I am most likely never going to be able to keep all the commandments flawlessly. So how can I be saved by them? This was the very problem that Israel had, even before Jesus came in the flesh. St Paul talks about this in several of his letters. He says that God had given the commandments and His teaching, but they were unable to keep them.
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Father Miller‘s Sunday and Holy Day Homilies from Saint Dorothy‘s Catholic Church
Episodes
Feb 16, 2020
Feb 16, 2020
15 min
Then He gave His Son. And what did His Son do? St Paul reminds us in our second reading. Jesus, this great mystery of salvation died for us. He paid the price of the Law so that He could give us mercy. Because of His suffering, because of His death, because of His resurrection, we are delivered from the consequences of the Law. That's how we are saved.
If we could follow the law perfectly, we wouldn't need Jesus Christ. But how many of us can stand up and say, "Yes, I do not need the Lord"?
Sir 15:15-20, Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34, 1Cor 2:6-10, Mt 5:17-37
Feb 9, 2020
Feb 9, 2020
11 min
If I can die to my own emotional needs in my relationships - truly die with Christ in those ways, accepting the fact that the people around me are not loving me the way that I need, certainly not the way that I want -and if I suffer that with Jesus in imitation of His Cross, after it kills me, not physically but emotionally, then the Lord will raise me up.
Always remember this about the Resurrected Jesus: He cannot die again. ...
That's what happens to us in those areas when we can accept this suffering - as unjust, as painful as it may be; these starvations, these hungers, these deaths, and with and in Christ die to ourselves in them ... then Jesus transforms us. We can never suffer in those same ways again.
Is 58:7-10, Ps 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 1Cor 2:1-5, Mt 5:13-16
Feb 2, 2020
Feb 2, 2020
14 min
It becomes dangerous, in fact deadly, to a culture and a society when the political law begins to contradict the natural law. It inherently destroys that society. That's obviously where we are in our culture. Our politic is destroying us because it contradicts the very commandments themselves, the natural order of things created by God.
But we as Catholics, we have something far greater than the natural law, or even a decent understanding of politic. We have Divine law. And we don't always appreciate how profound this is. We have been given, for lack of a better term, mystical teaching. We know things ... that no one in this world could know on their own, that the natural law could never teach them.
Mal 3:1-4, Ps 24:7, 8, 9, 10, Heb 2:14-18, Lk 2:22-40
Jan 26, 2020
Jan 26, 2020
13 min
The only reason abortion became legal in this country is because of sins of impurity....
It all comes back to human identity and what it means to be a person. For us, even though we are made in the image and likeness of God, the soul is not the only aspect of our being. Our bodies are intrinsically connected to our identity. So how we view our bodies, what we do with and in and because of our bodies, and with other bodies, effects on a profound level self identity, how we identify others, and ultimately all of our moral judgements.
Transgenderism. Homosexuality. Divorce. Contraception. Personal sins of impurity: pornography, masturbation, lust. All a society has to do is permit one degree of evil, and it will inevitably progress to the next.
It's easy for us as Catholics to stand back, look at the culture and say, "Yes, we are against abortion." "Yes, that's evil, we need to overturn it." Well, wait a minute. How many of us are not totally in union with Christ in regards to sexual morality? And we claim to be against abortion.
St Paul warns us, "There can be no division among us." No division. We must be one in mind and heart, and that unity must be with Christ. We must have the mind and the heart of Christ, follow His teachings, and His alone.
Is 8:23 - 9:3, Ps 27: 1, 4, 13-14, 1Cor 1: 10-13, 17, Mt 4:12-23
Jan 19, 2020
Jan 19, 2020
14 min
Well, wait a minute. What about the rest of us? Doesn't He love us as much as He loves His Saints? What's unique about the Saints? What do they know that we don't know?
Yesterday, our Lord at least began to show me. He... pulled back the curtain for just a moment....
I saw in that moment so clearly exactly how the Saints do this and why God responds to them so quickly and so perfectly.
Is 49:3, 5-6, Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10, 1Cor 1:1-3, Jn 1:29-34
Jan 12, 2020
Jan 12, 2020
20 min
We know what happens when we are baptized. We're purified and freed from sin, and filled with the Holy Spirit. In fact, the Trinity Themself come to dwell in us. That's why the Trinity reveals Themself on this day in a most particular way. Because it is through this Sacrament that God in His mystery as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, comes to dwell in the souls of the baptized.
We become living tabernacles. We become, in a sense, little heavens ourselves. Heaven is where God lives. ... God dwells in me and He dwells in Heaven. This is also why we teach, as our Lord taught, that there is no salvation apart from the Church.
...This can be a great concern for us. As with most things in the faith, it takes a more subtle degree of understanding.
Is 42:1-4, 6-7, Ps 29: 1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10, Acts 10:34-38, Mt 3:13-17
Jan 5, 2020
Jan 5, 2020
19 min
Jesus calls Himself the "Light of the World." Not just the light of Christians, the Light of the World. And He, the Light, shines within the darkness. Of course, when He calls Himself the Light of the World, He doesn't mean the physical light of the physical world, that's a big burning ball of gas we call the sun. ...
He is the spiritual Light of the World. And it's not physical darkness He dispels, but spiritual darkness. What do we mean by this but the darkness of sin.
When Adam and Eve sinned, the consequences of that sin are the darkening of the intellect, the weakening of the will. Our minds are in darkness because of sin. We cannot see the light of truth.
It's really quite a beautiful analogy when you think about it. You see, without light you are blind.
That's what sin does. Sin leaves you in darkness.
Is 60:1-6, Ps 72: 1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13, Eph 2:2-3a, 5-6, Mt 2:1-12
Jan 1, 2020
Jan 1, 2020
7 min
Today we celebrate the divine motherhood of Mary, She who gave birth to our Savior Jesus Christ. And the Church, in like manner, gives birth to the adopted sons and daughters of God through baptism.
It was Mary, who when Jesus was an infant, a child, fed Him. Nursed Him. Cared for Him. Cleaned Him. It is the Church who does that in her very sacraments for the adopted children of God.
We see this beautiful maternal expression manifested in the Body of Christ (the Church) and in His Immaculate Mother.
Nm 6:22-27, Ps 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8, Gal 4:4-7, Lk 2:16-21
Dec 29, 2019
Dec 29, 2019
16 min
But on some level, you can't really know human nature until you know Divine nature. The One Who created human nature. At least some basic understanding of these two natures is necessary in order to get along not only in society and the family of humanity, but to function on any normal level.
The one thing that causes disunity - whether it's in the "family" of the United States and the political side of things, or your own particular family; between husband and wife, parents and children - it's a failure of understanding in regards to your nature, and more importantly, your God's nature.
This is precisely why God became man. The Word of God, conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born among us into a human family, came, as many of the saints have said, to reveal God to mankind. To reveal God to us and to reveal mankind to itself. It's really a beautiful quote.
Sir 3:2-6, 12-14, Ps128:1-2, 3, 4-5, Col 3:12-21, Mt 2:13-15, 19-23
Dec 25, 2019
Dec 25, 2019
6 min
This is a season of hope. As you get closer to celebrating it, that hope grows.
"Oh, I can't wait to have a few days off from work! I'm hoping for those days!"
"Maybe a Christmas bonus, huh?" More hope there.
"The family's going to get together and everyone has to be a little bit nicer 'cause it's Christmas! I'm hoping for that!"
There's a lot of hope. And honestly, more often than not, that's what gets us excited about the season. But what happens?
Christmas ends. You go home. Back to work. Back to school. And all that hope is gone. ...
What's the problem with this? That hope is only centered on the here and now. It's not centered on Christ. It's not centered on His Gospel message of salvation. If it was, that hope would persist every day of the year, even throughout drudgery, difficulties, death.
What exists beyond that veil? What awaits us? That's what Christ provides. Spiritual hope.
Is 62:1-5, Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29, Acts 13:16-17, 22-25, Mt 1:1-25
Dec 24, 2019
Dec 22, 2019
Dec 22, 2019
9 min
All we know of St Joseph are a few things revealed to us primarily in the Gospel today. If we look deeply at the reading, we'll see the type of man that Joseph is and why he was chosen by God.
He was a righteous man. Joseph, according to the Scriptures is truly righteous. A living saint, he does not break any of God's laws. ...
The moment he knows for certain what God wants of him, he does it. He doesn't put it off, he doesn't wait. He immediately acts.
Is 7:10-14, Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6. Rom 1:1-7, Mt 1:18-24
Dec 18, 2019
Dec 18, 2019
59 min
Presented by the Faith Formation classes of St Dorothy's, the St Dorothy's Choir, with special guests from the St Michael Children's Choir.
Dec 15, 2019
Dec 15, 2019
11 min
The greatest good in the mind of our Lord is preaching the Gospel message, the message of salvation. That's what John was proclaiming in the desert and that's why people were going out to him. But John's time is over. ...
John the Baptist is the voice crying out in the desert. But Jesus is the Word that the voice proclaims.
It's the word that matters, and Christ is the Word of God.
Is 35: 1-6a, 10, Ps 146: 6-7, 8-9, 9-10, Jas 5:7-10, Mt 11:2-11
Dec 9, 2019
Dec 9, 2019
11 min
At the moment of her conception, instead of giving her a soul in original sin like everyone else's, He bestowed upon her this unique grace: her Immaculate Conception. The soul that He gave her was truly immaculate and filled with His life and His grace. ...
There is no part of her - body or soul - that has ever been touched by sin. ...
The reason God bestowed this unique grace upon her was so that she could be the Mother of God. Jesus took His flesh from hers. ...
Mary received the first grace of redemption in her Immaculate Conception from the cross of Jesus.
Gn 3:9-15, 20, Ps 72: 1, 2-3ab, 3cd, 4, Eph 1: 3-6, 11-12, Lk 1:26-38
Dec 8, 2019
Dec 8, 2019
15 min
Repentance is the only way to prepare a path for the Lord. Because sin is the only thing keeping us from Christ.
The Lord has given us another sacrament of repentance: Confession. And it is essential. The Church clearly teaches this. It is essential for the forgiveness of grave or mortal sin.
So as a Catholic, my sin cannot be forgiven, I cannot repent of graver sin, if I am not going to Confession.
Is 11:1-10, Ps 72: 1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17, Rom 15:4-9, Mt 3:1-12
Dec 1, 2019
Dec 1, 2019
9 min
Some people who are doing those ordinary daily tasks will go with Him to His Kingdom, and some will not. What's the difference? How do we make sure that we're the ones who are ready and waiting for Him when He comes? How do we keep ourselves awake in the midst of our daily tasks?
Each day, we must turn toward Christ. Each day throughout the week, if we're not daily turning towards the Lord, then we are walking in darkness. And what do you do in the dark? You sleep.
And if you're asleep when Christ comes, you will not be taken with him.
What good habits can we do to make sure that each day we are turning towards the Lord?
Is 2:1-5, Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, Rom 13: 11-14, Mt 24:37-44
Nov 24, 2019
Nov 24, 2019
13 min
If your home is a "domestic church", then it should imitate, in various ways, the house of God. What is the most central image in your home? Christ is clearly King here. If He's King at your house, what is your most central image? Is it an image of the Cross, or the Sacred Heart?
Or is it the TV? The computer or fireplace? A family portrait over the mantle?
Those things aren't bad in themselves. But if someone comes into your house, and your house is supposed to be the house of God - the domestic church - and you said, "Who is King here?" Would they recognize the Lord Jesus?
Some people don't think these practicalities matter. But they do.
2Sm 5:1-3, Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, Col 1:12-20, Lk 23:35-43
Nov 17, 2019
Nov 17, 2019
12 min
"The day is coming" - the day of judgement - "blazing like an oven." Powerful imagery.
"When all the proud and all evil doers will be stubble. And the day that is coming will set them on fire."
And He also says, "But for you who fear My Name" - the Name of the Lord - "there will arise a sun of Justice with its healing rays." You might be tempted to think these are two different images. You'd be mistaken.
... and there is a way given to us by Jesus Christ Himself to actually go before the judge, even now, here on earth.
Mal 3:19-20a, Ps 98:5-6, 7-8, 9, 2Thes 3:7-12, Lk 21:5-19
Nov 10, 2019
Nov 10, 2019
18 min
People may argue "Well, Father Miller, those are special places, those are sacred shrines! So clearly, it's more important that someone dress appropriately for those locations."
And yet, name me one thing - spiritually speaking - that those shrines possess that we do not possess here in Lincolnton at our small church. Name me one Sacrament that they have that we do not.
The same God, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who resides in their tabernacle, resides in ours.
There is, spiritually speaking, no difference between St Peter's in Rome and St Dorothy's in Lincolnton. So the same rules must apply to us here.
2Mc 7:1-2, 9-14, Ps 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15, 2Thes 2:16-3:5, Lk 20:27-38