Its time to “put up or shut up”….Go big or go home!

Today at Holy Mass Jesus instructs his friends about the importance of prayer, fasting and alms giving…As a Catholic when one hears these three practices, we immediately think of Lent…But prayer, fasting and alms giving are not just for Lent…If we maintain a disciplined regiment of these three “tools” given to us by the Church, God will grow very close to us……Just as an athlete works-out, runs, practices his skills each and every day - Catholics must do the same - This is how we become a Holy People and anyone can do this - This is not for the “select few” - And if we do these three things, we too will become holy and impact the world….It all comes down to this question - What your priorities are?…What is more important then becoming holy to you? - I for one cannot think of anything…Heaven is forever and we want as many people to enter heaven as possible….The world needs to “see” Catholics as a people set apart - This is how we make a difference - Nothing we can say will change people - Only the Holy Spirit acting through our witness can spark transformation…And today Jesus tells us how we become “that kind of person” - A Holy People!………..Pray daily, Fasting weekly and give alms continually……As Mother Teresa would always say…”If you cannot feed one hundred people - Feed one”!

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

God sees the “little things” - The “things” the world does not notice or even cares about…….Mother Teresa’s sisters work day in and day out doing those “little things” - I know this because I was their driver in New York City for seven years on Saturdays before I was married…The sisters feed the poorest of the poor in places the world has given up on or forgotten completely…But what about us? - We are not priests or nuns - What can we do?….This is what we can do - Care for your children - Be open to life in your marriage - Care for our elderly parents - Give of our time to serve our community…These are “small things” that “the world” pays very little attention too - But in the eyes of God - These “small things” are very important…And when we as Catholics do small acts of charity consistently - Believe it or not, many people in our immediate circle around us (family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers) will stop and take notice - Why? - Because these “small things” are signs that God is real and that he is acting through us!…..St James tells us in Scripture - “Faith without works is dead”….And if we build our interior life through daily prayer, weekly fasting and living a Sacramental life - The “works” of our faith will flow naturally from our deep interior life….Without those practices - We will have no works!…..And without “works of faith” - One can objectively question if we are just giving “lip-service” to God - God then becomes simply “a word” we take for granted - But as we ALL know because we are Catholic! - God is more then “a word” - God is a person and if we believe in him like we claim to believe in him - We will do the necessary practices (prayer, fasting and alms giving) to manifest God’s work in tangible ways in our daily life…Talk is cheap - But actions speak  - And they speak loudly!

“Then he picked up Elijah’s mantle that had fallen from him, and went back and stood at the bank of the Jordan. Wielding the mantle that had fallen from Elijah, Elisha struck the water in his turn and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” When Elisha struck the water it divided and he crossed over”

Every year when Lent rolls around Catholics around the world start thinking about  - “What they are going to give up?” - The practices of prayer, fasting and alms giving are preached from pulpits around the world to prepare us for Easter…What I am proposing today is - Why should these three evangelical practices just be for Lent?…..We need to get serious as Catholics! - Is becoming holy a priority? - If not, it should be - The closer we get to God, the more God can use us and he will use us if we give him permission! - This is what the world “thirsts” for!……”Normal people” can do extraordinary things if we give God permission….So what is holding YOU back?…..Prayer, fasting and alms giving are not just for Lent….Catholics must take “the business” of becoming holy serious - If we do - The secular world will take what we say seriously and if we do not, frankly we will be ignored…Its time to “put up or shut up”….Go big or go home!……JMJ

To love supernaturally requires supernatural means!

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew Jesus drops another “bomb”…He tells us we must Love our enemies…How is this even humanly possible?!?….To answer that question in a few words - Its is not possible - Without the help of grace…..Love is not a feeing - Its a choice - We choose to love…But let’s be honest, none of us are perfect and some people make it very hard for us to love them - But that reality does not excuse us from the task!…..The “secret” to loving our enemies is being able to see God in them…..As we all know, each person was a child of God - Intellectually we can know that, but “intellectually” we can not “see” this reality…So how can we gain this sight?……If we can see Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament - We surely will be able to see God in our neighbors, even in our enemies!…But how do we “see” Jesus in the Eucharist? - Is this for the “select few”?…..In order to “see” Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, we must purify our heart by means of a Sacramental Confession….Sin impedes our spiritual vision…Once we “clear away” our sins, which can ONLY be done Sacramentally, we re-gain our sight….Then when we are ‘fed” through the hands of a Priest the Body of Christ, we will not only see God in our enemies but will be given the grace to love our enemies as well…To do what Jesus tells us to do today in the Gospel is simply not possible relying solely on our human faculties….To love your enemies requires a supernatural grace - And that is what Jesus provides for us through his Church…This is why the Catholic Church is “the boat” which the world needs to stay in, in order to arrive safely at our heaven home……..Human beings are not equipped to love as God requires us to love without the grace of the Sacraments and that is ONLY obtained in the Catholic Church….Those who have ears let them hear.

"You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect"

Years ago a priest from New York City told me a story that relates to this Gospel today from St Matthew…..This priest was living in a very poor section of New York City and this young Irish woman would come to the door of the rectory begging for food….The woman was homeless and a drug addict….The priest assumed because the woman was Irish and knew to come to the door of a rectory that she was probably Catholic…Clearly this woman was not born homeless and a drug addict..”Something” happened in her life - Something probably horrible!!! - That caused her to make very bad decisions…The Priest said to me when she would come to the door begging, looking horrendous - He would envision her on the day of her First Communion, when she was innocent and a child….That is why he always greeted her with a smile, gave her food and never judged her….Is this how we “see” other people? - As children of God? - No matter how they live or what bad choices they may have made?…..This “kind of vision” only comes from a pure heart and we can only acquire purity of heart Sacramental……Those who have ears let them hear!….Because to “see” in this manner is not human - Its supernatural…And that is what the grace of the Sacraments does for us - It elevates our human nature and this is the only way we can love as Jesus requires us to love!

“I give you a new commandment; love one another as I have loved you”

For all of us who are Catholic and attend Mass, we hear Jesus make statements that no person has ever made before - Love your enemies! - What kind of crazy person would say such a thing?!?….God’s ways are not our ways! - The world will always be “at odds” with the ways of God - This is why we ALL must make a choice….Following Jesus means we are “not of the world” - That means our life will be lived very differently from secular society - And some people will never understand us - But that is ok - Why? - Because “some people” as a result of our Catholic witness will question their life choices - Some many even be transformed - And that is what it is all about - Transforming the world!……Only a radical love can transform others and to love in this manner requires sacrifice and this is what the secular world refuses to do - Sacrifice!……But Catholics must be “different”….Why? - Because Jesus was “different”….”The Lord GOD opened my ear; I did not refuse, did not turn away. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who tore out my beard; My face I did not hide from insults and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; Therefore I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame”……Do you “think” you can “love” like Jesus loved without the help of the Sacraments? - If you do - “Think” again!…To love supernaturally requires supernatural means!……JMJ

We cannot have it both ways!

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew, Jesus teaches us about turning the other cheek….To a person “of the world” - This teaching is absolutely ridiculous!…..Tell a Fortune 500 CEO he should “turn the other cheek”…Tell the President of a G7 nation to “turn the other cheek”…They would laugh in your face!…..This teaching today divides the world into two camps….”The City of God” & “The City of Man”…..If we live in ”The City of God”  - We look to heaven - Material gain is not our first priority….Our first priority is that we stay in the state of Sacramental Grace - That we live by the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes…..Living in this manner looks very different from those who live in “The City of Man”…..Why does Jesus’ teaching divide? - Because each of us must make a choice in this life and “no choice” is in fact a choice….We must conscientiously choose “The City of God” over “The City of Man”….Some Christian circles believe we can “have it both ways”…We can prescribe to “The City of Man”, reap all the benefits, live in a machiavellian manner and at the end of life arrive safely in “The City of God” - This is a self manufactured fantasy!……But lets look even deeper - Why does Jesus ask us to “turn the other cheek” and not seek revenge from others that harm us? - Because in doing so, we can potentially shame our opponent and in doing so they may repent and turn their life around towards God……To put it bluntly - If we do not “find God” in this life - WE LOSE!…It does not matter how “good” of a life you have - When we die, it ends, and eternity lasts forever!!!!….And if by God’s grace we have found the Risen Lord, its then “our job” to show people the way forward by our life’s example….And when we “turn the other cheek”, we show those who live in “The City of God” - That what we “see” around us is not only temporary, but there is something far greater on the horizon - That “something” is God himself……..Not a bad trade off - Right?!?….But we cannot have it “both ways” - So turn the other cheek!

“A lamp to my feet is your word, a light to my path”

I have worked for almost thirty years at an International Bank….Corporate America is a rough place to work!…Over the years I have met many unsavory characters….And in the course of working all these years, I have learned many things about human nature - One of them is, when people “do you wrong” - It many not be worth “going to war” with them….What I mean by that is, sometimes its much better to “let the little things go” when someone does you wrong - Because in taking that approach, you maintain the relationship, which down the road you will need in order to do your job - “Proving you are right” - Even when you are right - Can come at a great cost….In the beginning of my banking career, I would “fight every battle” and in the end, I was always the loser, even when I “won the small battles”…..As the old saying goes - “You can win the battle but lose the war”…..Clearly when Jesus taught his first disciples about turning the other cheek, he did not ask them to be “door mats” for people to take advantage of…But what he did ask them to do, is to not participate in the same “dirty game” of an “eye for an eye” that secular world plays each day competing for material gain, power and status…..Ask your self this - Is it worth it? - To fight tooth and nail for “crumbs” and “dust”?…….Instead Jesus teaches us a better way….So as the secular world around us fights and claws for “scraps” - Catholics should live by a different code!….”Taste and see the goodness of the Lord”…..”For my yoke is easy, and my burden light”

"You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles”

Today in the Gospel, Jesus once again proposes a revolutionary way forward….To be an authentic follower of Christ should be obvious to all who witness your life - No words are necessary! - Your life’s witness will speak volumes if you live as Jesus teaches us today…”Turning the other check”….Why can I state that with such certainty? - Because “the world” does not operate like that!……To be Catholic means we are to be “a light on a hill” and this teaching today is one of those ways we can be that “light” to others……”Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father”……Each and every person we see around us lives in one of two places - “The City of Man” or “The City of God”…..And its our daily choices that determine which “city” we live in…..We cannot have it both ways!………..JMJ

The harvest is STILL abundant - Remember that!

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew, we are told that Jesus saw the sins of mankind…Imagine what Jesus saw????!!!! - Keeping in mind the purity of his Sacred Heart - The very thought is terrifying! - Yet he willing sacrificed and died for us…He also set up a structure, a Church, for us to receive what we ALL need - Sacramental grace….”At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest”…….Again, because Jesus is God, he sees what we do not - Notice he stated - “The harvest is abundant” - When you look at the nightly news - Do you have the same sentiment?….When you walk down the main streets of the major cities of the world - Do you say to yourself? - “The harvest is abundant” - Probably not!  - But Jesus does - Why? - Because Jesus “sees” our potential…..Within each soul there is the “spark of God” - If we only saw what Jesus sees!….The closer we get to God, the more we will “see” too - “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God”…God can turn great sinners into saints - God has done this for two thousand years……And only saints change the world - Only the example of saints, animated by the Holy Spirit can move souls - Transform societies - And chart new paths forward…..”Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness”……..This mandate is not “man-made”, the Catholic Church, while made up of men is divinely inspired - It is also divinely driven and fueled….This is why the world is powerless against it…And if we bind ourself to Mother Church, by living in the state of grace - We too will change the world!

“The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel”

I work in New York City and after getting off the bus in the morning, I walk roughly a mile to my office….As I walk, I pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for everyone who comes across my path….And during that walk, I see so many souls in the state of distress! - Both rich and poor alike…..Many times I think of how God must mourn due to the “poverty of spirit” that walks across my path each day in New York City….Many times I think of the words of Jesus during my daily walks…..”As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation”…….To this very day, the Lord walks in our midst - We each are given a chance to open our hearts to God - To say YES - To begin the journey of transformation that is grounded in daily prayer, fasting and Sacramental living….Each soul has this opportunity! - No one is “so lost” that they cannot “be raised from the living-dead”……This is why “the harvest is abundant”

“As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give”

Today in St Matthew Gospel, Jesus gives the twelve disciples their “marching orders” - Guess what? - We too are given the same “marching orders” - Each Baptized Catholic is “called” by name - We each have something to do!…..I believe when we stand before God at the time of our judgement - God will show us not only all the good we have done, as well as our sins - But God will also show us what we could have done - If we trusted in him more….Think about that for a moment…….How are we using the talents we have been given?…..When we read about the lives of the saints, you will find that God called a very diverse “motley crew”!….To this very day, God is calling men and women to holy lives - This is the greatest thing one can do - Become a saint….Because only saints change the world - Is this your priority? - To become a saint?…….. The harvest is STILL abundant - Remember that!……..JMJ

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”

Today in the first reading from Mass taken from the Book of Kings….Elisha is confronted by the Prophet Elijah….And Elisha is faced with a choice to make - Continue with his life as it is - Or give up everything radically and follow God….In many ways, we are ALL faced with the same choice….A “lukewarm” spirit does not bear fruit…Nor will it sustain us on our journey back to God…….”Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you." Elijah answered, "Go back!  Have I done anything to you?" Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to eat. Then he left and followed Elijah as his attendant”……Notice, not only did Elisha follow Elijah, but he destroyed the means of his old life as a farmer - So there would be not turning back!…….God is looking for us to radically follow him too…..And in order to do that, we must make sacrifices - As Elisha did….To follow God means we have to “give something up”…..Don’t for a second “think” we can have “the world” and God at the same time…”The world” and God are at odds with each other - Always have and always will be until the return of Christ…..What have you “given up” for your Catholic faith?….How has your life changed since you decided to practice your faith?…..The answers to these questions should be very obvious to the reader of this reflection…And if they are not - One must reconsider their commitment to the Lord….Jesus is look for followers and there is a big difference between a “believer” and a follower….And in order to follow - We must be ALL IN!

“Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees; and favor me with your law”

When a man gets married - In many ways - He gives up control of his life…Everything he has is now shared with his wife….And if two people are Catholic and live their marriage as the Church requires us to, they will not use contraception and as a result, their marriage will bear many children…By living this way, the couple “gives up control” of their life…They rely on God - To give them children - And to help them to provide for those children….And this is “scary” - Let’s face it!…But in living this way - The Catholic couple live “radically”…And in doing so, their faith will grow! - They will see God’s hand in their marriage and in their daily life - In ways that would NEVER happen if that couple used contraception……This is just one example of being “all in” for God - Not “hedging our bets”…..And if we want to “bear fruit that lasts” for the Kingdom of God….We have to be ALL IN!…..This is why Jesus tells us in Scripture……”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. For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything, and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me”…This is the “kind of Catholic” I want to be!…..This is the “kind of Parish” I am interested in attending…….This is the “kind of clergy” I will follow to the ends of the earth!….…And this is the “kind of person” Jesus called ALL of us to be!…..Be bold - Be Catholic!

“Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the Evil One"

Today me a reminded - God is not looking for a people who are half-hearted….Just like a good marriage - The couple has to be 100% committed to each other - God expects the same….And when we are living this way - Our lives will bear fruit….We will become the people we were born to be…But to live in this manner requires sacrifice - We will not be “like the rest of the world” - Some may even think we are “odd” - So be it!….But this is the choice before us all………Each Baptized Catholic is “called out” by God - Each Baptized Catholic is special - Each Baptized Catholic is chosen!…The question then becomes - Are we living this way?….Catholics cannot be “like everyone else” - We must lead the way forward - And trust me - If you radically follow the Gospel - You will indeed lead the way!….Just look to how the saints impacted the world around them….But to be a saint requires a herculean act of the will - It always requires radical surrender……Burn the bridges and sink the boat! - There is no turning back!…This is the attitude we need to have - This is what Elisha did in the first reading today at Mass…And this is what we are ALL called to do as well……..”Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me”…………”Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”….JMJ

That is how we love

Today the Universal Church commemorates the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus……There are a lot of “voices” out there on Social Media commenting on what it means to be Catholic - At the foundation of every voice - There must be on thing - LOVE…Today’s Solemnity personifies this foundational pillar of Catholicism…..LOVE!……St Paul clearly articulates this message when he wrote…..”If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing”…This means we can do  and say everything “right” and still be WRONG - If what we are doing and saying does not come from a place of love….Today at Holy Mass in the second reading, St John also echoes the words of St Paul in a most direct manner……”Let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love”…….How are we to love others as we are called too? - Let’s go even further - How are we too love our enemies?….The answer is YOU CANNOT! - Without God’s grace!…This is what the world is missing….Before we can love others properly, we first have to love God…When we can see Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and when we consume the Eucharist in the state of grace - We are given the grace to love others…Without that grace - Without living Sacramentally….Dare I say - There is NO WAY “that kind of love” is going to happen!…..Never mind loving our enemies - How about loving those closest to us - Our wives - Our children…How are we going to love properly with the aide of the Sacraments?…Not going to happen!…This is why Jesus established a Church…This is why he gave us his very Body and Blood to “nourish” us as we journey through life….To be Catholic means we must love EVERYONE - A herculean task! - But God gave us the means to live in this manner through his Church…….One must keep in mind - Love is a choice, its not a “feeling” and to “choose” to love each day as Jesus loves is a “supernatural” action - More reason why we NEED to live Sacramentally - Because the Sacraments are not “man-made” but come from the hand of God - They elevate our human nature and enable us to love in a supernatural way…..Don’t think for a second YOU can love in the manner Jesus called YOU too outside the grace of God! - Not going to happen!

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

Mother Teresa once said…”For love to be real, it must hurt”….As a husband and father of five children, I have come to understand what love really is….The sacrifices a mother and father make for their children run VERY deep…Its through those sacrifices that married couples “die to their self” and in turn find God…This is the “formula” - And this is why marriage is a vocation……Our world does not understand what it means to live sacrificially and that is one of the reasons why “the world” can not “see” God in others…..We are told today in the Gospel at Mass - ”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 little ones”…..We will never “find” God if you do not “die” to our self!….This is why living sacrificially is mandatory for EVERY Catholic….My wife and I live in a small house - We both work VERY hard to educate our children - We do not go on the vacations we want - We do not drive the cars we want - We do not buy “fancy cloths”…EVERYTHING we do - We do for our children….This is the “road” God has chosen for us to enter heaven - And my wife and I walk that road each and every day…How about you?…..What is the road God chose for you to die to your self?….Whatever it is - Embrace it!….And in doing so, we will ALL understand what it means to love - In the truest sense!!! - And in the end arrive safely in heaven

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest”

Today Catholics all over the world will mediate upon the Sacred Heart of Jesus….A heart that loves in a way no human being can fully comprehend!…..The closer we get to Christ, the more we will “see” God in our neighbor….Our hearts must be made pure - And we do that by frequent Sacramental Confessions and reception of the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace - Its these two practices that allow us to “see” and transform our “hearts of stone into hearts of flesh”…..The word “love” gets “thrown around” a lot these days - But if we really knew what love was - Maybe we would not use the word so casually….Jesus showed us on the Cross what real love is - He died a brutal death for the ungodly……Picture the worst sinner - The worst crime you EVER seen broadcast on the news - Jesus died for that man! - “For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us”….Clearly, to love in this manner is “supernatural” - So how can we do it? - By means of the Sacraments - That is the ONLY WAY!……The Catholic Church is not just a human institution - It was divinely created and is divinely sustained to this very day…Human beings can not self manufacture grace and without grace - We cannot love as we are called to love by Christ………We find God when we come to “the end of our self” - Jesus is waiting there for us - And when we get to “that place” - When the “cup of self” is empty - Jesus then “fills the cup” with his Holy Spirit…..That is how we love! - Because love is not just a word or even a feeling - It’s an action!………”It is in giving that one receives, it is in self-forgetting that one finds” - That is how we love…….JMJ

”I must decrease and He must increase” - This is how we do it!

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first readings about how the early disciples prepared themselves to bring the Gospel to others….Do we somehow think that this method is outdated? - That “the times” have changed?…..What worked then - Will work now!…….”While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off”…..If we do not make a priority of developing a deep interior life - Everything we do for God will be done in vain! - And fasting is a big part of this process - Do we fast regularly?……This practice of fasting seems to have been forgotten in many Catholic circles…Fasting is not just for Lent….The Church asks us to fast every Friday…..How about for Advent? - Do you fast to prepare for the Christmas Season?……If we are serious about being the people we were born to be - Saints! - We should incorporate fasting into our weekly spiritual regiment…..The closer we get to God, the more he can use us……Fasting is also a good way to break sinful habits - Again, its another “tool” Mother Church gives to us - The question is - Are we utilizing everything we have been given?

"I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven”

How does one become holy?…..A good question and something each Catholic should think about…..A holy life can not be self manufactured….God is holy and in order for us to become Christ-like, we must continuously “make room” for the Holy Spirit in our life….This involves a number of practices - Living for others is something every Catholic should be doing - Whether a Priest, a married person or living in the single state…The more you “give away” your life in service to others - The more God will fill you with his Holy Spirit….Fasting is also apart of this process - Fasting helps us to “detach” from the things of this world and in turn we focus more upon God…….The more we empty ourself, the more God will fill us - Remember this “formula”!……..Years ago when I was in my twenties I was struggling with chastity….I was not married and wanted to live as a practicing Catholic….I spent two Lenten Seasons in a row of intense fasting to overcome sinful behavior…Finally, I went to a retreat and was given the grace of chastity….Following that retreat, what seemed impossible became possible and as a result I was chaste for roughly 15 years until I met my wife and got married…..This taught me something very important - Grace is REAL!…And how through fasting, we can overcome sinful behavior…..Fasting is a VERY important spiritual expertise that every Catholic should be utilizing - This is why the Church in her wisdom calls all Catholics to fast every Friday…..”Mother Church” knows what she is doing! - Are we listening to “Our Mother”?

“The LORD has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel”

Today at Mass we hear how God prepared St Paul to go forth and proclaim the Gospel…Think about this herculean task given to St Paul - There would have been NO WAY he could have accomplished what was achieved through his ministry without a deep interior life…Now think about YOUR own life - How do you expect to be the person God called you to be without developing an interior life? - As Catholics, we must prioritize our time and when we make God a priority - Everything else in our life will fall into its proper place….Some may claim - “I have no time”…..Jesus tells us otherwise…..”Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides”……Maybe its time to “Make Time”?………The closer we get to God - The more effective disciples we will become…………….”Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it”…….Fasting and Daily Prayer may not “change” the world but it surely will change YOU - And in turn - YOU will change the world………”I must decrease and He must increase” - This is how we do it!………JMJ