No politician can “Make America Great” - When we place God first only then will we be able to love our neighbor and only then will America be great - Until then - We get what we get and we will get a lot of it!

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew…Jesus is asked a very important question.....….”Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”….And Jesus as always gives a clear and direct answer…..”You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments”……..Let’s break this down…How do we know we put God first?…That’s easy - Take a good look at your checkbook - How we spend our money usually is a good indicator as to what we value most in life……Let’s break down the second commandment - How can we love our neighbor as ourself?….The answer is - YOU CAN”T unless you get the first commandment RIGHT…….This is the problem with our world, our politics and family life………If we cannot see God in our neighbor we most certainly will not “love” the way we are called too…This is an undisputed fact….This relates directly to the reality of the True Presence of Christ found in the Blessed Sacrament…If we can see God in a small piece of Bread consecrated by the hands of Catholic priest - We can most certainly see God in our neighbor…And if we see God in our neighbor, this will effect how we treat him / her……Our secular world disagrees with my thesis…….And as a result, people can’t “get along” with each other…..By placing God first in our life - everything else falls into place

“Teach me your paths, my God, guide me in your truth”

I am the father of five children under the age of eleven years old…My oldest daughter always teases me and says - “I know you love me the most”….When Teresa says that, I tell her I have no favorites…I love all my children the same…..Recently my one son Matteo throw a “curve ball” at me….He asked - “Do you love God more then all of us”…..And my answer was YES…..Some reading this reflection may say that is harsh…But it really is not….Let me explain as I explained to my son Matteo….Its because I love God most that I can love my children properly…I will be very honest, if I was not a practicing Catholic, the likelihood that I would have five children whom I love beyond all telling is slim to none - Just being honest and thank God I am a practicing Catholic - The single best decision of my adult life! - But I digress….Let's get back to Matteo - I also told my son, that I love God even more then my wife Sabryna….Again, putting God before my wife allows me to love my wife properly….That is one of the BIG mistakes that married couples make today - God does not take first place in the home…..Allow me to break it down further - A couple when they get married, get married with the intent to be married for life - No one gets married to get divorced….But sadly divorce is a reality in American today….....We are told in Catholic teaching that to have a strong and thriving marriage - “There are “three people” who enter a marriage: The man - The woman - And God”…..The mistake most people make is, they do not see it that way….Also, because life has many chapters to it and over the years people can change, keeping that in mind, its important that a married couple are always “looking in the same direction” - Not at each other primarily but squarely at God - This “vision” allows the couple to always “be on the same page”, therefore their marriage thrives….Once again, putting God first in our life allows for every aspect of our life to fall into place…..This is reality……And not “believing” in reality does not change reality.

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD, his God, Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them”

Today Jesus at Mass in St Matthew’s Gospel distills the enter Gospel into two sentences: Love God above all things and Love your neighbor as yourself…..As I demonstrated above in this reflection…We CANNOT do the second request without doing the first…..I always say on my radio show….Christianity in America is sadly a mile wide and an inch deep….Printed on our money is the following - “In God We Trust”….Really?!?……If that were true - Our politics would not look the way it does, family life would be restored, our cities would not look like they currently do and our people would not be in debt buying so many things that they simply do not need….It all comes down to putting God first in our life…....And because our society has rejected this notion - American culture is completely out of control and spiraling downward with each passing year…..Some reading this may disagree….Again - Not “believing” in reality does not change reality……No politician can “Make America Great” - When we place God first only then will we be able to love our neighbor and only then will America be great - Until then - We get what we get and we will get a lot of it!