God is patient - He also has “all the cards”

Today at Holy Mass, Jesus in the Gospel of St Luke makes an observation concerning the people of his day………”To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep. 'For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners”…..What Jesus is basically saying in this text is…People can not be satisfied - Nothing he does can make them happy…So lets think about that for a moment……How can that be? - Jesus is God right - He lived and walked among these people - How can they not be satisfied?…….Now let’s be honest - Has anything changed today?……..The standard of living in which Americans have experienced could very well be the highest standard of living the world has ever seen….Even the poor in America experience a higher standard of living then a large percentage of the world’s population…That is a fact!…Yet America has some of the highest rates of depression, suicide and drug abuse in the world…Does that make sense?…..Actually it does!……We are living in a Post-Christian society…..And due to that fact, our people can not be satisfied…Just as the people of Jesus’s day could not be satisfied without accepting God into their hearts…..Why you may ask? - The human heart remains restless until it reconciles with God - That is reality….We can have no peace within ourself or in our nation until we reconcile with God…….It should be very clear that “our way” does not work - Don’t believe me? - Turn on the news…Sadly, when one reads history and studies how civilizations come and go…This is not the first time nor will it be the last that a society like America experiences a decline due to its abandonment of God - Because at the root of all our issues - That is the underlying problem - America has abandoned God….And until we “invite him back” into our lives once again…And we live our life through the lens of our Catholic faith…Don’t expect anything to change - Why?……Because the the human heart does not rest until it rests in thee

“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life, you have the words of everlasting life”

There is an old saying….”You can lead a horse to water but you can not make it drink”….So true……But God is patient…He also “holds all the cards”…..And God plays the long game……..There really is one goal in life - And that goal is - To arrive in heaven…And we get into heaven on God’s terms - Not our own…Anyone who tells you otherwise is a thief and a liar….But to get to our “destination is a journey”…How do we get there? - Even when we do everything in our power to “fight against” all the things that are objectively good for us - As we say in New Jersey - “We cut the nose off to spite our face”……When that happens and it often does - God steps in and in God’s providence, events happen in real time - And then its up to us to respond - To see what is happening with objective eyes - And respond and change……….When I volunteered with Mother Teresa’s sisters there was a man named Angel who was HIV infected….He would come and go in the hospice the sisters ran for a number of years in New York City…Angel led a horrible life…He fathered numerous children he had no contact with…He had alcohol and drug issues….He also spent a considerable amount of time in jail…..However, in God’s Providence, he for some reason would come back and request to live in the AIDS hospice run by Mother Teresa’s sisters….He would then do something horrible and get thrown out - Only in time to return, apologize and come back to live in the house - Only to “mess up again” - I think you “get” where I am going here…..As time went on......Angel requested to be Baptized - Believe it or not…So the sisters asked me to teach him about the Catholic faith…So every Saturday, I would sit down with Angel and we would discuss what the Church has taught the world for centuries…As I sat in front of him teaching him the faith - Angel would “yes” me to death - His heart was not fully in it - And the sisters knew that too - So they delayed Angel’s baptism….He was not ready yet - After all the bad choices - After all the hardship he brought upon himself….He was not ready - Sound familiar?…….Yet he continued to ask to be baptized….So after a while….In God’s time and in God’s providence - The sisters called for a priest and Angel was baptized in the chapel of the hospice…Ironically, after that Angel left the hospice and we heard that he was found died in the Bronx……Angel really never had a chance in life…Both is parents abandoned him and as a result, he was raised on the streets and in jail…But God had mercy on Angel and before he died, he was baptized - I take great comfort in that...…But look at what it took for him to “get to the place” where he requested to be Baptized?…..It took “all that” - And more - For his "knee to bend to God"…How about us?…How about America?….What will it take?…..Only God knows - But know this….God “holds all the cards”…..And there are no short cuts…..Through God’s permissive will - He will “speak” to us all in a language we only understand…..The human heart does not rest until it rests in God fully - On his terms….We can “fight it” all we want - That is reality…God is waiting patiently…..How much more will it take?

“He has made known to his people the power of his works, giving them the inheritance of the nations”

Today Jesus in the Gospel makes an observation, which can be made to this very day…People have not changed….We continue to look for “things” and “experiences” that we “think” will make us happy and bring us peace...…But in the end…We are like a dog chasing its tail…..While each person is unique, in many ways we are all the same…We were all made by the same God….And because of that - Only one thing can satisfy the human heart - God himself….The world is not convinced of that…Nor is American society…So we keep “chasing” after “something” that does not exist…..God knows this and God is patient….Its for us to “read” the signs of the times - Both in our own lives, as well as in the life of our nation….Life does not change until we make it change…..There will be no peace in America nor in the hearts of its people until we acknowledge reality - What is that reality?…..That we are all children of God - That the Natural Law applies to us - And until we reconcile our sins to our loving Father in heaven - And with a firm purpose of amendment, strive to conform our life to the will of God - There will be no peace….That is reality….Some people reading this reflection will probably disagree what I just wrote - And some are saying to themselves, even if they agree - “That is never going to happen”!…And if I was objective - I would say - Your right, some people will never “bend their knee to God”, they would rather die in their sins - And that is a true tragedy! - But do you recall the story of my friend Angel? - The man I noted in this reflection…A person who the world “wrote off” - Someone the world would refer to as a “lost cause” - God was able to reach him…And Angel in the end “figured it out”….But look what it took…..What will it take for you? - What will it take for America?…God is patient - He also has “all the cards”…………………JMJ