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.

 

Tko želi da "izbjeglice" uđu u Poljsku?

 

"Židovi kažu: dopustite ući izbjeglicama."

Svakako, u Izrael ne.

„Koncilska Crkva“ ostavila narod i nevine žrtve u covid krizi

 

Pogledajte ovu sliku Beča prošle nedjelje (promijenio sam sliku nakon upozorenja jednog čitatelja; slika nije bila iz Beča, zato stavljam drugu sa prosvjeda od kojih 50.000 građana, prema samim medijima, koji usput ističu da su prosvjedi uvjetovani ekstremnom desnicom).

 

Dok se njihov biskup i kardinal zafrkava oko covid potvrde. Dok slovenski biskupi traže isto za njihove mise. Kao tamo poneki također u USA ili Kanadi, i sl. Dok onaj iz Vatikana propovijeda pelcovanje kao „čin ljubavi“. Dok praktično svi biskupi svijeta ili šute, ili ga čak podržavaju.

Totalno su se udaljili od najpleminitijeg dijela društva, od kojih neki makar i instiktivno se protive ovoj pošasti. Dok im kler masovno okreće leđa.

Nevjerojatna sramota na što su spali.

No, kad se uzme u obzir sve ono što smo kroz već nekoliko godina komentirali na ovom blogu o stanju u Crkvi, te doktrinalnim zastranjenima, vrlo teškim, pravim udarima i nijekanjima svete vjere... ovo što danas živimo logična je posljedica onog stanja stvari koje smo nastojali teološki analizirati i dati im pravi razlog.

Danas žanjemo ono što je posijano zadnjih pola stoljeća. Odatle plačemo nad ovom sramotom, ali dobro znamo da nije slučajnost.

Nema zla da na dobro ne dođe. Iskoristimo ovo što se događa, pomozimo tolikima da otvore oči.

Uz Božju pomoć naprijed, kao uvijek.

Komentirajući govor fra Lazara Perica

 

Gotovo savršen govor fra Lazara Perica. Osim što spominje demokraciju kao vladu većine naroda, kao u smislu da se treba slušati narod. U tom i jest greška, jer je većina telad.

Također se nije usudio spomenuti šefa Vatikana, koji je dao primjer svim državama za obavezno cjepljenje. Jer je Vatikan prva država u svijetu koja je to nametnula. I onda kad ti nešto kažeš, odgovore ti: „pa i Papa to traži“. U tome jest najveća katastrofa, i nažalost ako se to ne pojasni, uzalud druge opaske.

Činjenica je da nemamo duhovnog lidera u ovoj borbi. Tu i tamo koji svećenik, fratar, časna sestra. Ne fra Lazare, nemamo podršku od Crkve, i to ćorav vidi, nego samo Ostatka.

Ima također i nešto pametnih van Ostatka koji se bori. Nažalost, takvi ne će imati uzor u Crkvi za borbu. Ipak im treba reći da Crkva ne može podržati ovo divljanje.

Dobro i hrabro je rekao fra Lazar, upozorio ih je: ako budu tražili covid propusnicu za ući u crkvu, ja u takvoj crkvi ne ću biti.

Tumači Sv. Augustin Gospodinove riječi kako će u one dane sunce pomračati. Komentira to da u one zadnje dane Crkva ne će biti jasno vidljiva, da sunce predstavlja Crkvu koja će, makar postojala do zadnjeg dana, biti potamnjena pred očima tolikih.

Sermon for the 6thSunday after the Epiphany (after Pent.), November 14th, 2021

 

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

 

My dearly beloved in Our Lord,

 

Today’s readings are taken from the 6^th Sunday after the Epiphany. Because of the moving date of Easter, the Sundays which are not celebrated between the Epiphany and Septuagesima are used between the 23^rd and the last Sunday after Pentecost accordingly.

The Epistle is the beginning of 1 Thessalonians, presumably the first of St Paul’s Epistles.

Just as last Sunday (readings of the 5^th Sunday after the Epiphany) and many times, St Paul insists on mutual charity. This charity must firstly be enacted by praying for each other! “We give thanks to God always for you all; making a remembrance of you in our prayers without ceasing.” (1:2)

Then he continues by setting out the topics treated in the five chapters of this letter, most of which are used in the liturgy over the year. He had sent his disciple Timothy to them (3:1-2) in order to strengthen their faith and to receive news from them. Ch. 4 contains the beautiful words which are read at the burial Mass. He follows up on the idea of the judgment at the beginning of ch. 5, reminding them (and us) of a teaching repeated so many times by Our Lord: “that the day of the Lord shall so come, as a thief in the night.” (5:2)

First he praises their virtues: “Being mindful of the work of your faith, and labor, and charity, and of the enduring of the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ before God and our Father.” (v. 3)Faith, hope and charity all need to be alive in the Christian soul so that she can bear fruit for eternal life through good works (“labor”). “So that you were made a pattern to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you was spread abroad the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia, and in Achaia, but also in every place, your faith which is towards God, is gone forth, so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves relate of us, what manner of entering in we had unto you; and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God.” (vv. 7-9)

“Knowing, brethren beloved of God, your election.” (v. 4) They have had the great privilege and grace to be evangelized by the Apostles of the Gentiles! God calls different souls, different regions, different nations… in different ways, at different times. He is absolutely free in choosing when and how He offers his grace to us humans. It is our task to accept God’s grace, and to faithfully cooperate with it, day by day. In the first part of ch. 4 St Paul will remind the Thessalonians that they need to practice the fundamental Christian virtues. They had problems particularly with chastity, idleness and injustice, it seems.

“For our gospel hath not been unto you in word only, but in power also, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much fulness, as you know what manner of men we have been among you for your sakes.” (v. 5) St Paul insists several times in his different Epistles that he did not ask any material support from those whom he evangelized. He and his helpers worked with their hands in order to feed themselves. This was necessary during the first stages of the spreading of the Gospel because all the heathen or Jewish teachers and philosophers used their science so that they could lead an idle life. Therefore, as we have mentioned, he will rebuke all the more the laziness and idleness of some of the Christians in Saloniki.

“And you became followers of us, and of the Lord; receiving the word in much tribulation, with joy of the Holy Ghost.“ (v. 6) Here we see the twofold structure of the Church: her social and her spiritual aspect.

The human and social element is very important: “And you became followers of us, and of the Lord”. Faith comes through preaching, from listening; those who preach or who want to convert others, must do so just as much through their good example as through the truthfulness of their doctrine. How many scandals have driven away souls from the truth and from the practice of virtue! How many souls have been attracted and inflamed by the great and heroic examples given by Saints or by saintly persons!

The spiritual element is just as important, of course, in the Church militant: “receiving the word in much tribulation, with joy of the Holy Ghost.“ On the feast of All Saints and its Vigil we have been reminded of the Beatitudes proclaimed by Our Lord. They are both times resumed in a last beatitude that concerns persecution for justice’s sake. “Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven.” (Mt 5:11-12) “Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Be glad in that day and rejoice; for behold, your reward is great in heaven.” (Lk 6:22-23) St Paul reminds St Timothy: “And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution.” (2Tim 3:12) It is a great moment when a newly converted person, after the first stages of spiritual “joy of the Holy Ghost”, experiences trials, adversity or persecution: “receiving the word in much tribulation”. Only the heat of those battles will prove whether one has built his house from stone, or from straw, as St Paul hints: “You are God's building. According to the grace of God that is given to me, as a wise architect, I have laid the foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: Every man's work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is.“ (1Cor 3:9-13)

Last but not least St Paul reminds us of the last things of our earthly existence, the great encounter with Christ our Judge: “And to wait for his Son from heaven (whom he raised up from the dead,) Jesus, who hath delivered us from the wrath to come.” (v. 10) In two weeks Advent will begin. It reminds us every year of Christ’s first coming in our human flesh; and also, by many testimonies in the liturgy, of the expectation of his last coming. “From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead… I believe in the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting”, as Holy Church prays in the Apostles’ Creed. We should contemplate and accept our present trials and woes in that sense – as an opportunity to make up for our sins, and for the sins of so many who neither recognize their sinfulness, nor make reparation for their sins so that we be spared “from the wrath to come”, from the second death, that of the soul in Hell.

“So, when Thou shinest on the clouds,

With thy angelic train,

May we be sav’d from vengeance due,

And our lost crowns regain.” (Hymn Aeterne Rex altissime)

These beautiful words from St Augustine Holy Church prays on the feast of the Ascension. May we always, more and more aspire to the true life which God has begun in our souls, and which shall be perfected in Heaven.

 

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