The good should never be the enemy of the perfect! - Go to Mass

Today the Universal Church commentates the Presentation of the Virgin Mary to the temple…..Mary was special…We all know that….She had to be…Why? - Because she bore in her womb the Savior of the world…And because Jesus was flawless…Mary was given a special grace…She was spared from the mark of original sin…Again - Why? - Because something perfect could not come from something that is flawed - That is why Mary was conceived immaculately….And today the Church commentates the day her parents presented her to God as all good Jewish families did……Just as Mary was the first “tabernacle” where Christ was formed for nine months…We too were given a place to encounter the Lord in flesh and blood….Jesus did not write a book - He formed a Church…And while the Institutional Church, which has existed for 2000 years is comprised of men…Some saints and some sinners - The Catholic Church has a unique mission in the world…It is the “vehicle” by which we receive the Sacraments - Our world today disregards the efficacy of the grace contained in living a Sacramental life…..This my friends is a huge mistake…Unlike Our Lady - Each of us - Is flawed….We sin - Let’s face it!….And because of our “condition”, we needed a “vehicle” by which to remedy what plagues us all……Today in the Gospel Jesus, sees how some people were taking advantage of his people……They were using religion as a means to leverage power over others….Jesus had something to say about that….........……….”Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.”…….......Some people will read this and justify why they do not go to Mass and are not practicing Catholics…..If you are “that guy” - I ask you to consider this….Like everything else in life, every human institution is composed of “saints and sinners”…..Never let anyone keep you away from the Sacraments!….There are very good priests and bishops in the Catholic Church - In fact, the good FAR out number the bad....Jesus gave us the Sacraments for a reason - Why? - Because we all need them!…..Don’t let anyone “cheat” you out of your birth right!

“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.”

Where I work in New York City there is a Church where I go to daily Mass near my office…As providence would have it, that Church is probably one of the most lets call it “progressive” Catholic Churches in New York City….I say this because if this Church was not so close to my office, I would never go to Mass there…Why?…Let’s just say, a few of the homilies and one of the confessions I attended there were “less than” orthodox …And I am being kind…..Why am I telling you this - To complain? - No!…I am telling you this because while many of the priests at this Church are not my “cup of tea”, I still go to Mass there…I also go to Confession there twice a month….Why?….Because I do not go to Mass because of the homilies or the Priests - I go to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament - I go to have me sins forgiven in the Sacrament of Reconciliation…I will NEVER allow anyone to cheat me out of that grace promised to me by Jesus himself!…..I have also learned something by going to this particular parish…That is why I stated earlier that divine providence bought me to this Church……While I am what many people would call today an “Orthodox Catholic”…....I have come to see that priests that are not so orthodox can very well be sincere in their approach to the faith…....And while they still are not “my cup of tea”…..God loves them and therefore so must I love them….And these priests are a “work in progress” - Just as I am a “work in progress”….St Paul tells us in Scripture……”Bear one another’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he is deluding himself. Each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason to boast with regard to himself alone, and not with regard to someone else; for each will bear his own load.”……There was a time in my life when I would have heard one of the many homilies I have heard at this Church I go to in New York City and I would have had as we say in New Jersey “a fit”….Ranting and raving about how "the priest is so off”….....I now have taken a different approach…Every Wednesday, my wife and I fast for the Catholic Church….And that practice as brought me many graces - It also has brought me peace - “Jesus will take care of it!”….…In addition, because of my Wednesday fast - I no longer “throw a fit” every time a hear a “liberal priest” say Mass…..Now instead, I entrust that priest to the grace and mercy of God…..And as for me, while I do expect the liturgy to be presented to the faithful in the pews a certain way…and there clearly is a correct way to pray the Mass…..If things are not done well….I trust in the grace of the Sacrament…And no one is going to cheat me out of that grace!

“You have dominion over all, In your hand are power and might; it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.”

Today the universal Church honors Mary our Mother…..Jesus gave us his Mother from the cross…He also gave us a Church, which in many ways is our mother too…….There is a saying in Catholic circles……The Church and her teachings are perfect - Its “the people” in the church who are not perfect…How true that is!…Maybe that is why Jesus gave us a Church in the first place - You think? - To give us a place where we are fed by his Body and Blood and when we fall due to our human weakness, we have a place to go to wash our sins away Sacramentally…..If you are looking for a Church that is perfect, you are always going to be greatly disappointed…All people are flawed - Everyone - That includes priests and bishops…However, Jesus the son of God - He is perfect….And He gave us a Church - He also gave us his Mother…..Why? - Because we need them……Pope Francis would always say - “The Catholic Church is not a museum for saints, it’s a hospital for sinners”…….Don’t expect to find perfect people in the pews of the Cathlic Church or for that matter a perfect man standing in front of the altar saying Mass…..That is not why we go to Mass - We go to Mass to receive Jesus Sacramentally - To stand at the foot of the Cross on Calvary and witness the greatest act of love ever to be given to the world!…..So don’t “throw the baby out with the bath water”……The good should never be the enemy of the perfect! - Go to Mass………….JMJ

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