God is real and so is the hope he gave to the world - Got hope? - Its better than "bread”!

Today at Holy Mass St Matthew notes something written by the Prophet Isaiah…This was written about the coming Messiah, many centuries before the birth of Christ …And if you step back objectively and think about how these words came to be reality - To the letter! - Its almost frightening…Again - This was written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ……”Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope”…Everyone in the world is looking for hope - Let’s be honest…There is a big difference between comfort and hope….A person could live a very comfortable life but still have no hope…..Only Christ can give hope to the world - Why is that?…Because we all die - The “party” ends and without Christ - It REALLY ends!…..I will be very honest with you…I say this as an imperfect man and not as a boast but one who strives to live God’s will through the Sacraments everyday……I am not afraid to die - That is a grace….The only reason why I CANNOT die is because I have a wife and children….I live for them - They need me………Only by and through the grace of living a Sacramental life can one have this kind of hope and say such a thing and mean it - KNOWING that God is real…KNOWING that Christ has prepared a place for us in his Kingdom….And when one has been given “this kind of hope”….One is truly free….No amount of money can give a person this kind of hope…….This is what we as Catholic MUST give to the world…Not “fancy words”…We must witness hope to a wounded world that is grasping at life that slips ever so slowly from their hands with each passing year…..”Words” are easily ignored - Hope witnessed in real time however is another matter altogether

“Who split the Red Sea in twain, for his mercy endures forever; And led Israel through its midst, for his mercy endures forever; But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, for his mercy endures forever”

How does one give another hope? - By the witness of your life…..I have witnessed people live in this matter and frankly when I saw it, it blew my mind!……Catholics who fearlessly walk and serve in the most difficult of situations….And are perfectly content to be there…..Have a joy that is not seen anywhere else…This is a sign of hope for the world - Why?…Because it defies all logic and human reason……On my first trip to Haiti I stayed with Mother Teresa’s sisters in Port-au-Prince…The city is a war zone - Hell on earth!…..Gangs run everything and people live in fear and poverty like a person in America has never seen…The sisters told us that when people are murdered and their bodies are left in the streets, no one picks them up, not even their families for fear that they will be killed too…The Missionaries of Charity pick the bodies up…..Among this completely crazy place, Mother Teresa’s sisters live and work….On this trip, the sisters drove me to one of their homes in Port-au-Prince (they have two)…In that home they care for at risk old people and the mentally handicapped…I remember when the truck pulled up to the compound…The sister who was superior, a small Filipino nun, greets me at the gate of the command with the biggest smile I ever saw….She says to me straight faced and point blank, “Welcome to Haiti”!……Thinking about her statement almost made me laugh out loud…”Welcome to Haiti?!? - Is this lady CRAZY! - This place is hell on earth!…And this woman living and working there is smiling like she is welcoming me to the Plaza Hotel in New York City!….I will never forget that welcome from that nun - Why?…Because she was a witness of hope - Her authentic joy was tangible and it defies human reason and logic…Why is that?…Because God is real…Because our hope rests in God alone….Jesus tells us right from his own mouth….”The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid”….I have seen “this kind of peace” with my own eyes and it made me “thirst” to acquire it for myself…..Guess what? - You can acquire it too!

“Who smote the Egyptians in their first-born, for his mercy endures forever; And brought out Israel from their midst, for his mercy endures forever; With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, for his mercy endures forever”

Today in the Gospel from St Matthew we hear the words of the Prophet Isaiah….Words spoken about hope…..Hope is a powerful thing…If a person has hope, they can endure anything…….Hope is a grace - And when you get right down to it - Everything is a grace….In order to receive the grace of hope, we must open ourselves up to it….A closed heart cannot receive “this kind of hope”…..Ask yourself this for a second…All of Jesus's first disciples were murdered accept for St John and he was tortured and left to die on an abandoned island….All these men saw with their own eyes what happened to Jesus and they willing followed him to their own deaths anyway….Ask yourself this objectively - Would a grown man do that for a lie?……God is real and so is the hope he gave to the world - Got hope? - Its better than "bread”