The Feast of Venerable Solanus Casey

If we only try to show the Dear Lord a good will and ask Him for resignation to the crosses He sends or permits to come our way, we may be sure that sooner or later they will turn out to have been just so many blessings in disguise.

~Venerable Solanus Casey

A young student in a Catholic school was once asked "who are the saints?" Thinking of the figures in the stained glass windows of the parish church, his response was prescient: "saints are the ones who let the light shine through.":

Today is the feast day of one of our patron saints, Venerable Solanus Casey. Father Solanus, a meek, humble, kindly doorkeeper, was also a great mystic, poet, counselor, and is thought to be one of the most prodigious healers in the history of the Church. Many of our readers appreciate the sermons by Father Franklyn McAfee that we post on Sundays. Father McAfee's mother was one of the thousands healed by Father Solanus. Father McAfee's own reflection on Father Solanus is here.

Father Solanus Casey so completely surrendered his life to the will of God that he became a powerful vessel through which the light, love, and Divine Healing flowed in miraculous ways.

For this extraordinary living sermon, example, intercessor, and reflection of Divine Love, Deo Gratias!

Father Franklyn McAfee - "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing"

Father Franklyn McAfee

Have you ever wished you could have known some of the Church's greatest saints?  What would it have been like to hear Saint Dominic preach, or receive counsel in Confession from the Curé d'Ars, or share a few private words with Padre Pio?  I will always believe I have had such an experience as a former parishioner of Father Franklyn McAfee.  

As with the great  Archbishop Fulton Sheen, one knows that the life of this holy priest is totally surrendered to the service of Christ and His Church.  His words, like those of Archbishop Sheen, penetrate deeply because they come from a profound holiness and fullness of the Faith, not from one's particular area of interest, not from a social or political agenda, not a pale pastel or a serving of Catholic-Lite, but the whole Faith which comes to us from the Apostles and Christ Himself.  

Sunlit Uplands has posted many of Father McAfee's eloquent and powerful sermons and homilies; his sermon  linked below, "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing," provides a fascinating look at the history of the orthodox and vibrant Arlington Diocese.  For those who would like to hear more, there is a treasure-house of poetry, holiness and Truth to be explored here.

Sermon of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

July 11, 2010

Institute of Catholic Culture: Forming Disciples in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia

There is, perhaps, no better place to be a Catholic than the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia.  Its founding bishop, Thomas J. Welsh, established a solid foundation at its creation in 1974.  He invited contemplative orders to the diocese to pray for the local church, welcomed evangelists of the media age, like the Daughters of St. Paul, assisted in the founding of solidly Catholic Christendom College, and ensured priests of the diocese received an orthodox, fully Catholic formation.  The diocese's reputation for orthodoxy has attracted an abundance of priestly and religious vocations, and many parishes have had to expand rectories to accommodate at least three or four resident priests.  

This blog has featured the homilies and sermons of two of the finest, holy and most knowledgeable priests of the Arlington Diocese, Father Franklyn McAfee and Father Paul Scalia.  

A key to the diocese's success has been a rich array of parish-based adult catechesis programs.  Pastors have recognized that two generations of American Catholics have suffered from poor formation in the faith.  Many Catholics who have moved to the Northern Virginia diocese have discovered a fullness of the faith that they had not even known existed.  

Among many great new cathechetical apostolates in the diocese, forming Catholics more knowledgeable and faithful to Jesus Christ and His Church, is the Institute of Catholic Culture.  Founded by Sabatino Carnazzo, a recent graduate of Christendom College, the Institute sponsors lectures on Catholic history, philosophy, and theology "as a way of healing the wounds in the Body of Christ, and reaching out to those who seek knowledge of the Truth."  The Institute regularly draws hundreds to hear the best teachers and provides "a social setting where the Faith is not only learned, but lived." 

Audio tapes of the Institute's programs are available on its website, and we will be featuring these exceptional lectures on this blog in the weeks ahead.

Mr. Carnazzo was recently interviewed by Father Benedict Groeschel on EWTN's Sunday Night Live program.  It provides a great insight into this needed and extraordinary new apostolate and its founder.

A Homily for Father's Day by Father Franklyn M. McAfee

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

June 24, 2007

A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee - "The Word Was Made Flesh and Dwelt Among Us"

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

December 29, 2007

A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee - "The Divorce of Christ from Culture"

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church McLean, Virginia

October 28, 2007

A Sermon by Father Franklyn McAfee on St. Martin de Porres

Saint Martin de Porres, the Apostle of Charity

Sermon of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

November 4, 2007

Sermon of Father Franklyn M. McAfee - 'A Prophetic Witness to the World'

and The Irish Tenors sing 'Be Thou My Vision'

Sermon of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

July 20, 2008

A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee on "The Evil of Indifference"

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

July 15, 2007

A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee on the Sacred Heart

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

June 21, 2009

A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee - "The Pattern of the Saints "

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.
Pastor Emeritus
St. John the Beloved Catholic Church
McLean, Virginia
August 31, 2008

Sermon of Father Franklyn M. McAfee for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

"What matters in a struggle is not whether you have the right number, but whether you have the right cause."

Battle of Gideon Against the Midianites - Nicolas Poussin, 1625-1626

Sermon of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

October 12, 2008

Sermon of Father Franklyn McAfee - "Go to Joseph"

Sermon of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

March 22, 2009

Sermon of Father Franklyn M. McAfee: 'For God's Glory Alone'

Sermon of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

August 23, 2009

A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee - "They Submitted Themselves to the Light, Wherever It Might Lead"

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

January 6, 2008

A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee: "He Turns All Things to Beauty"

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

July 1, 2007

A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee - "Just Tell Me the Truth"

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

July 20, 2008

A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee - "Let Christ Be King"

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus
St. John the Beloved Catholic Church
McLean, Virginia

October 28, 2007

A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee - "Possessed by Christ"

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.
Pastor Emeritus
St. John the Beloved Catholic Church
McLean, Virginia

A Homily by Father Franklyn M. McAfee - "Glory Shines Through Weakness"

Homily of Reverend Franklyn M. McAfee, D.D.

Pastor Emeritus

St. John the Beloved Catholic Church

McLean, Virginia

September 9, 2007