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Last Sunday, I used our Shrine of St. Thomas More as a homily illustration. Since we also have a Shrine to St. Therese the "Little Flower" at our church (a memorial from the Olivers) and her reelic, and also since her Feast Day was last Tuesday, I thought I would make her the subject of this week's article.

As promised here are the last three of the "Seven Sorrows"

When looking through some of FORMED’s September offerings (and you have not already registered for FORMED, which is free to all SMV parishioners, I urge you to so to do!)  I came upon a short program of the Seven Sorrows of Mary,  which is the dedication for this month of September in the Roman Catholic Church. Later, during some private prayers, I envisioned Mary’s experiences, I pondered her most blessed and most sorrowful life. I met Mary heart-to-heart: her sorrows and her Son’s agony became mine, and the Mother of Sorrows became the mother of my own sorrows as well. During this month, perhaps we all could  enter into the mind and heart of Mary, and reflect on the seven major sorrows in her life.

Tomorrow is Labor Day, when many workers are given the day off (We will have our regular Noon Mass tomorrow though, and we welcome back our old friend and former Parochial Vicar, Fr. Tom Kennedy to celebrate the Mass.) What should Catholics think about Labor Day, or the dignity of Work, and what are our theological positions regarding labor itself? His Holiness Pope Leo XIII has affectionately been remembered as the "Pope of Labor" although by rights ought to be known for equally important accomplishments. The website, "The Legacy of Pope Leo XIII" is established to share information about this important, but nearly forgotten Pontiff.

Saint John Eudes, whose feast day we celebrated last Monday, once said: “Never separate what God has so perfectly united. So closely are Jesus and Mary bound up with each other that whoever beholds Jesus sees Mary; whoever loves Jesus, loves Mary; whoever has devotion to Jesus, has devotion to Mary. The Three hearts devotion is easy to understand - it is nothing other than honoring the Three Hearts of the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.This is often done by making reparation to: 1 - The Scared and Merciful Heart of Christ. 2 - The Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. 3 - The Most Pure and Chaste Heart of St. Joseph.

Invitations are powerful, and that is true for the Catholic Faith. If you ask with kindness and enthusiasm, and those whom you invited declines your invitation, you have done your best in an attempt to bring that particular person closer to God. On the other hand , you just might be the final piece of God's puzzle to bring that person, or that family, into or back into the Catholic Church.

The Feast of the Assumption (which we will celebrate Thursday, August 15th) is the Patronal Feast of our Parish. What do we mean by “Patronal Feast”? You may well ask! A Patron Saint is a saint chosen to be the special intercessor in Heaven of a particular place or organization, such as a parish church or cathedral, a hospital, university, or guild. A Patronal Feast is the occasion on which a parish annually honors the saint who was chosen as the Patron Saint of the parish. Thursday our parish will celebrate a special feast to honor Saint Mary the Virgin.

August became known as a month dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but currently it is difficult to know why this is the case. There exists no particular feast, and the main celebration in August is the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on August 15th. (About which I will write next week.) The physical heart of Mary is venerated (and not adored as the Sacred Heart of Jesus is) because it is united to Her person and is the seat of Her love (especially for her divine Son,) virtue, and inner life. Such devotion is an incentive to a similar love and virtue in us.

Last week, as you may recall, I preached about the “Teaching Office” of the Pope as a way of feeding Christ’s sheep. Just this month we have seen an example of the teaching office of our Pope, couched in traditional and historical language, designating this weekend as the 4th World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly. To show as example of the Holy Father’s Teaching Office, and because I want to honor the grandparents and elderly at our church, I am pleased to use this week’s bulletin article space to publish this decree.

Circumstances dictate that I cannot presently get away from North Texas; St. Mary the Virgin has had an unbroken tradition of daily Mass for a long time, and I am loathe to break it. As the only priest here, and with no one to take ALL the daily Masses (not to mention the weekend Masses,) an actual vacation is not possible. What I propose to do instead is to take this week and next week as SLOW DOWN WEEKS.

The Sacrament of Baptism is the first of the Seven Sacraments in the Catholic Church and is steeped in the rich history, traditions, and rituals of the Faith. It is intended to cleanse away original sin and symbolizes a rebirth in Christ, recalling His baptism by John the Baptist. The ceremony initiates a child (or adult) into the Catholic Religion and confers membership into the Holy Roman Church.

The month of July is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. It is a recognition of Jesus’ sacrifice and how He spilled his blood for the salvation of humanity. Furthermore, this blood is made present through the gift of the Eucharist, along with the body of Christ, under the appearance of bread and wine. Like the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Precious Blood has long been venerated for its role in our redemption.

Today is our Parish’s celebration of our Nation’s Independence. We thank our Knights of Columbus for putting on this fun and community building event each year.

As we celebrate, (either today or on Thursday, July 4th) let us remember to pray that God will strengthen and bless the United States of America and make our nation a haven of liberty and justice for all - born and unborn.

Our Ordinariate Website defines the primary Mission of the Ordinariate as Evangelization. “The Ordinariate exists for those who are, or will be coming into full Communion in the Catholic Church.”  Through the reverence and beauty of our worship, study of Sacred Scripture and charity for those in need, we desire to share the joy of being Roman Catholic!

With the return of summer, it’s time for another edition of “Ordinariate Observances” - helpful reminders that I like to share a few times a year.

Today is the Feast of the Holy Trinity, also called Trinity Sunday, a feast in honor of the Trinity. Trinity Sunday, which falls on the first Sunday after Pentecost, is one of the few feasts in the Christian calendar that celebrate a doctrine rather than an event.

The great feast of Pentecost is observed today, Sunday, May 19th. It is often seen as the close of Eastertide. In reality Pentecost is more about an opening - the opening of every member of the Church to a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our midst. On The first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave birth to the real presence of the Risen Lord in his Word, in the Sacraments, and in the mission of every Christian.

We are aware of the presence of God in many ways and meet God in many ways, but the Sacraments are special ways in which we meet Jesus. When one receives a sacrament, although the priest (or Bishop, as is the case at our 10:30 Mass today) is saying the words, it is Christ Himself who is talking to you and giving you grace in the sacrament.