Maybe its time to “get out of your own way” - So you can follow “The Way”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark how Jesus cures a deaf man…..”And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man's ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, "Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!") And immediately the man's ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly”….Clearing to “see” and “hear” is a gift……But how many today do not “see” and do not “hear”?…..How many “hear” the Gospel Truth and what they “hear” goes in one ear and out the other?…….Even within our Church!…..Think about it - Everything is written down!…..And yet for some - There is confusion - They do not “hear”……How is this so?……In order to hear God, our heart must be made pure…..What we “hear” and “see” depends completely upon the condition of our hearts…….So how do we purify our hearts? - The answer - Frequent Sacramental Confession……This allows us to see and hear the world as it truly is….But how many Catholics make this practice apart of their life?……If we are not going to Confession, we are not benefiting from the reception of the Blessed Sacrament as we should be…However, when we receive the Eucharist in the state of grace at Mass due to the utilization of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the “flood gates” of grace are open…..You would think this would be understood by all - Right?!? - You would think every Catholic would follow this “blue-print”…..But sadly this is not the case - Something is “getting in the way” of us “hearing”…….St John tells us in his Gospel….”My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me”……We can not follow Jesus unless we hear him……..In the silence sitting before the Blessed Sacrament, if we are living Sacramentally (frequent Confession and frequent reception of the Blessed Sacrament), we will most certainly hear God’s voice and when we do, its then up to us to follow him!

“Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son”

Our Lady tells us when Jesus performed his first miracle at the Wedding Feast of Cana - She told us…“Do whatever he tells you”…….Again, in the Catholic Church, everything is written down - So how are we so confused…..Just - “Do whatever he tells us” - Right!?!…Yet somehow we don’t and somehow the words on the page become “blurred”…..This is because of our will - We have not fully bent our knee to God…This is also because of our heart - It is not as pure as it should be……If we “work” on those two realities - Bending our will until it breaks and purifying our hearts - We will surely do as Our Lady tells us - To listen to her son…..All this is dependent upon grace!……Without grace we are lost!…..Jesus tells us - “Without me you can do nothing”…I repeat this statement in my many reflections often because I do not believe people believe it….We are far too dependent upon our self…..We must “put down” self dependence and rely on God - Trusting in is grace…..It’s his grace that allows us to “see” and “hear”….We can not “read” our way to God’s grace - In order to receive it, we must become empty of “self” making “room” for God’s grace……That is how we will “see” and that is how we will “hear”……And once we get to that point - The “following Jesus part” is not far off

"If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways, Quickly would I humble their enemies; against their foes I would turn my hand."

Jesus in the Gospel today read to us at Mass performed a physical healing……Many will “hear” this passage read to them and not really “hear” it - What is God telling us in St Mark’s Gospel today? - Maybe he is saying - We too are “deaf” to the words and actions of the Gospel!…..Because if the words do not penetrate our hearts - We simply will not act upon them…..Mother Teresa would always say….”I take Jesus at his word”….Why do you think that was the case? - Clearly we “heard” all the same things as Mother Teresa did - Yet she executed on the words of Christ and most of us do not, at least to the degree we should - What did Mother Teresa have that we do not?……In a word - Grace!…How did Mother Teresa get that grace? - Through daily prayer, fasting and through frequent reception of the Sacraments…Its really that simple - Why do we make it complicated!?! - Why do we make excuses?……Jesus is “The Way” and if we believe that - As we say we do - We must “hear” his voice…Do you “hear” his voice?….Or is that your voice? - Maybe its time to “get out of your own way” - So you can follow “The Way”……………JMJ