Stop trying to “fix” what does not need to be fixed - And stop trying to change what cannot be changed……”You will know them by their fruits”

Today at Holy Mass in the first read St Paul reminds his friends that the Truth does not belong to us…It stands alone…It is for us to embrace it in its entirety……..”As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to the tradition of men, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ”…….The world is filled with so many “voices”…Sadly, even within the Church…Just look on social media…But there is one voice we must listen too…Its the voice of God…There is one Church that Jesus Christ founded - The Catholic Church…And even if human beings, due to their flawed nature “pollute” the Truth, which the Church has taught for 2000 years, the Truth does not and can not change - Hang your hat on that!…..It is for us to build our lives upon it…To never dilute it……And if we do embrace the Truth, our lives will bear fruit - That is a promise!……In doing my spiritual readings this morning, I read something from an American Jesuit who was imprisoned in the former Soviet Union for over 20 years……His name is Fr Water Ciszek SJ (1984)…I have found that people who endure a great trial in life many times have a unique prospective…Their vision is clear…..This is what Fr Ciszek had to say….”We did not merit the faith, God gave it to us as a free gift….it is ours to cherish or to take for granted and if we take it for granted we will surely lose it….We must constantly work to strengthen it and make it operative in all we do.”…..This statement made by a man who endure the trials of prison echo what St Paul is telling us today in the first reading from Mass…….Embrace the faith as it is - Not as we want to hear it……And as Fr Ciszek said, that is done by “working at it”…Like everything else in life, if we do not “work at it”, we lose it…And as a result, we get “swept up” in the empty philosophies of the world…And hear what our “itchy ears” want to hear.

“I chose you from the world, that you may go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord”

I have been Catholic my entire life…..I have seen the faith practiced well…and I have also seen the faith practiced poorly…Speaking personally, I too have been on both sides of this divide in my lifetime…One of the “take aways” of all that I have observed over the 55 years I have been Catholic is - Those who “adhere to the vine” as Jesus once said…”Bear fruit”…….This can not be debated…While no person is perfect - Bishops, Priests, and Religious Orders that “adhere to the vine” - When they embrace the fullness of the Church in all it teaches - When this happens in real time - They thrive!……And conversely, those who don’t - Their parishes, Dioceses and Religious Orders shrink and in some cases disappear….For anyone who is objective and clear-minded, this reality can not be disputed…..In my twenties, I went to a Saturday afternoon discussion given by a famous American Franciscan, Fr Benedict Groeschel CFR….Fr Benedict “told it like it is”…He grew up in Jersey City and he embraced the fullness of the teachings of the Church…And he was not ashamed to preach the Truth “out loud”…He was bold, smart, down to earth and embraced the revolutionary spirt of Christ…Willing to go and do the will of God, where ever and when ever called too - God’s way or No way! - No questions asked - And no complaints….That afternoon in many ways, changed the way I viewed my Catholic faith….Maybe because I never seen with my own two eyes any one person speak or live like Fr Benedict ….And to this day…The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, the religious order Fr Benedict founded in the Bronx (New York) are thriving…...Why?…Because they “did something new”…....Actually, just the opposite…They fully embraced something ancient…..Far too many Catholics, try to “re-invent the wheel” - When the wheel works perfectly fine as it is…....The great British intellectual GK Chesterton put it best….“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”…….Jesus gives us his word…….”I am the vine and you are the branches, if you adhere to the vine - You will bear much fruit”…...That means we do it his way - All Day - Every Day!…..I am not interested in “your powerpoint presentation”……The “powerpoint presentation” I am interested in has the Carpenter from Nazareth nailed to the cross who founded a church and rose from the dead…...That is “the guy” I am listening too…And that is the Church I belong too.......…”Your powerpoint presentation” will not bear fruit that will last - Bank on that

“Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor”

Today St Paul at Mass tells us that the faith is not to be “watered down”…It is to be embraced in its entirely…..How do we know the “real deal” when we see it?….Simple - The “real deal” bears fruit!…….Each saint teaches the Church something new…And in some cases they present the faith to the world in a new way…With that said….The teachings never change….Don’t believe me?……Do some reading spanning the course of 2000 years - If you do that and are objective, you find that the "dots all connect"…..Our world has not learned that the Catholic Church is invisible - Yes, you heard that right - INVINCIBLE…How do I know that?…Jesus said so……”And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”….......The world tries and tries to “topple” what can not be toppled…...There even have been people within the Church who try to change what can not be changed…..History shows very clearly just what a waste of time these efforts were and are - Again, do some reading……...The Catholic faith taught and lived in its fullness is the “real deal”….....How do I know?….Because when its the “real deal” - It bears fruit…..Stop trying to “fix” what does not need to be fixed - And stop trying to change what cannot be changed…....…”You will know them by their fruits”……………….JMJ