Then “Blessed are you!” - “For your reward will be great in heaven”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Matthew the parable of the Sower and the Seed…..We are assured that if we “adhere to the vine - we will bear fruit” - Jesus himself tells us this….So what stops us from doing what Jesus tells us?…St Matthew in this parable today tells us the answer to that question…..”When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit”……….The road to Jesus Christ is narrow!!!! - And to walk it means we will “walk against the tide” in this world - Are you willing to walk this path?….This is what St Matthew is attempting to articulate to us…Its easy to accept the word of God when everything is going smoothly - But what happens when we are rejected, even persecuted because of being a Catholic? - What then?…American Christianity tells us we can have both - God and the world - This is a self delusion and a lie!….Jesus himself tells us…..”No one 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”…And this is why people “fall away” for God….Jesus again is VERY clear…“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.”…However, after making this statement, Jesus follows up with this - “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”….Catholics MUST be willing to “lose their life” for God - Now that does not mean we will die a martyrs death but it does mean we give Jesus all our hopes and dreams - That we bend our will until it breaks - That we surrender our entire life and put it at the service of God - Sadly, when we do this - The secular world will in many ways reject you but here is the “good news” - God will embrace you!…There are only two options - Pick one!…….This is the path to heaven - The “narrow road” - Are we willing to walk it?…..St Matthew today tells us what happens if we chose to walk this “narrow road” - “But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold”……Those who have ears - Let them hear!

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

Most people will tell you, who live their lives through a Catholic lens, that many of the people who once “knew them” before they made this life altering decision think they are crazy! - Some outright reject you…..When a person makes the choice to follow God seriously, sadly, they lose friends - Even members of their family can distance themselves from a serious Catholic….Jesus tells us this in the pages of Scripture…..”Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved”…..So why should we be surprised when this happens?……..When I returned home from college, I went to a Sacramental Confession and began my life as a practicing Catholic at twenty-two years old - That was over thirty years ago….Before that time I lived a very worldly life and my friends were just like me - Drinking too much alcohol and doing everything that goes along with such a depraved lifestyle….But after my decision to live as a Catholic - Many people, who I was friends with for many years, no longer wanted to be in my company - Some even thought I was crazy…..So when I talk about being rejected because of our Catholic faith - I am speaking from experience!…Everything Jesus warned us about is true!!! - Because it happened to me….But like St Matthew tells us…….”But whoever endures to the end will be saved”……Only by living a life of daily prayer, fasting and frequent reception of the Sacraments will you persevere when “times get tough” - And guess what? - They will get tough!

“Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, proclaim it on distant isles, and say: He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together, he guards them as a shepherd his flock”

Today at Mass we hear a parable many of us have heard time and time again since we were children - And because we know this story - Ask yourself the question - Which “seed” are you?…The one that “bears fruit” or the one that “dies”?…..A good priest once told me - “No one just floats into heaven” - What does that mean? - It means that we ALL must make a deliberate choice to live our Catholic faith seriously….And when we do, we must cling too Christ because the secular world will “attack us” in many ways…..This is why Jesus tells us - The road to heaven is “narrow” - And he was not lying!!!!…..To live as a Catholic boldly in this world in the public square is not an easy thing to do….In fact, when Jesus gave his first disciples the teaching of the Beatitudes, he addressed this idea, which I am attempting to articulate in this reflection…..”Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.  Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you”…..Are you willing to be persecuted? - Are you willing to be insulted? - Are you willing to be slandered falsely?….If you are - Then “Blessed are you!” - “For your reward will be great in heaven”…..JMJ

Rinse - Wash - Repeat!

Today in the first reading from Holy Mass the Prophet Jeremiah tells the story of how God gave the Israelites everything and they squandered it…Never under estimate your human nature!!!……..The devil prowls the earth seeking the ruin of souls - YOUR SOUL…The devil is smarter then you and knows ALL your weakness…….Why bring this up?…Because no matter who you are - We MUST stay close to Christ and the Sacraments……If we rely on our own gifts and strength, the devil will eventually “find a way” to unsettle us…..This is why Jesus founded a Church - So we can feed on his body and blood - So we can reconcile our sins to God…..Again, we can not self manufacture sanctity….Jeremiah tells us today that the Israelites - ”Dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water”…This is what we see today across the once Christian West - The secular world putting its trust in men - In politics - In material wealth…All these “things” will fail us!!! - They have failed us!!!!….…History proves this reality time and time again however, human beings never learn the lesson….Only a life grounded in God lasts - Only a life grounded in God bears fruit that will last……The secular world refuses to acknowledge this reality and in doing so, costly mistakes repeat themselves over and over again

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

One of the most prophetic statements, for anyone who pays attention to politics in America, comes from the Old Testament and the Book of Samuel….The Jewish people at one time did not have a King - God was their King - They had judges to settle disputes and God’s law was the guiding principal everyone followed - And as a result - The Jewish people thrived…Sadly, as time went on, outside influences corrupted the Israelites and because of this - They drifted from God - And wanted to be like other nations and have a King…The Prophet Samuel tried to warn them - But they did not listen………Today the Catholic warns America of the same forms of corruption….But we as a people do not listen…We vote for abortion on demand - Same Sex Marriage is legal from coast to coast - Forever wars take place no matter who the President is - No fault divorce is common place and memorialized in our laws - Usury is the primary source of American wealth……..How can God bless this nation when we have turned our backs to him? - All the while, the Catholic Church, like the Prophet Samuel, has warned the American people for years!!!…So how will this all end? - The same way it ended for the Israelites…God will cast us out into the “desert” - And through our period of suffering a “remnant” will emerge…..Once again - History repeats itself

“Samuel delivered the message of the LORD in full to those who were asking him for a king. He told them: “The governance of the king who will rule you will be as follows: He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariot. He will appoint from among them his commanders of thousands and of hundreds. He will make them do his plowing and harvesting and produce his weapons of war and chariotry. He will use your daughters as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will tithe your crops and grape harvests to give to his officials and his servants. He will take your male and female slaves, as well as your best oxen and donkeys, and use them to do his work. He will also tithe your flocks. As for you, you will become his slaves. On that day you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you on that day.”

Rinse - Wash - Repeat!…………JMJ

Our life “begins” on the “other side” of this change - When we touch “lightning”

Today the Universal Church commemorates the life of Mary Magdalene, who Catholic tradition calls the apostle to the apostles……The life of Mary Magdalene should serve as an example of how Christ can transform a person into a new creation…Scripture tells us that Mary Magdalene was a woman possessed by seven demons…But somehow she was able to change - What about us?…..Nothing is impossible for God and even the worst person we have ever encountered in life can change…But how?….Only God can change people - We “think” we can people and sadly we try to change people all the time - This is a waste of time!…All we as Catholics can do is give a grace filled witness to the world - That witness must be consistent - Day in and Day out - And if we do this - In time - The Holy Spirit works in the hearts of the people close to us - And some of those people, by God’s grace will change, as a result of the Holy Spirit, not us…If you look closely at Catholic social media today, which I do because of my role as a co-host of a Catholic radio show in New York - People are constantly trying to “change others” - I know this because I was one of those people!…But I have learned that changing others is impossible - Our “job” is to change ourself…With that said - The closer we get to Christ, the more others will be attracted to us - And the more we witness a life of holiness - The world around us will be transformed….Mary Magdalene was truly transformed - And as a result her life’s witness shook the foundations of the world….This is the impact of a saint….And each baptized Catholic is called to be saint - Why do we “sell ourselves short”? - Aspiring for material things and achievements that in the end will mean nothing…..Inside of each of us is a saint - It should be our number one priority to become who we were ALL born to be - A saint!

“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come”

When a man becomes the Pope, he takes a new name - There is great symbolism in that new name - The Pope is now beginning something completely new in his life….The same goes for Catholics when we receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, we take a new name - Why? - Again, because something new is about to begin on our life…..Scripture tells us….”I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh”…..This is a process that does not happen over night - Have we started this much needed process?…..Before we stand before God, our hearts must be purified…This happens as we live now but if we do not complete what needs to be completed, the remaining “work” is done in Purgatory……When I was a young man I was a very different person then who I am now…..The people I lived with in college and were at the time very close to me, seem to me a stranger now….One of my roommates from college recently passed away…I lived with Jude for three years and he was a big part of my young life….Because of his death, a number of people from my university got together to celebrate Jude’s life…..I attended this event with my youngest son Gerard….Seeing and speaking with the people I once knew at this event was a strange experience - We no longer had much in common and frankly I felt like a stranger among people I once knew very well…..This is what happens when we give our life to God - We change!……”So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come”……Our world today lives under a great misconception - We do not just “float” into heaven when we die - We must be transformed and in order to be transformed - We must cooperate with Sacramental grace….God will not force us to change - We must desire it and when we desire it, we must strive each and every day to “carry our cross”, allowing God to work in our life….Mary Magdalene is a great example of this…And if I were to be honest, so am I, while not a saint like Mary Magdalene…God took a “wild young man”, who was always the life of the party, caught up in nothing but himself and God transformed that man - That young man was me!

“I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them. You will live in the land I gave to your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your impurities. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful; I will not send famine against you. I will increase the fruit on your trees and the crops in your fields so that you no longer endure reproach from the nations because of famine. Then you will remember your evil behavior and your deeds that were not good; you will loathe yourselves for your sins and your abominations. Not for your sake do I act—oracle of the Lord GOD. Let this be known to you! Be ashamed and humbled because of your behavior, house of Israel. Thus says the Lord GOD: When I cleanse you of all your guilt, I will resettle the cities and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be tilled—once a wasteland in the eyes of every passerby. They will say, “This once-desolate land has become like the garden of Eden. The cities once ruined, laid waste and destroyed, are now resettled and fortified.”

The life of Mary Magdalene should inspire us…..She is an example of the transforming power of God….If we read the lives of the saints, there are many examples similar to Mary Magdalene…The saints are people who encountered the “Living God” and because of that encounter - They radically changed…..If we are honest, that is something we all must experience, an encounter with the “Living God”….Until we know deep within our hearts that God is real - That Jesus is fully present in the Blessed Sacrament - Our Catholic faith in many ways is just about “ticking boxes” - We simply go through the motions…..But when we encounter the Lord - Everything changes….The great Boston College philosopher Peter Kreeft wrote a book entitled “Jesus Shock”, in it this is what he wrote….“If anyone claims to have met Him without being changed, he has not met Him at all. When you touch Him, you touch lightning”….Have you touched “lightning” yet? - That is the question! - Because if you have, you know it - And you are changed as a result…..Mary Magdalene experienced such an encounter with this so-called “lightning” Peter Kreeft wrote about in his book - Have you?…….If you have not changed your life know right now - Something is missing!……Our life “begins” on the “other side” of this change - When we touch “lightning”……..JMJ

Set the world on fire

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew Jesus asks a question to the crowd that followed him….“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”…..He asks the same question today to us…..Jesus established one Church - The Catholic Church…This is an undeniable fact…The Catholic Church existed 400 years before there was even a Bible and when the Bible was put together, it was the Catholic Church who complied it…..But sadly, even within the Catholic Church today people ask the same question that Jesus raised today in the Gospel - “Who are my brothers?”….While everything that the Catholic Church teaches is written down - Very clearly I might add - People within the Church argue and bicker about what is authentic….Funny how the human mind works!…..For purposes of this reflection - I will try to answer this question - “Who are my brothers?”……The Catholic Church contains the fullness of Truth, which means as Catholics we MUST believe everything the Church teaches and live our life through the lens of those teachings…But that is not all - We must also strive to purify our hearts daily because a pure heart is a heart that is full of love of God and love of neighbor….That means if we profess to believe everything that the Church teaches to be the Truth but our hearts are not full of love - Sadly - We are NOT brothers of Jesus Christ…..The same goes if we distort the Truth taught by the Church in the name of “love” - Such an approach also falls short of the question asked by Jesus today - “Who are my brothers?”……..When the secular world witnesses authentic Catholicism - Trust me - Heads are turned and traffic stops!……How do I know this? - Because I have encountered holy people in my life - Specifically speaking, when I worked with Mother Teresa’s nuns actively for seven years in New York, Haiti and India - There I witnessed faith in action - A religious order who believes everything the Church teaches, lives those teachings with their lives and possess love in their heart for both God and neighbor….This is the witness the world needs and this witness addresses the questions asked by Jesus today - “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”....There is no Truth without love and so called  “love” falls short if it lacks the fullness of Truth.

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

The Catholic Church teaches that in order to consume the Blessed Sacrament at Mass, we must be in the state of grace…This teaching is biblical as well as clearly documented in the Catechism…Yet - Somehow, this teaching has become unclear to some….Trying to “side-step” this teaching in the name of being “pastoral” or in the name of “accompaniment” falls short and does not bear fruit for the Kingdom of God - It is also objectively a sin…..We can not call such false practices, (even if they are well-intentioned) love either……If we love someone, we tell them the Truth…That does not mean we are mean-spirited when we tell them the Truth - But if we conveniently “leave parts of the Truth out” or we intentionally speak in ambiguous terms about the Truth - We can not honestly say we love that person….Jesus never did this and nor can we…The voice of the Catholic Church MUST be clear, but it also MUST come from a place of love…God sees the human heart - He knows our intentions…..When the secular world witnesses a Church that embraces the fullness of Truth in love - The world may not agree with us - But trust me - The world will take us seriously!….And in the process, many will experience a change of heart - Because authentic Catholicism sets the world on fire.

“As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs. Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance”

Today Jesus challenges us….“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”…In our hearts I believe we all know the answer to those questions….The challenge comes more from living out the answers in real time….Such an authentic lifestyle requires grace, which produces courage….An authentic Catholic stands out from the crowd - No words are necessary to tell the world around us that we are Catholic when we are authentically living out our Catholic faith - The secular world knows this with one glance…This is the witness our world needs to see…Its not just a matter of “going to Church on Sunday” - Its what we do the rest of the week…Are all our choices, most especially how we spend our money and what we do in our bedroom - Are these choices guided by Church teaching?…Do we share our resources with the material poor? - Are we open to life from conception to natural death? - Do we use contraception in our marriages?……The answer to these questions tell us a lot - They also tell the world around us a lot…..Our world today will not be transformed by a form of “counterfeit Catholicism”…..People believe what they see….And when they see the “real deal” - They know it…….“Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother”…….These are the people who set the world on fire - And this is what we are called to do - Set the world on fire……..JMJ

No sign is necessary - What is necessary is repentance

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew, people ask Jesus for a sign…Jesus tells them that no sign will be given - That they have the word of God and the prophets….Notice - This is the same response given by Father Abraham in the story of the rich man and Lazarus…..”Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment. ’But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’”……..This message applies to us to this very day as well…People today say they want a “sign” to prove that the Catholic faith is what it says it is……And no sign will be given! - Why? - Because no sign can change our heart…The Truth is the Truth - It stands on its own merit……We either accept it or we do not…. No sign can change us because sadly the secular world does not want to change….To accept Christ and the fullness of the Truth, which is contained in the Catholic Church requires us to have a teachable spirit and a wellness to bend our will to God’s will…No sign can make that happen!….A certain internal disposition must be in place and a willingness to conform our life to the life of Christ….In our Gospel story today, Jesus is asking the crowd to repent - He is asking the world today to do the same thing!…He tells the crowd that…”At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here”…What is this “something” that Jesus refers too?…..It’s his very presence!…..Today we too have his True Presence in the Blessed Sacrament….All we have to do is sit before him and listen in silence…Everything we need to know will be told to us in the silence as we sit before the Blessed Sacrament…..That is why no physical sign is necessary.

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

On October 13 1917, tens of thousands of people witnessed in Portugal the sun dancing in the sky…This miracle was attributed to Our Lady’s apparition to three peasant children at Fatima….When the sun appeared to moving erratically in the sky and was about the crash to the earth, secular newspapers reported on it - So look it up!….Yet, did the secular world change as a result of this sign?…..Sadly it did not….Let’s take it even further…One of the messages of Fatima was for the world to pray the Rosary daily for peace….Allow me to ask another question…After this “sign”, do all Baptized Catholics today heed the words of Our Lady and pray the Rosary daily?….Sadly they do not…..This is why Jesus in the Gospel told the crowd that “no sign will be given”…..Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John a similar encounter with those who did not believe his words….”So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?  If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me”……In order to “hear his voice”, we must first repent of our sins…..This is why John the Baptist proclaimed these famous words…”Repent - The kingdom of God is at hand”…The words of Christ will never make sense to us if we first do not repent of our sins - That also goes for the fullness of Truth taught by the Catholic Church….We need to confess our sins!!!!…If we do not, we will never understand the words of Christ…..And no sign can change that….Only a Sacramental Confession can!

“Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, Though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?”

Today in the Gospel people are looking for a sign from Jesus to prove he is who he says he is…And people today are looking for a sign as well - Thinking that somehow witnessing a miracle will change them - Not going to happen!…..Jesus tells us that he is - The Truth, The Life and The Way - Why do some people believe that and others do not? - It all comes down to acknowledging our sins and repenting before God….If we repent of our faults, weakness and sins…God will give us the grace to believe….Our hearts must be prepared to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit….Our world today refuses to repent - That is the obstacle - Our refusal to REPENT!….And this is why Jesus tells us today in the Gospel the same thing he told the crowds of his day…..“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here”….Repent and Believe the Gospel - In that order!…..No sign is necessary - What is necessary is repentance……JMJ

Trust the plan and be apart of the solution

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew we hear the parable about the wheat and the weeds…How God allows the good and the bad to live side by side until the final judgement…..Is this how you or I would react - To allow the bad to live next to the good?…..From a human prospective, this seems unfair….Why? - Because bad people cause us harm and we all want to live comfortable lives…..God sees it another way - Those who choose bad things have free will - They can always change their mind and become good…Also, the “bad fruit” that results from the evil choices of people will be used to further sanctify the good…..God is our Father and will NEVER abandon us…Even as our world appears to have gone mad! - Our Lord stand with us…..In the midst of the darkness of this world, it is very easy to forget that Jesus Christ has already won the final victory….What we see currently is the devil’s last attempts before “the final whistle blows”……Two thousand years ago, when Jesus resurrected from the dead, the period referred to by many today as “the end times” began - We too easily lose sight of this reality….With that said, no one knows when God the Father will send his son back to us…In the meantime, its for us to be patient - To know that God is working to bring about the salvation of the world and each of us has a part to play in God’s plan….St Paul reminds us  - “Where sin abounds - Grace abounds all the more”!......So be patient….Endure what needs to be endured…Everything works towards the Greater Glory of God - Trust the plan!

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

No one wants to suffer but sadly suffering is apart of every human life…As we go through difficult moments in life, its very hard to see God’s hand at work…But when those tough times are over and we look back - We sometimes see just how God used those hard times to mold us into a different person….A person we were born to be…..The process of sanctification is not a smooth one, there are many “ups and downs” as we all know…..The secular world does not understand this….To many American Christians - All we have to do is “believe” in Jesus and heaven is a guarantee….This has never been a Catholic teaching and is a deception sown into the hearts of many by the evil one…..Before we enter into the beatific vision, we must be made pure….Most of the ‘heavy lifting” of that process should be going own now in our lives….As we live our lives as Catholics, in the state of life God called us too, we should be praying, fasting, and living a Sacramental life - And slowly as we live our faith actively, we die to our self and become a “new creation in Christ”….Again, this is a process , which for most will continue after we die in Purgatory…..Part of that “process” of sanctification is suffering……This is what Mother Teresa had to say about suffering….“Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, suffering are but the kiss of Jesus - a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you”…What does she mean by that statement?…..That even in our trials and sufferings, God’s hand is forming us….Using the suffering as a “tool” to mold us into something new…No one wants to suffer but when we realize that even in our trials, God is working within us - When we fully digest that reality, we can and will endure whatever we need to endure!….It comes down to trust - Do we trust God? - And know in this life, in time, the hard times will pass - And the good times will come….We just need to learn to trust more, which requires grace….The more we grow in holiness, the more grace fills our life…And the closer we get to God, the more we accept the hard times in life just as easily as we accept the good times - Because everything works for the Glory of God! - Easier said then done - Right?!?….In the meantime, open yourself up to God’s grace - He will help us to “see” his hand, even in the darkest of hours and move us forward to the light of day.

“Brothers and sisters: The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.  And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the holy ones according to God's will”

Today we hear a story many of us Catholics have heard before…The parable of the wheat and the weeds…..Life is full of surprises and sometimes “the weeds” in time change into “wheat”….God gives us all free will and we all choose the life we want to lead…But through it all God is continuously trying to “get our attention”….Reaching a hand to us, in the hope we change….For those of us who are “wheat” - Its our job to help the “weeds”….This is what Jesus did - He walked among mankind and did his very best to help us to “see” and to change….Is this what we are doing? - Trying to help our others to “see” that there is a better way to live…God’s plan of salvation is not finished and God asks us all to participate in that plan - We each have something to do to help bring about God’s Kingdom on the earth….Is this how you “see” it as you encounter “the weeds” on the news or even in your family?…..Do we love “the weeds” as Jesus loves them?…Are we actively trying to help “the weeds”?……Jesus very clearly today in the Gospel tells us - “Let them grow together until harvest”…..God is the final judge, not us! - In the meantime, strive to be “wheat” and help those who are “the weeds”…Because a day is coming when “the Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear”……Trust the plan and be apart of the solution….JMJ

”I must decrease - And He must increase”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in St Matthew Gospel how Jesus withdraw from sight of the Pharisees, due to the fact that they wanted to do him harm…And as he moved to the margins of the city, the people followed him….And St Matthew tells us….”And he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known”……..Jesus was not “in it” for fame….Everything he did was for the Father….But his compassion for those who suffer was once again brought before our eyes….”He cured them all”……To love someone means you are willing to suffer for them - You see their need and you put upon yourself what ever needs to be done to alleviate that need…..The words of the  Prophet Isaiah come to mind when pondering this idea….”Yet it was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured. We thought of him as stricken, struck down by God and afflicted, But he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, all following our own way; But the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. Though harshly treated, he submitted and did not open his mouth; Like a lamb led to slaughter or a sheep silent before shearers, he did not open his mouth”…..Our world today rejects suffering - Something that is apart of every human life - Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church give meaning to suffering….Our world today says “Love is Love” - But does our world even know what love is? - Love is to suffer for another…To give of yourself at a great cost…This is what Jesus did for all of humanity…But this is also what married love is all about…A man and a woman suffer for each other and their children…They give of their self…This is why marriage needs to be lived Sacramentally…Because without Sacramental grace - That needed “giving of self” does not take place - And selfishness creeps in destroying the love that once was there……..Jesus cured those in the crowd noted today in St Matthew’s gospel because he authentically loved them - And because Jesus loved his people - He payed a deep cost as we all know - He gave his life…..As Catholics today, we may not be asked to literally give our physical life for the faith - But each of us is called to love authentically - And to do that, we must endure suffering for those we say we love…..”Love” is nothing but a mere word unless we are willing to endure suffering for those we “say” we love….This is why “Love is NOT Love” - To contradict the popular saying often repeated in mainstream society…..Love gives of itself completely for the other and in that witness, the world is changed forever, both individually and universally.

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope”

My wife and I have been married for thirteen years…We have five children born and we lost three to miscarriages…..Our days are very long…Why do we do it?…The answer - Because we love God and love each other!……And because God love us, he shows us through the Sacrament of Marriage how to love authentically…In doing so and living this vocation out, we die to our self, are filled with the Holy Spirit and are sanctified in the process….All part of God’s plan - To prepare us for heaven……..When my youngest daughter Maria was three years old, she had an to have her appendix taken out, which required emergency surgery…She spent five days and nights in the hospital…During that time my wife and I had to stay in the hospital with her…My wife would stay all day and I would take care of the other four children…And at night, I would stay with Maria…This was a very difficult week…Life kept moving along at a hectic pace, and in the meantime, we had to take care of our little Maria…This is just one example of what married life is all about - Making deep sacrifices for others - This is what authentic love is all about too…Its not some “Hollywood movie”, which portrays “love” as some “fairytale”….Love is demanding! - But when we give ourselves to it - We “find out” who we truly are - And we are transformed….The question then becomes - Are we willing to love in this manner?…..Our world today, believe it or not, “thirsts” for sacrificial love - It just does not realize it….When the secular world witnesses “this kind love” - Its stunned!!!! - And many are (and will be) transformed by that witness…This is the task of every Baptized Catholic - To witness sacrificial love….No words necessary - Just action grounded in Sacramental grace….And watch how the world changes!

“You do see, for you behold misery and sorrow, taking them in your hands. On you the unfortunate man depends; of the fatherless you are the helper”

Today we hear in the Gospel how Jesus took the time to cure those who were suffering….His eyes were open to the need of others…..How about us - Do we “see” this need?…..Sometimes it’s easier to “see” the need to help others who are not close to us…Mother Teresa would always say….”Find your own Kolkata - Serve the “poor” in your family”…..As Catholics the closer we get to God, the more our eyes will “see” this great need….First for our spouse and children and then for our neighbors around us….And in order to address this “need”, we must be willing to sacrifice, which entails suffering…This is what the world refuses to do - Suffer for another…But this is the path to eternal life….Some questions to consider - Do we share a portion of our money consistently with the materially poor?….Are we open to life in our marriage, refusing to use contraception, and providing for those children by living simply?…These are just two examples of deep sacrifices we as Catholics are called to make….And when we live in this manner - What do we get in return? - The answer is - We get Jesus Christ!!!!!…..If we want to receive Christ authentically, we must first empty ourselves and God gives us plenty of opportunities to do that each day no matter who we are - Its then up to us to take advantage of those opportunities….”Therefore I will give him his portion among the many, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because he surrendered himself to death, was counted among the transgressors, Bore the sins of many, and interceded for the transgressors”….As the great John the Baptist said so eloquently….”I must decrease - And He must increase”…….JMJ