How do you think that statement would “fly” today at your average Sunday Mass in America?…….Hmmmmmm

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew, John the Baptist is brought to our attention…..John was not playing games!…He lived outside the “walls” of society….He lived an austere life and clearly had no concerns over social status…To put it in today’s terms - John was not politically correct in the slightest bit….Today in the Gospel, John addresses the powerful of his world……He calls them to repentance…. “When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire”……..Strong words indeed!……So here is the question - When was the last time we as Catholics heard such a call to repentance in America?…….Our nation murders children in the womb up until birth! - 63 million the last number I heard…..Do you think God is blind and deaf to this atrocity?…..Our nation has legalized same sex marriage - Homosexuality is completely mainstreamed…..Our nation has legalized the mutilation of minors in an attempt to “change their gender”, which not only defies reason but also defies science……Our nation legalized no fault divorce…Contraception is pervasive even among Catholics…The list goes on and on…....So - I will ask the question again - When was the last time where these atrocities were “called out”?……….How would John the Baptist be viewed by our Church today?…..Would we as Catholics, clergy and lay Catholics alike welcome his message?……Before you answer, remember what Jesus said about John the Baptist….........”Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”………Seems to me what the world values, God places no value what-so-ever.....Maybe we need to reevaluate some things - Ya think?

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths: all flesh shall see the salvation of God”

Today at most Catholic Churches in across America, the Holy Communion line is very long - On the surface that is a good thing....…But what about the Confession line?…..Our Church VERY CLEARLY has declared that one cannot receive Holy Communion outside the state of grace…….…”Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.” (CCC 1415) - That line comes directly from the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church……..Yet lay Catholics and clergy alike seem to ignore / take for granted this reality…..Do you think God ignores it?……Presently in the Catholic Church in America there are great debates about the Latin Mass vs the Novus Ordo Mass….Being in the Catholic Social media world and having a radio show in the New York Metropolitan Area - I do not get into this debate - Why you may ask?…Because the Church states that both of those Masses are valid…..That is not my “beef” as we say in New Jersey….My "line in the sand” and how I evaluate which parishes to attend Mass and which priests and bishops to stay far away from is this - One must be in the state of grace to receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament…When this is ignored - Count me out! - I am going somewhere else!……In the eyes of some - It is “believed” or “positioned” or frankly outright ignored - I will let the Lord make that judgment call as to which one it is - Some claim its “pastoral” to give Holy Communion to those who persist in grave objective mortal sin…Hmmmmm - While I can not control other people - I can read, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says other wise and when that sacrilege takes place, I stay far away!………….Such a practice is CLEARLY contrary to perennial Catholic teaching……For purposes of this reflection, I believe John the Baptist put it best - And while I do not wear clothing made of camel's hair and eat locusts and wild honey as John did….I am going to borrow his words……………..”Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord”……..Get the hint?

“I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Today in the Gospel, John the Baptist tells it like it is….How about us? - Are we CLEAR when passing on our Catholic faith?…Do we “tip-toe” around the tough teachings? - And as we do, rationalize to ourselves the reason why we maintain such a position?……In my humble opinion - It’s not charitable to “leave parts of the Gospel out” and not address them publically - Sorry!………….It’s not charitable to “conveniently” not teach certain aspects of what the Catholic Church has taught for centuries - Sorry!……..Speaking personally again - I will have no part of it!……The great saint Oscar Romero, who gave his life in El Salvador in 1980 during a time of civil war put it best………..”A church that doesn't provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed — What gospel is that?”…………Hmmm - Just think for a moment - Pope Francis declared Oscar Romero to be a saint and Romero was on record making controversial statements like the one I just noted…..How do you think that statement would “fly” today at your average Sunday Mass in America?…….Hmmmmmm……….JMJ

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