Three short sermons for Sunday, September 6th.
1) For the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis is allowing priests to lift the excommunication and absolve the sin of abortion. This could cause some confusion, since priests have been able to do this throughout most of the USA for many years. We explain.
Also, Pope Francis is allowing priests of the SSPX (a break away, pre-Vatican II group) to have legitimate confessions during the Year of Mercy. Explanation that the pre-Vatican II group in Black Eagle, MT is SSPV (another break away group) and is not covered under the Pope's provision.
2) On Mary: This week we have two great feasts of Mary, of her birth (September 8) and of her Name (September 12). The feast of Mary's birth calls to mind the devotion to the child Mary (Maria Bambina). The feasts of the Holy Name of Mary commemorates the great victory Christendom won over the Turks in Vienna on September 11 and 12, 1683. It was in retaliation for that victory that the terrorists attacked the USA on September 11, 2001.
3) On the Poor: We love the poor because God loves the poor. But we are also meant to be a Church "of the poor" (as Pope Francis says). We can see that many are a Church "of the rich" when they ignore the fact that most of the poor Catholics of the southern hemisphere accept the Church's teachings on issues like contraception and divorce.
Listen online [here]!
