God is not just a word…God is real…..We need to “get out of the boat” of our “comfortable life”…That is where the “big fish” are!

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Luke in the gospel…In this text Jesus tells us a story about a King and his servants….“A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return”…….Each of us has something to do and while we do not earn heaven, heaven is a gift which we can not earn, God has given each of us a unique task…..And he expects us to do it…Some may say….What can I do for God?…My answer to that person saying that now is…A lot!…..If we only knew our potential…If we only had the courage to pursue it with reckless abandon!…….Jesus tells us very clearly…...”The Kingdom of God is within you!…Do you fully understand what that means!…Fear is the only thing that holds us back….What will people say?…..What if I fail?……What will happen if I take this risk?……Fear is not from God, it is from the evil one…..We need to “get out of the boat” of our “comfortable life”….That is the “space” God works in, when we “expose our self” and trust in him alone….When we meet him there in that “space”....When we stand in front of him "there" with nothing in our hands…In that encounter and in that "space" God smiles and says to us…Now we can begin!

“I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord”

People do not like to be uncomfortable….We want to feel we are in control…We want to feel like we are “safe”…..Ask any wildly successful person in the business world what they think about feeling “comfortable”…They will tell you flat out, that is not how “things get done”….The same goes for being a follower of Christ…….We need to “get out of the boat”……..A friend of mine told me a story about a French girl who felt called to become a nun…This girl was an only child and grew up in a wealthy family……She told her parents when she was sixteen….”In two years I am going to leave you and become one of Mother Teresa’s nuns, you should adopt other children”…How can a sixteen year old girl be so convinced of making such a radical decision?……She gave up a very comfortable life and she knew very clearly what was asked of her by God - And she did it!….We must have a similar conviction in our own life…But before we do…We must be assured of the reality that God is real!…This requires and encounter with him…Which can be had if we sit before the Lord in front of the Blessed Sacrament in silence…I have repeated this in these refections time and time again…When we know who it is that loves us and created us…When the reality of God becomes as tangible as the nose on your face….Then you will “get out of the boat”….And you will do GREAT THINGS!……Why settle for a mediocre life?…Stop “playing it safe”!…..If you only knew what you are capable of - YES YOU!……..I love the story in scripture when the first apostles, all of them fishermen, did not catch any fish and worked all night…In the morning Jesus tells them to throw their nets in the opposite direction…Peter, the master fishermen at first says…”Lord, we worked all night, that is not going to work, we won’t catch any fish”…But then Peter says…”Because you said so, I will do it”….And guess what?…Peter catches tons of fish!…In that moment, Peter understood something very important and says to Jesus, “Depart from me, I am a sinful man”…Jesus responds, “From now on, you will not be catching fish, you will be catching men”…..For St Peter to arrive at “that moment”, understanding fully who it is that is standing in front of him, not just some “guy” but God, it was that realization that propelled him forward to become who God called him to be, “the rock” which Christ built his Church upon….Peter then realized he needed to get out of his comfort zone…And so must we!...That is where the “big fish” are!

“Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created.”

In the gospel story from Mass today there was one man who was afraid to use what was given to him by the King……”‘Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man……He said to him, ‘With your own words I shall condemn you………You knew I was a demanding man…….Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten”……We all have something to do - Yes that means YOU!…..But before we do it, we need to understand that God is not just a word…God is real…..We need to “get out of the boat” of our “comfortable life”…That is where the “big fish” are!

Do we know what it means to be lost?…If you do, you too would give people a chance…..Deep down we all want to be “good”……Give people the opportunity to be good…They may surprise you

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Luke in the gospel…Jesus does something that is shocking to the status quo…He befriends a known sinner…”Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house”……People love to point fingers and “think” they are better than others…When in fact, we are all sustained by grace and could just as easily be much worst then the greatest of sinners…..Jesus today met Zacchaeus exactly where he was, that does not mean Christ condoned his sins, however it does mean he loved Zacchaeus so much that he did not want to have him stay in that condition…As a result of Jesus’s gesture of friendship, Zacchaeus repents….This is what true “accompaniment” is, a term used by many in the Catholic Church today….“Accompaniment” is nothing more than friendship….It does not mean you lower or “mask” Catholic teaching, it simply means you extend a hand of friendship, showing a person what it means to be a follower of Christ by your life’s example…..Deep down we all want to be “good”….Give people a chance, they might surprise you

“Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

In the history of the Church some of the biggest sinners became the greatest of saints…..There is something special about a person who has “been around the block”, who then repents and turns their life to God…They can give a perspective that others can not…..Nothing is wasted, even our repented sin is used by God to help others……There are somethings that can not be learned in books…One of those things is empathy….To fully understand how someone feels because you yourself went through the same thing….When Jesus was on the cross, only a few people stood by his side…One of those people was Mary Magdalene…Scripture tells us that seven demons were removed from her by Christ…..And once Mary Magdalene “turned the corner”, there was no stopping her….Notice when push came to shove who went running for the hills and who stayed…The 12 friends of Jesus liked to “talk a good game”….At times they even pointed fingers and criticized people only for Jesus to correct them….With all there “big talk”, when Jesus needed them the most, the first 12 apostles ran away….Not Mary Magdalene!…Why do you think that was the case?…I think because Mary Magdalene knew first hand what it was like to be isolated, wounded and alone….She could deeply identify with Jesus as he hung on the cross, therefore she was not going to let him suffer alone…Jesus honors Mary Magdalene’s courage….When he rose from the dead, Mary Magdalene, the known sinner was the first to see him in his glorified body…..”But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni”………..If I had to “go to war” against the powers of hell….Give me 12 public sinners who fully repented their sin any day of the week…..These are my people…And you know what?…They are Jesus’s people too!

“God loved us, and sent his Son as expiation for our sins”

In the Gospel today St Luke tells us about Jesus giving a public sinner a chance….Do we give people a chance?…Do we think we are better than others?….Jesus did not condone bad behavior and frankly nor should we…But how do we respond to it?…..Its so very easy to see the wrongs of this world…However, its hard to address those wrongs positively and the only way to do that is to give a good and consistent example day in and day out…To give that example, we must first change ourself and that requires grace….This is how we change the world - The only way!………”For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost”…….Do we know what it means to be lost?…If you do, you to would give people a chance…..Deep down we all want to be “good”……Give people the opportunity to be good…They may surprise you

But there is a cost…The question is….Are we willing to pay it?

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St John in the first reading from the Book of Revelation….…John is telling the followers of Christ that in order to “continue on the road” one must endure many trials….”You have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary”…..How easy it is to say we believe in God when all things are going well…..What about when the “world turns against you”?…When you can not do what you want?……This is what St John is addressing…..To follow Christ means we are to be “in the world and not of the world”….That is very easy to say but the reality is, at times to live that out, it can be very challenging…This is why we need grace…To attempt this “path” without relying upon daily prayer, weekly fasting and the Sacraments if you ask me is futile - Not going to happen!….”The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”…..There is no such thing as “cheap grace”….And there are no short cuts.....”A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.”

“Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked Nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, But delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night.”

For those of us who have “been around the block” for some time, we know that “doing the right thing” is challenging to say the least.....Our world rewards the “quick buck”…..To do things God’s way is never easy…But when we choose to do things God’s way, we have peace and joy…However, that does not take away from the “cost of discipleship”…And make no mistake, there is a cost…This is where the “rubber meets to road” and where people “fall away”….Human beings want to have their “cake and eat it too” when it comes to following Jesus and his Church, however it does not work that way!……The road to heaven is “different” from the road taken by the “worldly”….Catholics are to serve as “salt and light” in this world…We are to walk among the world but not be like the worldly........Fr Lawerence Abello was a Jesuit in India…His life impacted many, including me…Fr Abello took a vow when he became a Jesuit….Poverty, Chastity and Obedience…And Fr Abello took those vows very seriously…..The man was brilliant but if you saw him, you may have mistaken him for a poor simple-minded man…His shirts were always worn out and his sandals were beat up…He walked everywhere he went…..When I would go to India, many of the volunteers from around the world would laugh at Fr Abello…They thought him to be “strange”….I on the other hand thought otherwise…..Fr Abello was a holy man…Why do I bring this up?…..The path of discipleship can stare us right in the face and we can miss it…Why?…Because we “look” at it with worldly eyes….Fr Abello was not like other people and because he was not, people thought he was “weird”…Think about how people looked at Jesus…Here you have this guy with no place to call home, going from town to town with “12 rough looking guys” speaking Truth to power…I bet the people of his day thought Jesus to be “weird” too….Why bring this up?…There is a cost to discipleship…And if we want to follow Christ and embrace the will of God…We must be willing to “pay that cost”

“I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

Catholic tradition refers to Jesus as the suffering servant…..If that is true do we somehow think we as his followers will not suffer?….As American Catholics we have been conditioned to have a “comfortable life”….And there is nothing wrong with some creature comforts…However, we were not made to be “comfortable”, we were made for greatness!….And that requires sacrifice - Period Full Stop!……The question we have to reconcile with ourself is this - Are we trying to establish our “kingdom” here on earth?…....or….Is our Kingdom in heaven?…It all boils down to that…And frankly you don’t have to answer with words…Our life’s choices communicates the answer loud and clear for everyone with eyes in their head see - That not only includes we Lay Catholics in the pews but Priests, Bishops & Cardinals as well.....For those who have ears - Let them hear!…..Why was Jesus so effective as a communicator?…Because he practiced what he preached! - He lived the words he spoke!…This is what we as Catholics must do as well…But to do this, we must accept to cost of discipleship and that requires grace…..When we do, our words will be heard and if we do not, our words will be ignored - Period Full Stop!…..The Boston College Philosophy professor, the great Peter Kreeft put it this way…..”You can praise Jesus, disagree with him, quote him, disbelieve him, glorify him, or vilify him. About the only thing you cannot do is ignore him, and that is a lesson that every age learns in its own way. You can't ignore Jesus, because he changed things”….And so will we…But there is a cost…The question is….Are we willing to pay it?

So be vigilant….And be ready!……The invisible will become visible

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Mark in the gospel….….Mark today gives an account of the last days….."And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.”…….Jesus was born poor to a humble family…He lived and worked with his hands and for three years as scripture tells us….“Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest.”……Basically, Jesus was “invisible” to the world around him…..Think about even today, the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the altar, Jesus is there fully present, so simple, so humble yet “Invisible” to far too many…….Why do I say all this?…When Christ returns, that will not be the case…Jesus is the Lion of Judah and when he returns again as he has promised….He will come in “great power and glory”……And when that happens the world will be turned upside down!…One either believes this or one does not….But make no mistake, Jesus was no “hippie”….."In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”…Are we prepared to meet the King upon his return?………. When the invisible will become visible

“Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.”

I have often mediated upon how the Holy Family lived their lives “invisible” to the world around them…How people did not realize who Jesus was and even when he spoke, how they “missed it”….Even today, Jesus is fully present in the Blessed Sacrament and the world ignores him……I have had the great privilege to see with my own eyes how the poor of this world do not ignore Christ…Whether in the housing projects of New York City…A shantytown in Haiti…..A soup kitchen in Montreal….or a village in India….While the rest of the world “misses it”…Many of these people do not…They have “eyes to see”….Their lives are geared towards Christ and when he returns, they will be ready……Allow me to tell you about one of “those people”…Bleecker Street Pizza in Lower Manhattan is one of the best places to get pizza in all of New York City…One of the cooks there, his name is Roland is from Albania….Roland has AIDS…I got to know him when I served with Mother Teresa’s sisters actively before I got married in Lower Manhattan…Roland works very hard and whenever he could on Saturdays, he would come by the sisters convent to pray before the Blessed Sacrament…..He is a joyful and generous man always with a smile on his face…..The world around Roland “passes him by” - Like he is invisible….To Christ however, he is “seen”…Do we have eyes to see?…..Jesus is fully present in the Blessed Sacrament and Jesus is always fully present in the poor too…If you want an authentic encounter with Christ, serve him in the poor….How many people do not believe in God only and until they "roll up their sleeves" and serve Christ in the poor….Jesus tells us very clearly…....”What you do to the least - You do to ME”…….If you do not believe in Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, I suggest you first look for him in the poor…"Writing a check" is too easy, go and serve them with your own two hands, get to know the poor, and in time you will find your heart will expand and your eyes will open…Then that “little piece of bread” consecrated by the hands of a priest will take on a different appearance to you….The invisible will become visible

“You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever”

St Mark reminds us today in the Gospel that Jesus will return again…But in order to “be ready” for him, we must have “eyes to see”…My friend Roland who makes pizza in New York City has “eyes to see”…To the many people who come into his pizza shop, he is “invisible” a “no-body” but to Christ, he is a child of God, “a somebody”………Jesus, Mary and Joseph were once too “invisible” to the society in which they lived…They were “no-bodies” too…However history tells us otherwise….Scripture too tells us…”He will gather his elect from the four winds”….Yes, that includes a pizza maker from Bleecker Street in Lower Manhattan…Where the “invisible” have eyes to see…….So be vigilant….And be ready!……The invisible will become visible

”I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Luke in the gospel…..The theme of today’s gospel is the importance of perseverance…How easy it is to give up….This is why we MUST be faithful in daily prayer, weekly fasting and living a Sacramental life….Sadly, far too many are not convinced of this reality…Do we need reminding from Jesus himself again?…….”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”…….Life is a marathon, it’s not a sprint….In order to “make it across the finish line”, we need to remain connected to “the vine”….You don’t believe me?…..You don’t have to look very far to observe human weakness…..It’s in each of us…This is why we need to “stay connected to the vine”.

“God has called us through the Gospel, to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Think about for a minute how many man-made things do not last more than a mere 50 years…..How many business fall apart when they are transitioned over from parents to children…How many governments, who at one time had so much power and as time went on fell into disarray……..How many marriages start off with passion only to fall apart as the years go on….These examples should show us very clearly how our human failings, which we all possess effect the very things we build up and hold dear…..Jesus understood this, this is why he established a Church and gave us the Sacraments…..Sadly far too many take the importance of a Sacramental life for granted………The late Vietnamese Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan was a prisoner for thirteen years, nine of them spent in solitary confinement. The communist government targeted Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan for his faith and family connections to the former president of South Vietnam. During his time in jail, Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan wrote about spirituality, survival, and hope in prison. He smuggled messages out of prison on scraps of paper, which were copied and circulated in the Vietnamese community. These messages were later published in the book The Road of Hope……….Allow me to make a point here......How does a person survive nine years in solitary confinement?……I will tell you how…..Through daily prayer and living a Sacramental life……And here is the good news - We too can utilize these “gifts”…Jesus gave them to us specifically for this purpose…To help us to “run the race”…To enable us to persevere……Until we come to terms with our own human frailty, we will never completely rely on Christ….Once again…The road to heaven is a marathon and not a sprint…Jesus gave us his very Body & Blood to nourish us along that journey…My advice to you is this…..We need all the help we can get! - Don’t take for granted your capacity to sin and fall away from God….”The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”

“Light shines through the darkness for the upright; he is gracious and merciful and just”

Today in the gospel from Mass Jesus reminds us indirectly about our human weakness…..Do we have to bring up the fact that each of Jesus’s 12 friends ran away from him in the end….Even after seeing all the miracles - They still ran away!!….That should be all the evidence we need to know to convince us - That we must “cling to the vine”

”I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

The road to heaven is narrow and the world will throw everything it can at you to discourage you and prevent you from continuing down the path…But fear not……”I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world”

“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from St John….Interestingly enough, he addresses a problem, which still exists today……How society “thinks” they have “moved beyond” God….These are his exact words, not mine……”Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist. Look to yourselves that you do not lose what we worked for but may receive a full recompense. Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son”…….At the root of all these “progressive ideas’, from St John’s time to the present day is the fact that mankind does not want to “bend its knee” to God…So he “invents a God”…..And in doing so, “the world” indirectly proclaims itself “god”…..…”I make the rules”….”I live by my terms”….Very easy to say when we are young, strong and rich…But has we know, we all get old, lose our strength and our money can not buy us eternal life…….To expand on this idea put forth by St John…The one who is most “progressive” is the one who sees past the “sparkle and glitter” of this world and builds his / her life upon eternal truths that have and will last…..Have we “invented” a God that does not exist?….Do we call our self “spiritual”, worshiping this imaginary “god” we created?…..As St John rightful said….”Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God”

“Open my eyes, that I may consider the wonders of your law”

The great CS Lewis said the following: “We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. There is nothing progressive about being pig-headed and refusing to admit a mistake. And I think if you look at the present state of the world it's pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistake. We're on the wrong road. And if that is so we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on.”……Haven't we seen enough in this world?…Don’t you think it’s time to maybe try a “different path”?

“Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

“Don’t tell me what to do”…This was the sin of Adam and Eve and this is the sin we see today played out again and again….How is it working out?….The answer should be very clear….Not too well…The world is a mess….Yet mankind doubles down on bad ideas…All because we echo the words of the fallen angels…”I will not serve”….Jesus tells us very clearly…”I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit”…He also tells us….“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined”……..And we still do not want to hear it! - “Don’t tell me what to do”!………..God’s way works….Its time tested…But my words will not convince you of this….This is why the world needs witnesses….Only saints change the world…Saints live radically different lives from the rest of society…They show people that God’s way not only works but when you embrace it, you thrive in this life…Speaking personally, I saw that first hand with Mother Teresa’s sisters with my own eyes…..They showed me - Not with words - But by their example that God’s way does in fact work….What I suggest to anyone who reads this refection is, expose yourself to the radical life of Catholic Church…Its there if you search it out……..Stop focusing on the “bad actors” within the Church….Volunteer at a soup kitchen, Volunteer at shelter, Volunteer at a hospice….In doing so you will meet the most interesting of people and you will also see with your own eyes that those people having “something” the world does not have and desperately wants.....…You will soon come to want that “something” for yourself……..And if you volunteer long enough in one of the places I just mentioned…You will come to understand that what you see…”That something”…Is the Holy Spirit…That God is real…That God loves you…And that you can have “that something” too

“I ask you, not as though I were writing a new commandment but the one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another”

Circling back to St John in the first reading today….We all want “progress”…..However, without God we do not have progress, we in fact regress both personally and as a society….…The one who is most “progressive” is the one who sees past the “sparkle and glitter” of this world….God came to give us life and give it abundantly in the here and now!….God takes nothing from us, he only gives…..See for yourself….Expose yourself to radical witnesses of the gospel….Experience for your self the joy of giving……Haven't we seen enough in this world?…Don’t you think it’s time to maybe try a “different path”?

“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be”

The Son of Man will return…Like a flash!…….Are we ready to meet him?

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Luke Jesus tells his friends some shocking news…….“The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation”………How easily we forget that Jesus is going to come back…He may even come back today…Are we ready to meet him?…..Jesus told his 12 friends many things and for as much as he told them, most of it went right over their head…In many ways we are no different…The Son of Man will return…Like a flash!….Are we ready to meet him?…In the mean time, Jesus tells his buddies….“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you”…..Inside of each of us is the Kingdom of God…Sadly we are afraid of it…We bury it…Because the world rejects it….But for those who do not….The road to heaven is heaven…But make no mistake…As Jesus said today in the gospel…..”He must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation”….The world will always reject those who embrace the ways of God…..…“My kingdom does not belong to this world.…….For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice”…....We can not have it both ways!…..The Son of Man will return…Like a flash!…….Are we ready to meet him?

“The LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who were bowed down; the LORD loves the just. The LORD protects strangers”

How do we prepare to meet the Lord?…..A valid question…..The answer to that question is rather simple…We get Baptized and we are free of any mortal sin when die…What is mortal sin?….There are three components to a mortal sin…The sin is grave in nature, We have full knowledge that the sin is grave in nature, and We commit the sin anyway…..ALL mortal sin MUST be confessed to a Catholic Priest!…….This is how we are ready to meet the Lord……When we stand before God (or when Jesus returns, which ever comes first) we will see ourselves as we truly are….Sadly many people in the world today are “blinded” by many things: Self rationalizations, their desires for material gain, pursuits of disordered passions, etc…These things “cloud our vision”…..When the Lord returns, we will see “clearly” and frankly that is a terrifying thought…Because far too many in the world are not ready…But as the saying goes…..”Ready or not here I come!”…......Many years ago I was backpacking in Vietnam….The French occupied Vietnam for a 100 years so there is a significant Catholic presence in the country…On this trip one of the days I spent in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and for an hour on this given day I attend Eucharistic Adoration at a local Church…The Church was packed with people!…Little did I know, the people believed that the sun was appearing in a odd way in the sky at the same time everyday in late afternoon…Similar to the miracle of the sun in Fatima, Portugal…So at this designated time everyone came to pray and I just happned to be in the chapel at that time.....…So when that time arrived - Everyone flooded out of the Adoration Chapel and were frantically pointing at the sun as if Christ was about to return…It was a rather chaotic sight to behold!....Watching this as on outsider standing among these people made me reflect….How will it be when the Son of Man returns from the sky?…He said he would come back - Right?…How will the world receive him?…Are we ready?…Am I ready?

“The fatherless and the widow he sustains, but the way of the wicked he thwarts. The LORD shall reign forever; your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.”

Jesus in the gospel today tells us that the Kingdom of God is within you…That we can experience a “taste of heaven right now”….By striving to do God’s will and living in a state of grace….He also tells us that he will indeed return - Like a flash!…..When we hear these words from the Man we all call God - Do we take his words seriously?….How easy it is to “gloss over” the words of Christ!……Mother Teresa would always say…”I do what I do because I take Jesus at his word”….I think that is a very wise and a common sense approach to our shared Catholic faith…Because if we really believe that Jesus was God and that he rose from the dead…Then we have to believe everything he said - Right?…..The Son of Man will return…Like a flash!…….Are we ready to meet him?

What is God calling you to do?….What is stopping you from doing it!……You of little faith, why are you afraid?

Today the Universal Church honors St Frances Xavier Cabrini, known to the world as Mother Cabrini……This woman shook the foundations of the world!….A tiny woman, much like Mother Teresa, Mother Cabrini abandoned herself to the will of God and God used her to assist immigrants in America during the early part of the 20th century…Interestingly enough, Mother Cabrini did not want to come to America, she wanted to go to China...... When she met with Pope Leo XIII, the Pope told her that she was needed in America, so she went, abandoning her dreams to go to China…..She was needed in America!….When asked to open a hospital in America, Mother Cabrini at first pleaded her ignorance of health care….That night in a dream Our Lady appeared to her and said….”I am doing the work you refuse to do”…Mother Cabrini awoke from the dream and as a result took on the work of building the hospital…What should this tell us?….God has plans for us!….And he WILL enable us to accomplish those plans!…We must have absolute confidence in God and “set aside” our “ideas”…That is a revolutionary concept, one many will shy away from…That is a terrible mistake!…Jesus Christ was the greatest revolutionary that ever walked the earth…We too must be “revolutionaries”….God can use us but before he does, we must trust him, his ideas are far greater then our own….Don’t you think its time to “put down the glass in your hand and reach for the jug?”

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul”

The first time I traveled to India I got very sick…I found myself for two days with dysentery and a fever in bed…I was traveling all alone so I had no one to help me….Fear was trying to set in…I kept thinking to myself…”How will I get home?”…I can’t even get off this bed…As those two days wore on, I was fully convinced that God called me to go to India…I was sure of it…I was also sure God did not send me there to die….Right before I went home and got back on the plane I was very weak…I was convinced I would never return…..I was speaking to a French volunteer and was telling him how sick I got and how I would never come back…This man looked me dead in the eye and said…”You will come back”…He was right…I came back five more years in a row…The devil uses fear, his greatest weapon, which prevents us to be the people God called us to be…Fear causes us to question God’s love for us…Never let fear stop you!…..When you know in your heart what you must do, keep moving forward!…God’s plans are ALWAYS better than what we “think” our plans are or "should" be!

“He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side With your rod and your staff that give me courage.”

Like Mother Cabrini, we have our own dreams and plans…Mother Carbini wanted to go to China…The Pope sent her to America - And she went….Mother Cabrini did not know anything about founding hospitals….Our Lady spoke to her in a dream……Mother Cabrini put aside her fear and founded many hospitals…..“God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called”…Let nothing hold you back….Nothing!….St Paul assures us in Scripture….“For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”……Do you need more examples of how God works?…..”God called Noah to build an ark, even though Noah wasn't a carpenter or shipbuilder. God also called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, even though Moses doubted his ability. God equipped Moses with the power and grace to do the job”…What is God calling you to do?….What is stopping you from doing it!……You of little faith, why are you afraid?

“Who are you Lord and Who am I”…When we know deep within our being that we are not God…He is the creator and we the creation….Then serving others becomes natural…..What prevents you from this mindset?

Today at Holy Mass we hear a theme discussed in both readings…The idea of being a servant…Historically speaking Jesus is referred to as the “suffering servant”….Jesus led from the front, by giving us an example of obedience to the will of the Father and unconditional service to humanity…..”Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”…..This passage from St Paul tells us everything about who Jesus Christ was…..He came to serve….Therefore so must we…..What prevents you from this mindset?…When we “give ourself away” in this manner we find out who we truly are

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him”

Getting back to the question I put forth above…..What prevents you from fully grasping the mindset of a servant?……If I were to be honest…..Its our pride…We have a false sense of who we are……I am not pointing fingers here, I do as well, its a very human trap to fall into…Especially for Americans because our life here in this country is so comfortable……St Francis found the answer to this question by praying in front of the San Damiano Cross and asking God this one simple question…”Who are you Lord and Who am I…When we ask that question with a sincere and open heart, we come to the conclusion that we are here on this earth for a limited amount of time…Nothing can change that….And any “false sense of self” we create is just that false……….Have you ever watched someone die?…I have many times….All people die the same way…Their breathing gets very heavy and each breath gets spaced out longer and longer from the last breath until they stop breathing all together…I have watched this happen many times in India and I have seen it with my own father….We all die the same way…..Death is the great equalizer…It should remind us that the greatest thing we can do here on earth is to give of ourself to others….This is our legacy…Everything else is forgotten and turns to “dust”….And when we “give ourself away” to others, we serve God in the process….I have met all kinds of people in my life…Wealthy people and poor people alike all over the world…The happiest people I have ever met were people who had the mindset of a servant…This is the path to heaven but before we “get on that road” that leads to eternal life…Like St Francis we must answer for ourself the question he wrestled with…..”Who are you Lord and Who am I”

“The just shall possess the land and dwell in it forever”

In the Gospel today St Luke is rather blunt about the the role of what a servant is….He basically said….If you decide to serve others as God asked of you, don’t think you are somehow “better” then the rest of the world that chose not to serve…You are only doing what was asked of you by God himself - Period Full Stop!…This is what Jesus did…..Remember the words of St Paul?……"Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God"….To understand that gets back to the question put forth by St Francis….”Who are you Lord and Who am I”…When we know deep within our being that we are not God…He is the creator and we the creation….Then serving others becomes natural…..What prevents you from this mindset?

Do not put “limits” on the Carpenter from Nazareth….He refuses to be put in a “box”…..So maybe its time for us to “step out of that box” too?

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel, St Luke tells us about how we are to approach those who offend us…..”If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry, you should forgive him”…..Everyone you talk to will say they want to “Go to Heaven”…And that makes perfect sense…However, there is a few “prerequisites” for that ask to become a reality….One of which is to offer and accept forgiveness…..Why is that?…Because we are ALL sinners and we ask God repeatedly to forgive our fallings and short comings - That is why!…”His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you? Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”…But lets be honest here, some hurts are very difficult to forgive…Many people in this world have suffered injustices and wounds that are very difficult to forgive…This is understandable and if we soley rely on our own strengthen, we will NEVER be able to forgive or heal…But with God’s grace all things are possible…I have learned over the years to “know my limits”…Know when something is “beyond my strengthen”…Be honest with your self and when you reach that point, rely solely on God’s grace…..One of the “secrets” of the interior life is…When we come to the end of our self - God begins his work in us…God is greater than any hurt, any wound and any injustice….Jesus also knows from first hand experience what it means to be treated unfairly…He has holes in his hands to prove it!

“Shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life”

The gospel of Jesus Christ turns the world on its head…The message of Jesus is written on every heart…While the “world” rejects Christ, that message is there…Its for us to reveal it by word and deed…..When a person does something wrong in many cases, they know it deep down…..By not responding in kind to wrongs, in many ways its like placing a mirror in front of that person and in doing so it gives them an opportunity to confront their mistake and hopefully correct it…Years ago at the AIDS Hospice run by the Missionaries of Charity in Lower Manhattan there was a man living there named Earl…Earl was an alcoholic who lived on the streets for years…He was trying to get his life together…One day he came into the home run by Mother Teresa’s sisters drunk…I knew he was drunk but did not say anything…When it came time for dinner, the superior saw Earl and she knew he was drinking too…Earl was asked to leave the home for the night….He knew the rules…However, Sister said, “Come back tomorrow Earl and we will start again”…Earl did come back the next day and for many years after that he lived at the Hospice and his faith in God grew….All because he admitted his mistake and Sister gave him a second chance….Our God is the God of second chances!…..And if a hurt is too great for us to forgive…Acknowledge to your self that you do not have the strengthen to forgive and ask God for the grace….God has no limits…And God can do the impossible…The “impossible” begins many times when we come to the end of ourself….This is where God does his best “work”

“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”

In the Gospel today the friends of Jesus ask for something…........”And the Apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you”…......Some times to forgive is beyond our strength…And that is ok to admit…We are only human…However, God can do the impossible… Jesus is very clear in the gospel today…..”If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you”…..Do not put “limits” on the Carpenter from Nazareth….He refuses to be put in a “box”…..So maybe its time for us to “step out of that box” too?

”Give yourself to God, all that you have, all that you do, all that you know and all your talents - and you will be dearer to him than ever before and richer too”

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of Mark we hear Jesus telling us about giving of our self…He is not talking about money as many may think upon first reading this passage…God has plenty of money, he does not need yours!….God wants something more…God wants YOU…Not part of you…Not “some” of you…God wants ALL of YOU……”Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood”……Far too many “think” that if we give ourself completely to the Lord that we will be “missing out”…Nothing could be farther from the truth…..When we abandon ourself to God’s will…We are filled with peace and joy…..Some thing the world can never take away or give for that matter……However it must be stated - Its very easy to say things like….”I abandoned my self to God’s will”…I say that because to do so is a process and I am “working on it” to this very day….But in order to “complete the race”, we first must begin…..Trust builds upon trust….."Rome was not built in a day", nor will you be….However, we need to begin in order to finish.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

I always wanted to get married and have children…But God did not bring to me my wife until I was 43 years old….And for many years before that I was alone…During that time, I believe God prepared me for marriage, he formed me in my Catholic faith…..Why bring this up?…For the seven years right before I was married I served of the poor working along side Mother Teresa’s nuns…I was their driver every Saturday and believe me when I tell you, I was sent on many “adventures” throughout New York City seeing a side to the city that many do not know exists…I always say, those seven years were like what a religious brother goes through before making their final vows to their particular religious order.....…That period of time I refer to as my "postulancy" before I made my vows before God to be a married man…The Missionaries of Charity during that time formed me…I owe them everything!…I learned to trust God’s providence from them….I learned a radical way to follow the gospel from them…..I also learned when you do those things, God will give you great joy and peace, unlike the world can ever give you…..When I got married I knew that if I trusted God and did things "God’s way", he will always provide for my family…I told my wife this and we have never been in want of anything, God has always provided for us and our five children…..To arrive at this “place” was a process…I had Mother Teresa’s nuns to show me…..I saw how Divine Providence works with my own eyes….We all must learn to trust God in this manner…His love for us all is beyond all telling!…We must have the courage to “take a different path” in the world…In doing so God will reveal to you just how real he is…How much he loves you and the world, who blindly “thirsts” for God so desperately….God always provides….Trust me….That does not mean the “road will always be smooth” but a “path” to “get through” on that "road" will always be there for you…Trust me!…More importantly…Trust God…He can do the impossible.

“The LORD keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets captives free.”

“In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, "Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink." She left to get it, and he called out after her, "Please bring along a bit of bread." She answered, "As the LORD, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die." Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid. Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son. For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.

“The LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who were bowed down; the LORD loves the just. The LORD protects strangers”

In the Gospel today from Mass St Mark tells us about a widow who gave everything she had to the Lord….Its not about money people…Its about YOU…God wants YOU….We all have the tendency to “hold firmly” to “our way”…to “things”…to our pride…The sooner we learn to “let go and let God”…The journey begins…The greatest adventure one can embark upon…”Give yourself to God, all that you have, all that you do, all that you know and all your talents - and you will be dearer to him than ever before and richer too”

“So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading we hear from St Paul…He tells us something we should always keep in mind no matter who we are…..”Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy”…….When we are Baptized the life of God is placed within us….A small seed that needs to be nurtured…But if it is nurtured, that seed will grow into a massive tree….Each of us is a “vessel”, which can be filled with “good things” or “bad things”, its entirely up to us…..Each of us was made by God to love him, to serve him and to be with him for all eternity…Again, completely up to us…Its all about how you “fill the vessel”…We each have the capacity to be holy…..Not because I say so…Because God says so and he created us to be that way

“There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High. God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed; God will help it at the break of dawn.”

I read something this morning from Fr Walter Ciszek SJ, who was an American Jesuit priest convicted of being a “Vatican spy” in World War II. He spent twenty-three years in Soviet prisons. Fr Ciszek was reflecting on the Mystical Body of Christ, which we all are apart of…..This is what he said…”The Church is full of human failings because it is comprised of human beings; it has its share of scandals and bad leaders, of selfishness, and skin-deep spirituality, of fallible and imperfect men who do not always practice what they preach. Nevertheless, it remains the institution Christ founded to preserve and guard the faith, the Mystical Body wherein even the weak can be made strong”……How true that claim is!…..The one sentence that really jumped out at me was the last part of the last sentence………..…”even the weak can be made strong”…….So true!….This is why Jesus addressed this directly in Scripture….”‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”……..We are all given the chance to change….To turn our hearts to the Lord……But time is limited…….If we only knew our full potential!….What God could accomplish through us if we let him……We only have to look at the lives of the saints….Normal everyday men and women who radically abandoned their lives to the will of God…..These men and women show us what is possible…But only if we “turn our gaze” and redirect our priorities…This does not magically happen…It must be a conscience daily choice….Fortified by daily prayer, fasting and the Sacraments……….Never forget….....”The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”

“The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. Come! behold the deeds of the LORD, the astounding things he has wrought on earth”

St John in today’s gospel from Mass tells us that no matter what happens…No matter what the world throws at the “Mystical Body of Christ” it can not be destroyed….."Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up”……Empires, powerful men and women, and institutions throughout history, to this very day have not learned this fundamental lesson…....The “Mystical Body of Christ” can not be destroyed!….We are apart of that Body - That means YOU!………And no matter what can or will happen to us…If we remain in the state of grace…God will raise us up to himself…..So have no fear! - When a person fully embraces this reality - Such a person CAN and WILL be used by God and he or she will “set the world on fire”

”And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Time to walk the walk….There is power in “the walk”

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading we hear from St Paul…Paul is writing a letter to his friends to encourage them…In it he says……”Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us.”…In this one sentence St Paul is teaching us what it means to communicate the message of the gospel, not with words but with the “message of our life”…Listen, speaking the truth is important, we must do that…We must speak clearly, boldly and with love…However, NO ONE WILL LISTEN TO YOU…If your life does not reflect the words you speak……As Paul tells us…And I am going to “break it down” like an Italian from Northern New Jersey….”Watch what I do, then listen to what I say”…..The witness of a holy person is the greatest “argument” there is for the Truths contained in the Catholic Church….If you are Catholic and you want to world to think like you…..Time to get down to the business of living a holy life!…As they say in the great state of New Jersey…..Time to walk the walk before you talk the talk!

“Whoever keeps the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him”

Why is there power in a Christian witness?…Because deep within ALL our hearts the Natural Law is there…And when a person sees the life of a holy person, its like a mirror is placed before that person’s eyes…They for the first time see themselves as they truly are….The “mask” comes off….This type of encounter can serve as spark for change…I am speaking from experience here because for seven years I was a driver for the Missionaries of Charity in Manhattan and I have witnessed countless times their impact on all kinds of people…From Hollywood star Hugh Jackman to someone who was a drug addict living on the street…..The witness of a holy life is the only thing that can “break through” the hardness of the world…..I will tell you one such story…..Years ago I was working the grill on the side walk in Lower Manhattan for Mother Teresa’s sisters at a BBQ on Labor Day…This huge guy comes over with no shirt, the dude is covered in tattoos…I am like to myself - ”Here we go”!……One of the sisters approaches him and the guy starts telling the sister the following…….”I used to be Catholic, now I just believe in Jesus”….The sister listening to this man weighed probably 110 pounds and was five feet tall….She continued to listen to him and after he was finished talking sister tells him straight to his face…..”You are Catholic, go into the Chapel and sit before Jesus”…..I am watching this scene play out and when I heard sister say this to this dude, I am like again to myself….”Here we go”…..But to my surprise, this monster of a man with all his tattoos, goes into the chapel….Why did he listen to one of Mother Teresa’s sisters?…Clearly, if I would have told him that I may have been punched in the face…This little nun told him something that challenged him and he responded…......Why?…I will tell you why - Because Mother Teresa’s nuns LIVE the gospel - Period….Point-Blank!…And there is POWER in such a witness!…This is what we must do…Our life must scream of the gospel message and trust me, when people see such a witness, as we say in New Jersey once again, "it leaves a mark”

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord”

Getting back to Paul today from Mass and his letter…Paul “rolled up his sleeves and got into the weeds”…….Paul did not just “talk a good game”….....Paul “walked the walk”…He was like (I am getting into New Jersey mode again - Bear with me, I can’t help it)…........”Listen, watch what I am doing, then listen to my words”…......One may read this and say to themselves….How do I know what you are telling me is true?….....I will tell you how…Because you “tell a tree by the fruit it bears”……If you live as the gospel asks you to live….If you live a Sacramental life…Your life will “bear fruit”….....Your life will speak for itself…This is the power of the Gospel…This power is at our disposal…I invite you to utilize it!

Time to walk the walk….There is power in “the walk”

Then we must learn to possess a heart of a true father…Who loves all his children…Who waits for them no matter what!

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the gospel of St Luke…In it we hear just how merciful Our Lord is…How he loves the just and the unjust…Only hoping that the unjust turn from their ways…..“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy”…..In this parable we see into Jesus's heart…He has the heart of a father who loves all his children…Has hopes for all his children…..We must have a similar heart…The road to heaven may “twist” for some at times…Should we “throw stones” at such a person?…How do we properly address such a person? Would if “that person” was our own child? …There is only one answer…We love them and give a good example….I have learned (the hard way)…Facts, logic and arguments do not get people to love and serve God or become a practicing Catholic for that matter….Only a consistent witness and an open hand of friendship extended towards that individual who is “searching”….This is the only way….This is to have a heart of a father.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord”

For the last six years I have been involved in Catholic Social Media and in doing so I have spoken with some very interesting people…If you would permit me I want to share a short story about one of them…..Joseph Sciambra grew up in an Italian family outside of San Francisco…His family was well off and Joseph was very smart…Joseph however had a strained relationship with his father and that relationship manifested itself in many ways as he grew older…After he graduated from UC Berkeley , a very prestigious college located east of San Francisco, he began to live a gay lifestyle…As the years went on, this life grew darker and darker (his words not mine)…The whole time his relationship with his father was still strained…However, Joseph’s father loved him and prayed the Rosary for Joseph day in and day out…One day, Joseph had a medical emergency and when he was in the hospital, he had almost an epiphany, a divine encounter with God. From that moment he began to change his life……Why do I bring up this story…Because Joseph’s father could not help him…He could only pray for him and in God’s time Joseph responded to his father’s prayers….Why do I tell this story?……We can not “control people”…We all have free will…We all make mistakes…But God the father is waiting for us….Because he loves us and this is what love does, it endures all things, it bears all things, it never gives up, it remains until the end!……..This is the only way….This is to have a heart of a father.

“Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds. Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!”

Getting back to the Gospel today from Mass….The scholars of the law were critical of Jesus…..“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them”…..How easy we all can forget just weak we are!….If we did not have God’s grace, where would we all be!……To love God is to love everyone…Not just those who “think like us” or act like us….And if you believe that Jesus Christ is God and that Jesus founded the Catholic Church, which enables us to receive his body and blood, which sustains us on our journey to heaven…Then we must learn to possess a heart of a true father…Who loves all his children…Who waits for them no matter what!