ad altare Dei

May, Mother of God: EF St. Cyril of Alexandria, 2012

2012-02-12T22:05:00.001-05:00

A reading from St. Cyril of Alexandria defending the title of Mary as Mother of God. Click here for audio homily.

Celebrant change

2012-02-03T22:08:00.001-05:00

St. Mary's in Hagerstown will be having a Parish Mission from February 19th to the 22nd. Fr. Joseph Tuscan, OFM Cap. will be offering the Latin Mass that weekend rather than Fr. Larry.

The Justice of Purgatory: EF Septuagesima, 2012

2012-02-03T17:00:00.000-05:00

Click here for audio homily. We have trouble with today’s Gospelbecause today’s society values the concept of equal pay for equal work. We argue that this principle is fair,just and, reasonable. In trying tounderstand God’s justice, the prophet Isaiah in the first reading tells us that“my thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways are not your ways.” Let us look at the difference betweenBlessed Theresa of Calcutta and St. Dismas. Mother Teresa spent most of her life in service to God. She took care of the poorest of thepoor, the abandoned, the unwanted, and the unloved. She worked long and hard in the grueling heat of the Indiansun. When she died she receivedher reward, her place in heaven among the blessed. But then there is St. Dismas. Dismas is the traditional name given to the Good Thief whowas crucified with Jesus on Calvary. Dismas was a thief and criminal. Yet, hanging on the cross in the last hours of his life, he recognizedJesus as the Messiah. Dismas said, "Jesus, remember me when you come intoyour kingdom." Jesus replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today youwill be with me in Paradise." Blessed Theresa of Calcutta worked for years serving God among the poorof India and is welcomed into Paradise. Dismas, a thief, makes a deathbed conversion and is welcomed intoParadise. There seems to besomething wrong here; something unfair. Is it God’s ways that are unfair or is it our ways that are unfair? God wishes that all people besaved. This is why the Master wentout to the marketplace five different times to gather in all who werelost. Apparently, the people whowere there at the “five o’clock hour” were not there at dawn, or at nine, or atnoon, or at three because the Master hired all those who were available atthose earlier times. Yet theexcuse the late workers give for not working was “because no one has hiredus.” That means they were eithertoo lazy to answer the first four calls or else they were lying about being inthe marketplace all day. Those whoworked the full day were also not totally free from guilt for they grumbled andwere jealous of the late workers and greedy about their pay. As Pope Benedict has written in hisencyclical on hope, “There is a God, and God can create justice in a way thatwe cannot conceive, yet we can begin to grasp it through faith. Yes, there is a resurrection of theflesh. There is justice. There isan “undoing” of past suffering, a reparation that sets things right. . . I amconvinced,” the Pope writes, “that the question of justice constitutes theessential argument, in any case the strongest argument, in favor of faith ineternal life.” How is this justiceto be achieved in the next life? There are two answers to that question. The first answer is purgatory. Purgatory is that intermediate “pit stop” before we enterheaven. Purgatory is that placewhere we are purged of all the jealousies of our pride. Those who worked in the heat of the daywere jealous of the late-comers and prideful of the fact of how long they hadworked in the vineyard. Purgatoryis also the place where the temporal consequences of sins already forgiven canbe worked out. This is where thelying and the neglect of the late-comers is equaled out. Why then not just wait until the end ofour life to become a worker in God’s vineyard, if every worker gets into heavenat the end of the day. Why notwait until the five o’clock hour to join God’s work crew, if the rewards arethe same. One reason is thatif you wait until 5 pm to join crew, you could die at 4:55 pm. You could end up end up in hell rather than the good thief who ended up inParadise. St. Therese of Lisieuxgives another reason why we should deepen our relationship with God, ratherthan wait for a deathbed conversion. St. Therese thought about the glory of the saints inheaven. If we compare a largedrinking glass full of water to a little thimble full of water, they are bothfull. So too with God’s love, noone will feel excluded or empty because they have not done great things. They will be full of the love of God asmuch as they can hold. The onlyquestion is how big will our souls be when we reach heaven. The more we work on it, the greaterwill be our capacity for loving God. You may remember the story of a person was no great sinner but they wereno great saint either. They didjust what they had to do get by with regards to religion and Church. When they died, and after a rather longstop in Purgatory they finally made it into heaven. The angel escorted them to the place where they would spendeternity. As they walked down thestreets of heaven, they came across a huge beautiful mansion. The person said “Oh this is very nice,I wouldn’t mind living here.” Theangel said, “Oh that’s where Mother Theresa lives.” Walking down a little way they came to another beautifulmansion. The person said “This isvery nice, how about this house.” “Oh,” the angel said, “That is where St. Francis lives.” Walking down a little farther thehouses became smaller but still very nice and cozy. The angel pointed to one of those smaller houses and said“That house over their belongs to Sister Mary Elizabeth who in second gradeprepared you for First Communion and First Confession; and that house overthere belongs to your uncle Fred who opened a free medical clinic for the poorpeople downtown.” Finally comingto the end of town, the angel stopped at a one room hut made of cardboard andtin and said to the person, “Well here is were you will spend eternity.” The person looked at the small one roomhut and said, “I can’t live here, I’m not used to this, there must be somemistake.” The angel simply said,“Well, that is all that we could build with what you sent up here.”

Jesus as Priest: Presentation of Purification: EF, Purification, 2012

2012-02-03T15:45:00.001-05:00

Jesus was presented in the Temple rather than being redeemed as was the law for the first born, which that he was considered a priest. Click here for audio homily.

Stand Up, Speak Out: EF St. Polycarp

2012-01-27T16:26:00.001-05:00

If we deny Jesus before men, He will deny us before the Father. We are all called to be martyrs (witnesses). Click here to listen to audio homily.

Accept No Substitutes: EF 19 January 2012,

2012-01-20T15:47:00.001-05:00

That was supposed to be the closing line of my homily but I forgot it.

As G.K. Chesterton says: The modern world will accept no dogmas upon any authority; but it will accept any dogmas on no authority. Say that a thing is so, according to the Pope or the Bible, and it will be dismissed as a superstition without examination. But preface your remark merely with "they say" or "don't you know that?" or try (and fail) to remember the name of some professor mentioned in some newspaper; and the keen rationalism of the modern mind will accept every word you say. Jesus warns about false prophets. It's not Oprah, or some theologian, rogue priest, or supposed "visionary." There is ONE Faith, (the Catholic Church), there is ONE Lord (Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world), and there is ONE Baptism (by water and the Holy Spirit). I also wanted to talk about the Medjugorge "seer" Ivan and how he has a lucrative business giving talks about his "apparitions" that are supposedly still happening.

Click here for Audio Homily.

Link to the Problems with Medjugorge.

Link to the post on "copycat visionary" Gianna .

February Liturgy Schedule

2012-01-16T18:51:00.000-05:00

The celebrants for the St. Mary's EF Mass in Hagerstown for February are as follows:

Feb. 5 -- Fr. Larry
Feb 12 --Fr. Marc
Feb. 19 --Fr. Larry
Feb. 26 --Msgr. Bastress

Mary, the New Eve: EF Second Sunday after Epiphany

2012-01-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

Click here for audio homily. ArchbishopFulton Sheen had a great devotion to the Blessed Mother and he would celebrateMass every Saturday in her honor. Therefore, he hoped that when he died and faced the fearful judgmentseat of Christ, he would come before the mercy of Christ and hear the Lord say,“I’ve heard my mother, speak of you.” And yet in today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus referring to His Blessed Motheras “woman.” When they ran out ofwine, “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, how does your concern affect me?’” We may think that Jesus was beingrather rude to His dear mama, calling her “woman” rather than “mother” or evenusing her name, “Mary.” Why doesJesus call her “woman?” The answeris in what Jesus says next; “My hour has not yet come.” The hour that Jesus refers to is His passionand death. Two week’s ago, on thefeast of the Epiphany, we had the first overtones of the ominous musicheralding the death of Jesus in the Magi’s gift of myrrh. Myrrh was a spiceused to embalm the dead. Imagineif someone gave you embalming fluid as a present when your child was born. By bringing myrrh to the infant Jesus,the Magi were foreshadowing the purpose of Jesus’ life. Again, Archbishop Sheen would say,Jesus was the only person to be born for the express purpose of dying. Just asthe gift of myrrh, foreshadowed Jesus’ death, so too our reading today whenJesus talks about His hour has not yet come, we hear the second chord of thatominous music of the crucifixion. This is why Jesus refers to Mary as “woman” rather than “mother.” Mary is referred to as “woman” again atthe crucifixion. Jesus as trueman, in addition to being true God, is often referred to as the New Adam. In the life, death, and resurrection ofJesus, humanity is recreated and given new birth. Jesus restores us to the image of God that was disfigured bythe sin of Adam. Since JesusChrist is the New Adam, where is the New Eve? Mary is the New Eve. Immaculately conceived, and totally committed to God, never having putGod on the back–burner, Mary was that New Eve who never sinned. Therefore, when Jesus is consummatingthe marriage of the bridegroom with is bride, the Church, by His death on thecross, who is there at the foot of the cross? It is St. John, the beloved disciple and Marry, the BlessedMother. St. John tells us that atthe crucifixion, “when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom heloved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he saidto the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the discipletook her into his home.” Inreferring to Mary as “woman,” Christ was signifying her as the universal woman,the New Eve. Just as Eve is themother of all the living, Mary is the mother of the Church, the Mystical Bodyof Christ. This is why our Lordcalls Mary, “woman” rather than “mother.” For as the universal woman, she isnow the Mother of the Church and St. John the Apostle is her first spiritualson. This is why Jesus says toMary, “Woman, behold your son,” but why in speaking to St. John, Jesus says,“Behold your mother.” Therefore,when in today’s reading Jesus says “Woman, how does your concern affect me? Myhour has not yet come,” Our Lord is saying to His Blessed Mother that if Ibegin my saving mission, you also will be drawn into my passion and death. If I begin my march to Calvary, you,Mother will be coming with me. Ourrelationship will have changed and you will no longer be just the Mother ofJesus the Carpenter but just as I will become the new Adam, you will become thenew universal woman, the New Eve giving birth with me to the Church. Since Mary is the Mother of the Churchand we are the Church, Christ’s Mystical Body, Mary is our mother as well, aslong as we stand at the cross with her. She is not only the mother of the Church, she is also its bestexemplar. If we follow herexample, if we pick up our crosses and follow after her Son, if we follow herwords to the servants, and “Dowhatever He tells you.” Then, atthe end of our life when we face the fearsome judgment seat of Christ we toocan hope to hear Jesus say to us, “I heard My Mother speak of you.”

Kenotic Heresy: EF Homily, Feria, 1st Sunday after Epiphany

2012-01-13T18:20:00.000-05:00

How did Jesus grow in wisdom, age, and grace if He was truly the omniscient God? Click here for audio homily.

The Family at War: EF Homily--Holy Family Sunday

2012-01-06T22:29:00.001-05:00

Click here for audio homily. There is a war going on. The family itself is under attack; awar between the forces of darkness, sin, and death and the forces of light,grace, and life. The consequencesof this war are eternal. There isa battle for your soul and the soul of your family. How will you enter the battlefield? We read in St. Paul’s Letter to theCollosians, “Let the word ofChrist dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish oneanother.” We have a society thatno longer allows prayer in the public school but it can teachhomosexuality. We can no longerexpect our society to support traditional family values. If you want your family to survive thewar, you have to be prepared. Youhave to go to spiritual boot-camp. If you sent your son or daughter off to the military, and the drillinstructor said, “We’re having rifle practice tomorrow at 10 am, if you feellike coming” What would happen? Ifthe drill instructor said, “There is going to be a fifty-mile hike with fullpack starting at 6 am, and you’re invited.” What would happen? When your son or daughter got onto the battlefield to face the enemy,they would almost certainly be killed. Would you then blame the government for not preparing your child? You are in a war with society for yoursoul and the soul of your children. The consequences of failing to prepare are not just physical death butspiritual death and eternal torment. Does this sound harsh to you? What would you do if you went to a doctor and she failed to tell youthat you had cancer because she did not want to scare you or upset you? Well, I am telling you right now thatthere is a spiritual cancer attacking your family. Call it society, call it relativism, call it the devil,whether you know it or not you are at war. What are the weapons that we have to fight this spiritualcancer? The Church’s nuclearweapons are the seven sacraments. These are the most powerful instruments of God’s grace. Yet, there are four major tactical weaponsin the Church’s arsenal: education, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. When I listen to converts talk abouttheir conversion to the Catholic faith, one common theme is that Catholicsdon’t know their faith. They don’tknow why they come to Church every Sunday or who they are receiving in HolyCommunion. Therefore, when someonecomes along and says, “I have a better way,” Catholics have no ammunition tofight back and they lose their faith. The Second Vatican Council tells us that the primary teachers ofchildren are the parents. If youdon’t want your children going unprepared into the battlefield, YOUhave to teach them the faith. Thatmeans you have to know it yourself. When was the last time you opened the Bible? When was the last time you studied some aspect of theChurch’s teaching? The secondweapon for a holy family is prayer. The family that prays together stays together. It may be trite, but it is true. My mother was constantly praying. When she got into the car, she said a little prayer; shecame in the house, she said a little prayer. Before she cut a loaf of bread, she made the sign of thecross on the bottom of the loaf with the knife. She followed the radio rosary as it changed times throughoutthe year; whether she was watching television or preparing dinner, when it wastime for the rosary, the radio came on. St. Padre Pio referred to the rosary as his weapon. Do you have a family prayer time? You don’t like the rosary, fine, praythe Liturgy of the Hours; don’t like that, pick up the Bible. But find some time for family prayer oryour children are going to have to face the enemy with weak spiritualmuscles. Do you say grace beforemeals? The Catechism teachesus “The Christian family is the first place of education in prayer. Based on the sacrament of marriage, the family is the "domestic church" where God's children learn to pray "as the Church" and to persevere in prayer. For young children in particular, daily family prayer is the first witness of the Church's living memory as awakened patiently by the Holy Spirit.” CCC 2685. The third weapon for a holy family isfasting. Friday remains a day of penitential observance, not only during Lentbut throughout the year. DuringLent, the Church mandates that the penance should take the form of not eatingmeat. But during the rest of theyear, the not eating of meat can be transferred to some other form of penance. Fasting can take the form of notdrinking coffee or soda, maybe it means not watching television or not playingvideo or computer games. But Ineed to do some form of penance on Friday to remember that Jesus died on thecross for my sins. We need to makeJesus’ Cross, our own so that we can carry the heavy burdens of life. If we have not learned to convertlittle sufferings into spiritual ammunition, what is going to happen when thedevil pulls out his big guns of disease, tragedy, or death. The fourth weapon is almsgiving. St. Augustine teaches us that thatwhich we do not need for our own existence belongs to the poor. By giving alms, we are not onlysacrificing buying something else, but we our showing our solidarity with thepoor and therefore, with Jesus himself. Education, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the four great weapons inthe battle for a holy family. Weneed not worry who is going to win the war. Jesus won the war when He conquered sin and death by risingfrom the dead. The question iswhether our family will become a holy family; whether our family has made itthrough spiritual boot-camp.

Born to Die: EF Octave of Christmas & St. Thomas A Beckett

2011-12-30T15:53:00.001-05:00

Why is it that the Church celebrates three martyrs right after the Birth of Christ? Christ was born to die. We are to give witness (to martyr) to Christ. Click here for audio homily.

Cancellation: No Mass on December 22nd

2011-12-19T20:54:00.000-05:00

Our usual 9:30 am Mass in the Extraordinary Form (Old Latin Mass) on Thursday at St. Bart's Old Church is cancelled for this Thursday (Dec 22) because of a funeral. We will resume after Christmas, on Thursday (Dec 29th) with 9:30 a.m. Mass at St. Bartholomew's Old Church on Park Ave, Manchester. I am sorry for the interruption.

Are you THE Prophet?: EF Feria Third Week of Advent

2011-12-17T21:47:00.001-05:00

Who was THE Prophet that the pharisees were waiting for and what does it have to do with Jesus? Click here for audio homily.

January celebrant schedule

2011-12-16T22:41:00.000-05:00

Jan. 1 -- Fr. Marc Lanoue
Jan. 8 -- Fr. Larry Adamczyk
Jan 15. -- Fr. Larry Adamczyk
Jan. 22 -- Fr. Marc Lanoue
Jan. 29 -- Msgr. Bastress

CHRISTMAS schedule change

2011-12-11T21:11:00.001-05:00

The Christmas (25 Dec) and New Year's (1 Jan) Extraordinary Form Masses will be offered at 12:30 pm NOT 2 pm as usual.

Gaudete Sunday: Rejoice, Third (3rd) Sunday of Advent

2011-12-08T17:30:00.000-05:00

Click here for audio homily. Rejoice! That is why I am wearing a rose colored vestment today. It’s Gaudete Sunday. It is called that because “Gaudete” isthe first word of the entrance antiphon for Mass. Gaudete in Latin means Rejoice. We have several reasons to rejoice; for one, Advent isalmost over and the great celebration of Christmas is almost upon us. In the prophet Isaiah weread, “I rejoice heartily in the LORD.” In the Luke’s Gospel, we hear Mary’s great cry that “myspirit rejoices in God my Savior.” From St. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, we hear him write, “Rejoicealways.” The only place we do nothear rejoicing is in the Gospel. Rather we hear the Levites and Pharisees question John the Baptist aboutwho he is. John’s message is notone of rejoicing but of repentance. We cannot rejoice in something we are not. “A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify tothe light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to thelight.” John the Baptist knew whohe was. He was not theMessiah. He was not theLight. We can only truly rejoicewhen we know who we are. When wefall into the trap a trying to be someone we are not, we are constantly afraidof being found out. We areconstantly comparing ourselves to someone else. They have more money than I do. She is more popular than I am. He has more athletic ability than I do. But at least I am smarter then theyare. St Alphonsus Liguori said,“Who knows? If God had given us greater talent, better health, a morepersonable appearance, we might have lost our souls!” Because everybody is trying to be someone that they are not,we are constantly being lied to. “Your call is very important to us, please hold the line.” “Of course, Iwill respect you in the morning.” “The service man will be there between 9am and 5pm tomorrow.” Despite our idealistic expectations, weknow that in reality that some marriages don’t last forever; some politiciansdo not really protect the public interest; and some priests do not live up to the holiness of theirexalted vocation. We cannotrejoice because we have been lied to. The only person that we feel we can trust is ourselves. But John the Baptist calls us torepentance by showing us that he is not the messiah. There is one who is greater than I that is coming. This is why Isaiah, Mary, and St. Paulcould rejoice. They had found theTruth and were willing to put their trust in the Lord. Only when we become humble of heart, asMary is, can we realize that placing other needs before our own, leads to truehappiness. Only when we are humbleof heart can we know our proper place in the grand scheme of salvation. Only when we stop comparing ourselvesto one another can we begin to put our lives in right order and work for thefullness of Truth, Goodness, and Life. Only when we are meek and gentle of heart and we recognize others ashaving co-equal dignity with us, as beloved of the Father. Only when we want what God wants, whenand how God wants it, can we be said to be truly holy. But when we have reached this level ofunity with God, we can rejoice because we are free from the oppressive natureof our desires and our needs. We shouldrejoice that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son. Not only should we rejoice that Godbecame man, which is mind-boggling enough, we also need to rejoice that Godbecame human in order to die to save me from my own selfishness and sin. Before I can have a savior, I have toadmit I am a sinner. This is whatJohn the Baptist was proclaiming in the dessert. St Paul tell us that “The one who calls you is faithful,and He will also accomplish it.” I can rejoice because, I know that the Jesusis the Truth. Jesus will not lieto me. If Jesus said, “This is myBody” and told us to “Do this in remembrance of Him.” I will rejoice in Him whom I trust. If I did not believe thatJesus Christ founded the Roman Catholic Church; if I did not believe that RomanCatholic Church had the fullness of divine revelation; if I did not believethat only Jesus Christ can save me from my sins and if I did not believe that Ireceive God every time I receive Holy Communion, I would be out of here fasterthan latest microchip. But I dobelieve those things. That is whyI am here rejoicing wearing this rose vestment. Why are you here?

Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2011

2011-12-07T13:57:00.001-05:00

Joachim, MARY, and Ann

Click here for audio homily.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who is inthe process of canonization for sainthood, was often amazed that people had areally hard time understanding the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception declares thatMary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin." Archbishop Sheen says that he has trouble understanding why people have a hardtime accepting the doctrine that Mary was free from sin because, he says, mostpeople think they are without sin anyway. One sin that we must be especially aware of this holiday season isgluttony. Gluttony is one of theseven deadly sins. Did we eat toomuch at Thanksgiving? Will we haveone too many desserts at the office Christmas party? Adam and Eve only had one bite from the fruit of the tree,but that was too much because God had told not them to eat of the fruit of thistree. Adam and Eve wasted theprecious gift of God’s grace by doing what THEY thought was best. They were given a great gift, which astheir children, we should have inherited; just like Great Grandfather who madebillions in the oil industry, we should be entitled to that inheritance. However, Great Grandfather went to LasVegas and lost all his money at the card table trying to get even more. We, as his descendants, should have inheritedthat money but due to Great Grandfather’s greed, we are left with theconsequences of his actions. So too,we were created in the image and likeness of God, but because of the sin ofAdam and Eve, that image was tarnished, though not destroyed, by originalsin. And today, we suffer theconsequences of original sin, that propensity or inclination to sin. Sin, however, really makes us less thanwho we are, who we are called to be, less than our exalted destiny of eternallife within the existence of the Most Holy Trinity. We cannot conquer sin by our own efforts, we cannot recreateourselves, this is what we celebrate today. We celebrate the fact that in Mary, God decided to give usanother chance. In virtue of thesaving work of her Son, Jesus Christ, God created Mary to be free from stain oforiginal sin from the first moment of her conception. This is why the Church often refers to Mary as the new Eve,and to Jesus as the new Adam. Thisis why the Gospel today tells us that Mary is full of grace. Grace is that life of God. Since Mary is full of the life of Godthere can be no trace of sin in her. Some translations of the Bible will say “highly favored” rather that“full of grace” but the Greek word that the Gospel writer uses for “grace” is thesame word that St. Paul uses from “grace” in his letters. Therefore, Mary is “full of grace” andthat is why the Church chose to use that translation. So what does it mean, practically, that Mary was conceivedwithout original sin. How shouldthat influence my life? First of all it means, as Bl. Pope John Paul the Greathas said, that Mary was the first tabernacle in history. Just as she was without sin, when shereceived our Divine Savior into her body at the Annunciation, so too must we bewithout sin when we receive Our Savior in Holy Communion; for it is the sameLord, the same Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. This is alsothe reason why we fast for one hour before receiving Holy Communion. Again, as Bl.Pope John Paul, has written “What must Mary have felt as she heard from themouth of Peter, John, James and the other Apostles the words spoken at the LastSupper: ‘This is my body which is given for you’ (Lk 22:19)? The bodygiven up for us and made present under sacramental signs was the same bodywhich she had conceived in her womb! For Mary, receiving the Eucharist musthave somehow meant welcoming once more into her womb that heart which had beatin unison with hers and reliving what she had experienced at the foot of theCross.” The Immaculate Conception remindsus that while Mary was free from the stain of original sin, it was hercooperation with that grace that kept her free from actual sin. Could Mary have sinned? Yes, she wasendowed with a rational soul and free will. But she was so in love with what God had planned for her,even though she did not understand it, she said, “May it be done to meaccording to your word.” As weprepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth with buying presents and partiesand feasting, let us always ask ourselves, “Is this what the Blessed Motherwould have done?”

Holy Day of Obligation: December 8th

2011-12-06T21:34:00.000-05:00

There will be Mass at St. Bart's on Thursday, December 1st. December 8th 2011, The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a Holy Day of Obligation. For those wishing to fulfill their obligation at an Extraordinary Form Mass, there will be one at 9:30 am at St. Bartholomew's Old Church.

Purple is not the color of Christmas: EF Second (2nd) Sunday of Lent.

2011-12-02T17:40:00.001-05:00

Click here for audio homily. What's all this purple about? No, I’M not just a Ravens fan. The stores and the malls have their Christmasdecorations out. There are greentree-like things hanging from the light posts. Everybody knows that the colors for Christmas are red andgreen. Why aren't we wearing redand green vestments? Why are westanding up here in purple? Wearing purple in December and trying to tell people that it is Advent,and not Christmas, is like being a voice crying out in the desert,"Prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight his paths." The job of the Advent is to help prepareus for the coming of the Lord at Christmas. I remember one year, when I got so tied up with school thatI did not get around to writing out my Christmas cards until December 26^th. As an apology in the Christmas card toexplain why it was late, I wrote that since the Christmas season ran until theBaptism of the Lord, the Christmas card was not late it was simply liturgicallycorrect. The stores could not sellso much stuff if they focused on what it really means to prepare for coming ofthe Lord. We wear purple in Adventto help us prepare for Christmas because purple focuses our attention on thetwo reasons for the season. Onereason is that purple is the color of penance. In the Gospel, Jesus comments on John the Baptist saying, “"Whatdid you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? Then what didyou go out to see? Someone dressed in fine clothing? Those who wear fineclothing are in royal palaces.” John the Baptist also calls us to repentance, but Johnwore a camel's hair shirt not a purple vestment. John the Baptist came from an important family. John's father, Zechariah, was apriest. John could have been apriest of the Old Covenant like his father. Rather, he left that comfortable world and the purple thatthe book Exodus said priests should wear and went to live on locusts and honeywearing camel's hair. Theinteresting thing about camel's hair is that to a Jewish person camels wereritually unclean. If you wereunclean that meant that you were unable to participate in any of the activitiesof the society or the religion. Uncleanness was a sign of sinfulness. John the Baptist was trying to show us not only how eachperson is covered in sin but also how the world needed to be cleansed of itssins. John's baptism was a baptismof repentance. Repentance is thefirst step to being forgiven. Youcan't be forgiven of your sins unless you are sorry for them. By wearing the purple stole or chasublewe remind ourselves how we are covered in our sinfulness, how repentant we arefor having hurt God, and how it is only Jesus who can truly heal us. It is Jesus who came to forgive sins. Jesus' baptism is a baptism offorgiveness in the Holy Spirit. John was only the pointer to someone mightier than he. This is why John sent his disciples toask Jesus if “He was the one who is to come.” Here, then is the other reason for wearing purple. Besides being associated withforgiveness, purple has been associated, in Western Civilization, with royalty,at least, since the time of the Roman Emperors. The dye used to make purple cloth was very expensive andthus became associated with royalty. You may remember from the Acts of the Apostles, “woman named Lydia, fromthe city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods.” We wear purple during Advent because we are awaiting thearrival of the King of Kings at Christmas. A few weeks ago we celebrated Feast of Christ the King. Then, on the first Sunday of Advent andwe start to wear purple in expectation of that coming of Jesus Christ, the Kingof Kings. Jesus is coming not onlyat Christmas, but also at the end of time and we need to prepare the way. John the Baptist talks of Christ'sexalted status when he says that 'there is one who is mightier than he"and of whom John is not worthy to untie the thongs of his sandals. The thongs are like the shoe stringswhich hold the sandal on the foot. John is not even worthy to untie the shoe strings of Jesus. Yet the All-powerful, All-holy,All-merciful God became man to save us from our sins. That's why we can't cast off our purple until Christmas Daywhen our Savior comes. He comes tosave us from our sins. Before wecan celebrate Jesus saving us from our sins, we have to recognize oursinfulness and be repentant. Onlywith Jesus coming to save us can we cast off our sins and our purple vestmentsand rejoice in love and mercy of the God-made-man. So let us wait in restless anticipation for the coming ofJesus, our king and our Savoir, by wearing purple and crying out into thewilderness of the shopping malls so as to truly prepare the way of the Lordwith repentance of sins and awe and wonder at his kingship.

The Meaning of Chalice Veils: EF 1st Week of Advent Feria

2011-12-02T17:24:00.001-05:00

Jesus said "This generation shall not pass away until these things come to pass." What does that mean and what does it have to do with chalice veils. Click here for audio homily.

Reminder: Mass on Thursday, December 1

2011-11-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

The will be an extraordinary Form Mass at St. Bartholomew's Old Church on Thursday, 1 December at 9:30 am.

Afraid to go Home?: EF; The Last Sunday After Pentecost

2011-11-19T11:16:00.001-05:00

Everlastinghorror and disgrace. A timeunsurpassed in distress. Destruction. Doom. Wailing and grinding of teeth. The sun will bedarkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be fallingfrom the sky. Heaven and earthwill pass away. But of that day orhour, no one knows. Is this yourview of the Final Judgment and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in all Hisglory? In the Eastern Church, inthe Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, we pray “For a Christian, painless,unashamed, peaceful end of our life, and for a good account before the fearsomejudgment seat of Christ, let us beseech the Lord.” Do you fear the Lord’s Second Coming? Or do you just think that it is notgoing to happen or at least not any time soon? St. Augustine centuries ago wrote. “He who is withoutanxiety waits without fear until his Lord comes. For what sort of love of Christ is it to fear Hiscoming? Brothers, do we not haveto blush for shame? We love Him,yet we fear His coming. Are we really certain that we love Him? Or do we loveour sins more? Therefore, let ushate our sins and love Him who will exact punishment for them. He will come whether we wish itor not. Do not think that becauseHe is not coming just now, He will not come at all. He will come, you know notwhen: and provided He finds you prepared, your ignorance of the time of Hiscoming will not be held against you.” This is what we pray for, every time, we celebrate Mass, after the OurFather, we pray, “Deliver us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all evils, past,present, and to come…and mercifully grant peace in our days, that through Thyassistance of Thy mercy we may be always free from sin, and secure from alldisturbance.” We should not have,as St. Augustine reminds us, any fear or anxiety about the coming of the Lord,whether it be our final judgment at the end of the world, or our particularjudgment at the moment of our death, as long as we have abandoned our sins andlive in the life of Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church. If we love the Lord, rather than oursins, and are in a state of grace, we should look forward to our death and theLord’s coming. St. John Vianney,the patron saint of parish priests, wrote, “Our home is in heaven. On earth, we are like travelers stayingin a hotel. When one is away, oneis always thinking about going home.” Because of the original sin of Adam andEve, we are all somehow refugees and immigrants from Paradise. Our own actual sins are futile anddestructive attempts to shape a new home by ourselves that can never satisfythat longing for home, the longing to be loved. We try to fit ourselves into this foreign world in which welive in, but we never fit. Sinceour true home is in heaven, we are then exiles and refugees searching for ourhomeland. What is it that refugeesand immigrants do to remind themselves of their homeland? They gather together, they speak theirown language, they tell stories from home, and eat and drink the food of theirhomeland. As members of Christ’s Mystical Body who yearn for the day when weenter our heavenly homeland, we gather together to use the same language ofprayer that we have heard many times before, to tell the same stories of howGod so loved the world that He sent His only Son, we tell the miraculousstories of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. We come together to eat the bread ofheaven, the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and OurBrother, who has gone before us to prepare a place in our Father’sMansion. We, the Church, who areborn from the pierced side of Christ on the Cross, with Mary as our mother, we,are that generation, the Mystical Body of Christ, which will not pass awayuntil all these things have come to pass. One of the reasons why I became a priest is because I felt “at home” inChurch. When I lived in Montana, Icame home to Maryland for the summer. When I returned to Montana, my friends and colleagues said “WelcomeBack.” Fr. Jack, my pastor, said“Welcome Home.” As G. K. Chestertonhas written, "We look before and after, and pine for what is not; whichcries against all prigs and progressives, out of the very depths and abysses ofthe broken heart of man, that happiness is not only a hope, but also in somestrange manner a memory; and that we are all kings in exile.”

Faith To Move Mountains: EF Homily; St. Gregory the Wonderworker

2011-11-17T23:42:00.001-05:00

If you had faith to move a mountain, why would you want to move a mountain? Click here for daily audio homily.

No MASS on Thanksgiving

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

There will be Mass this coming Thursday, 17 November, (pending no unforeseen circumstances). However there will be NO Extraordinary Form Mass on Thanksgiving Day, 24 November. We will pick up again with 1 December.

Human versus Civil Rights: EF 22nd Sunday after Pentecost

2011-11-11T20:30:00.000-05:00

Click here for audio homily. Before I was a priest, I taughthistory in various colleges around the country. I used to ask my students, if the governor passed a law thatallowed me to shoot any student who got an “F” on their test, and then shotthat student, would it be legal. They did not like the answer, but the answer, of course, is “yes.” Then I would ask them, it may be legal,but would it be right. The answer,of course, is “no.” The point isthat there are human laws and there are divine laws. Only when human laws repay to God what is God’s, do thosehuman laws deserve respect. Inasking Jesus the question about taxes, the Pharisees were not really concernedwith a political question but rather attempting to lay a trap for Jesus. If Jesus agreed to the paying of taxes,He might upset the people who wanted to restore independent rule toIsrael. If Jesus disagreed withpaying taxes, He could be accused of rebellion against the authority of Caesar. Jesus, however, very keenly applied theprinciple of the separation of Church and State. By asking whose image was on the coin, Jesus was able todistinguish between obligations that are owed to the state and obligations owedto God. It is important to be botha good American and a good Catholic. This is why we are called by the Church to pray not only for the Churchand its leaders but also for the salvation of the world and its politicalleaders. We pray that governmentleaders respect the divine origin of their authority and provide for the life,liberty, and safety of all those entrusted to their care. In exercising ourgreat freedom of religion it is important to remember two things. The first thing to remember is thatfreedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion. Pope Benedict has stated “Tolerancethat only admits God as a private opinion, but that denies him the publicdomain, the reality of the world and of our life, is not tolerance buthypocrisy.” The second clause of Jesus’ statement maintains that we are torender unto God the things that are God’s. Well, what belongs to God? The correct answer is—Everything. Therefore, there is no part of our life where we can sayGod’s law does not apply. Wecannot restrict God to Sunday or tell God that this part of our life is“off-limits” to His love, care, and guidance. Many people argue that the government has no right toregulate what happens on the Internet or in the bedroom. This may be true because the governmenthas only those powers which we, the governed, give to it. But we cannot tell God to stay out ofours schools or our bedrooms. Godcreated us and so we belong to Him. Our life is God’s life, not ours. As such, we will have to answer for how we used this precious gift oflife. Thus, we need to draw thesecond distinction concerning freedom of religion—the distinction between humanrights and civil rights. God isour creator, and we are made in His image and likeness, not Caesar’s or thegovernment’s, and because we are made in the image of God we have certainGod-given rights. These human rightsinclude life, liberty, property, adequate food, clothing, shelter, propereducation both religious and secular, proper health care, and adequateemployment. These things are humanrights given by God. The functionof the government is to ensure the God-given dignity of every person and toensure to them the rights of life, liberty, and happiness. The Declaration of Independence statesas much when it says, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Menare created equal, that they are endowed by their Creatorwith certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and thePursuit of Happiness -- That to secure these Rights, Governments are institutedamong Men . . . to effect their Safety and Happiness.” When the government fails to ensure therights of the vulnerable to life, when the government fails to ensure therights of the ill to moral forms of health care, when the government fails toensure the sanctity of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, when thegovernment hinders the proper education of children, they are not fulfillingtheir duty and they are denying to God the things that are God’s and we havethe right to altar or abolish it and to institute new government. Simply because the government sayssomething is legal does not make it right. Otherwise, if the government had passed that law aboutstudents getting an “F,” there would be a few less students in the world today.

Be Prepared: St. Andrew Avellino

2011-11-11T16:49:00.001-05:00

St Anthony Avellino was bortn in Naples in 1520. A lawyer who enter the order fo the Theatines was a writer and reformer. He died of apoplexy in 1608 at the foot of the altar while starting the prayers of the Mass. He is invoked as the patron saint against sudden death. Click here for audio homily.

Why Black Mass Vestments: Daily Mass of the Dead

2011-11-03T22:34:00.000-04:00

Why does the Church allow black vestments? Black is the color of the unknown, and unless you are the Pope and can canonize someone, you cannot be sure that your deceased loved one is in heaven. Click here for audio homily. To view the above referenced vestment, click here.

Sunday Schedule for November and December

2011-11-02T16:28:00.000-04:00

The Priest schedule for the Sunday Mass in Hagerstown is as follows:
Nov. 6 -- Msgr. Bastress
Nov. 13 --Fr. Larry
Nov. 20 -- Fr. Larry
Nov. 27 -- Fr. Marc
Dec. 4 -- Fr. Larry
Dec. 11 -- Fr. Larry
Dec. 18 -- Fr. Marc
Dec. 25 -- Msgr. Bastress

Reminder: Requiem Mass

2011-11-02T01:00:00.000-04:00

We will have our regular scheduled Low Mass on Thursday, 3 November at 9:30 am at St. Bartholomew's Old Church. It will be a Low Requiem Mass.

The Focus of Prayer: Ad Orientem

2011-10-30T09:30:00.000-04:00

We need more bishops like this! Bishop Sample of Marquette, Michigan has obviously read The Spirit of the Liturgy by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

For more on ad orientem and the direction of prayer, click here.
To read about the Bishop of Tulsa praying the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, ad orientem, click here.

Warning: Possible Snow storm

2011-10-28T21:03:00.000-04:00

The Weather Channel predicts a possible snow storm for this weekend with accumulations of 6-12 inches depending on your area. I never got around to contacting Msgr. Bastress to set an inclement weather policy. Msgr. Bastress is scheduled to drive in from Baltimore to sing the 2 pm Latin Mass at St. Mary's in Hagerstown. I would suggest that you call St. Alphonsus, to see if Msgr. Bastress will be driving out to Hagerstown this weekend. The phone number for St. Alphonsus is 410-685-6090.

The Eucharist and Presumption, EF, Feria, 19th week after Pentecost

2011-10-27T23:04:00.001-04:00

Beeves, Consummation, and Vestments. Click here for audio homily.

Reminder: Latin Mass on Thursday

2011-10-25T21:00:00.000-04:00

We will have our regular scheduled Low Mass on Thursday, 27 October at 9:30 am at St. Bartholomew's Old Church. The following Thursday, 3 November, we will offer a Low Requiem Mass.

Traditional All Soul's Day Mass

2011-10-23T21:33:00.000-04:00

There will be an All Soul's EF Mass at St. Bartholomew (New) Church, 2930 Hanover Pike, Manchester, MD at 7pm. Rev. Ernest Cibelli will be the celebrant. Call 410-239-8881 for more information

Don't be nice: St. John Canty

2011-10-21T17:05:00.000-04:00

Jesus says that He came to bring the sword not peace. So why does every one say we should just be nice? Click here for audio homily.

Whom do you trust?: 18th Sunday after Pentecost

2011-10-15T14:53:00.000-04:00

Click here for audio homily. Perhaps you have heard the story ofthe man who went hiking. As he waswalking along the edge of the canyon, the road gave way and he began tofall. He stretched out his handand grabbed this little branch growing out of the side of the ravine. Down below was a 500 foot drop to thejagged rocks below. Above therewas no one to be seen. The mancried out, “God, help me.” Theclouds opened, and a voice thundered out. “I am the Lord God, do you trust me?” The man cried out “yes, Lord! I trust you” The Lord said tothe man, “Let go of the branch.” The man replied “is there any one else upthere?” Whom do you trust? Can you think of four friends that youtrust enough to carry you on a bed? How quickly can you spell “lawsuit.” In addition to the four friends that you trust, you mustalso trust in Jesus. After allwhat good is being carried on a bed into a room crowded with standing people,if all you are going to do is to hear a great lecture or some great moralteaching. You have to trust thatJesus can do something for you. Jesus gave to the man the best gift that He had. “Jesus seeing theirfaith, said to the man sick with palsy, “Be of good heart, son, thy sins areforgiven thee. And behold some ofthe scribes said within themselves: He blasphemeth, For Jesus to say to the sick man, “your sins are forgiven”Jesus must have known that He was God, otherwise He would not have said. “Yoursins are forgiven.” We can alsosee that St. Matthew, believed that Jesus was God for Matthew then states, “Jesusseeing their thoughts.” Only Godknows what we are thinking. OnlyGod can reads the hearts and minds of all human beings. We cannot hide anything form God. Wemay often think that nobody knows what we read, or write, or look at on theInternet, there is a sort of false sense of anonymity. It makes us think that nobody sees us, butJesus sees our thoughts. Only ifJesus is God could He do that. Jesus also showed that He was God because He physically healed theman. Jesus gave His criticsphysical proof that the spiritual reality of forgiveness was real and effectiveand that God has power not only over spiritual realities but over physicalrealities, as well. St. Matthewdid not have to come right out and say that Jesus is God, he did it by retellingthe words and actions of Jesus; actions that Jesus can only have done becauseHe is God. C.S. Lewis, who wrotethe Chronicles of Narnia, that was made into a major motion picture also wroteelsewhere that "I am trying here to prevent anyonesaying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready toaccept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.'That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man andsaid the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poachedegg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Eitherthis man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. Youcan shut Him for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or youcan fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with anypatronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not leftthat open to us. He did not intend to." Whom do you trust? Rather than the Baltimore Sun Paper,Oprah, or some even modern scripture scholars, I will trust the words of theHoly Gospel and the teaching authority of Holy Mother Church. As St. Paul wrote in the Second letterto the Corinthians, “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who wasproclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not “yes” and “no, ”but “yes” has been in him. Forhowever many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him; therefore, the Amenfrom us also goes through him to God for glory.” When we say Amen, during Mass, we are professing our faithin Jesus Christ as God and in the Roman Catholic Church which Jesusfounded. Who is it that you trust?

Good Catholic, Good Politician; St. Edward the Confessor

2011-10-14T00:04:00.000-04:00

St. Edward proves you can be a good Catholic and a good politician. If we serve the Lord on earth, the Lord will serve us in heaven. Click here for audio homily.