What do you say?…More importantly - What does your life say?

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Luke something I think we all can ponder…."Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' but not do what I command?”……..What we say means very little unless our lives reflect the words that come from our mouth…….If we are to really listen to what Jesus said…Particularly in the eight Beatitudes he instructed us to live by……And then when we objectively look at the world….It seems to me there is a great disconnect…..Our Lady tells us at the Wedding Feast of Canna - “Do whatever he tells you”…..So I guess the question for today is - How are we doing?…….There are many reasons why mankind falls short from living out the words of Christ…..Pride topping the list…..But for the purposes of this reflection, I want to address our lack of trust in Jesus and in his words….If we trust Jesus - Then we will believe every words he says - Logic would dictate that - Right?….When you trust someone, you do not doubt what they say…For example - If you trust your sister and she says she is going to the store - You know she will do it……But when it comes to Jesus Christ, who one out of every three people on this earth call God - We do not trust him…..Mother Teresa would always say - “I take Christ at his word”…..So important - We must strive to do the same…….Now on a practical level - Because Jesus is God, I would “think” he knows what he is talking about…..And if we listen to him, our life on earth will not only be fruitful but ordered…..This is how St Luke addresses this reality……..”I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed”…….Do we believe him?….Are we listening?…..Either way……Outcomes speak for themselves.

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him”

By the age of twenty-two years old, after trying to live my life “my way”…..I was fully convinced of one thing - “My way” does not work…..Of the many graces I have received in my life, this one could very well be the most important…..From that point to this very day, I began taking my Catholic faith very seriously and building my life, brick by brick upon the “rock” which has lasted 2000 years, has produced countless saints who greatly impacted the world and will outlast every institution on the face of the earth - Bank on that!……So, back to today’s gospel from Mass - Jesus tells us - Point Blank! - If you build your life upon me - Your “House will stand”…..I believe him - The question is - Do you?…And if you do - What are you doing about it?…………..As many know reading this, I did not get married until I was 43 years old……For twenty years, while just about all my friends were married or "caught up" in dead-end relationships…I was single and also, believe it or not, living a chaste life according to the dictates of the Church for a single man…..Let me repeat that - For nearly TWENTY YEARS!…In that time God formed me and when HIS time was right - He brought me my wife, whom I cherish, and gave us five children…….If I was to have been married in my twenties, most probably by now I would have been divorced……God knew that - So he “formed me” - But for God to form us - We MUST cooperate with him…..And in that period of time “in the desert” I learned to trust God implicitly…..As a result, my life, my marriage and the way we raise our children are all built upon a solid foundation…..Upon the “Rock of Peter”, which the “gates of hell will never prevail over” - How do I know that? - Because Jesus said so - And I believe him!……I have seen with my own eyes and have lived through the storm of my own mistakes that God’s way works - Period Full Stop!….We must learn to trust him - I did and if I did - So can you!….And that learning process is just that a process….There are no short cuts - I tell that to my children all the time…..We either believe what Jesus said or we don’t….Talk is cheap and our life says everything that needs to be said……"A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thorn-bushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks”……..Many people have their doubts about what the Catholic Church has taught for 2000 years….I can only speak for myself - I have no doubts…While I am still a flawed man and do not do everything perfectly, I believe everything fully - All of it - And that is a grace……And as a result…I have thrived - Thanks be to God…..And you know what? - God is not done with me yet!

“Who is like the LORD, our God, and looks upon the heavens and the earth below? He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor”

Today in Luke’s Gospel at Mass, Jesus instructs us to build our life upon him and his teachings…Before we all “get started”…I think we need to ask ourselves - Do we really believe what Jesus says to be true?…I mean really?….And if we do - Then we need grace to execute on his words….So what is the game plan?…..God can not save us without our cooperation….If we do our part, God will do his…..There are no short cuts….And the Cross stands before us all……But have no fear…..The “Carpenter from Nazareth” walks the road with us…….”A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly”……..Do we believe that?……When Jesus said those very words, St John tells us……”Again there was a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He is possessed and out of his mind; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one possessed; surely a demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”……..What do you say?…More importantly - What does your life say?…………………JMJ