Our world today “thirsts” for a witness

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading about the Queen of Sheba…….She heard about King Solomon….And she wanted to “check out” what she heard for herself……”The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon's fame, came to test him with subtle questions”….As Catholics we should pay attention to this reading from Mass - Why? - Because people believe what they see!…..If we want the world to believe us - If we believe that the answer to the problems of humanity is Jesus Christ crucified…If we believe that living Sacramentally is the “cure” to mankind’s broken nature…If we believe all that and more! - Then we have to demonstrate it with our very lives!…..The Queen of Sheba heard about all the good things King Solomon was doing and when she saw them for her self - She became convinced…..Again - This is the only way to convince anyone of anything - We must show them……."The report I heard in my country about your deeds and your wisdom is true," she told the king. "Though I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes, I have discovered that they were not telling me the half. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard”………So the question for us today is - How do we live such a convincing witness as Catholics?…….Everything we do comes from our interior life…..Within each of us are “deep caverns” which we are not even aware of….The deeper our interior life of prayer becomes, the more we discover those “caverns” within us and in turn God will draw us closer to himself…..As our interior life deepens through daily prayer, weekly fasting and Sacramental living - Our lives will bear fruit…The “fruit” while happen naturally, almost as an organic outpouring from our interior life…In a sense, we won’t even have to “think” about it - It will just flow naturally….This is how we give a convincing example of our Catholic faith to the world around us….And this is the only way the world will believe what we say to be true.

“Commit to the LORD your way; trust in him, and he will act. He will make justice dawn for you like the light; bright as the noonday shall be your vindication”

The Gospel lived radically speaks to the world…..This is the Catholicism that convicts souls….And this is where those in the Church who prescribe to what is called the “Spirit of Vatican II” get it wrong…..The Catholic faith should not try to conform to the world - It needs to witness to the world - Offering an an attractive alternative…..The witness of a holy life attracts others because it mirrors the life of Jesus Christ….This is what the Catholic Church must do and trying to be “like everyone else” will never accomplish that goal……Living and working in New York City provides a person with access to many types of people…..Each day I walk a mile from the bus stop to my office building….The neighborhood I walk through each day is a decadent section of New York City commonly referred to as “Hells Kitchen”…..And one day as I was walking to work, I saw a Catholic Priest walking down the same sidewalk as I was wearing a traditional black cassock…..Obviously he stood out!……When I saw him I called out to him and gave him a “thumbs up”…..He smiled and kept walking…….This priest was giving a radical witness to the world just by walking down the street wearing the garb of a priest….If he was wearing secular cloths, I would never have recognized him…..And I am sure others noticed him just as I did…By wearing his cassock, this priest was a visible sign of Christ to a broken and wounded world….Now some may say wearing a cassock is outdated - Some say it “repels” people as opposed to “inviting them in”…..I vehemently disagree!…..When our Catholic faith is radically lived - When Sacrificial living is radically embraced - The world notices - In fact, even the “hardest of hearts” are almost mesmerized by the sight of an authentic Catholic witness…This is why Jesus told his disciples…..”I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth”……Our world will only believe what we are “selling” as Catholics if they see our faith lived out…..Live radically and you will “bear fruit” that will last…..The era of the “lukewarm” is over!

“Your word, O Lord, is truth: consecrate us in the truth”

Today at Mass we heard about how the Queen of Sheba heard what King Solomon was doing and when she saw it for herself - She was convinced…..As Catholics, we talk a “good game” but does the world “see” what we claim to be true?….Is the world convinced that the Catholic Church possesses the fullness of Truth?…….This kind of “convincing” only results from our cooperation with God…..It is the Holy Spirit that “convicts” souls - We by ourselves cannot convince people of anything!….Until we “die to ourself” and “make room” for the Holy Spirit to enter our life, we will be like “everyone else” - Conforming to the status quo - “Going along to get along”……Catholics must become “all things to all people”…..We must be and live differently in a world that rejects us - Easier said then done!…..The saints show us that such a life is possible and that radically subjecting ourself to God is how the world is transformed…..Mere words and “ticking boxes” as Catholics will never “get the job done”….Catholics were born to “stand out” not “go along” - God can do more with your life then you can….Do you believe that? - If you do - Prove it by “living it”!….Seeing is believing………The world is not interested in another sermon…….Our world today “thirsts” for a witness……………..JMJ