ACU Podcast Network

Our Lord is so generous! He gives us many gifts and it is our responsibility to do great things with them. It is a privilege to receive these things from our God, let us live with great courage to accomplish great deeds.

If memory serves us right, we began to distribute ACU Classic homilies one year ago this week. With the liturgical year about to end, we will continue releasing classic homilies on the recurring celebratory dates, but because Fr. Llorente left us multiple homilies for each celebration, we are appending the language and year in which the homily was preached, in order to keep them all organized. We are exploring new “deep fake” technology to see if we can deliver Fr. Llorente's homilies in English and with video, too.

Fr. Llorente Todos Los Santos homily from 1998 is on tap for you today, liturgy celebrated by the Church this past Tuesday, November 1 Solemnity of All Saints, the reality of our Church Triumphant. Fr. Llorente's preaching and pedagogy in full display. Enjoy and profit from it.

On All Souls Day, we often think of the darkness that comes with death. However, we should be focusing our gaze on the light that comes with Our Lord, Jesus.

Fr. Dave Ruchinski from the University of Florida speaks to us about the things that can help us relate to our Lord, Jesus. We may think that we do not share in his life, but our Lord is so generous that he wanted to be fully like us.

On Saturday, October 15, 2022, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Teresa de Jesus (Avila), Virgin and Doctor of the Church. Anyone that did Spiritual Exercises with Fr. Amando Llorente will know that she was, most certainly, his favorite Saint, excepting the Immaculate Virgin Mary and St. Ignatius of Loyola of course, the two Patron Saints of the ACU. It is the first Classic ACU homily we have released this liturgical year, soon coming to an end, in which Fr. Llorente extends his preaching beyond his own self-imposed 20 minutes. It is wonderful.

Our Lady is the Patroness of so many Latin American cultures. As Columbus Day passes, we often overlook the importance of the faith being planted in the Americas as well. To this day we see the great impact our faith, and more specifically Our Lady, has had on the culture of the Americas.

Here's one of a handful of homilies of Fr. Llorente on Our Lady of the Rosary that were saved through the efforts of agrupados that volunteered for an apostolate of outreach to agrupados away from the Miami House, recording the guardias on cassette tapes (before the days of the Internet) and circulating them among the various houses. This one is from October 1998 and is named, "El Rosario y Nuestra Señora-Batalla de Lepanto.” Nevertheless, in his inimitable style, he works in the history of the memorial, that is the battle of Lepanto, the ACU heroes and martyrs of Guajaybón, Bishop Fulton Sheen and Dr. Carlos Finlay, discoverer of the yellow fever.

P. Alejandro Pizarro, SJ, visiting us from the Province of Chile, speaks to us about our modern society. Why do we constantly fill our days with things? Do we avoid silence? We must overcome these temptations and give time to silence and allow the Lord to speak to us during those times of reflection!

What do we take with us when we come to the end of the line? Our Lord calls us to be with him despite our sins and faults. Our Lord takes back those things which he gives us, so let us focus on what brings us closer to God while we are here on earth.

You might be wearing a cross around your neck right now, but what does that mean? Is it a symbol of our Faith, or is it a sign of courage? Why does this object have such a meaning in the Catholic faith? Fr. Christian explains it to us!

This week we surprise with a slightly different format, a peek at what the Canonization Commission is striving towards with respect to the cause in favor of Fr. Llorente. Among the documentation (on paper, electronic format is not acceptable) required for a cause are all the writings of the candidate for beatification. There are very few writings of Fr. Llorente in the ACU files, but there are hundreds of homilies. We contend that these are his “writings” — the homilies of a masterful preacher. So, this week, we offer two homilies preached thirty years apart on the same liturgical Feast, that of The Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The homily, of course, is in Spanish and was the first Fr. Llorente homily recorded following the ACU's exile. It dates from September 3 1962. We also include the homily for the sage liturgical Feast, dated September 18, 1991. Additionally, we include the transcription and its translation into English. As explained earlier, this is one of the goals of the Commission.

When we are faced with the reality of the end of our lives, will that change the way we live? Are we happy with the way we live today? What changes might we make in our day-to-day lives to be closer to our Lord?

A Homily by Fr. Amando Llorente, SJ on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

We cannot be okay with complacency in our lives, even when we are doing good things. When Jesus was doing good works, he knew he had to leave that town and move on to continue his mission. Ignatian indifference can become a valuable tool for us to use to fight off the temptation of complacency.

Our Lord will always recognize us, even if we do not know him. When we do see Jesus, we must allow his impression on our hearts to change our lives. We must keep our eyes and hearts open to see the moments where Christ is. If we do not see Jesus, what else are we missing?

The generosity of the Lord is abundant! He gives and gives even when we do not deserve, sometimes even to the point where we may not understand it. We must not judge our Lord for the generosity he shows to others, even when sometimes thing don't seem "fair."

The Miami Chapter welcomes Fr. Christian Saenz back home! He speaks to us about giving up something in our life in order to grow. The seed must stop being a seed in order for a flower to grow. What do we have to let go of, to make way for the greater things in our lives?

Visiting Priest, Fr. Juan Ruiz, SJ helps us answer the question, are we responsible for the sins of those around us? This is something that many of us struggle with. However, Fr. Juan offers some insight from our Lord when he notes the importance of aligning our will with the will of the Father.

Visiting Priest, Fr. Leo Siqueira speaks to us about the importance of Our Lady in our faith life. He also speaks to us about a battle that has already been won! Our names have already been written in Heaven.

Fr. Richard Vigoa speaks to our Miami Chapter about the way we can live fruitful lives that are rooted in Christ. We must be cautious of rotting from within. There will be external factors that can seep into our lives, but we must remain vigilant and stay rooted in our relationship with our Lord.

The liturgical calendar offers two Solemnities and one Memorial this week, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Thursday), the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Friday), and the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary Saturday), respectively. As the Church considers Solemnities, more important that Feasts, which in turn, are considered more important than Memorials, we offer the two Memorials at once. The first from June of 1999, and the second from June of 1997. We dare to omit a homily on the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary for sake of brevity and because, in any case, Fr. Llorente weaves the Blessed Virgin Mary into the first of the two included homilies.

Anticipating this coming Sunday's celebration of THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (Corpus Christi), we searched ACU's historic archives and found this May 1989 Fr. Llorente homily on this Solemnity, touching on faith vs. miracles, Protestant vs. Catholic beliefs, on related experiences in his English seminary, on the value pf the Eucharist to us, on St. Teresa of Avila's views, and much more. Enjoy!

As we complete the Easter liturgical season and near the return to Ordinary Time, we reach back to 1993 to present Fr. Llorente's homily for Pentecost Sunday. We know you will enjoy and profit from it.

Fr. David Lugo, SJ celebrated Mass for our Miami Chapter and spoke about how we can spot the wolves among the sheep. There are certain characteristics that are like Christ and there are others that are not. These are the things we should look out for in others and even ourselves.

This Thursday or coming Sunday (depending on your location) the Church in the USA will celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. Here is a 1998 (dedicated to the Holy Spirit by the Catholic Church, in anticipation of the new millennium). ACU records include at least 5 other homilies by Fr. Llorente on this celebration, in this one he includes some Spanish history on the monasteries of Burgos and of Silos, and on Santo Domingo de Guzmán and Santo Domingo de Silos, on his way to delivering the main points of the homily.

Fr. Jorge Rojas, SJ speaks to us about how we must allow Our Blessed Mother to lead us and guide us in everything we do, everything we want, and everything that makes us who we are.

As this Friday in the fourth week of Easter and the Church celebrates Our Lady of Fatima, we reproduce an early pamphlet on Las Lecciones de Fátima (The Lessons of Fatima) by agrupado Dr. Raul A. Arango, one of dozens of writings on dogma, apologetics and morals put out by the ACU Bureau of Information and Outreach (BIP, by its acronym in Spanish). And we present another homily of Fr. Llorente, this one from a different liturgical period and year (Oct. 1991), but touching upon the subject of this apparition of our Mother, entitled The Rosary and Our Lady of Fatima, where he updates the Fatima event and even manages to work in a bit of history on the rosary concerning Cuban doctor of Belén Carlos Finlay, recognized as a pioneer in the research of yellow fever, determining that it was transmitted by mosquitoes. Enjoy!

On this May, month of Mary, we anticipate the celebration of Our Lady of Fatima next Friday, May 13, fourth week of Easter. We have digitized, so far, four separate Fr. Llorente homilies on Our Lady of Fatima and here's the last one of them, dated May 20, 1998. Sister Lucia of Fatima was still alive at the time. On this recording one can sense how much Fr. Llorente loved talking about our Mother and our Church. All other homilies of Fr. Llorente will eventually appear in The ACU App. Please download it onto your smartphone, whether Apple iOS or Android devices. We were just informed that all audio cassettes in our possession have now been digitized and look forward to having them reviewed, categorized and released to the world. If you would like to be of assistance on that project, please contact ACUSaints@estovir.org.

We are pleased to bring a homily by Fr. Francisco Barbeito, SJ, named Sub-Director of the ACU in 1952, Havana. Fr. Barbeito was an exemplary and stern Jesuit. He filled in for Fr. Llorente during the Director's travels, often presiding Sunday Masses. He also regularly directed Belen high schoolers to the ACU if he deemed them to be good candidates with gravitas (de “madera” agrupacional). He served ACU Puerto Rico for a time. This homily from an ACU Miami guardia in 1964 is on St. James the Greater, patron of Spain.

This weekday of Easter, we share Fr. Llorente's homily, “Los de Emaús” from April 1991.

Our lives are filled with highs and lows. Moments of consolation, where we feel at peace with God, and moments of desolation, where we do not. In this homily, Fr. Christian speaks to us about these times in our lives and how we must always look to Christ, who is the light of the world.

One of Fr. Llorente's homilies on the Resurrection (year 1995 . Interestingly, amidst the usually excellent preaching, he shares his personal intuition that all mothers go to heaven.

Friend of the ACU, Fr. David Lugo, SJ speaks to us about sharing in Christ's suffering. He tells us that we should aim to be as close to the heart of Christ as possible, and to do that, we should ask to feel the pain that Christ felt on the cross.

For Holy Week here's Fr. Llorente's homily, LAS TRES PASIONES DE CRISTO, from April 1, 1998. Side note of interest: When asked about the reading of the Bible, Fr. Llorente would counsel that the reader start with a biography of our Lord Jesus Christ. Over time he mentioned two works, 1) Bishop Fulton Sheen's Life of Christ, written in English (~200 pgs.) and translated into Spanish (the latter out of print) and most recently, as he did in this homily, he recommended the work by fellow Jesuit Fr. José Luis Martín Descalzo, Vida y Misterio de Jesús de Nazaret (~1,000 pgs.).

Fr. Richard Vigoa speaks about trusting God, especially in our lowest moments. When we are tested in our lives, or faced with a situation, so we act with integrity?

As happens often, two important celebrations that Fr. Llorente would never let pass inadvertedly during the Lenten Season are the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of Blessed Virgen Mary (3/19), and the Annunciation of the Lord (3/25). Hence, this week we have selected two of these past homilies in order to be faithful to his memory.

Fr. Christian speaks to us about the relationship between a father and son. The joy and pride that a father takes in the achievements of their son and the same feelings that a son can experience in his fathers success.

This week, we share another Homily from Fr. Amando Llorente, SJ on the topic of Temptation. Enjoy!

Fr. Christian speaks about the differences between Divine Law and Natural Law. He tells us that God doesn't change His mind. When we receive laws from our Lord, they are perfect and will be unchanged.

Following last week's 1990 homily, Fr, Llorente chose to preach “Sin no more,” with the intent on having us progress toward a more Christian life through Exercises, penitence, sacrifice, religious reading, prayer, assistance of neighbor, etc. Enjoy.

Fr. Llorente's “Conversion” homily for Lent, from the 1990 liturgical year. Among other teachings, Fr. Llorente covers forgiveness in the Old vs. the New Testament (including an anecdote regarding a great sinner we are all familiar with), as well as the three grades of conversion. Don't miss it.

Fr. Christian expands on the idea of what it means to be close to Christ. Often times we ask to be at Christ's side, but we must be prepared for the difficult things that come with it. Let us use this Lenten season to prepare our hearts for the challenges that come with being close to our Lord.

Fr. Christian speaks to us about Lent as a period of preparation and conversion. He tells us that the Lord is calling us to convert. To turn our eyes and our hearts to him in this time of Lent.

Fr. Llorente's Advent homily on the value of pain and sacrifice, from 1989.

As we begin the Lenten season, Fr. Christian speaks to us about what it truly means to offer our Lenten sacrifice to the Lord.

This Ash Wednesday homily from Fr. Llorente dates back, we deduce, to May 1, 1963, nearly sixty years ago. It will take a little time to recognize his voice, for it is that of the 44 year-old director of the ACU teaching us St. Ignatius views on penitence and Fr. Llorente's own practical suggestions in “times of war and concentration camps.” Of course, he was referring to the attack on the Castro regime from abroad and the ongoing local resistance, yet it seems appropriate today when another totalitarian dictator is invading a free country. Please remember to write Archbishop of Miami Thomas G. Wesnki supporting the cause for Fr. Llorente's beatification. For assistance, contact Efrain_Zabala@icloud.com.

Fr. Christian speaks to us about the early Church martyrs like Saint Polycarp who gave their lives to God. On this same day, the ACU welcomed a new Postulant from the Miami Chapter Young Professionals group. Just like the early Church martyrs and confessors, we are called to give our lives to the Lord.

Today, a bit of history, unknown to those invited to the ACU within the past 25 years, with a salute to Emilio Falero, a special thanks to an exemplary Jesuit, Fr. Arturo Martín, RIP, introduced to the Agrupación by our own Frank Salas, and a most candid and intimate reflection on Marian Congregations by our dear Fr. Llorente, who entered into a covenant with the ACU immediately after the death of our founder. Please don't put off writing your letter of support for Fr. Llorente's beautification cause, addressed to the Archbishop of Miami Thomas G. Wenski, with a copy to the ACU Canonization Commission.

Jesus gives sight to the blind man. He also gives us a clearer vision today. When we have Christ in our hearts we will always have a deeper understanding of the hardships of life and we will see things in a new way.

In today's newsletter we anticipate next Tuesday's The Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle and offer one of Fr. Llorente's 1987 homilies on this Catholic liturgical Feast.