How did that happen? - For Nothing is impossible for God!

Today the Universal Church honors the life of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross…Also know as Edith Stein…A Jewish academic (and at the time of her conversion to the Catholic faith - an atheist) who converted to the Catholic faith after reading the autobiography of St Teresa of Avila…Upon finishing the book, she simply said these words….”This is the Truth”….And from there her life radically changed….For those who may not know about this woman, she died in Auschwitz as a nun…..I read something she wrote this morning that I would like to share for purposes of this reflection….”The deeper a soul is bound to God, the more completely surrendered to grace, the stronger will be its influence. Conversely, the more an era is engulfed in the night of sin and estrangement from God the more it needs souls united to God. And God does not permit a deficiency. The greatest figures of prophecy and sanctity step forth out of the darkest night”……There is a saying….”Where sin abounds - Grace abounds all the more”….God did not leave us orphans!…..If you study history, you will find with each troubled age, God rises up men and women to address what is lacking - To enter into the breach…..This is our time and this is our age!……But to be such a person, we must be a people of prayer, mortification and fasting…Today in the Gospel from Mass, a boy possessed by a demon was presented to the disciples who could not help him…So they took him to Jesus…This is what Jesus said…."O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring the boy here to me. Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, Why could we not drive it out? He said to them, Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”……Do we believe what Jesus just said? - Do we take him at his word?……”Nothing will be impossible for you”

“Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel”

Americans like to “plan everything” and in doing so, we have forgotten God….God is in control - How easy we forget that!……While life does require some amount of planning, ultimately “change” is the only thing that is a constant, which means plans change constantly!…We must learn to trust in God’s providence……As a father of five children, I have really but one concern…That is to do God’s will - To live my Catholic faith…If I do that, I KNOW God will provide for me and my family…….”But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil”…..God has never let us down!……I have been at my current job now for nine years - I work at an International European Bank…When I started in 2016, we had a huge staff…..And since then our work has been moved out of New York City….And as a result, all my managers have been terminated - Up to three levels above me…..And the large majority of the staff have also all lost their jobs…Expect for me and two other people - I am the last of three people still standing!…I somehow think to myself…How am I still here at this bank!?!…..But when I think that - I also know why I have survived all the rounds of lay-offs…Because God provides!…My family and I do our very best to live out our Catholic faith and do the will of God in our current station of life - We do not do it perfectly, but we do our very best…As a result, God takes care of us!…….Jesus told his friends today…..”If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you”….Do you believe that?……I can only speak for myself - I do!

“My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! Praised be the LORD, I exclaim! And I am safe from my enemies”

Today we hear at Mass about a hero….St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross……All saints are heroes…..They lived virtuous and heroic lives fueled by Sacramental grace, prayer and fasting….Saints change the world!….Our world today in many ways is just as troubled as the time when Edith Stein lived during the Nazi occupation of Germany…..Our world desperately needs saints…..Nothing else will remedy the problems we face…Politics will not…..Science will not…Nor will secular ideologies constructed in the halls of the great Universities of the world….Only saints change the world….They do that by abandoning their “ideas” and allowing God to fill them with his Holy Spirit….What we must come to understand is this - God can do infinitely more with your life than you can!…..I can hear it now amongst many reading this reflection - “Whatever!?! - Tell that to Edith Stein!….The one time Jewish academic who was an atheist…..Edith shook the foundations of the world!…..And that began with her having “faith the size of a mustard seed”….Which led to her life’s example “moving mountains”…….How did that happen? - For Nothing is impossible for God!