Father Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea church in San Francisco, gave an 11-minute homily on Sunday, January 22.
Some excerpts:
“Faith obtains eternal life. Without faith we cannot get to heaven.
And life on earth has no meaning if there is no life beyond the grave.
“Deaths by despair have tripled in the last 20 years. Loss of faith has tripled in the last 30 years.
“The bishops have launched a Eucharistic Revival to re-gain faith in the Eucharist ,but it will prove to be largely ineffective if the holy Mass continues to be offered in our parishes improperly, as if we were celebrating ourselves rather than witnessing Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary.”
15-second excerpt:
“It is a terrible embarrassment and shame that most prominent Catholics in this country are not believers. They do not believe in much of what the Church teaches.” Click here for 11-minute homily
I’ll connect the dots: Joe Biden is not a believer. Nancy Pelosi is not a believer. Gavin Newsom is not a believer.
We could even connect the dots to prominent Catholics who are priests, bishops and cardinals in the United States.
“…,but it will prove to be largely ineffective if the holy Mass continues to be offered in our parishes improperly, as if we were celebrating ourselves rather than witnessing Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary.”” The message of the cross, that Christ died for sinners out of His immense love, is life-changing. But it is not easy to identify the Mass with His sacrifice for sin without the eye of faith wide open, for both priest and laity. That is why I would like to see all Mases ad orientem as an assist in recovering the real meaning of the Mass.
The text of the Latin Tridentine Mass perfectly emphasizes the Sacrificial aspect of the Holy Mass. Too bad it is unwanted by the Vatican.
The TLM is deficient by not giving a ritual role to the gathered assembly of the lay baptized. They are silent spectators at the TLM. Vatican II wisely mandated the reform of the TLM.
The Tridentine Latin Mass is completely different. It is ancient, and does not need any “modernist” reform. It is perfect, “as is.” Tridentine Latin Mass-goers focus reverently on God, and prayer, and the great Miracle of Transubstantiation on the Altar. I think it is much better to just seek to experience God the best way you can, no matter what Mass you attend, and enter into the beauty and holiness of the Sacred Mystery of Christ’s Redemption.
In my comment of Jan. 25 at 3:38pm, I was not saying that the Latin Tridentine Mass is “superior.” Christ is Truly Present in all legitimate forms of the Mass. Anyway, the text of the Latin Tridentine Mass is particularly noted for its emphasis on the sacrificial aspect of the Holy Mass.
What isn’t wanted by the Vatican is heresy. You can thank you fellow Latin Mass attendees who did not conform to the Catholic Faith but started to create their own screwed up version.
No. Many elderly Catholics my age love and understand the beautiful Tridentine Catholic Mass, and grew up with it. Your viewpoint is ridiculous. You need a good Catholic education, and to learn to respect and appreciate your Catholic heritage and history. Ignore the “kooks” and “misfits” of today’s era, that you mentioned– they have nothing at all to do with the ancient, 1500+years-old, Tridentine Latin Mass. And remember, Christ is Truly Present in all legitimate forms of the Mass. That is most important.
If you read Cardinal McElroy’s (McELGBT) article in America Magazine this week, if you read Fr. James Martin’s posts about the pope’s recent interview concerning decriminalizing homosexual behavior, if you keep tabs on what’s happening in Germany, Poland, Ireland and the United States, it’s impossible not to feel a sense of doom about the future of the Church.
The heretics and dissidents are running amok. It’s like a cancer that cannot be controlled or a virus that cannot be contained.
As a scientist in the new TV series “The Last of Us” stated when asked how to stop the spread of a new, super-spreading fungus in humans, “Bomb. Bomb the city, bomb everyone.”
We need to employ drastic measures to save the Church. The corruption and stink go all the way to the upper echelons of the hierarchy and infect nearly every diocese and parish.
Sorry for the doom and gloom, but it’s reality.
your faith just doesn’t sound like the size of even a mustard seed.. Pray that your faith may be increased. then you will remember how the story ends.
That is so true dremelow and very well put
Thank you so much for recommending the article by Cardinal McElroy. It is very good although it misses a lot. It is thought provoking and I disagree with things in it.
I also feel that, as a cardinal in the Catholic Church, it is his job to uphold Scripture, Tradition and the teachings of the Magisterium.
He should not have written some of the things that he wrote.
If you live in his diocese, you will have to know the Bible, the Catechism, the teachings of the Popes and the Church Fathers and Doctors.
That will help you discern the true will of God for you.
“He should not have written some of the things that he wrote..” Like what?
You will know if you read it.
I accidentally gave “teachings” a thumbs up when I should have left it blank as I am not sure what he or she is trying to express. Now I am off of here. Time to get away from all this.
I know a lot of faith-filled people who have never been to a Catholic Mass in their lives.
They read the Bible or go to a Church where they read the Bible.
The Scriptures and the Eucharist are the Word of God.
Teach people to read the Bible, especially the Gospel and the Psalms.
People who use Jesus and the Bible as their life coach are better off.
The Catholic Church is no longer serious about religion. What a big laugh, Cardinal Wilton Gregory of the Archdiocese of Washington publicly announced, when Biden got elected, that pro-abort Pres. Joe Biden would not be denied Holy Communion in his Archdiocese. Why was Cdl. Gregory even allowed to be ordained? What are his honest beliefs? Even worse– at the time of the last U.S. Presidential election, the Vatican pressured the USCCB not to deny Communion to pro-abort “Catholic” politicians. And the pope says he will not deny Holy Communion to anyone for any reason…. they are just no longer serious about religion.
How do we know that all of these “non-believers” are non-believers? Do we hear their confessions? Are we being a bit judgemental when the Bible says that we should not judge – stones and glass houses? When we condemn others for their sins we should also publicize our own sins, don’t you think?
If you ask 99% of the people at Sunday Mass about the horrible folks in the Vatican, they will not know what you are talking about. If you ask them what they feel about the Pople saying that being gay is not a crime, but still a sin, most will not know that they Pope said that and they will disagree with him.
I cringe when I read the interviews with college students, but they are a pretty good representation of their age group. I know lots of 20-30 year-olds who now refuse to attend church because they consider it a quasi-hate group because of its teachings about gays, transgenders and a lot of other issues. They don’t go to church and hell hasn’t frozen over, in their view.
Mt 11:6
When sodomy was illegal, no young men, and others, were dying from AIDS and the STD’s, cancers and bodily injuries that popped up with such wider spread behavior. The birth control pill also brought in wife swapping, another plaque on society. The sixties and seventies were a mess. Not everyone got caught up such behavior, but now it seems society is going back to those eras but worse. You can whine all you want about not condemning others, but sin always brings it own punishment. As the saying goes, “If you play, sooner or later, you pay. It is uncharitable and unloving not to warn people.
You can prevent plaque on society with truthpaste.
Despair is a mortal sin.
Realism is not.
Thank you Father for your continued faithful witness.
In an Associated Press interview today, Jan. 25, Pope Francis discussed his recent health concerns– especially, the return of his intestinal problems, and a bone fracture– but said that his health problens are currently under control. He said that he has no plans to resign, in the near future. However, if he ever resigns, he said that he wants to be called “Bishop emeritus,” (as the retired Bishop of Rome) rather than be referred to as a “Pope emeritus,” insinuating, to him, a “power player.” He wants to emphasize the communion of all bishops. The Pope said that if he ever resigns, he wants to live in a residence for elderly, retired priests of the Diocese of Rome, and just be “one of them.” I think a Pope has the duty to carry his God-ordained role of the Papacy honorably, for Christ, to life’s end. He is in a serious role, as leader of the Catholic Church, and leader of the world’s bishops. His serious Petrine office must not be diminished– all the world must respect it. It is not a worldly position for a demented “power player,” nor like a worldly CEO with a planned retirement package. Nor is the Papacy a temporary, trivialized “Mickey Mouse” role, with a possible “planned obsolescence” and discerned “throwaway.” Except– I do sympathize, in a case in which a Pope might become too sick, and too physically– or mentally– incapacitated, and must retire. But I think that these cases, hopefully, should be very rare.
Canon Law gives the pope the right to resign at any time. The resignation is valid if made freely, and it does not depend for its validity on its acceptance by anyone.