SSPX Sermons

Our Lord Jesus Christ took on the punishments for our sins. He gave Himself over to great suffering so that we may be saved. Through the model He established, numerous saints throughout history embraced His path and became victims for the sins of mankind. These great acts of compassion, in unity with Our Lord, helps ensure our salvation.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a devotion to Our Lord's immeasurable love. Although the Sacred Heart devotion had been around since the Middle Ages, its prominence came at a crucial point in ecclesiastical history, namely during the spread of Jansenism in France during the 17th century. Contrary to the belief in God's mercy, Jansenism taught that we can never be pleasing to God. As fallen and fallible humans who are often consumed by our own desires, we find it difficult to return love to Our Lord despite His great love for us. However, His love, and the unfathomable patience that comes with that love, never abates.

At the moment of the Ascension, we Christians are called to make disciples of all nations. It is a great responsibility to call others to the feast, that is, to Our Lord's table. We must live faithfully to our calling, and doing so means bringing in others to live faithfully in the state of grace. We do this effectively by the example of our lives.

God loves the human race. But just as importantly, He loves all of us individually. In this beautiful feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we focus on the immeasurable love of Our Lord. We pierce His heart through our sins. Yet never does God waver from His love for us. He does not withdraw from us. Our Lord continues to pour out our love so that we may never lose what He has planned for the human race, namely heaven.

God uses sufferings for our good. It is difficult for us to see this truth, for of course we desire no setbacks in our earthly life. We must remember, however, that the ways of God our not our ways. The ultimate end of our lives is our sanctification. The crosses we bear are integral to this sanctification. Throughout history, mankind has tried to reconcile belief in a loving God with the reality of evil. Instead of looking at this matter in a purely earthly view, we must embrace a supernatural perspective.

We are often fearful of the world's judgements. We desire respect and sadly fall prey to seeking it. This leads us seeking what others want for us rather than what God wants. Our desire for the respect of the world becomes a denial of Our Lord. This happens in small ways and large ways, but always to the detriment of our souls. This is why we must never be ashamed to represent that we are Catholic and in so doing, place Our Lord before the world in all things.

The work of the Incarnation, the union of human and divine, is the work par excellence of God. It is a great work of love that comes directly through the spirit of love, namely the Holy Ghost. And so it should come as no surprise that it is the Holy Ghost that continues on with the great work of Christ from the day of Pentecost to our own day. It is incumbent upon every Christian to be another Christ. And while we cannot do this by our natural powers alone, the Holy Ghost assists us in charting a way forward toward this beautiful end.

The sacrament of baptism is our initiation into the Catholic Church. It is not just the washing away of original sin; it is also a revelation of the mystery of the Holy Trinity. By our baptism, the life of grace is opened to us. Sadly, today there are many invalid baptisms due to a lack of proper form. It is imperative for every Catholic to know how this essential sacrament should be administered, both for their own salvation but also those who may need to receive it in a state of emergency.

In our culture we are tempted to be infatuated with others, whether they be movie stars or athletes. Sadly, it makes us think our own lives are falling short. Yet we should recall as Catholics, we have an opportunity for a glorious and wonderful life in Christ. The world may tempt us to believe otherwise but the Faith gives us the path to what God has prepared for us.

Our Lady's participation in the act of redemption gave her a unique role in the salvation of the human race. Although there has been a recent attempt to obscure or reduce this fact, that does not take away from the longstanding understanding that she is the queen of heaven. She has been divinely appointed to disperse the graces that can lead us to eternal beatitude.

Pride has plagued mankind from the advent of our creation. So often the devil invites us to seek after achievements that are an affront to Our Lord. In a time long past, our race thought they could attain to the heights of heaven by their own artifice. This sinful pride was met with the dispersion of tongues. Yet God, in His infinite mercy, bequeathed His Apostles with the known languages of man, so that those sheep once lost due their own sinfulness may find a way back to Him for everlasting life.

Following Our Lord's Ascension, we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, when the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost enters into the world to guide the Church and the faithful. Although the Holy Ghost did not become incarnate like God the Son, He appears throughout history in many forms. One of those forms is fire. For fire provides illumination, warms our otherwise cold hearts, and purifies us. The fire of the Holy Ghost is not provided to merely dispense pain. It is offered to consume our faults and transform us by God's immeasurable grace.

The feast of Our Lord's Ascension celebrates one of the greatest miracles in human history while also calling attention to the joy the Apostles felt when Jesus entered heaven. By entering heaven, Our Lord sets the path that we, too, must follow to be with Him for eternity. Christ is preparing a place for all of us in heaven, so long as we are willing to follow Him. Moreover, we know that after His Resurrection, Christ's body was glorified. And through this glorification, the only natural place for Him to be is not on this earth, but in heaven until his glorious Second Coming.

In this life, we keep our feet on earth, but keep our minds and hearts in heaven. By keeping our feet on earth, we mean that we must be realistic and confront the world as we find it. We must accept our reality, but we must not be overcome by it, particularly when confronted with everything from private desolations to the public crises in the Church and society writ large. However, the whole of reality is not just what we face on earth; it includes the supernatural realm and promise of heaven for those who part this life in God's good grace. We must see the trials of this life as fleeting and affix our hearts and minds ever on the promise of eternal life with Our Lord.

What is heaven? It is being with God for all eternity. And though God is everywhere, heaven is not everywhere, for we cannot see Him in this life nor detect Him with our senses. Because we cannot perceive Our Lord, we need the light of faith to know that He is there always.

We often pray for things and God does not answer them in the way we desire. Why is that? Prayer is not a magic formula; it is a petition to God. However, the efficacy of our prayers depends on the disposition of our souls. Prayer must be a priority in our lives rather than a mere afterthought. This is distressing, since not only our salvation, but the salvation of others depends on prayer. Everything that is important in the universe depends on prayer. With this in mind, we must reflect on the place of prayer in our lives and whether we place it before the frivolities of this world.

St. James informs us in his epistle that faith without works is dead. One of the many works we can perform to demonstrate our faith is to use our tongues, that is, our speech in a Christlike manner. This is immensely challenging given how easy it is to sin with the tongue and how difficult it is to repair the damage caused by that sin. If one uses their tongue to detract or deride another, how does one make those who hear such derision "un-hear" it? This and numerous other sins of the tongue are made worse in the digital age where false or hurtful statements are issued with ease, and there is often no sense how many people have heard or seen them. This is why we must be particularly vigilant in moderating our speech lest we undermine our faith.

Our Father in heaven begets the human race. While we know that God has made all things, the act of begetting is distinct. The distinction lies in the fact that when something or someone is begotten, they are of the same nature as the begetter. Humans beget other humans; seals beget other seals. And so when we hear words in Scripture about Our Lord begetting us, it means much more than Him creating us: it means that we are made children of God. Though we are not divine, through both baptism and accepting the truth of Who God Is, we are given to share in the divine nature.

We get bored with routines and discipline; we seek new experiences and relaxation from what we are called to do. Although it seems like we enjoy change, we resist it when it means abandoning our comforts. On the supernatural level, we recognize that we are born into the temporal world, but we are called to change our spiritual lives because we must commit ourselves to eternity. To reach this supernatural end, it means navigating an ever-changing world while cultivating God's grace.

The feast of St. Joseph the Worker allows us to honor him for providing for both Our Lord Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The effort that we put into work is the result of the fall of the human race with Adam. Work, however, was no way painful nor a punishment at the advent of creation. Some live to work and others find work to be a necessary evil. As this sermon explains, the Catholic position lies in the middle.

In the modern world, individualism runs rampant. Whether such statements come from extreme rebels or philosophers, they contradict the natural order of society whereby we must carry out the orders of superiors. Obedience does not destroy freedom; it perfects it. Although we do not always choose our superiors, particularly our parents, without a commitment to obedience, human society itself unravels to the detriment of all.

The risen Christ appeared to a chosen few to reveal His resurrection. We are called to believe in this miracle and if we believe, we may see Him forever. The sight of the glorified Christ is the reward of all faithful Christians. For those He appeared to, Our Lord came as a consoler. Moreover, by tradition, Jesus appeared first to Our Lady, His Blessed Mother, because throughout His passion and suffering, she kept the Faith and offered compassion.

Our existence on earth is fleeting. By faith, we know this and believe in it. When we reflect upon eternity, our minds are not able to directly comprehend it. We measure our existence through time linearly, but eternity is the perpetual now. In the Mass, we bring together the fulness of time and the eternity of Our Lord's sacrifice in one moment, at all hours, and daily on countless altars across the world. Our minds may not be able to comprehend eternity, but through the Catholic Faith we experience it.

The cultivation of vocations cannot merely be part of a communication strategy. They must emerge from an authentic Christian culture. This is why the Society of Saint Pius X has endeavored since its founding to both promote priestly vocations and shape priests in line with Tradition. At the same time, the Society has and continues to inspire Catholic families to foster vocations. For as Our Lord instructed, "Many are called, but few are chosen." Many more are called but do not have the formation to accept.

We must bow to God's sovereign mercy. It is both great and mighty in our lives. Our perception of this mercy alters with where we are in our lives and experiencing our individual trials. What we often miss is the bigger picture, the expanse of what Our Lord's love gives to us. We must let go of our expectations and trust we belong to Him fully.

Our Lord instructed His disciples on how to pray. The Pater Noster, the Our Father, which is a profound prayer that reminds us that God is our father. It is the Holy Trinity that is the father over all of us. He cares and loves us. He desires that we unite ourselves with Him. We relate to God and He invites us to do so. What does that mean for us? How do we comprehend this incredible blessing unique unto us among all of creation?

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to the Catholic Faith. Yet this miracle is perhaps one of the most contested in Christian history, particularly in modern times. Objections range from the Disciples stealing Jesus's body to them imagining His resurrection. In this sermon, the implausibility of these objections are addressed. Moreover, the reasonableness of the Gospel accounts of Our Lord's bodily resurrection are discussed.

When Our Lord first appears to the Apostles, at first they do not believe and then are overjoyed. A less well known third appearance that Christ made is at the Sea of Galilee, which is recounted in the Gospel of John. Our first pope, St. Peter, dives into the sea to draw close to Christ immediately. And when the Apostles finally meet Him, he has prepared a fire and meal for them. This is just a small example of the great kindness of Our Lord and why we should place our care in His love.

After His miraculous resurrection, Our Lord appeared to the Apostles to reveal that he was alive the flesh. Christ invites them to come and feel Him while also showing that He can still eat. Our Lord's resurrection was not merely spiritual. He was not a ghost. Further, He showed his sacred wounds as a reminder of His great love for us. These wounds are not an ugly feature; they are glorified because of what they symbolize. Christ suffered for all mankind so that we too may be glorified and united with Him for eternity in heaven.

How does one describe the glorious Resurrection of Our Lord? It is the greatest victory in human history: over the devil, over sin, and over death. It is Our Lord's triumphant conquering of this universe wounded by sin. Christ has made life the last word, not death. He has paved the way to heaven for all who choose to follow Him.

He is alive. The miracle of Christ's glorious resurrection from the tomb is the centrality of the Faith. What we may forget is that He is alive perpetually in heaven and present with us now. It provides us with the perpetual opportunity to have a relationship with Him. Our Lord rose so that He can always be with us if we desire Him. It is an incredible treasure.

On the great feast of Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a time of immense joy. It is the moment that Our Lord, God incarnate, conquered death. He freed us from this ancestral curse out of His immense love for us.

The sufferings of Our Lady were endured with trust in Divine Providence. Although we speak of the particular seven sorrows of Mary, there were certainly others. Even before the birth of Our Lord, she endured several, but always quietly and patiently. They increased in intensity. Now we have an opportunity, as we enter the closing days of the most penitential time of the liturgical year, to reflect on her sacrifice. And as we approach the Resurrection of Our Lord, we are reminded to call upon her maternal blessings so that we may complete this journey to the holiest day in human history.

As Our Savior asked His disciples to wait with Him and watch with Him, He invites us to do the same. God appeared to us in the form of a man, humbling Himself. Through this abasement, He seeks to draw us closer to Him and see in this humbling the great mystery of His passion for all to imitate.

During the second half of Lent, the Church does something remarkable in the traditional liturgy: she has us read almost exclusively from the Gospel of St. John. From day 21 until the last day of Lent, there are only two Gospels that are not from St. John, outside the readings of the Passion. It is clear that the Church wants us to focus on this Gospel in order to learn about the Passion. We know that this Gospel is unique. It completes what is laid forth in the Synoptic Gospels by focusing without reservation on the divinity of Our Lord and the great sacrifice He made for the salvation of the human race.

The suffering of Christ went far beyond what He endured physically. Uncharitable and angry words can inflict immense damage. The rash judgments of others toward Our Lord certainly caused wounds in His heart. Without evidence or good reason, He was subjected repeatedly to accusations that were ultimately untrue. In our own lives, we must think about the power our words have to hurt others and the depth of injury they cause.

"In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." Christ is the light entering the world. Although we normally celebrate this momentous event on Christmas, in reality we celebrate it today when Our Lady receives Our Lord into her womb through accepting the miraculous calling of God. And in this great miracle, we have an opportunity to reflect on the work of the Holy Ghost in the creation of the world and the coming of Jesus, Who became Incarnate to save this very world.

The institution of the Holy Eucharist is one of Our Lord's greatest miracles. It is the seed of eternal life. For it to be spiritually beneficial we must receive worthily, with faith, fear, and love. These terms may seem easy and casual, but it we must have a profound commitment to God and with the right intention to receive Him.

Almost everyone is overstressed with daily duties in these modern times. It can be crushing and unhealthy. But with St. Joseph and his amazing example, he can help us carry our daily crosses and have faith.

The screen often becomes an addiction. It is not just the Church that makes this declaration, but the behavioral sciences also confirm this. Screens are an escape from reality in the same way alcohol and drugs pretend to offer. While we may want to frame it as a moral issue, this pitfall is so much more complex because it rewires your brain. And it targets everyone.

The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is recorded by all four evangelists. He did not use it as a moment of self aggrandizement, but rather to prepare the way for the greater miracle of the Holy Eucharist. Our Lord is demonstrating through this miracle that He can not only fulfill us physically by addressing our hunger, but He is the there to fulfill us spiritually through the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

A specific type of foolish speech that deters progress in the spiritual life is complaining. The act of complaining makes it almost impossible to cooperate with God's grace, for it locks us into ourselves and away from reality. Thus, it removes us from God. Complaining is not the same as making a negative judgment, for sometimes those judgments are necessary. When bitterness and resentment enter into the frame, this is where we begin to poison our spiritual lives by shifting judgment into complaining.

Considering the metaphor of cleaning the house, making a good confession immediately comes to mind. Confession, like cleaning, does not begin randomly; first we must assess where to begin and what efforts are required. In the context of confession, this is undertaken through a thorough examination of conscience. This preliminary step is indispensable because it reveals not only those sins we need to confess but also the sometimes radical steps we must take to keep our souls free of filth going forward.

We must always desire to become saints. At first blush, this directive may fill us with fear and discouragement. Is this not too much to ask? Are we not encouraged to focus on the little things, like being true to our respective stations in life? These little things are indeed good—so long as they arise from a supernatural motive. But without an ultimate desire for sanctity, how supernatural can our motives truly be?

One of the great errors the Church has faced over the centuries is the temptation to avoid the Cross. The Church faces this same problem today. Some argue that the traditional Mass focuses too much on Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. We find this mentality expressed in the Novus Ordo Missae or New Mass. This liturgy avoids the concept of sacrifice, replacing it with the idea that the Mass is nothing more than a communal meal.

The spiritual life consists of looking only at Jesus and doing everything for Him. This is what the Church calls purity of intention. Yet rather than simply aiming to please God, we often act to please only ourselves. While it is easy to claim we do everything to please God, this sermon discusses four ways to examine if that's truly the case and encourages us to correct any false intentions.

The Church dedicates the month of March to St. Joseph. He is the patron of the Universal Church. Just as the Blessed Virgin is the mother of all Christians, St. Joseph has been entrusted with the care of all, including the Church herself. This makes sense as St. Joseph was entrusted with being the father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, he stands as an example for all. He was a man who accepted the will of God completely, even in the face of requests he could not fathom.

Temptations are always part of our lives. Everyone will be challenged by them, as Our Lord was. Then there are what we call the near occasions of sin. Some of us may believe that we can resist them despite succumbing to these vices in the past. We must be aware of our inclinations toward these sins while also adamantly avoiding those situations that would allow us to fall into them.

Lent is a great time to receive graces, but we cannot receive them in vain or let them go to waste. The story of the life of José Sánchez del Río, a fourteen year old boy who died a martyr without giving up the Catholic Faith, is a profound example of how we may receive God's grace, indeed God's strength, without relinquishing it even under the most trying circumstances.

Lent has arrived. Whatever trepidation we may have had leading into this season, the reality is the crosses we are called upon to carry are far less a burden than we hold in our imagination. Lent presents an opportunity for us, indeed a freedom, to practice the virtues we must always adhere to. And this penitential season offers us a renewed opportunity to draw closer to God.

Having arrived this season of penance, Holy Lent, we may look forward to the opportunity to put forth the effort of accepting God's graces for the good of our salvation. It is not a burden to shy away from. In this season we can find the courage to do as we ought, to look straight on toward the great gift Our Lord has bestowed upon us. All are free now to do what perhaps we felt throughout the year we could not do, namely embrace God's love and live in accordance with His will.