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Father Hall, February 3, 2013 Today I want to tell you a story about two old men. They appear in the liturgy yesterday and today. They lived thousands of years apart and in totally different circumstances. But each of them teaches us a lesson, and that lesson is repeated to us by Our Lord in todays Gospel of the sower who went out to sow his seeds. Lets start with the earlier of the two old men. He
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm lived many thousands of years ago, but his story is still told today in catechism classes and Sunday School to children all over the world. We read his story in the scriptural lessons of Matins this week. His name was Noah, and we find him all the way back in the first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis. We think of Noah as a fairly elderly man with a long white beard. But do you know how old he actually was? He was in fact more than just fairly elderly. The Bible tells us that when God called him to do that little carpentry job called Noahs Ark he was already in his late five-hundreds, and by the time the Great Flood came, he had reached the age of six hundred. Obviously he was doing pretty well for his age. Not only was he physically fit, he was also alone out of all the people of the earth considered worthy enough by God to lead his wife, his three sons and their wives, and animals of every kind to safety on the ark. Of all the people of the earth, only they were saved. In six hundred years you can commit an awful lot of sins, but Noah had used the time to accrue merit instead. The second old man I want to remind you about is the aged Jewish priest Simeon. We find him in the New Testament, in the Gospel at yesterdays Mass (Candlemas), when Our Lady and St. Joseph brought their new child, the Christ Child, to the temple. Here was another man who was chosen for salvation, this one from among the ranks of Levites of the Jewish temple. He had been told by God that he would not die before he saw the Messiah. And so he waited. Perhaps not six hundred years like Noah. Life was getting shorter by then. But he did wait until he was a ripe old age, and when he saw the infant Jesus, he took him in his arms and, inspired by the Holy Ghost, recognized him as the Messiah, and spoke forth the words of the Nunc Dimittis, the canticle we say every night at the Office of Compline: Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which God hath prepared before the face of all people, to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel. His long wait was over, and he was finally ready to depart this life in peace.
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm Two old men, Noah and Simeon, both waiting for, and finally being rewarded with, their salvation. The story of Noah we began reading at Matins this morning, the story of Simeon at Holy Mass yesterday, feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, Candlemas. Two stories that just happen to come together in this years liturgy. Two stories with a single message for us on this Sexagesima Sunday. And what is that message? We need look no further than the words spoken by God to St. Paul, as he relates in todays Epistle: My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. You see, both Noah and Simeon were old men. They labored with the infirmities of their age. They were weak. But each was chosen for salvation. In spite of being aged and infirm, it would be they who would receive the gift of Gods grace and would be saved, while those around them would drown in the waters of the Great Flood in the case of Noah, or in the latter times of Simeon, would suffer the even more terrible fate that awaited those who refused to recognize the Messiah even though he dwelt in the midst of them. And what of ourselves? We know our own weaknesses. Hopefully we try and fight against them, replacing the vices of our fallen nature with the virtues of grace. But we are weak. As St. Paul says in the Epistle: Of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. We glory therefore in our weakness. Why? Because if we are weak, no one can point to us and say that we find salvation through our own strength. No, like Noah and Simeon, we will find our salvation only by the grace of God. It is he, and he alone, that chooses us for salvation. And, like Noah and Simeon, he will choose the weak, he will choose only those who rely and wait patiently upon the grace of God. So dont be ashamed of your weakness, your moral weakness. Repent your sins, naturally, but rejoice in your infirmities. In the Gospel today we read the parable of the sower who went out to sow his seed. He sowed his seed in four different places. In three of these places, the seed does not reach maturity, and it dies. Our Lord goes on to explain that these three places represent the three different ways in which those who hear the word of God still do not save their souls. The three places where the seed dies, are 1) by the wayside, 2) on a rock, and 3) among thorns. Our Lord goes on to explain this parable. The wayside represents those whose faith is snatched away by the devil, and stop believing in the goodness of God. The rock stands for those whose faith has no depth, no root, and so withers away at the first temptation to sin. The thorns represent the riches and pleasures of this life, which distract so many away from what is truly important in their life. Three enemies of the soul: the Devil, the Flesh, and the World. All of us fall prey at some time to one or the other of these enemies. Some unfortunately wallow in the misery of all three. But these enemies, given half a chance, will stifle the life of the soul, tearing it away from God, and dragging it down to an eternity without him. But some of the seed falls on to good ground. This good ground stands for the life of grace. That grace which nourishes the soul of those who, says the Gospel, are of an honest and good heart, and having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. We should not wonder then, that our holy liturgy provides us at this time with two perfect examples of such men who have an honest and good heart, who heard the word of God, (Build an ark! Thou shalt not see death until thou hast seen the Messiah.) they heard the word of God, and kept it. Noah built his ark. Simeon waited for death until he saw the Christ Child, then sang his Nunc Dimittis. Both men patiently waited, living godly lives, and finally brought forth fruit with their patience. The first task we must accomplish, our most important priority in life, is to make sure our souls are planted in the good soil, and not by the wayside, not on a rock, not amongst the thorns. This is the very first priority of our lives, making sure we are on sure footing on good earth. Making sure we are in the true Church of God, that we are in the state of grace, that we are leading a life pleasing to God. The next thing we must do is to keep the word of God that we hear. In other words, we must obey the commandments, the little ones as well as the big ones. Love God and your neighbour, and all else will follow. But follow they must. Even the smallest commandment represents the will of God, and woe unto us if we deliberately defy that will of God and do our own will instead. Hear Gods word, then keep it. Do this and when the day of wrath comes, the day of your death and judgment, you will find yourselves with Noah, safely on the Ark of Salvation, ready to spend an eternity of happiness with God. You will be able to say with Simeon, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace. You will bring forth fruit with patience. And indeed it does take patience to keep all these commandments regularly, all the days of your life. It takes
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm patience, perseverance, fortitude, to fight continually against all the temptations that beset us, against those three enemies, the devil, the flesh and the world. It isnt easy. But if we are patient, if we do persevere, if we remain fortes in fide, strong in the faith, we will overcome. With patience, we will bring forth fruit. Theres only just over a week left now before Lent begins. Our work of preparation moves forward today a notch, and we are reminded of what kind of struggle we must wage in the coming weeks. It is no less than the struggle for the salvation of our soul. And we are taught by Our Lord how to fight that struggle. By fighting against the Devil, the Flesh, and the World. In other words, fight the Devil by keeping the word of God and patiently observing his commandments. Fight the Flesh, by doing penance, renouncing your own appetites, and practicing the virtues. And fight the World, by stifling the distractions of the material aspects of your life, focusing instead on the spiritual, by a greater prayer life, by closer union with our good God. We have been given the task today of building our own Noahs Ark, our Ark of Salvation. The task of building up our soul. Let us ask for the help of our Blessed Mother in this purification of our souls. Yesterday was the Feast of her own Purification, when she who is all pure did not disdain to follow the laws of Moses and go to the priests in the temple to be ritually purified after her child-bearing. And if the most pure Virgin Mary should submit to this rite of purification, who are we to refuse to submit ourselves to the same process, asking God to purify our souls? Our loving Mother will help us to attain the virtue of patience, so that we may remain steadfast throughout our forty days of Lent, fighting the good fight against Devil, Flesh, and World, so that we might be worthy of the redemption won for us on Good Friday, and finally be chosen to rise again at Easter into a new life of grace and godliness. Comments (0) Father Hall, January 27, 2013 Today, we start upon the long and arduous road that leads to Calvary. The Christmas season is now over, and we turn our attention from the beginning of Our Lords life to its end. Although there is no mention of it in todays Mass, the Breviary readings at Matins this week give us the story of exactly where this journey to Calvary begins. That road began of course with the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden. That original sin, which we all inherit, and which alone is enough to banish us forever into the outer darkness. But the love of God for the children he created has provided us with a way out of that otherwise inevitable doom. During the Christmas season which has just ended, we learned how a Virgin conceived and brought forth a Child, how unto us was born a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. A Redeemer who would somehow re-open those gates of heaven which Adam and Eve had caused to be slammed shut. A Redeemer who would pay the price of the almost infinite number of sins that have been committed since the world began. The shedding of whose Precious Blood alone could balance out the infinite sacrilege of having offended an infinite God. Only one who was himself infinite in his divine nature could possibly pay that price, and today we begin our steady march towards that redemption, towards that spilling of our Saviours Blood on the hill of Calvary. And so our vestments change from the green of hope to the violet of penitence and sorrow. There is no Te Deum at Matins, there is no Gloria at the Mass, and a solemn Tract is now read after the Gradual. We will spend the next two and a half weeks preparing ourselves for Lent, making ourselves ready, to share, with Our Lord, a tiny part of that immense suffering he undertook on our behalf, with our meager little penances of Lent. This pre-Lenten period is one where we should reflect on the sin of Adam and Eve, the sins of man which caused God to send the Great Flood and wipe out all of mankind save the chosen few whom Noah took with him on his Ark, and the covenant which God made with man, that he would send a Messiah to visit and redeem his people. And just as those chosen few who were allowed on to Noahs Ark were saved, so too, those who have been called to the life of grace in the true faith, may also be saved from eternal damnation. All of you here in this room today have been called. You have all been baptized into the true Catholic Faith, you have the opportunity to confess your sins, to receive Holy Communion. You are called, yes. However, many are called, but few are chosen. You are redeemed, yes, but are you saved? The Protestants love to ask that question: Are you saved? Because they fail to recognize the difference between being saved and being redeemed. We are all redeemed, it is true. But we are most decidedly

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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm NOT all saved. Only those who freely choose to cooperate with Gods holy will and obey his commandments, loving God and their neighbor, will end up being saved. Only those who die in the state of grace will be saved. We are all called to that end. How many of us here today will make it? How many of us will be saved? Todays Gospel is all about being called. The householder needs labourers to work in his vineyard, and so he goes out early in the morning and calls men to work. Later he wants more, and goes out again at the third hour of the day, then again at the sixth and the ninth hours of the day, finally at the eleventh hour, each time calling men to work in his vineyard. Who is this householder, and what is he doing here? Our Lord is telling us a parable here, a story to make us realize a great truth. The householder represents God who calls us all to work in Gods vineyard, to labour all our life long. He calls us many times, but do we listen? Do we present ourselves to God that he may choose us? Or are we perhaps like those who stand idly in the marketplace until the eleventh hour, when the householder finally calls them in exasperation: Why stand ye here all the day idle? Unfortunately, this reproach may be addressed to many people. To those for example who have never given a single thought to what God wants of them in this life. What a pity it is that these people who were created by God for the single purpose of knowing, loving, and serving him, have never spared a thought as to how to do this. The reproach may be addressed also to those who, although they know God a little, also love him a little (in other words, not enough). And then it may be a reproach to those who know and love him, but serve him only slothfully, half-heartedly. Or to those who allow themselves to be distracted by the pleasures and the sorrows of this life, forgetting the one thing that is truly necessary. Why stand ye here all the day idle? We need to ask ourselves if we fit into any of these categories. Chances are that we do, and this pre-Lenten period is given to us to contemplate these our failings, and most importantly to resolve what we are going to do about them. God has called you ALL to work. None may be idle, in whatever position they may be. He has called us many times during our life. We dont know how long our life may be. Perhaps God has already called us at our eleventh hour But be certain of this. He HAS called us already. Does anyone dare say like the men in the parable: No man hath hired us.? These are the idle men. These are the ones that are called but are not chosen. Believe me, our enemies are not so idle as we. Since the very creation of man, the devil has been hard at work, at every hour of the day and night, in every page of the Holy Bible, throughout history. And we need to fight back. To fight the good fight. And as St. Paul says in the Epistle today, we must fight not as one that beateth the air, but so as to win the prize. We are in a race with the devil, and only one is going to win. Its not an easy race. Evil, we must always remember, acts under the guise of good. The Devil, the Father of Lies, is clever enough to know that he must always mix in something true, something beautiful, something pleasant, so that we can be drawn in, attracted by the good so that we will swallow the evil. So that we can swallow up the lies that fester amidst the truth, so that we can consent to the sin that lies, oh so enticingly, in the pleasures he projects in our minds. Not an easy race. But St. Paul gives us the clue how we may win this race: He tells us it is by bringing our bodies into subjection. In other words, we need to control our desires by having full knowledge of what we are doing and what will happen to us if we consent to those desires. By putting our intellect in control of our will. Practically speaking, by the little penances we do we learn to subject our bodies in this manner. We practice subduing our appetites. Vices and virtues are habitual acts. By practicing, by getting into good habits, we will replace the vices of sloth, and lust, and gluttony, and so on with the virtues of fortitude, chastity and temperance. This pre-Lenten period of Septuagesimatide is given to us for the purpose of contemplating these matters. On preparing our souls for the penitential season of Lent, for the great Fast. This is our call today from the householder, God himself. He is calling us to stop being so idle in our spiritual life, and get ourselves out into the vineyard of our souls, and get some work done! Today is our wake-up call to get moving! No more feeling sorry for ourselves, no more lying around idle, complaining about the state of the world, the state of the church, the state of whatever. Its time to focus utterly on the state of grace, and whether our own soul is in the state of grace, and how our own soul may abide in that state of grace, and how we may bring that state of grace to our poor neighbours who are still standing idle. I dont care how late in the day it is, how late in your own life it may be, how late in world history we may find ourselves. It is never too late. Spend the next couple of weeks wisely, make some resolutions on what you will give up for Lent, what extra acts of virtue and kindness you will perform each day, what what prayers you can add on. Think in terms of penance. What can I do to bring my body into subjection? And then ask for the
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm assistance of Our Lady, Help of Christians, ask for an increase in virtue, especially those of fortitude and temperance. So that by Ash Wednesday you are ready to enter into the great battle over your soul, and you may race with the devil, and you may win the prize. Comments (0) Father Hall, January 20, 2013 Today is the Second Sunday after Epiphany, and during these past two weeks we have been celebrating this great feast of Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ to the peoples of the world. Two weeks ago on January 6th, the feast itself, we saw the three wise men processing to the stable of Bethlehem, bringing their gifts of homage, and worshiping the newborn Christ Child. The following Saturday we jumped forward 12 years to the time when Jesus, as a young boy, remained behind in Jerusalem, being lost and then found by his parents, conversing with the elders in the temple, being about his fathers business. This was his manifestation to the Jewish nation at the age of 12, and the Feast of the Holy Family. The Gospel that day ended by setting the scene for the raising of the Christ Child in Nazareth, where, we are told, he was subject to Saints Mary and Joseph. From this idyllic picture of family life, we go forward from last Saturday to last Sunday, traveling in time for a period of 18 years in Christs life. The young child grows up. At some point his foster father St. Joseph passes on into eternity, and then last Sunday, the Octave Day of the Epiphany we celebrated the Baptism of Christ, now a young man of 30. It is the beginning of Christs three years of ministry, during which he taught us by his parables, his actions, his miracles. But before Christ began his public life of ministry, there was something he wanted to do first. And that brings us to todays Gospel. What was it Our Lord wanted to do first, before starting his public ministry? When he and his Mother were invited to a wedding feast at Cana, he had no intention of performing his first miracle, and starting his public ministry with the dramatic and miraculous changing of the water into wine. So what was it that he wanted to do first? I dont know. It doesnt say. Well not know that until we are in heaven. All we know is that his hour had not yet come. And this, then, is the greatest drama of todays Gospel. Not that he changed water into winethis was nothing to the almighty Word of God who had created an entire universe out of nothing. No, the great drama today is that this almighty God changed his plan at the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary his Mother. It is difficult to know which is the more remarkable. The humility of the only-begotten Son of God who changed his plans at the behest of a mere mortal woman? Or the wonderful exaltation of this woman, this creature, who although made from dust and ashes, nevertheless was chosen to be Mother of God, and who could influence her Son so easily with the simple words They have no wine? Both these aspects of todays Gospel should be imprinted on our minds. Not just on our memory, that we may remember at all times the humility of Christ and the exaltation of his Blessed Mother. But also on our very being, so that we can barely take a breath without being mindful of Our Ladys holy influence over her Son, the Son of God. With this in mind, we should never hesitate to ask her to intercede for us at the feet of her Son. He can refuse her nothing that she asks. And so we ask for her help. And never was it known,says the prayer, the Memorare, that anyone who fled to her protection, implored her help, or sought her intercession, was left unaided. Todays Gospel begins with the words: There was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the Mother of Jesus was there. Note that the Gospel doesnt tell us who was getting married. This was a very special wedding, but it wasnt special because of the bride and groom who were getting married. We dont know who they were. And we don't particularly care who they were. This is because they stand for all future Christian brides and bridegrooms. Their wedding was the very first wedding on which Our Lord was to bestow the graces of a sacrament. Yes, this wedding at Cana was the first marriage to be a sacrament. And the Mother of Jesus was there. How important is it therefore, that you invite the Mother of Jesus into your own homes. That you make her a permanent guest in the bosom of your own family. The name of Mary should never be far from our lips, and the thought of her loving care should never be far from our minds. Remember what Father Peyton used to say, that the
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm Family that prays together stays together. Pray the RosaryOur Ladys Rose Garden. Say the 150 Hail Marys of the Rosary together each week, calling on Our Lady to help you and your family, poor banished children of Eve, in this vale of tears. Let the joyful, the sorrowful, and the glorious events in the lives of Our Lord and his Blessed Mother become part of your own life, in your own joys, your sorrows, and your final end. Let the two guests of the Wedding Feast of Cana, Our Lord and his Mother, be guests in your home as you gather together in prayer. They should not be strangers but welcome friends, so that when the time comes for you to ask a favour of Our Lady, she will bestow a sweet smile on your prayer, and remind her Son that you have no wine, or whatever plight you happen to be in. And Our Lord, even though he may have been planning something altogether different for you, will do as she asks and grant the favour you so badly need. One of the favours we are currently asking for is for the restoration of the unity of the Church. A couple of days ago, we began the Chair of Unity Octave. Every day until next Friday, we recite special prayers after Mass for the unity of the Church, Christs Mystical Body. It should not surprise us that Divine Providence has allowed the Gospel of the Wedding Feast of Cana to fall within this octave where we pray for the Church and her unity. For what does St. Paul call the Church in his Epistle to the Ephesians? He calls the Church the Bride of Christ. It is as though Christ is espoused to the Church, and we are their children. Indeed we refer to the Church as our Holy Mother the Church. St. Paul says that the husband is the head of his wife just as Christ is head of the Church. As the Church is subject unto Christ, says St. Paul, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself for it. This analogy of Christs relationship with his Church as that of a husband to his wife is one which bears hearing on this Sunday of the Wedding Feast of Cana. Just as Our Lords Blessed Mother was present at the wedding feast, and just as she should be present in every home and family, so too is she present in the true Church of Christ. It is to Our Lady then that we must bring our prayers for unity, that schismatics, heretics, pagans, apostates, may return to Holy Mother Church. Once these people abandon the true Church of Christ, they water down the truth, to the point where all they have left is water. But lets not forget that at Our Ladys request, Christ turned water into wine. One of the churches that has watered down this wine of truth is the Anglican communion of churches, or Episcopalian Church as it is known in this country. Today at the end of Mass our intention in this Chair of Unity Octave is for the conversion of Anglicans back to the one true Church. The prayer which we will pray to our Blessed Mother is one which I remember from when I was just a little boy. This prayer was always recited in England every single time we had Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. We knelt before Christ in the Holy Eucharist, and beseeched his Mother to intercede for us, that he would change the water of the Church of England into the wine of truth of the Roman Catholic Church. In the Middle Ages, England was known as the Dowry of Mary, and we prayed that it would become so again. And while this seemed so very distant and unlikely in years past, it is interesting to note that in the last couple of years, literally thousands of Anglicans have begun to convert en masse. Not only the Anglican laity, but priests, bishops, and even members of the Royal Family. Why these sudden conversions? Because the people of the Anglican Church have become tired of drinking the filthy water of modernism. They have become tired of seeing their Church wallowing in increasingly sacrilegious activities like the ordination of women priests and bishops, for example. This week I heard on the radio that the Episcopalian Washington National Cathedral is about to start conducting same-sex marriages. And the good people within the Anglican community, some of them very close to us in doctrine and liturgy, are sick and tired of this nonsense, they are seeking something better than the water they are being given to drink by their leadership. And so, inspired by this confidence, as the Memorare reminds us, we fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, our Mother. It is not enough to drag our feet slowly to prayer. "We fly unto thee." It's not enough to give up a few reluctant minutes of our day to mutter through a few tired old incantations, without thought, or even worse, with our thoughts on our own distracted life, with its fears and pleasures. No, we must FLY to the Virgin of virgins, our Mother. Invite her as a guest into our homes, into our beloved Holy Mother Church, and then come before her presence with a song as it says in the psalms. Let us renew our loving confidence that she will intercede for our families, and for our separated brethren, and that her Divine Son will grant her the favours she asks for us. So let us kneel before her, sinful and sorrowful. She is the Mother of the Word Incarnate, and she will not despise our petitions, but in her mercy she will hear and answer us. Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us.

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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm Father Hall, January 13, 2013 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee. When Christ was born in the fullness of time the world was at peace. Throughout the lands a peace reigned, an uneasy peace perhaps, but a peace nevertheless. It was a peace imposed by the might of the Roman Empire, which refused to entertain any dissent from the authority of its rule. And then 33 years after the birth of Christ, the Holy Ghost descended on the Apostles and the Church was born into this world of peace. But soon after the Apostles went forth to spread the Gospel, the words of Our Lord came to pass, when he said: Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. Within a few years, the attention of the mighty Roman Empire came to rest on the upstart Christian Church which was upsetting the peace of the land. The state religion, pagan in nature, was under attack. The Christians had a new message of love, forgiveness, and worship of a single God, a jealous God who would not share the worship due to him with the many false Roman godsdemons, the Christians called them. The Christians were sending the unmistakable message to the Roman Emperor that he would no longer be able to preside peacefully over a state religion as long as it burned incense to the pagan gods of Rome, one of whom was the Emperor himself. And so the persecutions began. Under the Emperor Nero in the year 67, the very first Bishop of Rome, our first Pope, St. Peter, was crucified upside down. On the same day and in the same city of Rome, the Apostle of the Gentiles, St. Paul, was beheaded. A cross for St. Peter and a sword for St. Paul. Truly now, the cross and the sword were linked. And since that time, the cross and the sword, in the Church, and in the persons of Saints Peter and Paul in particular, have been forever linked. These two saints are celebrated on a single feastday, June 29th. Even on other feastdays of St. Peter, such as St. Peter in Chains for example on August 1st, St. Paul is not forgotten, but is immediately commemorated after the collect of St. Peter at the Mass and in the Divine Office. In the persons of these two saints and apostles, their unity represents the unity of the Catholic Church. And this unity shows us how the Cross and the Sword co-exist in the Church. When the Jews stoned to death St. Stephen, God chose the man, Saul, who held the coats of those who stoned the first Martyr. This Saul was one of the fiercest persecutors of the Christian faith, a man breathing out threatenings and slaughter as it says in the Acts of the Apostles. God chose this man, Saul, as he rode his horse along the road to Damascus, where he was going to persecute the new Christian Church ever more fiercely. Saul was suddenly struck from his horse, and fell to the ground, blinded. He heard a voice saying: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And as we know, this man was then baptized, changed his name from Saul to Paul, and became the great Apostle of the Gentiles. From the Sword of persecution, he was converted into the messenger of the Cross. God knew that his own chosen people would reject his Son and put him to death, and so he prepared the Gentiles instead to be given the great gift of Faith. At the feast of Epiphany and during its octave, we celebrate this manifestation of Our Lord to the Gentiles, first to the Three Kings, and today in particular, through his introduction to the Gentiles of the Sacrament of Baptism. St. Peter and St. Paul. Jews and Gentiles. For the very first time in history, Jews and Gentiles were to be united together in a single religion, the Christian Church. Under the authority of the Bishop of Rome, Jewish and pagan converts would come together to spread the Faith of the Church throughout all the lands of the Roman Empire. In the process, they would create a new Roman Empire, one founded on this new Faith, and a new Pax Romana, a new peace, would cover the land. As it says in todays Epistle, the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. And eventually, the Emperor Constantine, on his way to fight the decisive Battle of the Milvian Bridge, would see a great sign in the heavens, not the sword of battle, but a cross with the words In this sign shalt thou conquer. With Constantines conversion to Christianity, the persecutions would come to an end, and the world would once more be at peace. And how long would this peace last? Peace to men of good will sang the Angels at Bethlehem. But to the everlasting shame of mankind, there have been so very, very many throughout the course of history who are not of good will. The peace would almost immediately be shattered by men within the Church who would obstinately

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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm refuse to submit to her authority. These heretics would come up with one theory after another, disputing the doctrines of the Church. In the Office of Matins during the Epiphany Octave we read the following commentary on the Gospel by Pope St. Gregory the Great: The Wise Men brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold is the fitting gift for a King; frankincense is offered in a sacrifice to God; and with myrrh are embalmed the bodies of the dead. By the gifts, therefore, which they presented unto him, the Wise Men set forth three things concerning him unto whom they offered them: by the gold, that he was King; by the frankincense, that he was God; and by the myrrh, that he was to die. There are some hereticks who believe him to be God, but confess not his kingly dominion over all things; these offer unto him frankincense, but refuse him gold. There are some others who admit that he is King, but deny that he is God; these present unto him gold, but will not give him frankincense. There are some other hereticks who profess that Christ is both God and King, but not that he took a dying nature; these offer him gold and frankincense, but not myrrh for his Manhood. Today these three heresies remain the basic errors attacking the Church. They remained so during the Protestant revolt, when whole nations gave up the light of revelation which the Church had provided, and chose instead the darkness of heresy, renting asunder the Mystical Body of Christ. And more recently these three heresies have been brought together to form one single heresy, that of modernism, what St. Pius X called the synthesis of all errors. Some of you are old enough to remember the 1960s. You will remember it as the time of the Flower People, Woodstock, the hippy movement, the Beatles, psychedelic drugs and so-called free love. And what was the response of the Roman Catholic Church, the bastion of truth, to all this? John XXIII wanted to bring the Church up to date, make it more in line with modern trends, and thus the Vatican Council was born. Supposedly it sought to bring peace. The New Mass was one long, jolly, hand-shaking back-slapping, Kumbaya get-together of the People of God (whoever they are). Not only Catholics, but Protestants, Jews, atheists, were all welcome to attend and to participate in the supreme and most holy sacrament of togetherness, fellowship. Thus was born a false ecumenism, the coming together of all religions by process of eliminating anything in each one of them which offends the members of another. But instead of bringing peace to the Church, this new ecumemism, symbolized by the frivolity of the Novus Ordo Missae, brought the sword. A sword of error, a sword of division, a sword that would rip a new wound in the Mystical Body of Christ, this time from within. This new wound would not divide Catholics from Protestants. It would create a rift within the Church itself, separating so-called traditional Catholics from liberal Catholics, sede-vacantists from the Una-Cum groups, SSPX from SSPV, brother against brother. And so here we are today. And you might say Thank you Father for that little history lesson. But what does it have to do with us? Lets take a quick look at our response to all this history, this long story of the rupture between peace and the sword, between truth and error. Our first duty, as always, is to love God above all things. Our second duty is to love our neighbour. During this coming week the Church provides us with a wonderful way of doing both. Peace, the true peace of God, comes from unity, unity within the folds of the Church and under the authority of that Church. It is the peace that comes from the unity of Christs Mystical Body. And this week, starting on Friday, we are going to begin the Chair of Unity Octave, where we pray for the unity of all mankind and their conversion to the true Church of Christ, the Mystical Body. We pray that the divisions in the Mystical Body of Christ may be healed. Our prayers therefore are motivated by a fervent love of God and our neighbour at the same time. This special octave of prayers for Church Unity was established, interestingly enough, by a group of Anglican Franciscans in New York State, the Graymoor Friars. Less than two years later these Anglican friars were received into the Roman Catholic Church. These prayers work! All that false ecumenism of Vatican II is nonsense of course. But the fact that it is nonsense does not mean that there is not a true ecumenism. Our Lord himself prayed that all may be one, and Unity is one of the four marks of the Church by which all men may recognize that it is the true Church. The true ecumenism for which we are taught by Our Lord to pray, is the Unity of all people within the True Faith, within the One, Holy, Roman and Apostolic Church. So in this year of Our Lord 2013, our call, our duty which we are called upon to perform by those two great Apostles Peter and Paul, is to pray fervently that all may be one, and that all false religions and heresies, including that of
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm modernism, may one day soon, again become subject to the authority of a true Roman Pontiff within the bosom of our holy Mother Church. So let us pray for the help of St. Peter and St. Paul with this intention. The first day of the Chair of Unity Octave, January 18, is the feast of the Chair of St. Peter in Rome. What better day to begin our prayers that we may all be united once again under that throne of Peter. And we should not be surprised that the last day of the Chair of Unity Octave, January 25th, is the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, when Our Lord blinded him to his wicked ways on the road to Damascus, and then opened them again to the light of his True Faith. Our weapons in this struggle for unity are prayer and penance. If we are called to the fight, let us not be without these weapons. Our weapon must never be the sword. Not by the sword, but by the Cross, by our prayers and penances. We should not be seeking justice here for those who are outside the Church, or for our enemies within the Church. We should be seeking their salvation. Our weapons are the love of God and our neighbour, not the sword of justice. Our Lord did not choose to drive the money-lenders out of the temple with a sword. When St. Peter took out a sword in Gethsemane and cut off the ear of the High Priests servant, Our Lord rebuked him and reminded that he who lives by the sword shall surely die by the sword. No. The sword represents warfare, division, the continuing of these awful divisions which have always existed, and in particular since Vatican II. The Emperor Constantine did not see a sword in the sky. He saw a cross. In this sign, the Sign of the Cross, you shall conquer. On Friday of this week, then, make the Sign of the Cross and begin your prayers for true Christian Unity. During the Chair of Unity Octave, pray in turn for the various schismatics, heretics and apostate Catholics. Pray for those currently outside the Church (where there is no salvation), and for the many lapsed Catholics who have chosen to abandon their faith. Pray especially for those who would rip apart the Mystical Body with the sword of modernism. Help restore peace to the earth. It is the same peace that existed that first Christmas, the peace that covered the land to prepare for the birth of Christ. It is the peace that we need now to prepare for the coming Second Coming of Christ, when he, and he alone, shall wield the Sword of Justice. And it is the peace that we must have in our hearts when we forgive them that persecute us. May this peace which passeth all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Comments (0) Father Hall, January 6, 2013 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. One of the most beloved Christmas traditions in my homeland, England, takes place every Christmas Day at exactly three oclock in the afternoon. Just as families are winding down after their traditional Christmas dinner of roast turkey, the television is switched on, and everyone gathers together to watch The Queens annual Christmas broadcast to the nation and the Commonwealth. This tradition of speaking on Christmas Day to her people follows a tradition established by her grandfather King George V back in 1932, when his speech was written by the great author Rudyard Kipling, and was transmitted live over the radio on the BBCs World Service. I mention this today because it is the Feast of the Epiphany, the Feast of the Three Kings. Kings, and Queens, have been a part of our Western Christian heritage throughout the Middle Ages, and on to the present day. As head of their respective nations, they represent the highest pinnacle of civil power and authority under God himself. Many monarchs have not lived up to the momentous responsibilities given to them by God. In recent days we have watched as the kings of the earth have arisen, and the rulers have taken counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed. We have spoken of Kings Henry II and Henry VIII of England for example, who caused St. Thomas a Becket and St. Thomas More to be martyred. And in today's Gospel we see another king, Herod, already plotting his mischief against the Christ Child. But today our focus is on another three Kings. Three Kings from the Orient, who followed their star of wonder across field and fountain, moor and mountain. They followed their star, until at last it came to rest above the stable at Bethlehem. What made Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar travel so far in the bleak midwinter? What was it that brought them to that stable where they presented their precious gifts to the child in the humble manger? Was it mere curiosity at the astronomical phenomenon of a moving star? Or was it to see fulfilled some long-remembered prophecy? However, it is not in the motivation for their journey where we are to learn our lesson, but rather in the image of these three Kings, kneeling at the feet of the infant Messiah, humbly recognizing, in this baby in the stable, him who was to be not only the glory of his people Israel, but also a light to enlighten the Gentiles.
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm It is this sight of three Kings in all their majesty presenting gifts to a humble baby born in a stable that strikes us on this feast of the Epiphany. And what a striking reminder it is that this humble baby is none other than the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the source of all power and authority. In the Gospel of St. Matthew he himself tells us I am a King. All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. But why did this King of kings become a man to dwell amongst us? He had all power to rule over us and govern us, but rather than do this during his life on earth, he preferred to serve. His real reason for being born was to save mankind from all his iniquities. And to save us, he served us. This is why the Three Kings came to Bethlehem. They came looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity. And in return for the gift that the Christ Child gave them in this his glorious manifestation to the Gentiles, they gave him their gifts. The gift of gold in recognition of the Kingship of Christ. The gift of frankincense, in recognition of his priesthood. And the gift of myrrh, a burial ointment, symbolizing the death he would suffer for us. King, God, and suffering Redeemer. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. They gave their gifts, each more precious than the last, and they gave them with the same love that the humble shepherds presented their lambs. The Three Kings humbled themselves before the King of kings. They knelt before him, acknowledging that their own power and authority was derived from the divine power and authority that emanated from this tiny baby in his Mothers arms. They knelt and served their King, their Lord and master. This brings me back to The Queens Christmas Message. Id like to quote to you from this, because it seems to me that the feast of the Three Kings calls for the words of a reigning monarch. This last year of 2012 was the year of Her Majestys Diamond Jubilee, the 60th anniversary of The Queens accession to the throne in 1952. Her reign has been one of continual service to her people, and this theme of service, giving to others, was central to her Christmas message this year. Here are her words from the end of her broadcast: "At Christmas I am always struck by how the spirit of togetherness lies also at the heart of the Christmas story. A young mother and a dutiful father with their baby were joined by poor shepherds and visitors from afar. They came with their gifts to worship the Christ child. From that day on he has inspired people to commit themselves to the best interests of others. "This is the time of year when we remember that God sent his only Son 'to serve, not to be served'. He restored love and service to the centre of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ. "It is my prayer this Christmas Day that his example and teaching will continue to bring people together to give the best of themselves in the service of others. "The carol, In The Bleak Midwinter, ends by asking a question of all of us who know the Christmas story, of how God gave himself to us in humble service: 'What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; if I were a wise man, I would do my part'. The carol gives the answer 'Yet what I can I give him - give my heart'. This was the call of a Queen to her people. To follow the example of the Christ Child and give of themselves, to be generous in their dedication to the needs of others. And most of all to give God our heart. Here are the two great commandments, to love God with all our heart and mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. We are called to service in the army of Christ the King. We are called upon to do our duty. But it is a duty we should fulfill with love, because it is in loving that we do our duty, loving God and neighbour is our duty. It was the custom on the feast of Epiphany, or Twelfth Night as it is sometimes called in England, that the lord and lady of the manor would seat their servants at the head table, and would serve them drinks and a fine dinner. This topsy-turvy overturning of the normal hierarchy of authority meant one simple thing: it was a reminder that the higher the calling, the greater the responsibility. Kings, lords, and ladies are the servants of the people, and although it is we the people who appear to serve them, the actual truth is that they have been given power solely in order to serve the people better. The last shall be first, and the first shall be last. It is one of the major themes of the Christmas season.

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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm Added to this theme of humility and service today is the great Epiphany message: Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. With the arrival of the Three Kings at the stable, the Saviour is made manifest to the Gentiles. The good news of our salvation is spread abroad through the word of the Magi, and eventually through the words of the evangelists in the Holy Scripture. It is our Christmas Message from Bethlehem. The very first Christmas Broadcast from a King to his people and to the nations. A message from a King, and broadcast by kings. And just as we English do on Christmas day to hear the Queen's message, we gather around the fire here today to hear the Epiphany message of salvation. Around the fireplace in this living room. A fireplace that contains not burning yule logs, but burns nevertheless with the warmth of charity, the loving service of the Son of God for us as he died for our sins, as he gives himself daily to us through the gift of his Holy Eucharist. The people of Israel, his own received him not, and so he gave us, the Gentiles, his message. And it is up to us gentiles now to carry on the message of Christmas and broadcast it to the nations afar, but more importantly to our neighbour. Broadcast this message by your example and your prayers. Broadcast this message with dedication, in service to those less fortunate than yourselves, who do not rejoice in the knowledge of these truths but who still yearn for something to fill the empty void they feel in their lives. We do not have to be English to take to heart the message of Queen Elizabeth this Christmas. It is a message from a monarch to the people, the same message that Our Lord Jesus Christ the King made to his people and the Gentiles from the stable. Love God. Love your neighbour. Let this be the message that we take with us from this Epiphany Mass, and that we keep in our hearts during this New Year of 2013. May Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph help us by their own example of holy and dutiful service to their infant Son, and by their powerful intercession as the two persons closest to him in his holy childhood. Let us pray that they, together with the Holy Magi, will teach us to know, love and serve God throughout our lives so that we may be happy with him forever in the next. Comments (0) Father Hall, January 1, 2013 Today is the Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Octave Day of Christmas. Usually, the Octave day of a feast signals an end to the festivities associated with the original great festival of a week ago, but in the case of Christmas, the Octave Day represents more of a doorway. Like all doorways, there is something in front of the door, and something behind it. Two separate rooms, containing totally separate furniture, and for totally separate functions. The door might separate a bedroom from a bathroom for example, or the inside of the house from the garden. In the case of the Octave Day of Christmas, the door separates the old year from the new year. For today is of course New Years Day. Naturally, I wish you all a very Happy New Year. For we stand today with our hand on the doorknob, baggage in hand, closing the door behind us on 2012, and looking out into 2013. Now its up to each of us what we want to pack and take with us in our baggage from one side of that door to the other. Let us leave behind those some memories best forgotten, those grudges we hold towards certain people, those sins we committed, and most importantly our attachments to anything that takes us away from God. But make sure you pack those virtues you have been cultivating, those good habits that draw us ever closer to a greater love from our divine Saviour who bled for us this day. For the rest, let us start again from scratch. Let us begin the new year with some firm New Years resolutions, promising ourselves to be better in one way or another. By all means, make them on the natural level, whether it be studying harder, stopping smoking, losing weight, whatever it might be. By all means make these promises to yourself, try to keep them, use this New Year as a time to say goodbye to the old You of 2012, and welcome in the new, improved You of 2013. Whether you will succeed or fail, God only knows, but whatever happens, you may be assured that this same God will be there to help you on the way if you ask him. But above all make spiritual acts of resolution according to your abilities and state of life. Examine your conscience at this doorway between two years. The word January comes from the name of a Roman god called Janus. Janus is represented as having two faces, one looking back and the other looking forward. We can learn from this representation of a pagan god, and make this new month of January a time for looking back at our past faults and then looking forward with resolutions to know, love and serve God better. One of the ways God helps us do this is to give us the examples of his own life in the gospels of the daily Mass, and
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm of course the examples also of his holy saints, whose feastdays we celebrate almost every day of the year. We can learn by them, learn to emulate their virtues and good deeds, learn to follow in their footsteps as they themselves followed Christ our Lord. If you cant attend daily Mass, try at least reading the Epistle and Gospel of the day from the Missal, try reading the life of the Saint of the day from the Breviary or other books. Todays feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord is a good example of how we should think about each feastday, and how every day we can learn from the liturgy of the Church. For today, the little Christ Child, just eight days after he was delivered, shed his first drops of blood. This might not seem like a big deal, and yet to this day is accorded the highest honour of being made a Holyday of Obligation. For these first few drops of blood that our Saviour let fall, these alone were sufficient for the redemption of mankind. Each drop is the source of infinite merit and grace, as each drop is the blood of the infinite God-Man, our Lord himself, everlasting, and omnipotent. If you were able to go to daily Mass during this Christmas season, you would have noticed in these days since Christmas an unusually frequent mention of the spilling of blood. It is no coincidence that the very first day after Christmas, the Church celebrates the stoning to death of St. Stephen the First Martyr. It comes as a salutary reminder that in spite of all the peace and good will that comes from the Angels message, nevertheless the kings of the earth have arisen, and the rulers have taken counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed (Psalm 2). One such king was the cruel Herod, who ordered the murder of all infants two-years old and younger in the region of Bethlehem. Indeed, just a couple of days later in the Christmas Octave, this slaughter of the Holy Innocents is commemorated at Childermas, with purple vestments and great mourning. On the next day, it is the turn of St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, to give his life for the freedom and exaltation of Holy Mother Church, facing the fury of yet another of those kings of the earth, Henry II of England. The very sanctuary of the great cathedral of Canterbury was literally and deliberately strewn with the blood and brains of the martyred Archbishop. But why so much bloodshed during this holy tide of Christmas? Or as the same Psalm 2 asks: Why do the heathen so furiously rage together? It is because the Nativity is the grand announcement of our Redemption, a Redemption that would be won only with the shedding of the Precious Blood of the Redeemer. It was to be the fall of Satans kingdom, and thus it is only natural that Satans followers would rise up together against the Lords Anointed. But today, the Feast of the Circumcision, that same Infant Redeemer willingly chose to shed his first drops of Blood for our sinful humanity. He bled so that we might live. This is the hidden yet true message of Christmas and of all those Yuletide feastdays, which are all fulfilled today with the shedding of that first drop of Divine Blood for all mankind. As symbolized by the red berries of the holly, blood is shed today. But the green leaves of the holly remind us that by that Blood, all things are made new, the days are getting longer again, and the green leaves of spring will come again. Thou, O Lord, shalt renew the face of the earth. But before that great renewal, alas, more of His Blood must flow. The green leaves of the holly branch do not have smooth edges. Their thorny leaves warn of that crown which the Roman soldiers would press down on the head of their king before they took him to the Cross. We must see Our Lord suffer his bitter Passion before we may see him glorious in his Resurrection. And so today, that same Infant King now calls us, on this Feast of the Circumcision, to come and worship, to conclude the Octave of His Nativity by giving to Him and His Precious Blood the adoration which is meet and right, to give Him the only thing He asks for, which is our love. And in our own lives, what are we to expect from this New Year? Well, it is certain that there will be moments of happiness, celebration, and joy. But there will be also moments of sadness, grieving and sorrow. That, my dear people, is the way of things. The important thing to remember is that we do not walk alone through this valley of the shadow of death. For at our side at all times is our Saviour, he who bled for us and bleeds with us. He walks with us, guiding us, and showing us the way forward, in the paths of righteousness and peace. Do not lose sight of him on the way, but always follow, obediently, willingly, closely. Just as those little drops of blood that he shed today at his circumcision, so too our own little acts of kindness, our penances, our resolutions to practice virtue and godliness, so too these, our own little drops of blood, will help us, and our loved ones, and yes, maybe even our enemies, gain their eternal reward. So as we go through this doorway into the New Year, let us remember that one day we shall come to another door, the door which is the Gate of Heaven. To pass through that door, you wont be able to make resolutions to be
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm better in future. You will only have the past to look back at, as you gather up all your little drops of blood shed for love of Christ, all those little acts of sacrifice, penances, prayers, rosaries, acts of kindness and love. Will they be truly only very little drops of blood? Will they be enough to let you pass through the Gate of Heaven? Pray that our blessed Mother, who IS the Gate of Heaven and Morning Star, will intercede for us on that day, at the hour of our death, and will welcome us into the Kingdom of her Son, where ours will be not a happy new year only, but a happy eternity for evermore. Comments (0) Father Hall, December 30, 2012 Unto us a child is born. And in the words of todays Epistle, As long as he is a child, he differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all. On Christmas night, we saw the Christ Child of Bethlehem as a fragile baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, when ox and ass knelt before him, shepherds came to offer their gifts, and angels from the realms of glory sang their glorious praises in the highest, and promised peace to men of good will. The day after, on St. Stephens Day we saw the heavens opened, and we saw the glory of God, and the Son of Man, this same Christ Child, at the right hand of his Father, in heaven, in glory. St. Stephen, the first martyr, one of the first deacons, whose duty was to serve the people of God, and who ended up dying for them. On St. Johns Day, we were reminded of the loving care of Our Lord, who gave his own Mother to his beloved Apostle, to be his Mother and our Mother. St. Johns duty was to take care of the aging Mother of God, to serve her until such time as she would be taken up into her eternal glory. And then, a day later, we saw this same Christ Child suddenly placed in the greatest of danger, hurriedly swept up in the strong, safe arms of his foster father St. Joseph, and whisked away from the bloodshed of Holy Innocents Day to the relative safety of faraway Egypt. Finally yesterday, we saw the Christ Child as the Good Shepherd. We were reminded of the prophecy of Isaiah, who told us that the wolf will lie down with the lamb and a little Child shall lead them. It was the feast of St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Shepherd of Souls and Martyr who laid down his life for his flock, who was cut to death as he ascended into the chancel of the great cathedral of Canterbury for Christmas Vespers. Here was a saint who lived the words of the Gospel: I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. Here was a saint who followed in his Masters footsteps, who, like him, came as a leader, an archbishop, but more importantly as a servant, who lived to serve the souls of all the men and women of England, both the high and mighty, and the humble and meek. Who finally died for them. He was the friend of the king, Henry II, and it was for this reason that he had been appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of England. King Henry figured that with his best friend as head of the church in England, he would meet with no resistance in curtailing many of the freedoms and privileges of the Church. But when St. Thomas was raised to the episcopacy he took his duties much more seriously than the king had anticipated, and indeed Henry met fierce opposition from the new Archbishop of Canterbury almost immediately. Just as another King Henry, Henry VIII, would meet a similar opposition from another Chancellor of England, another Thomas, St. Thomas More, more than four hundred years later, this King Henry did everything he could to bring his old friend under his power. But to no avail, and in exasperation, the king is said to have exclaimed in the presence of some over-zealous knights Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest? Taking the venting of the king as a command, the knights decided to do away with the holy archbishop. On the 29th of December 1170 they arrived at Canterbury. Becket, dressed in his episcopal vestments, was proceeding to the main hall for vespers. The four knights, wielding drawn swords, caught up with him in a spot near a door to the monastic cloister, the stairs into the crypt, and the stairs leading up into the quire of the cathedral, where the monks were chanting vespers. According to the eyewitness account of Edward Grim who was himself wounded in the attack, ...The wicked knight leapt suddenly upon him, cutting off the top of the crown which the unction of sacred chrism had dedicated to God. Next he received a second blow on the head, but still he stood firm and immovable. At
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm the third blow he fell on his knees and elbows, offering himself a living sacrifice, and saying in a low voice, 'For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death.' But the third knight inflicted a terrible wound as he lay prostrate. By this stroke, the crown of his head was separated from the head in such a way that the blood white with the brain, and the brain no less red from the blood, dyed the floor of the cathedral. The same clerk who had entered with the knights placed his foot on the neck of the holy priest and precious martyr, and, horrible to relate, scattered the brains and blood about the pavements, crying to the others, 'Let us away, knights; this fellow will arise no more. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. It is not a coincidence that the first announcement of the birth of Our Lord was made to shepherds in a field, watching their flocks by night. It is not a coincidence that it is to shepherds that the Herald Angels sang the first Gloria in Excelsis. It is not a coincidence, but the plan of Divine Providence from everlasting that the very first visitors at the manger would not be the Kings of Orient, like King Henry, but humble shepherds, like St. Thomas of Canterbury. Divine Providence wanted us to learn the lesson that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek. A Shepherd must lead his flock, and yet serve their needs. He must be ready to lay down his life for his sheep. This is what Christ didhe was Lord and God, and yet a little Child. He was the creator of the universe, and yet washed the feet of his disciples. He was Christ the King, and died for his people. Those who follow Christ must do the same, or at least be prepared to do the same. We must lead our neighbour, lead them, not lord it over them, lead them into the truth, lead by our example of generosity, humility and charity. And at the same time as we lead them, we must serve them. Whether we are a layman or a priest, a humble worker, a king or an archbishop, our task is the same. Lead and serve. Christ the Good Shepherd calls us to this vocation. He calls us from the very manger, by his example of humility. And when this little Child is finally exalted in the 33rdyear of his life, it is only to be exalted, raised high, on the gibbet of the Cross in his own Holy City of Jerusalem. Just as St. Thomas Becket is raised to the episcopacy, the primacy of all England, only to be struck down in his own Cathedral, his own Holy See of Canterbury. If we are to be exalted, let us look to such a fate, let us even look forward to such a death, a martyrs death, for it is the path to true glory. The glory of the crucified Lord as he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, the glory of the lowly infant in the manger transformed from his swaddling clothes into the crown and robes of an Infant King. The glory of the murdered priest who rose from his last agony to the altars of the land, who was canonized by Pope Alexander III soon after his death, and whose tomb became one of main centers of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. The Cross before the Crown. Finally, the last words of yesterdays Gospel remind us what happened to those sheep of England, whose shepherd was struck down on December 29, 1170. When the shepherd is struck down, the sheep are scattered. It didnt happen immediately after the martyrdom of this St. Thomas. It was as if this was a warning to the royalty of England what would come to pass if they abused the Church in their country. For history was to repeat itself, when the other King Henry, the eighth of that name, and the other Chancellor of England, St. Thomas More, butted heads in the 16th century. Only then would the sheep truly be scattered, as Henry VIII declared himself head of the Church in England, and the sheep could no longer look to Rome for their true shepherd, the Bishop of Rome. They have been scattered ever since, and the last words of yesterdays Gospel remind us of this: And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. There shall be one fold and one shepherd. It is the good Lord himself who prophesies here. He who can neither deceive nor be deceived. So let us put our complete trust in this prophecy that England shall be converted back to the true faith. But not just England. It is a prophecy that we must also apply to ourselves. We sheep who have been scattered since the death blow of Vatican II hit our shepherds in Rome, in our dioceses and in our parishes throughout our own country and the world. We seem to look in vain for a true shepherd to lead us. But we have the hope, the confidence in our loving, caring God, that a day shall come when the whole world shall be reunited in one fold, and under one shepherd. Until that day, let us each do our duty, obeying the commandments of God, saving our souls, loving our neighbour. When I was in Canterbury last month, I took away from the cathedral a picture in my head that renewed my confidence that the prophecy of Our Lord may soon be fulfilled. It was a simple picture of a young man kneeling in
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm silent prayer in the darkened cathedral crypt before an image of the Blessed Virgin. Something that we might expect to see in a Catholic Church, but which made much more of an impression in the primatial cathedral of the world communion of Anglicans and Episcopalians. This young man knelt and prayed. And an hour later when I left the cathedral and passed by the same spot, he was still there, kneeling and praying before the Blessed Mother. Here was a man whom we may call perhaps a heretic, a non-believer. But an innate sense of the truth and beauty of God was present within him. One that has not been stamped out by more than five hundred years of Protestantism in England. Let us pray to that same Blessed Virgin before whose image the young man knelt that day, and pray that the day will come, and come soon, when we shall indeed all find ourselves once again within the same fold. Not just the Anglicans, but the modernists of the Conciliar Church too. If five hundred years of Protestantism has not succeeded in rooting out Catholicism from English hearts and minds, then let us take confidence that fifty years of modernism has not completely destroyed the innate sensus catholicus, the Catholic sense, in the hearts and minds of the millions of people who still call themselves Catholic. Let us pray that soon, the wolf may once again lie with the lamb, and a little Child may lead them. Let us pray. O merciful and most loving God, by Whose will and bounty our Lord Jesus Christ humbled Himself that He might exalt the whole human race and came down to what was lowest that He might raise up the humble; Who, being God, did become man, born of a virgin, to the end that He might re-form in man the heavenly image that had been corrupted; grant that this Thy people may cling unto Thee, and that they, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy bounty, may ever please Thee by their devoted service. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. Comments (0)

While all things were in quiet silence, and night was in the midst of her swift course, thine almighty Word, O Lord, leaped down from heaven out of thy royal throne. Words taken from the Introit of the Mass of the Sunday in the Octave of Christmas.

While all things were in quiet silence Tonight is a very special night. It is the Holy Night. The Silent Night. Silence reigns upon the land, and there is peace in the valley. In a little town near the great Holy City of Jerusalem, a star comes to rest above a stable. In that stable the gentle sounds of the farm animals are all that are heard.

1.

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie; above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.

Among these silent stars in the heaven, there comes a stranger from a far distant constellation. One that stands out from the other stars by its brightness. And astronomers and wise men from afar, Kings of Orient, behold this new star above the stable this night and wonder what it portends.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light;

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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

The hopes and fears of all the years. Fears? Man had been living in fear for many generations. Since the sin of Adam, the gates of heaven had been closed, and salvation had been denied to mankind. Reason enough for fear and trepidation. But these fears dissolve tonight into a new hope. The hope of salvation, for our Redeemer is born. Born in these dark and silent streets of Bethlehem.

2.

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above, while mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.

Behold a Virgin shall conceive and shall bear forth a Son. And his name shall be called Emmanuel, which means God with us. And so above the stable the stars proclaim the birth of God with us. For what is a star, but a piece of heavenly rock, an inanimate object? But these rock are symbolic of the great universe, that wonderful Nature that God created so many years ago, and which, inanimate though it may be, cannot now remain still at the birth of its Creator. Even though this birth comes in the silence of the night, when all is still and holy, while mortals sleep, Nature herself cannot be prevented from crying out in its own silent glory. And not just inanimate Nature. Joined by the holy Angels themselves, Gods first creation, the stars are led in a great chorus of praise to the tiny Christ Child, lying in his Mothers arms.

O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth, and praises sing to God the king, and peace to all on earth!

This tremendous outburst of praise from the angels, the Gloria in Excelsis, Glory be to God in the highest, breaks the silence of the night, and yet does not disturb it. For its message is one of peace. Peace on earth to men of good will. Are you of good will? Then be at peace. For this one day at least, blot out from your busy minds all thoughts other than this: that unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. Who shall be a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of his people Israel. Rejoice, for your Redemption is come, the Word has been made flesh and dwells amongst us, to visit and redeem his people.

3.

How silently, how silently, 04/02/2013 23:20 PM

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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm the wondrous gift is given; so God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.

Christmas Day will be full of rejoicing. Children will open their gifts. Grown-ups too will feel the Christmas thrill of their childhood return momentarily to their hearts, as they experience the sounds and smells, the memories and ghosts of Christmas past. Christmas Day will roll by in festive array, as such a day as this should pass. With herald angels, nutcrackers, stockings, holly wreaths and Christmas trees, jolly old St. Nick, and all the traditions that every family hold so dear. But this is not yet Christmas Day. This is Christmas Night, and in the midst of this Holy Night, when stars are brightly shining, while all things are in quiet silence and night is in the midst of her swift course, it is now, now that our first wondrous gift is given unto us in Davids Royal City, in Bethlehem. How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given.

No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.

We live in a world that is sometimes ugly. But it was not created so. It truly is and forever will be a wonderful world. And so tonight, let us forget for a short time that this beautiful creation of God has been deformed by sin, and let us remember only that no matter how blackened sin may have made this world of ours, it was never without hope, and into it entered a Messiah to redeem us from our sin. Let us turn finally to this Messiah, this holy Christ Child who now dwells amongst us, Emmanuel, God with us, and let us pray that as he came to vanquish sin, so he may wipe away every stain of sin, every attachment to the things of this sinful world, from our own souls, that he may abide in us, and we in him for evermore.

4.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell; o come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!

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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm Sweeping Out The Stable The season of Advent is a season of preparation. We are preparing, making ready, for an event that is about to take place. A feeling of anticipation is in the air, a feeling that something great is about to happen. Something wonderful that has the power to change our lives and make them better. We are very close now. Tomorrow is already Christmas Eve, and at the Office of Prime we shall be reading the solemn proclamation of Our Lords Nativity. Todays Mass already echoes this theme of preparation. The Gospel today rings a solemn and historical-sounding note, placing the greatest event in the worlds history, the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the context of the world at large. It has a sound of solemnity, and indeed this is a solemn announcement: that in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and King Herod was the tetrarch of Galilee, when Annas and Caiphas were the high priests in Jerusalem, at this time, in the FULLNESS of time, as the Gospel puts it, Our Lord Jesus Christ was born. The world had been prepared for this great event. After many hundreds of years of war and turmoil, the western world had finally been completely subjugated by the mighty Roman Empire. All the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, the center of western civilization, were now at peace, united under the Pax Romana, and ready for the coming of a single religion. The Holy Land itself and the Jewish people had also been prepared for the coming of their Messiah. For hundreds of years the prophets of the Old Testament had been telling of the coming of a Saviour, who would redeem them from their sin. And now finally, the greatest of all these prophets had been born, St. John Baptist, whose mission was to prepare the way of the Lord. Most importantly of all, a mother had been chosen for this Messiah. Chosen from all eternity to be the Mother of God. And she had been suitably prepared for this mission. She had been prepared for the coming of the Son of God in her womb. God prepared her by giving her the unique privilege of being conceived without Original Sin. Of all the Sons and Daughters of Adam, she alone was given that tremendous privilege. This week we follow Our Lady and St. Joseph to Bethlehem. And thou Bethlehem, says the Prophet Micah, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Bethlehem, from whence had come the great King of Israel, King David. This king was a pre-figuration of Our Lord himself. He slew the giant Goliath and redeemed his people. He was the ancestor of St. Joseph, as the Gospels tell us. Joseph was of the house and lineage of David. And so when a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed, and all went to be taxed, every one to his own city, Joseph went to his own city, Davids Royal City, Bethlehem, to fulfill the prophecy of Micah. And in the last week of Our Ladys Expectation, we find her accompanying her spouse to Bethlehem. And what are they to find after their long and arduous journey from Galilee? Not a single inn had any room for them. Because of the huge influx of people coming to be taxed, there was no room for them at the inn. And so Our Lady and St. Joseph had to make do with a lowly stable, where the Son of God was to be born that night amid the farm animals. Imagine how St. Joseph worked to prepare that stable to make it as suitable as he possibly could for the coming of the Most High. There would be visitors that night. Shepherds would come from the local hills, alerted by the angels and their singing of Glory Be to God in the highest. Wise men would arrive from the East, following a star of wonder, giving gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But most of all, the greatest visitor of all would come down from heaven to redeem his people. And so St. Joseph swept out the stable and made it ready for his coming. Have you swept out your stable yet? Have you prepared a place in your heart where the little Christ Child may shelter from the piercing cold of midnight? Have you done what the greatest of the prophets, St. John Baptist, asked you to do? It is as if St. John Baptist takes us to the mountains of Judea and shows us Bethlehem in the distance, and then gives us these instructions, echoing the words of the prophet Isaiah: Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. This is what we need to do. We need first of all to make low every mountain and hill. Every mountain and hill shall be made low. These mountains are our mortal sins, and the hills are our venial sins, sins of thought, word, and deed. And we must remove all these sins from our soul. And then we need to exalt every
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm valley. The valleys are our sins of omission, which often comprise the majority of our sinsa huge collection of the good things we ought to have done, but neglected to do so. Maybe out of laziness, or not enough love of God, or whatever reason. But sins all the same. Let us strive this last week of Advent to make straight our crooked ways, and make our rough places plain. And when Our Lord then comes to seek his repose in the inn of our soul, in our Christmas communion, dont lets tell him there is no place in the inn. Let him not seek shelter in your heart, only to find that it is already full. Full of sin perhaps? Or full of unlawful desires and affections? Full of the love of riches, honour, vanity? Of self-worship? Or simply filled up with affection and desire for the things of this world, the material gifts and pleasures of Christmas If your soul is full of these things, then do as the good St. Joseph did. Sweep out your stable. Empty it of everything that is not suitable to share a place with the Christ Child this Christmas. Make a good and holy Confession and prepare your soul to be a worthy shelter for this little baby whose only desire is to save your soul and prepare it for heaven. And in the short time left to us before Christmas, above all follow in the footsteps of the Blessed Virgin Mary as she treads the path towards Bethlehem to give birth. She alone, from all eternity, had been found worthy to bear the Son of God. As the rod grew from the Root of Jesse, it found its home in the Blessed Mother, and took flower. And indeed she is the Flower of the Field, the Lily of the Valley. She is our role model during Advent. This is the season of Our Ladys Expectation, and we should meditate often and profoundly on our Blessed Mother, and the thoughts and hopes that were going through her own mind at this time. We must follow her from her home in Nazareth where she received the message of the Angel Gabriel, to the home of her cousin Elizabeth, mother of St. John the Baptist who was to the Forerunner of Our Lord, the Messenger of God, he who was to prepare the way of the Lord. In these last few days of Advent, let us follow Our Lady to the end of her journey in Bethlehem. Here the Virgin shall bring forth a Saviour who shall be called Emmanuel, God with Us. Follow her by the preparation of your own heart. Follow her example and her courage, her patience and endurance, and follow her above all in her love for her Son, Our Lord Emmanuel, that when Christmas comes, we might ALL bring forth Our Blessed Lord in our thoughts, our words, and our deeds, that all men might see, by our example, their Redemption. Comments (0) Father Hall, December 16, 2012 Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, Rejoice! Words taken from the beginning of todays Introit for Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is actually the Latin word for Rejoice and on this third Sunday in Advent the Churchs wish is to draw us ever near to the stable at Bethlehem, ever nearer to the coming of the Messiah, and to our Redemption. Today is meant to provide a small taste of the joy that Christmas will bring to us in just another few days, and hence the emphasis today on rejoicing. But to many today, the idea of rejoicing rings a hollow note. We have all been sickened to the core by the news coming to us from Connecticut where 20 little children were butchered in cold blood. How is it possible for me to even pronounce the words of todays Mass, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice? How wonderful it would be today if we could truly rejoice, knowing that our salvation is nigh. How wonderful it would be if the parents of Newtown, Connecticut could wake up this morning and realize that the terrible events of this last Friday morning were nothing more than a bad dream, that their children are still sleeping in the next room, safe and sound. But to think such thoughts is itself a dream, and the awful reality of what happened to their babies in Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday morning will hit those poor parents every single morning they wake up for the rest of their lives. Today in 20 homes in Connecticut, parents are taking down their Christmas tree. They are unwrapping the gifts they had so carefully selected for their children, hunkering down for a Christmas not only bereft of joy, but one where every Christmas image and carol is a sickening reminder to them of what is missing. The empty chair in their home. How can I stand today before these people and mouth platitudes to them: Rejoice. Its all for the best. Youll see your little one again in heaven. I can say these things because they are true. But it takes the right disposition in those who hears these words.
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm Let me explain. First of all, theres an awful lot of debate going on about this tragedy. The debate on gun control has been re-ignited of course. But thats a political debate and of no concern to us here at Holy Mass. But another kind of debate has been fuelled by the depth of the depravity of these killings. Listen to this headline I read yesterday on one of the news websites. It read: Why does God permit evil? Im sure we have all thought about this question during the darker times of our life. It is truly a vexing question, is it not? After all, if God wished, he could have prevented in a thousand different ways the murder of those children and adults on Friday. He could have deprived the killer of the means necessary to commit the crime, by causing the guns to jam, for example. He could have changed the mind of the killer at the last moment, or made the snow to fall the night before and close the school. He could have done so many, many things, any of which would have been sufficient to avert the tragedy. But he didnt. He did none of these things. He just let it happen. Here we are this Sunday morning, piously murmuring the words Rejoice in the Lord alway. How dare we say such a thing this Sunday? Or any other day, when the world is full of such suffering, when a supposedly merciful and loving God permits such evil? So this is truly a problem. And only those with a deep faith, and with deep hope in the sure and certain resurrection can absorb the truth of the answer. Ive experienced many times Catholics who lose children to illness or in accidents, and so often, their bereavement is seen as a pretext for blaming God for not having prevented it. Their faith is too shallow, their grief is too deep to penetrate the eternal wisdom of God in their loss. We must have the faith of Job when he said God hath given, and God hath taken away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. And so I still say Rejoice. I say Rejoice because in spite of all the suffering, in spite of all the misery, all the terrible sins of man, there is still a reason to be joyful, even in our tears of intolerable sorrow. In the midst of life we are in death, but after death comes the resurrection. The liturgical cycle of the Church reflects this, as it takes on the road from Bethlehem to Calvary, and then to the empty sepulcher of Our Lord. Christmas to Good Friday to Easter. The Most Holy Rosary, given to us by Our Blessed Lady herself, takes us along the same path, from the joyful mysteries, to the sorrowful, and dont ever forget the glorious. This is a theme I mention often in my sermons, and I mention it often because, by God in heaven, its the only thing that makes sense of this life of ours. There is sorrow at Christmas because we think of the future sorrows of the Christ Child and his Mother. There is joy on Good Friday because it is the means of our redemption, and we look forward to the Resurrection. And then is glory. The pure unadulterated glory of the souls in heaven. We move from the Christ Child, the divine infant, to the broken body on the Cross, and back to the Divine Infant in his crown and robes of glory in heaven, the Infant of Prague. So I say to those parents today, Rejoice. Look forward in your unbearable grief to the fulfillment of the promise of Our Lord. Today we are in the middle of Advent. Our Lord Jesus Christ is coming. We are about to celebrate, with joy that knows no bounds nor limitations, the birth of One who is to bring us salvation, who is to open the gates of heaven for our poor miserable souls. One who loves us so much that he gave himself up to the torments and pain of crucifixion, rather than let us suffer the eternal torments and pains of hell. Whose love was so great that he opened up the gates of heaven to receive us his poor children from out of this Vale of Tears. By his life, death and resurrection, he allowed those 20 children to rise up this week in their innocence into their eternal bliss in heaven. So yes, rejoice in the Lord alway. Today, our hearts and prayers go out to those poor suffering families in Connecticut. We are told that 20 of the 26 victims were only six or seven years old. Barely at the age of reason. Young innocents. They may have been deprived of a full life, as President Obama pointed out, with birthdays, graduations, weddings, children of their own. But with the eyes of eternity we can look beyond this. We can take comfort that perhaps they have been spared from a life of sorrow and suffering. Or from falling into temptation later in their lives, even losing their souls. Who knows what supernatural good has been drawn from the murders of these poor children. We wont know until we join them in eternity ourselves. And let me just mention briefly the other reason that God permits evil. God is not the author of sin. It is against his will. He forbids it. He punishes it. But he permits it, and this permission is not contrary to his mercy and holiness, nor to his divine providence in taking care of us. When he created us with free will, it was so that we could freely choose to love him. We show that love by obeying his commandments. But we obey freely. We must obey freely, otherwise we would be no more than puppets on a string, doing the will of a divine puppet-master. How could an
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http://breviary.net/sermons.htm infinitely loving God take pleasure in such obedience? He will not force us to love him. We must be free. Free even to sin if we so choose. God will not interfere in that freedom. This is why God does not give us, in the time of temptation, such a measure of grace that we could withstand any temptation. But in his loving kindness, he does give us enough grace, which, even though it doesnt force us to resist the temptation, it does enable us to withstand it if we desire to do so. As for ourselves, as we approach that Holy Night of Christmas, as we dare to draw nigh to the Infant in the manger of Bethlehem, let us remind ourselves of our own past sins, our own transgressions of the laws of God, our own pathetic lukewarmness in our love for that divine Infant. God permits evil so that we can remember with humility our own human frailty. What greater incentive can we have to love the Christ Child with redoubled mortification and fervor, with ardent charity, and abiding sorrow, than the remembrance of our former offences. Would St. Paul ever have developed such an abiding zeal for souls, would St. Peter ever have wept such a fountain of tears, would St. Mary Magdalenes life ever have been so full of divine love, if they had never sinned? Such are the blessings bestowed on those who become converted, those who turn from their sins. Weep today not for the men and women of Connecticut, but rather weep for yourselves and for your past iniquities. And then, having wept, rejoice, because he is coming who is to come, the Saviour of the nations. Let us rejoice with St. John Baptist, and say with him, Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sins of the world. Who taketh away your sins. Advent is a time of hope. Hope is not just a word. It is a virtue to be practiced, work to be done. By its very nature it is the expectation of something better than what we have now. This life is full of evil, and evil men will continue until the end of time to commit their wicked deeds. But we have hope. Hope that Our Blessed Saviour will give us the graces to overcome our own temptations and keep us free from sin, hope that we may conquer our spiritual adversaries in the struggle for our soul, and that we may persevere even unto death, where we may attain to our everlasting blessedness in heaven. Thanks to the coming, the Advent, of Our Lord Jesus Christ at Christmas, we have the blessed assurance that our hope is well founded, and that after the gruesome horrors of this world, Our Lord may take us under his wings and grant us peace. Comments (0)
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