Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Luke in the gospel…In this text Jesus tells us a story about a King and his servants….“A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return”…….Each of us has something to do and while we do not earn heaven, heaven is a gift which we can not earn, God has given each of us a unique task…..And he expects us to do it…Some may say….What can I do for God?…My answer to that person saying that now is…A lot!…..If we only knew our potential…If we only had the courage to pursue it with reckless abandon!…….Jesus tells us very clearly…...”The Kingdom of God is within you!…Do you fully understand what that means!…Fear is the only thing that holds us back….What will people say?…..What if I fail?……What will happen if I take this risk?……Fear is not from God, it is from the evil one…..We need to “get out of the boat” of our “comfortable life”….That is the “space” God works in, when we “expose our self” and trust in him alone….When we meet him there in that “space”....When we stand in front of him "there" with nothing in our hands…In that encounter and in that "space" God smiles and says to us…Now we can begin!
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
God is not just a word…God is real…..We need to “get out of the boat” of our “comfortable life”…That is where the “big fish” are!
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Do we know what it means to be lost?…If you do, you too would give people a chance…..Deep down we all want to be “good”……Give people the opportunity to be good…They may surprise you
Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Luke in the gospel…Jesus does something that is shocking to the status quo…He befriends a known sinner…”Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house”……People love to point fingers and “think” they are better than others…When in fact, we are all sustained by grace and could just as easily be much worst then the greatest of sinners…..Jesus today met Zacchaeus exactly where he was, that does not mean Christ condoned his sins, however it does mean he loved Zacchaeus so much that he did not want to have him stay in that condition…As a result of Jesus’s gesture of friendship, Zacchaeus repents….This is what true “accompaniment” is, a term used by many in the Catholic Church today….“Accompaniment” is nothing more than friendship….It does not mean you lower or “mask” Catholic teaching, it simply means you extend a hand of friendship, showing a person what it means to be a follower of Christ by your life’s example…..Deep down we all want to be “good”….Give people a chance, they might surprise you
Monday, November 18, 2024
But there is a cost…The question is….Are we willing to pay it?
Today at Holy Mass we hear from St John in the first reading from the Book of Revelation….…John is telling the followers of Christ that in order to “continue on the road” one must endure many trials….”You have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary”…..How easy it is to say we believe in God when all things are going well…..What about when the “world turns against you”?…When you can not do what you want?……This is what St John is addressing…..To follow Christ means we are to be “in the world and not of the world”….That is very easy to say but the reality is, at times to live that out, it can be very challenging…This is why we need grace…To attempt this “path” without relying upon daily prayer, weekly fasting and the Sacraments if you ask me is futile - Not going to happen!….”The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”…..There is no such thing as “cheap grace”….And there are no short cuts.....”A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.”
Sunday, November 17, 2024
So be vigilant….And be ready!……The invisible will become visible
Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Mark in the gospel….….Mark today gives an account of the last days….."And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.”…….Jesus was born poor to a humble family…He lived and worked with his hands and for three years as scripture tells us….“Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest.”……Basically, Jesus was “invisible” to the world around him…..Think about even today, the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar, Jesus is there fully present, so simple, so humble yet “Invisible” to far too many…….Why do I say all this?…When Christ returns, that will not be the case…Jesus is the Lion of Judah and when he returns again as he has promised….He will come in “great power and glory”……And when that happens the world will be turned upside down!…One either believes this or one does not….But make no mistake, Jesus was no “hippie”….."In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”…Are we prepared to meet the King upon his return?………. When the invisible will become visible
Saturday, November 16, 2024
”I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world”
Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Luke in the gospel…..The theme of today’s gospel is the importance of perseverance…How easy it is to give up….This is why we MUST be faithful in daily prayer, weekly fasting and living a Sacramental life….Sadly, far too many are not convinced of this reality…Do we need reminding from Jesus himself again?…….”I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing”…….Life is a marathon, it’s not a sprint….In order to “make it across the finish line”, we need to remain connected to “the vine”….You don’t believe me?…..You don’t have to look very far to observe human weakness…..It’s in each of us…This is why we need to “stay connected to the vine”.
Friday, November 15, 2024
“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be”
Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from St John….Interestingly enough, he addresses a problem, which still exists today……How society “thinks” they have “moved beyond” God….These are his exact words, not mine……”Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist. Look to yourselves that you do not lose what we worked for but may receive a full recompense. Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son”…….At the root of all these “progressive ideas’, from St John’s time to the present day is the fact that mankind does not want to “bend its knee” to God…So he “invents a God”…..And in doing so, “the world” indirectly proclaims itself “god”…..…”I make the rules”….”I live by my terms”….Very easy to say when we are young, strong and rich…But has we know, we all get old, lose our strength and our money can not buy us eternal life…….To expand on this idea put forth by St John…The one who is most “progressive” is the one who sees past the “sparkle and glitter” of this world and builds his / her life upon eternal truths that have and will last…..Have we “invented” a God that does not exist?….Do we call our self “spiritual”, worshiping this imaginary “god” we created?…..As St John rightful said….”Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God”
Thursday, November 14, 2024
The Son of Man will return…Like a flash!…….Are we ready to meet him?
Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Luke Jesus tells his friends some shocking news…….“The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation”………How easily we forget that Jesus is going to come back…He may even come back today…Are we ready to meet him?…..Jesus told his 12 friends many things and for as much as he told them, most of it went right over their head…In many ways we are no different…The Son of Man will return…Like a flash!….Are we ready to meet him?…In the mean time, Jesus tells his buddies….“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you”…..Inside of each of us is the Kingdom of God…Sadly we are afraid of it…We bury it…Because the world rejects it….But for those who do not….The road to heaven is heaven…But make no mistake…As Jesus said today in the gospel…..”He must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation”….The world will always reject those who embrace the ways of God…..…“My kingdom does not belong to this world.…….For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice”…....We can not have it both ways!…..The Son of Man will return…Like a flash!…….Are we ready to meet him?