Hello. I am George Martin, and I again welcome you to selected sermons of Monsignor Joseph Bernard McAllister, this being a disc number 11 of 12. As we approach the end of our series of 12 CDs, we have in this particular CD a blend of all of Monsignor's prior reminders to us as Christians. Of our personal duty to pick up our cross each day and follow Christ by making the right choices in all the things we do that day. While Monsignor started out by talking about penance and his remembrances of talks given during his seminary days, particularly during the period of Lent, his focus was not on sacramental penance, but rather on the penance we impose on ourselves.
This practice of penance that serves God first and foremost should also be reflected in our daily lives. The common thread running through this group of sermons is that we come from God and we go back to God. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life who leads us in that direction. Monsignor reminds us that evil and suffering were not lifted from this world by Christ, and that we must practice virtue in our daily lives to overcome obstacles put in our way. We are obliged to pray to know God and his will for us, as well as to pray for the strength to follow the guiding light of Christ.
There is no doubt our earthly pilgrimage can be difficult in a world where the fundamental principle that God exists and that man is destined to immortality is often denied. Monsignor acknowledges that while it is not necessarily easy, it is not impossible. And now, we continue with the select homilies of Monsignor Joseph Bernard McAllister.