”Pick up your Cross and follow me!”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy….God addresses his people and tells them that they are obliged to obey his commandments…There is a “bad word” today - Obey - Far too many people can’t seem to understand that its in our best interest to obey God - God is not an ogre - He loves us!….”And today the LORD is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you; and provided you keep all his commandments, he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations he has made, and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God, as he promised”….Notice the language used….”You are to be a people peculiarly his own” - Now comes the conditional word - “provided” - Ready for it?!?…….While each of us is far from perfect, if we do not accept ALL the teachings of Christ ands the one Church he founded - The Catholic Church - And do our very best to follow them - And when we fall short, ask God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation for forgiveness - And have a firm purpose of amendment for our sins - If we do not act and think in this manner - How can we possibly “think” we are “a people peculiarly his own”? - How?….I will tell you how - The human mind has a way to twist and convince itself of many things - Its called “self preservation”….We rationalize away our salvation for comfort - When the Scriptures are crystal clear!……”But he said in reply to the one who told him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother”….It does not get any clearer then that - Right?!?……So “strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough”……..Without God’s grace - Without the aide of the Sacraments - Without daily prayer - Without weekly fasting…The likelihood of “being perfect” is slim to none as we say in New Jersey….Jesus gave us a Church and Our Lady for a reason….To help us “carry our cross” and enter through the “narrow gate” which leads the salvation…..To “think” otherwise is foolish…Left to our own devices, we will fail - But with God all things are possible…Those who have ears - Let them hear!

“Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation”

American Christianity has a false belief that we can simple say - “We believe in Jesus Christ” and with that claim - “We are “saved” - Really? - Jesus did not say that………How can anyone come to that conclusion after reading the words of Jesus Christ himself in Scripture……There is no getting around it……We must “pick up our cross and follow” the one and only man that can save us and we do that by the way we live our life and by the choices we make…Again, the human mind can “play tricks” on us - But reality is reality….And heaven and hell is reality!…………..Years ago I got into a discussion with a man who left the Catholic Church who believed the Protestant rationalization of “once saved always saved” - That once you proclaim Jesus to be you savior, you are guaranteed eternal salvation…I told this man that such a belief is not biblical…Now keep in mind, Protestants say they “believe everything in the bible”…Ok - So do Catholics - And the words of Christ do not validate the “once saved always saved” Protestant delusion…..So I told this man that I would take the very bible in his hand and find verse after verse that refutes this self rationalization…..So that is what I did - I filled a single piece of paper, front and back, of verses from the bible that refute the “once saved always saved” Protestant doctrine…And when I tried to give this man the paper filled with Biblical verses - He refused to read it…..”I thought you believed everything in the Bible?” - I guess not…..As St Paul tells us…”We hear what our itchy ears want to hear”…..Bottom line - We do not get into heaven on “our owns terms”…..Jesus Christ told us - He is “the Way” - He did not say he was the custom……..”Then Jesus said to his disciples, Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”…Does it get any clearer than that? - And the words I just cited come from Jesus’ mouth - And they are in the Bible - They are not my words - I did not make them up - Go figure?

“You have commanded that your precepts be diligently kept. Oh, that I might be firm in the ways of keeping your statutes!”

Today we hear at Mass in the Gospel Jesus say to his disciples…..”So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect”….We also hear in the first reading at Mass that we as Catholics are obliged to keep the commandments…..How can we possibly “think” we are exempt from this?……Catholic teaching is very clear - All we have to do is read it…The words of Scripture are very clear as well……Being that we are all sinners and are far from perfect, should give us all the more reason why we need to rely of grace and take the words of Christ and his Church seriously…..There is no way we can do what God asks of us without grace!….This is why Jesus did not write a book - The bible was written roughly 400 years after the death of Christ - Jesus however did give us a Church - And he gave it to us for a reason…And here is the reason……”Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him”…..Can it be stated any clearer than that?!?…….As we say in New Jersey - “It is what it is”….”Pick up your Cross and follow me!”……………….JMJ

God makes saints out of sinners

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew Jesus tells us something that is rather shocking……"I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven”…As we all know, Jesus was constantly addressing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees but here he seems to be complimenting them……..Interesting……The Pharisees took the law seriously and for the most part, lived good lives…Their problem was, the law became a idol in and of itself…In essence, the law replaced God…..What Jesus is telling us here is, we are not to disregard to commands of God, they are to be used as a tool to lead is to God and keep us safe…….And Jesus goes on to say, we must respond to the commands of God, even the “little things” that many seem insignificant…."You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa,  will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift”…….But how do we follow Jesus and the laws of God to the degree we are asked to today in the Gospel?…Seems impossible right?……Well, if we do not cooperate with God’s grace - It is impossible…But with God all things are possible!…..A good priest told me many years ago…”Joe - We do not just float into heaven”….We must allow God to transform us….And that takes time…..Everything we do and everything we are as Catholics comes down to GRACE!….But if we do not avail ourselves to the grace, we will fail…..The “cup of our life” must be “emptied” in order for God to fill it….This is our task - “To empty the cup”…….God will take care of the rest.


“Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, And make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit”

The famous American President Abraham Lincoln had a saying….."Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”…..This statement applies directly to our interior life….Most Catholics do the exact opposite of what Lincoln is telling us…They do not spend enough time “sharpening the axe” before they attempt to “chop down the tree”…..What do I mean by that?….They do not prioritize their interior life and attempt to do God’s work before they are ready….A huge mistake…We can not give what we do not have…..Everything we do comes from our interior life…..A Catholic that prays daily, fast weekly, and lives a Sacramental life is prepared to successfully complete whatever task the Lord gives to them…And it is the Lord that chooses the task….However, when we rely upon ourself, when we choose the task and when we attempt to accomplish this self appointed task, odds on we will fail……In the Gospel today - Jesus is telling us that we must follow the commands of God very careful, as did the Pharisees…Far too many Catholics disregard this very direct request from Christ….And the only way we are able to accomplish this “ask” from Jesus is to live in the state of grace……St Paul reminds us….”Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more”….There is nothing we cannot over come, no temptation we cannot resist and no bad habit we cannot defeat if we radically surrender our will to God and allow his grace to animate our soul…..Again, the mistake made by far too many, they attempt to do this on their own…And that is why they fail.

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication”

Today Jesus in St Matthew’s Gospel tells us we can not disregard to commands of God….I have heard this time and time again - Especially from our Protestant brothers and sisters - “God freed us from the law”…That is incorrect!….Jesus tells us rather clearly…..“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place”…….And once again today at Mass, Jesus “doubles down”…."I tell you,  unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven”…..These directives by Christ implies we must be completely transformed - That the road to heaven is a road of sanctification, which requires us to cooperate with God’s grace……This concept is completely missed by the vast majority of the Christian world, even many Catholics miss it - Falsely thinking that we just “float into heaven” - Because “I’m a good guy”…….What Jesus tells us today should not discourage us - In fact it should motivate us…..There is nothing that God and his Church asks of us that cannot be done - However, we cannot do it without God’s grace!……This is why Jesus gave us a Church, the Catholic Church, where we can receive the Sacraments…..This is why Jesus gave us his Mother…And if we utilize these “gifts” given to us - We surely will do what is asked of us, no matter what vocation we have been called too and in doing so, we shall be transformed - And as a result of our transformation, we as Catholics will transform the world!…....”So be perfect as your heaven father is perfect”…Sounds impossible right?!? - Well it is - If we attempt to be “perfect” without God’s grace - But with God all things are possible...................God makes saints out of sinners……JMJ

Its really that simply - Just “knock on the door” and “the door” will open

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Matthew something that should give us hope…All we have to do is ask God to come into our life - And he will - Its as simple as that……..“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”…St Matthew in this Gospel commentary portrays God as a father who gives freely to his children….A being a father myself of five children I can relate…..God loves us so why would he not come to us if we only ask him……As Americans a deep streak of individualism runs through our veins….We want to do things our way - We do not nee any help - We “get it” and no one else does…..I have heard it all before!……Yet, within each of us, in every cell of our body, is a longing for God…A life lived without God is incomplete, no matter who you are…..How do we rectify this longing? - First, we must acknowledge it!…..Human pride masks our deep desire for God - We do this by chasing after “stuff”….We try to fill the void with “something” else only to come up short each and every time - So first, before we ask God to come into our life - We have to first acknowledge our need for God….What else must we do?….Well - St Matthew tells us today in the Gospel - We have to simply ask God to enter our life…This required humility - May people will never do this because of their pride and as we say in New Jersey - By not asking God to come into our life - “We cut off our nose in spite of our face” - The only loser in that proposition is you sadly……The world today asks the question - Where is God? - To address this question directly - God is everywhere - God is in YOU!…….All we have to do is “knock” and the “door will be open” - Its really that simple

“Because of your kindness and your truth; for you have made great above all things your name and your promise. When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me”

I have heard secular people say…How am I to pray?…..The answer to that question is simple - Speak to God as you would a good friend…Praying does not have to be complicated…And the best prayer outside of going to Mass is to simply sit in silence before the Blessed Sacrament…Anyone can do this - Which means you do not have to be Catholic…And if you are Catholic and are not practicing your faith for “whatever reason” or you are Catholic and not living in the state of grace - Sitting in silence before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is a good place to start!……Jesus knows each of us better then anyone else does - In fact - Jesus knows us better than we know our very self…And if you make it a practice to sit before Christ in silence infront of the Blessed Sacrament - God will speak to you in a way only you can understand…..This practice of making a weekly Holy Hour needs to be made more pervasive across the Universal Church…..Not everyone has the time to make a Holy Hour everyday, especially married couples with children - But I believe everyone can make a Holy Hour once a week…My wife and I do it and have five children under eleven years old - If we can do it - So can you - Make the time!…….This is what Mother Teresa said about making a Holy Hour…….”Perpetual adoration is the most beautiful thing you could ever think of doing. People are hungry for God. Imagine for a moment that we are living in Jesus’ time and He has invited us to visit with Him and spend some quiet time getting to know Him better. Being aware who He was, we would be humbled and honored by such an invitation. The good news is that Jesus is here with us TODAY – body, blood, soul and divinity – in the Holy Eucharist”………I am of the opinion that Eucharistic Adoration is the answer to the many problems in the Universal Church today…..Both the clergy and the laity alike will “find” the answers to these problems by sitting in silence before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament…Again, circling back to Mother Teresa - A journalist once asked her - “What is your secret?”….Mother Teresa responded - “I pray”…Its really that simple…….“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”….Why do we make what is simple so complicated?

“The LORD will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O LORD, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands”

Today at Mass St Matthew tells us - Finding God is easy…All we have to do is ask and approach God just as we are - And he will respond…Now as far as Catholics are concerned - Let’s face it - We all need help to become transformed, to become the people we were born to be - None of us are perfect - Right?!? - All the more reason we should approach God….Remember, Jesus did not come for the righteous, he came for sinners……And if you are in an “irregular situation” - If you are “caught up” in lifestyle that took you away from God - A good start to “get back on the road” to God is to simply sit before the Blessed Sacrament in silence - Do this each week and watch what happens…..The answer to so many of the problems we face are not as complicated as we make them out to be…..Stick to “First Principals” - Learn to walk before you attempt to run…..Make time each week to spend an hour with Jesus in silence - If you do, you will feel his peace in the very room when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed on the altar - And before you know it - The peace only God can give us, which the world can not take away will enter you!……”Invest in yourself” - Commit to a weekly Holy Hour…….Its really that simply - Just “knock on the door” and “the door” will open……………..JMJ

Because nothing is impossible with God!

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading we hear about the story of Jonah…He was given a daunting task…Go into an evil city (Nineveh) and tell the people of that city to repent…And when Jonah heard what was asked of him…He ran away!…But God did not give up on Jonah - He knew he had the right guy for the job…So God “convinced” Jonah and as a result - Jonah put aside his fear and went about his task - Preaching repentance to Nineveh…Imagine if that was you?!?…Picture this - God asks you to go into the worst prison in the United States - That you are to be found guilty of a crime you did not commit by a corrupt court in America and your task is to preach repentance in the most violent prison in the United States of America and you would be successful doing it….What would you say to God if he told you that?…..Would you think it was possible that the inmates in the worst prison in the United States would be capable of seeing the error of their ways and repent?…Would you run away as Jonah did?…….Now lets think of the task given to Jesus - Jesus was God  - I “get it” - But think of what God the Father asked of him…….Jesus suffered and died violently for sinners….And the majority of the people during Jesus’ time rejected him….Now think about the millions of people that have rejected him over the last two thousand years since his death - YET - Jesus still did what was asked of him!!!……What should we take away from those examples as Catholics today? - What is God asking of you?……Far too often we look to the results of our actions - All the “things” we do for the Church - And think to ourself - Did it work out? - Did it bear fruit? - Was “my time” put to good use?…..Mother Teresa addresses this mind set - “God did not call us to be successful - He called us to be faithful”…..Jesus tells us that if we stay connected to the vine, we will bear fruit - This is absolutely true - However, “the fruit” we bear many not happen in our life time - We may never see it…..So the question(s) is - Are you still interested in working in God’s vineyard? - Are you still interested in attempting the impossible for God?…..As Catholics today, we need to work to build the Kingdom of God and each of us has “something to do” - Do we forget that our God is a God of the impossible?….And like Jonah - Sometimes we are given tasks that seem impossible - When this happens, we must not dwell on the task but on the person who gave us the task - God himself - Our God rose from the dead! - Right!…That should be all the “convincing” we need….That is why in the Gospel of St Luke read to us at Mass today we are told…..”At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here”…That “something” is Jesus Christ - Who rose from the dead…We do not need a sign - Stop looking for one! - We have everything we need - So get to work!
 

“Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart for I am gracious and merciful”

How do the saints do what they do?…..If we read the lives of the saints we will hear stories of men and woman, who had no money, no education, no help from others….and yet they accomplished things that the most elite Business Schools in the world would marvel at…..How did these saints do it?…..For starters, they took Jesus at his word, radically surrendered their will to God, lived Sacramentally, prayed daily, and fasted weekly…While the many saints are different, the “formula” these men and woman followed is basically the same…So here is the question - What is stopping us from following their example?…A Catholic saint is nothing more then an example - They point to Jesus and they teach us how we are to follow Christ in very real and tangible ways…Again the question comes up - Why don’t we follow the “formula” they gave to us?…….Before I was married I would travel to Kolkata India to serve the poor with Mother Teresa’s sisters during Advent …I did that for six years…….During that time I got an inspiration to ask my pastor in New Jersey to sponsor a poor parish in Kolkata and establish a “sister parish” there…And when I asked Fr Stanley (my pastor) this “crazy” inspiration of mine - I was kind of shocked that he agreed…..Over the years and even after I stopped going to India, Fr Stanley and the priest in the poor parish in Kolkata kept in touch…Fr Stanley sent close to fifty thousand dollars to that parish, which was a huge amount of money for an Indian parish - Keep in mind, the parish in Kolkata only collected around ten US dollars each week at Sunday Mass……Due to Fr Stanley’s generosity, the parish in India began to thrive…So much so…They renamed the church after Fr Stanley’s Church in New Jersey - St Michael the Archangel Parish in the Diocese of Kolkata - To this very day - That name has remained…..Why bring this story up?…..If you told me that I was going to be “the bridge” between a Church in New Jersey and a Church in Kolkata India and tens of thousands of dollars would be raised - I would have told you that you were crazy…But that is what happened…God did the impossible once again…..And he used the son of a simple barber from New Jersey to do this - That son of a barber was me!…"God does not call the equipped, He equips the called”…..If God can use me - He surely can use you!

“For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn”

Today at Mass St Luke tells us point-blank…..”There is something greater than Jonah here”……He also tells us that - “No sign will be given to this generation”…Why do you think that is the case?…..Because Jesus already told us, as well as gave us everything we need…The questions then become - Do we believe him?…and….Are we using what he gave us?………Mother Angelica founded the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) in America - She was contemplative nun living in Alabama, with no media experience what-so-ever…Yet she founded a media empire that would revival any secular corporate media company anywhere in the world……How did that happen?…How could that happen?……..Mother Angelica put it best - ”Unless you are willing to do the ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous. When you have God, you don’t have to know everything about it; you just do it.”……..Sounds to me Mother Angelica heard what St Luke told us today at Mass - ”There is something greater than Jonah here”……Maybe it’s time we stop saying and thinking what God asks of us as Catholics is “impossible”……….Because nothing is impossible with God!………….JMJ

God is at work…..So don’t get lost in the “fog”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah that the word of God will not only be carried out here on earth but it will bear fruit….How easy we forget this in the midst of the chaos we see and live through in this world!……”Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, Giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it”……God is at work! - But his work takes place “under the radar” of the secular world…Just as when Jesus was born in a remote village to poor parents - God today is at work right under “the nose” of the world……As the secular world chases after “stuff”, which ultimately turns to dust and means nothing in the end - God is building his Kingdom, Transforming souls, feeding his people on his very flesh!…..Its up to us to acquire “eyes to see” God at work in the here and now…..Jesus tells us in the pages of Scripture that “the last will be first and the first will be last”…..When Jesus returns, the power structures of the world will flip!…..The Catholic faith and the works of the Gospel are currently disregarded by the secular world - When Jesus returns - What is disregarded will be front and center!…….St Luke tells us - “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand”….Again, how easy we forget this reality…….And because we forget this, Jesus warns us…..”I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”…Trust in the one to come - He said he would return and because he said it - It will happen!- In the mean time - “Put your shoulder to the plow” and don’t look back! - The Kingdom of God is at hand!

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

I have worked on Wall Street at an International Global Bank for nearly thirty years….Working in this environment in New York City makes it very easy to “lose sight” of the Kingdom of God….This is why I make a deliberate effort to use my free time wisely and place myself in situations where are can “see” God at work…..As a Lay volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity I would see first hand the “underbelly” of New York City…While the wealthy bankers of Wall Street go home to beautiful homes, eat good food and experience the best America has to offer…So many in New York City struggle and barely survive…..On Wednesdays when I was serving with Mother Teresa’s sisters in Manhattan, we would go to Chinatown and bring hot meals to people who lived in boarding house above the restaurants…These apartments were the size of closets and in some cases filthy!…..The secular world would not believe how some people live in New York City and frankly even if they did see what I saw, the question then becomes - Would they care?….But as the unbelieving world goes about its “business” - The Missionaries of Charity are building God’s Kingdom here on earth…And very few people notice!…..The work of Mother Teresa’s nuns is done quietly and in many respects, this is how God works in our life - Quietly! -  Feeding our soul as we cooperate with him through daily prayer, weekly fasting and Sacramental living…”There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire—but the LORD was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound”…..The works of God are performed in silence but make no mistake - God is at work and his Kingdom is being built in the here and now! - Again right “under the nose” of the world……The culture says to us in word and deed - Where is your God?!?…..This attitude is nothing knew - And Jesus’ response to it is the same as it was two-thousand years ago - “Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is among you”…..So what should that tell us? - Repent and believe the Gospel - The Kingdom of God is at hand!

“Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him”

Today at Mass we are reminded that God’s word will bear fruit - Do we believe that? - As we see our world today struggle and fall into temptation and sin…..St Paul reminds us - “ Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”…As Catholics we must acquire “eyes to see” - And if we do - We will “see” through “the fog” of the chaos and strife in this world…Just as Good Friday came before Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days later - We too will be redeemed and everything we see around us will be made new!….But in the mean time - We must not lose sight of the reality, which is - That we are an Easter people! - The victory has already been won two thousand years ago!…..Therefore we must keep focused on that victory……Do you remember in the pages of Scripture when Jesus was sleeping on a boat with his disciples and a storm raged on the water? - And the disciples were afraid - So what did they do? - They woke of Jesus, who in turn rebuked the storm…..Jesus was with these men for three years and they seemed to forget who he was - The living God!….. Ask yourself this honestly - Are we any different today?….When the “storms of life” rage around us - How quickly we forget that Christ is close to us and that he is God - How quickly we look to worldly solutions when the answer to our problems is Jesus himself…..We must keep our eyes fixed on Christ and not on the “storm”………God is at work…..So don’t get lost in the “fog”………JMJ

This is on the “final exam” - So pay attention!

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Mathew’s Gospel about the goats and the sheep…And how God will separate them on the last day…So much here to cover…..We all know the story….For the purposes of this reflections, let’s approach the Gospel today from the prospective of God as a father……I am a father of five children and since I have had children, my views have broadened in so many ways……In this Gospel, God asks us to take care of his children, most especially those who can not take care of themselves…………..…”Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me”……..Once a person has a child of their own, the world changes for you in so many ways…You can’t even imagine someone hurting your child!…Now think of it from God’s prospective….Every person we see is God’s child and God loves them so much more then a mere person can love them….Now think about the sufferings and hardships of so many people on this earth…How no one helps them….Think if that was your child?!?…..Each person we see living on the streets is God’s child…..Each person who goes to bed hungry is God’s child….Every person denied medical care is God’s child…..I think the reader of this reflection gets the point……And if you were God and you knew someone could help your child and refused too - What would you do?…..Today in the Gospel, God tells us exactly what he will do ate the end of time…….”‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life”….God is telling us point blank - How we treat other people matters!…There are consequences for our lack of actions towards the “least among us”…..Now clearly we can not help everyone….Mother Teresa put it this way - “If you cannot feed hundred people, feed one”……Remember this - No one ever became poor by sharing!…..This Gospel tells us something very important - And what is that? - It tells us for one, that each of us will be judged by God - No getting around that reality…Second - It tells us that there is a heaven and a hell…And lastly, it tell us that the criteria for us to go to heaven or hell is dependent upon how we treat the “least of us”…..How can we “meet this requirement” - Let’s think about it….First off, we need “eyes to see”…If we ignore those around us who need help, we clearly will not help them - Right?……What gives us “eyes to see”?…….The answer - Sacramental grace…If we can see Jesus in the Eucharist, we surely will see him in our neighbor…And if we see Jesus “broken and alone” in our neighbor…We surely will help our neighbor - Right?…..Grace gives us “eyes to see” and it also impels us forth to assist those in need…..Without Sacramental grace - We miss an opportunity - In more ways then one……And for those of us who are in business - Opportunities missed have tangible consequences.

“Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation”

As I stated in the above paragraph, I am the father of five children….And each of my children are different…..Allow me for a moment to illustrate an example from the eyes of a father to highlight what St Matthew was trying to teach us today in the Gospel…..Say a man has six sons….The father of these six boys is a very successful man, who comes from a long line of successful people…..Doctors, lawyers, businessman, statesmen…..The family is full of high achievers!…..Getting back to the six sons…Five of the six sons are super successful….But one of the sons, is slow….In fact, he is mentally and physically handicapped and needed the assistance of his father his enter life………And as it is with all men, the father of these six sons got very old and was close to death….Before he died, he asked his five successful sons to come to his bed side….And these were his final words to them……”During my lifetime I gave you everything and you greatly benefited from what I gave you…But now I am about to die….And I cannot help your one brother anymore, who we all know needs help…..Please help him for me as I helped you!”…….In essence this is what the Gospel of St Matthew today is tells us…God is a loving father, who cares for each of us personally as only a father can…….As Catholics, for the short time we are on this earth, we are God’s “hands and feet”, which means we must respond to the love he gave to us - How do we respond? - By caring for others, most especially the “least among us”…….As for me personally, all five of my children are different and I love them all equally…My wife and I do our very best for them…When I die, I expect that they will all take care of each other…And if one of them needs help, the other four will help him or her….This is the wish of every father - And remember - God is a father too!

“Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart find favor before you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer”

The Gospel from today’s Mass is very important…All of Scripture is important but today’s reading is especially important because God is giving us insight on how he will judge us when we die…And yes, we all will be judged!…..God sees everything - What we do and what we do not do…God sees what is in our hearts - What drives us and what we value….In essence God knows everything about us - We can not fool him…With that said….What does a ‘religious person” look like in real time?…What I mean by that is - How do we define a “good Catholic”?…The world has many definitions of this - But only one definition matters - God’s definition! - And He give us that definition in the Gospel today…..”What you do to the least - You do to me”…….As Mother Teresa rightful told her sisters and us today……“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in”…Those who have ears - Let them hear…..This is on the “final exam” - So pay attention!………….JMJ

”For when I am weak, then I am strong” - This is how the victory is won

Today at Holy Mass the theme of temptation was addressed…We hear in the Gospel of St Matthew that Jesus was tempted three time in desert by the devil….Jesus was God and he was tempted - That should tell us a few things - For one, temptation is very real and so is the devil….Second, if Jesus was tempted - How much more will we be tempted?…..”At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread”….Notice, when Jesus was hungry (i.e. in need) the devil appeared…..The same situation will happen to us….The devil does not sleep, he is also highly intelligent and knows every one of our weakness….The devil waits patiently to strike and when we are “in need”, that is the most opportune time to strike….So the question is - How do we combat this ancient foe?…..For one, we have to have “eyes to see”…..The devil does not come at us as a man with red horns on his head and a tail as he is portrayed in cartoons…The devil is crafty and only if we are in the state of grace will we “see” as we should…..God’s grace “opens our eyes” to sin….When we are living in the state of grace, we see “the potholes” in the road before we fall into them…That is the first step when it comes to resisting the temptations of the devil - “Seeing” the temptations for what they are!…..Today, good has been labeled as bad and conversely - Bad is viewed as good….Our people do not “see” properly and are easy targets for the devil……What else can we do to resist the devil?…….Ask yourself this question - Do we rely on our own strengthen or do we “put on the armor of God” as St Paul tells us?…..Sanctifying grace strengthens the human will to resist temptation….And living a Sacramental life elevates our human nature…When we graft our life into the life of Christ, we are fortified with “the tools” to resist temptation…But if we are foolish and think by and through our own strength we can resist temptation without God - We are finished…..The devil is infinitely more powerful than any human being!…But when we stand with God and Our Lady - The devil is powerless….What else can we do?……Remember this helpful saying - “Its easier to avoid temptation then to resist it”…We all have weakness - And if we know ourself well and know what sins we have an inclination towards the most, its better to avoid those situations…..What else is a good “tool” to help us resist temptation? - Strive to develop the virtue of humility…The devil does not know how to be humble and he preys on those who are full of pride…As St Paul instructs us….“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong”….The biggest mistake was can make, right from the start is to think the devil is not real - Because if we do - We are finished…The devil and evil are very real…But Jesus Christ conquered death and he has given us all “the tools” (through the one Church he founded) that we need to be victorious over our struggles with the world, the flesh and the devil.

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

Before I was married I served with the Missionaries of Charity in New York City as their driver for seven years every weekend…During the course of that time I got to know a man by the name of Errol…..Errol for years lived on the street, he was an alcoholic…He told me when he lived on the street, he lived on cheap Chinese food and vodka…..Due to his bad lifestyle, Errol acquired AIDS and found himself living in the HIV Hospice for men run by Mother Teresa’s sisters - For a few years Errol live there and one day at a time rebuilt his life - He stayed away from alcohol and developed slowly a relationship with God…..After a while, he moved out of the hospice into his own apartment in Brooklyn and was doing good…..Until he met a young woman, who moved in with him and before you know it, he was drinking again…..Due to all the damage he did to his body over the years he spent living on the street and drinking…It did not take long before his bad habits returned - And Errol was found dead in less than six months……Notice! - How as soon as Errol “opened the door” to sin by living with a woman outside of wedlock, the devil swooped in for the kill….Sin starts off slow and builds upon itself….This is why we first must “see” sin for what is, from the start, and keep the “door” to sin shut!

“Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him”

Today at Mass we hear a story that most of us are very familiar with - The story of Jesus going into the desert to fast and confronting the devil….Lent is a time when we come face to face with ourself…..If we take the forty days of Lent seriously, we will see just how “attached” we are to certain behaviors - Even some behaviors we “think” are harmless…..And through our sacrifices made during this sacred time, God will show us that not only is His grace very real but grace is all we need to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil - We realize this, believe it or not, by becoming vulnerable as a result of our fasting - And when we are vulnerable, we cling to God - In this state, God’s helping hand becomes very clear to us - And in turn, our faith will grow!…..Over the many years, I have found Lent to be extremely beneficial to my spiritual growth…..Forty days of fasting is a kind of “training ground” to prepare us for “the battle” that is ahead….Notice how Jesus went into the desert and fasted for forty days before he entered Jerusalem and underwent his passion….While our “mission” is very different from Jesus Christ, we too must prepare!….No matter what our vocation is, we must deepen our interior life in order to be successful in completely what God has given us to accomplish in our life time…If we think we are going to live as God intended us to live as Catholics, rely solely upon our own strength and talents - Think again!….We must follow the example of Jesus and prepare! - And Lent is a time of preparation - A time for us to learn not only about our self but about how God will come to our aide with His grace…..”For when I am weak, then I am strong” - This is how the victory is won……………..JMJ