We need grace in order to persevere…The Tortoise always beats the Hare…Play the long game…And use the “tools” given to us to “win the race”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Book of Exodus how the Jewish people once again forget all the hard lessons taught to them by God….Moses went away for a short period of time and the people abandoned God - And life circled out of control - Again!…..”Our fathers made a calf in Horeb and adored a molten image; They exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating bullock”….I want to give you a historic prospective for a moment…The Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 430 years - Think about that! - That is longer than the United States has even existed!….And after all that suffering, God sends them Moses, who literally parts the sea so they could escape death…And look how quickly they forgot…..Sound familiar!?!……This is the story of mankind and it repeats itself over and over and over again…..Any objective student of history can read this narrative for himself….Empires come and empires go….But God remains the same….So what can we learn from this tale?….All of us were created by God and when we break away from God as a result of a conscience choice…Something within us breaks too…..That is reality - Don’t believe me? - Take a good look around……So how do we remain vigilant?……By going to Mass and receiving the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace….By participating in Monthly Confessions with a priest…By praying the Rosary Daily…By carving out time weekly to sit before the Blessed Sacrament in silence to hear the voice of God in our hearts….Human beings who are cut off from God’s grace “stray”…The world, the flesh and the devil “distract” them….And before they know it - They are “at a place” they never thought possible - Trust me, I know this from experience!….This is why in her wisdom, the Catholic Church requests we go to Mass weekly….Our connection to the Blessed Sacrament is our source of life - Literally!….Don’t believe me - How is the world doing “on its own”?…..All people, that includes me in the front of the line are born with a tendency to sin - That is why Jesus gave us a Church and the Sacraments….Without the sanctifying grace of the Sacraments, you are easy prey for the world, the flesh and the devil…Don’t believe me - How is the world currently doing without God?

“They forgot the God who had saved them, who had done great deeds in Egypt, Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham, terrible things at the Red Sea”

For seven years, every Saturday I prayed the Rosary with Mother Teresa’s sisters before the Blessed Sacrament during our Holy Hour before we worked with the material poor of New York City….One of the graces the Superior who was leading the Rosary always prayed for was perseverance….You would think, why would committed nuns pray for perseverance?….Why? - Because they are very wise, that is why….We are all human and each of us is subject to sin…No one should EVER take that reality for granted….There is an old saying - “By the grace of God go I”….If you think for a second you can not “fall away” from God - Think again - This is why we MUST adhere to “the vine” always and in everything we do…How do we do that?…Through daily prayer, in and through a Sacramental life and also through weekly fasting….The world, the flesh and the devil are VERY real…..Recently I have made it a practice to read two pages of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to my children before we pray the family Rosary in our living room each night…This is what I read to my children just last night - No lie…..”Actual grace is a supernatural help of God which enlightens our mind and strengthens our will to do good and avoid evil”………”Actual grace is necessary for all who have attained the use of reason, because without it we cannot long resist the power of temptation or perform other actions which merit a reward in heaven”…..Let’s break that down "New Jersey Style" - "Left on our own - We are toast!"…The world, the flesh and the devil will eat us alive!…..Don’t think so?…Think you’re so smart?…Think you’re so strong?…..Think again!…..We see this reality lived out today in plain sight and we also heard the story of the Jewish people today at Mass who suffered for 430 years, who were rescued by God’s hand and STILL after all those years of suffering forgot about God as soon as Moses went away for a short period of time…..What should all this tell us?….I can not speak for you, but as for me….I know full well that I am a sinner…I know full well what I am capable of as a man…..That is why I adhere to the vine of Christ!…That is why I live a Sacramental life…That is why I fast weekly…That is why I pray daily

“The Father willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures”

The history of man repeats itself over and over again…Its a story of Exodus and Return…..Exodus and Return……..Exodus and Return from and to God……With each empire that falls, a new one makes the same mistake….All of us are God’s children and if we chose to break from God’s laws and His holy will…..Society collapses….To deny this reality is to deny reality itself…..We were made by God to live for God….Mother Teresa taught her sisters what I am trying to communicate in this reflection in and through a short analogy…Allow me to share what Mother Teresa said…..“The wire is you and me; the current is God,” she said. “We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us, and produce the light of the world—Jesus”…But to think for second that YOU are the source of that “power” and do not need to go to the “fountain of grace” which is found in daily prayer and the Sacraments - Is a HUGE mistake…Don’t believe me?…..Ask Moses….Look to history…..There are many chapters to life - Life is a marathon, not sprint…If we want to “finish the race”…We need grace in order to persevere…The Tortoise always beats the Hare…Play the long game…And use the “tools” given to us to “win the race”