Pray and Do

Today the Universal Church commemorates the Feast Day of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, known to the world as Padre Pio….Pio was born poor to a working family in Southern Italy and his father sacrificed tremendously to educate his son….Once he became a Franciscan Priest, he soon found that he bore the wounds of Christ on his body…A mystery to the world and also a mystery to Pio himself…..Padre Pio was a man of great humility, obedience and suffering…..The world did not understand him and he was persecuted because he was at times to be believed a fraud, even within the walls of the Church….Pio endured it all in obedience and as a result Christ sanctified him - To be a visible sign to the world….Today at Holy Mass we hear St Luke tells us something Jesus said to the crowd…Something we all should pay very close attention to……”He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it”…The mere fact that we say - “We believe in Jesus” - Is of little consequence if we do not act upon Christ’s words…..I can hear it now…”You Catholics “think” you earn your place in heaven”…..To address that statement in one word - WRONG!….All I am saying is what the words of Scripture tell us, particularly what St James tells us….“You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble”……How does this Gospel passage relate to Padre Pio you may ask?…..This is what Pio, a saint, who bore the wounds of Christ had to say about faith and works…..”Heavenly Father, how could I who am so weak and halfhearted live without this Eucharistic food? How could I fulfill that petition made by your son in our name, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, if I did not receive strength from this Immaculate Flesh?”…..These are the words of a saint that bore the wounds of Christ for 50 years!…If this man struggled to do the will of God - How about us?….How much more do we need to live a Sacramental life?……To think that we can live out our faith, putting it into action without daily prayer, the sacraments and weekly fasting is as we say in New Jersey a “pipe-dream”….”The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”….However, if we give God permission….If we utilize what the Universal Church gives to us….We can and will act on our faith…We will become an extension of Christ…We will be his hands and feet in the world….This is the goal…We can do what it takes to make it happen - If we so choose.....So go - And make it happen!

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it”

“Pray and do”…These were the words of a wise nun to me many years ago….”Joseph - Pray and do!”…..These are the “marching orders” of every Catholic….We are fed by Sacramental Grace…Daily Prayer and Weekly Fasting…And then we “go forth” into the world…Each soul is unique, each person has gifts and when we are “fed”…....We are to put those gifts to use in service of the world and its people….What good are gifts if they are not used?…..What good are our gifts if we labor for “things” that in the end amount to nothing….Scripture tells us…”Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal”………You tell me you believe in God?….You tell me you are Catholic?….Prove it!…May your life speak and let the world see…..To live this way we must walk against “the tide”………….In Kolkata when I served the poor with Mother Teresa sisters, I had a group of friends from Ireland….I would eat breakfast with them most days….I would joke around and call these folks - “The Irish Mafia”…...And they would laugh hard and loudly......After daily Mass with the sisters and after we had breakfast…This group of men and women would search the streets of Kolkata and pick up people from the gutters and train stations…They would bring them to clinics run by the sisters, most times by taxi….When I think of this group...I think of the original twelve apostles when the Church we new - These “rough and tumble” men had embraced what I call “First Principals”…It was nothing fancy…..The first twelve apostles first prayed - Then they went out and acted….This is what my friends did in India - “The Irish Mafia”….They were “fed” by the Blessed Sacrament at Mass…They received Jesus into their body worthily in a state of grace…And that “nourishment” manifested into action…Nothing fancy - But action none the less…The same will happen to us…If we build our life upon “First Principals”….Our Church was founded by a carpenter…The first twelve men to follow Christ were uneducated working men - Mere fishermen!…There was nothing fancy about what they did - Yet they shook the foundations of the world………And so will we!…..Pray daily - Fast weekly - Go to a Sacramental Confession with a Priest Monthly - Receive the Blessed Sacrament at Mass weekly on Sunday…These are “First Principals”…Anyone can do this….There is “nothing fancy” about it…And then you too will “do” - Your actions will flow naturally from those very “First Principals"….Why is this so important?…Because we must “do”…We are mandated to "do" by Jesus himself……Make it happen!….Pray and Do.......JMJ