All the saints of the Church through all ages have been sanctified by the Resurrection of Jesus. The feast of his Resurrection (Easter) gives life to the Liturgical Year, even as the mystery of his rising from the dead gives spiritual life to all men. It is this alone which makes any man or any society to be good - the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Listen online [here]!
We consider the significance of Jesus washing the Apostle's feet at the Last Supper, when he both instituted the Eucharist and also ordained these Twelve as priests.
Listen online [here]!
The narrative of our Lord's Passion inspires us to perfect contrition. We consider the doctrine of contrition for sin, comparing perfect contrition to imperfect contrition and even to attrition.
Listen online [here]!
Confessions prior to Divine Mercy Sunday -- in order to gain the special graces which Jesus promised (renewal of baptismal grace), we make confession with two weeks of Divine Mercy Sunday and then receive communion on that Sunday!
Confessions this week at Corpus Christi in Great Falls are extended this week to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 4:30 to 7pm and Saturday 4:30 to 5:30pm.
Corpus Christi parish schedule for Holy Week and Easter!
No Mass on Tuesday or Wednesday of Holy Week (March 26 and 27).
There will be confessions on Wednesday, March 27 from 5:30 to 7 or 8pm.
No 7am Mass on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, or Holy Saturday; and no 5:30pm Mass on Holy Saturday. No confessions on those days either. (March 28, 29, and 30).
Holy Thursday Mass is 5:30-7:30pm.
Good Friday service is 5:30-7:30pm.
Easter Vigil Mass is 9pm to midnight.
Easter Sunday Masses are 9am and 11:30am.
Church decorating for Easter is Holy Saturday with rosary at noon and decorating till about 1:30pm.
Although our Lord's words to Nicodemus in John 3:16 are probably the most famous in all of Scripture, most people know little about who Nicodemus was or what happened to him later in life. In this sermon, we discuss the Gospel account of St Nichodemus as well as the tradition of his friendship with St Gamaliel and St Stephen the Deacon!
Listen online [here]!
St John tells us of many events which occurred during the first year and a half of Jesus' public ministry - from the time of the fasting in the desert up to the arrest of John the Baptist. These events are not contained in the other three Gospels.
We discuss the first time in which Jesus cleansed the Temple, and point out how different this was from the second cleansing of the Temple at the very end of Jesus' life.
We also speak of why we should not give in to the passion of anger - even though Jesus was angry in a perfectly virtuous way, we are not so perfect and the emotion of anger is too dangerous for us!
Listen online [here]!
St Paul tells us what Abraham was thinking when he was willing to offer up Isaac. In the eleventh chapter of the Letter of St Paul to the Hebrews, we are told that Abraham had explicit faith in the resurrection! In this sermon, we discuss the history of the promise of God to Abraham and how this was fulfilled in Isaac, as well as the role of Isaac as a willing victim in this testing of his father Abraham. Finally, this foreshadows the perfect sacrifice of Christ Jesus.
Listen online [here]!
We discuss Lent from the perspective of the history of the Church, from the earliest days to modern times.
The name "Lent" comes from the Old English word for "lengthen" - indicating the lengthening of the days in the spring season. Easter moves between March 22 and April 25, but is always during spring because the celebration is set on the Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox - which is to say, the Sunday after the first full moon of spring.
Easter is set for this time according to the calculation of the Jewish Passover (which is at the first full moon of spring) - as the Church desires to show how Jesus' death and resurrection perfectly fulfills the Old Testament prophecies.
From this, we can come to a much more profound understanding of many aspects of Lent and Easter.
Listen online [here]!
Lenten Men's Group at Corpus Christi - meeting Tuesdays of Lent from 7 to 8pm. The parish Mass is at 5:30pm followed by devotions and Rosary.
For the men's group, we will be watching a series about the Eucharist from Formed, called Presence.
In our final class on the Canterbury Tales, we finish our discussion of the Nun's Priest's Tale of Chaunticleer the Rooster. We then turn to the final Tales and especially the Parson's meditation on how all can be saved if only we repent. Finally, we look at the Retractions of Chaucer.
After considering the short outline of the history of Our Lady's apparitions at Lourdes, we discuss a few of the many thousands of miracles that have been wrought there. These miracles prove the truth of the Catholic Church!
Listen online [here]!
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The miraculous healings discussed are those of Catharine Latapie (whose right hand was badly injured) and of Loius Bouriette (who was paralyzed after a train wreck), both at the time of the original apparitions - March 1858. Also the most recently approved miracle - that of Sister Bernadette Moriau in 2008. Finally, the wonderful miracle witnessed by Dr Alexis Carrel in which Marie Bailey was cured of a terrible stomach/intestinal disease in 1902!
We discuss the book of Job, why it is rather difficult to interpret, certain historical and textual notes, and finally the problem of evil. Why is it that bad things happen to good people?
Listen online [here]!
We discuss briefly the Monks tale and then, in great depth, the Nun's Priest's Tale of Chaunticleer the rooster. This tale is a masterpiece of Chaucer and ties together most everything that has come before!
Ash Wednesday Masses at Corpus Christi -- February 14th -- 7am (concluding by 7:45am) and solemn Mass is 5:30-7pm
Additional Confessions during Lent!
Wednesday and Thursday, 4:30-7pm
Friday, 4:30-5:30 and 6-7pm
Saturday, 4:30-5:30pm
Lenten Stations of the Cross -- Fridays at 5:30pm followed by soup supper
The Church is in the midst of a multi year jubilee celebration of the life and legacy of St Thomas Aquinas.
2023 is the 700th Anniversary of St Thomas' canonization on July 18th, 1223
2024 is the 750th Anniversary of St Thomas' death on March 7th, 1274
2025 is the 800th Anniversary of St Thomas' birth in 1225.
Pope Francis has declared jubilee celebrations in honor of St Thomas Aquinas, with a special plenary indulgence available from July 18th, 2023 to January 28th, 2025. In this time, a plenary indulgence can be gained under the usual conditions by visiting a church, shrine or chapel entrusted to the the Dominican Order with a prayerful reflection on the life and legacy of St Thomas, praying an Our Father and a Cree, as well as a prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to St Thomas Aquinas.
In this sermon, we consider a brief overview of the life of St Thomas and some of the reasons why I love the Angelic Doctor. His is so clear and succinct, he is honest in his argumentation, he has a reverence for the Truth, he shows the union of faith and reason, he manifests the Dominican love of creation and the Creator, his writings are comprehensive and cover nearly every topic and every question in philosophy and theology, and he is universally recommended by the Popes and the saints.
Listen online [here]!
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Listen to an excellent sermon from three years ago, which gives a detailed study of St Thomas' life [here]!
We discuss Chaucer's own two tales, and the irony and humor in that he is the only pilgrim unable to tell a good story. There is something more here than a playful mockery of overly romantic and sentimental styles which were popular in Chaucer's day -- GK Chesterton points out that Chaucer is the creator of this whole world of Canterbury Tales; and, when the creator came unto his own creation, his own did not receive him.
We then also consider why the Canterbury Tales is the first novel - and why earlier works (like the Iliad or the Aeneid) are not novels.
(below, find a number of great quotes from GK Chesterton's book on Chaucer, which is available online at the Gutenberg Project)
Today is the feast of St Agnes, virgin and martyr of the early Roman Church. Together with Sts Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Cecilia, and Anastasia, St Agnes is one of the seven female saints of the Roman Canon (in addition to the Blessed Virgin Mary). Each of these women were martyrs of the early Church.
We consider the importance of the thirty one saints listed in the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I), and especially the heroic witness of these seven female martyrs. After a brief overview of the lives of each of these women, we then focus on the inspiring martyrdom of St Agnes.
Listen online [here]!
We briefly review the Shipman's Tale, and then consider at length the Prioress' Tale. While modern commentary on this tale focuses on the anti-Semitic tones present, this certainly would not have been the primary impression of those who first read the Canterbury Tales. Therefore, we consider the Prioress' Tale, first on it's own terms, and only later do we consider modern criticism and commentary.
Furthermore, we note the genius of Chaucer who is able to write in such different styles and from such diverse perspectives. It is striking to note how different the Shipman's Tale is from some of the other more raunchy tales (even thought the Shipman's Tale is equally immoral), and then see Chaucer turn from these themes to such pious reflections on child martyrs and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
It is a work of true literary brilliance that Chaucer is able to adopt these varied styles and themes, and keep them together in one masterpiece.
Notice that St John's Gospel speaks of the call of Andrew, John, and Peter (as well as Philip and Nathaniel/Bartholomew) as happening when John the Baptist is preaching near the river Jordan - but Sts Matthew, Mark and Luke all speak of the call of Peter and Andrew as well as James and John occurring at the sea of Galilee when they were fishing. We point out that St John the Evangelist tells us a great bit about the first year and half of Jesus' public ministry which is not told in the other three gospels.
Further, meditating upon this first call of these first disciples will serve to remind us of the ways in which the Lord has called us to holiness throughout our lives.
Listen online [here]!
Each year, the Church proclaims the movable feasts on Epiphany! Following this tradition, we present the overview of Holy Days and Days of Penance for 2024
HOLY DAYS OF
OBLIGATION – 2024
Thursday, August 15th
– The Assumption of Mary
Friday, November 1st
– All Saints’ Day
Wednesday, December
25th – Christmas
Wednesday, January 1st,
2025 – Mary, Mother of God
Epiphany (Saturday, January 6th), Ascension of
the Lord (Thursday, May 9th), and Corpus Christi (Thursday, May 30th)
are all transferred to Sundays. St Joseph, Husband of Mary (March 19th)
and Sts Peter and Paul
(June 29th) are not obligation days in the USA.
Mary, Mother of God (Monday, January 1st) is not
an obligation day in 2024 because it falls on a Monday. The Immaculate
Conception is transferred to Monday, December 9th (because December
8th is 2nd Sunday of Advent) and is not an obligation day
in 2024.
In 2025, Epiphany is transferred from Monday, January 6th
to Sunday, January 5th.
DAYS OF PENANCE
and EMBER DAYS – 2024
Every Friday
throughout the year (abstinence or some penance)
Monday, January 22nd
– Anniversary of Roe v Wade (recommended fasting and abstinence)
Every Day of Lent – February 14th to May 30th
(some penance, Sundays and Solemnities are less penitential)
Wednesday, February 14th
– Ash Wednesday (fasting and abstinence, even though it is Valentine’s Day)
Fridays, February 16th,
23rd, March 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd,
29th – Fridays of Lent (abstinence)
Friday, March 29th
– Good Friday (fasting and abstinence)
Saturday, March 30th
– Holy Saturday (recommended fasting
and abstinence)
EMBER DAYS and ROGATION DAYS (recommended fasting and
abstinence)
February 21st, 23rd, 24th
– Ember Days of Lent
Thursday, April 25th – Major Rogation Day
May 6th, 7th, 8th –
Minor Rogation Days; Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before the Ascension
May 22nd, 24th, 25th –
Ember Days of Pentecost (penance is commonly moved to the following week,
on account of the Octave
celebration of Pentecost)
September 18th, 20th, 21st
– Ember Days of September
December 18th, 20th, 22nd
– Ember Days of Advent (Saturday, December 22nd is the feast of St
Thomas)
Penance is not required on the following Friday Solemnities:
April 5th (Friday in the Octave of Easter), June 7th
(Sacred Heart), November 1st (All Saints). [Friday of the Octave of
Christmas is not a solemnity, therefore penance is obliged.]
* Abstinence means abstaining from meat, and binds from 14
years until death. Abstaining from eggs and dairy as well as from meat is a laudable tradition.
** Fasting means one regular meal and two small snacks, and
binds from 18 until 60.
MOVABALE FEASTS – 2024
Septuagesima, Jan 28th; Ash Wednesday, Feb 14th;
Palm Sunday, March 24th; Easter Triduum, March 28th-30th;
Easter Sunday, March 31st; Ascension Thursday, May 9th;
Pentecost, May 19th; Corpus Christi Thursday,
May 30th; Sacred Heart, June 7th
First Sunday of Advent, December 1st
*2024 is a leap year, with February 29th being Thursday
in the 2nd week of Lent.
We discuss the Physician's Tale and how it leads into the Pardoner's Tale - highlighting the way that the characters relate to each other and how the different stories are given in response to one another. This is the beginning of the literary style of the novel.
The Pardoner's Tale is interesting because he is a very wicked and greedy man, but preaches against the very vices he practices. Although he only preaches so as to get people's money, his preaching is quite convincing and does convert people. We ponder the question: Can a bad man tell a good story?
Below, find a handout with a short overview of each of the Tales as well the simple character traits of each of the pilgrims who tell tales.
The feast of Epiphany was, in the early Church, a bigger feast even than Christmas! We consider the great significance of this feast and how important it is that Catholics again restore the Christmas Culture by celebrating Epiphany.
We also consider a reflection from Pope Francis on the three Magi: They looked up to the Star in prayer, they journeyed across the earth without attachments, and they knelt in adoration of the Christ Child.
Listen online [here]!
In order to assist our meditations during the Christmas season, and so that we can live day by day with the Holy Family in these days up until the flight to Egypt, we discuss in this sermon the historical timeline and chronology of the conception, birth, and infancy of Jesus.
This Child will be the cause of the rise and fall of many -- the rise of the humble and the fall of the proud. Spend this Christmas meditating on the love revealed in the early months and years of Jesus' life!
Listen online [here]!
This year marks the 800th Anniversary of the first Nativity scene. The devotional practice of the Nativity scene was first invented by St Francis of Assisi in the year 1223 at Greccio in Italy as a means of bringing the graces of the Holy Land to the people of Europe and the whole world.
We discuss the history of the first Nativity scene as well as some points of the theological significance of this devotional practice.
Listen online [here]!
We discuss the biblical evidence for the fact of the perpetual virginity of the Mother of God, especially discussing how the question of our Lady - "How can this be, since I do not know man?" - shows that she must have made a vow of virginity to consecrate herself to the Lord.
listen online [here]!
In this sermon, we discuss the O Antiphons in which the Church cries out begging for the Messiah to come. These antiphons are part of the Divine Office from December 17 to 23, and are some of the most famous and significant chants of the Church's Liturgy.
Listen online [here]!