Today at Holy Mass in the first reading we hear from St John……”I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth”…..The Truth is written on every human heart…This is why when the Truth is spoken, heads turn and listen…Something about the Truth resonates deep within us…This should tell us something about ourself - Who we really are….Jesus very clearly said, “I am the Truth”…Jesus Christ was the Word that became flesh…..”My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me”…The interesting point I want to make about that last statement made by Christ is, which echoes the same intent from the verse I noted from St John above…..We hear the voice of Jesus, we all do, however, some do not follow it…This is what we need to explore today in the is reflection…Why do some not follow it?…Is it because they do not think it’s practical?….Do they lack faith?….Do they love the comforts of this world?…..How can we overcome these obstacles?….St John gives us the answer…..”Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world…..Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him”…….Before we overcome the many obstacles that prevent us from following the Lord, we must encounter God’s love for us…..Without this encounter, God is simply just a word…The Mass is a waste of time…The Blessed Sacrament is a tasteless cracker….However, when we know we are loved…When we feel this love viscerally, everything changes…The year is coming to an end…Make it a point to find this love I speak about…”From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”….....”Words” do not change lives…Love does
“All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be”
Its New Years Eve and the world will look for “something new”….Instead of looking for something new, maybe we should look to something old…Something eternal…That something is God……What are the barriers, which we have “put up”, which prevent God from reaching us?…..One of the neighbors on my street has suffered two very personal losses in the last couple of years…His wife died and shortly there after, his daughter died……Joe Tasino is 71 years old…He is alone in the world with his one son…..On the weekends when my family cooks big meals I have my children bring Joe Tasino a plate of food…For one I want to teach my children the importance of helping others but secondly, I want to extend a hand to Joe T…He is a good guy….I want to make him feel he is not alone in the world…..When my children knock on Joe T's door with me, Joe’s house is always all dark inside, no lights are turned on…I have noticed as our practice of “stopping by” on the weekend continued, Joe Tasino has “opened up”…He smiles more, he loves my children, who hug him…..Words will never bring about such a change, only love put into action can do that…How does this relate to us and this New Year?…Like Joe Tasino, we may have been hurt by life…We may feel disappointed by outcomes that “did not go our way”…And when that happens we can isolate ourselves from others and God….Scriptures tells us….”Ask and it will be given to you; 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”……God waits for us and like Joe Tasino who opened his front door to my children, if you “open the door” to God this coming year, you too will smile again…..Make it a point this new year, which begins tonight, to sit before the Blessed Sacrament as often as you can - Say 15 minutes each week - Not a lot of time to invest in yourself …You do not have to be a practicing Catholic to sit before the Blessed Sacrament or even Catholic for that matter and its free!….No one is going to “lecture you” as you sit in silence before the Blessed Sacrament……If you make this a practice this coming year…..In the silence you and God can “work out” all the “things” you need to work out……I will also bet, that if you commit to this practice something amazing will happen…Something new…..Isn’t that what the New Year is all about…A new beginning!
“The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. To those who accepted him he gave power to become the children of God”
St John tells us in the first reading today at Mass….We all hear the Truth - Why?…Because it is written on every human heart…But just because we hear it and even know it, does not mean we follow it….Its the following part we need to work on this year…But before we follow it, we must feel that God loves us…Love is the game changer, words are not….Joe Tasino opened the door of his home to the smiles of my children and as a result, Joe T smiles himself now…..Jesus knocks on our door as well…But only we can open the door - That is the first step - Open the door!….If we do this in the coming new year…Something new will take place….A new start and a new beginning…Isn’t that what New Year’s Eve is all about?….Make this a Happy New Year
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