“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart”

Today at Holy Mass in St Matthew’s Gospel we hear something that is often quoted…"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”……Jesus is telling us that when we carry our cross, its far easier than when we carry “the cross of sin” - That “his way” is easy….So here is the question - Do you believe him? - Because the secular world does not……The world believes that to be a Catholic is to be a slave - That God takes from us our freedom…..This idea is just another lie told by the devil, which by the way has been not only universally accepted, but widely successful in destroying countless lives……..Jesus tells us - “I have come to give you life and give it in abundance”…..God only gives, he NEVER takes!……And the burden of sin is infinitely more difficult to bare in one’s life than the “yoke” of Christ…..What the secular world refuses to acknowledger is - Even if you are not a Catholic - Even if you do not believe in God - The yoke of sin affects you!….God’s laws, the Natural Law, the Ten Commandments - These laws apply to you whether you “believe” in them or not!…..And when we turn from God’s law - A great burden is placed upon our shoulders - A burden so much heavier then the “yoke” of Christ…The secular world, for the last two thousand years, lives in denial of this reality…..Each of us has a choice to make - There are two “crosses” to choose from - The Cross of Christ or the cross of sin - And there is NOT a third option! - We must make a choice between only two options….And the “yoke” of Christ is far lighter - So why do we make our life harder than it has to be?…..Choose the lighter burden - And life becomes so much more pleasant - Why? - “For my yoke is easy, and my burden light”…..We are all entitled to our own opinion, but we are not entitled to our own facts - The “yoke” of God is so much easier to carry then the yoke of sin - This is a FACT - Maybe its time to make our life easier as opposed to harder.

“Let this be written for the generation to come, and let his future creatures praise the LORD: "The LORD looked down from his holy height, from heaven he beheld the earth, To hear the groaning of the prisoners, to release those doomed to die"

Life is hard, no matter who you are - We each have our own individual struggles to deal with….But when we live a Sacramental life and allow God’s grace to animate our soul - We not only avoid many of the “potholes” and self-created problems of this world - But we are given a deep peace and a lasting joy…..Sounds like a good deal - Right?….But here is the “deal” - We can not have it both ways - Meaning - We can not “do our own thing” and still have God…We MUST make a choice…..Sin steals our peace and joy - This is reality…….Jesus tell us in Scripture - “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord”…When we experience in real time just how good life is when we live in the state of grace (frequent confession and reception of the Blessed Sacrament), there is nothing the world can give to us that can equal what God gives by living as a practicing Catholic - Sometimes all it takes is for us to “try it our way” and consequentially “taste” the “bad fruit” of our choices - Only then to live as God commands us…When we compare “both lifestyles” - There really is no choice…..God’s way is a far better way to live!!!…..But how do we convince the world of this? - Because the secular world does not believe what I just noted….Words will never convince anyone of the reality I just noted in this reflection….What WILL convince many is a consistent witness of a God directed life - Year in and Year out - There is no argument that is stronger than the world seeing with their own two eyes our joy and peace…Because everyone wants this - No matter who they are…This is how Catholics will change the world - Not by our words or by our arguments - But by our joy!…..Everyone wants to be happy - And it is IMPOSSIBLE to be happy and live a life outside of God’s grace….We are one Sacramental Confession away from that peace and joy - Think about that - A ten minute conversation with a Catholic priest, which costs nothing!!!!!

“Salvation we have not achieved for the earth, the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth. But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust. For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth”

Today we are told something that is often repeated but sadly not believed….Our world today has a twisted idea of what freedom is….We have believed the lie!!!!! - That God takes our freedom away!!! - NOTHING could be further from the Truth!…….The happiest people on earth are not the richest…Money can bring a person comfort but it cannot bring them peace or lasting joy for that matter…..This is why the happiest people on earth are those who live in the state of grace…..And everyone wants to be happy - Right?….So why don’t we do the things that will make us happy?…..Easier said then done…..This is why Catholics must show the world what it means to have lasting joy….The witness of our lives WILL speak to the unbelieving world…This is what Pope Benedict XVI said about this very subject…………”Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret”…….This is why only saints change the world - And saints don’t change the world with their words - They change it by the witness of their lives……”Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart”…..JMJ

The “currency of heaven” is very different from the “currency of the world”

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew, Jesus tell us something that on its surface many not make sense to some….“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike”…How is it that someone who is highly educated and wise in the ways of the world somehow “miss” what Jesus is saying?….You would think such a person would “get it”…But sadly many people like that do not “get it”…..How we live and the choices we make have a lot to do with what we “see” and “hear”…If your world view is secular and materialism drives your thinking - Just about every that Jesus said will make no sense what-so-ever to you……In fact, such a person would “think” Jesus was simply a fool……We as Catholics must be very careful as to how we we live because secularism can easy “slip” into our life……When we read the Beatitudes, which is the “road map” for Catholics as we journey to heaven - One must conclude that one cannot be secular and embrace the Beatitudes…”Blessed are the meek” - Are you kidding me!....A materialist would think that statement is utterly ridiculous….If we as Catholics “blend into” society, we clearly are not living the Gospel…..Jesus tells us very clearly……”No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon”…As Americans, these words cut deep into our world view…….Its very easy to “think” we can have both - God and Mammon” - But Jesus addresses this “idea” very directly……”Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God”…..If we have been blessed with material wealth…The money itself does not make us sinners - Its when we do not share what we have been given that does……A rich man must stay close to the poor and remain humble by living simply….We do that by sharing, first with our family and then with the poor…..Material wealth “clouds” our view of God - Whether we realize it or not….Once again, these words seem hard to accept - Everyone wants to be rich - Right?!?…..There will come a day when the world’s social structure will be turned upside-down……Only those with a pure heart, who see Christ in others choose to share with others - Only those with a pure heart will “see” and hear” the Lord in the here and now - And only those with a pure heart will enter into eternal life.

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

For almost thirty years I have attended Daily Mass….For a time I traveled all over the United States and South America for work and have attended Mass in all of the places I have traveled…..If you look closing at who is in the pews in any Catholic Church during the work week - You will find without fail some very holy people coming from all walks of life…..Many of these people are completely ignored by the secular / materialistic world…But many of these people are VERY close to God…..We hear about “such people” when we read about St Joseph and Our Lady, when they presented the Child Jesus in the Temple…Scripture tells us about Anna and Simeon, who were very ordinary people, who prayed each and every day in the Temple…When Anna and Simeon saw the Child Jesus they “saw” something no one else saw…Why? - Because they prayed every day and their hearts were pure……To “see” in this manner has nothing to do with our formal education or our analytical aptitude…It has nothing to do with how big our bank account is…It has EVERYTHING to do with how pure our heart becomes…And our hearts can only become pure through Sacramental living, daily prayer and fasting - Are these practices that we prioritize? - Because if they are not - We will NOT “see” and hear” properly……“For although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike”......The “calculus” of God is very different from the “calculus” of the secular world…And if we want to enter into eternal life - We need to start “seeing” things differently.

“No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him”

Today St Matthew in his Gospel tells us that what we see and hear depends solely upon just how childlike we become…A child is innocent and the only way we can return to innocence is by frequenting the Sacraments - This is why salvation is found through the Catholic Church…The words of Jesus Christ will make no sense to a person who lives their life through a materialistic world view - In fact, such a person will think being Catholic is utterly ridiculous……This is why a concrete choice must be made by every human being…We can not live the Gospel and be “of the world”….There is no sitting on the fence! - In attempting to do so, we only fool ourself…….”For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it”…There will come a day when the power structures of the world will flip!!!! - “The last will be first and the first will be last”……Sounds ridiculous to some - But think again!…God’s ways are not our ways - The “currency of heaven” is very different from the “currency of the world”……..JMJ

We are saved by faith, not by sight

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew we hear Jesus call people to repentance…These same people saw with their own eyes miracles that Jesus performed and still did not repent…..How can this be!!!….They saw miracles!!!!….This story should make us all pause and ponder how human nature plays out to this very day…It did not matter what these people saw - They were not willing to change their lives and that is what Jesus was calling them to do - So they simply ignored the miracles or worse, acknowledged them as miracles and went on living as they pleased….Now think about all the canonized saints over the past two thousand years…..Most of them have two miracles attributed to their intercession…If people took the time and read about these miracles, any objective person would simply be amazed….Yet, the world has not converted to Catholicism - Once again - HOW can this be!!!….Because people do not want to change their life….There is no doubt in my mind - If Jesus Christ came down from heaven today, in the middle of the day, in Time Square in New York City - And everyone watched him descend from the sky and they recorded the sight and streamed it all over social media….I am convinced that the powerful of the world would try to kill him again!…Why? - Because they do not want to change!……To follow Jesus Christ is not simply to acknowledge him as God - Its to listen to his words, allow his grace to enter into our life and ultimately allow that grace to transform our life….If we are not “all about” that process - Are we really a “Christian”? - Maybe we are in word but clearly we are not in actuality…..The message of John the Baptist is the message of Catholicism…Repent and Believe the Gospel……If we do not repent, we will never be able to change.

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”

How easy it is to forget….How many times in our own life we pray to God for something that seems out of reach….Our mother or father is sick - We lost our job and need another one - A child is diagnosed with a grave illness….And some times when we pray to God for help in these seemingly desperate situations - God answers our prayers…..Our child recovers their health - We get a new job, maybe even a better job! - When this happens - How do we respond to God? - Do we take him for granted?…..Or…..Do we give thanks to God by taking our faith more seriously?….I believe situations like I just described happen to every single person, Catholic or not, over the course of their life…..And when we stand before the Lord after we die at our final judgement - These situations will be brought before our eyes….God will show us the many times he intervened in our life - And some of those times we knew emphatically at the time God did in fact intervene because we begged him too…..And when these images are brought before our eyes when we are judged - The question will be asked of us - “Since I helped you in this manner when you begged me - Why did you not change your life?”…….I believe over the course of every human life - God gives each soul many opportunities to change…..It all comes down to us responding to those opportunities….Because no one just “floats into heaven”….Entering into eternal life requires a transformation…We must make a choice to live as Jesus asked of us and strive to live in that manner every day with the help of God’s grace….God can only help us so much - We also have to help ourself…This begins with saying YES to Christ…By living Sacramentally….And by putting our Catholic faith into practice each and every day…..”Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes”…Miracles happen everyday - But miracles do not change a person - Grace does - And simply acknowledging a miracle does not change our life - And that is exactly what Jesus is trying to do - Change our life…The miracle means nothing unless we are transformed by it.

“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 St Matthew tells us in is Gospel about people who experienced amazing sights - Miracles with a “Capital M” - And yet those sights did not move them to change their life……..Human nature has not changed to this very day, let’s be honest……….Jesus was not some “magician” - Performing “magic” to impress the world….Jesus was a trying to teach us about God’s love for us - He used miracles as a “tool” - But the miracle itself was not what was most important……When we go to Mass, every once in a while we hear a homily that is very powerful - When that happens, we can hear that homily and think to ourself - WOW, that was so true! - But is that the intended reaction the Priest wants from us?…To one degree it is - But ultimately the Priest giving that homily wants us to use his words as a “spark” to transform our life….Witnessing a miracle can not change our life without our consent to change………”Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed”……Plenty of people experience miracles, even today, and they go right on living lives that oppose the Gospel……………Witnessing a miracle will not ”save us” - Only a life transformed by grace will - This begins with our YES to God……..We are saved by faith, not by sight……..JMJ

”Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah how God evaluates people and achievements very differently then humans do…What we think is a “big deal” means very little to God……”What care I for the number of your sacrifices? says the LORD. I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; In the blood of calves, lambs and goats I find no pleasure. When you come in to visit me, who asks these things of you? Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me”……..In this life it is very easy to “get caught up” in the trappings of materialism and secular achievements…..While we all must live in this world, meaning we all must work, provide for our families, etc…And all that costs money - Trust me - I “get it” - That is not the measure of a man’s worth nor does God evaluate our worth based upon those things….Again - This reality is easily forgotten….We cannot “buy” our way into heaven - God will not ask us for our resume - He will not ask us what university we attended……What he will ask us is - “When I was hungry - Did you feed me?”…..“When I was thirsty - Did you give me a drink?”………..”When I was naked - Did you cloth me?”…..These are the things God is concerned with and this is how we will be evaluated when we stand before him……The Prophet Isaiah goes on in the first reading….”Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow”….When Jesus returns again, the power structures of the world will flip!…Think about that for a moment - All that the world values will mean NOTHING!!!!……”Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last”

“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven”

Before I was married I served with the Missionaries of Charity in India and Haiti….I have witnessed with my own two eyes the faith of the poorest of the poor…Men and women who work for little or no money - People who are disregarded by society - Who are in essence “invisible” - Who mean “nothing”…I have sat with them at Mass…I have seen their faith!!!!….I can recall one Mass I attended in Haiti….I sat among a group of young school children - These boys and girls were very poor…..When the Mass begun the children started to sing all in unison….As I heard their voices, I was overwhelmed - So much so I almost began to cry…..I thought to my self with absolute certainty - “These are God’s people” - There was no question about it!!!!!!!……..But the ironic thing about it - Society at large could care less about these poor children…..This is just one example of the “calculus of God”….And if we want to enter into God’s Kingdom - We must learn to “see” as God sees and “evaluate worth” as God does…..We do that by purifying our hearts…By going to frequent confession and receiving the Blessed Sacrament….We must allow God to sanctify us - Because if we do not give God permission to begin this process of growing in holiness - We will be blind! - And we will evaluate the world on the world’s terms - Not on God’s terms - And that will prove to be fatal…..”This I declare, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption”…….The day will arrive sooner then we think - When the “small” and child-like of the world will surpass the rich and the powerful….Let us hope we are on the “right side” of things when that day arrives.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword”

Today the Prophet Isaiah’s words calls us to repent and see the world as God does…..In order to live in this manner, one must live “differently”…As Catholics, we are called to live amongst the world but we CAN NOT be like the world…We were baptized to be a people “set apart”…To be a light….How can we be a light we when live like the pagan world around us?…..To live “differently” requires us to not “buy in” to materialism….To live humbly and simply - To share….This is the path to heaven and we MUST walk this path….And if we have been given much - Much will be expected!!!!……God is not concerned with our bank account - He is concerned with our heart…Is our heart pure?….Do we guard our soul from the trappings of the world?…..This is what God is concerned about - The question becomes then - Is this our priority?……”Your new moons and festivals I detest; they weigh me down, I tire of the load. When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean!”……….The message is crystal clear - “Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last”………JMJ

God is full of surprises - Trust him

Today at Holy Mass across all three readings, we are reassured that God’s word will bear fruit…That it will be the answer to the world’s problems….Clearly that is the case - But so many do not agree!!!….How does God reach them? - Or will they be reached?…The human heart can become hard….Just like dry soil, a seed can not penetrate it - Even the best seed….In cases like this, a plow must be used, to break up the soil……To make it receptive to the seed…This is where we are at today….Our world has become hardened to the Word of God - Authentic Catholic teachings is mocked - Thought ridiculous by the mainstream…..How does God “reach a hand” to such a world?…..The answer - “The plow”…..What man cannot do - God can do!…..One of the enemies of the Word of God, believe it or not, is comfort…When a society gets too comfortable - People forget God - Such a society’s faith rests in their bank account and refrigerator full of food…On the other hand - When times are tough - God is at the forefront of our mind!…..Look at what happened to Poland in the 20th century….As a result of World War II and the Russian occupation, roughly around one and four Poles were killed…..Look at what the country produced - One of the greatest Popes in the history of the Church (Pope John Paul II) and the Polish people to this day are strong in their Catholic faith…How did this happen? - This was the fruit of hardship…..So today, ask yourself - How can God reach out to the world? - How can the hearts of mankind be reached?……Only God can do this - And he will do this - Because he loves us!……St Paul addresses today at Mass what we see in the world today - And St Paul is confident that God will “fix” what mankind cannot “fix”....….”I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.  We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies”…..It’s very easy to forget that the battle has already been won when Jesus gave his life for humanity on the Cross - What we “see” now is the devil’s final assault, which will end!!!! - In the mean time, work with all your mind and strength to build the Kingdom of God and trust that Jesus will do the “heavy lifting”!

“Thus have you prepared the land: drenching its furrows, breaking up its clods, Softening it with showers, blessing its yield”

There is an old saying - “The light enters through the wound”…..Many people because of various reasons have hardened their hearts to God and the Catholic Church - They are “unteachable” - No person can reach them….But God can…When we hear conversion stories of the most unlikely of people to the Catholic Church, many times we are amazed….One such person was a man by the name of Bill McGill, who I knew from daily Mass…Billy was a construction worker who migrated from Liverpool England to New York…He was a rough man with many bad habits….It was not until his wife threw him out of his house, when he became destitute and had to start his life all over in his early fifties that Billy became receptive to the Catholic Church and the Word of God…And when his heart was ready - Billy changed and he died a Catholic in the state of grace…..For many this is a similar story…People who adamantly resist God have to “come to the end of themselves” - And “life” has a way of making that happen! - They have to clearly “see” for themself that “their way” does not work….And time and suffering can do that - And all the while, God is patient, waiting for them….…As Catholics, most of us have people in our life (family and friends) who we may feel are “hopeless”….Nothing we say or do can reach them….When dealing with such people, the best thing to do is just pray for them…..God will “speak to them” in a “language they understand”…What is impossible for man is possible for God!

“You have crowned the year with your bounty, and your paths overflow with a rich harvest; The untilled meadows overflow with it, and rejoicing clothes the hills”

Today in the Gospel at Mass Jesus illustrates his teaching with a story about a seed - How the seed does not always find good soil but when it does, it bears a tremendous amount of fruit……We as people cannot see the human heart, therefore sadly we judge people, we “right them off”….Think about for a moment what the early Catholics thought about St Paul before his conversion (when he was Saul) - Paul took part in the murder of St Stephen!!!…And then, soon thereafter, everything changed for Paul on the Road to Damascus….This story is very relatable for many…God can take the “hardest of hearts” and change them into hearts of flesh….In the mean time, we as Catholics must do our part…..By giving the secular world a good example……We cannot save the world - That is Jesus’s job!!!….So be patient and know God is at work……If God can change a murderer named Saul into one of the greatest saints - Think about what he can do for you!……God is full of surprises - Trust him…………..JMJ

“Practice makes Perfect”

Today at Holy Mass St Matthew tells us that everything we do as Catholics, in service of God and neighbor comes from our interior life….Each of us have God given talents, and those talents were given to us to serve God, our neighbor and his Kingdom…But its through prayer, fasting and Sacramental living that those talents “blossom”……Our work, if it does not spring from our interior life is not about God may times, its about self and feeds our ego…This is why it is essential for Catholics, before thinking about doing anything for the Kingdom of God, must first develop their interior life…..Today St Matthew in his Gospel educates us….”What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops”…Many time when we sit before the Blessed Sacrament in silence, we hear the “whisper” of God in our hearts…..Praying a Holy Hour each week is in essence a “school” where Catholics are formed….And once we are formed, we are sent!…..But to go forward without prayer is a fools errand…..Abraham Lincoln, who was the sixteenth American President, spoke to this idea…”Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”…..The more we deepen our interior life, the more our work in service to God and neighbor will be fruitful

“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” 

If you take the time and look into the daily structure of Catholic Religious Orders, you will find that each day has designated times for prayer…..Why is that?…Because if a monk, nun, friar or priest does not pray daily - He or she will not be effective…….The same goes for Lay-Catholics…While most of us live in the married state, we must carve out time each day for prayer…If that means getting up early, that is what we must do - If that means going to Mass on our lunch hour at work, that is what we must do…If that means establishing a time at the end of the night for all activity in the house to stop and gather the family to pray the Rosary together, that is what we must do…..Catholics, whether we are consecrated religious or not, must pray!…We must “plug into God” and we do that through daily prayer, fasting and Sacramental living…Mother Teresa illustrates this idea with an analogy……..“Often you can see power lines running alongside the street. Unless current is flowing through them, there is no light. The power line is you and I, the current is God! We have the power to allow the current to flow through us and thus to generate the light of the world: JESUS -  or to refuse to be used and, thus, allow the darkness to spread”…This is the “formula” we must follow…..If every Catholic Priest sat before the Blessed Sacrament for one hour each day - The Church would be renewed!….If every Baptized Catholic went to confession monthly, went to Mass weekly on Sunday as a family and prayed the Rosary daily…The world would be transformed in one day!…So simple - Right?!? - So why do we not do it?

“Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed: holiness befits your house, O LORD, for length of days”

Today we are told in the Gospel that what we hear in the silence of our hearts we are to proclaim - So here is the question - If we do not make time to quiet down and listen to God, how are we to hear his voice?….This is one of the driving problems of our world today - NOISE!…I believe the devil knows this and this is why human being are distracted with all different forms of NOISE….Because as we live amongst this NOISE - We CANNOT hear the voice of God….This is why we MUST make time to sit in silence and listen…….Jesus is very clear - He tells us - “Without me, you can do NOTHING”……Is daily prayer a priority in your life?…Is living sacramentally a priority in your life?….These are questions each Catholic must ask themself…Because if we are not doing the “basics”, we will not accomplish the “goal”, which is to enter into eternal life……God is waiting for us to give him permission to transform our lives - But that transformation does not happen “magically”……Like an athlete who practices day and night for a game - Catholics too must “practice”……..As the old saying goes - “Practice makes Perfect”….JMJ

”We” are not the “vine” - Jesus is the “vine”…..So “do whatever he tells you”

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading the Prophet Hosea address the northern tribe of Israel…If we know your history, the Northern tribe committed sins against God and formed political alliances with foreign nations…In the reading today Hosea addresses this situation…..”Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols? I have humbled him, but I will prosper him. “I am like a verdant cypress tree”— because of me you bear fruit!”……When “politics” did not work - God stepped in….God “humbled” the nation and in turn the people responded…..This is in many ways the story of human history, which repeats itself over and over again - Even on an individual level…..Human beings many times have to “try it their way” - And when they fail - And they “come to the end of themselves” - They turn to God!…..Notice, God did not give up on the northern tribe of Israel (Ephraim)…Just as a father does not give up on a son that strays from his faith…..God was patient - He waited until Ephraim was ready - And when he came to his senses - He once again was restored……..Notice too what Hosea states….”because of me you bear fruit” - Are we as Catholics convinced of this reality?…..Jesus tells us this himself…..”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. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you”…..This statement made by Jesus cannot be emphasized enough!!!….We “remain” in him by living as a faithful Catholic….We cannot separate ourselves from the teachings of the Catholic Church and “think” we are following Jesus - This is a self deception made by many…..But when we live our lives according to Catholic teaching - When we live Sacramentally - When we pray daily - When we fast weekly - We surely will bear fruit…..How clearly Jesus and the Church tells us - So where is the confusion? - The “confusion” is in our hearts - Its in our will, which we refuse to bend…..But just like the Northern Kingdom spoken about today by the Prophet Hosea - Ephraim was humbled!…And when Ephraim came to “the end of himself” - He once again turned to God - And he “bore fruit”….That is how it works!

“Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them”

Why is it that Catholic religious orders that are faithful to Catholic teaching always get vocations?…..Why is it when a Holy Bishop courageously teaches, preaches and lives the fullness of the Truth in his diocese - Seminaries are packed with vocations?……The answer to these questions are found in the words spoke by Jesus……”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”….Far too many people, both inside and outside the Catholic Church “think” they know better than God - I got some news for you - YOU DO NOT!…..As Catholics all we have to do is read what the Church proclaims to be true in the Catechism of the Catholic Church……Its not for us to be “pastoral” and under the guise of that word - Water down Church teachings…There is nothing “pastoral” about not proclaiming the fullness of Truth….When this happens - Church attendance is low - Vocations to the priesthood and religious life diminish - And Catholic family life suffers….Once again, how many examples do we have to see? - How many times do we read about this in the Old Testament when the Jewish people do not give God what belongs to God……In the life of a Catholic a “turning point moment” comes when he or she surrenders “his way” to God’s way….When a person fully digests the reality that God’s way works and “their way” does not - That is when God really begins to work in the life of that soul….God is not interested in “half measures” - With God its all or nothing……”I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth”…..The time of “lukewarm” Catholicism is OVER - When the world sees the “real deal” - The world will stop in its tracks!….This requires all of us to be “all in”!  

“A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me”

Today we hear once again how without God, we as his people can do nothing….Jesus drives this point home to us but do we hear it?….Our Lady tells us this as well at the Wedding Feast of Cana…She tells us - "Do whatever he tells you”…..Yet somehow this message gets disregarded - We choose not to hear it!…..As Catholics we need to stop trying to “re-create the wheel”….Jesus took twelve uneducated fishermen and built a global church……And if we today follow Jesus example - Do we somehow think we will not bear fruit for the Kingdom of God?…..The problem is - Our efforts are “half-hearted” - We lack courage - We try to conform our message to the world by “watering it down”…This needs to stop!…..The Catholic Church is not to be “like the world” - We must mirror the Kingdom of God and invite “the world” to live differently…..As we say when we pray the Our Father Prayer - “Thy Kingdom Come - Thy will be done - On earth as it is in heaven”…..There is nothing “pastoral” about watering down Church teaching!…..It all comes down to this - Do we believe the words of Jesus?…”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” are not the “vine” - Jesus is the “vine”…..So “do whatever he tells you”………..JMJ