”In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God”….The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away…So be it!

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from there Book of Job…For those who do not know this story…Job had everything and he was a faithful servant of the Lord….The story today begins with God and Satan having a conversation…..And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming the earth and patrolling it." And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job”….To sum up the conversation…God tells Satan how Job is so faithful but Satan says the only reason Job is so faithful is because his life is so good…Job had everything…So Satan tells God…Take everything from him and he will turn on you…God replies……"Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand upon his person." So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD”……..So as the story goes, Job has everything taken from him…His wealth, his children, his home…Everything!….And when it was all said and done Job said these words…."Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I go back again. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!” In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God”…..So the questions for us today are…Are we detached from the good things of this world?……Do we ground our life upon the “gifts” and not upon the “giver of the gifts”?…….All things will pass away! - But our soul is immortal…Do we “get lost” and lose focus on what should be our primary goal - To get to heaven?…..Do we live solely for the “things of this life and give lip service to the things of heaven”….If we do…We fall into the trap set for us by the devil…”You shall be like God”!

“The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many”

“For those who have been given much…Much will be expected”…Its very easy to get “caught up” in the many good things of this earth….An “easy life” can distract our attention away from God…..There is nothing wrong with wealth and a good life…Its how you use your wealth that determines whether we do the will of God or not…..Do we strive to simply acquire wealth and do not share it?….Do we use our wealth to serve mankind? - First for our family and then for those around us…These are the questions God will ask of us when we stand before him……..Speaking personally, there is nothing more impressive then to meet a very gifted person who uses their gifts to serve others as opposed to keep everything they have for themself - Such a life “screams” of Christ to the world!…I have met many people like that in my life……To tell you about one that comes to mind…..When I was traveling regularly to India I knew a Jesuit Priest from Canada who taught Philosophy at a University in Kolkata…His name was Father Lawrence Abello…Father Abello could have been one of the smartest people I have ever met…He spoke numerous languages, had two PhDs (one in Philosophy and one in Physics), was an inventor with two patents to his name…..If he was not a Catholic Priest there is no doubt in my mind he would have been a multi-millionaire…Instead, he used his gifts to serve the poor and educate others…His example greatly impacted my life…I think about him often…Fr Abello lived his vows of Poverty, Chasity, and Obedience until his death and his life was not easy - He reflected the life of Christ in a very real way….With all that said…Not all of us - Myself included, are as gifted as Fr Lawerence Abello…However, we are all called to use the gifts given to us to serve God and serve our neighbor…When we do this our life is filled with joy and peace…This is the secret to a good life….Those who share what has been given to them thrive!….They are a source of light to others…And those who do not share and view what has been given to them to be only for themself - Their hearts grow cold and everything they have is not appreciated and not enough…We were created to Love God….Serve God…And be with God for all eternity….When we view our life in that context…And share the gifts given to us, first with our family then with those around us….We become the people we were created to be….This is a counter-cultural way to live but make no mistake…Its the only way to live…The happiest people I have ever encountered will tell you…This is “their secret”…And to be honest with you…Its not a secret…God is real and when we do his will…Our life radiates joy and peace to the world!

“Incline your ear to me and hear my word”

Getting back to the first reading from Mass today….Job had everything taken from him…And as the story goes…..Job had more then most…But through it all Job understood that all the gifts given to him were not what was important….What was important was the giver of the gifts and how he used those gifts to serve God and others….This is easier said then done and can only be accomplished by developing a deep interior life and fostering a strong and personal relationship with God…We do that by daily prayer, weekly fasting, and living a Sacramental life….We need to “see” Christ in others…To truly “see” requires grace, it can not be self-manufactured…..But make no mistake…This kind of “sight” is very real…..In the case of Job…”The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away”…But Job did not lose focus…And nor should we…This life is nothing more then a journey back to God….And while we are on this earth, with the time we have been given, each of us as a purpose!….To use what was given to us for the greater glory of God……When we view life in this manner…We will be fulfilled and appreciate everything we have - Not wishing for anything more and be filled with joy and peace

“In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God”….The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away…So be it!

There is more rejoicing in heaven over the one lost sheep that was found then over the 99 that never were lost….Do we have this mindset?…Or do we simply want to “win an argument”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Mark….In the text St John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us." Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him”….Why would Jesus say that?……..Because there is only one Truth and Jesus loves everyone and so should we!…And if someone who “does not belong to our camp” speaks the Truth….We should have their back!!!!…Its interesting that human nature has not changed from Jesus’s time until now….Political identities, religious sub-groups; and cultural cliques focus on “winning arguments” as opposed to winning souls……There is only one “camp” and all are welcome into it…..The Truth is universal and is written upon the hearts of every human being…Jesus said very clearly…”Let the children come to me”…We should have the same philosophy…..I don’t care what “camp” you come from…If you speak and live the Truth….We fight the same fight…We stand shoulder to shoulder…..And what differences remain…God will take care of the rest in time…..If are hearts are focused on pursuing the Truth…..The Holy Spirit will “prune the branches that do not bear fruit” and nurture the branches that do

“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward”

Every Good Friday the Church prays for “people of good will”…What does that mean - “people of good will”?..It means that there are people who are not Catholic who are pursuing the Truth the best way they know how to pursue it….The Church prays for these people and so should we…Jesus Christ said very clearly…I am the Way…The Truth….And the Life…There are many reasons why people do not end up Catholic…How they were raised…Where they were raised…..Wounds that they may have suffered in life….So the Church in her wisdom prays for these souls publicly on one of the holiest days of the year - Good Friday….And as practicing Catholics who have been given the gift of our faith…Its for us not only to pray for people of good will but to encourage them to keep making steps forward towards God…Its not about “winning an argument” - Filling up with pride resting upon the fact that you are “right” - Who cares!!!!! …..You may “win” an argument but lose a soul…..And if souls are lost, everything is lost!…Jesus left the 99 in pursuit of the one lost sheep…And when the one lost sheep was found…There was more joy in heaven then over the 99 who were never lost…Do we have this mindset?

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”

In many circles of the Catholic world currently a word is thrown around a lot and I believe it is deeply misunderstood…That word is “accompaniment”….Its the idea to “walk” with a person who is not Catholic and through our “walk” they will come to the fullness of the faith……True accompaniment should NEVER water down or compromise the Truth, however it should not beat people over the head with the Truth either….It simply means we can for this point in time “agree to disagree” and still remain friends…It means that as a practicing Catholic I will pray for you, be a faithful friend and give you a good example, which will come from a well formed interior life of daily prayer, weekly fasting and living a Sacramental life…If I do “the job” that Jesus called me to do…In time and by my example…The Holy Spirit will speak gently to those outside the fold…We can not “change hearts”…So stop trying…But God can through our life’s example through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance”

Interestingly enough, the same conversation that took place in the gospel today from St Mark took place in the first reading from Mass from the Book of Numbers….In this reading Joshua tells Moses that two guys who “did not belong in their camp” were speaking the Truth and Joshua had a problem with that…Moses had to set Joshua straight!…..”But Moses answered him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!”……The Truth is the Truth!…….Moses was spot on!……..Remember what Jesus said…”Let the children come to me”….There is more rejoicing in heaven over the one lost sheep that was found then over the 99 that never were lost….Do we have this mindset?…Or do we simply want to “win an argument”

We do not have to “understand” everything…All things will be revealed in time

Today at Holy Mass in the gospel of St Luke Jesus continues his conversation with his 12 friends about who he really is and what his fundamental purpose was…To die for the sins of the world….“Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men”…The apostles either did not want to believe what Jesus said or simply did not understand what he was talking about…..”But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it”……..Faith is not about having “all the answers”…Its believing in what is beyond our capacity to understand…Who can understand fully how a man can die and rise from the dead?…..This is beyond the greatest of minds to ever have existed…Yet billions upon billions of people both living and who have died believe this……We must stop trying to “understand” everything…..Faith is a gift and God in many ways is a mystery….We are reminded of this in the fifth decade of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary…In that decade Jesus is at the Temple as a young boy…He left his parents and sat with the teachers of the law and was missing for three days…..When Mary his Mother found him…This was the conversation….”When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them”……If Our Lady “did not understand” why Jesus did what he did…How are we to understand everything!…But that is ok…Mary teaches us again how to approach events and aspects of our faith that are a mystery to us……”He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart”…..Mary accepted the fact that she did not understand…And “kept everything in her heart”….And so must we…We must trust…We do not have to have all the answers but rest assured…God does have the answers and in God’s time…All things will be revealed

“Our Savior Christ Jesus destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel”

Looking back at our lives I am sure there were many events that when they took place in real time they may have been devastating….When these type of events took place…We felt lost…Did not understand…Were deeply disappointed…May have even been angry…But as the years go by and as the saying goes…Hindsight is 20-20…We come to understand in a deeper and different way how the outcome of tragedies come to impact us in a way that we never thought possible…I have met women in my life through the Church who have had abortions…One I know had two abortions…And because of the impact of their abortions on their life these women are now great defenders of life and devout Catholics….I have met drug addicts who because of the harm that they caused changed their life and now do amazing things in service of others who suffer from the same addictions they once suffered from themselves…I have met men who at one time were womanizers, focused on making money and chasing after all the "things of the world" only to fall into despair and from the depths of despair turn their life around and became Catholic Priests…..God works in mysterious ways!…And we will NEVER understand everything…So we should stop trying too…We need to learn to trust…..When Mother Teresa was a young girl she entered the convent at eighteen years old…At the age of nine Mother Teresa's father was murdered…Their family went from being very rich to very poor…When Mother Teresa left her home at eighteen, never to return again…Her mother told her something….”Put your hand into the hand of God and never let it go”…..This is what we must do to!…Like a blind man who has his hand upon the shoulder of a man who can see everything and is guiding us”…We need to trust in the one who sees and stop thinking we see and know everything - Because we do not and never will!…..God will guide us along the road, through good times and bad times…..We do not have to “understand”…We simply need to trust!…We need to pray and do!

“You make an end of them in their sleep; the next morning they are like the changing grass, Which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades”

The first reading from Mass today is from the Book of Ecclesiastes…The reading talks about the various stages of ones life….”Rejoice, O young man, while you are young and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart”…..Life is not a sprint but a marathon…..And the “road” takes many twists and turns….There will be times we simply “do not understand”…But that is ok…Our Lady, as perfect as she was did not fully understand when she found her young son speaking to the teachers of the law after he disappeared for three days leaving her and Joseph her husband terrified…But Our Lady trusted….She put her hand into the hand of the Lord and never let it go….This is what we must do….Never let it go!…We do not have to “understand” everything…All things will be revealed in time

Our world needs to witness sacrificial love…”Love is not Love” if it does not cost us

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the gospel of St Luke Jesus telling his 12 friends that he will be brutally murdered….Jesus tells them this in the context of trying to explain that his death is at the core of who he is…The Suffering Servant…The first apostles struggled with his idea and frankly did not understand it…The question today is…Do we understand it?…..To be Catholic is to know the Truth….Speak the Truth…Live the Truth…Now here is the “rub”….And to suffer for the Truth…The last part of that statement we want no part of!…..But to suffer for the Truth is exactly what Jesus did…By suffering for the Truth he turned defeat into victory…He defeated death itself!…And if we are to follow in his footsteps as all Catholics are called to do…We too must suffer for the Truth and in doing so we to will be victorious

“He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised”

There is nothing more powerful on this earth then the witness of sacrificial love…This is what love truly is all about…The witness of sacrificial love changes souls and moves hearts….To be rooted in the Truth and be willing to sacrifice for it at all costs is a witness that opens eyes…For love to be real, it must cost us!….I watch my wife each and everyday how she sacrifices for me and my family…She works her job from home…She does the shopping…She gets the kids ready for school…She does homework…She does the dishes and cooks meals….She cleans up…..And she rarely complains……The witness of wife is a powerful one….We all can tell our children many things but children like adults believe what they see…..Our world needs witnesses to the life and words of Christ…And that will not happen unless we are rooted in Sacramental grace, commit to daily prayer and weekly fasting - I repeat this “formula” often in these reflections….Why you may ask?…Because humanity, particularly Americans are far too reliant upon their own gifts, strengthen and self….We too easily forget that we all have a fallen nature…Are prone to sin…..Do sin….And even the most faithful and the strongest among us have limits…..In order to be the witnesses that will change the world…We need to develop a deep and profound interior life grounded in unmerited grace…From that interior life everything will flow…From the “small things” to the big things we do each and every day

“Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me”

Jesus in the gospel today asks his 12 friends something I think is rather odd….”Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”…These 12 men lived with Jesus, you would think they knew him…Jesus clearly saw that they were “missing it”…And guess what?…So do we!….We do not have all the answers and God who is the “potter” is molding us…The question becomes logically…Are you the “clay”?…Do you allow God to “mold” you by your everyday life?…Do you have a teachable spirit?…..Because like the first apostles….We do not have it all “figured out”…We are a “work in progress”…However as the great St Padre Pio rightfully stated….”If we are not going forward in our spiritual life, we are going backward”…..Having a teachable spirit is vital…And here is another thing…If you find yourself “seeing” something that others do not see…Just as Jesus was patient with his 12 friends…So must we be patient…St Paul tells us that very directly in scripture….”Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated…..It does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth……It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”…..The minute you “think” you have it all “figured out” God will show you just how weak and needy you are when it comes to doing and living the life Jesus called us to as baptized Catholics…..People don’t like to hear that…But it’s true…We all have a way to go!….And path is forward not backward…So keep stepping forward!

“The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many”

Getting back to our gospel from Mass today….Jesus continued to probe the hearts and minds of his 12 closest friends…He knew they did not fully understand…But he did not give up on them….We too most not give up on ourself or on others….And we also must not “think” we somehow have it all “figured out”…..We must be patient with those around us as Jesus is patient with us….Remember again the words of St Paul….”Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated….It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”…This is why as followers of Christ and as Catholics its not enough to know the Truth…Speak the Truth…Live the Truth…This is not enough!!!…We must also be willing to suffer for the Truth…..“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised”….Our world needs to witness sacrificial love…”Love is not Love” if it does not cost us

“What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Luke…..We are told that Herod, who we know to be a villain is somehow interested in what Jesus has to say……”Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see him”…The question one might ask is why would a man who opposed Christ in every way still be interested in hearing what he had to say?…You would think Jesus because of who he was and what he stood for would literally make Herod sick to his stomach…But that was not the case…Herod was interested in Jesus, yet he did not live by the words or follow the example of Christ in his day to day living…..There is something about the Truth that captivates us…Even when we “disagree” with it….Could it be that the Truth is written on our hearts only to be discovered?

“I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me”

We live in a pluralistic society…All kinds of people who live very different kind of lives…That is reality however there is a common thread that unites us all…We were all created by God…We were all born to love God, serve God and be with God for all eternity…Its for us to “discover” this reality but until we do…Like Herod, who lived a life, which opposed God in every way, there was that “something” in his heart that caused him to be interested in hearing and seeing what Jesus was doing…..Why?…Because Herod too was a child of God and even though he choose to turn from the ways of God, what was “written on his heart” could not be unwritten….This is what is commonly called in literature as “the Hound of Heaven”….God in effect “hounds” us…Calling us back to him when we stray…There is something in our very being that “knows” and “hears” the voice of our Father in heaven…Even when we oppose him with every word and action of our life….How do we reconcile this “inner voice” with a firm commitment to “change”?...How can God “break through” our harden hearts and “change our mind”?…….Words and arguments will never accomplish this…..We have to come to realize that we are loved…The word “love” gets thrown around way too much…When we encounter real and true love….The type of love God offers….Our world changes…..We are one Sacramental Confession away from that “change”

“Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days”

The “Herods” of the world come and go…We hear this in the first reading from Mass today from the Book of Ecclesiastes….”Nothing is new under the sun”……..However, while we still have breath in our body..Its for us to “hear” the voice of the “Hound of Heaven” and respond…While King Herod did not do that as the gospels tell us…Many do and respond in radical ways…..Because the Truth is written on each of our hearts…..The lives of the saints can demonstrate to us this reality if we read the accounts of their lives…… How many saints lived one way only to make a drastic change, due to an encounter they had with the living God……St Paul, St Francis, St Ignatius Loyola to name three…What caused the Truth to “break through”?…….In the case of St Paul, he was struck blind and “fell off his horse” only to hear the call of Christ to change…In the case of St Francis, he was tired of living a life of parties and riches all of which left him empty…In the case of St Ignatius Loyola..It took a cannon ball to shatter his leg and his dreams of being a great soldier and knight shattered with it only to discover the pursuit of God is the greatest "adventure" of all…What about you?…What will it take?…Make no mistake…God will not and does not give up on us…He is the “Hound of Heaven”…And like Herod in our gospel from Mass today…Even if we choose to turn from the will of God…To ignore his voice…..There is “something” in our hearts that keeps “pulling” at us…What will it take?…Only you can answer that…..We can not “unwrite” what has been written on every human heart

“What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun”

We “hear what our itchy ears want to hear”…What about you?…..The Kingdom of God is at hand…Maybe its time we reach out for “that hand”?

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading a passage from the Book of Proverbs….”Every word of God is tested”…What does that mean?….It means God has been around for a VERY long time…So has the Catholic Church…Many kingdoms, empires, powerful men have all come and gone…Yet God and the Catholic Church are still standing…Many powerful governments have attempted to topple the Church…The Roman Empire, Nazi Germany, Stalin’s USSR…To name three…All failed!…The Catholic Church outlasted them all….What should that tell you?…..I will let you answer that for yourself but in the mean time, lets listen to the very words of Jesus on the subject…..”And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”

“Remove from me the way of falsehood, and favor me with your law.”

In our first reading from Mass today…The Book of Proverbs goes on…..”Add nothing to his words, lest he reprove you, and you will be exposed as a deceiver”…There is a saying in Northern New Jersey where I live that people say all the time…”It is what it is”…..There are far too many people in the Christian world that take authority upon themselves and twist the words of God and the teachings of the Catholic Church…..”We hear what our itchy ears want to hear”…Jesus is God and he did not establish a Church to conform to the “times”…Why? - Because God is timeless!….As we just heard in the Book of Proverbs today…..”Every word of God is tested”…..”Add nothing to his words”…..That should tell you very clearly we are to conform to God…Not the other way around…Now as we all know that is not easily but the good news is Jesus through his Church gave us the “tools” to do it…The Sacraments, daily prayer and weekly fasting…Far too many people…Including many Catholics take for granted the power of these “tools”…Partly because they are not aware of the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist..Once you know Jesus is fully present…Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament…Everything changes!….And in turn…You change!…So the question is…How can we become aware of Jesus’s True Presence in the Blessed Sacrament?…The answer is found easier then you may think…Sit before the Consecrated Host in Eucharistic Adoration in silence and ask God to show you that Jesus is really there!…Guess what?…God loves you - And he will show you!…Make Eucharistic Adoration a weekly practice - Take the time - Make the time!

“The law of your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces”

In the Gospel from Mass today St Luke tells us….Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick”…Let’s point out a few aspects of this sentence…..Jesus gave his first apostles “Power and Authority”…That power and authority still rests in Catholic Priests today…It does not rest in me or you!….We can deny this all we want, that does not change the fact that only a Catholic Priest can consecrate mere bread and turn it into Christ’s very Presence…You don’t believe that?…Sit before a Consecrated Host in silence for 15 minutes and tell me what you feel both in your heart and in the room….Only a Catholic Priest can forgive sins….You don’t believe that?….When you do something that you know to be very bad…Go to confession with a Catholic Priest and tell me how you feel when the Priest absolves you of your sins…..That “feeling” is not some psychological fantasy…Its REAL!!!….That means the power and authority that Christ gave to his Church from the beginning still exists!……Why would you not avail yourself to this gift? Because it is a gift - Its free and it was given to us by Christ to both sanctify us and strengthen us as we journey towards heaven

“Your word, O LORD, endures forever; it is firm as the heavens”

Jesus walked the earth over 2000 years ago…He founded also a Church - He did not write a book and by the way, the Catholic Church compiled the books of the Bible 400 years after the death of Christ - Did you know that?….Many people in that time have come and gone in the 2000 years since Jesus ascended to into Heaven…..Many people have “written off” both Jesus and the Catholic Church right up until this very day…Some have even tried to destroy what cannot be destroyed……However, history is very clear - They all failed…Why is that?…Because as the Book of Proverbs tells us today….”Every word of God is tested”…Not only that but Jesus himself tells us something about the one Church he founded….”And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it”….With all that said…Mankind continues to deny what is written on our very hearts - Some even call it the Natural Law….We “hear what our itchy ears want to hear”…What about you?…..The Kingdom of God is at hand…Maybe its time we reach out for “that hand”?

“For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead”……This is where the “sheep are separated from the goats”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Luke…Jesus boils down what it means to be a Catholic in one sentence…To hear and then to act…..“My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it”…Somehow in our self-rationalizations we “think” we do not have to act on the words of Christ…..Its one thing to listen and its completely another thing to hear…When we hear something we digest the meaning deep within us and we make it our own…And then we act upon it…Do we do what Christ asked of us perfectly?…Of course not…We all have a fallen nature and are sinners by birth…But the question is…Do we aspire with our entire heart, soul, mind and all our strengthen to put Christ’s words into action in real time each and everyday?…Even when that may cost us?…There is the catch - As you know there is always a catch…Acting on Jesus words will cost us…Are we willing to accept the cost?…This is where the “rubber meets the road”…This is where the “sheep are separated from the goats”

“All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes, but it is the LORD who proves hearts”

There is a reason why the story of Adam and Eve is one of the first stories of the Old Testament…Their story plays out to this very day…Adam and Eve ate from the “Tree of Knowledge”…God said that he determines what is good and evil not Adam and Eve…By eating from the “Tree of Knowledge” they said to God by their actions…”No, I determine what is good and evil, not you”…..And once that happened the paradise, which Adam and Eve lived in was lost…So it is to this very day…We tell God the same thing…”I know what is best…I determine what is right and wrong for me, not you”…..Jesus addresses this mindset today in the gospel and tells us point blank..Its not enough to confess our belief in Christ with mere words…We have to act upon those words

“To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice”

As Catholics we are called to be open to life…When we are married in a Catholic Church by a Priest part of our wedding vows before God is to be open to children and raise them in the faith…That means VERY clearly we are not to use contraception…..Are you aware that Catholic couples that do not use contraception, go to Mass on Sunday and pray together only have a 3% divorce rate…..The facts are the facts - What I just told you is not some “dogma”, which is far too easily dismissed but social statistics, which should tell you everything you need to know…Yet still a large majority of Baptized Catholics choose to do it “their way”…Ignore their wedding vows and the result is over 50% of the time “their way” results in divorce - Again, social statistics that should tell you everything you need to know….When we choose that path, to "hear" but not act, we are echoing the actions of Adam and Eve…We are saying to God…..”I know better then you do”….And the outcome is exactly the same as the outcome of our first parents in the Garden of Eden…..Paradise lost!

“Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds”

Getting back to our Gospel today from Mass…Jesus tells us very clearly that hearing what he said is not enough…We have to act upon his words….In order to do this we need grace…And if we rely on our own strengthen we will surely fail…This is why Jesus gave us a Church…This is why Jesus gave us the Sacraments…This is why we must pray daily and fast weekly…These practices give us the needed grace to do what Jesus said…And not just give lip service to his words…..St James tells us very clearly in Scripture….”What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?…..For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead”……This is where the “sheep are separated from the goats”

People believe what they see…Let them see!

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Luke….In this text Jesus talks about the power of a Christian witness….“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lamp stand so that those who enter may see the light”…People believe what they see…And the witness of a holy life stops traffic!…..This can only happen if we empty our self and in turn are filled by the Holy Spirit…One can not self manufacture a Holy Life, as some believe…..You can not “read” your way to such a life…..Only by a life of sacrifice devoted to the Sacraments, daily prayer and weekly fasting can we give such a witness…This is the formula…The “blue-print” for a holy life…This is in the reach of us all…And if we choose to do this…We will surely be transformed in the process and in turn we will set the world on fire!

“To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.”

Americans are raised to be achievers…And what we spend most of our time and money upon should tell us what is most important to us…While education, sports, getting a good job are important…Nothing is more important then your eternal soul and the souls of our children….Sadly, far too many people presume that we just “float into heaven” under what I call the ”I’m a good guy principle”….Let me let you in on a little secret…It does not work that way…We get into heaven by doing the will of God…By “picking up our cross daily”……When a person prioritizes doing the will of God for himself and his family….The impact of such a witness points to God and sparks change within the hearts of everyone who sees such a witness….And our world needs examples, it does not need more sermons

“Refuse no one the good on which he has a claim when it is in your power to do it for him. Say not to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give,” when you can give at once”

Watching first hand sacrificial love is powerful…This can and does change hearts…My father died of Parkinson Disease. The last 18 months of his life he was bed-ridden. We took care of my father in our home. We purchased a hospital bed, had a nurse live with us for periods of time and my mother did not leave her husband’s bed-side the entire time….This as you can imagine was very difficult for my father…But he bore his illness with grace…As for mother…Her example to me was the greatest example to watch of my entire life…My Mom showed me - Did not tell me!…She showed me what sacrificial love and marriage is all about…..My mother did this at great personal cost to her self…She was very old as well as she gave of herself both night and day to my father….But in the process of doing this….The greatest lesson of my life was learned by watching her….Such a lesson can not be learned by reading a book….It must be lived…Our world needs witnesses and such a selfless witness can only happen when it is fueled by God’s grace!

“The just one shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord”

Getting back to the gospel today from St Luke at Mass…..Jesus tells us that there is great power in a Christian witness….That the light of God has to be shown to the world and in order to give such a witness, we must live out our Christian calling in the Public Square…This will in turn “make you different”….Remember this..Jesus too was “different”…And Jesus was and is the “light of the world"….Therefore, we too must shine that light through what we do…And make no mistake about it - This will cost us!.....However, if we do not do it - Who will?….But know this…When the world sees such a “light”….The world knows it!…Like a thunderbolt crashing to the ground…This is how we set the world on fire…People believe what they see…Let them see!

”You are going to serve somebody”…..Who will that “somebody” be?

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Mark….The disciples are arguing among themselves as to who is the greatest among them…Can you imagine!…..Are they in it for personal gain?!?…Jesus hears this and addresses the conversation with a revolutionary idea…Remember - Jesus was the world’s greatest revolutionary!…….“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all”…Are you ready to be the servant of all?…Does not sound to glamorous to me!…..To follow Jesus means we must serve…Many times that means taking the “back-seat” to others…..This is what Jesus did…”The son of man came to serve and not to be served”….How about you?

“Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.”

Before one can be a leader, he or she first must understand what it means to serve….A father does this in his home…Dad comes last…He is there to not only lead his family but to serve his family…..When we lose sight of why we were created…To Love God -To Serve God - And to be with God for all eternity…When we begin to look to satisfy our own needs first as opposed to the needs of others…We lose sight of God……Selfishness is the killer of our faith…The destroyer of marriages….And the cause of just about every conflict the world as ever seen or known….People not only want what is theirs…They want yours as well…..This is what happens when God is not at the center of ones life…We get misdirected…Feel entitled…Justify bad behavior and make bad choices…..”I am going to get mine”…..This mind set leads to misery not only for the person who lives by it but all those who encounter such an individual

“Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war”

The greatest example Catholics can give to the world is to spend themselves at the service of others….This kind of example stops traffic…You do not even have to believe in God to be in awe of seeing such an example…This is the example that points to God and changes hearts…..This is what Jesus did from the cross…..When I would go to Kolkata I would watch Mother Teresa’s sisters serve men who were dying…The work was messy….Day in and day out they would do it…Thankless work….From cleaning the wounds of a burn victim…To feeding an old man…To mopping up the floor….To changing adult diapers…Nothing glamorous here…Yet in completing all of these humble tasks, the sisters die to them self…Only to be then filled by God, in and through daily prayer and the Sacraments and when we are filled by God - We set the world on fire!.....…This is what Our Lady did as well…Our Lady did not do anything extraordinary…She was a mother…She was a wife….She took care of the family home…But in all those things she was obedient to God…And when we are obedient to God…Everything we do becomes extraordinary…And in turn we become extraordinary….By doing the ordinary….And in turn we became a catalyst for change in the world

“In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world”

Getting back to St Mark’s gospel from Mass today….“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all”…….If God himself came to serve why do we think somehow we are not meant to serve as well…A man cannot lead others if first he does not know how to serve….Because in the end “the last will be first and the first will be last”…..”The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many”……Ultimately, as the great Bob Dylan once said….”You are going to serve somebody”…..Who will that “somebody” be?

"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”…….”Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice”

Today the Universal Church commemorates the Feast of St Matthew, who is the author of one of the four gospels. Artists have illustrated Matthew throughout the centuries as a “winged man”…Matthew was a tax collector…A known sinner, who was despised by his own people…But at the prompting of Christ…”Follow me”…Matthew left everything…How does a man who is rich and worldly do that?…Something must have been “missing” in his life…Matthew had “everything” but at the same time…..He had nothing!…So many today in the world we live in can probably say the same thing….But Jesus came for that very reason…..He came for sinners…He came for Matthew…He came for us.

“As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.”

I find it interesting how some of the greatest sinners hear the words of Jesus and drop everything…..What is it that makes one person “hear something” in mere words and another person ignore those same words?…….It has everything to do with our heart…This is why Jesus said…”My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me”….”The Truth” is almost like a fire that burns within the heart and when one hears it….Its impossible to turn from it…The Truth is almost haunting in a sense…It refuses to release us from its grasp…It calls us deeper within it….Like St Matthew, many to this very day experience such an “encounter”

On the surface, we may see one thing but God sees something else…God sees the human heart…Even if a person may “appear” lost….Underneath all the “rubble" of a mis-spent life lay in wait a treasure to be unearthed

So as the gospel today from Mass unfolds…….Upon hearing the words of Christ, Matthew who was a rich man throws a party…And when one throws a party, they invite all their friends…Well, Matthew’s friends were known publc sinners…So they all came to the party…Jesus was at the party too….When the “respectable people” of their town saw this they criticized Jesus who was “making himself out to be a holy man”….."Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”…….These so called “respectable people” considered themselves to be on the side of God…….Do we do the same thing as these men?….Do we write people off?….Do we judge them as “no good”? Do we “think” we are “better” then others?

When I was the driver for the Missionaries of Charity in Manhattan, I always found it interesting to see how the sisters would live among and served some of the most unlikely of people…Drug addicts, Ex-convicts, Open homosexuals….They did not approve or condone their behavior…However, they served these men without compromising their own belief system….They did not think themselves better and they walked and lived among them….Why would someone “so far from God” ever want to be around such a holy group of nuns?…The answer is - The sisters saw something in these men that they did not even see themselves…The sisters saw God in them - A pure heart does not judge - A pure heart loves!….God is in each of us…Even the “worst of the worst “ of us…Under all the layers of sin…God is there!….Only love can untwist such a person…………..”Telling them” they are wrong…”Preaching” to them…Will never do it….The sisters simply loved “these people” by their actions and service towards them…They do not judge “these people”…...Ask yourself - Why did many of “these people" respond and some even change?…..Because everyone is “looking for love” - The problem is many times we “look” in the wrong places but when we encounter real and true love - It stops traffic!….Its like a "thunderbolt" that crashes down upon us!…..And in time….Those same “bad people” changed….They too came to see what the sisters saw

He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

St Matthew was a public sinner and Christ used this man to write one of the great books of the Bible…..Jesus saw in Matthew what no one saw…Not even Matthew himself saw what “could be”…How many Matthew’s are walking around today?….An encounter with a holy person is very powerful…A holy life witnessed in real time is very attractive…Its something we all want for ourselves even if we do not admit it…No words, no books written, no words said can be a substitute for the witness of a holy life…This is how the world can and will change….The witness of a holy people…This is why Christ came…This is why only saints change the world….And this is why even the “greatest of sinners” can and do change to this very day - Just like Matthew the tax collector……Do we know the meaning of mercy?…..Do we know that Jesus did not come for the righteous but sinners?….If we do know this - Many “say” they know this…Do we then include ourself among the “ranks” of these sinners…Do we “walk among them”?……And if we do…Do we seek God’s mercy for not only them but ourself as well?

"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”…….”Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice”

Jesus is not looking for believers…He is looking for followers…And to follow him implies a response

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading St Paul breaks it all down…”For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins”….Everything about our faith rests in that one sentence…Jesus rose from the dead so sins can be forgiven…This is fundamental in our understanding of our Catholic faith and it should be equally fundamental in the way we view our life…..We are ALL sinners and Christ came for sinners, which means Jesus came for YOU!…However…Here is the catch!…We need to ask him through the Church he founded upon St Peter in the Sacrament of Confession to be forgiven…Not my words…Nor is this my opinion….

“Conversion to Christ, the new birth of Baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Body and Blood of Christ received as food have made us "holy and without blemish," just as the Church herself, the Bride of Christ, is "holy and without blemish." Nevertheless the new life received in Christian initiation has not abolished the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition calls concupiscence , which remains in the baptized such that with the help of the grace of Christ they may prove themselves in the struggle of Christian life. This is the struggle of conversion directed toward holiness and eternal life to which the Lord never ceases to call us.”

I want to let you in on a little secret…Jesus is not looking for “believers”….Such a common misconception…We hear it all the time…”I believe in Jesus”…Guess what?…So did and does the devil believe in the reality of Jesus….Jesus is looking for followers!…..And if we believe what St Paul stated today in the first reading from Mass…That Jesus rose form the dead…If we truly believe that…Then we have to believe everything he said…And lets be honest…Some of the things Jesus said are VERY hard to do in real time…But guess what?..Jesus loves us so he gave us “the tools” so we can get the needed grace to do everything he said….But here is the catch…As you know…There is always a catch!…You will NEVER be able to do what Jesus said relying on your own strengthen…….Don’t believe me?…Just ask St Peter when he denied Christ after living with him for three years and seeing first hand all the miracles…He still fell short…This is such a common mistake among those who profess to follow Christ…We hear it all the time…”I don’t need to go to Church”…..Let me address that claim very bluntly….YES YOU DO!!!!….Not only is honoring the Sabbath a Commandment…..You will NEVER be able to live the life Christ asked you to live without the grace of the Blessed Sacrament…NEVER!!!…That is why the Holy Eucharist is called in latin viaticum, which means “food for the journey”

I want to let you in on another little secret…I am Catholic because I believe in the living God…But I am also Catholic because I know myself to be a sinner!!!!…I know without a shadow of a doubt that if I do not live a Sacramental life, pray daily, fast weekly….There is NO WAY…I will be the husband God called me to be…The father God called me to be…And the neighbor God called me to be to others…Point Blank - Full Stop…..Do you imagine if all Baptized Catholics utilized these gifts given to us by the Church?…They cost nothing….Yet our world “thinks” they can do it on their own…….For those who have “eyes to see”…Its pretty clear that the world is not doing so good - That includes many Baptized Catholics and professed Christians by the way…So why don’t we consider trying something new?…How about we turn the page?…You just might be surprised by the outcome…As the great John Belushi once said…”Don’t cost nothin”!

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

Getting back to St Paul and the first reading from Mass today…Paul tells us Jesus is God and he rose from the dead…..Have you ever heard anyone make such a claim?…You either believe that for you don’t…But if you do…Then you have to conclude that everything Jesus said is true….That means we are “on the hook”!…..Believing in Jesus is not enough…To believe infers a response…And that response means we have to live differently……We can not have it both ways….We can not claim to be followers of Christ and not listen to what he said…Jesus is not looking for believers…He is looking for followers…And to follow him implies a response

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace”…….But don’t think for a second that you are something that you are not!

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Luke…In this passage Jesus tells us a story about two people…The first person is deeply respected and esteemed by society…The other is rejected…Both people were flawed however both people were searching for God….The man who was esteemed was quick too point out the flaws of the one who was rejected…..The woman who was rejected by others instead of being critical of others focused on serving others…One would think the man who was respected by society would be the “hero” of this story but instead he is the “villain”….Why?….Because the rejected woman knew what she had done and also knew deep in her heart who forgave her…The man “thought” he was something he was not…He “thought” himself to be righteous and justified before God……God came for sinners…..And if we are honest with ourselves we know that we are far from perfect…Yet God loves us and if we go to him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation…He forgives us and gives us the needed grace to overcome our flaws…But don’t think for a second that you are something that you are not!

Our world today lives in denial….We rationalize bad behavior away in order to cope with it and the wounds caused by it….The key to our personal freedom is to face the fact that we have made mistakes…That there is a God…That we are not God…And that God makes the “rules”…Now there is a bad word…RULES….I can HEAR it now…”Don’t tell me what to do”…..Trust me, I won’t but the rules of God - Let’s call them for the purposes of this discussion the Natural Law…Apply to you whether you acknowledge them or not….They are written on each of our hearts….When we face this reality…And when we fail…Which we all fall short…And when we confess those failures to a Catholic Priest, who has been given authority (there is another bad word - Authority!) to forgive our sins by Christ himself…Not only do we become free but a very real and tangible burden is lifted from our shoulders…..Pretending that “burden” is not there does not make it go away…..And when we rationalize that “burden” away so we can cope….Like a metastatic cancer or a wound that develops gangrene, we rob our self of who we were born to be…We can not fake it!…And far too may people try - And sadly in many cases it shows…..We need to REMEMBER - God’s forgiveness is real!…So is his grace…And so is the fact that we are all sinners…All this is true…But in order to be forgiven we must avail ourselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation…..Self-rationalizations and coping mechanisms do not cut it…Just like if one is hungry…Pretending to eat does not satisfy our hunger

Why do we not utilize this great gift given to us by Jesus?….You need to answer that question for yourself

The woman in St Luke’s gospel from Mass is said to have been a great sinner…She approached Jesus and confessed her many sins and she was set free and forgiven…And as a result lived a life of joy, gratitude and service…The man who did not “sin like that woman did”…At least not to the degree…Thought he was something he surely was not…And because of that did not live a life of gratitude.

If a person was ever very hungry in their life, for whatever reason and someone asks that person for something to eat…More times than not…Its the person who knows what its like to be very hungry who gives some of their food away to another…The man or woman who has never been hungry more times than not does not give or gives very little…They take for granted “the gifts” given to them - Forgetting “the Giver” of all gifts which is God……Mother Teresa once told a story of a Catholic family in the slum who had not eaten for three days….Mother Teresa heard about them and immediately went and gave the woman a bag of rice for her family...…Once she gave her the rice, the woman disappeared…When she returned Mother Teresa asked her where she went…The woman said a Muslim family down the street also had not eaten in three days…So I gave them half the bag of rice.

“So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”

Getting back to our gospel from Mass today…After pointing out the difference between the respected man and the disrespected woman….Jesus said something that deeply offended many…..”He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”…Only Jesus has the authority to forgive sins and he gave that authority to the priests in the one Church he founded….“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”…..Self rationalizing away the reality that we are sinners, continue to sin and have flaws only leads to a life of coping as opposed to a life of living!…The “burden of sin is real”…And so is the cure

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace”…….But don’t think for a second that you are something that you are not!

“When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things”

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading we hear from St Paul…The reading should be familiar to all of us and is used at many Wedding Masses…..”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”……How easy it is for us to become “impressed” with our own accomplishments….To value our achievements over people…….To want to be and in many cases be “right” but at the same time be very wrong because our heart is not centered upon God’s love……As Catholics if love of God and love of neighbor is not the foundation of our words and actions…Then everything we do amounts to nothing!…Its not enough to be right….Its not enough to speak the Truth…Jesus spoke the Truth and Jesus did what was right…Because he loved people…If we do not love people….It does not matter that we are “right”….Because then being “right” turns into being “wrong”!

“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”

Now that I am a father, I look back at the many times I disobeyed my parents and how my parents not only forgave me, did not “brood over injury” and through it all loved me unconditionally……Life is marathon not a sprint….And we are all a work in progress….As a father of five I must view my children as a “work in progress”….I must see the finished product in the here and now and form them by word and example…In the process we make mistakes…In the process the kids make mistakes…We forgive each other…We keep trying…Keep improving…And in the end, God willing…We “arrive” at the ” finished product”….This is how God views each of us…Think about how God has had to “endure” our bad behavior…Think about how many times God has forgiven us when we ask him too in the Sacrament Confession…..Yet we are so quick to “write other people off”…If God was to think like that each of us would be finished!…Again, as a father I must know that my children will make mistakes…That I will make mistakes…But we must not give up…Love is a choice…It “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”…And with the help of God’s grace love grows……Without love we lose our humanity….God is not interested in us “ticking off boxes”…..It’s not enough to be “right” because if you do not have love in your heart, you are wrong even if you are right!…..Love for it to be real is in for the long haul and in that journey, God forms us…..We must view others, especially those close to us with the same mindset…..”Rome was not built in a day”…But be assured of one thing…God is the “master builder”…He can turn sinners into saints…This he has done many times throughout the centuries…And he can and will do it again…He can do this to you…If you let him!

“Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away”

The more I reflect on this reading by St Paul from Mass today, I think about why he wrote this…St Paul was an impressive man….He did amazing things in his life and yet he understood that everything he did and accomplished means nothing if he does not love God and people…Paul was able to “step back” and see things clearly as God sees them…Can we?…..Do we simply want to be “right”…Because you can be “right” and still be “wrong” if you do not have love in your heart.

“When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things”

”Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts"...She will guide us….One "Hail Mary" at a time

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Luke’s Gospel….Jesus performs a miracle and the people respond…."A great prophet has arisen in our midst and God has visited his people”….Jesus was much more than just a “prophet” but the people were looking for “signs”…They were looking to be liberated from Roman occupation and because of their “temporal wants”…They missed the bigger picture…Christ did not come to act as some “magician”…Nor did he come as a political liberator…Jesus came to free us from the bonds of sin………"God has visited his people” the people shouted….Did they really believe that?…..Or were they looking for a “magician”?…..If their words were spoken from their heart, they would have changed their life…But we all know that was not the case…..And when Christ came into Jerusalem on a humble mule on the first Palm Sunday…The people were disappointed…They were looking for “something else” and quickly turned on him….So the question today is…What are we looking for?…Who is Jesus to you?..... Is he just a “magician”?

As many of you know I have five young children…One of the phrases I repeat in my home over and over again to my kids when they fight is this…”Treat people like you want to be treated”…This is known as “the golden rule”…Jesus tells us there really are only two commandments…Love God above all things and love your neighbor as your self…Easy right?….Hmmmmm…..What if loving God causes you to suffer?….What if loving your neighbor requires you to have less?…..Easy right?…..People want what they want and they see what they want to see….We create all kinds of idols that replace God and the devil knows us better than we know our self…..Before we even realize it, we can “create” “a god” after our own making and if our neighbor “gets in the way” of that "god" we do everything we can to destroy them…..Jesus came for everyone and because of that we must love everyone but before we do that….Our eyes must be opened…And all our “idols”, which replace the one true God must be destroyed…Easy right?…..Hmmmmmm…….Without God’s grace this can not and will not happen…Only by means of daily prayer, the Sacraments and fasting can this happen….We can not “muscle” our way to this mindset…Only by God’s grace can we truly “see” and once we “see”…Then we can act....We must act!

St Paul tells us in the first reading today that we are all part of the Body of Christ and that we all have something to do….”As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body”……That means I can do what you can’t and you can do what I can’t…But that is ok…Because each of us have something important to do!….St Paul tells us to….........”Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts”…...What do we strive for?….Are our goals orientated towards growing closer to God or are our goals focused on the fruits of this world, which all pass and turn to dust?

Back to our gospel today from St Luke…Is Jesus just a “candy machine” where we put in “our coin” and look to “get something” from the “machine”?…In order to live by the “golden rule”, which I repeat to my children almost daily when they fight with each other…We need to be able to look past our self and put God first but before we do that we have to destroy all the “things” that we put in the way of God…..Easy right?….Hmmmmm…..Without daily prayer, fasting and the Sacraments that will never happen!

Our Lady is said to be “Full of Grace”…Only she "did it perfectly" being she was born of the flesh of a man and a woman…Some call Our Lady, "mankind's only boast".....And because of this we need her…She will guide us….One Hail Mary at a time…..

”Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts"...She will guide us….One "Hail Mary" at a time