Sunday Sermon

Novena to the Holy Spirit

Friday after Ascension Thursday -- Saturday, the Vigil of Pentecost

This is the prototype of all novenas. It commemorates the nine days between the Ascension of Our Lord and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost Sunday. During this time Our Lady and the twelve Apostles prayed in the upper room for the coming of the Paraclete.

In His preaching, the Lord Jesus would often use that word “must.” in John 3:7, John 3:14. There is one here in John 9:4: “I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”. “Must,” of course, is a word of necessity. It is an urgency of God. So Fr. Hoffman speaks then of the necessity and the Urgency of time. “We must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”

In the scriptures we have a clear promise on the part of the God of infinite truth, who must necessarily keep His promise: "Ask, and you shall receive." And yet there is nothing more common than to hear men complaining that their prayers seem to be of no avail. What is the cause of that? I am firmly convinced that if ever our hearts and desires are in contradiction with the words we utter, they are so very often when we pray to God.

"EVERY good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights" (St. James 1:17) In this one verse St. James writes a powerful reminder to every single human being to remember where our priorities belong.

The world is of the mind that it can commit no evil that would merit God’s righteous judgment. The world deems itself independent of God’s judicious authority. 

The reason for this self-assurance is that the world is devoid of the sense of its own sinfulness. It is sunk in its own self-righteousness. In the face of evil – this pandemic – many people, probably most, will not repent of their sin, for they are blind to their own guilt.

In today’s reading, our Lord was on one of His long journeys and obviously walking. He came to a place in Samaria and stopped at a well. It was the sixth hour of the day – noon. As he rested, hot, tired and dusty, a Samaritan woman approached the well to draw some water. Jesus spoke to her and said, “Give me a drink”.....

Few couples like to admit it, but conflict is common to all marriages. 

Since every marriage has its tensions, it isn’t a question of avoiding them but of how you deal with them. You and your spouse must choose how you will act when conflict occurs.

For Christians, Christ is the reason for our hope. He is the reason for our joy. Our Blessed Savior is the reason for our motivation in life. We must always remember to acknowledge that God is the Lord and Master of our life. We must always remember to put God first in everything.

Pride is an illusion, a lie and a thief. And since it is a truth of faith that we are nothing, he who esteems himself and thinks that he is someone is a seducer who deceives himself.

— Saint John Eudes (1601-1689)

After enduring a lengthy introduction, Winston Churchill rises from his seat, walks to the podium and stares fixedly at his audience of new graduates. "Never give up!" he asserts solemnly.

He turns, walks back to his chair and sits down. As the stunned students sit in silence, Churchill, with perfect timing, again rises from his chair, returns to the podium and repeats, "Never give up!" Concerned they may respond improperly the audience never utters a squeak as the speaker again returns to his seat.

Sure enough, Churchill returns to the podium again, and again and yet again—five times—delivering his single-minded message, "Never give up!" At last, feeling he’s exhausted his audience and made his point, Churchill himself gives up and returns to the podium no more. The message?.....Never Give Up!