Obedience is the key - If God said so - Its so - All day, everyday and three times next Tuesday

Today in the Gospel of St Matthew Joseph is given instructions…And they seem on the surface to be utterly ridiculous instructions….But knowing from whom the instructions came from….He did as he was told - The question today - Do we?……….."Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.”………………There is something about being obedient that “rubs people the wrong way”…….We see it in children at an early age…You can tell them something so basic, something that is not only in their best interests but makes perfect sense….And they will not listen to you….And this behavior carries on into our adulthood…..People don’t listen and as a result - They suffer……We see this behavior from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden all the way to the present age…Today in the Gospel, St Joseph is told something by God that seemed impossible…Yet Joseph was obedient…..Just think if Joseph did not listen - Where would the world be today?…….Our Lady tells us in Scripture these words…”Do what he tells you”….So again, I will ask the question - Do we?……The virtue of obedience is a vital virtue if we want to enter into the kingdom of heaven….God gives us the Sacraments and through living a life of Sacramental grace, we are able to execute on all the requests of God - Not perfectly - But we “get the job done” - Making the impossible possible…But before we execute on God’s “asks”…He have to trust him and even more importantly then that - We have to be obedient to him……St John tells us very plainly….“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”……Love is not a word, its an action….If we love God, we will not only listen to him but also be obedient to him…..That includes being obedient to the Church he founded - One can not separate Christ the head, from the Church which is the body…..Are we obedient?…..The answer to that question will be evaluated on “the final exam”

“Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God”

Do we believe we “know better” than God?……Do we “think” we know better than the one Church God founded and has lasted for 2000 years?….Every time we “think otherwise”, these two questions should come to our mind……There is nothing that God or the Catholic Church asks of us which cannot be done…That is not the problem - We either think we know better or we don’t do as we are asked because its hard….In the spiritual life, there is no such thing as “cheap grace”…..And if we reject “the Cross”, which comes with being a practicing Catholic, we reject Christ himself…..Our world today “thinks” we can have it both ways - Reject the Cross and receive Jesus on our terms….My friends - It does not work that way…….But if we are obedient, we will bear fruit for the Kingdom of God….We will be a visible sign to an unbelieving world and many hearts and minds will change as a result….But in order for that to happen, we must embrace rejection by the world and embrace the Cross….There is no other way….“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling!”……..In order to live in this way…We must prioritize our interior life…Daily prayer, weekly fasting and living a Sacramental life…..As the saying goes - Those who pray stay and those who don’t run away……To embrace the Cross and live an obedient life is hard - Let’s call it what it is…But if we do it, we will bear fruit for the Kingdom of God and save our soul…A small price to pay - So please - Consider this day to pay it.

“Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles”

Today St Joseph in the Gospel read to us at Mass is asked to do the impossible…But he does it…How about us?….As Catholics living in a pagan world - Do we live like everyone else?……..Do we “stand apart”?….Do we preach the fullness of the Truth from the pulpits of our Churches…Do we “water down” the Gospel message to appease the masses?….Are we open to life in our marriages?……Do we reject comfort for the sake of the Kingdom of God?………My friends - All these questions are on the “final exam”…..I am telling you this only because its true…….Obedience is the key - If God said so - Its so - All day, everyday and three times next Tuesday…………..JMJ

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