Are you convinced? - Be convinced - Because this is how we bear fruit for the Kingdom of God

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of John one of the most important sentences in the entire Bible……This sentence should serve as a “blue print” for our spiritual life…..”He must increase; I must decrease”……..As Catholics we should not try to “add on” jesus to our life - In fact, Its the exact opposite - We have to subtract “the self”, pouring our life out for others, which in turn allows the Holy Spirit to fill us…This process can be accomplished whether you are a priest, you are married or live in the single state of life….Our world rails against living a sacrificial life - This is why the world does not know Christ…..By living a sacrificial life and by being open to whatever God puts in front of us - This is how we live out our vocation….Most times, for those who embrace this model of living, this way of life goes unnoticed….We die to our self in the little moments of life…Caring for the children, Cooking dinner, Mowing the lawn, Working hard to provide a living for your family, Saving money for the education of your children…These things go unnoticed by the world…But in doing these “little” things consistently, we slowing but surely die to our self….As we live sacrificially, the “cup of our life” becomes empty…When its empty, God fills it - But how?….Through daily prayer - Weekly fasting, Frequent Sacramental confession, Frequent reception of the Blessed Sacrament at Mass…In doing those things, the Holy Spirit has room in our life to animate us…As St Paul tells us…..”Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me”…This can not happen if we are “full of ourself”….The cup must become empty before it is filled…This is why what John the Baptist said is so important…..”He must increase; I must decrease”…..By ourselves we can do nothing - Once we are truly convinced of that reality and begin the process described above in this reflection - That is when you will do everything - Even the impossible - All in the name of Christ, by and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.”

Its very easy to read something in the Bible and “miss” the importance of it…This is why Catholics need to see our faith lived out in real time…This concept given to us by John the Baptist will not be fully comprehended until we see it lived out…For me, I saw this in the time before I was married serving for seven years with Mother Teresa’s sisters…..I was their driver in Manhattan every Saturday…I served with them in New York, San Francisco, Haiti and India…Over that seven year period, the sisters showed me how John the Baptist’s words - ”He must increase; I must decrease” - will bear fruit for the Kingdom of God…..The Missionaries of Charity, when they make their final vows, give all to God….They live in poverty….They wash their cloths by hand…They sleep in a common room….They take bucket showers……They only go home to their family once every ten years….That is how they “decrease”….I watched this play out before my eyes for seven years……..What else do they do?…..They pray each and every day….Morning reflection, Daily Mass, Daily Holy Hour, Daily Rosary, Angelus, Liturgy of the hours…That is how they allow God to “increase” in their lives….Again, I watched this happen in real time…What I also saw is the fruit of this life style…Mother Teresa’s sisters are holy woman - Period Full Stop!…If you ever encountered them, you will know exactly what I am talking about….And because they are holy, they bear fruit for the Kingdom of God….Again, I have watched this with my own eyes…..How their lives greatly impacted others and the world around them……So here is the question - If this “model” of living works for the Missionaries of Charity….Why would it not work for us?….When we encounter a holy person, we can too easily dismiss that person as being some kind of anomaly…The saints are no different then us when you come right down to it……They were “regular people”….The difference however between the saints and the “average guy” in the pews of our Churches is - They take what John the Baptist said serious……”He must increase; I must decrease”…….Just as Mother Teresa’s sisters do…That is what makes them saints……How about us?….We can do this too, if we make becoming holy a priority…..The closer we grow to God, the more he can use us…This should be the goal of every Catholic throughout the entire world…Nothing should be valued more then our own sanctification….And John the Baptist tells us how to do it……”He must increase; I must decrease”

“The Lord takes delight in his people.”

There are many things told to us in the pages of Scripture…Today, in my humble opinion, what is told to us by John the Baptist at Mass could be one of the most important singular statements made that we will ever hear……Did we catch it?…Did what John say, go in one ear and out the other?…….In order for the Holy Spirit to really work in our life we must “decrease” and when we do, we allow Jesus to increase……..We saw just how effective this model of living was in the life of John the Baptist…We can also see this model of living play out in the lives of countless saints over the course of 2000 years - Just pick up a book and read about them……..So here is the question - Why not us then?….Life is about choices and its through our choices that we “speak” to the world - By and through our life’s witness….But here is the “deal” as we say in New Jersey - We can not give what we do not have…And before we receive “the gift”, we must be “emptied of self”, to make room for it….....John the Baptist enlightens us once again - ”A voice of one crying out in the desert:‘ Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”….So get out of your own way and make room for God!…God can do more with your life then you can - First we must be convinced of that, and when we are convinced - We will make “room” and not before - No need to “add on”, its more important to “subtract”……..”He must increase; I must decrease”…….Because without me, you can do nothing - Are you convinced? - Be convinced - Because this is how we bear fruit for the Kingdom of God………………..JMJ