God does the “heavy lifting” - Our job is to “get out of our own way”!

Today at Holy Mass Jesus in St John’s Gospel talks to us about the Holy Spirit…He refers to it as the “Spirit of Truth….Jesus tells us this……”And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him”……To live in the Spirit as a Catholic is not something for a select few people who get canonized - Its simply to live in the state of grace…How does one live in the state of grace?…Simple - Go to Confession regularly, once a month as recommended by the saints and receive the Blessed Sacrament once a week at Mass - Simple!…..But how many Baptized Catholics are doing this?…..The answer to our problems as a Church in so many ways is so simple!!!! - And to live in the state of grace is simple…….Now let’s look closer - Notice what Jesus said….”The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept”…….Why does the world have a problem with God? - Keep this in mind - A person can say they “believe in God” and still be at odds with God and not be in the state of grace - But how? - The answer to this dilemma is - Human Beings want to do things their way - Not God’s way - And that is a dangerous road to walk….Jesus again tells us why in St John’s Gospel….”Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him”…..To be a Christian is more then just “believing in God” - We MUST as Jesus tells us - ”Observes” my commandments - That is the person who really loves me……….Love is an action it is not simply a word….To love someone is to “do” for them……If we are not living in the state of Grace willfully - We are not walking on the path that leads to eternal life - Did you just read that?!? - I will state it again! - If we are willfully, in full knowledge, not in the state of grace we will not enter the Kingdom of God!

“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live”

What is the big deal about confessing your sins to a Priest?….This is a huge obstacle for many people both in the walls of the Catholic Church and outside the walls….God already knows what you did - So why do you have a problem confessing it to a Priest?……For those who do go to Confession regularly, you know that it is a tangible encounter with God…When you leave the Confessional, you feel the Holy Spirit enter your soul in a very real way…..A huge burden is lifted and when we live in this state, we allow the Blessed Sacrament to take root within us when we consume the consecrated Host at Mass - This is how it works! - So simple!…….Confession in the American Catholic Church needs to become what it once was - More available….There was a time when Confessions were heard before every Mass…..In fact, in New York City where I work, to the credit of the clergy, Confession is available just about every day across the enter city……Now sadly at most parishes in America, Confession is made available for only one hour on Saturday……This must change!……To unleash the power of the Holy Spirit - Our people must confess their sins regularly!…..This will open the flood gates of grace - It will turn the “lukewarm” into instruments of the Holy Spirit - And the world will be made anew!

“Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit”

The Gospel of John is a very clear account and today we are told that we must not be Catholic in name alone - We must we “doers” of the word by following the commandments of God - In doing that, the Holy Spirit will fall upon us…..Grace is like rain, it falls from the sky - All we have to do is “put down our umbrella” and allow that Grace to pour down upon us…..Its our pride and sin that get in the way of that Grace - And this is why the Catholic faithful MUST go to confession regularly….To think otherwise is simple foolish…..Its time to get back to basics….Being in the state of Grace is mandatory - Its not optional………If we want to really know what it is like to be Catholic, we must live Sacramental lives and live in the state of grace…This is the ONLY way we impact the world around us…..Are we just “ticking boxes” as Catholics? - Do we say empty words and live in opposition to the words we claim to believe?…….Without the Holy Spirit and the grace of the Sacraments - THERE IS NO WAY! - We can observe the commandments of God - “Did you get that?!?” - Its impossible because of our fallen nature as human beings……We can know all the answers to the test and still fail the test - How? - Because being Catholic is not just about knowing “the answers”, its about LIVING the answers!…..And we can not self manufacture Grace…Our “job” is to get the obstacles out of the way, so the Grace of God can flow down upon us and then through us to the world - Simple - Right?!?………God does the “heavy lifting” - Our job is to “get out of our own way”!…….JMJ