Beware of false prophets - How can you tell who is who? - You can tell them by the fruit they bear

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of Luke Jesus instructing his friends about end times…He uses what happened to Noah as a “teaching tool”…………..”As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all”….Since Jesus used Noah as a teaching model, for the purposes of this reflection, I will as well…..Now we all know the story of Noah……We know he and his family survived a great flood that destroyed the world as he knew it at the time…..Think for a minute when Noah was building his boat, say on his front lawn….Think about what his neighbors thought……..When everything was good….The economy was good….Plenty of food to go around, etc…Think what his neighbors were saying….”That Noah is crazy!”……”Why is he building that boat?”……..Now lets fast forward….It began to rain - And the rain did not stop - So much so, everything was swept up by the water - Everything but Noah and his family…….At the end of the day….Who was the “crazy one” - Noah or his neighbors?….You see - Noah was a man of God…He “saw” the danger…His neighbors did not….And because Noah “saw” the danger…He was prepared for it……Those who have ears to hear, let them hear!……We can look at the story of Noah as our story…...We may not experience a “flood” like Noah did…But one day, we will get sick and die - When that day comes - Are we prepared?…….The wise man always has his “spiritual bags” packed…He is prepared to stand in front of the Lord…..Noah was ready - Are we?

“Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand”

I have told this story about my Aunt Lydia before but its very appropriate for this reflection, so please forgive me, I am going to tell the story again…My Aunt Lydia died at 81 years old of cancer….In her 70’s she got cancer, fought it and it went away, only to return…..When that happened, my Aunt said she was not going to take the treatments…..And she as completely at peace with that decision…You see, my Aunt Lydia lived her Catholic faith her enter life….She lived a Sacramental life, prayed the Rosary daily, volunteered at he parish food bank, was married for 50 + years faithfully to her husband…..And when it came time to die, frankly she did not even blink…….I remember seeing her about 12 hours before she passed away in the hospital…..She knew death was near and I knew it too….In our last conversation she very matter of factly wished me luck in life…No joke - That was the last thing she said to me - No tears and No fear……I returned to the hospital the next day and she passed away in the night…The nurse who was with her said to me point blank….”Your Aunt was a very special person”……Now, I do not know what happened between my aunt and that nurse, but clearly something did by the way the nurse said what she said to me……Why is this story relevant to the story of Noah?….Because like Noah - My Aunt Linda was prepared when the “flood came”…..And because she was prepared - There was no fear and she “sailed away” from the “turbulent waters” just as Noah did……We can look at the story of Noah and think of it from the prospective of our own deaths…Or we can also look at it from the prospective of a larger lens……What do you see in our world today?…..We clearly live in a Post-Christian culture……..How do you think God views what is happening in real time?……As our society changes and in many ways breaks down…..Are we “prepared” for the changes?……..Now I am not saying to go and live in your basement and hide - But what I am saying is - Are we forming our children to face the future? - Because maybe what they will face will be drastically different from what we faced and if I was a betting man - I would bet that will be the case! - And how can we best form our children? - By passing on our Catholic faith……This is BY FAR the greatest gift I have been given by my parents and it has served me well!…..A life lived through our shared Catholic faith can not only “weather any storm” but it helps us to “see” the “potholes of life” and avoid falling into them….This is how we prepare for the “rain” as Noah did……So as the Boy Scouts say…..Be Prepared!

“Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it”

Today Jesus in the Gospel once again teachings his friends…He reminds them….To pay attention!…..To always be ready to face not only our death but to be prepared to face the Lord, who will one day judge us…..This message goes beyond the subjective prospective of our death but also addresses what is happening in our world today in real time....…Jesus, who is the greatest of all teachers speaks about the “macro-prospective” as well…..”You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot judge the signs of the times”…......Now I am not at all trying to imply that we are in “the last days”….I have no idea about that…But I will say this - America is clearly living in a Post-Christian period of the nation’s history….....We have normalized grave sin…..Our people do not even “blink” at behavior that in the eyes of God is a complete and total abomination…....Now again, I am not implying that God is going to “wipe us all out” because of this reality……..But, as we are told in the pages of Scripture….We will reap what we sow….And that is a fact…..Remember this -“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them”……What do you see around you? - Can you read the signs of the times? - Noah was able too - How about you?…………..Jesus warned us - Beware of false prophets - How can you tell who is who? - You can tell them by the fruit they bear………JMJ

https://www.holywaterbooks.com/catholic-men-will-save-america.html