Stand firm and march forward

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Matthew how Jesus cures a girl who was presumed to be dead…..A crowd of people were gathering at the home of the young girl and when Jesus told them that the girl was not dead…They ridiculed him…..Yet after the miracle, news spread through out the land…..A few things to ponder….Why did the crowd ridicule him?…..To this day people with deep faith who live “against the tide” of society are ridiculed…..What happened to Jesus will happen to us!….Jesus tells us so…..”No slave is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me”……In our world today what is objectively good is viewed as bad - The Truth to many is a lie!…This is what the devil does - He inverts the Truth…And when this happens - What is our response?…Do we as Catholics allow the opinions of “the crowd” to dictate to us?…..What else can we vet from this story from St Matthew today?….After Jesus performed this miracle, St Matthew tells us…… “news of this spread throughout all that land”…..If people knew of Jesus’ many miracles, which many did - Why was he crucified?….The answer is - The people of Jesus day did not want to change…Jesus did not walk among us to be a “miracle worker” - He walked among us to inspire us to change our life….No miracle - No matter how great can force someone to change their life….That is why Jesus Christ was crucified - He point society in a direction it was not willing to go - And because of that - Society “got rid of him”…The same thing happens today….Those who live and speak the Truth are still ridiculed….Some are even murdered….And like in Jesus’ day, many people know all about the life of Jesus Christ - Yet they are unwilling to change their life - So they make excuse after excuse as to why they reject the Catholic faith…The problem is not with the Catholic Church - The problem is people are not willing to change!

“Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel”

How does “polite society” view contraception?….As Catholics when we make our wedding vows, we promise to be “open to life” - Which means we are not to use contraception…But how many Catholic marriages live out this vow?…Let’s take it a step further - If you are open to life and do not use contraception and you tell people this fact say at a cocktail party in New York City - What will people say?….My bet is - Many will ridicule you - Many will think you are foolish….This is reality - But what is your response?….As Catholics when we live our faith boldly in the public square, we must expect this reaction…Does ridicule discourage you?…..Does ridicule prevent you from following Jesus? - This is the devil’s plan…..Don’t let the devil win!

“I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD”

Today in the Gospel we are told that Jesus was ridiculed…..And even after he performed a miracle - Far too many people ignored the miracle as if it did not happen - Why? - Because they were not interested in changing their life as Jesus requested….Has anything changed today?…As Catholics we must expect resistance but that resistance should not discourage us - In fact it should drive us forward!…..St Paul tells us what we must do to combat this resistance...........…..”Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”…..When we live in the state of grace, when we fast regularly, when we pray daily, when we live Sacramentally - We surely will obtain this “armor” St Paul speaks of….To live as a Catholic today in the public square, this “armor” is not optional - Its a requirement! - Without it, we will allow the “crowd” to silence us…..No one ever said being a Catholic is easy…….But if we summon up the courage, surrender our will and entrust our life to the Holy Spirit - We will surely “fight the good fight” - The rewards in the here and now of being a practicing Catholic far out weigh the “price” that must be paid…So “pick up your cross and follow me”…..Stand firm and march forward….JMJ

We ALL need that “medicine” and without it - We die!

Today at Holy Mass in the second readings St Paul tells us the following….”For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live”…….What does this mean? - All of mankind lives in the “flesh” - Right?……St Paul is telling us very clearly that due to the sinful nature of mankind, if we do not actively engage with the Holy Spirit - We will die - Meaning we will go to hell - Yes - Hell is real!….There is a distorted idea in the Christian world about heaven and hell….Many people falsely believe we can embrace all the “things” of the world - And embrace them on “our terms” and still go to heaven when our life comes to an end - This is a fallacy and a lie!…Jesus and the saints are very clear that the road to heaven is a narrow road - That we must “pick up our cross” daily and follow the ways of Christ - That is the ONLY way to heaven…But how do we do this? - St Paul tells us today - We must live by the Holy Spirit - But how do we do that?…….Mankind due to our sinful nature needs grace in order to live as Christ requires of us - Without God’s grace and due to our sinful nature, mankind destroys itself…..This is why Jesus walked the earth among us and this is why Jesus established a Church…The Catholic Church gives us the Sacraments, which are instruments of grace that elevate our fallen human nature…We CAN NOT simply read the Bible and live as Christ commanded…Why? - Because “the spirit is willing and the flesh is WEAK” - We need Sacramental grace and frankly without it, there is NO WAY we will live as Jesus commanded…This is why salvation is found through our Baptism, which wipes away original sin, as well living as a practicing Catholic utilizing the Sacraments regularly…We need to go to confession, especially if we sin mortally…We also need to receive the Eucharist, which is Christ himself (Body; Blood; Soul & Divinity)…The Blessed Sacrament is “food for the journey” back to God…..To “think” humanity can live as God commanded us without the Catholic Church is a fools errand! - Our human nature will not permit it.

“Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom”

All adults know that temptation is VERY real…How do we conquer our temptations? - How do we grow in virtue?…..The world gives us all kinds of answers to those questions - But ask yourself honestly - How has the secular world’s solutions worked? - You tell a “tree by the fruit it bears” and all you have to do is look out your window - Our world has turned its back on God and because of that - The world is a mess!……In America 55% of ALL marriages end in divorce - A startling statistic! - That is reality and that number should concern everyone…..Were you aware that if a married couple simply goes to Church together on Sunday, the divorce rate is only 25%…..Let’s go further….If Catholic couples do not use contraception and practice Natural Family Planning (NFP) - The divorce rate for those couples is only 3%….What do these statistics tell us? - That God’s way works!!!!…..Jesus tell us very clearly……”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” - Our world today does not take Jesus at his word - Human beings still want to do it “their way” as opposed to God’s way - And that is why the world is a mess!…..The “solution” to many of humanity’s problems are very simple - Our Lady tells us the way forward and the solution - Remember at the Wedding Feast of Cana when the guests ran out of wine? - What did Our Lady tell them?…..“Do whatever he tells you.” - Well, she is telling us the same thing today - “Do whatever he tells you.” - It’s really as simple as that!

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light"

Today St Paul in his letter to the Romans reminds them - He also reminds us - That if we live in the “flesh” - We die!…..That is a very clear warning…But St Paul also gives us the solution to mankind’s “sin problem” - That we MUST live in the Holy Spirit in order to LIVE……We do that by utilizing the gifts given to us by the one and only Church founded by Christ himself - The Catholic Church…Many people will read this reflection and strongly disagree with what was written….Many people still want to do it “their way” - Again, a fools errand!…Human nature being what it is does not equip us to follow Christ to the degree he commands us to…We need “supernatural assistance” - And that supernatural assistance comes in the form of the Sacraments….For this who have ears - Let them hear!….”Self Help” books are no help!…..We can not self manufacture grace - We must avail ourselves to God’s grace…..The Sacraments of the Catholic Church are the “medicine” for a sick world…….We ALL need that “medicine” and without it - We die!…..JMJ

Dare to be uncomfortable! - Dare to be Catholic!

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Prophet Amos that God will “raise up the fallen hut of David; I will wall up its breaches, raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may conquer what is left of Edom and all the nations that shall bear my name, say I, the LORD, who will do this”……Today in the United States of America where I am writing this reflection we are celebrating 250 years as an independent nation….,Our nation was founded upon God and sadly, 250 years later, we have drift very far from the Lord…We exterminate children in the womb up until birth, we legalized same sex marriage coast to coast, our economy no longer works for the weak and vulnerable……Yet many people today will utter the words  - “God Bless America”…..If God is just, which we know he is, how can God “bless” America as we stand right now?…..Making this statement does not imply I do not love this country - In fact, I love so much I must state the obvious….America has turned its back on God and because of that our society is in ruin…But today in the first reading at Mass, we are reminded….God will “raise up the fallen hut of David; I will wall up its breaches, raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old”….Only God can fix America and our nation will not be “fixed” until we return to God - Sadly, many people strongly disagree with this statement  - They believe we can “vote our way” to better nation - That is not going to happen!……….Over and over again the pattern of “exodus and return” to God appears throughout the pages of history as well as throughout the pages of the Old Testament…God will use “hardship” to “open the eyes” of our nation…..Just as the Israelites forgot God over and over again…God remained faithful….He continued to pursue his people…And he will continue to pursue America….The time will come again when Americans will “hear and see” - But for now, we have become “blind and deaf” to the Lord - And because of that - God will reach his hand down and save us from our very self - That help will come in the form of hardship!….In what form will this “hardship” come upon America? - Only God knows the answer to that question - But make no mistake - Its coming…And through it - The “eyes of the blind will see again”

“I will plant them upon their own ground; never again shall they be plucked From the land I have given them, say I, the LORD, your God”

St Matthew tells us…..“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined”…This statement applies to nations, communities, marriages and individual people…..But here is the question - Do we believe it? - Our actions tell the world if we do believe it or not…….I firmly believe in Sacramental marriage - So much so, I do not believe “civil marriage” lived outside the Church should even exist - Why? - Because it does not work!…..And the divorce rates support my claim…..God made marriage a Sacrament because married couples need sanctifying grace to have a good marriage  - Why? - Because life is hard! - And no matter who you are, you need God’s grace to thrive - And God because he loves us is willing to give us this grace - But we must cooperate with him in order to receive it….Pope John Paul II made this statement about the importance of strong marriages and how they impact society……”As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live”…..A marriage built upon God sacramentally will thrive!…Healthy marriage produce healthy people…..And at the root of many of America’s problems is the reality that family life has been destroyed!….We must restore the family by returning to God….This is the ONLY way America will return to its former self….How can God bless a nation that murders its children in the womb?!!?….Think about it…Do you “think” God is blind to what we have done to the innocent?……”Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to him, 'Take away all iniquity; accept that which is good.”…….When America “fixes” the family - We in turn will fix the nation - And not before!

“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me”

Today at Mass the prophet Amos reassures us that God will restore the nation…..When and how will this happen?….I wish I could say for sure but I do know it will happen! - Why am I so confident? - Because God said so!…In the meantime, how should Catholics respond?….By living our faith boldly!…Pray the rosary everyday - Go to a Sacramental Confession once a month with a Priest - Go to Mass with your family every week…..This is how God changes us! - And this is how Catholics will change America……The time of ‘lukewarm” Catholicism is over!!!…..The Servant of God Fr John Harden tells us…"Ordinary bishops, ordinary priests, ordinary religious, ordinary fathers and mothers, ordinary Catholics will not even survive the massive revolution through which the Church is going in our day. We need heroic Catholics, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, to restore even sanity in the modern world.”….We were not created to be “ordinary”…..What keeps us from being the Catholics we need to be?…..Comfort! - Dare to be uncomfortable! - Dare to be Catholic!…..JMJ

We are saved by this grace because without it, we die

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew Jesus cleans a leper of his disease….But before he does this, the leper addresses Jesus with full faith and confidence - Remember, Leprosy, known today as Hansen's disease had no cure - It was in a sense a death sentence, not just physically but socially - A leper during Jesus’ day was banished from society and forced to live on the margins……”“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean”…..This statement made by the leper, in so many ways, “made no sense” - There is no hope for such a person - Right?…..Jesus saw it differently……“I will do it. Be made clean”……This exchange between Jesus and the leper can teach us something today….Each of us have sins, which we repeat over and over again…..These sins seem to have complete control of us….How can we “break the bonds” of these sins, which seem impossible to overcome?…..The answer - GRACE……When we establish the practice of going once a month, as the saints recommend, to a Priest for a Sacramental Confession - Not only are our sins forgiven, but we are given grace by God to overcome our sins - And in time, we will find that “those sins” will be overcome and no longer plague us….Do we fully understand the power of God’s grace? - He is the King of the Universe! - And he loves us personally…All we have to do is ask for help - And we ALL need help to overcome our faults because we all have them!….God is more than willing to help us!….Why do we hesitate to confess our sins? - As if God does not know what we have done!…..God is waiting for us…….Give God the permission to help you - Its not a “sin” to ask for help!

“His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them”

There are no perfect people!….God knows this but do we?….Jesus walked among us for one reason - To forgive our sins - But if we do not allow him to do this - Frankly, everything we say we “believe” is in vain…..Before we can understand the Gospel - We must Repent of our sins and the ONLY way to do this is to confess our sins Sacramentally…..Jesus gave the Church authority to forgive sins and that authority rests with Catholic Priests to this day….."I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”…St James also tells us in the pages of Scripture that we must confess our sins - For those who claim there is no need to Sacramentally confess our sins…."Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed”…….Our sins wound us and time does not heal these wounds - Only God can heal us and if we do not give Jesus permission to heal us - Our wounds fester and if we “wound” ourself mortally, by committing a mortal sin - We die!……I work in New York City and for a time I would go to afternoon Mass on Friday’s at St Patrick’s Cathedral…..For those who have not been to St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, its a magnificent Church in the middle of the city where all walks of life attend Mass daily….Before I would go to Mass, I would usually go to confession and I would marvel at the line - It was usually very long and every type of person one could imagine was on that line - Rich and Poor alike!…As I would wait on the confession line, I would think to myself….This “line” to confess is a great sign of hope for the world! - If only every Catholic Church had a long line of people confessing their sins each day before Holy Mass - The world would change tomorrow! - Its really that simple! - Confess your sins regularly and receive the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace on Sunday - Simple! - That is how we change the world, beginning first with changing our self

“Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases”

Today Jesus and a leper in the Gospel give us an example of why God the Father sent Jesus Christ to mankind - To save us from our very self! - To forgive our sins……Why do we hesitate to confess our sins to a Catholic Priest?…..This “hesitation” is used by the devil to keep us from living a life of joy and peace…Everyone in this world wants to be happy - RIGHT?!? - But here is the reality about being “happy” - We will NEVER have authentic happiness unless we confess our sins - Our sins “weigh us down” - Our sins wound us, whether we acknowledge those “wounds” or not - No matter - They exist!!!! - And the ONLY way the wounds caused by sin can be healed is through Sacramental grace - For those who have ears - Let them hear!……”Repent and Believe the Gospel” - The great John the Baptist showed us the way forward…..To find our joy and peace - We must confess your sins!……When we hold nothing back from God - God floods us with his grace………We are saved by this grace because without it, we die………JMJ

There is work to do and if we as Catholics do not do this work - Who will?

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew Jesus once again shocks us…..“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. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers”…So what is it that makes for an authentic Catholic? - A valid question……I will argue that the Catholic Church possess the fullness of Truth - “On paper” - The teachings of the Church are perfect! - Now, lets look at the members of the Catholic Church, myself included - We are ALL far from perfect!….This is due to the stain of sin, which comes with being human - This is why Jesus came and walked the earth and gave us a Church, for the forgiveness of sins and to be used as a “vehicle” to dispense Sacramental grace, which we ALL need!…..As St Matthew tells us today…There are many who do and say in a superficial manner what Jesus told us to do - But will not taste eternal life - Again, what was missing?…..The missing “element” comes down to the intention of the human heart - Is our heart pure? - Are our intentions coming from a “place” of love?….Many people argue about the faith publicly only to “win arguments”….The argument is really about them being right over another person - Many do “good works” to be seen by others - As Scripture tell us - Those works will not be acknowledged by God because “you have received your reward”…..So basically, we can say “all the right things” and still be wrong - We can do “all the right things” and still be wrong…It all comes down to purity of heart…So the question then becomes - How do we purify our heart? - The answer - Frequent Sacramental Confess and Frequent reception of the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace…No matter who we are - We can not self manufacture a holy life…Our life may “appear” holy to the world, but to God we are something far from holy…..Its from our interior life that we are first sanctified and from “that place” within us as Catholics we will sanctify the world around us…..Jesus very clearly tells us…..”Cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean”……An authentic follower of Christ will look very differently from the world’s definition of what is “good” - So much so, authentic followers of Jesus Christ are many times outcasts and despised by the world….Jesus had some advice for us to address this reality…..”Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way”…..”Looks” may be deceiving - But God sees the human heart and what is in our heart is what matters!

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him”

We are warned on the pages of Scripture to - “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves”…..I am a co-host of a radio show that airs in the New York City Metropolitan Area….I am one of many “voices” “crying out into the wildness” in America……I do not receive money for my work and at the end of the day, that is a good thing!….I am not saying everyone who “gets paid” in Catholic Media is “influenced” but when we receive money, our employer surely has a “say” in what we do….And if our employer has an “agenda” - Well, our “voice” will not only be corrupted but influenced…..Jesus sees the human heart and that is how we will be judged in the end - By the purity of our heart…..Over the years of co-hosting my show, we have spoken with countless Catholic intellectuals, scholars, and clerics from around the world….Many of them have impressed me greatly - But to the secular world - Many of these men and women are completely “unknown” - Being a Catholic intellectual does not usually “pay well” - But these men and women write books and lecture not for money but for the love of God….And this is one of the ways we can tell who is the “real deal” and who is not…Are you willing to work for free for God? - Are you willing to serve God and be completely “hidden” from the world?……The Holy family is a great example of this “kind of Catholic”…For thirty years, Jesus; Mary and Joseph were completely “unknown” - In fact, Biblical scholars refer to this thirty year period as the “hidden years”…..The secular world took no notice of the Holy Family - But God the Father surely did!….And that is all that matters!….In serving God, regardless of how we do it - We must always ask ourselves this question - Why am I doing this “work”? - Is it for God or is it for me? - Are our intentions pure?……Vincent Van Gogh, one of the greatest artists the world has ever known, during his lifetime he sold very few works of art…It was only until after his death that the world came to appreciate his work….Yet, Van Gogh painted anyway, even when his work was not celebrated - As Catholics, we too must have this kind of mindset….We must look to appease only God….And if others appreciate our work too - GREAT - But if not, my must look to serve “an audience of one” - God alone!…Mother Teresa put it best…”God has not called me to be successful; He has called me to be faithful”…….There will come a time when faithful Catholics will “receive their reward” but for now - Its time to work! - Head down and shoulder to the plow!

“When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes”

Today in the Gospel, Jesus is telling us that we as Catholics must be authentic!…..”Ticking boxes” by simply going to Sunday Mass does not necessarily make us “authentic” either…….Life as a practicing Catholic is not easy - And was we live as Jesus asked of us, no matter who we are, we will be tested…..Hardships, trials, and disappointments happen and they will always happen….But how do we respond? - Its our response that will make our faith strong! - Iron is molded and shaped by fire - So it will be for us…But have no fear and be encouraged!……”The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little”……In all of Christendom, no one many have suffered more then St Paul - The man was ship wrecked, imprisoned, beaten numerous times - And he ALWAYS went back for more!…St Paul tells us today when we feel like giving up - “So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God”…..God will not give us anything we can not handle - So never give up - And little by little our faith will grow strong….And as for our “reward” - That one day will come as well - In the meantime - There is work to do and if we as Catholics do not do this work - Who will?………..JMJ

Now you know the “secret formula” - Time to live it out

Today the Universal Church at Holy Mass commemorates the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist…In the first reading from the Book of Isaiah, we are told something that applies to EVERY Baptized Catholic…..”I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth”……..If we only realized our potential - No matter what natural gifts we have been given - God can magnify our impact on the world, if we only surrender our life to his Divine Providence…..Our Lady said it best….”He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly”…..We are not convinced! - That God can do more with your life than you can - So instead, we hold onto to and chase after “dust and straw” in this world, which only fades away in time….The reality of the matter is - The more we empty ourself, the more God will fill us with his Holy Spirit - This is how the world is set ablaze….Being that the Church today commemorates the birth of John the Baptist - Let’s echo the words of John…”I must decrease and he must increase”…..John understood - Do we?….What holds us back?…..The “calculus” of God is very different from that of the secular world…..When we live a sacrificial life, no matter if we are a priest, married or single….When we “give our life away” in service to others…..Commit to a daily prayer life and fast….When we live Sacramentally…..In time and if we are consistent, God’s Holy Spirit will animate us….There is great power in living in this manner and this is how Catholics impact the world……But this “kind of witness” cannot be self manufactured, no matter how “smart we are” or what natural gifts we possess - This is the “mistake of many” - Relying on our self instead of abandoning “self” and rely solely on God….When the unbelieving secular world encounters such a person, they are stunned!…Such a person stops traffic!….And this is what John the Baptist did…And this is what we can do as well….Why do we “sell” our life short?….Our “greatness” is found in God - Claim what is yours!

“You, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way”

The English writer and philosopher G.K. Chesterton once noted - “The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children” - This is so true!….A Catholic family that is open to life, does not use contraception and has many children stops traffic when they enter a room…I have experienced this with my family and have seen this with other families like my own….My wife is Haitian-American and I am Italian-American…We have five inter-racial children all under the age of twelve years old….When we walk into Mass on Sunday as a family - Every eye in the Church is upon us…Our family, because my wife and I chose to live according to the teachings of the Church, is a witness - No words necessary!…We are a witness not because we are special - But because God is special!…..The same goes for a priest, who preaches and teaches the fullness of a Truth boldly and clearly - When such a man speaks, the room goes quiet - Also, when such a priest lives a life a voluntary poverty, sharing his material wealth with the poor, living simply and humbly in his rectory….”That kind of priest” shakes the foundations of the world!!!!….Being Catholics is really very simple - Its so simple most “miss it”….We get “caught up” with the “ways of the world” - We conform ourselves to a pagan culture - And in doing so our impact as Catholics is diminished…..Everything we have to do as a Catholic is written down!!!! - Just read the catechism and pay attention to the readings at Mass….God’s grace is real - So is the power of the Holy Spirit!…All we have to do is “harness this power”…And we do that by following the words of John the Baptist….”I must decrease and He must increase”…..That is the “secret” to greatness!

“My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent”

Today the Universal Church calls our attention to the birth of John the Baptist…John was a force of nature!…But what made John the way he was?….John lived a life of prayer and fasting in the desert - I am not a biblical scholar but I would bet that John lived in the desert for many years before God called him forth to preach of his coming…..God does the same with us - We are “formed” over time - So be patient!…….A modern day example of how God prepares a person for a great work was Mother Teresa…..For twenty years Mother Teresa was a school teacher in India before God called her to form a new religious order…And once she founded the Missionaries of Charity, for seventeen years she labored night and day at a home she established for people the sisters picked up off the streets of Kolkata…I have served in that home and the work is hard!!!!…Mother Teresa did that for seventeen years!!!! - And no one knew it….Until one given day a journalist from Life Magazine, Malcolm Muggeridge, an English atheist came to Kolkata to do a story about her and her work…This is how the world found out about this woman - God used an atheist to bring her life’s witness to the world….And interestingly enough, because of the witness of Mother Teresa, the hardened atheist Malcolm Muggeridge became Catholic…God works in myserteous ways but make no mistake - God is at work!….Allow him to work on YOU…..If we surrender our life to God in a radical way - If we live for others sacrificially - If we pray and fast - If we live Sacramentally…We too will set the world on fire!!!!!!….Remember the “secret” of John the Baptist - ”I must decrease and He must increase”……..Now you know the “secret formula” - Time to live it out……………JMJ

Because the road to life is “narrow” and “the gate” is wide that leads to destruction

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Book of Kings that the Assyrian Army was on the verge of destroying Jerusalem…And as one could imagine, the people were terrified….Interestingly enough, God spares the city against all odds……”For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant, and from Mount Zion, survivors”…..Jesus Christ who came from the line of David, is that “remnant” and modern day Catholics are apart of that “remnant as well…..When we look at the world today, geopolitically speaking, things are changing - Power is shifting constantly - Even in within the walls of the Church - As Pope Paul VI said in 1972….”From some fissure the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God”…What did Pope Paul VI mean by that? - Simply put, a “worldly spirit” has entered the Church - A spirit that complies to a degree with secular culture - A “spirit” that attempts to appease society as opposed to lifting society up - A “spirit” that fears “offending”  - A “spirit” that does not clearly call our people to “Repent and Believe the Gospel” as the great John the Baptists famously cried out……Now do not get me wrong - This is not the enter Catholic Church but make no mistake about it - Such a “spirit” exists to this day and Pope Paul VI, who was declared a saint called it out correctly…But notice the message from the first reading today at Mass when Jerusalem was on the verge of being destroyed by pagan invaders……”For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant, and from Mount Zion, survivors”….The Truth cannot be destroyed - Nor can the Church!…There is an old saying - “Man plans and God laughs” - God ALWAYS makes a way for the “remnant” - Even to this very day - And within the the walls of the Catholic Church, the remnant exists!!!……..St Matthew in the Gospel today at Mass addresses this same idea from the first reading - This idea of the “remnant”, those who remain faithful - St Matthew even tells us how we are to be apart of this “remnant”…..“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few”……One of the greatest deceptions of the devil, over the course of the last hundred years, was the idea that we can get to heaven on “our terms”, that being a “good guy” gets us into the Kingdom of God and the secular world determines this “Good Guy Standard”….This was one of the greatest deceptions ever put forth by the devil…Our world today does not believe in sin, it does not believe in the devil, it does not believe in hell and it does not believe in judgement - Yet everyone is going to heaven!….I will say it again - This was maybe the devil’s greatest deception EVER!…….Today at Mass. we are told something completely different - We are told of a “remnant”, which is a small group of people who survive a great trial - We are also told of entering through a “narrow gate”, which leads to heaven…..Do we still believe the lie told to the world by the devil? - That the door is wide, not narrow that leads to eternal life?…….Be apart of the “remnant”, it exists, you just have to search it out - Its there waiting for you!

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

Pope Benedict XVI famously stated that - “Having a clear Faith, based on the Creed of the Church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism. Whereas, relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and 'swept along by every wind of teaching', looks like the only attitude acceptable to today's standards. We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires. However, we have a different goal: the Son of God, true man. He is the measure of true humanism. Being an 'Adult' means having a faith which does not follow the waves of today's fashions or the latest novelties”…….Is this the “kind of faith” we aspire to have? - Maybe a better question would be - Does our life mirror “that kind of faith”…To live in this manner WILL make you DIFFERENT - So again, another question is - Are YOU willing to be different?…..I remember when I was having my fifth child…I was fifty-one years old…My wife was about to have her fifth cesarean birth, which for those who do not know is the delivery of a baby through surgical incisions made in the belly and uterus…..And people thought we were CRAZY - My boss at work thought I was CRAZY - The doctors and nurses at the hospital thought we were CRAZY…And to make matters worse in the “eyes of the world”, we were having our fifth child during the COVD epidemic……Yet, my little Maria was born on the Feast Day of St Therese of Lisieux (October 1st) - A beautiful baby girl, who is now about to turn five years old…My wife and I love her beyond all telling!…A few more questions to ponder - Is being open to life in a marriage CRAZY? - Is welcoming children into the world CRAZY? - Many people today will tell you YES…But ask yourself honestly - Who is the crazy one?…To be authentically Catholic is to live radically…How do I know this? - Because Jesus was a radical! - And if we are to follow him, we too will live our lives “against the grain” (in a sense) of society….That does not make you CRAZY - It simply makes you Catholic!

“God upholds his city for ever…….Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, fairest of heights, is the joy of all the earth”

Today at Mass we are told a message that contradicts a mainstream idea that American Christianity has embraced - That the door to heaven is open wide!…..Jesus tells us otherwise today…..”Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many”…..So you do you “believe”?…….The human mind, no matter how “smart” we “think” we are can rationalize away just about anything……Look around the world today, some of the most horrific crimes committed are not only rationalized away, by very intelligent people, but in some countries even are made legal - Take abortion as an example…Its very easy to forget that - “God’s ways are not our ways”…God views the world very differently then human being do - And if we want to go to heaven, which I would like to think everyone does - We have to do things God’s way……Right? - That seems to make sense and is logical - Right?!? - Sadly, many people today continue however - “To hear what their itchy ears want to hear”…..To be authentically Catholic does not make you a “fundamentalist” - It simply makes you part of the “remnant” - And only the “remnant” will enter eternal life….How do I know this? - Because the road to life is “narrow” and “the gate” is wide that leads to destruction…………..JMJ