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!