All we have to do is “listen” to the small voice found in silence…..”Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face”….And you will set the world on fire!

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Luke…Jesus is discussing with his 12 friends about paying attention to what is right in front of you…..The past is just that…The past!…And as for the future…..We can not control the future…But we have the present…Its for us to recognize it as a gift….To pay attention to what God is doing in our life…God works in the here and now, he uses everything to pull at our hearts…He uses everything to mold us into who we were born to be….”You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”….We must begin by listening to the ever small voice in our heart…IT IS THERE!!!!!…..Do not ignore it…This is where the journey begins…The greatest adventure is to follow God and his holy will….Fear nothing and trust what I am telling YOU!…..God created YOU for greatness and he placed his spirit with in YOU……Take his hand and never let it go!

“He shall receive a blessing from the LORD, a reward from God his savior. Such is the race that seeks for him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob”

Charles de Foucauld was rich, brilliant and spoiled…….He wanted nothing to do with God…He lived off his family money and all he cared about was wine, women and song…After years and years of this behavior he felt empty and believe it or not “Crazy Charlie” went to confession with a Catholic Priest…And after this one confession it was like “lightening struck him”…He began “the journey” of changing his life…Charles went from a drunk and a womanizer to become a monk…He felt called to live in the desert of Northern Africa with the hope to preach the gospel to Muslims…And while he was there he failed continuously…So much so the very people he tried to help eventually murdered him…..But after his death something happened….His life’s example “spoke” to people…So much so people all over Europe, Northern Africa and the world began to read about him…To listen to his words that were written…Charles was like a “small seed” buried in the North African desert…While he was alive no cared to listen to him but after his death the “seed” “took root”…Why am I telling you about the story of St Charles de Foucauld?…Because Charles was just “another guy” “siting at the bar”…..The difference with “our friend Charlie” is - He heard within his heart a small voice - And he responded to that voice!…And Charlie set the world on fire!…Not in the way he thought he would…But in the way God intended and planned all the while “Good Old Charlie” was sitting at that bar!

”You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Like what Jesus taught his 12 friends in today’s gospel…The past is over..Forget about it…The future is unknown, so don’t fret over it…All we have is the present…I used to have a friend who I would drink coffee with years ago at the train station before work….His name was Daily Dowd…..Daily went to my Parish and struggled with mental illness…He also was homeless at times and lived at the train station…Daily would always tell me…”Joe - The cross is what is right in front of you”…Daily did not concern himself with the past…Daily was not thinking of the future…All Daily was concerned with was getting through the moment standing right in front of him…This is our task…..God has placed infront of you "a moment”…He speaks to you in the silence of your heart….All we have to do is “seize the moment”….And a new world will open up….Fear is the only thing standing in your way…And fear comes from the devil…Tell the devil to “beat-it”….Take a step….Like Good Old Charlie de Foucauld…And you will set the world on fire!

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

Jesus tells his 12 friends today in the gospel to “pay attention” to the signs of the times…..He is telling us the same thing…Do we pay attention to the small voice within our hearts?…It’s there you know!……Are we listening?…..And if we hear it….What is stopping us?…Only you can answer those questions…No one can answer them for you……Jesus went on in the gospel today telling the original twelve….“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?”…..If Jesus was from Northern New Jersey, he would have put it this way….”You know what you need to do - So do it”…..We have been given all the “tools” we need…..All we have to do is “listen” to the small voice found in silence…..”Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face”….And you will set the world on fire!