Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah how the Jewish people “did not want to hear it”…They hardened their hearts to God and his words…..How could that be possible after everything they went through?…..How God rescued them time and time again…..And as soon as things settled down - And they got a little comfortable - They forgot everything they learned…..Sound familiar!?!…..This is the condensed story of man kind…Its the story of “Exodus and Return” - “Exodus and Return” - Rinse - Wash - Repeat!…..The Old Testament is filled with similar stories of the Jewish people following God and then forgetting God, and as a result, everything would fall apart…These stories are to remind us today…Has modern man learned anything?…..It does not appear he has….For as sophisticated as we are, for as educated and intelligent….This reality has not penetrated our hearts - And what is that reality? - That we were made by a loving God and when we turn from God the Father, something within mankind breaks…And that something can only be “filled” with the very thing we reject - God himself……”Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me. From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day, I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets. Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed; they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers. When you speak all these words to them, they will not listen to you either; when you call to them, they will not answer you. Say to them: This is the nation that does not listen to the voice of the LORD, its God, or take correction. Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech”…….How many times does this passage from Jeremiah have to repeat itself?…..What will make mankind “see” and “hear”?……..God must become a reality - Each of us must “position ourselves” to encounter the Living God - God has to become real to us and simply reading about him will not make this encounter happen….But how do we encounter God?…..The answer is - We encounter God Sacramentally…And its the grace of living a sacramental life that keeps us grafted to God….Without that grace - We drift slowly away and repeat what Jeremiah tells us today…Exodus and Return - Exodus and Return…Jesus gave us the “tools” to break this destructive cycle - The “tools” are the Sacraments and they are only found in the one and only church Christ founded - The Catholic Church…So stay grafted to God - Live Sacramentally!
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”
If you ever went to a book store, you would see that there is an entire section of “self-help books”….In addition to these “self help” books, an entire profession was created to address the human need to improve - “Life Coaches” in big cities across America charge the rich and the elite in our society huge amounts of money to “give advice” on how to manage day to day life…..Why is there a need for “self help” books and an entire profession to give common sense advice to others?……Is it because human beings are all flawed in some way?…But will reading a book or getting advice “fix” the fallen nature of mankind? - The answer is sadly - NO!……All of us are born with a fallen nature, which means we sin….The only solution to this “sin problem” we all deal with is Jesus Christ and the Sacraments of the Catholic Church…The secular world scoffs at this reality….And as a result, they spend their money on high priced “life coaches” and psychologists to “fix” their problems - When the “missing link” is grace…And God can only give us grace if we “make room for it” in our life….This is why Jesus very clearly in St John’s Gospel speaks about his flesh being “real food” and his blood being “real drink”…..If we prepare the vessel of our soul by going to Confession with a Catholic priest once a month and receive the true Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist - We will not need “self help books” or “life coaches”….Does this mean living Sacramentally will “fix” all our “issues” - No!…But it does mean living in the state of grace will give us “eyes to see”, to avoid many of the potholes of life - It will give us “ears to hear” when we hear the word of God and understand what Scripture is telling us - It will give us grace to strengthen our will to resist many of the temptations that the unbelieving world fall prey too and ultimately destroy their lives and their families….This is what Jesus gives us through his Church…The “missing link” today that the world ignores is grace and only living a Sacramental life can give us this grace…The Sacraments are the “medicine” for the world’s “sickness” - That “sickness” is sin…..”Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness. You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him”…….Do we take advantage of this gift? - The gift of being Catholic and living Sacramentaly…Because it truly is a gift….We can not “fix” ourself and with God we are made whole…We are sanctified…And in the end, we are transformed into the people we were born to be - God’s people
“Oh, that today you would hear his voice: "Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, Where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works."
Today the Prophet Jeremiah tells us about human nature, how we “screw everything up”….Its in our nature! - We are all sinners - We fall - We stray - And we do it again!…..It’s sadly the “story of mankind” from the very beginning….How do we remedy this reality?….We must cooperate with God and allow him to work in our life…We must “make room for God”…As John the Baptist told us…”I must decrease and he must increase”…..We also must “feed” on the very flesh and blood of Christ - In the Blessed Sacrament - This is vital…The Eucharist received at Mass in the state of grace is “food for the journey”, without it we will not make it!….What else must we do? - Pray and learn at the feet of Our Lady….Mary is our Mother and she will lead us to her son…Our Lady is also “Full of Grace” and she is more then happy to give us the grace we need - Why? - Because we are her children!…..It all comes down to grace - Jesus tells us…”Without me you can do nothing”….That is why there are so many “self help books” out there today - Our world tries to “fix itself” - When the only “fix” is grace….JMJ
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