Know the Truth…Live the Truth…Speak the Truth…And be willing to suffer for the Truth….Leave the rest to the mercy of God!

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from St Paul…Paul writes again to his friends in Corinth…..He is addressing the subject of judging and being judged by God…Something I think is often misunderstood…First and foremost…There is right and wrong…Good and Bad…The Truth according to “the age” we live in is subjective to our whims and likes…This is frankly a trick and a lie of the devil…God is Truth and Jesus also said very clearly…I am the Way…The Truth…And the Life…..With that said…One can honestly in an objective way assess Truth….However…..When it comes to the life of human beings…There are many reasons why people do not embrace God and his Truth…Hurts they endured as children….Pride……Bad examples from parents…Bad examples from clergy and other Catholics….These unresolved wounds can “blur” the Truth in the heart of a person…Now…One can soberly assess Truth as a person looking from the outside in - But as we all know, that is easy when we have not endured what that person has endured…….Because of that fact, no one has a right to judge the soul of a person - God is the judge and God is perfectly just…..Objective mortal sin is what it is…However, God will judge the hearts of all men and women…..And God will judge our hearts with perfect equity and justice…In the mean time as Catholics we must do the following…Know the Truth…Live the Truth…Speak the Truth…And be willing to suffer for the Truth….Leave the rest to the mercy of God!

There are many reasons why people have an “issue” with the Catholic Church…A good priest told me that when someone vocalizes their personal “litany of issues” with the Catholic Church…Under it all…There is one BIG ISSUE they are not vocalizing…And its that unresolved issue that needs to get addressed before they “come back home” to the Church of their Baptism…..Only that person knows what that “issue” is…Most times its personal…Its painful…..And clearly its unresolved…What must be remembered is…..We are not the “divine physician” - Jesus is…..Our job is to be consistent…To give a good example day in and day out…Speak the Truth with love but also speak it clearly…..And frankly be a friend to all…The “good” and the “bad” alike…In time and if we are consistent in the manner in which we live our life…..Our example will effect those around us and the Holy Spirit will slowing speak to the hearts of those who have “drifted” from the Church of their birth whom we encounter…..Once again, we can not “fix” people…Jesus is the “divine physician” ……What we can do however is witness to a life lived and fueled by daily prayer, fasting and the Sacraments…God will be the judge of souls….And God is merciful…..I sure hope God is merciful to me!

“Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts”

Jesus in the Gospel today from Mass said….”The days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them”……While Jesus does not physically walk among us today…He is fully present in the Blessed Sacrament…What a GIFT it is to SEE this reality….And for those Catholics who do understand the great mystery of the True Presence of Christ contained in the Eucharist, a GREAT responsibility to live a life centered around this reality is laid before us….God will judge us (That means me!) much more severely because he has given us so much!

Because those who have been given much…Much will be expected!

As Catholics we have been given EVERYTHING and if we use what is given to us…We surely will set the world on fire!….However, we can not “fix people”…Only Jesus is the “divine physician”…..Its our job to be consistent….To live our life each and every day - Year after year fueled by Sacramental Grace….Such a life’s witness does more good for others then we can ever imagine…..Let the Holy Spirit take care of the rest……Know the Truth…Live the Truth…Speak the Truth…And be willing to suffer for the Truth….Leave the rest to the mercy of God!