Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Luke about the calling of St Matthew…..With just two words - “Follow me” - Levi, the man known as a public sinner leaves everything and changes into Matthew……This reality should give us great hope…..In the face of the impossible, God’s hand moves mountains!…..Sadly, we lose sight of this due to the fact that we think in human terms and look to human solutions.....God is at work - Even in the darkest of people and the darkest of times…..Our job as Catholics is to “keep our hands to the plow” - Work as if everything was up to us and trust that God is the only “mover” - Not us!…..Again as Catholics, we must focus on what we can do - First and foremost - Strive for our own personal sanctification…The fruit that is bore from a holy life can not be measured…..From our interior life, God will bear fruit…..There are no “programs”, no “powerpoint presentations”, no social media rants, etc, etc, etc….. That can replace the example of a holy life….This is why I believe the public sinner, who was Levi transformed into Matthew - There was “something” about this man Jesus - Something that spoke to Levi deeply……This is how we impact the world - Not by eloquent words, or essays, or writing books…But by a holy example, which radiates from our interior life….This is how the Gospel is spread….Even the hardest of hearts cannot ignore such an example……..And such an example is within our reach - Ask yourself this - Why not me?….What makes you any different then the first twelve disciples…In fact, based upon your “resume”, you may even be more “qualified” then they were….So what is stopping you!…It all comes down to just how convinced we are that Jesus is who he says he is…..This “convincing” only happens when we truly encounter the Lord…And how do we encounter him? - First - We must want to encounter him authentically and if we do desire such an encounter - God will make himself known to us in a very really and tangible way - As he did to Levi in the Gospel today at Mass……“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”…Are you interested in encountering the Lord? - If so - Just “knock”!
“Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth”
Before I was married for seven years on Saturdays I was the driver for Mother Teresa’s sisters in Manhattan……I served with the Missionaries of Charity at an AIDS hospice founded by Mother teresa herself in the 1980’s at the height of the AIDS epidemic….During that time I have witnessed many men, who lead horrible lives - Public sinners and outright criminals - Request to be baptized…..These were men who were considered “lost causes” by their families, society and everyone in-between…..And because of the witness of the Missionaries of Charity, these men “saw something” that made them want to be baptized……One such man comes to my mind and interestingly enough, his name was Angel…..Angel was raised by his grandmother in Puerto Rico - Both his mother and father abandoned him….Angel came to New York as a young man and led a horrible life…..Addicted to alcohol and drugs, he would spend time in prison and fathered numerous children outside of wedlock…..After living such a life for many years, Angel contracted HIV and found himself under the care of Mother Teresa’s sisters…..And amazingly, after living in the hospice, Angel requested to be Baptized….Now here is the “crazy part” - Shortly after Angel was baptized - He left the hospice to live on his own and within a few months - We heard he died somewhere in the Bronx……The story of Angel came to mind as I reflected on the Gospel today from Mass when Jesus told us……”The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners”…….What made Angel “change his mind”?……The Missionaries of Charity did not preach to him about how bad a life he lead…They simply “showed” Angel what it means to be Catholic by the way they lived - And it worked!…..This is the task at hand for all of us…..Our lives as Catholics should “speak volumes”......Just as Levi witnessed the life of Jesus and dropped everything because of what he saw in Christ - Angel too “saw something” that made him “want” what he saw in Mother Teresa’s sisters - That “something” was Jesus!…..This is how we change the world - Its the only way!….And if we make it a priority, to strive to be a holy people….Men like Levi - Men like my old friend Angel - They will stop and take notice….And maybe even experience a change of heart - “For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”
“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live”
Today St Luke in the Gospel tells us about a miracle!….How a public sinner by the name of Levi was transformed into one of the four Gospel writers…How does that happen?!? - Because Levi, encounter Jesus Christ…..Miracles like this happen to this very day…Sinners become saints….Hearts are transformed…Lives are re-built…..Our world today needs witnesses! - Only saints change the world…..I tell people this all the time - If you have ever encountered in your life an authentically holy person - You will never forget that person - No matter who you are or what choices you have made - The witness of a holy life “stops traffic” - It leaves people speechless!….This is what our world needs today…The “best Catholic argument” is the witness of saints…..As a people, Catholics have to get serious!….And we get serious by developing our interior life - From our interior life - Everything will flow - And we will bear fruit that will last….Just as Jesus called out to Levi and said only two words…”Follow me”……He calls us today…And says the same two words - ”Follow me”………JMJ
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