Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles that the Church that Jesus founded was united…. “The community of believers was of one heart and mind”….Hearing this is encouraging….Today far too many Catholics have far too many “ideas” that differ from not only each other but from Church teaching, as well as from the legitimate authority which rests in Rome…Why?….Two things come to mind…One - We “think” we know better…… Two - We have not subjected our will to God fully yet because we do not trust him…….The Church because it was founded by Christ has authority and when you get right down to it, the Church because it was founded by the only person who has risen from the dead to date (i.e. Jesus who is God) is the only institution with legitimate authority on the earth…Again - Far too many people “think” they know better…Ok - Here is a reality check for those who do not recognize the authority and teaching of the Catholic Church…If we are fortunate to make in to heaven and I sure hope I "make it in"…Just as this reading tells us today at Mass…......”The community of believers was of one heart and mind”…In heaven, everyone will be on the same page - God’s page…That means we have to allow God to form us now and we do that by submitting our will …Now there is a “bad word”…”Submitting” ourself to Church teaching and God's authority….Gosh did I just commit a sin in the eyes of the world!……Again, only one man rose from the dead and that man founded one Church - The Catholic Church…When YOU rise from the dead and start a Church - I am all ears - Until then….I am going to submit to the one Church founded by God.
“And he has made the world firm, not to be moved. Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O LORD”
The driving reason why there is so much division in the world today is because we have forgotten that God is the source and summit of human existence…He is creator, we are creation - Period-Full Stop!…..While each of us is born unique, we all have in common a creator…Only with this mindset can we rid the world of division and strife…In Catholic teaching there is a saying…."In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity”…For example, I do not have to “like” the Pope…But I do have to recognize his authority - Why? - Because it comes from God!……One of the most orderly organizations I have ever witnessed with my own two eyes are the Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa…One of the reasons for that is, the sisters take a vow of obedience and take that vow very seriously…Today, the word “obedience” is another “bad” word” - Just like “submit”…But I digress.....For an institution or any organization for that matter to run well, the people in it must be obedient to legitimate authority….And today that is lacking from family life all the way up to the Presidency as well as in the Catholic Church….One Saturday afternoon, I was helping the Missionaries of Charity sisters in New York in their convent and the 2:00pm bell rang for prayer in the middle of our work…All of a sudden - Everything stopped! - And all the sisters went into the chapel….After the Holy Hour I asked the superior of the house about how everything stopped so suddenly when it came time to pray…This is what Sister said to me and I will always remember it…...”The sound of the bell is the voice of God”….And she meant it!…..Why bring this story up?…Do we view Church teaching as the “Voice of God”…Do we “think” we know better?….Do we honor legitimate authority within the Church?…Even if you do not “like” the Priest, Bishop, Cardinal or Pope?…Again, do you "think" you know better?…..Ultimately, it all comes down to obedience and our will ....…It also comes down to Trust in God and his plan for us and the world…..God works even through “bad” people and “bad ideas”…… And if you disagree with me, remember what we were told in the first reading today at Mass…..“The community of believers was of one heart and mind”…That atmosphere the first Catholics experienced was a foretaste of heaven and if you want to get into heaven…Start allowing God to form you now!…Because in heaven everyone will be of “one heart and one mind”…And guess what….Our “standard” will not be "the standard”….So get over it!
“Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed: holiness befits your house, O LORD, for length of days.”
Today we are reminded at Mass about how wonderful things work when everyone is on the same page…..When it comes to being Catholic, its all written down…All we have to do is read it…But in order to submit our will to Church Teaching, the Natural Law and God’s Truth we must pray……We must also rely on Sacramental grace and fasting when there is a difficult teaching that we struggle with to accept…And when we do all those things, God will give us the grace we need - He will enlighten our minds with his Truth….Jesus was perfectly obedient to God the Father…Our Lady was also perfectly obedient….What about us?….Is this a virtue we disregard and if we do, sadly we do so at a personal cost…..The theme song of hell is “I did it my way”….In heaven everyone will be of one mind and one heart…And that “standard” will not be set by us….."In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity”
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