Saturday, February 15, 2025

”I will go before you and level the mountains; Bronze doors I will shatter, iron bars I will snap……I will lead the blind on a way they do not know; by paths they do not know I will guide them. I will turn darkness into light before them, and make crooked ways straight. These are my promises: I made them, I will not forsake them”


Today at Holy Mass we hear again in the the first reading from the book of Genesis…..Adam and Eve had to “face the music”…They screwed up and the Paradise that God created for them was lost…But God’s love and mercy was not lost…While they had to “pay a price” for what they did…And what was that price?……..”To the woman he said: "I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master. " To the man he said: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, "Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return." …….Some many read this and think God is very harsh - Let us never forget - Mercy is always tempered with Justice…..We should never take the mercy, which God makes available to us for granted….And when we experience the justice of God due to our sins, God uses that time to form us…Nothing is wasted!….We can lose sight of that reality as it is happening in real time…..The driving purpose of every human life is to be purified and return to the original state in which we were created……This is why when a child is born, he / she is baptized and their original sin, the sin of Adam and Eve is washed away….However, then the journey begins!…And as we all know…Life has many ups and downs…We learn as we go.......All the while the “seeds of our baptism” are germinating…..Grace builds upon grace….And more times then not…Its the “wrong turns” in life that “wake us up” to the “narrow way” that lead to life eternal


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

Many times when a person “strays” from God and then repents…I have noticed that a period of time often takes place where God sanctifies that person….Almost like a “dessert experience”…Speaking personally, this happened to me and I have seen it in people who are close to me….From the age of twenty-two to Forty-two before I met my wife…....I was alone….In that time God formed me - And that time was not without its sufferings…I have also seen this happen with two of my children’s Godfathers……Looking back at those twenty long years, like Adam and Eve, “a price had to be payed”…My life was far from God as a young man…I was not formed in my Catholic faith because I never listened to those who tried to help me…..But also like Adam and Eve, God did not give up on me…I used the time!…..And when the “time was right - and I was "ready”…At the age of forty-two, God brought me my wife…Life is about being sanctified - To look at it in any other way, through any other “lens” is to “miss the big picture”…Allow me to make an analogy to help illustrate my point……If you ever have seen at a sword, you will notice how sharp it is and how the iron shines bright…What you do not see is iron, the material the sword is made of is taken deep from within the earth….And when raw iron is mined from the ground, it has to be formed - All the impurities must be taken from it…This requires the raw iron to be placed into a furnace and softened…Then the blacksmith uses a hammer shaping the boiling hot iron on an anvil to mold and shape it…When the iron is formed into the shape of a sword, it then has to be polished by using steel wool….That is how a a sword is made…And that is what happens to all of us!…..When we stray - And all of us have and all of us do….It takes one Sacramental Confession to return to a state of grace - Just one!…This is God’s mercy - Given free of charge….However, then comes God’s justice….Rome was not built in a day and as a result, the “sanctification process" begins…New habits need to be formed, old habits need to be broken, virtues need to be practiced, etc…And all this takes time and the process is not “pretty”….Like the story of Adam and Eve…They “messed up” and after God “called them out”…They “came clean” with God…But that was not the end of the story…God needed to form them so they would not go down the wrong road again and stay on the "narrow road" that leads to life!…And that was not an easy time for them nor is it easy for us….The important thing to remember is, when we are in the “purifying fires of God”….God is closer to us then ever before - Nothing is wasted - Not even our sins and the effects of our sins….All of human life boils down to our sanctification - Returning to the state in which we began

“You turn man back to dust, saying, "Return, O children of men. "For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night”

Today at Holy Mass God tells Adam and Eve that while you “screwed up” and I am glad you told me what you did - There are consequences to face….This sadly applies to us as well…However, there is a purpose for those times when we “feel the consequences” of bad decisions……Adam and Eve were given a second chance and so are we…..However, we are all still "a work in progress"…God is the "potter and we are the clay"..….And sometimes “clay” does not want to be molded and when that happens, it needs to be “heated in the furnace”, to soften it, making it easy once again to mold….During these times in our life…Do not lose faith - God is a master craftsman and we are all the work of his hands…..”I will go before you and level the mountains; Bronze doors I will shatter, iron bars I will snap……I will lead the blind on a way they do not know; by paths they do not know I will guide them. I will turn darkness into light before them, and make crooked ways straight. These are my promises: I made them, I will not forsake them”

Friday, February 14, 2025

For there are many who “hear” but do not “listen”…There are many who “see” but have no “sight”….“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)……And immediately the man’s ears were opened”


Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark about a man who was deaf and begged Jesus to help him….”He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And immediately the man’s ears were opened”….In his public ministry Jesus performed many healing miracles….But there is also something deeper here…This particular man could not hear…How many people today, even within the Catholic Church “do not hear” what the Church teaches….Sure they “hear it” or can read it for themselves but what they “hear” does not register……How can this be addressed?…..In order to “hear” the Truth in its fullness we must work at purifying our heart…And to do that takes supernatural grace….Supernatural grace you say??? - What is that? - Supernatural grace comes from the Sacraments, which were given to the world by Christ himself….When we go regularly (once a month) to a Sacramental Confession and then receive the Eucharist in the state of grace - We are empowered with supernatural grace, which enables us to “see” and “hear”…..Without this grace, our own individual biases, agendas and ideologies “get in the way”!


“He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak”

I remember years ago in my twenties I went to confession with an old Italian priest in Hoboken New Jersey….At the time I was not living a chaste life according to the precepts of the Catholic Church for those who are not married…This priest in the confessional was trying to address my sins against chastity and he was trying to show me where I “went wrong”…He was doing this in a very gentle and patient way I will add…I can remember to this day how I was actually arguing with him in the confessional…Looking back at this, I can “see” how clearly I was dead wrong!…This is just one example of how we are all in need of grace in order to “see” and “hear” - And how sin “gets in the way” of us “hearing” the Gospel Truth…..I heard a nun, who is also a medical doctor once say that when we do not live in the state of grace, its like we have cataracts in your eyes, which prohibits us from seeing clearly…Another priest described it this way….When your car windshield is dirty, you cannot see properly through it and your lack of clear vision can cause you to get into an accident on the highway….Even venial sins, which add up in time can make for a “dirty” windshield on your car…Its not until we “clean” the windshield, will see see all the “potholes” in the road as we drive…..Mistakenly, people equate navigating the many choices of life with age, experience and raw intelligence….Being highly educated has nothing to do with “seeing” and “hearing” to Truth that Jesus Christ proclaimed…There are many highly educated people both inside and outside the Church that are “blind” and “deaf”….The ONLY thing that allows us to “hear” and “see” Jesus clearly is a pure heart - And the only way to purify our heart is through Sacramental grace

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

Jesus today in the Gospel from mass, cures a deaf man, giving him back his ability to hear….To a degree, we all are that deaf man because each of us are sinners and sin “clouds” our ability to hear and see properly…Its not until we make a visit to the “Divine Physician” who will then prescribe for us “the medicine” we need….Frequent Sacramental Confessions and reception of the Eucharist in the state of grace is “the medicine”….…St Matthew in his gospel put it best….......”The blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them”…..…For there are many who “hear” but do not “listen”…There are many who “see” but have no “sight”….“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)……And immediately the man’s ears were opened”

Thursday, February 13, 2025

All roads lead to God in the end…Even “dead ends”


Today at Holy Mass in the first reading the creation narrative in the Book of Genesis continues….."It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him”….And from the man’s rib God created that partner for him and called her “woman”….”For out of 'her man' this one has been taken”……And to this very day this partnership continues and will always continue…..Marriage is between one man and one woman…Any other variation of this union, which was defined by God himself is a misnomer…..”That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh”……There are many reasons as to why society prescribes to defining marriage as something it is not and can never be…..At the root of all the “variations of marriage” we see today, even in non Sacramental marriages between a man and a woman, under it all are wounds…..And sadly, our society does not take those wounds to the “Divine Physician”, instead humanity falsely believes they can “create” as God created…And whenever mankind convinces himself into believing this lie - In the end, humanity hits “a wall” and we are greatly disappointed when we hit this "wall"……Many times God works in our life when we come to the end of our self….This means when we wholeheartedly pursue a behavior or an ideology that is “not of God” and after time we realize that it does not and can not satisfy what we intended it to satisfy…Its at that point that God meets us right where we are as we are…And its at that moment that we must make a decision - To continue down a “rabbit hole” that has no end, or reverse course and start something new.


“Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls”

Recently I experienced a shoulder injury and my doctor prescribed that I go to physical therapy…The therapist said something very interesting and it applies to the Spiritual life as well…”Listen to your body”…..Each of us are “hard wired” for God…..And when we “go off the rails”….Our soul tells us so……The same goes for those who enter marriage…….When we get married in the Catholic Church we take vows….We are called to be faithful….Fruitful…And our marriage is to be forever….God made marriage a Sacrament and because of that the covenant between a man and a woman is sacred……Does our society view marriage as something sacred? - A story for another day…..Marriage is also a vocation and through this covenant God works to sanctify both the husband and the wife…And that is a process…..Recently I spoke to a friend of mine who is a nun and she asked me about my children…I told her they are well and she then said something that most people would probably not fully understand…She said - “Joe - The children will get you to heaven”…....What does that mean?…It means that by taking care of our children, we will learn to forget ourself and its in that process of “giving ourself away” that we find God….This is what the vocation of marriage is all about…Today our society tries to “play God”…We try to redefine what can not be changed…And in doing that we “build a wall” between ourself and God’s grace……A priest once told me something I will never forget…The grace of God is always pouring down upon us - We however many times choose to put up an umbrella”…..In order for the grace of God to reach us, we must put down the “umbrella”…..We do that by living a Sacramental life…A life, which we were ALL born to live…We do that by living out our marriage vows…..And in turn, we are filled with God’s grace….Why do we need that grace?…Because we are ALL flawed in one way or another….That is where the “Divine Physician” comes in…God showers us with life giving grace….Everything is reliant upon that grace…This is why no one can or should boast.

“Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways! For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored”

Today at Mass God tells us he created marriage and because of that marriage is a sacred union between one man and one woman…Its this union that brings life into the world…We can not alter what God has created and to think so only ends in a dead end…..The interesting thing about that “dead end” is when we stray from God and “think” we can redefine what can not be redefined…In time, God clearly communicates to us where we went wrong….Why?…..Because God is a patient and loving father and when we reach that “wall”, its then for us to make a decision…..God works through all things….And God is merciful….Sometimes it takes human beings time to “figure out” that God’s way is the only way….Recently I read a book about St Genevieve……St Genevieve lived in what is now Paris when the Roman empire fell…And as with the life of all saints, St Genevieve was very brave…She confronted Attila the Hun…In the story someone questioned how St Genevieve will be able to change the heart of a man like Attila the Hun……And a very wise person said something in the story that I will never forget….”God will speak to Attila the Hun in a language he understands”…Wise words in deed…All roads lead to God in the end…Even “dead ends”

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

”Do what he tells you”…..When we listen to her….We get a small taste of paradise here on earth….. And the best is yet to come


Today at Holy Mass, in the first reading we hear the creation narrative from the Book of Genesis….”The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being”…….God made us and gave us everything we need…However he warned us about something that to this day effects each and every one of us….."You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die”….Why did God do this?…Is there something about the “apple tree”?…….What God was telling us here is that he determines what is good and evil - We do not…This very clear statement made by God (our creator) blows a hole in the statement we hear today by so many….”This is my truth?”……..There is only one truth and God determines it - That is what this narrative read to us at Mass today is all about……We only fool ourselves when we “think’ we determine the Truth…Why is that?….Because we die - Our life here on earth is very short….We do not and cannot change reality - We can try to fool ourselves and others in thinking we can…But in the end, as they saying in New Jersey goes…”It is what it is”…..God is the author of life and he is also the author of the Truth…..Mankind from the time of Adam and Eve to the present day has tried to alter what can not be altered….And the outcome is always the same…..Sorrow, strife and death…..God came to give us life and give it to us in abundance in the here and now!…He created Adam and Eve and gave them everything they needed…He also told them in order to “keep what you have” and maintain this beautiful garden I created for you - Listen to me……The same message is echoed today by God and sadly the same refusal is also still embraced by far too many……”This is my truth”……..Jesus said very clearly the very opposite message…He said - ”I am the Way…The Truth…And the Life…Jesus did not say I am the custom……Our Lady did not say too much recorded in the pages of Scripture but one of the things she did say could be one of the most important messages we ever hear in our life time….”Do what he tells you”


“Your word, O Lord, is truth: consecrate us in the truth”

People believe what they see - Period Full Stop…One of the things that “sold me” on why I believe that everything the Catholic faith teaches is true is what I saw with my own two eyes in religious orders that “adhere to the vine”….Trust me when I tell you this and if you like, go witness it for your self…Those who “adhere to the vine”, meaning those who follow the teachings of the Church…Not “leaving things out” because they do not comport with their lifestyle simply thrive!….This is factual and this is reality…If you do not believe me…I invite you to see for your self….Individuals, families and consecrated religious who live Sacramental lives and follow all the teachings of the Catholic Church “bear fruit” - Period Full Stop!……Again, if you don’t believe me…Go look at the many religious orders thriving in New York City today: The Sisters of Life; The Missionaries of Charity; The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal to name three I am very familiar with…....These orders all have one thing in common…They “adhere to the vine”…And as a result, they get many young men and woman who join them year after year…..People are not interested in “watered down” Catholicism…I can speak for myself…I am not…..There is something about an authentic witness of the Catholic faith…One that does not comprise but embrace something which challenges a person, calling them to something greater them themselves!…….This is the faith of Jesus Christ and when the world witnesses such a faith, it stops traffic!……Before you will believe what I am telling you, you must see this kind of faith lived out…This kind of faith brings with it deep joy and peace……And this is available for all of us - Right now!…And here is the good news…Its free!……”The lie” which was presented to Adam and Eve by the devil is the same lie presented to mankind today....…”If you eat of the tree of knowledge - You will be like God”….How do we know this is a lie?…Because we all die - God "makes the rules" and “holds all the cards”……See for yourself how those who embrace the fullness of their Catholic faith “bear fruit”…..Seeing is believing…And what I am telling you is not - “My truth” - Its “The Truth”

“All creatures look to you to give them food in due time. When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things”

We heard today how God created man…God gave us everything we need to thrive and only gave us one condition by which we must live.….God determines the Truth - We do not…..With that said, God gives us free will…..Why did he do that?…Because love can not be forced upon someone - Love must be freely chosen…..Therefore we all must make a choice…..If you are hesitant to believe that the Catholic Church and everything it teaches is true…That somehow the teachings of the Church are “not applicable for you” or “outdated”…Look for yourself and see Catholics who authentically live out their faith in real time…Obviously, these people are not perfect, no one is…But I will tell you this…There is a joy found in those who embrace the fullness of their Catholic faith that is very real…And that joy cannot be denied when you see it….Stop pointing to all the “bad examples” found within our Church and stop making excuses…….From the beginning there was a bad example (ie Judas) and “bad people” sadly will always exist until Jesus returns….In the meantime, when you see for yourself what authentic Catholicism is all about…Then make up your mind - Stop listening to "the lie"…..The Garden of Eden was created for us to thrive in………..”Paradise was lost” with the bite of an apple…..That all changed with one YES from a peasant girl named Mary and that same young girl tells us all something we should take to heart…”Do what he tells you”…..When we listen to her….We get a small taste of paradise here on earth…. And the best is yet to come

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

”I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice”…..A little bit of understanding goes a long way…And when that fails…Pray and Fast


Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark how Jesus addresses empty actions of worship…He calls out the Pharisees and beats them at their own game….The Pharisees say they prescribe to all of the traditions of the Jewish people and Jesus points out areas in those same traditions in which they fall short too…Yet they point fingers and are critical of others…So much here to take note of…First…Do we know why we do what we do as Catholics?…Do we perform our religious rituals without thinking about why we do them?….Everything we do as Catholics should point to Christ…If we fast, its to grow closer to God, its not a “personal contest of our strengthen and discipline”…If we pray daily, do we consider the words we say and or do we say the words just to get them over with?…..Second reflection to consider from the Gospel today….The Pharisees were good Jews and that should be something to be proud of…However, like everything one else, they were not perfect…They were sinners…Knowing that, they should have had mercy on others when they failed or fell from grace, just as they sometimes do……..And so must we…..Why?…..Because no one is perfect…That does not mean we condone “bad behavior”…But what it does mean is we do not condemn others who fail because we too fail….Everything we do as Catholics should point our lives towards God and when we see others “not measure up”…What do we do to help them?…Do we pray for them at the very least?…Do we offer a good example to them?…Do we fast for the Church?…..Each and every day we should look at our own actions and examine our thoughts….We can not control other people, but we can control ourself…..And a good example goes a long way…So does prayer and fasting - In fact, daily prayer and fasting helps us to be that “example”


“You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet.”

My wife and I before we were married were heavily involved in many different Catholic organizations around New York City. Many of the people who also attended these organizations took their faith very seriously….After my wife and I started to have children (we now have five under ten years old) we would sometimes try to attend events or a Mass within those circles in which we attended before we were married….Kids being kids - They sometimes do not behave…Sadly when that happened, we were not always given a “compassionate look” or an understanding word when our children did not behave say at Mass…While I understand that at Mass there should always be a spirit of reverence…It takes time for children to grasp that fact and parents are simply doing their best…..When those “looks” came our way…I have always thought of the words of Jesus himself…”Let the children come to me”…And I also thought to myself how Jesus is smiling down from heaven at the sight of my children attending a solemn Mass even as they made noise…This experience taught me something as well - To be understanding when other people “bother me” or talk during Mass…We all must be patient with each other, even when we “step on each others toes” now and then….This past Sunday I was in the Adoration Chapel near my home….And a young father came in with his two children…The kids were running around and making noise…The Dad kept apologizing to me..,.Clearly the children made it harder for me to pray…However, I told the dad not to worry and tried my best to make him feel comfortable….The whole time I thought to myself, how happy Jesus is for these kids to be here with him!……..While its important to do things the right way….We must always remember we are all human and because of that “stuff happens”…And when it does - “Offer it up”…God uses all things to make us holy - Even the noise at Mass we have to endure…..In fact, when we hear noise at Mass or we see someone unknowingly not “doing what they should be doing” at Mass…Instead of being critical, pray for that person and fast for the Church…..Praying and Fasting go along way and are much more effective when it comes to renewing our Catholic traditions and practices then unkind words and ‘dirty looks”

“Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees; And favor me with your law”

Today in the gospel at Mass, Jesus addresses the importance of knowing why we do what we do as Catholics…But he also teaches us that even the best of us fail and are flawed…Knowing that reality - And it is reality - Its better and more efficacious to bring some mercy and understanding to the situation when others fail - And when we do that, we too grow in the process……Jesus tells us in Scripture……..”The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you” - The very thought of that statement scares the daylights out of me! - Because I fail at this virtue more times then I want to admit and because of that, I bring this sin to the Confessional equally as often - Allowing God to pour down his healing grace upon me…..The great Abraham Lincoln once said….”I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice”…..A little bit of understanding goes a long way…And when that fails…Pray and Fast

Monday, February 10, 2025

“So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. 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”………And so it is to this very day…..What are we looking for?

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Mark…Great crowds were coming to Jesus…These people were physically ill and were looking for a cure…And Jesus cared for them…..In reading this passage this morning I thought to myself…How things changed quickly! - In short order these same people were screaming “Crucify him” when Jesus entered Jerusalem……Upon reflecting on this historic reality, I thought to my self…What is it do we “want” from Christ?…Is it a short term fix?…Jesus came to give us life…He came to show us a different way to live…..He came to forgive our sins……..Is the world today interested in that?…Or - Does the world still want a “short term fix”……The parable about the seeds tell us everything we need to know about how we are to follow the Lord and lead a Catholic life…..Jesus was willing to suffer and die for the Truth…He spoke the Truth in good times and in bad……He was obedient until death….This is the faith we must aspire to cultivate


“This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”

I guess the questions for us to consideration today are: What are we looking for? - and - Do we want to be healed?…Jesus asked these questions of people during his ministry…..First - Do we want to be healed?…..All of us have attachments to sin and to “break these chains” requires grace and effort on our part….Secondly - What are we looking for?….At the root of this question one has to consider the goals of our life…Are we building a Kingdom here on earth or are we simply pilgrims “passing through”….The goal of our life should be heaven and in order to reach our goal we must participate in our own sanctification…This again requires God’s grace and our effort…….St Thomas More is the patron saint of lawyers, statesmen and politicians…..Thomas was a rich and powerful man…Thomas was also a faithful Catholic…..When King Henry VIII of England wanted to divorce his wife and marry another woman, he mandated that all his people publicly acknowledge what he was doing was lawful……Thomas More refused and Thomas had a lot to lose…And as a result of his public stance, all of Thomas More’s wealth and land was taken from him and his family….And in the end Thomas was murdered by the state…..His final words before he was killed were….”I die the king's faithful servant, but God's first”…..To acquire a faith like that one must be grounded in Sacramental grace, daily prayer and fasting…To be able to “let go” of wealth and power for the sake of the Kingdom of God requires supernatural grace, which believe it or not is available to all of us in the Sacraments of the Catholic Church……Again, it comes down to the questions: What are we looking for? - and - Do you want to be healed?….Catholics for centuries have renounced the world for the sake of the Kingdom of God….And so must we - This is our witness…We are to walk among the people of the world but not be “of the world”….This is our purpose and in doing so we follow the example of the Carpenter from Nazareth

“Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people”

The Gospel today from Mass made me think as well as question the depth of my own faith…….What am I looking for?….We all must answer this question for ourselves…Jesus was a man of compassion and he cured those who were physically sick…But a medical doctor can do that….The Catholic Church helps the poor all over the world to this day…But the Catholic Church is not an NGO staffed with social workers, that is not the fundamental purpose of the Church….Jesus came to preach the Truth and to forgive sins…The Catholic Church today does the same…..Come hell or high water - In season and out of season…….When Jesus addressed Pontius Pilate before he was sentenced to death, this was the exchange between the two: “So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. 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”………And so it is to this very day…..What are we looking for?

Sunday, February 9, 2025

Jesus Christ rose from the dead….It does not get any more “impossible then that”….And a man who rose from the dead can do all things…So can we if we learn to trust him


Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Luke how Jesus friends went fishing…They did not catch anything and they worked hard all night…Jesus, who was not a fisherman asks them to do something that a man in the fishing profession would not do….Remember Jesus was a carpenter by trade not a fisherman…Peter could have given Jesus a lecture as to why what he was asking of him “did not make sense”…But that is not what he did…."Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets." When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man”…….Peter out of obedience did what was asked of him…Even as it did not seem practical or make any sense at the time…And as a result, he caught more fish then he ever thought possible….This parable stands out for me personally and I reflect on it often…Living life as a practicing Catholic in the world today in many ways and to many people “will not make sense”…However, we must trust in the one who asks us to live “differently”…Jesus promised Peter that he would catch fish if he “did it his way”….Jesus asks the same from us…And the outcome of our obedience to God and his Church will result in the same outcome as it did for St Peter


“Come after me and I will make you fishers of men”

The day I was married I remember thinking how can my wife I be fully open to life and “make it” in this world…We were not rich people…How can we have a big family?…..Both of us were committed Catholics and fully intended to not use contraception in our marriage and never have…How will we do it I thought right before the Mass that joined us as husband and wife…Well, eleven and a half years later and five children later…Here we are….God provided!….I have learned to trust God more then I trust myself - That may sound crazy to some but that is how I feel….Modern man likes to “calculate” everything - While we must be prudent in this world…We also must learn to trust our Lord, who loves us and will never abandon us…Doing things “God’s way” when it comes to not using contraception will not make sense to the world today…I remember at my job when I was about to have my fifth child…My boss was like…”Joe - You are crazy”…..But in the end, it all worked out….When we do things “God’s way” - God not only provides but God forms us in the process, molding us into the people he created us to be - And that is a process, which does not happen over night…Jesus asked Peter today in the Gospel…"Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch”…....We must do the same in this life…Even if what is asked of us does not always “make sense”…God knows what is best….And if we are obedient to him…The results will far exceed our expectations

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective”

Today in the Gospel from Mass Peter trusts Jesus blindly and he was not disappointed. We too must learn to trust God’s will for us in real time…As Catholics in the world we are asked in a sense to do many things that to some many seem “impossible"…But I have learned in my walk with the Lord over the years that our God is the God of the impossible…Jesus Christ rose from the dead….It does not get any more “impossible then that”….And a man who rose from the dead can do all things…So can we if we learn to trust him

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Our modern world today gets in backwards…It not about “adding on” its all about “stripping away”.....One layer at a time


Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark how Jesus walked among the people….This is the sign of a true leader…Jesus did not lead from the back - He lead from the front - He rolled up his sleeves - He was one of us!…He did not look down on anyone!……………St Mark tells us today…….”When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things”……..What made people drawn to Christ?….My guess is, it was his transparency…..There was no duplicity in Jesus Christ…I would imagine looking at him was like looking into a clear stream…We all yearn to be like that…Something deep down, whether we realize it or not wants transparency of heart and soul…But we are afraid - Don’t be afraid!….Jesus showed the world another way…It is by emptying ourself that we gain that “transparency of the soul”……When we empty ourselves - God fills us with his very life


“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”

Protestants use a phrase…”I was born again”….While there is some truth to that phrase…Each and everyday we must be converted to Jesus Christ….The goal of life is to be in union with our Lord…In Catholic circles his is called the Unitive Way….Its the third and highest level one can arrive at in their interior life…Monsignor Charles Pope explains……”This is the way of those who have their minds detached from temporal things, such that they enjoy great peace, and are not agitated by various desires, nor are they moved to any great extent by sinful passion. Having been largely purged of these things, they have their minds fixed chiefly on God. It is called “unitive” since, at this stage, there is a “union” with God by love and the actual experience and exercise of that love”…..Whether we realize it or not…We all yearn for this state of life…..This is why great crowds were drawn to Jesus almost unknowingly….But like with all things, the pursuit of this state of being is a process….As our life moves forward, God has a way of “prying open of hand” and with each finger “freeded from our fist” we take one step closer to the unitive way.......Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone came from a wealthy family in the Umbria Region of Italy. He lived a privileged lifestyle. In the church of San Damiano, Giovanni heard the voice of God telling him, “Rebuild my church.” Giovanni shortly there after began to travel through the land preaching to the people…..When Giovanni visited Pope Innocent III, he was first turned away, people thought Giovanni was crazy! But when Pope Innocent III had a dream of Giovanni holding up one side of St. John Lateran Basilica, he called him back and gave him permission to preach. In the dream of the Pope, the man holding up the other side of the church was St. Dominic, who was a contemporary of Giovanni and would go on to found the Dominican Order……This is a true story and Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone is the story of St Francis of Assisi….St Francis too had what I described above as “transparency of the soul”…..St Francis’s impact was immense and immediate; within 10 years there were 5,000 Franciscans across Europe..And in 2023, the Franciscan order celebrated its 800 year anniversary…..How did Francis do it?…..He emptied himself…And when we empty ourself we are filled with the very life of the living God

“Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come”

St Mark today tells us that people were drawn to Christ…They were drawn to him because he was one of us….Jesus is not “some distant person”…He is not some academic that speaks a language regular people do not understand…Jesus spoke clearly and in understandable terms…..Far too many people read the gospel and the stories of the saints as if they are reading Greek mythology…Jesus was a real man, historic records tell us so….St Francis and St Dominic were real men….History tells us so….What do these three men have in common?…..Well, there are many things…But today we are reflecting upon “transparency of the soul”…..A soul that is transparent sees people as they truly are - As children of God - And people know this when they experience such a person….....This is why great crowds were drawn to these men…..And as a result, these men shook the foundations of the world - And the world to this day is still shaking because of them!…..Our modern world today gets in backwards…It not about “adding on” its all about “stripping away"...... One layer at a time

Friday, February 7, 2025

”If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart”….The “sign posts” are everywhere - All we have to do is “follow the sign”


Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark about how King Herod kills John the Baptist…..Herod was a bad man, his heart was far from God yet scripture tells us….”When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him”…This should tell us something…The Truth is written on every human heart, even the hardest of hearts can hear it….This reality should be a "sign" of hope for us….John the Baptist was the precursor of Jesus Christ, he prepared the way for him…When it came to King Herod, John was a “sign” and what does a sign do?…It informs us…It warns us of something…It tries to get our attention…That is what John the Baptist was for King Herod…His life was a "sign"…”Repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand”….How does this apply to us?….God is constantly showing us “signs” in our life…Because the Truth is written on every heart, many times we see these “signs” in our daily life - However, it is for us to respond to them - God will not do that for us......As long as there is breath inside the body of a person, there is hope….But time does run out…King Herod “liked to listen” to John the Baptist…But listening to the word of God is not enough…We must respond


“Your presence, O LORD, I seek. Hide not your face from me; do not in anger repel your servant. You are my helper: cast me not off”

Over the course of our life God presents to us many “sign posts”…These are moments where God tries to get our attention….To spark a change…The Godfather of one of my children was a person who not only identified one of those “sign posts” of life but responded to it…Michael led a wild life…His life was filled with drug and alcohol abuse from his youth until is adulthood…Until in his twenties he got into a horrible car crash…Michael was in a hospital bed for two straight months…During that time he had time to think and because of that time, he requested to be Baptized as a Catholic…Interestingly enough..His parents were not practicing Catholics…His mother in fact was not even Catholic….So Michael got out of the hospital and got Baptized…But sadly, that did not change his party lifestyle…..Michael got married and had a son…His son was born with physical disabilities and lived for only seven years and eventually died…This put Michael over the edge…His marriage fell apart and he knew he was in trouble…Another “sign post”…So what did Michael do?…He went to a see a priest and that led him to make a Sacramental Confession and there Michael began to rebuild his life…That is where I met Michael…On a Catholic walking pilgrimage and we become fast friends…We traveled to India together to serve the poor with Mother Teresa’s sisters many times…And in time, Michael rebuilt is life….How did that happen?…Even when Michael was living a crazy life…God cared for him - The Truth was still in Michael’s heart - Even though he did not to listen to it…So what did God do?…He presented Michael with “sign posts”….And thanks be to God, Michael responded….God does the same thing to all of us…He did it to King Herod in the Gospel today at Mass in the form of John the Baptist…He did this for my buddy Michael…And he does this for us….Again, its for us to respond…God will not respond for us...To this day Michael is one of my dearest friends and is a great Godfather to one of my children…God can “move mountains” in a person's life…Pay attention to the “sign posts”….They point us in the direction we need to go

“Though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fear; Though war be waged upon me, even then will I trust”

Today at Mass we hear in the Gospel about how Herod liked to hear what John the Baptist had to say…But sadly Herod did not respond to John’s message….Let that example be a “sign post” to all of us…God is constantly reaching “a hand” to us…Its for us to take his hand….How do we respond?…..Let’s get our answer from John the Baptist himself…..”Repent - Believe the Gospel - The Kingdom of God is at hand”…..One Sacramental Confession can start that journey…Don’t let anxiety or fear stop you….”If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart”….The “sign posts” are everywhere - All we have to do is “follow the sign”

Thursday, February 6, 2025

We don’t “set the world on fire” by being comfortable…..…..”A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of the things of the earth - beware!”


Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark how Jesus sent his friends out two but two into a hostile world…..The gospel today tells us something interesting that many people may have glossed over…..”And gave them authority over unclean spirits”…There is that “dirty” word again….”Authority”…That means the first followers of Jesus, who were the first priests had the very authority of Jesus Christ himself….He gave them that authority…Not my opinion, just read the text….The Gospel today also says something interesting, which gets at the heart of what John the Baptist preached and what was the driving purpose as to why Jesus walked this earth….”So they went off and preached repentance”……At the heart of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ is a clarion call for us all to repent!…Any message, coming from within the Church or outside of it that does not fully embrace this call to repentance is simply wasting its time…Before we can “believe” we first have to repent…..Our hearts will not be open to the message of the Gospel if we firmly grasp our sins…And yes we ALL SIN…This is why Jesus today sent his friends out two but two and “gave them authority over unclean spirits”…..This authority rest with the Catholic Church to this day by means of apostolic succession …Only God can forgive sins…I may “talk a good game” but I am a sinner…And so are you…And we ALL need a means by which to be forgiven…When we embrace this gift given to us by Jesus and His Church we become free


“The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them”

In my spiritual reading this morning I came across something that caught my eye…It was written by a French Carthusian monk (Dom Augustin Gillerand 1945)…This is what he wrote….”It is within the scope of God’s plan that we should come up against evil in this world, and have to fight a way for ourselves through it. Our Lord could have captivated the minds and hearts of the whole world by a single sermon, but he did not. Alone, with a few faithful disciples, he lived in the midst of constant hostility. It is so in the whole history of humanity”……The world is not having it - But that does not mean we “go along to get along”….Heaven is our home and we are mere pilgrims who must do exactly what Jesus and his 12 friends did…Confront the world by our life’s witness not go along with it…..Here are the words of another saint and hero of mine….St Oscar Romero (1980), a priest who spoke up in the face of evil….”A church that doesn't provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed — what gospel is that?”……Today we hear in the Gospel of St Mark that Jesus sent his friend out two by to cast out “unclean spirits”….That was not done by “appeasing” the unclean spirits…It was done by confronting them - By bolding and clearly proclaiming the Truth in love…Years ago a friend of mine was about to get married…….He was not living a Sacramental life and wanted to get married in the Catholic Church…So when he was going through the process of speaking to the priest who was going to marry him…The priest flat out told my friend, that he was making a huge mistake and should not get married….My friend ignored the priest and seven years later got divorced….That priest was a brave man to say what he knew to be right…And we need more priests like that…We also need more lay Catholics in the pews like that as well…We need to address the world boldly…..That is what Jesus did…Not “go along” to “get along”….As St Oscar Romero rightful said……”A word of God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed — What gospel is that?”

“The Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel”

Today we hear at Mass how bold and brave the first 12 friends of Jesus were…..”He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick – no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them”…….Jesus Christ was the greatest revolutionary the world has ever seen or will ever see….If we today fully embrace his words and use the tools the Catholic Church gives to us we too will set the world on fire!…That is not an empty claim either….We all have been shown what to do by word and example…Its now simply a matter of doing it - Having the will do live it, fueled by Sacramental grace, daily prayer and weekly fasting - Come hell or high water!…..For those who know me I will tell you a secret…Lukewarm Catholicism nauseates me!….For me is ALL OR NOTHING!….Interestingly enough, lukewarm Catholicism nauseated Jesus too……..“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth”…….We don’t “set the world on fire” by being comfortable…..…..”A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of the things of the earth - beware!”

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

More times then not, its through the “cracks” that the “light” enters…Nothing is wasted…God is the “master builder” - So take heart and trust the process - God will finish what he started


Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading taken from a Letter to the Hebrews how Catholics are to view trials, as opposed to how the secular world views them….The difference in world view makes all the difference!…..”My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges. Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as his sons. For what "son” is there whom his father does not discipline? At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it”………..No matter who you are….No matter how rich you are….No matter how intelligent you are…..There will be a certain amount of suffering that accompanies your life…Its built into what it means to be human…And the secular world has no answer for this!……This is why a life that is not centered on Jesus Christ ultimately leads one into a dead end…Why?…Because when you suffer - And you will - There is no answer for it…However, as Catholics when times of sorrow, hardship and suffering come…We view those times as periods of sanctification…God uses those times to make us more like himself because in those periods of suffering, more times then not….We change…We modify our behavior….We view the world differently….We grow…..Nothing is wasted in life and God uses all the events of our life to bring us closer to himself…This way of looking at hardships only comes to us when we ground our life in our Catholic faith….Because our Catholic faith teaches us that we are all a “work in progress”…That God is the “master builder” and he is forming us with his own hands


“So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed”

A priest once told me a story….He once knew a man in the Middle East who worked as a shepherd of sheep - Yes, such people do exist in today’s world…And this one shepherd had this one sheep who would always stray from the rest of the flock…The shepherd was concerned for this sheep’s safety…There were many wolves in the fields, especially at night and the sheep did not realize the danger it was in when it strayed…So this is what the shepherd did…He took the one sheep into his hands that kept wandering away and snapped his leg in two…The sheep cried and cried….The shepherd then bound up the leg of the sheep and placed it upon his shoulders for the next ten weeks, carrying it everywhere he went…When the sheep’s leg was fully healed, the sheep realized that the shepherd loved him because of all the care he gave to him when his leg was broken and he could not walk…Once fully healed, that sheep never left the shepherd's side again!…….This is how God teaches us sometimes when no words can penetrate our minds and hearts….God wants nothing but the best for us and what is best for us is heaven…But in order for us to “arrive” in our heaven home…We must be sanctified…..This is a unique Catholic world view of heaven…Protestants believe if you “Believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior” you go straight to heaven…..Not the case….Catholics believe we must be sanctified before we enter our heavenly home and sanctification is a process…….And part of that process includes enduring suffering, trials and the hardships of life…All of which work towards a greater good…To make us a holy people worthy of Our Lord

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him, For he knows how we are formed; he remembers that we are dust”

Today we are reminded in a Letter to the Hebrews at Mass something my own father told me when I was young…”Joe - No one goes through this life unscathed”….Suffering is apart of the human condition and the secular world has no answer for it…Only through our Catholic belief in Jesus Christ does suffering take on signifcant meaning and makes sense to us…Suffering forms us, it molds us and guides us - If we let it - To become the people we were all born to be!…There is an old saying when trials and hardships enter into our life….”You either become bitter or better”…..….More times then not, its through the “cracks” that the “light” enters…Nothing is wasted…God is the “master builder” - So take heart and trust the process - God will finish what he started

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

That is why we are called “Practicing Catholics”…That implies we not perfect therefore we need to “practice”


Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from a Letter to the Hebrews…..We are reminded of what Jesus had to endure and that we too will have to endure…..”Let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him Jesus endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood”……….There is no such thing as “cheap grace”…..We must be active participates in our journey back to God….You do not just float into heaven…This is why we must fortify ourselves with Sacramental grace and daily prayer


“We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses”


Years ago a good friend of mine left the Catholic Church and began attending a non-denominational church…He asked me if I wanted to go to their Bible Study…I agreed but for a very different reason....... I wanted to “clear the air” of the many misconceptions that are believed about what the Catholic Church teaches and what Catholics actually believed…And I did just that…..One day at the Bible Study we got into a conversation about salvation…Most Protestants believe in this idea, “Once Saved - Always Saved”….Meaning all you have to do is “believe in Jesus” and no matter what - You go to heaven….....Well, the Bible does not say that…And most Protestants say…”I believe in everything in the Bible”….....Oh really?!?….....So this one day I had this discussion with a man who was once a Catholic and left the Church…I told him this “Once Saved - Always Saved” idea is not only a false teaching but it is not Biblical and I can fill a sheet of paper with verses from the Bible that would support what I am saying…So the next week I did just that…I filled a sheet of paper front and back with verses from the Bible that contradict the “Once Saved - Always Saved” belief, which is embraced by most American Protestants…When I went to give him the piece of paper, he pushed it away from himself on the table we were both siting on like I was giving him a plate of poison to ingest…..He would not even read it….All verses from the Bible I might add…..What is the lesson here to be learned?…..”We hear what our itchy ears want to hear"…..There is no such thing as cheap grace….As St Paul tells us…..”So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling”…..Just so we are clear - Without Jesus dying on the cross, no one would be in heaven…However, we have to cooperate with the will of God if we too want to arrive at our heavenly home - Its not an "automatic"......…We all have a part to play….....Now, that does not mean we “earn” heaven like many Protestants “think” Catholics believe…....But it does mean we must strive actively each and every day allowing God to purify us in prayer and through the Sacraments

“I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him. The lowly shall eat their fill; they who seek the LORD shall praise him: “May your hearts be ever merry!”

We are told today in the first reading from Mass that Jesus is the “perfecter or faith”….This however requires our participation in the process…Like anything in life, whether playing a sport, working on a university degree, or simply playing checkers with your son…..Practice makes perfect!…….We need to take the advice of St Paul…”work out your salvation”…….And “in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart”…..We need the assistance of Sacramental grace and daily prayer……..That is why we are called “Practicing Catholics”…That implies we not perfect therefore we need to “practice”

Monday, February 3, 2025

How did Adam and Eve get tricked?……Why did Judas betray Christ?….As Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones rightfully sang it….”Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name - But what's puzzlin' you Is the nature of my game”


Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel according to St Mark….Jesus encounters a man with an unclean spirit…The exchange between Jesus and the man is telling…..“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!” (He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”) He asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.” And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory”…..Jesus knew exactly what he was up against but the people did not “see” the force of evil which stood right before their eyes…Interestingly enough too….The evil spirit (Legion) also knew what stood against him - The very power of God…….In our world this battle between good and evil still exists to this very day and is very real….Scripture tells us that the devil “roams the earth like a lion” - And you know what? - It’s true!….Evil most times wears a “mask”….And sadly people do not recognize it…..There are many things that exist in our “mainstream culture” that are an abomination to God…Only with the “eyes of faith” can we "see" properly….Back to our story from Scripture…After Jesus confronts this unclean spirit…You would think the people would be happy…Just the opposite…They ask Jesus to leave their town….”Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine. Then they began to beg him to leave their district”………The people were fooled - Their own eyes betrayed them - Not many things have changed to this very day……When bad is called good - The “lights” go out and darkness falls upon the earth…And only when and until we “see” with the eyes of faith will we recognize what stands before us…“Legion is my name - There are many of us”


“Blessed be the LORD whose wondrous mercy he has shown me in a fortified city”

The image of “Sight” is something that is used throughout Scripture…..Human Beings see what they want to see…What is vey clear to one person many not be perceived by another...Our Gospel story today at Mass illustrates that reality for us - The people did not “see” something, which was evil and was tormenting them - However Jesus saw it for what it truly was…..When St Paul encountered the Lord on the Road to Damascus, he was blinded for three days…Scripture tells us when he regained his sight ”scales” fell from his eyes…..Catholic tradition has taught that before Our Lord returns there will be what is commonly referred to as an Illumination of Conscience…This is when all of humanity will “see” their souls in the light of God’s Truth…St Faustina, a visionary of the 20th century has written about the Illumination of Conscience, which is meant to be a warning, to draw us closer to Jesus and to increase our faith.….This what St Faustina wrote:
“Write this: before I come as the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy. Before the day of justice arrives, there will be given to people a sign in the heavens of this sort: All light in the heavens will be extinguished, and there will be great darkness over the whole earth. Then the sign of the cross will be seen in the sky, and from the openings where the hands and the feet of the Savior were nailed will come forth great lights which will light up the earth for a period of time. This will take place shortly before the last day.” (Section 83)
Only with the eyes of faith can a person truly see…..Like St Paul, we all have “scales” which cover our eyes, due to concupiscence….In order to “see” we must actively work at purifying our hearts…Only the pure of heart truly see….Why mention all this?….....Ask the Lord to allow you to see yourself as you truly are…..Seeing both the good and the bad aspects of your life......…….Ignoring the spiritual battle, which is ongoing in the world and within our very hearts does not make it go away…This “battle” is happening in our own homes right before our eyes!…What do we allow to enter our homes?….What images do we allow ourselves to see?….What “ideas” do we give the time of day too?…..“Legion is my name - There are many of us”…….Only with the “eyes of faith” will we "see" what stands before us…The battle is very real…..And the “stakes of the battle" are very high!

“Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.”

Today in the Gospel Jesus confronts evil…He does not pretend evil does not exist and he calls it for what it is……And so must we….The devil does not wear a “red suit” and have a “long tail”….He walks among us in disguise…He inverts good and bad…He takes the Truth and “twists it” ever so slightly only in the end to distort the Truth until it can no longer be recognized……Before we confront what stands before us, we must first be able to “see” what stands before us…..“Legion is my name - There are many of us”……Ask yourself the question…..How did Adam and Eve get tricked?……Why did Judas betray Christ?….As Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones rightfully sang it….”Pleased to meet you, Hope you guess my name - But what's puzzlin' you Is the nature of my game”

Sunday, February 2, 2025

”I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it……..that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ”


Today at Holy Mass a theme of purification cuts across the readings….”For he is like the refiner’s fire, or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD”….What does this message imply?…That we all are a work in progress…God uses events, people and life itself to “refine us”…To “open our eyes” in order for us to respond to him…Why?….To sanctify us and prepare us to be with him for all eternity…Human beings establish many goals in life for themself and their family…For as different as we all are, there are as many different goals…In reality, there is only one goal that matters, to allow God to sanctify us…And in order for that to happen, we must cooperate with him……Because it does not happen on its own…Why must we do this?…Because in order to stand before God and be with him for all eternity, we must be made holy…..Many Christians have an inaccurate view of heaven…That includes many Catholics….We do not spend eternity in heaven until we are purified…That view can be biblically substantiated - Happy to have the conversation…Yet we “hear” what our itchy ears want to hear…..God is our father and he does not “throw us into the deep end of the pool” all at once…Little by little he draws us to himself…Its for us to respond…And let the sanctification process continue

"Lift up, O gates, your lintels; reach up, you ancient portals, that the king of glory may come in!"

Because we all have a fallen nature, we are all in need of God’s grace…And the Sacraments are instruments of God’s grace…..If a person makes a habit of going to confession once a month, they will find that they continue to confess the same sins over and over again…Why?……Because we all have certain weakness.....…However, with each confession, God not only forgives our sins but he pours down grace upon us to help us over come our sins…This is how we sanctify ourself and grow in virtue - It takes time….Speaking personally, when it comes to my lack of patience, I repeatedly confess how I fall short in this virtue, especially when it comes to my children when they do not behave…I have found that by going to confess regularly, my patience has grown…Thanks be to God and the help from St Joseph…That is not because of me - Its because of God’s grace - But I still am a work in progress and I recognize that……We have to help ourself in life and again, our number one priority should be going to heaven…And as a good priest once told me…”Joe, You just don’t float into heaven”…Far too many people think that to be true…..”Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested”…Jesus understands our humanity because he was fully human…..We should never be afraid to confess our sins to a priest…This is the reason why Jesus walked the earth - To free us from the burden of sin…God in heaven rejoices when we go to him with our sins…..As Catholics, lines to the confessional are very short these days…This needs to change…..In order for “eyes to open” to the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and for our hearts to be opened to the grace of the Blessed Sacrament, we need to avail ourselves to the sanctifying grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation….This is a gift…To not see it that way is a mistake…..Don’t let the devil deceive you….The fear and anxiety we may feel about going to confession is a “smoke screen” created by the evil one himself…All we need to do is “step through the smoke” of our fear….And once we do, all the anxiety and fear will disappear…God offers us something no one else can - Freedom….Take him up on the opportunity

“A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel”

The need to be an active participant in our sanctification process is highlighted today at Holy Mass…..God is the “potter and we are the clay”, which means we all need to allow God to “mold” us into his image and likeness…This takes time, so be patient with yourself…However, time does run out…There is no greater priority then to want to end up in heaven for both yourself and your family…That will not happen on its own….God is working as we speak to sanctity us all…Like a gentle stream that slowly molds the rock in which the water passes over….Its for us to recognize what God is doing on our life, cooperate in God’s redeeming work and utilize what the Church gives to us (i.e. Sacraments, prayer and fasting) to help complete the work….”I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it……..that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ”