Sometimes it takes a “profound death” in one’s life to open the door to a new path - A new way to see the world…..Has this happened to you yet? - Don’t worry - It will…And when it does - Use it - Nothing is to be wasted

Today at Holy Mass, Jesus in the Gospel of St Matthew gives his friends their “marching orders”…To follow Christ means that you are to serve others……”The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted”……What brings someone to this mindset?……That is a good question to explore upon reading this Gospel passage by St Matthew today…....Why is that?….Because to serve others does not come “natural” to us…...Most especially if we are gifted and as Americans, we surely are gifted……Take a walk around Central Park South in New York City, where the wealthy live and socialize…These are the most gifted people in America…Do you see this idea of "serving others" presented to us today by Jesus when you walk around Central Park in Manhattan?…..Sadly, its just the opposite…..That should tell us something…….But I digress….Let’s get back to our question….What brings someone around to this mindset of serving others?……The great Dominican Theologian Fr Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange (1964) gives us some insight into how a person arrives at this place we all need to be…….”The spiritual life does not acquire a definite intensity without a profound death, which God alone can produce in us…..Humility is the basis of the whole spiritual edifice. In order that the structure may be solid and lasting, it is necessary that the foundation be very deep”…….What is Fr Reginald talking about when he says - ”The spiritual life does not acquire a definite intensity without a profound death”……."Death to self" is a very difficult thing to embrace in life….We are clearly not like Jesus Christ, who willingly laid down his life for the world…..Humanity struggles with this idea of “dying to self”…...So how does God help us?…For one, he gives us grace through the Sacraments, prayer and fasting…..But there is also another way - Through suffering we also learn to die to ourself….No one wants to suffer but suffering is apart of every human life…..And if we use the times when we suffer as opportunities to allow God to mold us…We too will experience what Fr Reginald describes as a “profound death” of self…..Many times when you read about the lives of the saints, you will find there was a “turning point” in their life - They experienced a profound suffering (the death of a parent at a young age; a life threatening illness; etc) that God permitted and as a result, these men and women were “forged” as iron ore is molded in fire - This is how the saints become who we know them to be today…....God wastes nothing - Trust him

“You have but one Father in heaven; you have but one master, the Christ”

Billy McGill was a buddy of mine who passed away around 10 years ago….He was born poor in Liverpool England and at 16 years old sailed the oceans of the world as a Merchant Marine…Never to go back to England again…He settled in New Jersey, worked hard and raised a family only to lose his family due to bad behavior….Its at this point that I met Billy…I knew him from daily Mass and we struck up a friendship…Billy had to start all over in his fifties and he built his life up again…And this time around, God was at the foundation…..I saw him a few weeks before he died in the hospital of cancer…When visiting him in the hospital, he told me how he continually prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the man in the hospital bed next to him…He too was dying……..Billy “figured it out”….A “tough nut” to crack for sure….He learned through his suffering to “die to himself”…He became a person for others….Even as he was dying….His thoughts were focused on the man dying next to him and not on himself….This is how God works!…If only we cooperate with him!

“Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways! For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored”

Today at Mass we are told that being a follower of Christ entails embracing the mindset of service - To be a person for others….There is no getting around this….For some this comes easier then others….No matter - God is our loving Father who helps us every step of the way.......God not only gives us the grace but he also allows the events of life to “mold us” as well…..Nothing is wasted…Sometimes it takes a “profound death” in one’s life to open the door to a new path - A new way to see the world…..Has this happened to you yet? - Don’t worry - It will…And when it does - Use it - Nothing is to be wasted