Guild of St. Peter ad Vincula

The Guild of St. Peter ad Vincula

A collection of sermons and reflections from the deanery

Et Reliqua

Check the Dean’s sermons and reflections from past Sundays and holydays.

The name Et Reliqua is taken from the Office of Matins, in which the commentary by the Church Fathers on the Gospel of the day is preceded by part of the Gospel itself.  Rather than read the Gospel in its entirety, only the first sentence is included, followed by the words, Et Reliqua, translated into English as “And so on and that which followeth.”

Passion Sunday

Tightening the Belt

Today, we step from the first part of Lent with all its reflections on our own grievous faults and turn our attention to the one who made it possible for us to be forgiven.  For four long weeks we looked back and evaluated ourselves and our unworthiness to be welcomed

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Passion Sunday

The World and its Spirit

This week we turn our attention to the third cause of temptation, the world and its spirit.  Let’s face it, most of the men and women of this world are guided in their conduct, not by the will and law of God, but by the dictates of human passion.  Worldly-minded

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4th Sunday in Lent

Modernist Catholics?

It was brought to my attention that something I said in last Sunday’s sermon may have been misunderstood.  I refer to the term “modernist Catholics.”  You may remember I said there is no such thing as a modernist Catholic—you’re either a Catholic or you’re not.  You can’t be a modernist

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4th Sunday in Lent

Prone to Sin

When God directly created the first pair of human beings, he placed their human nature in a state of most marvelous excellence and perfection, possessing a wonderful completeness of form, beauty, health, and vigor of body.  Their bodies were exempt from suffering of any kind; no sickness or other affliction

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3rd Sunday in Lent

On Guard Against the Devil

When Lucifer and his followers were expelled from heaven, they did not lose their natural gifts of vast intelligence, comprehensive understanding, an extensive knowledge of the laws and phenomena of nature, and great physical power.  Thus, the demons are intimately familiar with the mysterious nature of man, about his soul

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3rd Sunday in Lent

A Kingdom Divided

When Lucifer and his followers were expelled from heaven, they did not lose their natural gifts of vast intelligence, comprehensive understanding, an extensive knowledge of the laws and phenomena of nature, and great physical power.  Thus, the demons are intimately familiar with the mysterious nature of man, about his soul

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2nd Sunday in Lent

The Three Stages of Temptation

How to Resist Temptation by Fr. Francis J. Remler may be purchased from our online bookstore Confraternity Books (confraternitybooks.com) for the sale price of $12.95. The Temptation Presents Itself Evil is proposed to a person in a variety of ways.  It can come through any one of the five senses,

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2nd Sunday in Lent

Three Men on a Mountain

As if the transfiguration of our Lord’s glorious Body were not enough, the miraculous appearance of two of the greatest characters from the Old Testament, Moses and Elias, must surely have astounded even further the three disciples who witnessed the scene.  As Saints Peter, James and John stood in awe

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Quadragesima Sunday

Resisting Temptation

“One of the most painful ordeals that God-fearing and virtuous souls are made to undergo is that of being tried by temptation.  Temptations meet them at every turn and assail them from within and without…”  Thus begins the famous tract by Fr. Francis Remler entitled How to Resist Temptation published

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Quadragesima Sunday

The Laws of Fasting

I read in the news that some Protestant pastor in Mozambique tried a little too hard to walk in our Lord’s footsteps by fasting for forty days and forty nights.  He made it to the 25th day, by which time, according to BBC News Africa, “he had lost a lot

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Quinquagesima Sunday

The Driving Force Behind Lent

Shrovetide.  On the first Sunday in Shrovetide, two weeks ago on Septuagesima Sunday, we heard about the labourers working in the field, with the clear message that it’s time for us to go work also, no matter how late it might be.  Last week, Sexagesima, we looked at our reaction

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Quinquagesima Sunday

It’s Carnival Time!

In our traditional Catholic mindset, we’re inclined to focus on the spiritual aspects of these last few days before Lent starts.  The idea of preparing ourselves for the Great Fast of forty days tends to instill in us with thoughts other than enthusiasm.  It’s true, and we know it to

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Sexagesima Sunday

Why Don’t We Listen!

I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to my early school days.  One memory I have, and I’m sure most of you will share it, is of that sudden thud of fear when our teacher would announce a dreaded “spot quiz.”  We were supposed to have read something for

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Sexagesima Sunday

It’s Time to Give Up

Lent begins a week on Wednesday.  The time of preparation for Lent, is rapidly slipping away.  Shrovetide is one of the shortest seasons of the Church’s year, and we don’t have much time left to get ready for Ash Wednesday and the forty days of penance that follow.  Have you

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Septuagesima Sunday

Prayers are ACTS

What do we think prayer is?   Many of us limit the concept of prayer to the recitation of familiar words like the Our Father, the Hail Mary or Act of Contrition.  For others, it is a mental exercise in which we think about a mystery of God or an event

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Septuagesima Sunday

Never Too Late to Pray

We’re easily discouraged.  Even in little things, we give up far too easily.  Sometimes we’re so discouraged, we don’t even want to begin.  Dull or insignificant tasks are put off until there are so many of them we’re overwhelmed and don’t even know where to start.  The result?  We don’t

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4th Sunday after Epiphany

Stormy Weather

If you ever watch the weather forecast, you’ll notice that there are many types of storm.  On the radar images they show, these storms are usually color coded, ranging from a very mild green to a more threatening red.  Certain types of storms like tornadoes and hurricanes are given numerical

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4th Sunday after Epiphany

In Times of Peril

“Wind’s in the east, there’s a mist coming in, like something is brewin’ and ’bout to begin.”  I’m quoting, for a change, from that great old masterpiece, Mary Poppins.  The baby boomers amongst us will recognize these words of the old sea captain at the beginning of the movie,  wisdom

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3rd Sunday after Epiphany

Why We Have A Church

There’s a common belief these days that while God might exist, and while we might worship him in our own way and according to our own concept of who he is, we nevertheless do not need to belong to “organized religion.”  Religion, they say, is the cause of so much

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3rd Sunday after Epiphany

Children of the Kingdom

Contained in today’s Gospel is a lesson on smugness.  It’s an unpleasant little sin, usually not mortal in nature, but nevertheless one that causes those who notice it in us to recoil in revulsion.  “I’m a Catholic, I’m part of the true Church founded by our Lord himself, I can

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Et Reliqua

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