SSPX Sermons

To follow Christ, St. Paul was called to imitate Our Lord in every facet of his apostolate. And while he may not have known the abundant fruits of his labor in this life, we know and revere the results of his efforts. Moreover, St. Paul reminds us that the task of winning souls for Christ is an arduous one, but also one that will be rewarded in due course through God's grace.

As Catholics, we are called to not only accept the tenets of the Catholic Faith, but to approach all facets of our lives with the mind of the Church. This is imperative when it comes to Holy Communion. As the greatest sacrament that God has offered to us, we must not presume that we are simply entitled to it nor that we can ever “earn” it. Rather, in keeping with mind of the Church, we should always appreciate that it is a great gift bestowed upon us by God out of His infinite love for us.

St. Peter had a great love for Our Lord, though we know from Scripture that he had an intemperate soul until Christ calmed it. His call for mutual charity or, to put it another way, supernatural friendship, is a reminder that we are called to look beyond our neighbors' faults to find the good in them. And at the same time, we hope they will see the same in us.

Our Lord draws closest to us, spiritually and materially, in the Eucharist. How do we respond to this great gift, particularly after receiving Holy Communion? Do we continue to remember that Our Lord is within us, even after Mass, or do we get distracted immediately by worldly concerns? While Our Lord will always desire to be close to us, we must desire to be close to Him as well; we must return His love

On Pentecost, the faithful commemorate the birthday of the Church. Yet it is also a time to reflect on the coming of the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, and the gifts He bestows upon the faithful. What these gifts are and what they can do for us in our everyday lives is the topic of this sermon.

On the great feast of the Holy Trinity, we recall that while our limited human intellect can conclude a great deal about a single, all-good God, it can tell us nothing about the mystery of the Trinity without the light of revelation. Although the dogma of the Trinity appears, on the surface, to be simple, we must remember to approach it with caution and humility lest we slip into heresy. Even so, it is still possible to speak of the internal life of the Holy Trinity with respect to the knowledge of and love the three Persons of the Trinity have for one another.

When Jesus Christ established the Catholic Church, He intended it to be the sole means of receiving the grace of the sacraments and the sanctifying grace that they instill. However, as a result of our free will to choose sin over virtue, we know this grace can be lost at any given moment. Although Protestants may intend to follow Our Lord and be faithful to His precepts, by remaining outside of the Church and depriving themselves of the sacraments, they not only imperil their own souls, but deny themselves of the means of salvation that God provides.

The reality that charity covers a multitude of sins is found throughout Scripture. But in St. Peter's first epistle he brings this truth front and center. It's an expression of mercy and will always compel us to cover our neighbor's sin. And as our Lord covered our sins we are called upon to do the same for those around us.

What makes a healthy life of nature and of grace? As Catholics, we know that grace is all-important. But this grace also works and builds upon a foundation which we call nature. Our Faith teaches us how to have a healthy natural life, and this ordered life can bring us profound peace, joy, and purpose when it is infused with the supernatural life of grace.

When speaking of the Holy Trinity, we often overlook the Paraclete, that is, the Holy Ghost. Yet it is the Holy Ghost that guides the Church, even through tumultuous times. And though Christ has ascended into heaven, He continues to be present with us through the third person of the Trinity.

As the crisis in the Church continues on, there are those traditional Catholics who have succumbed to the temptation of sedevacantism, that is, the belief there has been no valid pope since the death of Pius XII. Sedevcantism presents a twofold danger, both intellectual and spiritual. On the intellectual level, sedevacantism reveals itself to be an imprudent position, even in the face of grave concerns over the direction of the Church. On the spiritual level, it opens the door to despair.

In a certain sense, the Ascension is the greatest feast of the Church because it is the supreme glorification of Christ Jesus. This glorification is seen in Our Lord's ascension into heaven after bestowing the Great Commission on His Apostles. Moreover, in sitting at the right hand of the Father, Our Lord--God the Son--demonstrates his triumph over death while preparing a place for those who follow Him faithfully here on earth.

The month of May is the month of Mary, culminating in the celebration of the Queenship of Our Lady. Her queenship impresses upon us the importance of our time on earth and our need to centralize God in our lives. And though the Blessed Virgin is singular in her perfection, she remains a model of fidelity to God for us all and a great intercessor for our souls before the throne of heaven.

God is Our Father is in a number of different senses. The most important way in which He is Our Father is that He created us in His image and we are His children by grace. We may come to a deeper understanding of what this means through an examination of the life of St. Germaine and the special devotion she showed toward God the Father.

As St. James instructs, if any man thinks himself religious but does not control his tongue, his religion is vain. The sins of the tongue are, unfortunately, many and come all too easy. Detraction, gossip, and calumny are among these grave sins of the tongue that imperil our souls; therefore, we must be vigilant in learning to bridle our tongues and make reparations when we fail to do so.

One of the great curses of our times is the willingness of so many to believe anything because they have abandoned the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15), which is the Catholic Church. By abandoning this reality, the Church has compromised its mission and presented to the world that it can contradict its own teachings.

While self-reliance has its place, the Catholic Faith flourishes when it is the heartbeat of your daily life, anchored in the support and strength of a vibrant, faith-filled community. Discover how a robust Catholic community empowers you to live your faith fully and authentically.

Prayer is the key to heaven. As Our Lord demonstrated during His earthly ministry, it is through prayer that we are granted the means to persevere through the trials of this life. And we can be assured that every prayer is answered, even if not the way we expect.

One of the dominant themes in St. Peter's epistle is to bear wrongs patiently, for it is a grace. Bearing wrongs patiently is one of the spiritual works of mercy. We must do this because it is the will of God; it is a means of our sanctification.

The election of a new pope is a time of rejoicing for the Church. However, we cannot ignore the great challenges facing the new Pontiff, Leo XIV. In addition to the many worldly concerns he must address, his greatest task will be to restore the Catholic Faith while restoring the Church's spiritual life.

Two of Our Lady's titles, Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) and Stella Matutina (Morning Star) indicate that she is the guiding star in our lives. By taking the Blessed Virgin as our sure guide, she can lead us to know our state of life, that is, the path we will follow.

Our work has a value in the eyes of God. Our Lord has set an example for us, starting the Book of Genesis. And through it, He shows us that our work transcends pecuniary gain and is rather an act of charity for the greater good.

Holy Mother Church presents us the feast of All Saints to instruct us. For each saint has a particular virtue to teach. But the lesson we should draw from this day is that there is a quality common among all of them: a desire to love Our Lord and serve him above all else.

The priesthood is an indispensable aspect of the Catholic Faith. Instituted by Our Lord, it is the means of our sanctification and the gateway to our salvation.

When Our Lord rose from the dead, there were no trumpet blasts; there was no grand revealing of this miracle. Why then did God choose to keep the Resurrection hidden? And what does this decision mean with respect to our faith in the Risen Lord?

Easter is the richest of all the mysteries of the liturgy. If we enter with good dispositions, knowledge, and love into this mystery, then we enter into the heart of the Catholic Faith and the mystery of our redemption.

We often live our lives in fear of material deprivations and similar hardships. However, as the Bible instructs, fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom—for we know that we should fear sin, which deprives us of God's love. Yet the Resurrection gives us reason for great joy, for it gives us the pathway to eternal life with God.

The last beatitude Our Lord gives is centered on the great gift of faith. It is through faith that we find eternal life. And it is also through faith that we can ask God all that we need for our happiness and salvation.

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself to His creation out of love. This self-giving is expressed through the offering of His Body and Blood during the sacrifice on the Cross and in the Mass. He also offers the forgiveness of sins. These gifts—these sacraments—are perpetuated through the holy priesthood, which Our Lord has established until the end of time.

"He has risen as He foretold!" These words of the angel at the tomb express the very foundation of the Catholic Faith. By laying down His life out of love, Christ conquered death by His own power and fulfilled both the prophecies of the Old Testament and His own own words to His disciples.

Maundy Thursday is one of the holiest nights of the year, for it is the time that Our Lord institutes the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. At the same time, Christ exhorted His Apostles to not fear pain, suffering, and death, but rather fear that which can kill the soul. And though we, like the Apostles, may initially fear these afflictions before they occur, Christ comforts us through His final victory over sin and the curse of death.

Meditating on the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, with the assistance of Padre Pio's considerations, opens up the deeper meaning behind the great distress Our Lord endured. For it is during this sorrowful period in Our Lord's life that He focuses upon His forthcoming Passion while seeing every sin committed by mankind and mankind's refusal to accept the satisfaction obtained on the Cross.

We find in Christ's Cross the culmination of the Father's love for us. By accepting crosses in our own lives, we show our love toward God. For it is through these crosses that we purify ourselves, atone for past sins, and grow in His grace.

What are the causes of Passion? Many parties alive during Our Lord's lifetime bear some responsibility for His suffering. However, if we look deeper into this mystery, we see that it is our iniquities that brought about Our Savior's Passion and His ignominious death on the Cross.

The Passion of Our Lord occupies an eminent place in all of God's work, for through it Christ accomplished our salvation. To unite ourselves deeper with Our Lord during this time, we must meditate upon His abasement, that is, His willingness to endure humiliation for our sake. This abasement is not the least of Our Lord's works during the time of His Passion and it is indeed central to the liturgy of Holy Week.

Passiontide opens up a period for us to reflect on all that Our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us, including above all His Passion. We have two sources to meditate upon: the Gospel accounts of Christ's suffering and His holy relic, the Shroud of Turin. It is the Shroud that reveals the extent of Our Lord's physical suffering—suffering that He undertook for the salvation of our souls.

Lent, as we know, is a time of preparation for Our Lord's Resurrection. However, what good are our sacrificial acts during this time unless we first have charity? And while this charity must begin in the home, it must extend outward to all those around us in our churches and wider community, even even it is difficult.

God works through human instruments. And unlike the everyday instruments we use, be it a pen or a paintbrush, human beings have the capacity to be willing instruments of Our Lord and therefore give glory back to Him. Moreover, by using us as His willing instruments, particularly in the context of the Church, God demonstrates His love for us through the Church's ministry.

At every moment we can discover how the Church guides us to find joy in every moment and situation. By sharing in God's divine nature, embrace authentic happiness and rejoice in His presence.

Our Lord provides us the grace to persevere in this life, though too often we fail to recognize it. Even during His earthly ministry, He revealed Himself to the Apostles and those He ministered to and they also did not realize it. While Christ does not owe us another chance to realize this great gift of salvation He has bestowed upon us, through His love and the ministry the Church and the sacraments, we are able to come back into a state of grace.

We can go through our time on earth performing every act we are called to do, be it reciting prayers and refraining from sin, and yet do so lifelessly. Unless we act out of love for God and a sincere desire to live in His presence, our efforts, including those we make during the penitential season of Lent, will be wasted while leaving us susceptible to succumb to our faults.

Our daily duty of state requires a series of “little martyrdoms.” Although these duties differ from person to person, and circumstance to circumstance, none can be accomplished without renouncing ourselves and submitting to God's will for us.

If we are to define progress in the spiritual life, we often think of it in terms of avoiding sin. A better way to conceive of spiritual progress is the act of growing in virtue. But to grow in virtue, to become truly holy, we must open ourselves to God's grace so that we may become partakers in divine reality.

Although devotion to any particular saint is optional, devotion to Our Blessed Lady and St. Joseph is not. For St. Joseph presents to us a model for holiness and happiness. For as St. Joseph's life demonstrates, perfect happiness comes from embracing the perfect good, which is God.

Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, not to mention the myriad of other elements and infrastructure that must be in place so that we may walk forward. What is true in the practical realm is true as well of the spiritual realm. This is why Our Lord, through the Church, supplies a supernatural infrastructure comprised of the sacraments and prayer to allow us to achieve our eternal end with God.

In order to move closer to perfection, we must fast—not only from food, but from sin as well. By chastening the body, we elevate our spirit and instill charity in our soul.

The sin of presumption is especially dangerous. All of us fall into it at times, believing that we can place ourselves in danger of committing mortal sin or falling into temptation without worry. How many times do we tell ourselves that nothing is wrong, God will forgive, and continue on our wayward path? But in doing so, we tempt God and imperil our souls.

As Catholics, we are called to have a love for the sacrament of confession. Along with the Eucharist, confession is the primary means by which we may save our souls. Yet many of us find it difficult to confess our sins regularly and too often make excuses for not devoting ourselves fully to this great gift of grace.

How should we perform our penance? That is, what should be our heart's disposition? Two indispensable dispositions are, first, to love God and, second, to unite our penance with the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. For our acts penance will lack fruit unless they lead us back to God.

We fast and abstain during the Lenten season in order, among other things, to control the concupiscence of the flesh while elevating our souls to God. Both practices also offer us an opportunity to make reparation for our past sins and imitate Our Lord, fasted in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights.

Every apparition of Our Lady has one consistent message: prayer and penance. For while we may wish for our bodily or material maladies to be addressed when we appeal to the Blessed Virgin and Christ, these temporal cures mean nothing if we do not first heal our souls. And so in this time of Lent, we must focus on what is eternal, namely our salvation, which can only come about by dedicating ourselves fully to God.