All roads lead to God in the end…Even “dead ends”

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading the creation narrative in the Book of Genesis continues….."It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him”….And from the man’s rib God created that partner for him and called her “woman”….”For out of 'her man' this one has been taken”……And to this very day this partnership continues and will always continue…..Marriage is between one man and one woman…Any other variation of this union, which was defined by God himself is a misnomer…..”That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh”……There are many reasons as to why society prescribes to defining marriage as something it is not and can never be…..At the root of all the “variations of marriage” we see today, even in non Sacramental marriages between a man and a woman, under it all are wounds…..And sadly, our society does not take those wounds to the “Divine Physician”, instead humanity falsely believes they can “create” as God created…And whenever mankind convinces himself into believing this lie - In the end, humanity hits “a wall” and we are greatly disappointed when we hit this "wall"……Many times God works in our life when we come to the end of our self….This means when we wholeheartedly pursue a behavior or an ideology that is “not of God” and after time we realize that it does not and can not satisfy what we intended it to satisfy…Its at that point that God meets us right where we are as we are…And its at that moment that we must make a decision - To continue down a “rabbit hole” that has no end, or reverse course and start something new.

“Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls”

Recently I experienced a shoulder injury and my doctor prescribed that I go to physical therapy…The therapist said something very interesting and it applies to the Spiritual life as well…”Listen to your body”…..Each of us are “hard wired” for God…..And when we “go off the rails”….Our soul tells us so……The same goes for those who enter marriage…….When we get married in the Catholic Church we take vows….We are called to be faithful….Fruitful…And our marriage is to be forever….God made marriage a Sacrament and because of that the covenant between a man and a woman is sacred……Does our society view marriage as something sacred? - A story for another day…..Marriage is also a vocation and through this covenant God works to sanctify both the husband and the wife…And that is a process…..Recently I spoke to a friend of mine who is a nun and she asked me about my children…I told her they are well and she then said something that most people would probably not fully understand…She said - “Joe - The children will get you to heaven”…....What does that mean?…It means that by taking care of our children, we will learn to forget ourself and its in that process of “giving ourself away” that we find God….This is what the vocation of marriage is all about…Today our society tries to “play God”…We try to redefine what can not be changed…And in doing that we “build a wall” between ourself and God’s grace……A priest once told me something I will never forget…The grace of God is always pouring down upon us - We however many times choose to put up an umbrella”…..In order for the grace of God to reach us, we must put down the “umbrella”…..We do that by living a Sacramental life…A life, which we were ALL born to live…We do that by living out our marriage vows…..And in turn, we are filled with God’s grace….Why do we need that grace?…Because we are ALL flawed in one way or another….That is where the “Divine Physician” comes in…God showers us with life giving grace….Everything is reliant upon that grace…This is why no one can or should boast.

“Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways! For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored”

Today at Mass God tells us he created marriage and because of that marriage is a sacred union between one man and one woman…Its this union that brings life into the world…We can not alter what God has created and to think so only ends in a dead end…..The interesting thing about that “dead end” is when we stray from God and “think” we can redefine what can not be redefined…In time, God clearly communicates to us where we went wrong….Why?…..Because God is a patient and loving father and when we reach that “wall”, its then for us to make a decision…..God works through all things….And God is merciful….Sometimes it takes human beings time to “figure out” that God’s way is the only way….Recently I read a book about St Genevieve……St Genevieve lived in what is now Paris when the Roman empire fell…And as with the life of all saints, St Genevieve was very brave…She confronted Attila the Hun…In the story someone questioned how St Genevieve will be able to change the heart of a man like Attila the Hun……And a very wise person said something in the story that I will never forget….”God will speak to Attila the Hun in a language he understands”…Wise words in deed…All roads lead to God in the end…Even “dead ends”