We are part of the Body of Christ….Jesus is the head and we are the body….Jesus established a Church…He did not write a book…..The two can not be separated!

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Paul in the first readings…Paul was writing a letter to his friends encouraging them……To summaries what Paul said…He states that we are all part of the same Body of Christ and Jesus is the head of that body…Most people would agree with that…However, large numbers of people somehow try to separate the Body, which is the Church from Jesus…You hear statements like this from many….”I do not need the Church - I only need Jesus”…..This is not reality because the Church is an extension of Christ and without the Sacraments whether we realize it or not…We will lack the needed grace as St Paul stated rightly......…”To run the race to the end”…Jesus did not write a book, he formed a Church…And he formed it for a reason…Because we as human beings, all of which are born with a fallen nature need the grace of the Sacraments……Never underestimate your own weakness and your capacity to sin…The moment you do, you open the door to the devil…”Who prowls the earth like a lion”…Its when we acknowledge our sin and understand our weakness…Its only then we become strong…Because God sustains us by his grace……That only happens when we embrace Jesus as the head and the Church has Christ’s body….We are part of that body…The two can not be separated!

“Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit”

The Catholic Church is made of human beings…”Saints and Sinners” - It always has and always will……We can choose to focus on the sinners or we can associate with the saints…Its our choice…However, no matter what…The Sacraments are the Sacraments…We need them and that is why I am Catholic and always will be…Jesus himself is fully present in the Eucharist, which can only be consecrated by a Catholic Priest…And I am a sinner and need to reconcile my sins, which only can happen in and through a Catholic Priest as well…This is reality and its time to face reality…..Even if a priest is a sinner and all of them are sinners to varying degrees - Through a Catholic Priests hands the Sacraments are still and always will be valid …And I need grace in order to “run the race”…And I got news for you - So do you!…..Many people would call me an “orthodox” or a “conservative” Catholic…I do not like the term because my view is, you are either a practicing Catholic or you are not….There should be no “terms” used to describe Catholics: Progressive Catholic, Orthodox Catholic, etc…But I digress….For purposes of this reflection…I will call myself Orthodox…I state this because where I work in New York City there is a parish, which is known for being very “progressive”…Many “orthodox” Catholics will never walk into such a parish…..But I do…Why?….Because its near my office and I want to receive the Sacraments at lunch…I go to daily Mass there and also go to Confession there two times a month…With all that said…I have heard homilies said at this parish that have made me “twitch”…But that does not stop me from going back to receive the Sacraments on my lunch hour…I have also had one of the worst confessions of my life at that parish…The Priest was so off, I almost fell out of my seat…But that still does not stop me from going there on my lunch hour…No one or no thing will stop me from encountering Christ!…Not even a “Bad Priest”…..We can choose to focus on the bad things we see in the Catholic Church or we can search out the good…Trust me when I tell you…The good things far out way the bad…Every thing human beings touch in this world are imperfect…But what we have to realize is….While the people in the Catholic Church are imperfect…Me being one of them…The Church itself is perfect…What do I mean by that?…The Catholic Church has taught the same thing for 2000 plus years…It has endured the test of time…..And the Catholic Church’s teachings are perfect - Because God is perfect and the two can not be separated….And if we follow those teachings from the one Church Jesus established, we will have a healthy and productive life here on earth…Those teachings will also lead us to heaven…..Always keep in mind, we as fallen human beings need the Sacraments because we are all sinners and need grace….Without grace we will not “run the race” to completion nor will we “run the race” well….Why is that?……..Because the “race” is long and hard…Those who have ears - Let them hear!

“Through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message”

St Paul tells us in the first reading that….”Christ Jesus himself is the capstone”…Ask yourself…What is Jesus the “capstone" of?…The answer is the Church….When we separate ourselves from the Church, we separate ourself from Jesus…..To some that may be shocking to hear…But its true….We need the grace of the Sacraments…The Eucharist is referred to in latin as viaticum, which is translated to mean “food for the journey”….Jesus himself weighs in on the subject in Scripture….”My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink…Unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life within you”….Not my words - We either take Jesus at his word or we do not…Completely up to us….However, not listening to the only man in history who rose from the dead and is the only person who can give us eternal life when we die is not advisable - If you ask me…..We are part of the Body of Christ….Jesus is the head and we are the body….Jesus established a Church…He did not write a book…..The two can not be separated!