Today’s Epistle in verse 10 references Deuteronomy 32:36, 32:43 and 2 Machabees 7:6: “And again he saith:  Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people” (Romans 15:10).  Verse 11 references Psalm 116:1: “And again:  Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and magnify Him, all ye people” (Romans 15:11).

Why do these Scriptures mention the Gentiles singing a Psalm to God and rejoicing and praising and glorifying God?  There are several reasons.  The ultimate reason is found in the Apocalypse where you read in part: “After this I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands: And they cried with a loud voice, saying:  Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb” (Apocalypse 7:9-10).  In this way do the Gentiles “glorify God for His Mercy” (Romans 15:9).

This “great multitude” are the Gentiles “of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne” of God.  This is in contradistinction to the relatively few “hundred forty-four thousand” that “were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel” (Apocalypse 7:4).

So what does this mean in plain Anglo-Saxon English?  The bottom line is that of all of the millions and millions and millions of the progeny of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, only 144,000, or 12,000 from each tribe, of the Israelites will get to Heaven.  But, of the exact number of all of the Gentiles which will get to Heaven, Saint John the Apostle tells us “no man could number” where you read:

“After this I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands: And they cried with a loud voice, saying:  Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb” (Apocalypse 7:9-10).

About these Scriptures, Saint Augustine makes a comparison where he writes that “the woman that had the issue of blood was a type: she touched and was not seen; she was not known and yet was healed. It was in reality a figure what the Lord asked: ‘Who touched me?’ As if not knowing, He healed her as unknown: so has He done also to the Gentiles. We did not get to know Him in the flesh, yet we have been made worthy to eat His flesh, and to be members in His flesh. In what way? Because He sent to us. Whom? His heralds, His disciples, His servants, His redeemed whom He created, but whom He redeemed, His brethren also. I have said but little of all that they are: His own members, Himself; for He sent to us His own members, and He made us His members.”

Then the Doctor of Grace, as he is called, explains Romans 15:8: “Nevertheless, Christ has not been among us with the bodily form which the Jews saw and despised; because this also was said concerning Him, even as the Apostle says: ‘For I say that Christ Jesus was Minister of the circumcision for the Truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.’ He owed it to have come to those by whose fathers, and to whose fathers, He was promised. For this reason He says also Himself: ‘I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel’ [Matthew 15:24].”

Saint Augustine then concludes by saying: “But what says the Apostle in the following words? ‘But that the Gentiles are to glorify God for His Mercy’[Romans 15:9]. What, moreover, saith the Lord Himself? ‘And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold’ [John 10:16]. He Who had said, ‘I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel’ [Matthew 15:24], how has He other sheep to which He was not sent, except that He intimated that He was not sent to show His bodily presence but to the Jews only, who saw and killed Him?”  (Bishop Saint Augustine, a.k.a. Aurelius Augustinus [b. Tagaste, Africa, Saturday, November 13, 354 A.D. - d. Hippo Regia, Africa, Wednesday, August 28, 430 A.D.], Bishop of Hippo Regia, Father and Doctor of the Catholic Church, the Doctor of Grace, a protégé of Patriarch Saint Ambrose, Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel according to Saint John - Tractate XXXI, Chapter VII, ¶ 11).  Thus, the Doctor of Grace.

When the inspired Apostle writes “that the Gentiles are to glorify God for His Mercy” [Romans 15:9], what instantly comes to mind is not only the Birth of Christ as the Redeemer, but also how the Redeemer, as the Eternal High Priest, instituted the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Seven Sacraments which are sources of Sanctifying Grace, the very life of God Himself, and of which primarily only Gentiles take part as was prophecized in the Old Testament where you read:

“For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, My Name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to My Name a clean oblation [the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass]: for My Name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts” (Malachias 1:11).

But the Gentiles have been forewarned that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass would be taken away and replaced by an extremely evil diabolical fraud where you read:

“And in the half of the week the Victim and the Sacrifice shall fail:  and there shall be in the Temple the Abomination of Desolation:  and the Desolation shall continue even to the consummation, and to the end”  (Daniel 9:27).

“And they shall defile the Sanctuary of Strength, and shall take away the Continual Sacrifice [the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass], and they shall place there the Abomination unto desolation [a NEW “mass]” (Daniel  11:31).

“When therefore you shall see the Abomination of Desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, standing in the Holy Place:  he that readeth let him understand...For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect.  Behold I have told it to you, beforehand”  (Matthew 24:15, 24-25).

In analyzing these Scriptures, notice how the text reads, and We will emphasize the important words: “THE VICTIM and THE SACRIFICE shall fail” and “they shall defile the Sanctuary of Strength, and shall take away THE CONTINUAL SACRIFICE”.

The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was the one and only Temple of the Jews where there were MANY VICTIMS and MANY SACRIFICES.  They did NOT have just THE ONE VICTIM and THE ONE SACRIFICE of this prophecy.  Nor did they ever have THE CONTINUAL SACRIFICE because their animal sacrifices began at dawn and ended at dusk.

On the contrary, the Prophet Malachias tells you what THE VICTIM, THE SACRIFICE, and THE CONTINUAL SACRIFICE is:  “For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, My Name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to My Name a clean oblation [the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass]: for My Name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts” (Malachias 1:11).

Before Synod Vatican 2, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered around the world so that the sun never rose nor went down on the Mass.  In other words, during every one of the 24 hours of a day, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was being offered in various places around the world.

So, what does this mean if you put it into context?  On the one hand, you read about THE VICTIM, THE SACRIFICE, and THE CONTINUAL SACRIFICE and how “they shall defile the Sanctuary of Strength, and shall take away the Continual Sacrifice, and they shall place there the Abomination unto desolation” (Daniel  11:31).

Some have said that the “Abomination of Desolation” refers to anti-Christ because Christ says in Matthew 24:24: “For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the Elect”.

However, Christ does NOT specifically mention THE one and only anti-Christ, but rather speaks of many “false Christs and false prophets”, obviously in the same sense in which you read in 1 John 2:18: “you have heard that THE anti-Christ cometh, even now there are become many anti-Christs”:

“Then if any man shall say to you:  Lo here is Christ, or there, do not believe him. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect. Behold I have told it to you, beforehand” (Matthew 24:23-25).

Therefore, the one and only possible conclusion can be, by process of elimination, is that the “Abomination of Desolation” ONLY refers to the NOVUS ORDO MISSÆ, the so-called Novus Ordo Rite, of Paul 6 (Giovanni Battista Montini [Friday, June 21, 1963 - Sunday, August 6, 1978]), but most especially to the NUDE NOR of JP-2 (John-Paul 2, Karol Wyotya [Monday, October 16, 1978 - Friday, April 1, 2005]) (a title he liked to call himself), which he instituted in Papua, New Guinea, on Tuesday, May 8, 1984 A.D.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches” (Apocalypse 3:22).

Those Gentiles who “are to glorify God for His Mercy” are those who have heeded the warnings in the above prophecies and have heard and listened to them, mindful of how  “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches” (Apocalypse 3:22).

Let each of us resolve this very moment to pray to God for the Graces we need to be included with those Gentiles who “are to glorify God for His Mercy”.  Let each of us pray for the Graces and the wisdom and the courage we need to listen to and to heed the warnings of the above prophecies, having heeded and heard “what the Spirit saith to the churches”.

Consider how the prayers of this Mass “glorify God for His Mercy” and let us sing in our hearts the Psalm of happiness, joy, and rejoicing as we await, in penitential preparation, the anniversary of the birth of the Prince of Peace without Whom no one could ever Hope to get to Heaven!

As a final resolution, in the Holy Name of Jesus, and in an exercise of Catholic Charity, please contribute to the support of the Church - in this case - the Shrine of Saint Jude.  Please help us to save Souls!  Thank you for your thoughtfulness and Charity! Remember, God is never outdone in generosity!!!

Think how happy you will be when, in the next life, God shows you all of the Souls you helped to save by helping our Apostolates, including this Sermon web site, because "he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:20).

“And in doing good, let us not fail.  For in due time we shall reap, not failing.  Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians  6:9-10).