Choices have consequence - Choose well

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of John that the mob is forming around Jesus!….Jesus has threatened the power base of his society and they are not having it!….And because of the elite of Jesus’ day focused their life choices on power and status, they are unable to “hear” the words of Jesus…God is standing right in front of them and they cannot “see” and “hear” him!…..We see similar events like this play out today….Truth is spoken and when it challenges those who refuse to put down the idols of power and status, they lash-out….We see this in our communities, in our work places and in our politics……..”Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said, "This is truly the Prophet." Others said, "This is the Christ." But others said, "The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he? Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David's family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?" So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why did you not bring him?" The guards answered, "Never before has anyone spoken like this man." So the Pharisees answered them, "Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed." Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them,  "Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?" They answered and said to him, "You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee”…………Human beings have not changed too much since the time of Jesus Christ……Mankind would rather live a lie then embrace life giving Truth…..We cannot claim to “believe” in God if we do not embrace the Truth in all it fullness - This is a great disconnect, which plays out in our American society……”I believe in abortion - But I also believe in God”…”I believe in same sex marriage - But I also believe in God”……I believe in euthanasia - But I also believe in God”……To make such statements and to convince yourself that somehow you are on the side of God while you actively work against God is not only a delusion but a recipe for disaster…..Jesus Christ said he was the Truth - Not the custom….And while the Truth will set you free - The Truth also divides…It separates the “sheep from the goats”………“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division”…As it is today and how it was in the days that Christ walked the earth - The Truth divides!….We must make a choice and our life speaks of this choice….Are you a “sheep” or a “goat”? - One will live, the other will die - That is the way it is…Choose well - Choose life!

“Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance”

Both inside and outside the walls of the Church, the battle for Truth rages on to this very day!……The Catholic Church is an extension of Jesus Christ and contains the fullness of Truth…In addition, everything the Church claims to be true is written down - So how can there be so much confusion?….Its all written down!!!…..Interestingly enough, when the Truth in all its fullness is proclaimed from the pulpit or for that matter spoken in the public squares of America - Many Catholics and Non-Catholics reject it, sometimes even violently……Why?…Because to embrace the Truth requires sacrifice…And people refuse to sacrifice anything…Jesus was very clear…..“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?”……When I got married to my wife, I was full committed to being open to life…The Catholic Church, as many know, does not permit the use of contraception and part of our wedding vows as Catholics is to be fully open to life….How many Catholic married couples embrace this teaching?…..When I got married, my wife and I were all in!…And as a result my wife gave birth to five children in ten years - We also lost three children as a result of miscarriages in those ten years…Its easy to say with words that we did this as a Catholic married couple but clearly there was a “price to pay”….My wife suffered physically, the financial burden involved in caring for five children…The daily sacrifices of time….The sleepless nights…….To live out what the Church requires of married couples costs!…..So here is the question - Are we willing to “pay the cost”?…….The Truth is so easy to repeat - So easy to read from a book - Its something all together different to live the Truth in real time….But reading about the Truth does not make a person a follower of Christ - To follow Christ we must live the Truth….All our daily choices - In everything we say and do should “scream” to the world around us that we are Catholic….If our life does not communicate that message - Then maybe we need to stop and think - Are we really following Jesus Christ?……Are we willing to “pay the price” of discipleship?

“O LORD, my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and rescue me, Lest I become like the lion's prey, to be torn to pieces, with no one to rescue me”

Today at Mass we hear in the Gospel that many of the power-brokers of Jesus’ day outright rejected him…..Keep in mind…Many of these men claimed to be “religious” - Yet God stood right before them and they could not “see” or “hear” him….This reality should serve as a warning to us today…..The Catholic Church proclaims the fullness of Truth….And God does not force us to believe in him - God simply proposes the Truth to us - Its up to us to accept the Truth…And if we fully accept the Truth - Our life will look differently from the crowd…Are we willing to “look differently” from the crowd?……Far too many Catholics “go along to get along” in our society…We look like everyone else and live like the pagan culture that is all around us - This needs to end!….Catholics must be willing to “pay the price” of living as a Catholic in the public square - Come “hell or high-water”….If we are not willing to “pick up our cross” - How can we possibly think we will spend eternal life with Christ in heaven?……..”Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven”……Choices have consequence - Choose well…….JMJ

”I must decrease and He must increase”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading something from the Book of Wisdom that gives us a window into human nature…..Those who seek power at all costs in this world to this very day ”think” exactly as they did in the time of Christ….The Church and those who are faithful to her should always remember that we live in a hostile world….Jesus tells us this very clearly….“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues”…When we are working and living in this chaotic reality, which is the world, its easy to forget the power of God - That Jesus defeated death and that Christ will one day come again…..The reading today reminds us all that the world is a dangerous place but take heart - Christ has conquered death and the darkness of the world will not have the last word…….”The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright: "Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, Reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD. To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, Because his life is not like that of others, and different are his ways. He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father. Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him." These were their thoughts but they erred; for their wickedness blinded them, and they knew not the hidden counsels of God; neither did they count on a recompense of holiness nor discern the innocent souls' reward”.……….Notice the end of this passage…..”but they erred”……Just when evil “thinks” it has the last word, it fails……History proves this to be true time and time again…..God is at work and we must work with him…..The Catholic Church has outlasted the Roman Empire, The French Revolution, The Nazi Third Reich & the Soviet Union - To name just a few of the enemies of the Church…Think about that!!!!!…The world and the devil has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the Catholic Church - And it is still standing….For those who are objective - That should tell you something…Think long and hard - Jesus Christ is King!

“One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God”

God plays the “long game”…And because God thinks in those terms, so must we…But if we look at our life, for those who have been around from some time as I have been, you will observe how good behavior in time always wins the day and how bad behavior in time destroys those who prescribe to it….I have life-long friends and outside of going away to college, I returned to my hometown and live to this day amongst many of the people I grew up with…I have watched people I have known my entire life - From grammar school to them being grandparents…Of these people that I see around town, people I have known for decades, there have been many surprises……One stark observation I can make is…….Many of the “bad guys” I grow up with have long fallen away….Their bad behavior caught up with them and when I see them as men in some cases, now in their sixties - They are a shell of who they once were - Some are even dead…….Historically speaking, mankind has not “figured out” what was read to us in the first reading from Mass today…..”These were their thoughts, but they erred; for their wickedness blinded them, and they knew not the hidden counsels of God; neither did they count on a recompense of holiness nor discern the innocent souls' reward”………God always has the last word!…..I have five children and I always tell my kids, as my father always told me - “There are no short cuts in this world”….That also goes for entering into eternal life……Jesus is very clear about this reality….We are instructed as Catholics to “Pick up our Cross”…..That the “road that leads to heaven is narrow”….That Jesus is the only “gatekeeper”….This is told to us by the Church and read to us at Mass - But do we “hear” the words?……How do we stay on the road to heaven?…How do we endure the trials and temptations of life?…..How do we not “get lost” along the way?……Again, for those of us who have lived in this world for many years as I have, we have watched many “good” people we know and love “fall away” - They “get lost” - And in turn pay a huge price!…..So how do we “stay the course”?……The answer comes from Jesus and we have heard it before - But did we really “hear” the words?…….“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him”…….To be a Christian means to live and worship as a Catholic…A bold statement for sure but a true one…….While there are many well intentioned Christians in the world who are not Catholic, the words of Jesus contained in the Gospel of John, which I just noted refutes any claim of Christian authority outside the Catholic Church……And if we are not living Sacramentally, which means going to frequent confession and receiving the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace - If we live outside of the realm of Sacramental grace - To “think” we can “walk the narrow road” laid before us is in my view a fools errand…..Again, circling back to the first reading from the Book of Wisdom proclaimed at Mass today…..”But they erred; for their wickedness blinded them, and they knew not the hidden counsels of God; neither did they count on a recompense of holiness nor discern the innocent souls' reward”…….The unbelieving world does not “get it” sadly……For those who have “eyes to see” - What I just noted is very clear - Again - For those who have eyes to see.

“The LORD confronts the evildoers, to destroy remembrance of them from the earth. When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them”

As Catholics, we go to Mass every Sunday and the words of Christ are read to us…This goes on for years and years - But do we “hear” those words? - I mean really “hear” them!…..Mother Teresa would always say - “I take Jesus at his word”……That is coming from a  canonized saint…So the question today is - Do we take Jesus at his word?……Because if we did - Maybe we would live differently - Maybe we would live Sacramentally - Maybe we too would become saints…Isn’t that the goal?  - To become a saint……Jesus walked among men “to take away the sins of the world” - To establish a Church - To show us by his example how to reach eternal life….He could not have done anymore to make is “point” any clearer - So what is the problem? - Where is the confusion?….The problem rests within each of us - This is the greatest enemy we face - Our own will - And this is the enemy we must defeat - Our will must bend until it breaks!….As John the Baptist tells us…”I must decrease and He must increase”….There it is - The answer to the problems that plague mankind…….”I must decrease and He must increase”……..JMJ

When we “fix” the man - We will “fix” society

Today the Universal Church honors St Joseph…..A man of silence, obedience and humility……In a world where everyone seems to have “something to say” on social media, St Joseph is a contradiction…..In the entire New Testament there is not one single word recorded from the mouth of St Joseph…Yet the Universal Church honors him as one of the greatest saints…..Our world today needs more men like St Joseph…..He spoke by his example…..And ultimately the only lasting statement anyone ever makes, is their example…..Words are easily said but forgotten quickly…..However, the lasting power of a good example is what makes the deepest imprint on those around us….But how are we able to give such an example?….The only way is to be rooted in daily prayer, fasting and Sacramental grace……Our human condition is so easily distracted….And we are all susceptible to temptations and sin….The answer to human weakness is divine grace and Joseph opened himself up to that grace….Joseph emptied himself and God in turn filled him with the Holy Spirit….Our world today is so convinced that we can make a lasting impact grounded upon words, accomplishments and achievements…St Joseph took an opposite approach….Joseph lived out his vocation as a married man and father…He did not regard himself to be important but made others the center of importance….And God honored him and two thousand years later so do we as Catholics…..Instead of focusing in on the “big things” - Maybe we all should concentrate on the “little things”….Like the virtues of obedience, humility and silence……We will never be able to do the “big things” if we do not first master the “little things”

“He believed, hoping against hope, that he would become the father of many nations, according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be. That is why it was credited to him as righteousness”

Being a good father boils down to be consistent….Taking out the garbage every night - Going to work every day - Helping the kids with their homework - Mowing the lawn and shoveling snow - Helping your wife with shopping…..To name a few of the tasks of a father…These tasks seem of little value to the world but if they are not done, family life does not run properly…..I am a father of five children and I had a father who gave me a good example, so for me, being a father comes fairly naturally…But so many today in our world have no idea what it means to be a father…To some degree, its not their fault because they were not given a good example to follow….I recently heard a statement made that stuck with me deeply…”If we fix the man, we fix society”…This I believe is at the root of so many of our problems today in America….Men do not know how to be men….We have forgotten that mastering the “little things”, lead to us mastering “big things”…..St Joseph teaches us this and for the many men in America that did not have a good example to follow, St Joseph must be that example…..Our world today is hyper-focused on “achievements”…Building a solid resume - Getting a great education - Accumulating wealth…..But the purpose of manhood has little to do with those things….A man is born to be a husband and a father…To love his wife and children, dying to himself and in turn growing closer to God each day….All the other “stuff” is forgotten as quickly as the dirt is placed over our coffins…The impact of a good husband and a father - Not a perfect one but simply a good and consistent one - Such a witness lasts for generations!…..Our society has lost its focus in all the “noise”…..And only a father’s example, not a father’s words, but his example can be “heard” above all the “noise”…..When America “fixes the man” we will “fix” the nation

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home”

The Universal Church in her wisdom honors St Joseph…..There was a time when family life thrived in America….Marriage was viewed traditionally…Mom’s stayed home and Dad’s worked….Families had many chidlren…..Sunday’s were special….Holiday’s were even more special……All this and more has been lost - Americans may “have more stuff” and are more educated but we lost something much more valuable….I was born to simple people…My father was a barber in a one man barber shop….He was the son of Italian immigrants….My family lived simply and both my parents sacrificed deeply for me and my brother….They did not have to talk about their sacrifices…We saw them and as a result to this day, I remember everything they did for us…..Americans must return to this “simpler time”….The answer to many of our problems today is because we know longer know how to live well….There is an “art to living” and that “art” is not taught to us in college…Its taught in the home….St Joseph teaches us that “art”….There is nothing more extraordinary then the witness of a simple man and a simple woman who raise many ordinary children against all odds…Such a witness challenges the world’s false ideologies in a way no words ever could or can……”The Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you……….Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt”……St Joseph’s witness two thousand years later is the path forward for America and the world…..Obedience, Humility and Silence…….Only a man of prayer can do what St Joseph did….But before we do the “big things” we must first master the “little things”….Grace builds upon grace….When we “fix” the man - We will “fix” society………….JMJ

“Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St John Jesus addressing the religious leaders of his day……"Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also”…Jesus Christ was God and he was perfectly obedient to the Father…What should that say to us in terms of the need to be obedient?…..Both inside and outside the Church - Far too many people believe to have “great” ideas” that conflict with Catholic teaching…This is the mistake of our first parents in the Garden of Eden….Our job is to be obedient - To listen to the word of God - To adhere to the timeless teachings of the Church - And if we do that - We surely will “bear fruit that will last” - How do I know this? - Because Jesus Christ said so!……“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. 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”…….We see this passage from St John lived out in the lives of the saints - The saints take Christ at his word - That should tell us all something!….The collective “we” do not have “better ideas” that conflict with the Gospel and Church teaching….And if we as Catholics “stick with the program” - We too will become a holy people that impacts the world, just as the saints have done for two thousand years…..Jesus today in the Gospel from Mass goes on to tell the religious leaders who oppose him that if they do not “hear” his voice, they will not enter into eternal life……This very clear message holds true to this very day….Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation - There is “one door” that leads to eternal life - Jesus was very clear about this reality and so must we be clear…Catholics are not doing the world “any favors” when in the name of “ecumenicalism” do not make this message very clear - Just as Jesus did…..That the salvation of mankind comes only through Christ…..And for those, through “no fault of their own” who do not know Christ - God in his mercy will judge them…And God if perfectly merciful and perfectly just…In the mean time - Catholics must be crystal clear……..“Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came [before me] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”…The message is crystal clear

“I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die”

Over the past hundred or so years the Catholic Church has engaged in what is commonly referred to as ecumenicalism….We have seen this play out in many different forms, some effective and some not so effective…..Ecumenicalism practiced on the part of Catholics should never make concessions when it comes to Church teaching….A proper interpretation of ecumenicalism is simply developing a friendship with those who you do not agree with and when subjects come up in that friendship where there are deep disagreements - The two parties simply say to each our - “Let’s agree to disagree” - And continue to be friends and allow the Holy Spirit to work…..If Catholics took this approach  - Never “watering down Church teaching - Extending a hand of friendship to all people of different religions - Always giving a good example filed by Sacramental grace….In time, our witness will be “speak volumes”…This is how we are to evangelize the non-Catholic world…We are never going to argue people who are not Catholic into the doors of the Church - But our uncompromising witness of the Gospel and Church teaching will make the world “stop and think long and hard”…..I have watched this play out over the years of serving with Mother Teresa’s sisters….The Missionaries of Charity are uncompromisingly Catholic - But they never preach - The sisters do all “their talking” by their actions…..And the witness of a an uncompromising Catholic life “stops traffic” - Even in New York City!…And nothing stops traffic in New York City

“I will cut a road through all my mountains, and make my highways level”

St John’s Gospel is crystal clear and the message today from Mass instructs us to be crystal clear as well….So the question we must ask ourselves as Catholics should be…In the name of “Not offending” others - Of being “political correct” - Are we diluting the Gospel message and Church teaching?……It appears to me that Jesus never did this and in turn Jesus had enemies…We are also told in the Beatitudes that if we follow Christ as we are told to - We too will have enemies…This is reality!…..The doors of the Catholic Church are open too all - But the Church is not “ours” to manipulate and Church teaching is not ours to change…..Catholics, while well intentioned are not doing anyone any favors by not being clear when it comes to what the Church professes to be true and has taught for two thousand years….We need to tell it like it is!….We need to teach it like it is and like me mean it!………This is the only way forward - Be a friend to all but fear none!……..”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”…..Its all about clarity with charity….There is no mercy without Truth  - Catholics are not doing the world any “favors” by “watering down” Church teaching - Its all written down - Read it as it is and proclaim it from the roof tops!….. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’…..JMJ

Don’t make what is simple complicated!

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Book of Ezekiel a story about how from the temple fresh water flows, which “empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh. Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live”….How true and so it is when we as Catholics live in the state of grace……Without grace we are in essence dead!…..Yet how many in the world make it a priority to live in a state of grace?…..Grace is given to us through the Sacraments of the Catholic Church…It involves going to confession frequently and receiving the Blessed Sacrament….The method by which we receive this grace is so simple and available to everyone…..As we hear in the first reading….”Fresh water makes the salt water livable”….In the Gospel of St John, the same message is repeated….”Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you”…It could not be stated any clearer…..But do we believe this and take this message to heart? - Because if we did we would follow the “simple formula” - Frequent Sacramental Confession (once a month) and Frequent reception of the Blessed Sacrament at Mass….This is the “fresh water” which comes from the side of the Temple…..”For wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh”….For those who have ears let them hear.

“A clean heart create for me, O God; give me back the joy of your salvation”

As a co-host of a Catholic Radio show in the New York Metropolitan Area, I keep up with many different voices in Catholic Social Media…And if you follow these rather prominent men and women, you will find a lot of differing opinions and debates about many different topics…..Sadly I feel many of these topics, while important, can become a distraction to what is most important….We as Catholics have a tendency to complicate our faith…Jesus was a carpenter, a simple man and the Church he founded is not something that only the elite of the world can understand - In fact, being Catholic is rather simple…..If we stick to the basics, what I call “First Principals” - Everything else will fall into place….Pray the Rosary every day - Go to a Sacramental Confession once a month - Receive the Blessed Sacrament in the state of Grace on Sunday…These are “First Principals”……And if we are faithful to these “First Principals” we will undoubtedly make it to heaven…..So why all the debates?

“For they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary……Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine"

Today at Mass the first reading offers us a simple message…That without the “living waters” from the Temple - Life as we know it can not exist….A life of grace is vital for us to “see” the world as it truly is and thrive…And that is the problem - Our world today lives outside of this life-giving grace…Society “thinks” it can thrive without God - A fool’s errand for sure!…..This is why Catholics must give witness to how Sacramental grace impacts a human life…And our witness, we will show the world - By our joy and by our peace - By the way we conduct our family life - By the way we treat our neighbors…..Only through our witness, the by-product of grace, will the unbelieving world come to believe that the fullness of Truth is contained in the Catholic Church……We will never argue anyone into the doors of the Catholic Church, no matter how good the argument…And there is no such thing as “cheap grace”…Grace is a gift and Grace is given freely through the Sacraments of the Church…Its really that simple - Don’t make what is simple complicated!…….JMJ
 

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading the Prophet Isaiah tells us something we should never forget…I say this because I forget it…..We are an Easter people - The victory has been won…But I forget this very important message as I work and live in the fog of sin and misery caused by sin in the world around us…This is why the message of Isaiah is important to hear….”Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people. No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying; No longer shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime; He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years, and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed. They shall live in the houses they build, and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant”……We all need reminds of this message…Tangible signs that God is real and that sin does not have the last word…This is why as Catholics we go to confession frequently….This is why we receive the Blessed Sacrament at Mass (every day if possible)…….This is why we pray the Rosary Daily…..This is why we sit before the Blessed Sacrament once a week for a Holy Hour….These are all “reminders”……And this is why we must make a conscience effort to “stay connected” to Christ each day…The world is constantly “pulling us away” from God and the devil if fully aware of this reality….We are only human, no matter who you are!….This is why Sacramental grace and daily prayer is vital….Without these practices, its easy to forget…Its easy to fall into despair….Its easy to a unconsciously create a  “gap” between us and God where the devil can get a “foothold” in your life.

“Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the LORD will be with you”

In my thirties after spending way too many years partying I made a very important decision…..I will not waste my time! - I will spend it with positive people and do positive things…And in making this decision, my life changed…..Every Saturday I would volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity in New York City…In doing so, my prayer life expanded…On my vacations from work I would spend three weeks each year in Kolkata India serving the poor…In doing so my spirits would always be lifted and I would meet the ‘best people” who always were a joy to be around….I also became involved with a Catholic Young Adult Group in New York City and it was there that I met my wife…..As Catholics who live in the world, we must realize that not everyone is going to be “nice”…Not everyone is going to “play by the rules”…This is why what you do on “your time” matters…..Do not waste your time with people and activities that “drain the life out of you”….Reorient your life and how you spend your time and your life will improve drastically…Its very easy to get “sucked into”   the “rat race” of a hectic life, which is focused on secular goals and ideologies…We as Catholics must make a conscience effort - To organize our time and surround ourself with positive people….We also must cooperate with God….In doing this, we open up new horizons that we thought were never there or possible…And in the process we become a people of hope for others….God helps those who help themselves!….Help yourself and get involved in the many “reminders” - God is not only very al but is at work in our world today……”The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”

“I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit”

Today at Mass the Prophet Isaiah tells us that God wins and if we stand with him - We win too….The road to heaven is in a way a small “taste of heaven”….The world looks at practicing Catholics and “thinks” we are crazy…..That we somehow have given up “something” to follow Christ as a Catholic…Nothing could be further from the truth…..God takes nothing from us - God only gives….I can say this will all honesty….The best decision I ever made in my life was at the age of twenty-two years old - When I decided to take my Catholic faith seriously - It was because of that decision that all the good things in my life have taken place….I have my wife because of that decision - I have five children because of that decision…I also have lasting peace and a deep sense of pervasive joy because of that decision….In the mean time - We as Catholics are a people on a pilgrimage - While living on this earth can at times be hard - God walks with us - He also gives us the “tools” we need to “stay the course”…..As my dear Father would always tell me - “Straight ahead”……”The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”………JMJ

”Not as man sees does God see”

 Today at Holy Mass in the first readings from the Prophet Samuel we hear that Samuel was asked to choose amongst the sons of Jesse who he should anoint…..It’s an interesting story…Because Jesse assumes that one of his eldest sons would be the one who would be chosen…But that was not the case….”As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought,  “Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.” But the LORD said to Samuel:  “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,  because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see,  because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.” In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,  but Samuel said to Jesse,  “The LORD has not chosen any one of these.” Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.” Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance. The LORD said, “There—anoint him, for this is the one!”…As the old saying goes…”Never judge a book by its cover”…..Our world “sizes up people” and if we are honest so do we….We ask what they do for a living…Where they went to college…Where do they live….Based upon these factors, we assume that a person is successful, intelligent and worthy of our company…..This is the reality of the world we live in but this is not God’s reality!….God could care less about all those factors I just listed…God has a different “check list” when it comes to evaluating people….Think for a moment who Jesus hand picked to be his first twelve disciples….Keep in mind…These were the men who after Jesus was to be killed would establish a global church….Now - Stop and think who Jesus picked - A bunch a uneducated fishermen!….If you had the task of establishing a global church, would you pick these twelve men?……But Jesus saw something in them that the world did not…..Many times when you read about the lives of the saints, you will see a similar stories play out….The person the world never thought about is the one who rose to the occasion and was used by God to do the impossible…..So maybe we should not be too quick to “size up” people based upon the criteria of the unbelieving world….In addition, maybe there is more to a person then their education, good looks and societal status……”The last will be first and the first will be last” - “Not as man sees does God see”

“I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life”

When I was in high school I was for the most part a very good student but at the same time a trouble maker…..I was counted among the elite of my high school class but still would get in trouble for misbehaving often….I can recall my history class very vividly to this day and all the people who were in it with me…..Looking back over almost forty years now - The people who were in that class have achieved amazing things…They are leaders of industry, doctors, lawyers, etc - By all estimations, they are very successful and wealthy people….However, while we all attended a Catholic High School, very few of the people I just noted take their Catholic faith seriously today sadly….Over the years I have spoke to many of them and some of them even have outright rejected their Catholic faith….As for me, the one in the class who was the “trouble maker”, I am the one that has taken his faith the most seriously…I have traveled the world as a missionary, written a book of Advent Reflections, co-host a Catholic radio show…..To name a few things….Let’s just say - I am an outspoken Catholic in the public square…Looking back at the elite of my high school class…There were many among my history class that were better qualified to do all the things I have done for the Church…But God choose me!….When we focus too much on the standards of the world and forget that God does not use those standards when he evaluates who is “up to the task” to be a disciple - When we fall into this trap set for us by the devil, we can give up following the Lord before we start! - If that is how you feel - Discouraged because you are not at the “top of the class” remember these words - “God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called”……You just may be surprised if you look deep within yourself and find that God is calling you to a task that no one else can do but you!…..If God can use uneducated fishermen surely he can use us …………“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”

“The LORD said,“There—anoint him, for this is the one!” Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David”

Today at Mass we hear in the first reading something our society forgets…”Man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart”……We are way to quick to “write off people” whom we think can do nothing for God….We all do this sadly, both in the Church and outside the Church….But God knowing this usually surprises us and more times then not, God chooses the ones we reject to teach us something very important - “Not as man sees does God see”…To put a finer point on this reflection, I want to call to the readers attention the words of Mother Teresa…This is what she said on this subject….“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in”…..Maybe it’s time that we change how we “size up” people because in the end what the world deems important means very little to God….If we are fortunately enough to enter the Kingdom of God, I believe there will be many “surprises” when it comes to who enters into eternal life and who does not……So let’s make sure we are not to quick to “write people off”- Because the very person you “write off” may be at the front of the line in the only line that matters - The line into heaven………..As Mother Teresa also would say to her sisters….”The poor will defend me before God when I am about to be judged”…………..”Not as man sees does God see”…..JMJ