“God never takes away anything that He doesn’t replace with Himself.”

“To sin is a human business, to justify sins is a devilish business”: Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy: (1828 – 1910: was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time.)

Gospel Text: (MT 11:25-30)

At that time Jesus exclaimed:

"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.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father.

No one knows the Son except the Father,

and no one knows the Father except the Son

and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for yourselves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

The world today rejects the Church because it has already rejected Christ. There can be no fraternity between the world and the Church. We must make a choice. It will be either the Church or the world, but not both. "One cannot serve both God and mammon. He will love one and hate the other. He will serve one and despise the other."

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once wrote, "If you do not live the way you believe, then you will believe the way that you live." If you are not fully committed to the way of life mapped out for us in the Holy teachings of the Church, then you will soon find yourself opposing them — and that is a huge problem for the Church today — lukewarm Catholics, those who vacillate between the Church and the world.

Pope Francis has told us this himself. In a recent homily at the Santa Marta residence, he told those attending Mass, "You are hurting the Church if you are lukewarm. ... Such Christians do great harm because their Christian witness is a witness which ultimately disseminates confusion, disseminates a negative witness. These are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold. ... Our Lord says in the end times that he will vomit such people out of his mouth."  

The time for choosing is now. Whom will you serve? Today I leave you with the words of our Patriarch, Joshua, who said to the Israelites thousands of years ago, "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD ... choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."