St. Mary Men Evening of Recollection Sermon III: Silence

Something that many of us are uncomfortable with is silence. Nevertheless, silence is something which is very important for us to take advantage of. Saint Josemaria Escriva stated: “Silence is the door-keeper of the interior life.”

If we need a model of silence we have no further to look then Saint Jospeh. Throughout the course of Sacred Scripture he never uttered a word and was usually found asleep where God would come and speak with him.

Again from Saint Josemaria Escriva: “A change! You say you need a change!... opening your eyes wide so as to take in better the images of things, or almost closing them because you are short-sighted. Close them altogether! Have interior life, and you will see, in undreamt-of colour and relief, the wonders of a better world, of a new world: and you will draw close to God..., and know your weakness..., and be deified... with a deification which, by bringing you nearer to your Father, will make you more a brother of your fellow-men.”

It is the noise of this world which keeps us from the interior life. Our phone is always beeping and giving us updates, the TV is on producing noise even if we are not even paying attention to it, truly to be forced to enter into silence can be something which proves to be most challangening for us.

When we are forced to enter into silence we do not know what to do with it. Even here today we have the opportunity to pray before our Lord who is present with us in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. Here we will plunged into silence. It is important that we make use of this silence and throughout our life find ways to retreat from the noise of the world in order to enter into prayer.

For more reflection upon the importance of silence I recommend the book “The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise” by Cardinal Sarah. In it he states: “When we retreat from the noise of the world in silence, we gain a new perspective on the noise of the world. To retreat into silence is to come to know ourselves, to know our dignity.”

Let us thus be willing to undergo moments of silence throughout our life. Moments where we step away from our phones or the TV. Moments where we sit in the silence of the church instead of filling it with noise. Moments spent in prayer in our Perpetual Adoration Chapel. Truly through these periods of silence we will inter into the interior life. We must realize that to enter into the interior life is a life long process that cannot be acheived in a day.

As Saint Josemaria Escriva put it: “Conversion is a matter of a moment. Sanctification is the work of a lifetime.”

Bulletin Article: November 3

I thank all those who have or are serving our country in the armed forces. As a Church we continue to pray for you and all that you do to serve our country. Next Sunday, November 10, we will hold the Green Mass for all veterans at the 10am Mass.

Throughout the month of November we are reminded of the certainty of death. Some saints would even go as far as to keep a skull upon their desk to remind of this inescapable reality. In our gathering area we currently have many photos of loved ones who have now gone before us into life eternal. It is my hope that we will continue to pray and offer our sacrifices for them.

As we continue to move towards the end of the liturgical season we will quickly find ourself in the Advent season. Very soon you will start to find information on various liturgies throughout Advent, but I would like to make the parish aware of our parish Advent retreat which has been scheduled for December 7 and will be led by me. This will begin shortly following our 8:30am Mass and conclude around lunch time. More information on this retreat will be given in the future.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins

21st Sunday After Pentecost Homily

If we are to stand against the deceits of the devil we are in need of “veritas.” “Veritas” is the motto of the Dominican Order and in English means “truth.”

In Saint Paul’s Epistle we are told that we will wrestle against: “principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.”

In all of these examples that Saint Paul gives to us we can see the many lies which attack us with the hope that we may come to hold them as truth. We must remember that one of the many names given to the devil is the “father of lies.” Indeed, the devil is unable to create truth and so he instead twists it in order to meet his lies.

In our world I can think of many ways in which the devil attempts to twist the truth in order to confuse us on our journey towards Heaven. Sins against the flesh is to take something which was created as good and to twist that truth until it no longer meets its God given purpose. The same can be said of all other sins which attack one of the virtues.

As is stated from 1st Peter: “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.”

Likewise, we must “stand against the desires of the devil.” He wants nothing more then to confuse us to the point to where we begin to lose faith. We stand in the midst of a confused generation where even priests and bishops have seemingly turned themselves against the truths of the Gospel. The answer to this serious issue is not to lose faith, but to endure within it. We must not allow the lies of the devil to push us away from the truths which are contained within the midst of the Church.

As Dominican order desires to pursue “veritas” the same should be said of each of us. To pursue truth in the midst of a confused world we need the four pillars of prayer, study, community, and ministry. These four pillars aid us to come to know and serve God in all things. To pray is to open wide our relationship with God in order that truth may be revealed unto us. To study is to allow our mind to be engaged to the point that we come to settle upon truth. To live community is to is to remain connected to God through one another and the Church in order that we may be moved towards truth. Lastly, through ministry we take the truth that we have learned and bring it out into the world for others to encounter.

In Conclusion these words from the Catechism concerning the Holy Spirt: “The Spirit of truth, the other Paraclete, will be given by the Father in answer to Jesus' prayer; he will be sent by the Father in Jesus' name; and Jesus will send him from the Father's side, since he comes from the Father. The Holy Spirit will come and we shall know him; he will be with us for ever; he will remain with us. The Spirit will teach us everything, remind us of all that Christ said to us and bear witness to him. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth and will glorify Christ. He will prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment.”

May the Holy Spirit come and enlighten our heart towards all truth.

All Souls Day Homily

We are uncomfortable with the one thing that we cannot escape, death.

Nevertheless, death is the only avenue which leads towards Everlasting Life. In all reality death is something that we should not fear, but rejoice for. Despite this reality it can be hard to trust in the Lord at one’s final hour and it can be difficult to find that healing that we are in need of when we mourn the loss of a loved one.

Upon this earth we are only given so much time. When we think about it this time which has been given to us is short. How much of this time do we spend preparing for our death? It was not uncommon for individuals to keep skulls upon their desk to remind them of this eventual fate. This fate is something that we too must set our sight upon and thus prepare ourself for its grasp.

We prepare ourself for this eventual grasp of death by striving for Heaven each day. We can only do this with the help of the Lord and the Church. It is not enough to stumble our way into Heaven, but we should instead strive for it.

All Souls Day is an important day in the life of the Church because through it we are reminded of those who have now been called home to God, but must first be purged. These are the souls in Purgatory and we must continue to pray and offer sacrifice for them. At so many funeral liturgies we are told that our loved ones are now in Heaven and we have nothing to fear. This short changes these souls out of our prayers. We must remember to pray for them and sacrifice for them. Even if they are now in Heaven our prayers will not be wasted, but will go to those who are in need.

May we continue to pray for these souls and strive to go where they are now headed.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

All Saints Homily

The Church manifests itself in three realities all held together by one common goal. In the Holy Mass the priest breaks the host into three pieces. These three pieces represent to us the unity of these three realities which make up the Church. 

Firstly, we have the church militant which is made up of each of us here on earth who must strive towards Heaven. Secondly, we have the church suffering who we will pay special attention towards tomorrow. Lastly, we have the church triumphant. The church triumphant is those members of the church who have died and are regarded as enjoying eternal happiness through union with God.

As we come to celebrate this Solemnity of All Saints our focus turns towards this last group. Nevertheless, through the course of time we know that the souls of the faithful departed will become saints. Finally, I hope that we see that we too here on this earth are called to strive to be numbered among the saints.

The saints are those who have been revealed by God to the Church by name, but are also those who have been called home to Heaven that we do not know by name through this revelation from God to the Church. That means that we probably do not have a canonized saint in our family, but that does not mean that a loved one who has gone before us into life eternal has not already reached their Heavenly homeland.

Of those saints who we now know by name we can study their life and see how it leads towards the common goal of union with God. Through the saints we see heroic lives of men, women, the young, the old, rich and poor, single, married, priests, deacons, bishops, popes, but most importantly fallen humans who have overcome sin and death to be called home to Heaven.

We should study the lives of these holy men and women and ask them to pray for us. We study the lives of actors, musicians, politicians, and athletes, but do not flinch an eye at the thought of these holy men and women. We fashion our style and choices after those of these celebrities, but do not allow the saints to form us into true disciples of the Lord who chase after virtue rather then the ways of the world.

Each and every one of us have been invited to be numbered among the saints, but do we desire to be numbered among them? Let us remember that to be a saint is to be in Heaven with God the Father for all eternity. If we are not a saint we have been cast out from Heaven and are in Hell. Surely, none of us want such a horrific demise. 

Therefore, come to emulate the lives of the saints. Foster within your life proper devotion to the saints. Frequent the sacrament of confession and worthily receive our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion. As the church militant we must strive for Heaven. The battle may be difficult at times, but the saints show us that it is possible.

All you Holy Saints of God, pray for us.