”Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel from St Luke Jesus teaching the crowd…His message when read by the secular world does not exactly sound like a lifestyle one would want to embrace…..But this is the measure and mark of true Christian…Don’t be deceived……“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man…….Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way”….The message of Jesus Christ has always and always will be a message that is rejected by the secular world…..Why?…..Because it puts value in people over “things”….It embraces sacrifice…It requires obedience and humility…..It recognizes authority….All these attributes of a true follower of Christ are the exact opposite of the mind set of a secular person…….To be Catholic in our world today means we do not go along to get along…It means we are to stand out, be different and in doing so we will be salt and light….Salt was used by the ancient world to preserve food and in living our faith out in the public square a follower of Jesus Christ acts as salt does for food….Preserving what is good…..We are also to be light….A light guides one to where they need to go….A light stands among the crowd in the front not the back…..For a light that is “hidden” is of no use……If we reflect upon all the “Blessed” statements made by Jesus today in the Gospel…One may say to themself - This "Christian thing" does not sound like a good deal…..While the road is narrow that leads to life and “the cross” is always laid upon our shoulder - The peace of Christ and a deep and lasting joy accompany us along “the road”…..Remember the words of Jesus himself……”Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid”……So there you go! - This “deal” may not be as bad as the world says it is

“Rejoice and be glad; your reward will be great in heaven”

A friend of mine who is a priest from New Jersey once said and I will never forget it….”Beware of celebrity Priests”…….My friend said that because those in the world who embrace celebrity more times then not also embrace the world….The message of Jesus Christ has never been “popular” with worldly people…..And if we read the gospel day in and day out…Jesus is not shy about challenging the status quo……Popular opinion usually has a way to distance itself from unpopular ideas and requests which require sacrifice……So what does this mean for us?….As Catholics we are to know the Truth….Live the Truth…Speak the Truth…And suffer for the Truth…….We have an audience of one - God and God alone!…We are to proclaim the gospel with our very lives…..In season and out of season……One may say - How can we do that?…..Well, if we rely upon our own strengthen we can not…We must rely on grace, which comes from the Sacraments, daily prayer and weekly fasting…..When we “make room” in our life for this grace…We can do all things because we do them with and through Jesus Christ himself…….Getting back to my friends statement - ”Beware of celebrity Priests”…….More times then not….Holy priests and nuns live a very quiet life….They tend to their parishes, serve the poor, preach the Truth, whether to one person who attends Mass or to 1000 people in the pews - No matter…Their message is the same if the President of the United States walks in the door of the Church or the cleaning lady walks in……Many years ago it was Christmas and I was helping the Missionaries of Charity put together a Christmas party for the people who lived in the Elliott-Chelsea Housing Project in Lower Manhattan….Believe it or not when I got to the convent that day, Hugh Jackman the famous Hollywood star was there with his wife…After we all were done with our work…The Superior of the convent pulled Hugh and is wife aside and was talking to them…..After they left, I said to the Superior…”Do you know who they are?” - That man is very famous”……The Sister knew that and I could tell, she could care less!…To her Hugh Jackman and his wife were no different than the poor people who lived in the housing projects we were serving that day……The “message” was the same for Hugh Jackman and the poor alike…...........................”Prepare the way of the Lord - Repent and Believe in the Gospel”

“Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes; its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit”

Today Jesus in St Luke’s Gospel tells us what we are to expect from the world when we follow the Gospel….He also tells us that we are to rejoice!….How and why would we rejoice when the “cross is heavy and road is long”?…..I will tell you why - Because “your reward will be great in heaven!” - That is why….Jesus was not “selling” anything…He told it like it is…He spoke clearly and boldly…And so must we…….Don’t be afraid of not “being invited to the barbecue” because you are a Catholic….Our Lord always takes care of his own!……And when we adhere “to the vine” we will bear fruit for the Kingdom of God - Come hell or high water…..That is a promise!….In the meantime……”Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows”