Today at Holy Mass Jesus warns his disciples in the Gospel of St John …."If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you”…We read this passage over and over again but we resist it…Why? - Because deep down all human beings want to belong…We want to be apart of “the club”….You witness this reality in young children at school in the cafeteria as far as where they sit and eat - The “cliques” they create, belong to and exclude others from joining…..And this reality does not change as we develop into adulthood - It looks different but the concept stays the same….To fully embrace Jesus Christ and the Truth of the Catholic Church will make you an "outlier" in society - There are no two ways about it…..The secular world not only does not embrace the Truth, it out right rejects it…Why? - For one, it isolates a person from the “crowd” and secondly, it usually makes one have less material wealth…..No one “gets paid” in Fortune 500 corporations for being virtuous - Now that does not mean everyone who works at a Fortune 500 company is a “bad person” but it does mean we are not rewarded for embracing the fullness of Truth - And because of that - People reject Truth for material gain and social status - Let’s just be honest…..And this is where the “rubber meets the road” when it comes to being Catholic - This is how you separate the “sheep from the goats”….A Catholic knows who he or she truly is deep down - We are children of God! - The desire for social status and material wealth mean very little - They do not define who a Catholic is - Therefore, Catholics do not “sell their soul” for them….And that too will make you an "outlier" in society….Jesus today warns us of this reality and if we authentically want to follow him - We must embrace this reality - Because it is reality!
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God”
I work as a Compliance Officer for a large European Bank…..I am the father of five children and two of my children were born during the COVID global epidemic…..When my fifth children was born, I was fifty-one years old….My fourth child was just born and because of that I waited to tell my manager one month before the birth of my fifth child (Maria)……Now my manager makes a lot of money!…He could afford to have ten children!!!! - Keep this in mind….And when I told him my wife and I were expecting our fifth child and me being fifty-one years old - This was his response, “Joe - YOU ARE CRAZY”…..This is the reaction of the secular world to a Catholic marriage….A marriage that does not use contraception and is open to life - That does not embrace materialism…..As Catholics we must ask ourself - Are we willing to be that "outlier" in society? - Or do we “go along to get along”…..This is in a sense what Jesus warns us about today in St John’s Gospel….."If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world”…..Do we want to be apart of “the club” that celebrates secular values, which ultimately destroy us?…Or do we embrace Truth, which leads to authentic peace and joy here on earth and life in heaven for all eternity?….…This is the choice that stand before us……”See, I have today set before you life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I am giving you today, loving the LORD, your God, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and ordinances, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. If, however, your heart turns away and you do not obey, but are led astray and bow down to other gods and serve them, I tell you today that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land which you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess”….Many in the world today believe they can have it “both ways” - It does not work that way!…..We can not serve two masters - We will love one and hate the other - Jesus himself tells us that…..Its time to make a choice and pick up our Cross!!! - Its our Cross that leads us to eternal life, not being apart of the “crowd”, which clamors and derides us for embracing the Truth……Choose Life - “Be in the world but not of the world” - And if that means being persecuted - So be it!
“Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful song”
Today St John in the Gospel at Mass communicates an “inconvenient truth” - If we follow Jesus as we were called to as Catholics - The world will reject us….Our people do not like to think about this - In fact, many try to evade this reality as much as they can….While we clearly do not want to be disliked by some segments of society, the reality of the mater is, it cannot be avoided….The world rejects the Truth and if you embrace the Truth - The world will reject YOU!….Are you ok with that?…Because YOU have to be!…Its part of being a disciple - It comes with the “territory” of being a Catholic…..Because of this, Jesus tells us the following…..”Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you”………We stand in “good company” - The company of the saints - So rejoice…………JMJ
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