I would rather die for an idea that will live then live for an idea that will die!….There is one Truth - And guess what? - I do not determine it

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of Matthew the words of Jesus telling us that there will come a day when the good will be separated from the bad….”Jesus said to the disciples: The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth”….There is a lot to ponder here…But for the purposes of this reflection, let’s think about what we call “good”……What is it and more importantly who defines it?…….Years ago a movie came out about New York City called the Gangs of New York starring Daniel Day-Lewis…In the film, the director tried to illustrate how real power operated in the founding of one of America’s great cities - From those who operated in the underground gangs to the banks of Wall Street - Power was wielded!…People benefited and others suffered - That is how power works in real time…There was one scene in that film when I saw it in the theaters that I remember vividly….All these men, who did HORRIBLE things - Both to people and in their quest for power - On Thanksgiving were siting at their table with their family and they said a prayer…..As if God did not “see” what they were doing….Now no one is perfect - I get it….But do we think that God is blind?….More importantly - And getting back to the focus of this reflection - Who defines what is good?….Do we define it?…Or does God?……Is what is "good" just good for me and screw the other guy?.....The late and in my view great Pope Benedict XVI wrote about what he called the dictatorship of relativism…What is that?…It means that there is no objective truth…Society defines “truth” or better put another way…Society defines what is “good” as opposed to being guided by an objective universal good that can not change, which governs all justly….We today are living in this dictatorship of relativism…..”The good” is subject to the whims of the masses…..You have a ’truth” and I have a “truth”…..And that my friends is the root of ALL our problems…Notice the words of Pontius Pilate when he knew with certainty that Jesus was innocent - What did he say?…….. "What is truth?”….Our world today says the same thing to this very day and until we ALL come up with the same answer to that question - Expect chaos…God is Truth and God is also love…All people of good-will who seek the truth with an open heart will end up in the same place.

“Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son”

Do we separate Christ from his Church?….Do we somehow think we know better?…..Jesus Christ founded a Church and he is the head of the Church to this very day…A Catholic CAN NOT separate Jesus (the head) from the Church (the body)…This is IMPOSSIBLE - Yet we do it…….My wife and I have been married for almost 12 years…In that time my wife gave birth to five children….We also lost three children due to miscarriages….My wife had five C-Sections and when our fifth child was born, the hospital treated us like we were some kinds of “morons” - Making us sign all kinds of legal documents removing all responsibility from the hospital if something went wrong during the birth of my little Maria….And for the record - NOTHING went wrong…..Why do I bring this up?….Because our Church tells us that the use contraception is sin….And the measure of our faith is NOT when things are easily…The measure of our faith is when the world gets turned upside down and we must chose which path to walk upon…..As a practicing Catholic for over three decades now I have learned many things both about myself and about the world……..But one of the greatest things I have learned is this…..God’s way is FAR better than MY way!…I trust God infinitely more then I trust myself…..How did I come to this conclusion? - Clearly that is a grace but more practically - I tried it “my way” until the age of twenty-two and guess what? - My way does not work!……We must learn to trust God, who LOVES us more than we can ever know….God also sees what we do not……And if we trust him, he will guide us to himself.....As the famous Psalm 23 tells us….”Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me. You set a table before me in front of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Indeed, goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life I will dwell in the house of the LORD for endless days”…..There is only one Truth - And guess what? - I do not define it

"Do you understand all these things?…..They answered, "Yes.”….And he replied, Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old"

Today we hear in the Gospel at Mass the words of Jesus telling us that there will come a day when the good will be separated from the bad…..When that days comes - Do we actually think we will decide what is good and what is bad? - Do we think God will “consult” us and ask for our “expert opinion”?……There is a phrase very common in America - “Its only business”…..I hate that phrase - I always did…….Tell that to the person who is cheated…..Tell that to the person who has nothing….Tell that to the person who has to watch his children suffer……Catholics are called to live in the world but we are also called to not be of the world…We are called to be a light to others - To point by our life’s example to the one and only LIGHT, which is Christ himself….If that means we suffer - So be it…If that means our life is hard - So be it…I would rather die for an idea that will live then live for an idea that will die!….There is one Truth - And guess what? - I do not determine it