Matt Fradd
Spirituality/Belief • Books • Writing
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Live Streamed on April 15, 2022 9:00 AM ET
Morning Coffee: The Death of Christ

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of heaven,
have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, the eternal Wisdom,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, conversing with men,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, hated by the world,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, sold for thirty pieces of silver,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, prostrate in prayer,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, strengthened by an angel,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, agonizing in a bloody sweat,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, betrayed by Judas with a kiss,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, bound by the soldiers,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, forsaken by Your disciples,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, before Annas and Caiaphas,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, struck by a servant on the face,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, accused by false witnesses,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, declared worthy of death,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, spat upon in the face,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, blindfolded,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, smitten on the cheek,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, thrice denied by Peter,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, delivered up to Pilate,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, despised and mocked by Herod,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, clothed in a white garment,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, rejected for Barabbas,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, torn by scourges,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, bruised for our sins,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, regarded as a leper,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, covered with a purple robe,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, crowned with thorns,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, struck with a reed,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, demanded for crucifixion,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, condemned to death,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, given up to Your enemies,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, laden with the Cross,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, led as a lamb to the slaughter,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, stripped of Your garments,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, fastened with nails to the Cross,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, wounded for our iniquities,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, praying for Your murderers,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, reputed with the wicked,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, blasphemed on the Cross,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, reviled by the malefactor,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, giving Paradise to the thief,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, commending Saint John to Your Mother as her son,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, forsaken by Your Father,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, given gall and vinegar to drink,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, testifying that all things written concerning You were accomplished,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, commending Your Spirit into the hands of Your Father,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, obedient even unto death,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, made a propitiation for us,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, taken down from the Cross,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, laid in a sepulcher,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, rising gloriously from the dead,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, ascending into heaven,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, our Advocate with the Father,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, sending down the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, exalting Your Mother,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, who shall come to judge the living and the dead,
Have mercy on us.

Be merciful,
spare us, O Lord.

Be merciful,
graciously hear us, O Lord.

From all evil,
deliver us, O Jesus.

From all sin,
deliver us, O Jesus.

From anger, hatred, and every evil will,
deliver us, O Jesus.

From war, famine, and pestilence,
deliver us, O Jesus.

From all dangers of mind and body,
deliver us, O Jesus.

From everlasting death,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Your most pure conception,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Your miraculous nativity,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Your humble circumcision,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Your baptism and fasting,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Your labors and watchings,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Your cruel scourging and crowning,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Your thirst, tears, and nakedness,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Your precious death and Cross,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Your glorious resurrection and ascension,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Your sending forth the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
deliver us, O Jesus.

On the day of judgment, we sinners,
we beseech You, hear us.

That You would spare us,
we beseech You, hear us.

That You would pardon us,
we beseech You, hear us.

That You would bring us to true penance,
we beseech You, hear us.

That You would pour into our hearts
the grace of the Holy Spirit,
we beseech You, hear us.

That You would defend and propagate Your Church,
we beseech You, hear us.

That You would preserve and increase all societies assembled in Your holy Name,
we beseech You, hear us.

That You would bestow upon us true peace, humility, and charity,
we beseech You, hear us.

That You would give us perseverance in grace and in Your holy service,
we beseech You, hear us.

That You would deliver us from unclean thoughts, the temptations of the devil, and everlasting damnation,
we beseech You, hear us.

That You would unite us to the company of Your Saints,
we beseech You, hear us.

That You would graciously hear us,
we beseech You, hear us.

Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world;
spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world;
graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world;
have mercy on us.

Christ hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless You,
because by Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.


Quotes

The cross is the school of love. – St. Maximilian Kolbe

Mount Calvary is the mount of lovers. All love that does not take its origin from the Savior’s passion is foolish and perilous. Unhappy is love without the Savior’s death. Love and death are so mingled in the Savior’s passion that we cannot have one in our hearts without the other. Upon Calvary, we cannot have life without love, or love without the
Redeemer’s death. – St. Francis de Sales

Mount Calvary is the academy of love. – St. Francis de Sales

No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ. His prayer brought benefit to the multitude that raged against him. How much more does it bring to those who turn to him in repentance. – St. Leo the Great

As they were looking on, so we too gaze on his wounds as he hangs. We see his blood as he dies. We see the price offered by the redeemer, touch the scars of his resurrection. He bows his head, as if to kiss you. His heart is made bare open, as it were, in love to you. His arms are extended that he may embrace you. His whole body is displayed for your redemption. Ponder how great these things are. Let all this be rightly weighed in your mind: as he was once fixed to the cross in every part of his body for you, so he may now be fixed in every part of your soul. – St. Augustine

The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon himself the death that he found in us, he has most faithfully promised to give us life in him, such as we cannot have of ourselves. – St. Augustine

God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering. – St. Augustine

The passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the hope of glory and a lesson in patience. What may not the hearts of believers promise themselves as the gift of God’s grace, when for their sake God’s only Son, co-eternal with the Father, was not content only to be born as man from human stock but even died at the hands of the men he had created? – St. Augustine

He died, but he vanquished death; in himself he put an end to what we feared; he took it upon himself and he vanquished it, as a mighty hunter he captured and slew the lion. – St. Augustine

How precious the gift of the cross, how splendid to contemplate! In the cross there is no mingling of good and evil, as in the tree of paradise: it is wholly beautiful to behold and good to taste. The fruit of this tree is not death but life, not darkness but light. This tree does not cast us out of paradise, but opens the way for our return. – St. Theodore the Studite

By nothing else except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ has death been brought low: The sin of our first parent destroyed, hell plundered, resurrection bestowed, the power given us to despise the things of this world, even death itself, the road back to the former blessedness made smooth, the gates of paradise opened, our nature seated at the right hand of God and we made children and heirs of God. By the cross all these things have been set aright…It is a seal that the destroyer may not strike us, a raising up of those who lie fallen, a support for those who stand, a staff for the infirm, a crook for the shepherded, a guide for the wandering,a perfecting of the advanced, salvation for soul and body, a deflector of all evils, a cause of all goods, a destruction of sin, a plant of resurrection, and a tree of eternal life. – St. John Damascene

Looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. – St. Paul

But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. – St. Paul

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. – St. Paul

If you seek patience, you will find no better example than the cross. Great patience occurs in two ways: either when one patiently suffers much, or when one suffers things which one is able to avoid and yet does not avoid. Christ endured much on the cross, and did so patiently, because when he suffered he did not threaten; he was led like a sheep to the slaughter and he did not open his mouth. – St. Thomas Aquinas

If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. – Jesus Christ

It is not the finest wood that feeds the fire of Divine love, but the wood of the Cross. – St. Ignatius of Loyola

The crosses with which our path through life is strewn associate us with Jesus in the mystery of His crucifixion. – St. John Eudes

Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.- St. John of the Cross

The road is narrow. He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane. In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things. – St. John of the Cross

O souls! seek a refuge, like pure doves, in the shadow of the crucifix. There mourn the Passion of your divine Spouse, and drawing from your hearts flames of love and rivers of tears, make of them a precious balm with which to anoint the wounds of your Saviour. – St. Paul of the Cross

The Passion of Christ is the greatest and most stupendous work of Divine Love. The greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love. – St. Paul of the Cross

Oh cherished cross! Through thee my most bitter trials are replete with graces! – St. Paul of the Cross

There is no evil to be faced that Christ does not face with us. There is no enemy that Christ has not already conquered. There is no cross to bear that Christ has not already borne for us, and does not now bear with us. And on the far side of every cross we find the newness of life in the Holy Spirit, that new life which will reach its fulfillment in the resurrection. This is our faith. This is our witness before the world. – St. John Paul II

Our Savior’s passion raises men and women from the depths, lifts them up from the earth, and sets them in the heights. – St. Maximus of Turin

00:29:27
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WATCH: Intro to Marian Consecration

Please watch this beautiful introductory video to our 33 day preparation for total consecration to Jesus through Mary which starts September 4th. We will conclude on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, October 7th.

00:19:52
Where Should I Live? On Cultivating Intentional Community - Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.

A lot of folks have to decide, at one point or another, where they are going to live and what parish they are going to attend. At times you might be torn between growing where you're planted and moving to where you're nourished. I was in Tulsa this past weekend with a really excellent community, and it sparked some though on the theme.

Also, I have a new book out. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Eucharistic-Identity-Sacramental-Fullness/dp/162164796X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ELJ81ZJUVT1G&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HRZlgfwsmxjGFj1ePRw-OgluBhzhKL7XiQCNKyHEK_s.V0RluCVNmFRjkIZWue1otfyktDPiZN_QnWrjE_LTPtU&dib_tag=se&keywords=your+eucharistic+identity+gregory+pine&qid=1756821967&sprefix=your+eucharistic+%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-1

00:19:28
You Can Always Offer Something - Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.

Sometimes we have it in our mind that we need to offer the Lord a perfect gift of ourselves if it's going to count for something. Aware of our various attachments and imperfections, we put off making the gift until such time as we are in a position to make a more pleasing sacrifice. My counsel to you is to offer what you have at present, even if it's imperfect. Because that's the git you actually have and that's the gift in which the Lord actually delights : )

Here's the link for the book: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Eucharistic-Identity-Sacramental-Fullness/dp/162164796X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SME6J5KYKVXI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HRZlgfwsmxjGFj1ePRw-OgluBhzhKL7XiQCNKyHEK_s.V0RluCVNmFRjkIZWue1otfyktDPiZN_QnWrjE_LTPtU&dib_tag=se&keywords=your+eucharistic+identity+gregory+pine&qid=1755616701&sprefix=your+eucharistic%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-1

00:19:19
Simple NEW Lofi Song

Working on an entire album of lofi music. Here's one of those songs. Album should drop next week. THEN, a couple of weeks after that we hope to have our 24/7 stream up and running.

Simple NEW Lofi Song
December 01, 2022
Day 5 of Advent

THE ERROR OF ARIUS ABOUT THE INCARNATION

In their eagerness to proclaim the unity of God and man in Christ, some heretics went to the opposite extreme and taught that not only was there one person, but also a single nature, in God and man. This error took its rise from Arius. To defend his position that those scriptural passages where Christ is represented as being inferior to the Father, must refer to the Son of God Himself, regarded in His assuming nature, Arius taught that in Christ there is no other soul than the Word of God who, he maintained, took the place of the soul in Christ’s body. Thus when Christ says, in John 14:28, “The Father is greater than I,” or when He is introduced as praying or as being sad, such matters are to be referred to the very nature of the Son of God. If this were so, the union of God’s Son with man would be effected not only in the person, but also in the nature. For, as we know, the unity of human nature arises from the union of soul and body.

The...

Day 5 of Advent
November 27, 2022
Day 1 of Advent

RESTORATION OF MAN BY GOD THROUGH THE INCARNATION

We indicated above that the reparation of human nature could not be effected either by Adam or by any other purely human being. For no individual man ever occupied a position of pre-eminence over the whole of nature; nor can any mere man be the cause of grace. The same reasoning shows that not even an angel could be the author of man’s restoration. An angel cannot be the cause of grace, just as he cannot be man’s recompense with regard to the ultimate perfection of beatitude, to which man was to be recalled. In this matter of beatitude angels and men are on a footing of equality. Nothing remains, therefore, but that such restoration could be effected by God alone.

But if God had decided to restore man solely by an act of His will and power, the order of divine justice would not have been observed. justice demands satisfaction for sin. But God cannot render satisfaction, just as He cannot merit. Such a service pertains to one who ...

Day 1 of Advent
10 hours ago

Asking for prayers and advice… my husband has told me he identifies as transgender after 16 years together and is determined to pursue a medical transition. He wants to be very involved in bringing up our children but can no longer be my husband or have any kind of romantic relationship with me. We have a toddler and a newborn. Both of us are/were conservative Catholics.

I had to move back to my home country temporarily for family support. I feel such despair and pain. It’s been 3 months since we unofficially separated, and it hasn’t gotten any better. I still love him deeply and struggle accepting this new reality. I am also terrified about the future of our children growing up with a trans father.

Please pray for Gabriel. It would take a miracle to bring him back to us as a husband and a father. Please pray for me to make the right decisions for our children and to find some consolation in this turmoil.

September 01, 2025
Some Encouragement...

God doesn’t love you because you are worthy; He loves you so that you might be made worthy. God doesn’t love the you that you wish you were but aren’t, because the you that you wish you were but aren’t doesn’t exist. He loves you—big, awkward, always making resolutions and almost never keeping them—you. Jesus, I submit myself to Your tender love for me. I love You, Jesus. Make me a saint.

Questions about a difficult marriage?

Today I'll be interviewing Jason and Crystalina Every about living and growing in a difficult marriage.

Would love your honest, vulnerable questions (which will surely bless those who hear them asked and responded to).

Will keep all questions anonymous.

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33 Days of Preparation for Marian Consecration on Locals – Starts Sept 4

Hey everyone!

Beginning September 4th, our Locals community will enter into 33 days of spiritual preparation for total consecration to Jesus through Mary. 

We will conclude together on October 7th, the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

Here’s how it will unfold on Locals:

- We will be guided by Fr. Boniface Hicks’ beautiful book, The Fruit of Her Womb: 33-Day Preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary. (I’ve received special permission from the publisher to share it with Locals members.)

- A daily meditation and prayer will be posted each day for the 33 days.

- To accompany us, Fr. Boniface will provide several exclusive videos recorded just for Locals, offering guidance and encouragement along the way.

This is an opportunity to consecrate—or renew your consecration—to Jesus through Mary in the company of a prayerful community, with the wisdom of a priest who has written deeply on this devotion.

Mark your calendar: We begin September 4th.

You can purchase a copy of the book here: https://www.amazon.com/33-Day-Preparation-Total-Consecration-Through/dp/1644138409

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What St. Thomas Means by "Curiosity"

In today's livestream I spoke about the sin of curiosity. In this article, I thought I'd sum it up for you in case I didn't do it well in the livestream.

You can read Thomas' own words here, btw. 

For Aquinas, “curiosity” is not simply the healthy desire to know the truth. He distinguishes between the virtue of studiositas—the ordered pursuit of knowledge—and the vice of curiositas, which is the disordered pursuit of knowledge.

Curiosity becomes a vice when we seek knowledge in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons: for pride, idle speculation, gossip, or knowledge that leads us away from God rather than toward Him. For example, indulging in occult practices, probing into sinful matters for fascination, or prying into things that are none of our business (all of social media, or just most?) are all ways that curiosity corrupts the good of knowledge. In other words, knowledge itself is good, but the way we desire, seek, and use it can be distorted.

Aquinas says that curiosity can show itself in several ways: when someone prefers trivial knowledge over what would truly benefit their soul (c'mon ... this is how many people live their lives), when one seeks knowledge to boast or to sin, when one is distracted by an endless hunger for new information at the expense of wisdom, or when one turns to forbidden sources of knowledge.

By contrast, the virtue of studiousness disciplines the intellect so that we seek truth for its own sake, for God’s glory, and for the service of others. Thus, Aquinas sees curiosity not as the love of learning itself, but as the disorder of that love—an appetite for knowing that forgets the proper end of knowledge, which is to lead us to truth and ultimately to God.

So here's a challenge for you and me: What is one practical way that we can avoid curiosity and grow in studiousness?

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A Practical Method For Spiritual Warfare
 
In this article, I want to suggest a powerful, practical method for spiritual warfare—one that I believe will be a game-changer in your everyday life. We'll explore how consistently announcing what is true and renouncing what is false can become a potent weapon, helping you navigate the unseen battles that often manifest as struggles in our thoughts and emotions.
 
At the Catholic Easter Vigil Mass, there is a significant moment where the congregation renews their Baptismal Promises.

In essence, the priest leads the faithful to announce what is true and to renounce what is false.

For the purposes of this article we’ll begin with the questions that invite annunciations. He asks:

"Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth?"

"Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death and was buried, rose again from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father?"

"Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?"

In responding “I do” to these questions, we are in a very real sense aligning ourselves with reality. While emotions may be present, they don’t need to be. Simply stating our agreement with the way things are is enough.

Prior to the above questions are a series of questions which invite renunciation:

"Do you renounce sin, so as to live in the freedom of the children of God?"

"Do you renounce the lure of evil, so that sin may have no mastery over you?"

"Do you renounce Satan, the author and prince of sin?"

In responding “I do” to these questions, we are renouncing, repudiating, what is false.

To those who may attend Holy Mass once or twice a year they may be surprised to discover just how seriously the Church takes the reality of the Devil and spiritual warfare. But anyone somewhat familiar with the Scriptures and the consistent teaching of the Church would not be. Here I could dump a multitude of Scriptural verses proving my point, but one will suffice. From the first letter of St. Peter:

"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world."

And now for the main point of this article: Just as it is beneficial to regularly align ourselves with what is true (say through an act of faith), it is also beneficial to regularly repudiate, and disassociate with, what is false.

And given that our lives are situated squarely within a world at war. A world which “lies in the power of the evil one.” in which demonic forces are seeking to blind us to the things of God (2 Cor. 4:4). This is something we are going to be needing to do in one form or another on a daily basis. Multiple times a day.

Let me offer a personal anecdote that will illustrate this. I was about to interview someone on a topic that I knew would get blowback from the Demonic realm. I was going on a walk praying my rosary before my guest arrived. While I was walking I slowly became aware of a sort of oppressive force. I felt sad and restricted, somehow. Anxious. I’m not sure how long I was feeling that way, but at any rate I didn’t become conscious of it until that moment. I stopped walking and tried to sum up what I was experiencing in a word. It clicked. intimidation. That’s was it. I felt intimidated. And so I said the following prayer:

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