must become more and more “practical” by the works of charity, both corporal and spiritual. Thus not only we refrain from condemning our neighbor – as some please to do for their own peril – but we also find and keep this peace of soul which is one of the signs of predestination.

May St John the Baptist, the humble precursor of Christ, inspire us by his faith and his simplicity.

May Our Blessed Lady, the Virgin Mother of God, grant us a share of her immeasurable faith, so that she may lead us to the gates of Heaven: “peccatorum miserere – have mercy on the sinners.” (Alma Redemptoris)

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.