The Truth does not belong to us…It is to be passed on…Never to be compromised or altered….Authenticity “sells”…Be Bold and Be Clear - You will be surprised at how many people listen

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles we hear about St Paul….The man who persecuted any person or thing that was not Jewish is now reaching a hand out to gentiles…It does not get any more mind-blowing then that!….How can such a thing happen?….In one word - Jesus!…This is the power of God…This is what “knocks” on each and every person’s door…Something else to note about what St Paul did in this reading…The Jewish people he was speaking to were out right hostile towards him…Yet - Paul remained bold and clear…He did not compromise the faith or water it down….And nor should we - Why?….Because the Catholic faith does not belong to us…The Deposit of Faith is to be handed down not altered…”I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth”…..Catholics must be bold and live their faith in the public square out loud…Never apologize for what our Church teaches - NEVER!……Now, that does not mean all people will accept the message or you for that matter.....There may even be some level of open hostility towards the message and towards you - This is just part of the deal - Accept it……Also remember this, which we hear in today’s Gospel from St John….“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one”…Our job is not to alter the Truth but simply “pass it on”….As Mother Teresa famously said……”We are not called to be successful, we are called to be faithful”…..With that said……”A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

“I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me.”

For those who do not know him, Fr Benedict Groeschel was a Franciscan Friar born in Jersey City who helped begin a new religious order - The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal…..I heard about him many years ago and one day when I was in my late twenties I saw a pamphlet in the back of my parish stating that Fr Benedict speaks once a month at a local Church near my home…So I decided to go and hear what this famous man had to say…And frankly when I did, I was blown away by him…He was clearly intelligent but he had this “Jersey City way” of communicating the faith…He was real….And he was uncompromising and faithful…..I bring this up because this is what St John speaks about in the Gospel from Mass today….“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me”….At the time I first encountered Fr Benedict I was just beginning my “adult journey” into my Catholic faith…And when I heard the Truth coming from him, the way he presented it…Something deep inside of me understood that what he was saying was absolutely the Truth - I intuitively understood this……Please allow me to share a quick story about Fr Benedict…I did not know him personally, but I used to follow him on EWTN where he had a weekly television show…When I was going to India, I wrote him a letter and asked him to have on as a guest on his show a priest I knew from Kolkata who was in great need…Well, one given day I was in my apartment and the phone rang…It was Fr Benedict Groeschel on the phone - I almost fell over!…He told me he could not accommodate my request but he wanted to give me a donation from his book sales to bring to India…He did not know me from Adam - Just from a random letter!….So this very holy and famous man wrote me a check for one thousand dollars….I was blown away frankly!…I only tell this story because Fr Benedict Groeschel was the real deal…I am fully convinced that one day he will be declared a saint…Yes, saints can come from Jersey City too!

“The LORD is good: his kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations”

We learned today how St Paul, a man due to his encounter with the Risen Christ become a bold voice in the world…..We also heard in the Gospel of St John that the Truth will resonate in the hearts of men….Some will reject it but many will respond…And many times, people will surprise you - If you don’t believe me…Just look at the man who the world knows to be St Paul…if you would have told Paul when he was a practicing Jew that he would abandon his religion and travel the known world preaching the message of a carpenter who claimed to have rose from the dead - When Paul was Saul, he would have thought you to be crazy…How can something like that happen? - Once again - In one word - Jesus!….The message of Christ is true….And the Church he founded contains the fullness of Truth…The Truth does not belong to us…It is to be passed on…Never to be compromised or altered….Authenticity “sells”…Be Bold and Be Clear - You will be surprised at how many people listen