Don’t hate the “player”…Hate “the game”….Maybe it’s time for a new “game”?

Today at Holy Mass we hear something very interesting in the Gospel of St Luke….The topic of sight once again is addressed by Jesus…This topic comes up a lot…..“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher”…….Our world today measures intelligence by standardized testing, diplomas and where one was educated….And don’t get me wrong…There is something to that measurement…..However….What Jesus is addressing today is something very different….Sin blinds us - Pure and simple…When one lives in the state of grace, by going to confession regularly with a Catholic Priest, one “sees” the world as it is….Such a person's vision is clear…….Does that mean one is going to get into Harvard or Oxford University by doing that? - No - However, such a person sees the ”potholes” that lay before him…He is also given grace - This is key!……And as a result - The human will is in turned strengthened by that grace to not only “see” the “potholes” of life - But to avoid them……Ignore what I just wrote at your own peril……..Two of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are knowledge and wisdom…Again - Does that mean a practicing Catholic, who receives the Blessed Sacrament and confesses their sins regularly to a priest is to expect to attend Harvard University?…..Probably Not……Will such a person be perfect - Absolutely Not!……..However, I am not aware of too may daily communicants, who go to confession regularly who live disordered lives - That is reality……In fact, everyone I have encountered, who embrace the practice I just noted, while life may be hard…They frankly embrace life as it is, with joy and peace and do not “fall” for the lies of "the world the flesh and the devil"…Those who have ears let them hear…Jesus is telling us today - Point blank - “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?”….And this is what we see all around us today…”The blind leading the blind”…..From the “micro” to the “macro”…….No man can lead his family properly without reconciling his decisions and actions first with God……And….No man can lead a nation without first bending his knee to God…..Those who have ears - Let them hear

“Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth”

If we read history, we will find that any leader…Be it a king, a president or a prime minister who does not have an an active faith in God ALWAYS in time abuses their power…..ALWAYS…..Why?…..Because human nature is what it is and without God’s grace - What begins as “the rule of the people” will ALWAYS turn into a tyrannical form of government or an oligarchy where the strong survive and the weak are discarded…..That pattern repeats itself over and over again through the annuls of history - Only to be ignored……Let’s now talk about marriage…..How can a married man live as God called him to as a husband without God’s grace?……How can such a man guide his children by example without God’s grace?…..The answer too is not only obvious but it stares us in the face and we ignore it…….The nations of the world, commonly referred to as Western Civilization are in crisis……And everyone is frantically searching for solutions….And all of these so called "solutions" are not working……The answer should be clear - But the collective “we” are not interested in the answer…So what does the world get? - Exactly what Jesus told us today…..“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?…….Here is some reality…As they say in America - An “inconvenient truth”……….Whether you choose to acknowledge God or not…The Natural Law and the Laws of God apply to you….And when you reject God - Something inside of a person breaks…..And when such a person lives in this manner…..Life spirals out of control in one form or another….Allow me to illustrate with an example…You can chose to deny that gravity is not real and does not exist - You are free to do that - But if you jump off the roof of your house and when you hit the cement - Your broken body clearly is evidence that gravity does exist……..Take an objective look at our Godless world….How many of those who have turned from God are truly happy and are at peace?…How many have fruitful marriages?…How many make horrible life decisions, no matter how “smart” such a person claims to be…..How many commit suicide?…How many are addicted to pornography?….Or drugs?…Or alcohol?……How many marry the wrong people who make them miserable?……It all comes down to what Jesus is telling us today…….“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?…..You “see”….God is the answer…And living a Sacramental life helps one to avoid so many of life’s problems…Why?…Because those problems are “seen” before they become problems…..Those who have ears let them hear…..Reality does not change because we ignore it……There is only one answer and the world will continue to suffer as along as that answer is ignored…..“Can a blind person guide a blind person? - And the answer to that question is clearly - NO

“I bless the LORD who counsels me; even in the night my heart exhorts me.

Jesus today in the Gospel is telling us something we should pay attention too…And if we chose to ignore it - Do so at your own risk…..Whenever someone challenges my Catholic faith, I always say the same thing…..”You tell a tree by the fruit it bears”…..Choices have consequences….Jesus died for our sins…He gave us a Church, which gives us the Sacraments, which gives us grace…And we are free to reject all of it!…However, today Jesus is telling us - Do so at your own risk….Once again - ”You tell a tree by the fruit it bears”…How is the world doing without God?…..Reality does not change because we ignore it…..“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?…I think we all know that answer to those questions…..But do we have the courage to embrace the solution and in turn “see”?…..If not……..Don’t hate the “player”…Hate “the game”….Maybe it’s time for a new “game”?…………………JMJ