We have to stop pretending we can have it “both ways”…Because we can not…So place your bets

Today at Holy Mass we are reminded in the Gospel of John about the virtue of perseverance…..“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy”……..In life we all in essence make a “bet”…And this is the wager…We either believe EVERYTHING Jesus said…Or we do not…..There is no sitting on the fence either and no choice is a choice…If we choose (notice the word CHOOSE) to follow Christ and carry our cross daily, we will inevitably have to “put down” many “things” that this world has to offer…..This is reality!…You can not have it both ways and to think you can is a self manufactured deception…..Think of it this way……If we choose to believe what Jesus had to say is TRUE…And it turns out to be wrong….Catholics wasted a lifetime (say for argument sake 80 years)…But if Jesus was RIGHT and the Church DOES teach the fullness of TRUTH….That would mean those who deny it sacrificed ETERNITY…..Think about that in terms of the wager we all make - Because each of us makes it…Our world likes to “calculate costs”…This is done each and every day around corporate conference tables across America…..Think about your Catholic faith in this manner for a moment….It all comes down to a choice and a bet!…So place your bets!……I have placed mine…You can’t have it both ways

“Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, and so enter into his glory”

My generation and most of Americans for that matter have been raised “thinking” we can have our “cake and eat it too”…That we can have it all…We can “multi-task” our way through life…..When you have children you soon realize there are only 24 hours in each day…You need to work - There goes 9 to 10 hours - You need to sleep - There goes 6 to 7 hours - And before you know it - The day is finished…So it is with our life - It goes by FAST….Life is all about choices….To fully embrace our Catholic faith is one of those choices…We have to consciously make that choice, no one can make it for you….And if we say YES to God - Through his Church, we will be given all the grace we need to live out our Catholic faith…But that is a choice…Again, no one can make it for you……Over the years I have seen many people, some of which are very close to me, “put down” certain behaviors and “pick up” their Catholic faith and live it to the full…I have watched with my own eyes how their life has been turned around for the better……My daughter’s godfather is one of those people…Michael had alcohol and drug issues…He almost lost his life in a car accident….He got married outside the Church and divorced…..His only son was born with chronic medical issues and died before the age of ten….All this drove Michael to the brink….And when he came to the “end of himself”…He made a choice…He got baptized…His first marriage was not Sacramental, so he got an annulment….He began serving the poor…He met a Catholic girl…Got married in the Church…And now him and his wife are fostering a baby boy…I have watched this transformation take place right before my eyes!…Michael made a “bet”…..He bet on the words of Christ and his Church….And his life not only was never the same but it improved…We must make the same bet…And again…You can’t have it both ways…..Far too many Catholics want to have “one foot in the world and one foot in the Church”…It does not work that way!…..Jesus tells us very clearly…….”Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”…It all comes down to a choice and we ALL make it….Place your bets!

“So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything”

Today at Mass Jesus tells us very clearly that living here on earth as a practicing Catholics is not going to be easy…The road to heaven is narrow..Jesus tells us that himself point blank, so don’t believe some “sidewalk preacher” who tells you other wise…Because the road to heaven is narrow we ALL need assistance…And that assistance comes in the form of the Sacraments and prayer….Monthly Confession - Weekly reception of the Blessed Sacrament - Pray the Rosary Daily…..These practices give us the NEEDED grace to walk the narrow road - To persevere to the very end!….We either believe the words of Christ or we do not….Its really that simple….And as we know - Choices have consequences…..All adults know that to be true….We have to stop pretending we can have it “both ways”…Because we can not…So place your bets!