“For it is in giving that we receive - And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life”……How are you called to give yourself away?…………”Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of Matthew how the 12 apostles argue with each other about who will be the “greatest”….Jesus sets them straight but in doing so he also tells us something as well…..”You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many”………This idea goes against everything we are taught from our childhood as Americans….We are bred to WIN!…Jesus is telling us in order to WIN we must serve and that means we may not WIN in the secular sense of how the world defines winning…….Are you OK with that because that is “the ask” as they say around the corporate conference room table in New York City……There are messages in the Gospel that really measure our worth as Catholics…This is one of them…..To serve as opposed to rule over people is a revolutionary concept…The world does not celebrate service - Again - Are you ok with that!…..Before Jesus addresses his friends who are arguing, he says something else we should pay particular attention to as well……”You do not know what you are asking - Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”…………To serve ALWAYS requires a person to sacrifice and to sacrifice ALWAYS requires some form of personal suffering….We must accept this reality because it is reality…This is one of those statements that separates the "sheep from the goats"…..Why?…….Because “the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many”…And this is our task as well…..Jesus asks us today point blank!….”Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”….The answer to that question is - We must

“I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord”

There are two types on martyrs: Red and White…A red martyr is someone who literally gives their very life in service to God, which means they are physically killed…This form of martyrdom is very rare in America…However, all Catholics are called to what is referred to as white martyrdom…Which means you “pour out your life” in service for others, beginning with your family…..This again is a revolutionary concept and is the complete opposite way most Americans view their life….The world tells us - “Get yours”…The Gospel tells us…”Give yourself away”…….This is a choice we all must make and the choice we make has consequences - You can not have it both ways……….While I do not serve with Mother Teresa’s sisters as I did when I was a single man, I still am in contact with them….Recently I was talking to one of the sisters I have known for many years…Sister knows my wife and children and when we were speaking on the phone she asked about my kids…I told her they were all getting big and doing well…I also told her my house is a bit crazy…I have five children under the age of 11 years old….Sister began to laugh on the phone and said something I think most people would not understand…She said….”The children will get you to heaven Joe”….What did she mean?….By me and my wife “pouring ourselves out” in caring for our many children, we in turn “die to our self” and as St Francis famously put it…”It is in dying to ourself that we are born into eternal life”…..St Francis also famously said…"Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves, that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally!”……Our world today looks at children in a completely different manner…Children are viewed as an obstacle to the life adults really want to live….They want to travel…Have fancy cars…Have a fancy house…..etc…So what do we do in America? - We don’t have children…We are not open to life…We use contraception…All those things prevent us from “pouring ourselves out”…..Again, each and every Catholic is called to martyrdom - Yes, you heard that right!…But that martyrdom most probably will be white…..That means we are to “pour our life COMPLETELY out” for others……Is this your goal?….Is this what you strive to do everyday?

“For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh”

Today at Mass once again Jesus tells the world about a revolutionary way to live……..To live to serve and not to live to rule…..Jesus knows full well this goes against everything the world values…..This is why he says to his friends….”Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”…..To really follow the Lord requires grace….As a father of five children one of the things you observe is, children are all born selfish…One of the first words out of a babies mouth is the word - “Mine”….It takes a life time to “unlearn” what comes so natural to all of us - The word “MINE!”……This is why we need God’s grace….I have found in my own life and I have also observed this in friends and family who are close to me as they have gotten older…..God slowing “opens our hand”…..This takes time, to completely “pour out your life” for others….This is very hard…And God knows this…So slowing and gently Jesus “opens up our hand” one finger at a time……Jesus gave the world an example…He died for sinners and poured out every ounce of blood he had in doing so…We are clearly not God….But our task is the same…We are all called to “pour out our life” for others beginning with our family…This is why my friend who is a Missionary of Charity nun said to me….”Joe, your children will get you and your wife to heaven”………….”For it is in giving that we receive - And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life”……How are you called to give yourself away?…………”Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”