How can someone not know who they are?…..Its our job to discover what is actually already there!

Today at Holy Mass the Universal Church honors St Teresa of Ávila, who is a Doctor of the Church and was a great reformer….If you are a student of history as I am you will notice that whenever the Church grows weak, the Lord rises up saints to renew her…St Teresa of Ávila was one of those saints…I was reading a small portion of some of her writings this morning…She tells her nuns something interesting…..”Thus it is a shame and unfortunate that through our own fault we don’t understand ourselves or know who we are”….How can someone not know who they are?……St Teresa wrote a lot about penetrating into what she called the “interior castle of the soul”….That within each of us there are “caverns”, which we do not know exist - But they are there…The deeper you go…The more you may find the deeper you still have to go…And many do not discover these “caverns” that are within us….What should that tell us today?…..There is so much potential within YOU!……If we "tap into" what God has placed deep within each of us…We will set the world on fire!…..This is what St Teresa did….And 600 years later the world is still talking about her

“Brothers and sisters: For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery”

Jesus Christ took regular blue collar uneducated men and used them to do the impossible…..These 12 men did not know what they were individually capable of accomplishing…….What makes us any different?….The original 12 apostles discovered deep within themselves what St Teresa of Ávila called “a castle made entirely of diamonds”….But to get to that “castle” these 12 guys had to penetrate many layers…..Remember, the original 12 failed Jesus many times and “did not understand a lot”…However they persevered…..When a person has a “conversion”….The process does not end….We must be converted each and everyday…..Its like pealing an onion….As we “peal off” each layer we find something new about ourself and with each “layer removed” we conform ourself more and more to Christ….The most efficacious thing a person can do is pursue a holy life…When you encounter a holy person you will know immediately that such a person is not like everyone else!…..Their life reflects Jesus…Such an encounter is so powerful I simply can not put it into words but trust me, if you meet such a person you know it!…….This is how we change the world…Not with politics…Not with “programs”….Only saints change the world and St Teresa of Ávila did just that…Again, within each of us there are “great caverns”, which are untapped and unexplored….Its our job to discover what is actually already there!

“The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart”

In the gospel today at Mass from St Luke Jesus addresses a teacher of the law…He tells him….....”Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil”……Jesus is trying to teach this man that what is most important is developing an interior life….Finding what St Teresa of Ávila would call the “interior castle”…We do that by living sacrificially, by fasting, by daily prayer, by humbling ourself in frequent Sacramental Confessions and by receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace…There are no short cuts!…This is how we find out truly “who we are”…This is how we discover the “untapped caverns” St Teresa wrote about…And this is how we set the world on fire!

How can someone not know who they are?…..Its our job to discover what is actually already there!

God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called…..“He raises up the lowly from the dust”…Only to move mountains that the world thought could not be moved

Today the Universal Church commemorates the life of a 3rd century Pope who is a saint…St Callistus was an interesting person who did not take the usual route to the papacy…Callistus was a former slave and when he became pope a man by the name of Hippolytus opposed him because Callistus believed that grave sinners who sought confession and were willing to do penance can be welcomed back into the Church….Hippolytus did not believe so…And as a result….Hippolytus assumed for himself papal privileges and became the first “anti-pope” in Church history…Here is where the story gets interesting…Callistus continued to give a faithful witness to the gospel of Christ even as he was persecuted and his life was taken from him for it….At the sight of Callistus death and the witness of his life, his archenemy Hippolytus not only repented but became a martyr for the faith himself and is now declared a saint as well…Why is this story relevant to us today?…This is the power of a faithful witness….Callistus, the former slave who became pope won over his enemy not by force but by the consistent example of a life dedicated to the gospel…..We will never argue anyone into the Church…However, a life grounded in gospel truth exhibited to the world for all to see “moves mountains”….If we want to see the world change…We first need to change ourself, pick up our cross and follow the carpenter from Nazareth…..No words needed! - Such a life speaks volumes and when it speaks - It speaks loudly!

“He raises up the lowly from the dust”

The more we read and learn about our Catholic faith we will conclude that God uses people that many in the world would have disregarded…St Paul, St Matthew, Moses, Mary Magdalene, the list goes on to this very day…..Because God’s ways are not our ways….The gospel from Holy Mass today references the story of Jonah…We all know the story of Jonah being sallowed by a whale…But that is not the interesting part about the story…God told Jonah to preach the message of repentance to the evil city of Nineveh and Jonah did not want to do it so he ran away from God…As we all know, running away from God is futile…God always catches up with us….So when God caught up with Jonah, as the story goes….He had a whale swallow him and for three days he suffered inside of that whale….God gave Jonah “something to think about”…When the whale "spit Jonah out"…He was then ready to preach to Nineveh…..What can we learn from this story?…God chose Jonah for a task that Jonah did not think he could do…God knew otherwise…So he “prepared” Jonah for the task…God does the same thing with us to this very day…..God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called and each one of us by means of our Baptism are called to a special task given to us by God himself…You may not be “swallowed up by a whale” like Jonah but make no mistake…God has something for you to do…So the question is…Are you running away from that task?…We can run but we cannot hid….God will continue to call

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

As we began this reflection with the story of Callistus, the former slave turned pope…We remember it was the witness of his holy life and death that impacted his enemy Hippolytus, causing him to not only repent but become a canonized saint himself!….Who would have guessed a former slave could become the pope?….Who would have guessed the very man who hated him would repent and become a saint himself simply by watching the life and death of Callistus?…I will tell you who - God!….And who would have guessed that Jonah, who ran from God would only change his mind and preach to the city of Nineveh, which had a reputation for being one of the most evil cities in the world….Who would have guessed at the words of Jonah, the man who thought he could not do it, not only would preach to the people of Nineveh but he did such a good job, the people repented and changed their ways….Who would have guessed that?…..I will tell who - God!……..We cannot run and we cannot hid…God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called…..“He raises up the lowly from the dust”…Only to move mountains that the world thought could not be moved

”If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit.”….For those who have ears - Let them hear…But in the meantime…Do we wish to “see”?

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first readings from the Book of Wisdom….”I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne”…There is an implication made in that sentence…That wisdom is better than material wealth…Would you agree?…….People say these days…...Common sense is not that common any more…There is a big difference between raw analytical intelligence and wisdom…There are many highly intelligent people, who do not possess any wisdom what so ever and it shows by the outcome of their decisions in real time…Remember, you judge a tree by the fruit it bears…..Wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit, which allows us to see as God sees…Ultimately, it is only when we can “see” properly will our decisions lead to positive outcomes…But when we lack wisdom, no matter “how smart we are”….Our lack of clarity when viewing what stares us directly in the face results in us “missing the mark”…So how do we receive this gift of wisdom?…And is this “gift” more valuable than gold?…..Because if we “can’t see”…We will not end up where we want to be

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!”

People see what they want to see in order to “fit” what they see into their life choices…Very few people are objective because very few people “see” clearly…We possess sight when we open our hearts to the Lord…When we prepare our soul to receive him at Mass when we consume the Blessed Sacrament….In order to prepare ourself for this encounter…We must consistently make good confessions with a priest with a firm purpose of amendment to change our life…This frequent practice in many Catholic circles has been abandoned to a certain extent…I can remember when I was a boy confession was available before every Mass…Now confession in far too many Catholic parishes is open for only 30 minutes on Saturday afternoon and few people take advantage of the opportunity…….In order to open ourselves up to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we must “clear a path” for the grace of God to enter. I have heard it said….God’s grace is constantly pouring down upon us like rain, however we choose to put up an umbrella, which keeps that grace off our head…By going to a Sacramental confession, say once a month…We in essence “put down that umbrella”, and allow the grace of the Blessed Sacrament to penetrate our soul…..This is how we “see” and in turn receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, one of which is wisdom

“When you look at the inner workings of electrical things, you see wires. Until the current passes through them, there will be no light. That wire is you and me. The current is God. We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us, to produce the light of the world, Jesus, in us. Or we can refuse to be used and allow darkness to spread”

Americans by nature are self-reliant…And that is a good thing…However, that can also be a “bad thing” when it comes to the spiritual life…All spiritual gifts come from God…These gifts can not be self-manufactured and sadly far too many people think they can be…..Our intellectual gifts are very different from the grace given to us from God….Again, wisdom is very different from raw intelligence because wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit and wisdom helps us to see reality with clarity…..Today in the gospel from Mass a rich man approaches Jesus and asks him…”Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”…..We all live in the world and know that people who make a lot of money do not make it by accident. There is a certain level of intelligence required to be successful in this life…So how can this very capable man who approaches Jesus not know what is necessary to inherit eternal life?…He is smart, yet he does not know…..Only the Holy Spirit can illuminate the darkness of our hearts and minds…And that only happens when we “clear a path” for the Holy Spirit to penetrate us deeply…This requires first a Sacramental Confession and then once the “path” is made clear, we then receive the source and summit of all grace in the Blessed Sacrament, which is Jesus himself………..Only then we will we “see”…….St Matthew tells us…”If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit.”….For those who have ears……Let them hear…But in the meantime…Do we wish to “see”?

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Today at Holy Mass St Paul states something that at the time was revolutionary…And still is revolutionary to this day for that matter……..”For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”……..Jesus Christ is the common denominator…..Societies have always divided people…By education, economic status, race, etc…However Jesus Christ and through our common Baptism unites us all…All of us are equal in the eyes of God and all of us have something to do….So the question we should ask ourself is this…Do we see and treat all people as equals?

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise”

I have often thought about when Jesus returns again to the earth as he stated he would…When he does return, Jesus has said very clearly…”Many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first”….Think about that for a moment!…….Its very human to view the world from the lens in which we have been brought up and from the places we live…I have been blessed to have traveled all over the world….And people live very differently then we do here in America as you can only imagine but I have seen this first hand…In fact, many of those people are very poor and some are very close to God…When Jesus returns, the power structures of the world as we know them will be flipped…What we consider as important will mean nothing…Mother Teresa wrote about this and this is what she said…..“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”…God deals with a very different “currency”…There is a famous book writen by Viktor Frankl entitled Man’s Search for Meaning…..Viktor Frankl was a famous and rich man who got thrown into a concentration camp during the Nazi occupation in Germany…In the camp he encountered another prisoner who was a scientist. This man was also very successful and rich before he got placed in prison. And when this scientist met Viktor Frankl, who had been in the prison camp for some time, he showed him how he smuggled into the camp his research papers, which to him were the most important thing in his life…I always remember in the book what Viktor Frankl said to this man…”In here, those papers do not mean anything! - Only bread is important”….This scientist viewed a certain “currency” as important, only to have that currency devalued and mean nothing in the blink of an eye….When Christ returns to the earth…All the class structures we value and live by will disappear in an instant because in the eyes of God we are all equal….The only “currency” that will matter will be the “currency” of the Gospel

”When I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”

The Gospel today from Mass is from St Luke…Jesus tells a woman something very important…He tells us that same thing too 2000 years later….”He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it”…Do we deal in the “currency” of the world or do we deal in the “currency” of God?…..One must be realistic when addressing that question…As Catholics we are called to live in the world but not be of the world…That means we have to work and take care of our familles and that requires money…….With that said…..Do we value status?…Do we lord over people our wealth?…..Do we wear our success on our sleeves?…......Or…… Do we treat people as equals?……Do we share from our resources considering everything we have as gifts from God?…..Are we citizens of heaven and live like it or do we “build” our “kingdom” here on earth only to lord it over others?…These are the questions we need to ask ourself…..Jesus very clearly tells this woman in the gospel today......…”I am not interested in "lip service" - I am interested in putting the word of God into action!”…….Is this our priority too?…..Because when Christ returns…Our “money” has no value….God conducts “his business” with a different kind of “currency”

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

When the Truth becomes a lie, darkness descends upon us and when darkness falls, how very deep will that darkness be?

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Luke…In this readings Jesus talks about how people are accusing him of being evil…How can that be?….It seems that what was good is being called bad…And what is bad is being called good…Sound familiar?…..”For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out?”….We all must make a choice…..And no choice is a default choice…We either choose the Kingdom of God……. And if we make that choice…We must walk the “narrow road” that leads to heaven…The other option is hell and the road to hell is wide……And yes - Hell is real and people go there……We cannot have it both ways…..Far too many people “think” we can have it both ways…But it simply does not work that way….Don’t take my words for it…Jesus is pretty clear on the subject

“The prince of this world will now be cast out, and when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all to myself, says the Lord”

I have heard it said…The greatest trick the devil ever played on mankind is to convince us that he does not exist…..Make no mistake about it…Evil does exist and so does the devil…….Jesus says something very direct and to the point in this Gospel….”Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters”…There is no wiggle-room in that statement…Its very black and white…We are either with God or against God….On the surface its an easy choice…We tell ourselves we are with God…Right?…But when we sin and we all sin, are actions say something else….This is why when we sin we must seek reconciliation…Because "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"…..Another aspect of the devil that I believe people take for granted is…The devil is infinitely smarter and stronger than we are…The devil knows all of our weaknesses…And we all have weaknesses….This is why we must put on what is commonly called “the armor of God”…When we develop a daily prayer life, fast weekly and live a Sacramental life…We put on that “armor”…In doing those things we live in what is called the state of grace…..This state essentially protects us from the “tricks” and temptations of the devil, which each of us face everyday…That does not make us perfect by no means however what it does mean is it gives us “eyes to see” and fortifies our will to resist temptation…….Never forget - “The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”……Some may read this and dismiss what I just wrote….BIG MISTAKE….The devil is smarter then you and stronger then you…He knows ALL your weaknesses…The devil HATES YOU…..Bad habits and grave sin begin gradually and with small steps…And before we realize it…We have “crossed a bridge too far”…Put on the armor of God!

“He has given food to those who fear him; he will forever be mindful of his covenant. He has made known to his people the power of his works, giving them the inheritance of the nations”

Some may say…How do I know the will of God?…..Some say….There is no such thing as Absolute Truth…You have “your truth”….And I have my “truth”….That is a lie!…Jesus said very clearly…I am the Truth!…He did not say he is the custom…God determines the Truth…If you have any doubt about the eternal Truths of the Church, I suggest you pray about what troubles you before the Blessed Sacrament…In the silence sitting before God fully present in the consecrated Host you will be given all the clarity you need…Then it is up to us to choose!…There is no middle ground

”I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you”

Getting back to our gospel passage today…The people who opposed Jesus called him evil…Because they refused to change…They justified themselves and their behavior even as they stood face to face with God himself…What about us?…People today love the idea of “Hippie Jesus”….Who is “Hippie Jesus” you may ask?….“Hippie Jesus” does not ask us to change….“Hippie Jesus” says everything is ok…..“Hippie Jesus” says “you be you”…..That is not who Jesus Christ was or is!…..Jesus Christ was the Lion of Judah……Jesus Christ spoke Truth to power…Jesus Christ loves us too much to leave us as we are…He asks us to change and he enables us with the “tools” through his Church to make that change…The rest is up to you and me…..When the Truth becomes a lie, darkness descends upon us and when darkness falls, how very deep will that darkness be?

“This son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found…..If only we simply “knock on that door”….We are wasting time

Today at Holy Mass hear from the Gospel of St Luke….Jesus says something we have all heard before…..The question is….Do we take for granted the invitation?…Because its real and sincere…..“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”….Have you ever “knocked on that door?…And if you did…What did you expect to “get”?

“Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son”

While each and every person ever created is unique and unrepeatable…There are aspects of the human condition that join us together…..That unite us….One of those foundational elements of mankind is the fact that we were all created by the same God…However, we can resist that God…Deny God exists all we want…But that does not change the reality that we all came from the “same place”….With that said….God, who loves us wants us to return to him..... However, we have been given free will, which means we are free to not accept his invitation….While we are free to choose not to return God’s love….When we choose that path…Something inside of us breaks…In a sense its not natural to not serve and love God…We were all born for that very reason - no matter who we are or what we have done…And when that natural desire is not fulfilled we try to “replace” that desire for God with other “things”…All of which leave us unsatisfied and empty in the end…..This is why when a person comes to the “end of themself”…Has tried “everything”…Its at that time many turn to God…..And at the end of that search they find peace…..“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”

“What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?”

The road to God for some is a rough one….But it does not have to be that way….We have to come to understand that God “has our back”…God always wants what is best for us!…But these are just words…People need to figure this out for themself…This is why mankind “tries” so many substitutes to fill the “God-hole” in its heart….One of my favorite stories of a person who chased after the things of the world only in the end to find God is a personal friend of mine’s story. His name is John Pridmore. I know John through the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal…….John was born in London and when he was young his parents divorced. Their separation hurt him so bad he began to act out and his bad behavior landed him in jail. When he got out of jail he got involved with organized crime in the East-end of London. One day he was working as a door man in a bar and he punched a man so hard that he thought he killed him. That night he drove home and took a deep look at himself….And said the first prayer he ever said in his life…And God answered him!…And that began a new chapter in the life of John Pridmore…John now speaks to people all over the world…He is a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ and a devout Catholic….The world gave up on John Pridmore…But God did not!…Like St Paul who was once a murderer…God had something for John Pridmore to do

”But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites”

Back to our gospel today, Jesus tells us something we take for granted…He tells us that no one is beyond his love…That all we have to do is “knock”….So why do we not do it?…Only you can answer that question…But I will tell you this…While we resist the God who created us…God will continue to do the “knocking”…God will continue to “knock” on the “doors of our hearts”…And like the father in the story of the Prodigal son…He waits for us…”This son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found……..If only we simply “knock on that door”….We are wasting time

In the silence you will hear his voice and feel his peace…Everyone wants peace - Right?!?...Make the time!

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the gospel of St Luke how Jesus when asked taught his disciples to pray…Its the only prayer Jesus gives us throughout the entire Scripture…..”Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test”…..Why should we pray?…Because prayer is the answer to everything but before we pray…Do we know what prayer is?…Is it a request we make before we go to bed asking for something?…Or is it a conversation?…….We speak to God in the silence of our heart and he speaks to us…..Do we make time for God to speak to us in silence?

"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples”

The highest form of prayer is the Mass, where we enter into the passion of our Lord and consume his body in the form of a consecrated Host…In order to do that one must be Catholic and be in the state of grace…What does it mean to be in the state of grace?…We must not have committed any mortal sins…What are mortal sins?…..There are three components to a mortal sin….One, the sin is grave in nature….Two, you are aware the sin is grave in nature….And three, with full awareness you commit the sin anyway…..Before one can consume Our Lord in the Eucharist one must confess all mortal sins in a Sacramental Confession with a Priest. However, there is also a very efficacious prayer one can participate in even if one is living with a mortal sin and has not confessed it….Even if one is agnostic to God….Even if one is not Catholic…And I highly recommend it……..Making a small amount of time each week to sit in silence in-front of the exposed Blessed Sacrament………This prayer is easy…All you have to do is sit there!…Sit in silence in front of the exposed consecrated Host…That is it!…Its in the silence that the Lord will speak to your heart…He will communicate to you in a way that no one else can…Because he knows you like no else does…In that time you will feel peace…A tangible peace is felt in the room when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed on the altar…The “feeling” “in the air” of the chapel with the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar is “different” - Make no mistake about that!…….I will tell you this….If you commit to this practice for a small amount of time once a week…Your life will change…..Only God can heal us of our wounds that not even time can heal….Only God can break down the walls we put up to the world…..In the silence you will hear his voice…Make the time!

“Do you realize that Jesus is there in the Blessed Sacrament expressly for you, for you alone?”

In our gospel reading from Mass today…Jesus is asked by his friends to teach them to pray…Jesus was a simple man…As we say commonly today…Jesus was a regular guy!…..You don’t have to be a scholar to know how to pray…In fact, the more basic and simple our prayers are the better…….A contemplative nun who was a peer of Mother Teresa once told me….”Joe, Prayer is the answer to everything”…At the time she told me this I did not fully believe her…But I do now…In the silence of your heart…If you make the time…The Lord will speak to you in his ever small voice….In that silence…You will feel his peace….He will provide you with all the clarity you need…..But like all things in life that are good…We must make the time…..As the old saying goes…The Lord helps those who help themself….Prayer is not a vending machine where we put in our coin and something we want pops out…Prayer is a conversation…In the silence you will hear his voice and feel his peace…Everyone wants peace - Right?!?...Make the time!

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax”……”I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Luke about two sisters, Martha and Mary….Jesus enters their home and Martha is busy doing all the things one would do to be a good host…Mary on the other hand simply sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to him gazing at his presence…At the sight of this Martha gets mad at her sister…..”“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me”…..Jesus responds to Martha with a surprising statement…”“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her”…To our goal orientated American mind we would think Mary is a “slacker” and that Martha is the one who Jesus would be the most pleased with…However, that was not the case…Doing good works as Martha was doing is wonderful but if we do not stop and pray and build our interior life first, like Mary was doing…The good works will cease and not have a lasting impact…..What can we learn from this story?….Everything we do as Catholics comes from our interior life, which is built up by prayer, fasting and Sacramental grace….If we do not prioritize this activities, we will not bear lasting fruit for the Kingdom of God…..Some may read this and disagree…But Jesus addresses that disagreement with these words…..”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. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing”…Mary in our story understood that…And Martha did not…How about you?

“O LORD, you have probed me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar”

Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax”……If we want God to do great things through us, we must empty our self of our very self and then the Lord can fill us with his Holy Spirit…How do we empty our self?…By embracing sacrificial love, which is lived out daily through our individual vocation…As a married man, I give of my self fully to my wife and children…I share my wealth with the poor…..I share my time to serve my neighbor…That is how I empty myself…How do I fill my self with the Holy Spirit?…..I read the Bible every morning……I go to daily Mass most days of the work week…I pray the Rosary with my wife and children each night…I pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet when I walk to the my office for the people of New York City….I go to a Sacramental Confession two times a month…I go to Eucharistic Adoration for one hour each week…I go to Sunday Mass with my family…I fast every Wednesday for the Church and Friday for the World…In doing those things, trusting in God who does EVERYTHING through me because without God’s grace I CAN DO NOTHING!!!!!….Only then can I be properly used as “an instrument” and "bear fruit for the Kingdom of God"….."Because without me you can do nothing”......Most people try it the “Martha way” as we saw in our story today…Martha did not put her emphasis on her interior life and thought she could “do the work of God” relying on herself (A very American way to look at things)…Mary did the opposite of that…And Jesus tells us who took the better of the two approaches…..”Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

“My soul also you knew full well; nor was my frame unknown to you. When I was made in secret, when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.”

Getting back to our gospel story today…Jesus was not knocking Martha, he was trying to instruct her…Martha meant well..She was a “doer” and that is great…However, even the most gifted among us must remember that without “being connected to the vine” we can do nothing that is lasting for the Kingdom of God…We must rely on the grace of God for EVERYTHING, and we must empty ourself through acts of sacrificial love in accordance with our vocation in life so God can then fill us with his grace…This is the “winning formula”…This is the “blue print” of the saints…And the saints model for us a path to Christ…..Mary figured that out and frankly so did the great Abraham Lincoln…..Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax”……”I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit”

“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”……Jesus tells him….“Go and do likewise.”…He tells us the same thing today - Nothing has changed

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading St Paul says something rather interesting….”I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel (not that there is another)”…..St Paul goes on…”Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.”….People within the Catholic Church and outside of it in many instances hear what their “itchy ears want to hear”…St Paul is addressing this very human activity that has gone on for as long as people walked this earth….People have a way of only seeing and hearing things from the prospective of how it impacts themselves as opposed to seeing them with clear and objective eyes…Why?….And this is what St Paul is addressing today and he gives us the answer ….”Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the Gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ”…God does not change nor does the Truth….God came and walked this earth to change us!…We cannot change God nor can we change the Truth…Its for us to modify our thoughts and actions and do the changing…This is the “rub”…..Because in order to change, this requires humility and obedience to “a power” higher then our self……Jesus himself was obedient until death…..How can we not follow suit and “think” we are on the side of God when we “hear what our itchy ears” want to hear?

“The works of his hands are faithful and just; sure are all his precepts, Reliable forever and ever, wrought in truth and equity”

There is an idea that is common among many Catholics in America called “Primacy of Conscience”, which places moral decision making upon oneself…While we only “know what we know”, it is God and the Church’s job to form our conscience…Just as a father in his home forms his children….Teenage boys have a very different “idea” of what is right from there Dad…Its Dad’s job to form his sons…To show them by his life what it means to be a man…The same goes with the Church….Its the Church’s job to form us….And it is our job to be receptive to that formation…Not to “hear what our itchy ears want to hear”….Why is that?…Because we are not the source of all Truth…God is…And it is for us to conform to God…Not the other way around…This is not easy and may take time, prayer, and fasting to make happen…But know this…Jesus tells us very clearly…”Knock and the door will be open to you”…If a teaching of the Church is difficult for us…If we take the time to pray and fast about it, in time we will be given clarity…..However, if we rest upon what we “think” is right….Not only will the outcome produce negative consequences…But we will not grow in our faith…And when it comes to growing in our faith…Padre Pio said it best…”If we are not moving forward, we are going backward”

“He has sent deliverance to his people; he has ratified his covenant forever; holy and awesome is his name. His praise endures forever”

Getting back to Mass today…A man in St Luke’ Gospel asks Jesus a question….“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”…Jesus address his question by telling him a parable….This parable challenges the man and his “ideas” about who will inherit eternal life…So the questions we have to ask ourself are these…When we are challenged by the gospel - Are we open to that challenge?….Do we “think” we have all the answers?……Do we hear what our “itchy ears want to hear”?…..Jesus was the most prolific revolutionary that has ever walked the earth…Jesus spoke Truth to power while he walked the earth and the Catholic Church does the same to this day…If we want to follow Christ and live our Catholic faith…We must do the same…The world rejected Jesus and his message and if we are following him today in the here and now, the world will do the same to us…Jesus told us that himself point blank!........Are we comfortable with that reality?…. Because it is reality!!!…Or do we hear what our “itchy ears want to hear”….Jesus in today’s Gospel after telling a man who asks him…..“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”……Jesus tells him….“Go and do likewise.”…He tells us the same thing today - Nothing has changed

Marriage is a Sacrament…What is the goal of your marriage?

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of Mark about marriage…..”But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate”……God created marriage….It is a sacred covenant between a man and a woman….Marriage is also a vocation…The vocational aspect of marriage is not explored enough by our 21st century minds…A vocation by definition is a particular service ordained by God to provide an individual a path to a holy life…Do you look at your marriage as a vocation?

“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh”

When one gets married in the Catholic Church the couple are required to attend Pre-Cana classes where the man and woman are instructed on what it means to have a healthy and authentically Catholic marriage….My wife and I have spoken at a few of those sessions and when I have spoken in front of young couples about to embark on the greatest adventure of their life…I would always begin by asking the couples a question……What is the objection of your marriage?….In essence what I was asking is…What do you want to get out of this union?……What was the answer I was looking for to that question?……..The goal of every Catholic marriage should be to get each other to heaven…NOTHING IS EVEN A CLOSE SECOND!…..My job as a husband is to get my wife to heaven…And her job as a wife is to get me to heaven….Period Full Stop!….How do we do that?….We do that by dying to ourself….We do that by living out each and everyday sacrificial love…We are then strengthened by daily prayer….Weekly fasting…Monthly Confession…Weekly reception of the Eucharist in the state of grace…..What is the greatest killer of marriages?…..In one word - Selfishness!!!…Love requires one to give not take and when we are not willing to give of ourself FULLY to our spouse…Our marriage will become wounded….Saying what I just said is easy…Doing it is hard…To become a selfless person is no small task for anyone….God knew that and that is why he made marriage a Sacrament….When we live out our marriage Sacramentally, we receive the necessary grace to become more and more selfless each and every day…..This like anything else in life is a process, it does not happen over night….The greatest act of love a man and woman can give to each other is the total and complete gift of self…..But because we are ALL fallen by our human nature…This is a difficult ask…And God knew that from the beginning…That is why he gave us a Church, which in turn gives us the Sacraments….Which in turn we are given the needed grace……Those who have ears…Let them hear!

“If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us.”

Getting back to the Gospel of St Mark from Mass today….God created men and women and he also created marriage….Marriage has a purpose…Marriage is a vocation…..St Francis gives us some insight into how one has a successful marriage….”For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”…..In a Catholic marriage the couple die to themselves……And in dying to one self….One finds Christ…..The man’s job is to help his wife in that process and the woman’s job is to help her husband in that process…..And its God’s job to help both of them….This is no small task…..Everything that is good in life that we pursue must have a goal…And the “goal” for a healthy and fruitful marriage is heaven……"This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”…..Marriage is a Sacrament…What is the goal of your marriage?

We are in good hands!……..Lord, let your face shine on me…….I am your servant; give me discernment”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from Job again in the first readings…Remember…Everything was taken from Job and he came full circle…He came to accept the lose and learned from it….”Job answered the LORD and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes.”…Interestingly enough…Once Job came to this “understand”…The Lord gave him back everything he lost - And much more!……”Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones. For he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. And he had seven sons and three daughters, of whom he called the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Kerenhappuch. In all the land no other women were as beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; and he saw his children, his grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren. Then Job died, old and full of years”…………..God’s ways are not our ways and God’s ways are mysterious!….God is the potter and we are the clay…..He molds us into his image and likeness - If we permit him too…..How do we respond as he molds us?…Do we cooperate?

“Teach me wisdom and knowledge, for in your commands I trust.”

People see and hear what they want to see and hear….Why bring that up?…Its how we view the events of our life juxtaposed against what the goal of our life truly is that determines how we react and move forward when things “do not go as we planned”…As all adults know full well…Life is not scripted…We can only plan so much…When things “happen” that were not accounted for…And as we all know…Sometimes those “things” are not “wrapped in a nice pretty box with a red bow”…How we react to those events makes all the difference….If we view our lives as a journey back to God for where we began…That we are a work in progress…That everything happens for a reason…Both the good and the bad…All working towards our sanctification…….We can accept bad times and difficult events when they happen much more easily…However, if we view our life to be lived solely for the here and now…And when things don’t work out….We can become despondent and even destroyed in extreme circumstances….Because we built “an earthly castle” - Our “heaven” is in the here and now…..When we take that view, we forget everything that happens, both the good and the bad, works towards our sanctification, even if we do not understand it

“According to your ordinances they still stand firm: all things serve you”

Most people, Catholics included, misunderstand how we are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven…We have “Americanized” heaven….We “think” when we die, we just “walk in the door” of heaven…Does not work that way!…Before we stand before the beatific vision of God for all eternity…We must be made PERFECT…That process of purification begins here on earth…That is why God is the “potter and we are the clay”…God is constantly molding us…Do we cooperate with him?…Sadly we do not (myself included in that “we”) fully cooperate with him…That is why there is Purgatory…Its in Purgatory that God “completes the job”…To make us PERFECT (Which is a great act of mercy believe it or not!) before we stand for all eternity before the beatific vision of God...…So before we get to Purgatory…And make no mistake…I will be there!… To limit our time in Purgatory - We should allow God to be God in the here and now…Allowing him to be “the potter” and accept being the “clay” and allow him to “mold us” into who we were created to be

“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Getting back to Job in the first reading from Mass…Job figured it out and he came “full circle”!…Everything was taken from him…He at first did not understand…In time, Job accepted the loss…Learned from it…Never gave up his faith in God….And in the end came away better for it….God on his part rewarded Job…This story is an allegory for life and for all of us to learn from!…..How many of us have experienced events similar to what Job went through?…Something bad happened and in time…When the “dust settled”…We learned from the difficult event…Only to be a better person as a result….God’s ways are not our ways….Its for us to simply accept our role…That we are mere “clay” in the hands of the “master potter” and if we cooperate with the “potter” make no mistake about it…God will turn us into a master piece!….We are in good hands!……..Lord, let your face shine on me…….I am your servant; give me discernment”

”Who are you God? - And who am I?”

Today at Holy Mass the Universal Church commemorates the Feast of St Francis of Assisi…As a young man Francis lived to party and have fun…He had tons of friends…He was the son of a rich merchant and the “plan” was to follow in his father’s footsteps…But God had another plan…..Francis renounced his families wealth…Put down his “crazy ways” and embraced the will of God…..In prayer St Francis heard the words of Christ speak to him…..”Rebuild my Church, which lies in ruin”…..And that is exactly what Francis set out to do……Endlessly he prayed and asked God the following questions…..”Who are you God? - And who am I?”…It was in those two questions that Francis discovered the “pearl of great price”…And if we ask those two question to ourself as well…We too will come to the same life changing discovery as Francis did…….”Who are you God? - And who am I?”

“O LORD, you have probed me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar.”

What did St Francis discover when he mediated upon those two questions I noted above?….He came to understand his relationship to God as creator and himself as creation….That understanding helps one to embrace humility…That God is “in charge” and we are not…Humility is the foundation of every virtue…God resists the proud and embraces the humble…Only a humble soul will listen to the will of God…The proud “think” they know better…Francis came to understand his relationship to God through those two questions...From there he began to “rebuild the church”

“If I take the wings of the dawn, if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea, Even there your hand shall guide me, and your right hand hold me fast”

Today in the first reading from Mass we hear from the Book of Job…As you may remember…Job had everything taken from him…Like St Francis Job was very rich…And in this passage today from Mass Job questions God asking why everything was taken from him….”The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said: Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning………Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss? Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?”….What God was trying to teach Job by asking him these questions was…I am the creator of everything and have done things you cannot and will not ever understand…..God was teaching Job that he has a plan and a purpose and even if Job did not understand that plan at the moment, know that I have one because I am God and you are not…..God was trying to teach Job humility…That God is so far above us, yet loves us personally……In the end, Job figured it out…..”What can I answer you?……I put my hand over my mouth…..Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again; though twice, I will do so no more.”

”Who are you God? - And who am I?”

Like St Francis and Job from the Old Testament…We too must come to understand who we truly are….And we can never fully do that until we come to understand who God is first….This is the problem we see all around us today…Our world does not know “who it is” or “where it came from”….People are searching and searching - And in all the wrong places - Looking for purpose and meaning……They do not understand who they are!…..Only and until we come to discover that we are children of God - Only then will we find purpose and peace…As the great St Augustine once said…”The heart does not rest until it rests in thee”……St Francis “figured this out” and as a result he “shook the foundations of the world” as all saints do….And so will we!……But first we must answer the same questions Francis had to wrestle with….”Who are you God? - And who am I?”

Your heavenly Father knows what you need…….. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.”

Today at Holy Mass Jesus sends his friends out into the world…And the task at hand does not seem too easy…And surely not for the faint of heart….”Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way”…The world resoundingly rejected Jesus and his message…Still does to this day…And Jesus said very clearly in Scripture….”Remember the word I spoke to you, No slave is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me”…..To truly follow the ways of Jesus Christ means you will not have it easy in this world…I will take it a step further…If you “have to easy”…You are not following Jesus…Jesus had enemies because the “sons and daughters of this world” reject the message of the gospel…Still do to this day…With all that said....Catholics are called to be “in the world but not of the world”…We are to love the world so the world can see Jesus in us….That is the task at hand and that is what a follower of Jesus Christ is called to do…We are not here to “have an easy life”….Save the “easy life” for heaven!…While we are here upon this earth, we are to “roll up of sleeves”….”To be gentle as doves but as wise as serpents”…And proclaim the Kingdom of God by our very lives!…..God did not call us to an easy life…He called us to greatness found in and through him!…And the greatest adventure ever to embark upon is to pursue with all your heart, mind and soul the will of God!

“Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.”

I am the son of a barber and my mother was a secretary…If you told me at the age of sixteen that I would travel the world, be on the radio, communicate daily through the written word to thousands around the world…I would have told you that you are crazy….All this happened because I chose to follow Christ and embrace my Catholic faith…..The single BEST decision of my life was made when I was twenty-two years old and decided to practice my Catholic faith fully…No decision even comes close!!!….Because of that decision I met my wife through the Church and have five children….EVERYTHING I have and have done is because I decided to follow the will of God as a Catholic…And God is not through with me yet!…….The questions today I want to put forth to you are these…...What holds us back?…Are we afraid of what others will think?…..Do we take Jesus at his word?

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear? All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.”

I remember one day in Kolkata I was on the back of a motorcycle going over a bridge traveling with a priest into a small village on the outskirts of town…I could not believe it was me on the motorcycle - It was like watching myself in a movie - But it was real…..God took the son of a barber from New Jersey and placed him on the other side of the world……Why could that not be you?….That does not mean you have to go to India….But I will guarantee you this…If you “stepped out of your comfort zone”….And trusted God…You would be amazed at what God could and would accomplish in and through you…I am nothing special but I will tell you this….My father in heaven is special…And I trust him!…And so should you!

“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father”

Getting back to the gospel today from Mass…Jesus sent his friends out amongst “wolves”…Armed with nothing but faith…And you know what?…That is all they needed…Twelve blue collar uneducated men changed the world!…With nothing more then the cloths on their back….They faced down the powers of hell, spoke truth to power and planted “seeds” that bore fruit to this very day….I will say it again…Twelve uneducated blue collar men did this!….What about you?…… Just think what God can accomplish through you if you really trusted him…..Be not afraid!!!!

Your heavenly Father knows what you need…….. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.”

”Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels”….."Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”…What we find there may surprise us

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew we hear a question asked of Jesus by his friends….”The disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”….Human beings are always interested in “Who is the greatest”…We measure our achievements in business, sports, wealth - The list goes on…I can assure you of one thing…God does not value what we value in most of those measurements, in terms of what we "think" is truly great…Many people who we “think” are great…Will not be measured as “great” at the time of judgment…Many of the “things” that we consider to be “great” in the here and now will mean nothing!…..”He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me”…….What do we value?…..Who in your eyes is great?…..How we live is how we die and what we prioritize tells the world who we are.

“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.”

When I was single I would spend three weeks during Advent in Kolkata….I work in corporate America and the people I worked with could not understand why I would spend my vacation working amongst some of the worlds poorest people….What they did not realize was…I found the time in India and the work serving the poor uplifting…I also enjoyed the company of the people I served with, both the religious sisters and the volunteers from all over the world…These people were joyful, positive and starkly different from the many people I worked with in my corporate setting…..The “world” may have looked at some of these volunteers as being “misguided”…That they were "wasting their time"…..But I assure you, God did not see it that way!…….God values what we do not…And God will judge each of us not upon "our standards" of what is “good” but his standards……Why I bring my time in India up during this reflection is because when I was there in the mornings I would work with handicapped children…Many of them were severely handicapped and abandoned by their families left on the streets in many cases to die…Again, the world did not value these children…But I assure you again…God did!……”He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me”….As time went on I got to know these kids…One I was particularly close with was a young man named Bernard…Bernard was severely mentally & physically handicapped…But he always had a smile on his face…We would make each other laugh…Bernard got a “kick” out of me and frankly I enjoyed helping him…He would do “crazy things” and I would laugh and sarcastically call his name…BERNARD!!!….And he would laugh and laugh all the more…And so would I…As time went on I would reflect upon what I experienced with these people who the world “threw away”, literally in some cases…And I came to understand that they were more fortunate then I was!…They were full of love, innocent and full of joy…The Missionaries of Charity cared for them and provided for all their needs and will do so until their natural death…In many ways, they were more fortunate then the wealthy men and women I worked with at the bank in New York City….Yet, “the world” did not see it that way…..So I ask the same questions again to you…….What do we value?…..Who in your eyes is great?

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”

So back to our gospel today from Mass and the question asked of Jesus……. "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”…..I am not in heaven but I can assure you of this…When the time of judgment comes and it will come for each of us…Everything we see now…All the power structures of the world will be flipped…..Jesus tells us this very clearly in Scripture…..”The last will be first, and the first will be last”……”Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels”…….Mother Teresa would always say…”When I stand before God, the poor will defend me”…..I think of that often because I am far from perfect - Just ask my wife….God has been very good to me - Too good to me if I speak honestly….And when it is all said and done and I stand before God…My old friend Bernard from Kolkata will be in a very “high place”…..I hope Bernard remembers me when I stand before God and “puts in a good word”…..And when the dust clears…...Bernard and I can laugh together again!

”Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels”….."Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”…What we find there may surprise us

”Words” will never accomplish a similar outcome…..“The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many”

Today at Hoy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Luke…Jesus and his 12 friends are walking to Jerusalem and they enter a Samaritan Village…For those who may not know…The people of Samaria hated the Jewish people and the Jewish people hated the people of Samaria…Sound familiar to the tribal behavior we see today?…..Since Jesus and his friends were Jews, the people of Samaria did not welcome them…Upon receiving this bad treatment…The two brothers (James & John - Known in our Catholic tradition as the “Sons of Thunder”) say the following…..“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”…Jesus interestingly enough addresses this statement in a surprising way…..”Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.”….What can we learn from this encounter?…God sees the world differently then we do…Jesus did not walk the earth to “settle a score”…He came among us to show us a better way to live…To save us from our sins….Jesus could have “taken care of” the Samaritans but instead he walked away……He took the “high road”…What “good” would have been accomplished if Jesus “crushed them”?…Jesus came to save the Samaritans too from their sins…James and John did not see it that way….What can we learn from this today?……Do we look to “settle old scores”?……Do we work to “win over” our enemies?……Or….Do do we look to crush them to satisfy our wounded pride?

“O LORD, my God, by day I cry out; at night I clamor in your presence. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my call for help”

The word of God is written on the hearts of all men!…..However mere words or simply reciting scripture like a parrot will not open the hearts of people to the Truth…People need to see it lived out in real time…..But know this…When people see the word of God lived out…Its like a thunderbolt crashing upon the earth!…Even the hardest of sinners can not ignore it….This is how we are to live and this is what needs to be witnessed to the world….”Words” will never accomplish a similar outcome

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

When Mother Teresa first started her work she received a lot of push back from within the Church and from the people of India….Everyone thought she was crazy…The first house she established was in the Red Light District of Kolkata…I know this because I served at that home…It was a home for the Dying and Destitute taken from the streets…Next to her first home was a Hindu Temple, which stands to this very day…The Hindu men at the time hated Mother Teresa…They did not understand why she was helping the poor and dying from the streets and they thought she only wanted to convert them to the Catholic faith…So they fought against her and tried to have her leave the neighborhood…This went on for some time…Until the men saw what she was actually doing with their own two eyes…How she helped all people…It did not matter if they believed in God or not…She helped Hindus, Muslims, and Christians alike…When the people saw with their own eyes what Mother Teresa and her sisters did with their very hands…Their hard hearts softened and they stopped fighting her…In time…All the people of India supported her….. Mere ”words” would and could NEVER have resulted in this outcome - This change of heart….People need to see sacrificial love in action…Love that costs us!….This is the love of the gospel…And when the world witnesses this kind of love…….People will realize that this love was meant for them too!!!!…This is the “thunderbolt” that will change the world

“I am troubled* now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”

Getting back to the gospel today from Mass……James and John wanted to crush the Samaritans for not being good to them…Jesus had other ideas…Jesus wanted to “win them over”…But he knew simply lecturing them would not make that happen…He had to show them that he came not only for the Jewish people but for the people of Samaria too…Just like he came for us today…The only way he could show them is by “rolling up his sleeves” and serving them…Looking past any wounds, grievances or past disagreements….Seeing the people of Samaria as God sees them….If Catholics want to “win over the world”…This is the ONLY way we will do it…Lecturing people and reading off “canned lines” from the Bible will not change the hardest of hearts - This will not “win over” those who oppose us….We must be willing to give until it hurts….This is why the “good thief”, who was crucified beside Jesus said these words……“Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”……..”Words” will never accomplish a similar outcome…..“The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many”