Don’t sell yourself short - Don’t let time run out - Because it does and it will........Don't let that happen

Today Jesus in the Gospel of St Luke teaches his friends about the patience and mercy of God the Father…How quick we are to “write people off”…..To think this person or that person is hopeless…With Christ all things are possible and even the darkest person can one day “see” and bear fruit…But here is the “catch”…This all begins with repentance…Acknowledging where we went wrong….Before we can truly allow the Holy Spirit to enter into us…We first must repent…………….So how did Jesus instruct his friends today in the Gospel about the need to repent? - Let’s take a look….“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”………….There is tremendous power found in the words - “I am sorry”……In order for our life to “bear fruit that will last", we must be animated by the Holy Spirit….And what do you think gets in the way of the happening? - The answer - Our sin!…..One Sacramental Confession transforms our soul back to its original state…Did you just hear what I just said! - I hope you did……..Once we “open the flood gates”….Grace pours into our soul…This is how the fig tree as explained by Christ in the Gospel “bears fruit”…That fig tree is you and me….And God is patient with us…But eventually, time does run out……Don’t let that happen and don’t sell your self short……God knows who you are at your core and because of that knowledge, he knows what you are capable of - All the good you can do - But without him - That is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN - At least to the degree that it can……Transformation begins with an authentic encounter with Jesus - That encounter can happen today, believe it or not…And this encounter begins with these words - Some of the most beautiful words ever spoken….”Bless me Father, for I have sinned”

“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion that he may live”

Once a man has children of his own, his life gains a great deal of prospective….You understand what your parents went through and you also see in your own children the “finished product” of their life well before they do…But in the mean time - You have to endure all of the non-sense they put you through…And when it came to my own life and for those who know me that are reading this reflection…There was TONS OF NONSENSE….But my own father endured me…He played the “long game”…And because of his good example and I am sure his prayers and his infinite amounts of patience…I became the man I am today…But that took time!…Allow me to give you a small example of my own father’s patience with me…..I was 19 years old and in college…I was completely out of control, living the life of a character in the movie Animal House….To be very honest, the movie Animal House was tame compared to the actual way me and my housemates lived at the University of Scranton (a Catholic College no less)…Anyway back to my story…..My roommate Jude and I were going to the Jet football game on a Sunday and my father said he would drive us back to college after the game…I told my Dad the game started at 1:00pm, so he would have plenty of time to drive us and get back home and get ready for work Monday…Of course I was wrong, the game was at 4:00pm, which meant we would get back to college around 10:00pm…The drive back to Scranton, Pennsylvania from my home would take about two hours and then my Dad would have to drive home to New Jersey…And go to work the next day at his barber shop and stand on his feet for 10 hours…..So when I told him I made a mistake, that the game was not in the afternoon but at 4:00pm…He was not happy about it, but said…”Don’t worry - I will drive you and Jude back to school - Enjoy the game”…So off we went……So I drove my father’s car to the Jet game…And Jude and I got completely wasted! - Drunk out of our mind!…..And after the game - I drove my father’s car back home - Drunk out of my mind!……That in and of itself is bad - But it gets worst…..Now its around 8:00pm…My father has to drive Jude and I all the way to Scranton……Then drive himself back to New Jersey…And then get up early for work Monday…So what do Jude and I do once we get into my Dad’s car?…We both “pass out” in the back seat - Adding insult to injury - Again, we are 19 years old, I just drove my father’s car drunk out of my mind…And now my father has to drive four plus hours with two out of control college kids, who thought they knew everything and were invincible…....Fast forward 35 + years.....Now that I am a father of five children of my own, three of them who are boys…If one of my sons pulled that with me…I think I would probably “strangle him!”…..Not my father…He simply “endured me” and all my bad behavior over all those years…..And in the end, his patience and prayer paid off….I have since embraced my Catholic faith, live Sacramentally, I am a father myself and married a good woman, who also is “fully on board” with the Church and inspires me by her example each and every day…All this happened and more…Because my father saw the “finished product” in me….His endless patience and prayers….And it all paid off….As I read the Gospel story today from Mass..I thought of my own father - Frank Reciniello - And this story I just told you……“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”…….There is hope for everyone…..Even me….Prayer and Patience obtains all things

“For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you”

Today Jesus at Mass tells us a story about just how patient God the Father is…..But with that being said…We must take advantage of the opportunities given to us…God’s patience does run out and so does time!….We all must come to terms with our past…And our sins….But even that is made easy…One simple Sacramental Confession…And we are good as new!….And then we are given grace to bear fruit…Fruit that will last….We need this grace, all of us, so don’t fool yourself!……For those who have ears - Let them hear………..…”Bless me Father for I have sinned” - Those few words have more power contained in them then an atomic bomb - BOOM…………Don’t sell yourself short - Don’t let time run out - Because it does and it will........Don't let that happen………JMJ

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