“You worry about you!”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark how the Pharisees and some scribes find fault with Jesus…..Jesus addresses them……”This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts”…….God weighs the human heart…Its not necessarily what you do that matters, but how much love you put into what you do…The  Pharisees and scribes “on paper” did everything right - But their hearts were far from God….This is something we as Catholics must be very aware of….We too came be just like the Pharisees and scribes and not even realize it - The devil is very clever - Never forget that….Catholics many times “tick off boxes” - We pray the Rosary - We go to Sunday Mass - We even go to Confession regularly - We pray our Divine Mercy Chaplet every day too - The list goes on and on……But even doing all those things - Our heart is not in what we doing……And when life does not go the way we want it too - We complain - At least I do…..As married Catholics, we can be involved in numerous activities in the Church, but lose focus of our primary duty - Which is to our family....As a priest - We can get “caught up” in administrative tasks and forget the sick and poor of our parish - Or neglect our prayer life……Once again - God sees the human heart - God is not “impressed” with the “big things” we may think he is impressed with - My wife has a phrase for this “Corporate Catholic” - When we behave as corporate people act towards one another - Looking for opportunities to “climb the ladder” - Looking to get noticed - Looking to acquire titles…Once again - God is not impressed……”He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.  Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood”……Its not what we “do” that counts - Its about how much love we put into what we do….This is how we “impress” God

“Blessed they who dwell in your house! Continually they praise you. O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of your anointed”

Next to Jesus, the greatest of all the saints was Our Lady and St Joseph - Many Catholic scholars would agree with that statement….And just think - St Joseph does not have one recorded word in Bible - And Our Lady always was in the background….Yet - Catholic tradition tells us they were the closest to God - The greatest of the saints…That should tell us something…..To live what is commonly referred to in Catholic circles as “a hidden life” is the surest path to God…..That was the path of Our Lady and St Joseph…It means to “get out of the way” and let Jesus lead the way….To “get lost entirely” in God so God “overshadows” us as he did with Our Lady……It means not attracting attention and when attention is directed towards us, we direct it back to God…..Is this how we live? - Is this what we strive to do?……Over the years I have been married, I have watched my wife and marvel at her - I marvel at what she does for our family each and every day…..She does so much and she does it quietly, without any fanfare…..I can say this with honestly, I love my wife more now then the day we were married because of how she has sacrificed herself for me and our five children…And just as I have witnessed this - I am sure our children have as well, which in time will “bear fruit that will last”…..This is an example of a hidden life…..The journey to God is not like “climbing the ladder” of a Fortune 500 Company - So don’t look to be a “Corporate Catholic”….Thinking to yourself: How much can I do? - What can I achieve? - Does “what I do” come with “a title”?……….God sees us “as we truly are” - When no one is looking……In addition to the witness of my wife, I have also seen the example of a “hidden life” when I served with Mother Teresa’s sisters in Manhattan every Saturday for seven years before I was married…The Missionaries of Charity work in the background quietly like Our Lady…They are prayerful and are not interested in gaining any attention for all the good they do…..Again - This is the surest path to God - This is how we grow in sanctity….It should not be about “us” when we do “good things” and if it is, frankly what we do is of little use to God……To acquire this mindset is to understand who we are at or core - Humility is Truth - We are simply children of God and no more - All the gifts given to us were given to serve God and to serve our neighbor…And one day we will die…..Our worth is found in God alone and God alone can restore our life, giving it back to us after our physical death when we see him face to face upon our judgement - This is our hope!…..In the meantime - No need to be “glorified” for all the “good we do” here on earth……Now - That does not mean we should not look to do “great things” - And if God calls us to do “great things” - We must do them for the Glory of God and if attention is directed towards you because of what you do - Direct it back to God and keep working!

“I had rather one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked”

Today at Mass in the Gospel Jesus “calls out” the Pharisees and scribes - These were the perfect people who found fault with everyone else as opposed to addressing their own faults - Do we do this?…..I say that because I do sometimes and I confess this often Sacramentally….I somethings find my myself saying the phrase - “Those People” followed by a litany of faults “Those People” do - And when I do this verbally, the Holy Spirit usually convicts me on the spot……….Its so easy to forget that we are all sinners and that all “the good” we do and all the virtues we have are due to God’s grace - Everything is grace!…..It’s not our place to call out “Those People” - As I tell my children when they fight with and blame each other - I tell them: “You worry about you!”…….Worrying about my own sanctity is a “full time job” - And before I start “pointing the finger” at others for their many faults - Maybe I need to do some self reflection - How about you?…….Jesus tells us very clearly…..”For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?”….Wrong is wrong - “I get it” - But as I tell my children often….”You worry about you” - And God will address your neighbor’s faults in his time and in his way - In the mean time - “You worry about you!”………….JMJ