Do we have a heart for the poor?…Do we have a heart for the lost?……”What you did for the least - You did to ME”

Today the Universal Church commemorates the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus…A heart that burns with love for the world….How many people never experienced love?……Walk the streets of any city in America and look around….That person begging on the street - That person is someone’s child!….That man with no shirt on talking to himself - That man is someone’s child!….I can only speak for myself…Once I had my own children, my view of the world changed a lot….To think how I would feel if “that person” on the street was MY CHILD! - How my heart would bleed….Now think of how Jesus feels……”I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the foreign lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel in the land's ravines and all its inhabited places”…..Do we have a heart for the poor? - Do we have a heart for the lost? - Do we have a heart for the abandoned?…While we may not be able to “fix” their problems…Do we even care?…..Mother Teresa once said…”If you cannot feed one hundred people - Feed one”…We can all do something…….But sadly before that happens our eyes must open…..The pontificate of Pope Francis at times was controversial, while many may not agree with how he reached out to people and the clarity that was often lacking in his pastoral approach…One can not dispute that his heart was always concerned for the lost…..He was willing to “leave the 99 in search for the one”….Are we willing to do the same?……What prevents you from doing so?……A father loves all his children…Not just the ones who get “straight As” and get “good jobs”….”I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance."

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

Do we have a heart for the lost?…That is the question for us to ponder today….Years ago I had access to an unlimited amount free Rosary beads…..And as I walked the streets of New York, I would give them out to the homeless…Only once did I get a negative reaction but that was on the streets of San Francisco - A story for another day…But overwhelmingly, the poor would always take the Rosary beads from me and thank me….A small token but it came from my heart…One time I was in Lower Manhattan entering the subway…As I was walking down the stairs I saw a homeless man sleeping, so I placed a set of Rosary beads at his feet and kept walking….All of a sudden as I was walking minding my on business, I felt my arm being grasped from behind….It was the homeless man…He ran after me to tell me with the Rosary beads in his hand…..”Thank you so much he said - My Rosary beads broken this morning - Thank you for these, I needed a new pair!”….A small reminder that God “looks after” all his children even the most forgotten……I was told of another story, this one from there streets of Kolkata, India….There was a child who had a rare disease who lived on the streets…The child was in need of medicine and Mother Teresa’s sisters did not have it…So that child was most likely going to die….Just as people had given up hope, a shipment of supplies comes into the convent and right on top of the box, was the exact medicine that abandoned child needed…..Speaking personally, that story makes me think long and hard - That child was forgotten and abandoned by the world - In many ways was completely “invisible” to “polite society” - But not to God - This is how God’s love works…God saw the need of that child and God addressed it with his own hand….The Sacred Heart of Jesus was pierced by a sword - His Sacred Heart bleeds to this day for the world……While we ourselves can not “fix” the world's problems - We can do “our part”…In the end, this is how we will be judged - Jesus himself says so…..”For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me”….People - Listen up! - That’s on the “final exam”

“Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart”

Today we are told about how the Sacred Heart of Jesus burns with love for a lost world….I work in New York City and I walk roughly about one mile back and forth to my office once I get off the bus from New Jersey…As I walk and see the “wasteland” of lost souls on the streets, some so very young, I think of the words of Christ often as I pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet…..”As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation”……Do we have a heart for the poor?…Do we have a heart for the lost?……”What you did for the least - You did to ME”

There is a big difference between empathy and sympathy…..Being Catholic is not about “ticking boxes”….Only under the “weight of the cross” will our witness bear fruit

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew Jesus tells us something we such consider and reflect upon deeply…As Catholics are we just “ticking boxes”?….Do we worship God from our heart?…..Do we see Jesus in others and respond in kind?…..”Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven”…Mother Teresa gives us good insight into remedying this potential problem….."It's not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing”…….Its very easy to get “caught up’ in a “check list”…To do “things” without thinking about them…..To “look through people”…..To say words that really have no personal meaning……Being Catholic MUST be a lived experience - It MUST be felt!…..We MUST walk among men…We MUST feel what they feel….We MUST struggle as they struggle…..This kind of lived experience breeds empathy…Which is very different from sympathy…Empathy understands people because YOU too “lived it”……This was the example of Jesus - He lived and walked among men…..St Paul breaks it down the best….......”Though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross”…This is why Pope Francis said rightfully: “A shepherd should smell like the sheep”…..No one wants to do this because no one wants to suffer…But its through suffering that we grow in empathy towards others….And then words mean something and have impact!….We feel for people because we are just like them….This is what servant leadership looks like…And this is how we remedy becoming mechanical in our Catholic faith…Being Catholic is not about “ticking boxes”

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him”

Having a big family helps one to be detached from the world…..Why?….Because having many kids is “messy”…..Everything gets broken…Money is tight…..The word “NO” means something and is not just a word…..You don’t have a “perfect house”…You don’t go on “perfect” vacations….You will not retire with a view of the ocean…..You will not drive the car you want…..All these things serve a purpose…They help a Catholic to understand the very people they are to serve…And YES, all Catholics were put on this earth to serve others - That means YOU!….But in order to do that properly and not just “tick boxes”…We too must feel what the people we serve feel…..Let’s be honest - No one wants to do this - But I will tell you bluntly - This is why our world lacks saints…..And only saints change the world……..At the end of her life a journalist asked Mother Teresa if she thought her religious order would continue after her death…This is what she said…”If the sisters do two things, the Missionaries of Charity will continue to thrive…The first, keep the Blessed Sacrament the center of their life…And the second, that the sisters live in poverty”…No one wants to hear such a statement because no one wants to do what Mother Teresa just said…How could the sisters effectively serve the poor if they do not live just like them?…..And because the Missionaries of Charity do just what Mother Teresa said to do…Their witness is POWERFUL!…..The Gospel is lived out and SEEN by the world - No words necessary!…..If I was to give advice to Bishops, I would humbly tell them that this is the example our clergy must give…Again, this was the advice from Pope Francis too: “A shepherd should smell like the sheep”…But that advice must go further….Catholic families must also “live this experience”…Now that does not mean we are to live in dire poverty…But it does mean we are to live simply….To meet the “needs” of our family, not necessarily their “wants”….This kind of living breeds character…It instills empathy towards others in our children…..This kind of living also gives a powerful witness to the world…Our world does not need another “lecture”…It needs witnesses…In order to give that witness, we must embrace the cross…There is NO OTHER way!

“Visit me with your saving help, that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones, rejoice in the joy of your people, and glory with your inheritance”

Today in the Gospel read to us at Mass we are reminded about “keeping it real”….People use that phrase a lot in America…”Keep it real”…..Well - In order to do that, we must not only know about Jesus Christ, we must strive to live like him…..This model of living goes against everything we have been taught in America…..But to live as a Catholic means we are to be different…We are to view our life as a pilgrimage focused on our heavenly home - Our true and ONLY home.…And if we want our witness to impact the world, we must “bleed” the same red blood as the people we live next to and serve…..There is a big difference between empathy and sympathy…..Being Catholic is not about “ticking boxes”….Only under the “weight of the cross” will our witness bear fruit

I cannot convince you of anything - But God can - And he will - When you listen in the silence…I promise you this - You will not be disappointed!

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading taken from the Book of Genesis, the story of Abraham continues….Abraham complains to God, telling him he has no children…Remember, Abraham is an old man (75 years old)….God sits him down and “sets him straight”…......“Fear not, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great”…....And as the story goes Abraham has a son…..But God was not finished telling Abraham about his future…..“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so, he added, shall your descendants be”…....Why is this important to highlight - God can do anything!…We think of God on human terms - God can do the impossible and if you look at history - God has accomplished the impossible time and time again…We as humans tend to “put God in a box”…..I say that because we should pray BIG….When we think of God - THINK BIG…..Why do we not do this?……The great Dominican theologian Fr Reginad Garrigou Lagrange OP (1964) tells us why……”We rely too much on our own strength when our helplessness is obvious and because we do not depend enough on the heart of Jesus, on his love for us”……In these daily reflections I have stated time and time again…God can do MUCH more with your life then you can….We simply do not believe it….Well - Its true!…Don’t believe me?…..Ask Abraham who at 75 years old had no children and God tells him he will be a father to a nation - And it happened!…Don’t believe me?……Tell that to 17 year old Joan of Arc who led the French Army against the English and France was victorious….Don’t believe me?…..Ask a 33 year old carpenter from a remote village in the Middle East 2000 years ago who started a new religious movement only to be brutally murdered….Remember that “guy”?…....God can do the impossible and he does the impossible to this very day

“Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord; whoever remains in me will bear much fruit”

Of all my childhood friends, I was the last the get married…I always wanted to get married and be a father but it did not seem like that was the plan God had for me….And just when I came to terms that maybe getting married was not going to happen - I met my wife….And I got married at 43 years old…And in ten years had five children…..God’s ways are not our ways and God works on HIS timeline…..There is an old saying…”Man plans and God laughs”…..While its important to have plans, we should not hold on to our plans too tightly…God may have another plan for your life - A better one - And if we are not open to the Holy Spirit, we will miss out…..The great Italian missionary saint Frances Xavier Cabrini wanted to go to China to bring the faith…But the Pope had other plans for her - He sent her to America….And in obedience, she did what the Pope asked of her and abandoned her plans of going to China…And in America Frances Xavier Cabrini established 67 schools, orphanages, hospitals and social service agencies throughout the United States….God’s plan was BETTER then her plan…Maybe that is the case with us too?…..We must give God the “stirring wheel” of our life…..God knows us better than we know ourselves…We have to learn to trust him….When we give up control - Which by the way is a ridiculous concept because we do not have control of anything, we just convince ourselves we do - When we give up control and give control of our life to God - The outcome will not only surprise you but in many cases will shake the foundations of the world around you…This is what the saints do…They live radically…So this is what we must do too….I promise you this - If you take me at my word - You will not be disappointed!

“By their fruits you will know them”

Today we are reminded again that God can do anything…God works with and through everyday people…..Many of the great saints were just “regular people”…What made them extraordinary?…They dared to live radically for Christ….And their “bet” paid off…Ask your self - Why can’t that not be YOU?…What are YOU afraid of?…..We must be willing to put our hand into the hand of God and NEVER turn back!….God can do so much more with your life then you can do with it!…..I can list countless examples of this - But that will not convince you…But I will tell you who will - Jesus himself…Sit before the Blessed Sacrament in silence - Make a weekly habit of it...And watch what happens…I cannot convince you of anything - But God can - And he will - When you listen in the silence…I promise you this - You will not be disappointed!

“I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth”…Notice again the words…”I will make you”…That should tell you something - Are we paying attention?

Today the Universal Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist….As many know John the Baptist was the cousin of Jesus and the chosen man to prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Messiah….As we say in Northern New Jersey…John the Baptist was “not playing games”….He lived the life of an ascetic in the desert…He prayed and fasted and when he spoke…John shook the foundations of the world…He spoke Truth to power fearlessly and eventually it cost him his life……There is an old saying…”I would rather die for something that will live then live for something that will die”…John embodied that mantra…How about us?…..Do we live for what is eternal or do we exist to bask in the fleeting and superficial moments of a secular life?….And if we desire to fully embrace the Truth…To live it loudly with our life - How do we do it?…..John the Baptist shows us….Like an athlete, one does not win the game without practice…John fasted and prayed…..Our world laughs at such a life but it is in those very practices that our strengthen is grounded…One does not stare death in the face as John did by relying upon our own strengthen…John the Baptist got his strengthen from the Lord…And so can we…If we do what John taught us to do - Fast and Pray…In the first reading from Mass today, we heard from the Prophet Isaiah…..”The LORD called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory”…….Notice the words Isaiah uses to begin each sentence….”He made me”……God is the master builder…While God is at work in each of our lives, we must cooperate with him…..And if we do, the “finished product” will set the world on fire!….Like John, daily prayer and weekly fasting must be apart of that process…So are the Sacraments apart of the process, which come from God and are divine in nature…This is how God “crafts us” to be the people we were ALL born to be….The Prophet Isaiah goes on in the first reading….”I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth”….Do you somehow think that statement was made for the “select few”….That statement was proclaimed for YOU!…..I will say it again…..”I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth”…..God uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary - Count on it!

“O LORD, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar”

When you read the lives of the saints you get a “full picture” of how God formed men and women from all walks of life into “athletes for Christ"….As the saying goes...”Rome was not built in a day”…And with all the saints, it took time for God to “make them” into the people he called them to be…So it is with us…But here is the difference - The saints saw God’s hand at work in their life - Do we?….Do we cooperate with God as he “forms us”….It all comes down to how you view the purpose of your life…In the eyes of God, life is about being sanctified and everything that happens, both good and bad is to be used by us to “form us” towards that goal…Fasting, daily prayer and the Sacraments open our eyes to that reality…Those practices also help us, through grace, to accept the moments of life when “things do not go our way”…….Because even those moments have a purpose…Again to sanctify us and help us to grow in virtue…This is how God works! - This is how God forms us……Speaking personally, now that I am a married man and a father of five children, I cannot spend the time I spent as a single man serving with Mother Teresa’s sisters…However, when I do see the Missionaries of Charity, I always tell them…The seven years I spent as their driver in New York City “prepared me” for my marriage….That time of service and prayer “formed me”…..Now God is forming me again, through my wife and five children…He teaches me each and everyday….This is how we MUST view our life….John the Baptist, whose nativity the Universal Church celebrates today, spent countless days in the desert in prayer…John fasted….John was an “athlete” in a sense “in training” for the time that God called him forth…The same process is happening right now with YOU and me…God is at work….Our eyes must be opened to that process and in turn we MUST cooperate with the master builder

“Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works”

Today the Universal Church commemorates the birth of a great man - John the Baptist….John served his purpose and his life brought glory to God…How about us?….Do you realize that YOU to were born for a purpose?…..Our world sadly “misses it”…We chase after “nonsense”….God created each of us in an unrepeatable manner…...There will never be other like YOU….And sadly, instead of celebrating the people we were all born to be, we “put on masks” to appease the world and “bury” the gifts given to us by God….Today as we honor John the Baptist, we should be reminded that like John, we too have a purpose - To bring Glory to God - But for that to happen, we must cooperate with “the master builder”…Like John…. We must pray daily and fast weekly…We must live a Sacramental life….And when we do these things and “life happens” around us…We will accept both the good and the bad…Knowing God is at work through it all…..Forming us…..If we do these things I suggest to you today….You will be amazed at what God will accomplish through YOUR life…We are the work of his hands and each of us is wonderfully made - “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth”…Notice again the words…”I will make you”…That should tell you something - Are we paying attention?

Time to “put down the glass and reach for the jug”…..No risk - No reward…..Remember that

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading we hear from the Book of Genesis how God told Abram (Soon to be called Abraham - Father of a Nation) to leave his land and go to a strange place and start over….At the time Abram was 75 years old and had no children…Can you imagine?…..Starting over completely at 75 years old!?!…..”Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran”…….Abraham’s willingness to trust God radically is simply amazing!….How many people would pack up everything with no plan at 75 years old?….The answer - Not many….”The LORD said to Abram: "Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you”…..Sometimes when we pray in silence, when we expose our soul to God and allow his grace to encounter us through the Sacraments, what we hear may sound illogical to secular minds…..Remember - God’s ways are not our ways…What holds back? - In one word - FEAR - We are afraid…This is something ALL of us must overcome…..God will NEVER let YOU down!!!…..Many of the paths we are ALL called to walk in this life many not make sense as we walk them but if we have faith and trust in the one who called us, we can guarantee our efforts will not be in vain….So in our Scripture passage today from Mass - God calls a 75 year old man to be “The Father of a Nation” - And Abraham responds to the call - How about you? - What is God calling you to do?…Don’t think for a second God does not have something for you to do…Does that “something” scare you?….Does it “fit in” with your current plans?…………”After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men”…….No risk - No reward…..Remember that

“The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart”

Many people have a false impression of men and women who have entered religious life…When you take the time to get to know some of these people, you will be shocked at who they once were before they became nuns or priests and why or how God called them - But God calls who he calls and I got news for you - He calls us ALL in one way or another - Its then up to us to respond….I will share with you one such story……A young French girl came from a very wealthy family…She was the only child and had a very strong calling to become a nun…She wanted to enter Mother Teresa’s religious order…..So at the age of sixteen, she tells her parents…..”In two years I am going to leave you - You should adopt other children”….Now being a parent myself, if a sixteen year old tells me something like that I would take it with a grain of salt…But this young girl was dead serious and she did exactly what she said…At eighteen, she left her home to become a nun…..How can someone so young know so clearly that God wants her to leave a very comfortable life?…To leave her family!….And to live an austere life serving the poor in far away countries?…….How? - Because God is VERY real - That is how….And God has “something” for each of us to do….Do we make time in silence to hear his voice?…..Do we live in “constant noise”, which distracts us?…..I personally believe when we stand before God, our enter life will be brought in front of our eyes - All the good we did and all the bad…But I also believe God will show us what we COULD have done….If only we trusted him……I can only speak for myself - When that moment comes for me - I want God to say these words to me……‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy”……Fear comes from the devil…NEVER be afraid to follow where God calls you to walk - He will provide all the grace YOU need to get the job done!…Don’t believe me?…..Ask a 75 year old fatherless man named Abraham….."I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you”…….Don’t settle! - You were not made for comfort - You were made for GREATNESS - Embrace what is YOURS!

“Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance”

Today we hear the story of Abraham at Mass recorded in the Book of Genesis…….We are reminded once again of how God uses regular people to accomplish extraordinary things….So the question we must ask ourself is - What is God calling YOU to do?……And are we afraid to do it?….What is holding YOU back?…..If we study history, you will find those who were the true innovators, the ones who forged new paths…Never listened to the “status quo”…They “heard another voice” within themselves and they pursued that “voice” relentlessly…This is how we must approach our Catholic faith…..Jesus is “that voice” and he tells us point blank…If we “adhere to the vine” our lives will produce “lasting fruit”……Time to “put down the glass and reach for the jug”…..No risk - No reward…..Remember that

The world will not believe you unless the world sees for itself what we say to be true is in fact true - “My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink”

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Better known as the Feast of Corpus Christi)…..I want to begin this reflection with a question - Do you believe that the consecrated Host at Mass is Jesus Christ himself - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity?….Honestly - Do you believe that?……By the way we answer that question determines EVERYTHING…..Once we come to understand this mystery, not only will you view your Catholic faith differently, you will view EVERYTHING differently……I can only speak for myself….I am Catholic and will ALWAYS be Catholic because ONLY the Catholic Church can give to me Sacramental grace…..When I sit before the exposed Blessed Sacrament on the altar - I feel (tangibly feel) not only a deep peace within my very being but the very room the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in has a “feeling” unlike any other place on earth…If you think what I just said is “crazy” - Why don’t you sit before the Blessed Sacrament and see for yourself……The great J.R.R. Tolkien, the famous English writer, scholar, artist, and linguist, who is best known for authoring The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings put it this way……”Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on the earth; the Blessed Sacrament. There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity and the true way of all your loves on earth”……The Mass is simply “a show” without the belief that Jesus is fully present in the Sacred Host…But if you KNOW that Jesus is present….You will never be bored at Mass again….In fact, you will want to attend daily Mass…..”This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever”…You either believe that or you do not…..“Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread will live forever”

The words of Christ are VERY clear…He tells us point blank that “His flesh is true food and his blood is true drink”…..Why then do people not “see” this?…Why is it that people can go to Mass for decades and get nothing out of it?……If someone says that to me I can tell you what is missing - Have they gone to a Sacramental Confession?……Some Catholics have not been to Confession since they were seven years old…How are you to expect to receive the benefits of the Blessed Sacrament if you do not prepare your soul to receive it?…..The teaching of Catholic Church has been and always will be VERY clear - In order to receive the Blessed Sacrament, one must be in the state of grace…That means you have confessed all your mortal sins before you approach the altar…..This reality must be made crystal clear - Because EVERYTHING depends upon it…..Jesus tells us again point blank…..”Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you”…..Sacramental grace animates our very life - And frankly, it shows! - Because EVERYTHING depends upon grace…Why would someone not want that? - For the life of me I can not provide an answer to that question….Humanity “settles” for an inferior existence - We short change ourself…Its time to stop!!!! - The ONLY way the secular world will second guess their choices and decisions that keep them away from Sacramental grace is the witness of a holy life - HEAR what I just said and HEAR it clearly!……People simply need to see with their own two eyes what life can be like, if they only put aside their pride and bend their knee to God…..You will never argue anyone into the Church - Trust me on that - But a consistent witness of a holy life, founded in Sacramental grace will result in the world around you to think long and hard…..Jesus said to St Thomas when he doubted him - “Do not be unbelieving, but believe”…And in time St Thomas came around….And did great things…Give God permission to “open your eyes” and enter your soul - Then you will do GREAT things too!

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes”

Today in many communities around the world the Feast of Corpus Christi will take place…..Eucharistic processions will be seen in the streets of our communities….And that is a good thing…But how will this day change those who view the Blessed Sacrament as merely a “cookie” or a symbol?…That is the larger question that needs to be addressed - Only by the way we live our life will we convince an unbelieving world that God is truly present in our Churches….The world needs to “see” for itself that everything we say to be true is actually true…..That begins with YOU and ME….The transformation of the world comes down to a small piece of “bread” consecrated by the hands of a Catholic priest - “Blessed are you who see and believe” - Catholics must strive to become what we consume - The world will not believe you unless the world sees for itself what we say to be true is in fact true - “My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink”

“Power is made perfect in weakness”

Today in the first reading from Holy Mass St Paul tries to teach his friends that everything…EVERYTHING relies upon GRACE…Before we explore what St Paul teaches us today, do we even believe that grace is real?…That without grace we can do NOTHING….But even if we think it’s real - How do we acquire it?….These are the ideas we need to explore…But first let’s hear the words of the great St Paul…….”A thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong”…….Paul was an infinitely gifted person…He was highly educated, born into a respected class in society…Yet, here he is speaking about his weakness - He does this to teach us that no matter who we are, we are all plagued by human weakness - We are sinners…And its ONLY through God’s grace that we can overcome our fallen human nature….And how do we receive that grace? - Through the instrument that Christ gave the world - The Church…Only in the Catholic Church can we receive Sacramental grace - The world “misses” this completely - So do many Catholics for that matter miss it……St Paul in this reading shows us he understands that God can do MUCH more with his life then he can - And for the record, Paul was VERY gifted……When we “own up” to our weaknesses - When we confess them Sacramentally to a Catholic Priest - We open ourself up to GRACE…..This is what the world “misses”….And its only through GRACE that we not only overcome our own weakness but as we are transformed, we impact the world

“Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich”

This morning I read about St Philip Neri….Philip was an extraordinarily gifted person, who transformed the city of Rome in the 16th century….I bring him up right now because of something St Philip said…He said point blank - “There is NO WAY one can live a chaste life WITHOUT the Eucharist”…He is SPOT ON!…..Humanity refuses to “own up” to its own weakness….We “think” we “got this” as the saying goes……We underestimate the “pull” within the human heart towards what is not good for us….Again, this is why Jesus gave us the Church, which in turn gives us the Sacraments…..Do we believe that Sacramental grace can transform the world?…Based upon Mass attendance among Catholics, one can only conclude that the majority of Catholics do not…..There is a latin term used for the Blessed Sacrament - That term is viaticum, which translates to mean "provision for a journey”…….When we receive the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace, which means we receive it free from all mortal sin (i.e. we go to Confession regularly)…We are given grace to live as Christ asked us to…..To think that somehow we can live up to the standards of Christianity, without grace is simply a “fool's errand”…This is why St Paul tells us today at Mass….“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness”…..Its not until we “face up” to our weakness that we receive this power

“No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon”

St Paul today at Mass tells us something that is a complete contradiction from what we have been taught since we have been little children…..Paul tells us, that only when we acknowledge our weakness - Its only then that we become strong…Our world today does the exact opposite….We hide our weakness - We pretend that our flaws and faults do not exist - We rationalize away our sins….Sadly, when we do this, we never progress forward…..Why do we do this?…..Maybe it’s because we do not believe grace is real….Maybe we do not believe the Sacraments are gifts from God himself to help us….Maybe we have too much confidence in our self…..Whatever it is that holds us back, we need to face the facts - “Power is made perfect in weakness”

”Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him”….Joy is a by-product of a choice….Our world thirsts for this kind of joy…And authentic joy witnessed will be the net that catches many souls

Today at Holy Mass we hear Jesus in the Gospel of St Matthew warn us about what we chose to value….What is important to us speaks by the witness of our life…..“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be”….The soul and the eyes in many ways are connected…..A person with a pure soul is reflected in their eyes…..And such a person, who desires what is truly good, will in turn “feed” their soul…..Jesus also adds something to the Gospel text today which I find interesting…..”If the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be”…This implies that due to the corrupted state of a person’s soul - What is good can become viewed as bad…And what is bad can become good……We see this today in our culture…There are many people who are very sincere when they support….. Same sex marriage….Support abortion rights…..Advocate for divorce…..Use contraception……All these things are contrary to the laws of God…Yet, our society does not even “blink” at them any more…How did that happen?…..Our “eyes” have become “clouded” by the condition of our soul…..Again - The two are related (The eyes & the soul)….How do we remedy this?…..One Sacramental Confession - BOOM!…..You can not “read” your way to purity…Our flesh is far too weak…Only Sacramental Grace can cleanse the soul and when we avail ourselves to that grace….Our eyes suddenly "see"

“Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him”

At the age of twenty-two I made my first adult decision, which was to embrace my Catholic faith…As it turns out over three decades later…It was the best decision of my life!…..There were many reasons behind me making this decision but one of them was witnessing authentic Catholicism lived out in others….I am willing to bet that there are many Baptized Catholics who have never seen with their own two eyes a person who is fully alive…What do I mean by fully alive?…A person who lives by and through Sacramental Grace…..No amount of words can convince the world of the Truth contained in the Catholic Church more than the witness of a person who is authentically Catholic and fully alive!….Such a person stops traffic!…When I witnessed this for myself…Not only were these people full of joy…But there was something about their eyes…Their eyes had a light in them - They almost glowed in a way…This was tangible and frankly when I encountered “these people” I said to myself…Why can’t I have the same thing?…..This is how the Catholic Church needs to evangelize the world - Its the only way!…..There are so many “voices” in our culture, between social media, in our neighborhoods, in our schools and even in our family…But none of those “voices” can eclipse the witness of a holy person - A person full of joy, who has the light of Christ in their eyes…Such a person is a walking “billboard”…These are the people we must become….You can not “fake” this kind of witness and this is the witness the world thirsts for, whether people admit it or not…..Jesus tells us something in Scripture that many people ignore…But in this one statement, if it is embraced makes all the difference and that difference is very tangibly witnessed in people who embrace it……………..“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever”……Such a person who takes this statement to heart has “a light in their eyes”…..This “light” is a foretaste of heaven….Remember, what we are told today in St Matthew’s Gospel at Mass….“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light”….This “light” can not be self-manufactured…And this “light" is very real…….The question is - Are you interested in it?

“Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven”

Today in the Gospel at Mass we are told by Jesus that our eyes “give away” the state of our soul…That our soul and our eyes are in a sense forever linked….Everyone wants to be happy - Right?….But do we know what makes for real, lasting and authentic happiness?…And if we do - Let’s be honest - Are we even interested?….Don’t miss out and Don’t believe the lie…..”Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him”….Joy is a by-product of a choice….Our world thirsts for this kind of joy…And authentic joy witnessed will be the net that catches many souls

Jesus disarmed the world by his simplicity - Do you think its possible we could do the same? - Have we become so “sophistication” that we miss what is most important?

Today at Holy Mass he hear in St Matthew’s Gospel the only prayer that Jesus taught his friends to pray…"This is how you are to pray: 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.' "If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions”…Jesus was so simple - He made things so simple! - The question for us all today is - Why do we make things so complicated!…….Over and over again in these daily reflections I focus attention upon First Principals….Leaving the “heavy lifting” to God and sticking to First Principals…..Remember the acronym - MARC: (Mass; Adoration; Rosary & Confession)……We have forgotten that the transcendental is contained in these First Principals….This is why I am Catholic and will always be Catholic!…The transcendental is what will save us - From who? - Our very selves!……No “plan” - No Powerpoint Presentation - No “ideas” - No ideology - No “agenda”….Can do what these First Principals can do….Saints over the centuries have ground their life in these First Principals and as a result, their natural gifts were magnified by grace and they shook the foundations of the world - Do you think YOU are somehow excluded from being used by God?……This is what Jesus shows us today in St Matthew’s Gospel - Keep it simple!

"In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him”

I am a co-host of a radio show that interviews Catholic authors and intellectuals….Recently we had on Dr Peter Kreeft…..Dr Kreeft is a brilliant man and a prolific writer…He has authored in his life over 100 books….In his recent book (maybe his last) he ended it with this short sentence…. “Less is more”….And we discussed that idea in detail in our conversation….What Dr Kreeft stated was politics & scholarship will not save the world…..We have to focus on the most basic - The very heart of Jesus Christ…From the Sacred Heart, we will not only find unity but we will be transformed and in doing so we will transform the world….As a person who is involved in Catholic Media, I sometimes step back and ask myself how we as a Catholic people have made things so complicated….We seem to forget that Jesus was a carpenter….And his first friends were humble fishermen…..These men understood what it means to “get down to basics”…And look at what God did through these humble fishermen?…..In the Catholic Church, both historically speaking as well as to the present day - Some of the most brilliant minds and thinkers can be found spanning the four corners of the globe…Yet we seem to “miss it” sometimes in my estimation…Jesus condensed all the Jewish laws into two laws - Love God above all things and Love your neighbor as your self…..Jesus gave us only one prayer - The Our Father…..See how beautifully simple Jesus was?…..This is how we must strive to be - Simple like a child…..Stick to First Principals and allow the Holy Spirit to transform your soul - Because it will!!!!…And then allow God to work through you - We each have natural gifts, which will be magnified by grace….My youngest daughter Maria was born on October 1st - The Feast Day of St Therese of Lisieux, known in the Church as the Little Flower…..St Therese was declared a Doctor of the Church and is known for the one and only book she wrote - Called the “Little Way”…In that book she illustrated a simple and pure faith, a path to God through childlike trust….When speaking with Dr Peter Kreeft, I brought up St Therese and her book…..And we both agreed and laughed, when we read her book, we both did not “get it” - It was “too simple”….Maybe that is the point! - And that is why we did not “get it”….St Therese of Lisieux’s “Little Way” is just another example of the wisdom taught to us by the saints….Stop making what is simple complicated…The “Little Way” is the most direct way to God - Its the answer to all our problems

“By the truth of Christ in me, this boast of mine shall not be silenced”

Today at Mass Jesus teaches us once again…He “breaks it all down” and focuses our attention on what is most important…..As Catholics living in the 21st century, its very easy to “get lost in the weeds”….We have become so “sophisticated” that we seem to miss it…..This is why we need reminders - Jesus knew this…And this is why the Church gave us people like St Therese of Lisieux and her “Little Way”……After my recent conversation with Dr Kreeft, I think I need to re-read St Therese’s spiritual classic….Maybe now I will get more out of it…..The great authors of literature are very similar to the authors of the four Gospels and the saints…They took complex subject matter and condensed it and made it understandable for the everyone…..This is what Jesus did - His brilliance was found in not only what he taught but by the way he taught it….Should we not strive to do the same?…….The great Dr Peter Kreeft after writing over 100 books condensed all his ideas into three words - “Less is More”….Maybe this is why God came to us as a humble carpenter - Jesus disarmed the world by his simplicity - Do you think its possible we could do the same? - Have we become so “sophistication” that we miss what is most important?

We do not become sanctified by “reading”…We become sanctified by doing!

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Matthew in the Gospel about the importance of fasting, prayer and alms giving…..Why are these things important?…..And why are these things not just to be practiced during Lent and Advent?……Fasting sharpens our prayer and helps us to focus more on God and not on the world…Prayer opens our mind to the word of God - Its a conversation that takes place in silence - We hear God’s voice in silence…..Alms giving detaches us from the world and materialism - No one EVER became poor as a result of sharing….This is why these three practices should always be incorporated into the life of a Catholic…But the Gospel goes on to tell us something else…Something I think many people many miss…..After informing the reader about fasting, prayer and alms giving, St Matthew adds this sentence….”And your Father who sees in secret will repay you”……I think most people when they read this immediately think the “reward” implied here is heaven - And to some degree it is - But there is more to it……When we incorporate these three very important practices (fasting, prayer and alms giving) into our life, we are given GRACE…..Everything we do as a Catholic is reliant upon GRACE…Grace enables us to be the people God called us to be and without it, we simply will sink into our own weakness…..GRACE is vital and GRACE should be what we strive to acquire daily….Because without it, the Christian life is merely an academic pursuit or worse, we just find our self "ticking boxes"….....Knowing about Jesus is important - But its more important to live a Christ-like life - That requires GRACE and that requires us to fast, pray daily and give alms…Those who have ears - Let them hear!

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him”

The first year I went to Kolkata, I got very sick….The air pollution took its toll on me…I swore I would never return…A few days before I was to get on the plane and fly back to America I met an Irish volunteer, who was a principal of a school back in Ireland…He told me that he came every year to Kolkata and each year people would just hand him money to bring over with him…..I knew what he was talking about as he said this to me because the same thing happened to me…When people found out I was going to Kolkata, people just handed me money to bring with me to give to Mother Teresa’s sisters….As this conversation went on with this man I knew deep within my soul I had to return…And each year, the same thing would happen - People would just hand me money - I did not even ask for it…People I commuted with on the train…People I worked with…People in my family……No one ever become poor by helping others - Remember that……When we give of our self - We make room for God to enter our soul…One of the problems we (the collective “we”) have is, God has no room to work within our soul…..Just like when Joseph and Mary asked for a room to stay in Bethlehem to give birth to Christ…They knocked on many doors and no one was interested in allowing them to stay in their home…….We can do the same thing without even realizing it…We must “make room” for God in our life and if we do, we will find that what he gives us is infinitely more then what we give him…….Speaking personally, I have found God will NEVER be outdone in generosity…..We give him an “inch”…He will give us a “mile”

“Light shines through the darkness for the upright; he is gracious and merciful and just”

St Matthew today in the Gospel at Mass instructs us about the importance of fasting, prayer and alms giving…Do we assume these three practices are only for Lent or Advent?……If we start small, grace will build upon grace…..Being a Catholic in many ways is like an athlete who is constantly training…This is why they say, we are “practicing” Catholics…Why the word “practicing”?….Because practice makes perfect!….And when we are consistently practicing, we obtain GRACE….This is how we are perfected and sanctified…We do not become sanctified by “reading”…We become sanctified by doing!

Its not how you start - Its how you finish that counts - We do not just float into heaven - Don’t believe the lie

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Matthew something very interesting…It shows us how God views the world very differently than we do….”For he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust”…..We see things in very tangible ways……God is outside of time…He has a different view…The goal of every life is to be sanctified….So when the time comes to stand before God, we are the same way we came into the world…Innocent - Like a child…..“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me”…This is why God allows "the sun to rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust”…..The goal of life is to strive to become holy - We unfortunately do not see it that way…..Everything that happens in our life is ordered to work towards that goal - We again do not see it that way.......Life goes by fast and God is forever patient - Until we take our last breath - Then the “book closes”…......We MUST cooperate with God to become the people we were ALL born to be…That is why he gave us a Church and that is why we have the Sacraments - Without Sacramental grace…Our weak human flesh will NEVER achieve what was intended for the human race - To once again become childlike….To be so sophisticated that we become innocent again…..We “miss the mark” because we evaluate our life by the wrong score card……”For he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust”…Before you “win the game” - You have to understand how the game is played

“The LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who were bowed down”

Its not how you start - Its how you finish that counts - We do not just float into heaven - Don’t believe the lie

“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing”

Today in the first reading from Holy Mass St Paul tells it like it is…To walk as a Catholic is not always going to be a “bed of roses”…Remember, we are in the world but not of the world - Right?!?…..That means this is not our true home - We are merely passing through - Do we think like that? - Do we live like that?…This is what St Paul had to say….It should make us think - It made me think…..”We cause no one to stumble in anything, in order that no fault may be found with our ministry; on the contrary, in everything we commend ourselves as ministers of God, through much endurance, in afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech, in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left; through glory and dishonor, insult and praise. We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful; as unrecognized and yet acknowledged; as dying and behold we live; as chastised and yet not put to death; as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things”…..St Paul not only “gets it” but St Paul lived it……The world rejected Christ and the world rejects Christ in the here and now! - That means if you side with Christ and live a life embracing the ideals of Jesus Christ - The world will reject YOU too!…..Are you ok with that? - Because that is reality!…..As Americans, we like to have our “cake and eat it too”….We like the “idea” of Jesus but do not like to “make waves”…We take Jesus “along” with us instead of following him no matter where he leads us - Come what may….To many Jesus is just some “harmless hippie”….Nothing could be further from the truth!…Jesus Christ was the GREATEST revolutionary the world has ever seen or will see…He “turned the tables” upside down - Literally!….How about us?….Do we relate to what St Paul tells us today at Mass?….Or are we looking for some “hippie” we convince ourselves is Jesus who is “ok” with everything and goes along to get along?

“As your fellow workers, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you”

As I was coming into my Catholic faith as an adult in my twenties, I did a lot of reading - To be honest with you, I still do a lot of reading….And because of this I asked my pastor in the parish I grew up in if I could teach RCIA…I had read the Catechism of the Catholic cover to cover two times and I had also read the Social Compendium to the Catechism…Not to mention numerous other books…..As I taught the faith, as it was written, I soon found out some Catholics resist the ideas I taught, which came directly from the “books” I just noted…How can that be? - Right?… I can remember one given Sunday…An old nun saw me leaving Church, I guess she heard what I was teaching and she says to me as I was leaving Mass…”Here comes trouble”…..Looking back at what Sister had said to me - I take that as a compliment…Jesus made waves and if we are not willing to make waves too - What good are we doing?…Catholics were not put on this earth to go along to get along…..Jesus tells us this pretty clearly (once again - notice the clarity coming from Jesus)……“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours”……I will be very up front - I despise lukewarm Catholicism - Its good for nothing!….For me, it’s all or nothing….Jesus tell us…..“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!”…….That to me does not sound like the words from some “harmless hippie”…..That is the Jesus Christ I follow - And that is the Catholic faith I am apart of - I am not interested in counterfeits - I am all about setting the world on fire!

“A lamp to my feet is your word, a light to my path”

Today St Paul tells us at Mass that being a Catholic is not easy….And if we are finding it “easy” maybe we need to re-think about how we are living and how we interpret the words of Christ in the Gospel……Jesus Christ walked the earth to “shake the tree”….He called us to confront our very self - To re-evaluate how we live and how we treat others….That to me is not a “small ask”…And in order to accomplish all those things - Jesus founded a Church, which gives us the Sacraments to “get the job done” - Because without grace - Forget about it - Nothing gets done!…..It’s time to stop “going along to get along”….Jesus Christ was an “earth-shaker” - Are we following his example?…..Or is Jesus some harmless hippie to you?…….“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing”

The Holy Spirit, which is God himself can animate our life, if only we allow him too….How do we allow this to happen? - We must get out of our own way!

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St John we hear how the Holy Spirit animates the life of a Catholic who lives in the state of grace….”Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you”……Our task is very simple - We need to get out of our own way!…….Our world constantly settles for second best……God has made himself available to us and all we have to do is give him permission to animate our life - Yet we don’t - Because we are not convinced that God can do more with our life then we can……The American Bishop from Minnesota - Bishop Robert Barron has written about what I am trying to communicate - He says it better then me….”We have a God of adventure, a God who is always out ahead of us. Faith, in the Biblical sense of the term, is not primarily the acquiesence to propositions; rather, it is an attitude of trust in the God who calls us beyond ourselves. We witness this faith in Abraham’s willingness to follow where God leads, and we see it too in the disciples’ willingness to follow Jesus on the path toward the cross. Do we settle for what we know and control, or do we venture into the darkness, trusting in what God promises?”……. This is the great question we must answer for ourselves…Do not settle and trust that God, who CAN not only animate your life but will lead you on the greatest adventure you could ever imagine……And empower you to “get the job done”!

“You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet”

Before we are willing to Trust God, we must encounter him…This requires us to take a chance - To risk…..Talk to anyone who ever succeeded in business and they will tell you….One must take chances and accept risk in order to be successful - This is reality - Well, in a sense its the same with our spiritual life…..We must be willing to expose our self to God, make our self vulnerable…..There is the obstacle - The world is not willing to do this - But we MUST!……There is nothing the world can give to us that will fully satisfy our deepest wants and needs - We too easily believe “the lie”……..For thirteen years I traveled all over the United States and South America for work….I stayed at the best hotels in the world and ate at the best restaurants money can buy…..In the beginning, it was very exciting but as time went on….Even the best hotels and the finest food lost its appeal….It got to the point - It was just another trip - It was just another beautiful hotel…It was just another meal…..This is “the lie” we buy into - We do not believe what God has to offer us is FAR BETTER than what the world does - So we settle……If we simply, with each passing day, work towards emptying ourself - And allow the Holy Spirit to work in our life - The greatest adventure of a lifetime awaits……This begins with a Sacramental Confession…Are you willing to make yourself vulnerable? - To expose your soul to the Holy Spirit?…..If not, we remain right where we are sadly - But if we “take a chance”…If we are willing to “take a risk”….Life begins!…..Never settle - You can do it!

“Brothers and sisters: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand”

Today we are reminded at Mass - God can do more with your life than you can….”Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you”……..The Holy Spirit, which is God himself can animate our life, if only we allow him too….How do we allow this to happen? - We must get out of our own way!

How can the world “see” and “hear” if WE as Catholics are not clear?……Jesus was always clear…..What does that imply about how WE should be?

Today at Holy Mass he hear in the Gospel of St Matthew something very important…..”Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the Evil One”…Jesus was ALWAYS crystal clear…There was no ambiguity in him…..You ALWAYS knew where Jesus stood…This is how we as Catholics need to be…This is ALWAYS how the Catholic Church MUST be…..The world should ALWAYS know where you stand…..Why?….When there is confusion…When there is ambiguity - People do one of two things…They use the ambiguity to rationalize personal agendas and sinful practices using the ambiguity as an excuse to “get away with it”…..Second, for those who are not formed in their Catholic faith, ambiguity affirms behaviors that need to change and it leads our people further into a life away from God….Once again - Jesus was ALWAYS clear…How can the Catholic Church be a light to the world if the world does not know where the Church stands?…..How can our people in the pews thrive if they are not taught clearly?…..How can our children be formed if they do not even know what it means to be Catholic and live in the state of grace?……People only know what they know - That means if our people are not formed in their faith - That is on us!…..Jesus tells us very clearly (once again) about how he feels about watering down the Catholic faith……“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth”

“Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees; and favor me with your law”

There is nothing “pastoral” about not telling people the fullness of the Truth….To properly “accompany” people we must love them EXACTLY as they are, however people MUST know EXACTLY how you and the Church stands….And then you love them anyway….Giving a good example and offering authentic friendship - Partnered with a good example given consistently day in and day out, year in and year out - Then the Holy Spirit will “work on” the hearts of those you are “accompanying”….That is the proper definition of ecumenicalism and that is also the proper way to “accompany” those who have strayed from their Catholic faith…..Not telling someone the fullness of the Truth is not merciful…Nor does it help them….”Lowering the bar” NEVER helped anyone in ANYTHING!…..You give the example and love those who reject your example regardless of their rejection!…In time God will work in their hearts through your example…….For decades the Catholic Church in America has taken an approach that frankly has not worked….That does not mean there was a malicious intent in the approach the Church has taken…But the facts are the facts…The Churches are now empty - The “Spirit of Vatican 2” has failed miserably!….Its time to focus less upon the Church “relating” to the world on "the world’s terms" and focus once again on the transcendental nature of God, found in the Mass and the Sacraments…Once we recognize and embrace the sacred ourselves, then and only then will we impart what is sacred to the world….Our world THIRSTS for the transcendental - Whether the world realizes it or not……We must stop “feeding people” a watered down version of what it means to be Catholic…..Give them the “good stuff” and watch how they respond!

“He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion.”

Today we are reminded at Holy Mass…..”Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No”…That means be clear!….As Catholics we are called to be the light of the world….Jesus also tell us…..”A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father”…..How can the world “see” and “hear” if WE as Catholics are not clear?……Jesus was always clear…What does that imply about how WE should be?