NOT MY BUSINESS….I need to focus on ME…And that is a full time job……”I desire mercy, not sacrifice”

Today at Holy Mass Jesus is criticized by the Pharisees for violating the sabbath………”His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them”…….The religious leaders were upset over this because he picked grain on the sabbath - His “crew” was hungry and he fed them….Sadly, the law became more important than God and neighbor to the Pharisees - Whether they realized it or not……And Jesus called them out….”I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath”…….Don’t get me wrong - The laws of God and the dogmas of the Catholic Church are important, but they are merely tools that lead us to God - We do not and should not make idols of them…This is what Jesus was trying to point out to the Pharisees but this idea fell on deaf ears…..How about us?……Do we desire mercy for others?….Are we instruments of mercy for a lonely and wounded world?……Its very easy to criticize…To point fingers…..Its hard to forgive….Its hard to give a good example…..Jesus gave that example and the Pharisees were not interested in it….When this happens to us - How do we react?…..Do we know when to shut our mouth and simply pray for our accusers?…….Something I have a BIG problem doing - Shutting my mouth!…..Sometimes all we as Catholic can do for the world is place others into the hands of God…..Words and arguments will not convince hardened hearts…Sometimes even a good example won’t “do the trick” either….Its at that point that we need to shut our mouth and turn the situation over to God…..To pray…..If we do not come from a place of love and mercy in our interactions with the secular world - We do not stand with God - Even if we do “everything right” like the Pharisees…..When Jesus entered Jerusalem and saw how people lived and have turned from his Father, Scripture tells us that he wept…….”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”…Jesus desires mercy not sacrifice….Do we? - What is in your heart?….More importantly - What is in my heart?

“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord, I know them, and they follow me”

As a father of five young children, going to Mass can be difficult…My wife and I do it every Sunday, but to say its easy would be a lie…..Years ago when we had three children under four years old, we drove into New York City for a Mass which was attended by many pious Catholics…These folks were and are the “real deal”…..Now as anyone who knows anything about New York City, parking is a challenge…I dropped my wife off with the children infront of the Church and went to look for a parking spot…..Once I found one many blocks away I returned to the Church only to find the children misbehaving - Which happens - Why? - Because they are kids!……So I took the children to the back of the Church, to give my wife a break….Now, I am not making excuses for the way my children were behaving, but I do distinctly remember the “dirty” looks and a few of “off-handed comments” that were made by some “pious” Catholics…..To be honest, I let the “dirty looks” and the comments roll off my shoulder…And I only bring this up because this is an example of what we read about today in the Gospel….Have we “lost sight of the forrest as we stand among the trees”?……What is the Mass all about?…..Why do we attend?…..Are we hyper-critical of the priest’s every action?……Do we concern ourselves with the mistakes of others sitting around us?……I write all these things because I have been “that guy”….I have gotten better at simply worrying about me as far as how my inner disposition is at Mass and with others around me - And believe me - Just "worring about me" is a full time job!……I work in mid-town Manhattan and go to daily Mass at a Church near my office building…Recently at a Mass I attended, right before Holy Communion was distributed, a very flamboyant male transvestite walked right up to the front the Church from the back….As I was in line to receive Holy Communion, he stepped in front of me…..Part of me thought - “Is this man in the state of grace?”…….Clearly, one must be in the state of grace to receive Holy Communion….But that is not “my business”…That is between that man and God…..I hope he was and who knows - Maybe he just went to Confession with a Priest - But again, not my business…..After the Blessed Sacrament was distributed…I saw this man - A public sinner and if you saw the way he was dressed, you would agree with me - He approached the tabernacle and knelt before it to say a prayer…This man went out of his way to do this - No one else in the church did that…None of the “pious Catholics” made such a gesture…Now, don’t get me wrong…..Sin is sin and doing things the right way is important…But - I AM NOT GOD!…..Let God worry about “the other guy” - You worry about YOU - And I need to worry about ME….That is a full time job!

“His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them”

Today Jesus reminds the “perfect people”….Do we desire mercy for others?…..It’s very easy to see the flaws of others - But what do we do to help others?…..Do we want what is “best” for our neighbor?…..At the end of the day, each and everyone of us is flawed…And as we all know, Jesus came for sinners….What your neighbor is doing is “none of your business”…..That is between them and God and God will deal with it……Our concern should be ourselves…I am the father of five children under 11 years old living in a small home…And as you can imagine, the children fight among themselves sometimes…..One of the things I always say to them is, “You worry about YOU - Don’t tell me what your brother is doing - Worry about what YOU are doing”…..As Catholics, this should be our approach as well…..We need to focus on what I call First Principals - Here is an acronym to remember those First Principals - MARC: Mass; Adoration; Rosary & Confession…My focus should not be on what the Bishop is not doing…..How the priest is not pious enough…How the person siting next to me at Mass is dressed….NOT MY BUSINESS….I need to focus on ME…And that is a full time job……”I desire mercy, not sacrifice”