For a sermon to be good, it first of all should be done for the glory of God, and the good of souls. That is, not for worldly praise, or any other reason, only for the love of God and the salvation of souls. The axiom of the Church is: “The salvation of souls is the supreme law.” Four counsels for giving a good sermon, that is, for giving a sermon that is profitable for the souls of its hearers. For no matter how good a sermon is, or how much praise the preacher receives, if it doesn’t benefit the hearers to amend and better their spiritual life, then it is “as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.’’ 1 Cor. 13:1. So let us begin, and we pray for the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s prayers and the grace of the Holy Ghost to enlighten us, for the glory of God and the good of souls. Let us begin. Let us pray the Hail Mary…
1) So the first condition is for the honor and glory of God and the good of souls, not trying to please men by mild speech, but telling them what they need to hear, the “out of season Gospel, as St. Paul tells Timothy. . “Do I seek to please men? If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” Gal.1:10.
2)The second condition for a good sermon is, according to the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Dominic, is to cultivate the ground with rain. This is the counsel of our Blessed Mother to her son, St. Dominic, according to Blessed Alan: “All priests say a Hail Mary with the faithful before preaching, to ask for God’s grace.” They do this because of a revelation that St. Dominic had from Our Lady. ‘My son,’ she said one day, ‘do not be surprised that your sermons fail to bear the results you had hoped for. You are trying to cultivate a piece of ground which has not had any rain. Now when Almighty God planned to renew the face of the earth, He started by sending down rain from heaven – and, this was the Angelic Salutation. In this way, God made over the world. So when you give a sermon, urge people to say my rosary, and in this way your words will bear much fruit for souls.’ – The Secret of the Rosary, 3rd Rose, St. Louis de Montfort. “
St. Dominic lost no time in obeying, and from then on he exerted great influence by his sermons.’’ St. Louis continues, “As long as priests followed St. Dominic’s example and preached devotion to the holy Rosary, piety and fervor thrived throughout the Christian world and in those religious orders which were devoted to the Rosary. But since people have neglected this gift from heaven, all kinds of sins and disorder have spread far and wide.” Have we not seen it? Immodesty everywhere, even in the House of God, even at the Communion rail; most crude and vulgar speech, profanity, spread everywhere in public, even around little children and in public places, abortion, pornography, corruption in all areas of life, millions of Catholics have left the true Church for false religions or none at all. We should not be surprised that souls began living good lives as long as they were praying the rosary. Our Blessed Mother, in her 3rd and 4th promises said: “The rosary shall be a powerful armour against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies, cause good works to flourish, and obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God.”
Richard of St. Laurent lists the reasons why it is good to say a Hail Mary at the beginning of a sermon. (This advice also would apply to any spiritual talk):
- The Church Militant should follow the example of St. Gabriel who saluted Mary with great respect saying the Hail Mary, before he told her the joyous tidings: ”Behold thou shalt conceive and bear a son…’’ Thus the Church salutes the Blessed Virgin before announcing the Gospel.
- The congregation will derive more fruit from a sermon that is prefaced by a Hail Mary; the priest who gives the sermon has the Angel’s role as it were. But in order that the congregation may give birth to Christ in their souls (by faith), they must first of all obtain this grace from the Blessed Virgin who gave birth to him the first time, and together with her they will become the mothers of the Son of God. For without Mary they cannot produce Jesus in their souls.
- The Gospels show up the power of the Hail Mary; people will get help from Our Lady through this prayer.
- To say it is a great safeguard and a way of avoiding dangerous pitfalls: Mary Illumanatrix, gives light to preachers.
- The members of the congregation, following Our Lady’s example, listen more attentively and are more apt to remember God’s words. (What good is it to hear a sermon if you don’t remember it?)
- The devil (who is the enemy of the human race and of the preaching of the Gospel), is driven off by the Hail Mary.* This is most necessary because, to quote Our Lord’s words, there is danger of him coming to take the word of God out of people’s hearts, ‘’lest believing they might be saved.”
3) The third condition is the counsel from Pope Leo XIII, from his encyclical Providentissimus Deus (Nov. 18,1893), on the study of Holy Scripture, speaking of the life and power that the frequent use of the Sacred Text gives to the utterances of the preacher of the Divine Word, saying: “And it is this peculiar and singular power of Holy Scripture, arising from the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, which gives authority to the sacred orator, fills him with apostolic liberty of speech, and communicates force and power to his eloquence. For those who infuse into their efforts the spirit and strength of the Word of God speak not in word only, but in power also, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much fullness. Hence, those preachers are foolish and improvident who, in speaking of religion and proclaiming the things of God, use no words but those of human science and human prudence, trusting to their own reasonings rather than to those of God. Their discourses may be brilliant and fine, but they must be feeble and they must be cold, for they are without the fire of the utterance of God, and they must fall far short of that mighty power which the speech of God possesses.” The Holy Father goes on to say, “Let all, therefore, especially the novices of the ecclesiastical army, understand how deeply the sacred books should be esteemed, and with what eagerness and reverence they should approach this great arsenal of heavenly arms. For those whose duty it is to handle Catholic doctrine before the learned or the unlearned will nowhere find more ample matter or more abundant exhortation…Let the speech of the priest be ever seasoned with scriptural reading.” As St. Paul said, “The word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two edged sword: and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” St Paul to the Hebrews 4:12. A sword pierces the body, but the Word of God pierces the soul. The preacher’s words must cut to the heart, as they say. This is what moves people to conversion.
4) Lastly, the preacher himself must be holy and learned, otherwise, he cannot give what he himself does not possess. “Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? Or who shall rest in thy holy hill? He that walketh without blemish, and worketh justice: He that speaketh truth in his heart, who hath not used deceit in his tongue.” Ps. 14:1-3. “Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord: or who shall stand in his holy place? The innocent in hands, and clean of heart, who hath not taken his soul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbor. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Saviour.” – Ps. 23:3-5. “For I am the Lord your God: be holy, because I am holy.” Lev. 11:44.
An ignorant priest is the curse of his flock. St. Alphonsus, in his Sermon for Parents, speaks of a father this way: “He that teaches his son…when he died, he was not sorrowful, neither was he confounded before his enemies “(Eccl. 30: 3,5). Ironically, he gives a warning to ignorant clergy as well. “But, as a well instructed son is the delight of his father’s soul, so an ignorant child is a source of sorrow to a father’s heart, for the ignorance of his obligations as a Christian is always accompanied with a bad life. It was related that, in the year 1248, an ignorant priest was commanded, in a certain synod, to make a discourse. He was greatly agitated by the command and the Devil appearing to him, instructed him to say, “The rectors of infernal darkness salute the rectors of parishes, and thank them for their negligence in instructing the people; because from ignorance proceeds the misconduct and the damnation of many.”
St. Paul Instructs Timothy:
“Carefully study to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15. And he will save his soul by means of his children, that is, by the virtuous education which he has given them. How can he properly instruct others if he himself is not instructed? How can he impart knowledge of salvation to others if he himself is not learned? “The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts.” Mal. 2:7. In this sense, angel means messenger of God.
He must be in the state of grace, that is, he must have charity. “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. “ 1 Cor. 13:1. He must be inflamed with the love of God. Otherwise, how can he inflame others if he himself is not on fire? St. Alphonsus records that a certain saint saw Mary going about dispensing a liquid, and this liquid was the love of God. “I am the mother of fair love.” Ecclus. 24:24. “From Mary,” he says, “let us seek it. “
Therefore, may all the priests pray the rosary daily, as requested by Our Lady of Fatima, and wear the Brown Scapular, along with the Miraculous Medal; may they preach assiduously devotion to Mary, (Devotion to Mary, A Great Sign of Predestination, MotherofGodlibrary, May 2019 posting); for our Lady also said, after the terrible vision of hell, “You have seen hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. In order to save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” May all priests follow the example of St. Dominic, St. Louis de Montfort, and many others, who preached assiduously the praying of the rosary for the salvation of souls. May they pray the Mass, as if it were: “Their first Mass, as if it were their last Mass; as if it were their only Mass.” May they stay close to Jesus in the tabernacle, by visits and Holy Hours, and preach it too. May they be men of sacrifice, willing to suffer for their children, as “good soldiers of Jesus Christ” in His Militant Church. “As I have you an example, so do you also.” Amen.
ONE MAN CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. JESUS DID.
THIS IS WHAT I HAVE DONE FOR YOU. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME?
Comments are closed.