”For whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith”

Today we hear from St John in the first reading from Holy Mass…He talks to us about being obedient…Clearly something the world has problems embracing….We are convinced we “know better”…This was the sin of Adam and Eve…God told them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge - What did that tree signify?…..God by making that statement to Adam & Eve was telling them, you can have everything I created in the Garden of Eden, but I determine what is good and what is evil - You do not!….And Adam and Eve could not accept that…And nor can we today sadly…St John today at Mass tells us this mentality must stop…That we cannot claim to love God with our words when our actions rebel against the Natural Law and the Teachings of the one Church Jesus founded - The Catholic Church….”In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments.”…St John also goes on in this passage…He tells us that we must love our brother…But who is our brother? - The answer - Everyone!…But how can we do this?……If we do not love God and if we do not embrace a life of prayer, fasting and Sacramental living…We will never be able to love our neighbor as our self…Why is that?…Because in order to do this, we need God’s grace….This is the “missing link” today in our “modern” secular culture….We all fall short of loving our neighbor as a result of human weakness and our fallen nature….This is why human beings need God…We are his creation and without him, we are in essence “incomplete” - Our world today in its hubris is not convinced of this reality…..As Catholics, if we can see Jesus fully present in the Blessed Sacrament, we will surely be able to see him in our neighbor….And in doing so, we will love our neighbor as our self…..This kind of love is outside of our grasp without God’s grace…But is this too difficult?…St John answers that question for us as well……”And his commandments are not burdensome”…Nothing asked of us by Christ or the Catholic Church is impossible as many people sadly believe…The important thing to remember is - Doing what is asked of us as Catholics is only possible by God’s grace…Outside of that grace - Yes - Its impossible - So what should that tell us…Live in a state of grace and all things will be possible for you!

“The Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.”

How can a Catholic live a chaste life before he or she is married?…How can a priest live a celibate life?…..Many today do not think such a way of living is possible, given our human nature…But that mentality is incorrect - How do I know this?…Because before I was married, from the age of around 28 to 43, I lived a caste life….Even when I met my wife at the age of 42, we did not engage in sexual intercourse until we were married…How is that possible one many ask? - The answer - God’s grace!…..In my twenties when I decided to take my Catholic faith seriously, I tried to “self manufacture” a chaste life, relying upon my own power and will…And I failed….It was not until one period of intense fasting during Lent that God gave me the grace to live a chaste life…..In trying to achieve this on my own and failing - God showed me just how grace can work when we opens our soul up to it - He also showed me just how weak I am without that grace….So the question is for those reading this reflection - Do we open our soul to grace?…One may ask - How do we do this? - The answer - Frequent Sacramental Confessions…Reception of the Blessed Sacrament - Daily if possible….Daily Prayer…Weekly Fasting…..God can not work in our life if we do not cooperate with him….But if we do cooperate him, all things are possible when it comes to living out our Catholic faith, no matter what vocation we have…..We must do our part, so God can do his part.

“For whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.  And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.”

St John today tells us how to be authentic people…We can not claim to be Catholic and hate others…We can not claim to be Catholic and disregard what the Church teaches us….We can not claim to be Catholic and not accept the Pope and his teachings……But how can we do all these things?….They sound to difficult - Right?……Everything we do comes down to grace….Never think for a moment that you can live as a Catholic without God’s grace…The second you “think” its all about you, is the very moment everything will come crashing down…..”Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall”……Live in and by God’s grace - Trust in grace implicitly!……….Because if we say one thing and do another - “The world” will take note - And so will God………….”For whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith”………JMJ