”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”…I often wonder if we as Catholics give “lip service” to that statement made by Jesus…..I can only speak for myself…If I do not “remain on the vine”….I can do nothing!

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from a Letter to the Hebrews……”You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised”…..To achieve anything in life one must persevere…..The same goes in the spiritual life…This is why daily prayer, fasting and reception of the Sacraments are so important…As we all know the world is constantly “pulling” at us…Holy Mother Church in her wisdom asks of us that we go to Mass every Sunday and receive the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace…Why do we need to do that?….Because the Eucharist is “food for the journey” for us to get back to God safely……Today the Universal Church commemorates the life of St John Bosco, the great educator of children…This is what the saint had to say about the need to persevere in religious practices…..”As our body declines and dies when deprived of food, so does the soul when we do not give it the nourishment it needs”….As always, the saints are spot on!…..No matter who we are, no matter how much faith we think we have…If we do not firmly establish daily and weekly practices of our Catholic faith, we will “slip”…Why?…Because we are simply human…..And all humans are susceptible to weakness…Daily prayer, Weekly fasting, the Rosary and reception of the Sacraments are the “life force” of a Catholic…..We can not give to the world what we do not have…If we do not “plug in” to God, the “light” goes out…..This is a very important concept to understand…..Following Christ and living the teachings of the Church in the world in real time is impossible without doing the day to day work of prayer…To think otherwise is a huge mistake…Never under-estimate your humanity……Without God, we can do nothing!

“Commit to the LORD your way; trust in him, and he will act. He will make justice dawn for you like the light; bright as the noonday shall be your vindication”

As a father of five young children my patience is challenged daily…Because of this, I knew I needed to increase my prayer life….As a result I go in the early morning hours both Saturday and Sunday for 30 minutes each day and sit before the Blessed Sacrament before the kids get up…… This time before the Lord has helped me…I remember going to confession and telling the priest my sins regarding my lack of patience…….The priest told me about the need for daily prayer…I thought to myself after hearing his words…Just think how impatient I would be without the grace of God!….”A cup must be filled” and we are not unlike a cup - We must empty ourself out so God can fill us with his very life…Not unlike an athlete that trains daily - One must practice their Catholic faith daily in order to live like a Catholic…Because its our life’s example that matters most, not what we say….Mother Teresa has spoken about the power of daily prayer…This is what she said….”When the sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work, and all seems to go awry, they spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice has never failed to bear fruit; they experience peace and strength”……In order for us to persevere, we must pray - Period Full Stop!…If our life is not sustained by the Sacraments, our faith will grow weak….Far too many people miss this point…A huge mistake!…We are too confident in our own strength and when we have this mindset, the devil creeps in slowing….Scripture tells us very clearly….”Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace”…….Again Mother Teresa told a story that puts this reflection into context…A priest once told her that he was too busy to pray a holy hour every day before the Blessed Sacrament…He told her he has a school and two parishes to run - How can he “make time” to pray?………This is what Mother Teresa said to him…”You are a very important man and God has given you many things to do…You should not only pray one holy hour each day…You need to do two!”….I wonder if he got the point?…Without prayer our faith grows weak - We need to make time for daily prayer!….And when we maintain a solid Sacramental life grounded in daily prayer and weekly fasting….The Lord will sustain us…Take what I just said to the bank!…..When Mother Teresa was asked by the press, “What is her secret?”…Her answer was simple and it applies to us as well…This is what she said…”My secret is - I pray”

“The salvation of the just is from the LORD; he is their refuge in time of distress. And the LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him”

Today at Mass we are reminded about the virtue of perseverance…..We are instructed by the saints once again…St John Bosco and Mother Teresa…They tell us that if we do not maintain a Sacramental life and develop a routine of daily prayer, we will leave ourselves open to fall and allow the world to “pull us” away from God…St John Bosco again reminds us….”Your soul needs nourishment just like your body and if you deprive your soul of this nourishment you are possibly inviting great harm”…….Jesus tells us very clearly in Scripture…..”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”…I often wonder if we as Catholics give “lip service” to that statement made by Jesus…..I can only speak for myself…If I do not “remain on the vine”….I can do nothing!

Only saints change the world…”Holiness is a human life filled with God - The most beautiful life possible”…Don’t dismiss what you were created to be

This morning while doing my spiritual reading, I came across the words of a soon to be saint…Remember, saints are the only people who change the world…Saints give an example and point directly to God....This soon to be saint I read about this morning was the Venerable Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan…Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan was imprisoned by the Vietnamese government for 13 years….This is what he wrote…”Holiness is the most beautiful thing in the world…..If we were to gather all the light of the sun into a person, he or she would shine with splendor. Yet, as unimaginable as this splendor is, who can begin to speak of the beauty of a soul in which God dwells”…Do you know a holy life is possible for all of us - That means YOU!….And its the greatest thing one can allow to happen in their life….Most people on social media these days want to be instruments of change…I am one of them….The best way to be an instrument of change is the strive to be holy…People who are holy attract others to themselves…They are full of joy and peace…Not because of anything they do but because God is clearly shining through them….The good Cardinal from Vietnam goes on….”The saint is “made” by the happy collaboration of an individual with God, the author of all beauty. Holiness allows a person to show forth, like a vase of pure crystal, not merely a portrait of God but God’s true image”….Have you ever met a holy person?…If you have, I am sure of this, you will never forget them…..A holy life begins when we empty ourself and allow God to fill us…Again, we all can do this…It requires openness and effort…Its the most beautiful life possible that we can have here on earth

“A lamp to my feet is your word, a light to my path”

I have a homework assignment for you…If you just read what I wrote and do not believe it….Find a solid Catholic Religious Community…There are many in New York City where I live and volunteer for one day with them…Just one day, not too much time to ask right…And just watch the nuns do what they do…Watch their joy and how they make the people they serve happy…Doing simple things, nothing fancy….Everyone is searching for joy in this world bar none…We must ask ourselves - What is getting in between that joyful life we all want?….People who are close to God are filled with joy - Write what I just said down!…I have seen this kind of joy all over the world…..We were all made for this joy…And don’t let the world or any one person or thing keep you from this joy….Every day before the Missionaries of Charity sent us volunteers off into the streets of India after they served us breakfast this was the prayer they read to us:

Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go.

Flood my soul with Your spirit and life.

Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly,

That my life may only be a radiance of Yours.

Shine through me, and be so in me

That every soul I come in contact with

May feel Your presence in my soul.

Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus!

Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine,

So to shine as to be a light to others;

The light, O Jesus will be all from You; none of it will be mine;

It will be you, shining on others through me.

Let me thus praise You the way You love best, by shining on those around me. Let me preach You without preaching, not by words but by my example, By the catching force of the sympathetic influence of what I do, The evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You.

I love this prayer for many reasons but the part I want to focus on today is this….”That my life may only be a radiance of Yours”…When you come right down to it…I can do nothing…But if I allow Jesus Christ into my life, my life’s example will radiate something the entire world yearns for…It has nothing to do with me, it has everything to do with giving God permission to enter my soul…You can do the same thing….Getting back to our friend Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan, he tells us today that “holiness is not a passive presence of God in a person but God’s life and action in that person”….We must give God permission to enter into our life…This is the greatest thing we can do while we walk this earth...”Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works"………Only saints change the world…”Holiness is a human life filled with God - The most beautiful life possible”…Don’t dismiss what you were created to be

”You know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?”…..All is forgiven and forgotten when we say these six simple words - “I am sorry, please forgive me”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from a Letter to the Hebrews in the first reading….This teaching turns the way people practice their faith upside down…It also addresses a reality which we see play out today in human behavior…..”This is the covenant I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord: “I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them upon their minds, "he also says: Their sins and their evildoing I will remember no more. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.”….Let’s break this down……Through our common Baptism, which is the first installment of the Holy Spirit, the law of God, some call it the Natural Law is placed in the forefront of our mind and heart…..That law is a guiding principal to live our life…And because we are human, we sometimes fail…So God established a Church and in that Church we can have our sins forgiven through the Sacrament of Reconciliation - But you know that - This is the interesting part about this message, which is reflected in human behavior to this day…Instead of having our sins formally forgiven through the Sacrament, people try to “make up” for sins, by doing something good…..People do that, sometimes without even realizing it…They do something wrong and think to themself.......”If I do something good, that sin will be wiped away and I will feel better”….....Sadly, it does not work that way…..While it is always good to do the right thing after making a mistake, sins are only forgiven when we take them to God…And that is why Jesus established a Church…And that is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is vital…..Trying to “paper over” a sin committed by doing “something good” will never take away the guilt of committing that sin….Sin must be addressed head on….Then and only then does the guilt go away and peace of heart returns….God is not interested in our “sacrifices”, He is interested in freeing us from the bondage of sin.

“The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever”

During my freshman year of college I was completely out of control….Getting “written up” in my dorm for infraction after infraction…Right before I got thrown out of my freshman dorm I was on probation…One more screw up and I was out…So what do I do?…Get drunk in the dorm with my friends once again!…This particular night, one of my buddies wanted to get even with the Resident Advisor (RA), who was an upper class men who lived in our freshman dorm. His role was to watch over the under class men…Anyway back to my story…This RA hated me and for good reason…So my buddy wanted to get “even with him”….So after he was good and drunk, he pours bleach under the RA's door while he was sleeping…Of course all hell broke out the next day and the RA thought I did it…Needless to say I was not going to tell the RA who did it, so I am like to myself…Its over, they are throwing me out….As the days go on, my buddy and I had an 8:30am class and would walk to it together…This one particular day, he wakes me up very early and had this serious look on his face…..I will never forget it…He tells me, I told the Resident Advisor it was me who poured the beach under his door…I did not want him to blame you…Needless to say, my buddy got into a ton of trouble…..Why am I telling you this story….My friends act of courage and “coming clean” with the harm he caused removed any resentment that may have existed between us…It also, believe it or not brought him peace…When he came to wake me up early that morning, he looked like he did not sleep all night…Why tell you this?…Time does not heal wounds caused by sin….Nor does, “buying someone a present” whom you harmed…What heals wounds and builds bridges are these three simple words said: “I am sorry”….And when we do that in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as Catholics with a priest…All is forgiven and we begin the journey of healing….Most importantly - All is forgotten!

“Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin”

Today at Holy Mass, the first reading is attempting to teach us something…That God’s law is written on our hearts and in our mind….It also tries to tell us…..Because God loves us, all we have to do is say I am sorry when we screw up…Take it from me, because I screw up a lot!…..Think about what a father does with his sons, people like you and me in the here and now….If your son does something really wrong and comes to you and says…”Dad, I screwed up, I am so sorry”….What does a good father do?…He addresses the “screw up” and then continues loving his son….This is also how bonds strengthen and respect grows between a father and son….Never be afraid to say, “I am sorry” to your father who loves you…There is nothing one of my three sons can do that can not be fixed if they come to me…Why? - Because I love them!….”You know how to give good gifts to your children. So how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?”…..All is forgiven and forgotten when we say these six simple words - “I am sorry, please forgive me”

Its easy to say words, its hard to “listen” ….We need to learn to “listen” and in turn to obey - There is that “dirty word” again…Obedience

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading taken from a Letter to the Hebrews…..”Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in. These are offered according to the law. Then he says, Behold, I come to do your will’’…..What we fail to understand is…Jesus is a King…There is nothing monetarily speaking that we can give to him that he already does not have….Jesus wants only one thing from you - Your sins!…..Its very easy to “write a check”…Especially when you have money……Remember the parable Jesus told about that…”When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood”…….Jesus is not interested in your money - He is interested in your salvation - He is interested in YOU…..And in order to receive the gift of salvation offered to us, our will must bend…We must be obedient - Now there is a “dirty word” - Obedience to God’s word and God’s will……God's way - All Day - Everyday!.......There is a “theme song” as people enter the gates of hell…The song is very famous…..Its entitled…”I did it my way”

“Your justice I kept not hid within my heart; your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of; I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth in the vast assembly”

Jesus was God, yet he was perfectly obedient…We can mediate upon that our entire life and still not fully understand the price Jesus paid for our salvation through his obedience to the Father’s will….Americans have a fierce individualistic identity…And that can be a good thing…But if our individualism pulls us from God…That can never result in a positive outcome…..If we wish to follow Christ, we must be obedient to the will of God…..But here is the good news…God is not an ogre….”His yolk is easy and his burden is lite”………When we learn to trust God more then we trust ourself…Obedience becomes easy……I have a friend of mine who is a priest from New Jersey…He currently is living in Chicago…When I asked him how he got to Chicago, his answer was simply this - Obedience!…His superiors asked him to go, and he went - Period!….He even told me he would have rather stayed on the east coast but that was not what was asked of him so he went off to Chicago…..Another interesting example of this is when the bell rings for prayer in a Missionary of Charity Convent, when that happens, everything is dropped because its time to pray…I once asked a Superior in one of the MC Convents In New York about this…She told me, “The “bell” is the voice of God” - That is why when it rings, everything drops….That in religious circles is called “Holy Obedience”…And sadly this is what we are lacking in our Church today…..I have learned in my life - The Hard Way! - That God’s way works…..Before we embrace “Holy Obedience” we must be utterly convinced that God’s way works….Are you convinced?…..I say this because sometimes when taken on the surface, what the Church asks of us may seem to a secular person “unreasonable”……..For instance……As Catholics we are expected to be open to life when we get married…That means no contraception - Its part of our wedding vows…..Tell a secular person at a Happy Hour in a New York City Bar that you are against contraception….Watch how they react…What we have to realize is, there is wisdom behind everything the Church asks of us (its also been time tested over 2000 years) and everything God asks of us can be done with God’s grace….We seem to forget that…We “think” we are “smarter” than God - I got some news for you - You are not!....Once again, we need to learn to trust God…Only then will we be obedient to his will…..”I keep my steps from every evil path, that I may observe your word. From your judgments I do not turn, for you have instructed me. How sweet to my tongue is your promise, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I gain understanding”…..How do you validate the outcome from doing the will of God and following the percepts of the Catholic Church?…The answer - By the fruit it bears!…If you look in the right direction at segments within the Catholic Church, that “fruit” speaks for itself.

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

Today both the first reading and the Gospel focuses in on the virtue of obedience…As Catholics, we must learn this virtue….And if we do, we will bear fruit that will last…The underlining problem is, we lack trust….How do we overcome our lack of trust?…A couple of suggestions……First, we need to give an honest look at religious orders who “adhere to the vine” of the Church - That means they believe “everything” the Church teaches and follow it…If you look at religious orders that do this - And will see for yourself how they bear tremendous fruit for the Kingdom go God - How their orders thrive!…Secondly, we need to start adhering to God’s will our self in our everyday life….Start slow - I “get it”, its hard at first but God will give you the grace to do it through daily prayer and the Sacraments…And in time, you too will see the “fruit” in your life from that decision - Holy Obedience bears fruit!….There is nothing asked of us by God that cannot be done…He gives us all the “tools” we need to live out our life as Catholics in the world, whether we are in the pews or stand in front of the altar as a priest….Remember when St Peter denied Jesus three times?….And then Jesus forgave him three times…He asked Peter……..”Do you love me?”……..Peter said, “Yes Lord, you know I love you”…Jesus then said, “Feed my sheep”……..I tell my kids all the time when they misbehave and then say to me, “I love you Dad”….I tell them….”Its easy to say words, its hard to “listen” ….We need to learn to “listen” and in turn to obey - There is that “dirty word” again…Obedience

The Church must first tend to the wounds of its people....Only then will the Truth be heard….“Tend the wounds, tend the wounds!”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Mark….Jesus is confronted by the scribes, they say he is possessed by the devil…..Why would they say this?…..Jesus is helping people, yet they criticize him, trying to discredit his actions…..We do not have to look too far to see the same thing happen today…..The scribes like everyone else saw with their own eyes what Jesus was doing…But if they acknowledge it, they would in turn have to question their own actions, which they were not willing to do….So instead they “throw stones” at Christ….Again, so it is today…The Truth stares us all in the face….The Truth is reality and when we “push up against it”…....When we try to change what can not change….There are consequences…..We see this all the time…..The shortest distance from one place to another is A to B…..This again is reality!….The first step in facing this reality is looking one’s self in the mirror….Admitting where we ALL fall short…Ask for forgiveness….And in turn and in time divine grace will help us to overcome our short comings….This is the ONLY way forward…To deny this reality is to reap the consequences of this reality…What the scribes were doing to Jesus was a very human response to someone who is faced with the Truth and does not want to acknowledge that Truth, so they instead attack it…All of which stems from not being willing to change…..Our refusal to change does not alter the Truth because the Truth can not be altered…Remember what Jesus said…I am the Truth…He did not say…I am the custom

“Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel”

With age comes wisdom…I have seen over the course of my life how people and actions come full circle….There is an old saying…..No one gets away with anything….And as a fifty-four year old man - I have found that saying to be true…If we are honest with ourself, we have seen this saying play out time and time again…But here is the key…Are we honest with our self?…The human mind has a way to rationalize bad behavior away because of our reluctance to change…..Human beings do this all the time…If we want to move forward in our journey towards God, we first must confront our self….Everyone wants to change the world but no one wants to change themself….Nothing changes until we face the “man in the mirror”….Years ago a friend of mine was struggling with alcoholism…..He was not eating and living on vodka….As a result, his health was deteriorating…..It was not until he admitted to himself that he could not stop drinking and needed help that he began the journey back to a better life…..The first step that alcoholics have to take is admitting to their problem….A problem can not be solved when we deny it exists….This is a good analogy for all of us because all of us are human and because of that all of us have failings and flaws….And if we are honest with our self deep down, we probably want to correct those failings…If you don’t think you have any “issues” my suggestion is - Ask you spouse - I bet they can tell you what they are…But I digress……When we are honest with ourself and face our shortcoming, like a person who struggles with alcoholism, its the first step to correcting our shortcomings…This is why going to a Sacramental Confession once a month with a Catholic Priest is very healthy…..Not only are our sins forgiven when we maintain this practice, but we are holding ourself up to accountability…We are admitting our shortcomings honestly…And here is the good news…God hears us, God loves us, God forgives us and in time God heals us….With each Sacramental Confession we are given divine grace…And that grace helps us in time to overcome our sins and shortcomings…That is why a person who maintains this practice of going to Confession on a monthly basis grows in virtue…In time what we struggle with disappears all together with God’s assistance…Like the alcoholic, this begins with admitting we have a problem…And we all have this problem - We are all sinners and that is why Jesus walked the earth - The only reason…To help us - To forgive us - And to sanctify us…None of this happens without our cooperation.

"How can Satan drive out Satan”?…….”If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand”

The scribes today in St Mark’s Gospel did not want to hear it…How about us?…..Jesus was doing good and instead of acknowledging the good, they “throw stones” at Christ in an attempt to discredit him…All because they would not change…..Our reluctance to change does not change reality…..For example…You are free to believe gravity does not exist….My response is…Climb to the roof of your house and jump…When you hit the cement sidewalk you are again free to believe gravity does not exist…But when the hospital bill comes to your mailbox, your "ideas" about gravity do not pay the doctor’s bill - You pay……Humility is truth…We are all human and we all have shortcomings…Just ask my wife about mine, I am far from perfect…Admitting that is ok..Jesus came to call sinners, not those who believe themselves to be perfect…That is one of the driving reasons why I am Catholic…I am a sinner who needs to be forgiven…I need grace to overcome my shortcomings…And I got news for you - So do you!….The Church must first tend to the wounds of its people....Only then will the Truth be heard….“Tend the wounds, tend the wounds!”

The “glue” that holds us all together is Jesus Christ…..The devil divides - God unites……What divides us is not greater then the one who unites us

Today in the second reading at Mass we hear St Paul addressing the faithful…He is trying to maintain unity and he tries to show how all the parts of the body are necessary, all different but all necessary…..He does this to teach his friends…”As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body”…..Each of us has something to do - Something significant to accomplish!…..But each of us are different and that is ok……This is why unity is essential - Because we need each other….But at the same time unity is difficult to maintain, as we all know….Human beings need a common bond and the good news is, we have one…The common aspect of our human nature is we were all created by God…He lives within us by means of our common Baptism…..That is what unites us all…….”If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy”……Easy to say - Right? - But hard to do…This is why we need grace - Sacramental grace….We can not trust ourself to make this happen and in order to establish this kind of unity, we must understand our own weakness - We all have them!…..And only a humble person is willing to do that…God is so much bigger then our sins and ourself for that matter!….As St Paul tells us today, what unites us if far greater then what divides us…..And only in God will unity like I am writing about take place…..In heaven, we will all be of one heart and of one mind….In the meantime - The devil divideds and God unites!

“Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!"

When a group of people are focused and stand shoulder to shoulder, there is no limit to what they can accomplish….The first time I went to Mass with the Missionaries of Charity was in Kolkata, India…It was 5:00am and Kolkata has a large Muslim population…My alarm bell was the Muslim call to prayer at 5:00am…The Mass at the sisters convent was 6:00am…When I arrived, I saw around 200 nuns seated on the floor…The chapel of the Missionaries of Charity has no pews - All the sisters sit on the floor….The silence in the chapel was deafening!…All the sisters are different, from countries all around the world…But all the sisters are united…Focused on one thing - The Blessed Sacrament….The Mass begins with the sound of an old organ and the sisters singing in unison to the opening hymn…At the consecration of the Host…All 200 sisters, who are kneeling on the floor in unison bow their heads to the floor…..To be honest with you, I never seen anything like it in my life!…..What can make these nuns, all of which are different, be so united?…..The answer is Jesus Christ and His Holy Church….This is what St Paul was trying to show his friends, which we heard at Mass today…Think about the first 12 disciples for a moment…All of them were different…I want to point out two of them to you to make a point…Matthew was a Jewish tax collector….And in the eyes of his fellow Jews, by means of his job, Matthew would be viewed as a trader because Matthew worked for the Romans, who basically enslaved the Jewish people…Then you have Saint Simon the Zealot…The term “zealot” here from a historical prospective refers to his ardent desire to free Israel from Roman captivity………We can liken Saint Simon the Zealot to a political activist, who came to know Christ…So back to my story…How can Matthew and Saint Simon the Zealot possibly get along?…..Matthew was seen as a trader to his nation and Saint Simon the Zealot was fighting with all his strengthen to free his nation - Only in and through Christ can these two men stand in the same room and be united…So it is with us today - In our nation…..In our communities….And in our own familles for that matter……And that is what is missing and this is why we are divided!…Without God - Unity is impossible!…We are all different and that is a good thing…We must learn to leverage our difference, focusing them in one direction…Without God that cannot and will not happen…..St Paul again tells us….”Brothers and sisters: As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many. You are Christ's body, and individually parts of it”……Together we can do great things but if we remain divided, what we can and will do is sadly limited…..One of the last things Jesus said before he ascended into heaven was this…”I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one”….Division within the Body of Christ is a great scandal….It is something we all must work hard to eliminate….United we stand - Divided we fall!

“Now you are Christ's body, and individually parts of it”

St Paul was a great teacher…He is reminding his friends that all of us are different and that is a good thing…But each of us are part of a larger “body”…And each part has value….Only in and through God can this state of being materialize - True Unity!……In the mean time St Paul reminds us again….”Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful”……..The “glue” that holds us all together is Jesus Christ…..The devil divides - God unites……What divides us is not greater then the one who unites us

In order for the world to “see” Catholics must live in a sacrificial way…..Sacrificial love witnessed changes hearts…Most importantly, it changes our heart

Today the Universal Church commemorates the conversion of St Paul….This man's life went from one extreme to the next…..He zealously condemned to death the first followers of Christ only to have a radical change of heart….“On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”…Scriptures tell us that after this encounter Paul literally fell off his horse and he was blinded for 3 days…..A holy man named Ananias felt called to approach Paul…This was a bold move because Paul was not someone to “play around with”…He was responsible for the death of many…But Ananias went anyway…“A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me and stood there and said, ‘Saul, my brother, regain your sight.’ And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice; for you will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard. Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name.’”…Once Paul regained his sight, the rest is history….How did Paul “miss it” in the first place?…What made him blind?…..This is a good question to explore…..The world around us refuses to “see” many things…How can we as Catholics help the world regain its sight?…There is only one way - Sacrificial love

“Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

There are many reasons why people are blind to the Truth….And in the final analysis words for the most part will never break through to people…Even if they acknowledge the words to be well spoken…Or the words resonate with them to a degree…Words do not change people…..Sacrificial love witnessed before their very eyes is something all together different…This is what Jesus did, he was completely innocent and he willingly gave himself up to death…While we as Catholics will probably not be killed by an angry mob…We are all called to love sacrificially…The witness of love like this shakes the foundations of the world…It breaks through to the hardest of hearts…But the reality of this kind of love is this…It costs us…Are we willing to pay the cost?……….When the world witnesses love like this, it makes no sense to the secular mind….This is why the good thief on the cross next to Christ had a change of heart…Not because of what Jesus said, but it was what he did….The only way to love like this is through developing a deep interior life, which is the result of prayer, fasting and the Sacraments….That is the ONLY way!….But I will tell you this…When we open ourselves up to grace….Nothing is impossible - That is how our hands open and so do our hearts - That is how we see!……One day at the home of dying in Kolkata India I watched this one nun feed a dying man…I tried to do it but he did not respond to me…So the sister took over…And I just watched her…She was so patient and spoke with such a kind tone to the man…And as a result, he began to eat…To do what the nun did does not come natural to us…It only comes through grace…To “give up”…......To “let go”…….To choose to walk the “road less traveled”…This does not come natural to any of us…But I will tell you this - Those actions are the fruit of an interior life grounded in God…When such a life is witnessed by the world…The hardest of people melt…This is the only way…This is what we must strive to do and be as Catholics…No matter what we say…No matter how eloquent the words spoken may be….They will never produce the results we intend…We must be transformed by prayer, fasting and frequent reception of the Sacraments…Then we will willing live in a sacrificial way…Then the world will see…And only then will the world hear

“All who heard him were astounded and said, “Is not this the man who in Jerusalem ravaged those who call upon this name, and came here expressly to take them back in chains to the chief priests?”………..But Saul grew all the stronger”

The conversion of St Paul shows us that even the toughest of people can change…And Paul before his conversion was a “hard nut” to crack!…..But God saw something in Paul that no one else saw, not even Paul…What about us?….Within each of us there are what I like to call deep caverns, which we do not know exist - But they are there! - Only God knows they exist, we need to be open to the Holy Spirit - To “tap” into those caverns - And if we do, the greatest adventure of a lifetime stands before us…..”But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel”….Before this adventure takes place, like St Paul, our eyes need to open…And in order for the world to “see” Catholics must live in a sacrificial way…..Sacrificial love witnessed changes hearts…Most importantly, it changes our heart

God did not put in us a spirit of fear…..Be Bold…..”Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Mark…..Jesus officially names his first 12 disciples and calls them Apostles…These were the first bishops of the Catholic Church….”Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons…Two of the 12 Apostles were brothers: James and John…..”He appointed the Twelve: Simon, whom he named Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder”…These two brothers and Peter were Jesus’s inner circle…These were the men who saw with their own eyes at the Transfiguration Jesus revealed in his glory……Peter became the first Pope…James was the first of the 12 to be martyred and tradition holds that James brought the faith to all Spanish speaking people, which rooted from what is now Spain where it is believed he lived and preached - Think about that for a moment, all the people who have a latin background who are Catholic received their faith from St James!…And then there was John, the youngest of the 12…John was a mystic and one can say he was the closest to Christ among the first 12…Jesus called the two bothers, James and John - Sons of Thunder!…Reflect for a moment on the symbolism in that name - Sons of Thunder - Because James and John were just that…..They were bold and fearless men - Their voice was heard above the roar of the crowd……How about us?….We have been given a great gift - Our Catholic faith is a gift….Are we ashamed of it?…..Do we proclaim the Truth in the Public Square - Be damned the consequences!……Are we “Sons of Thunder” too?!?

“Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

Are we bold!….If we are not, we should be…Bevelyn Beatty Williams is an American who was jailed by the Biden Regime for peacefully protesting to end abortion…..As many know, I am a co-host of a radio show and we interviewed Bevelyn……..Bevelyn is a woman who is in love with Jesus Christ and she is not ashamed to say it…She has been arrested many times giving witness to her belief…..Here is a woman who is not even Catholic, yet she OUT DOES us all!……….She is fearless!…..One day we will ALL stand before the Lord - And clearly no one is perfect, however will we be able to say we did our very best!…..Bevelyn Beatty Williams is an amazing person…..Her trust in God is likened to the first 12 apostles….How about us?…..Do we have such trust?…..Do we count the cost?…..I can only speak for myself….This woman’s witness to Christ is like something you read about in books - And she is living it in real time - Right before our eyes!…..This is why Jesus called James and John Sons of Thunder - Because the impact of these two men made the earth shake!…..Bevelyn Beatty Williams is such a person….She was just released from prison and reunited with her husband and child…If I was to guess, Bevelyn is just getting started…Catholics should take note of her example!

“I will put my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people”

Jesus hand picked 12 regular guys…And with all their flaws, these 12 men gave their life for the Truth…They were bold and “ran the race” until the end!…..They shook the foundations of the earth!…….How about us?…..Do we count the cost?….Are we ashamed of our Catholic faith?……James and John were called the Sons of Thunder…Their witness to God was likened to a force of nature!…..Why not us?…..Are we afraid?…..When Jesus ascended into heaven…These were his words….“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age”……God did not put in us a spirit of fear…..Be Bold…..”Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom”

Allow the “Divine Physician” to address what makes us “sick”….Sin is just that, a sickness…And there is only one cure

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of St Mark…..Jesus cured many and many more were coming to him…Clearly, if one is physically sick one wants to be cured but that was not the driving reason Christ walked among men…It was to relieve us from our sins…How many came to Christ who simply wanted to be made physically healthy again but could not have cared less about his message?…..Let us ask the same question of our self?……Jesus cured people out of compassion for them but his main concern was their soul…There will come a time when our body fails us, when we die….However, our soul is immortal and is destined for one of two places for all eternity…Jesus is the divine physician and whether we want to admit it or not, we all need his “services”…..Grace builds upon grace and without this grace we will never be “cured” of the sickness that plagues us all…The sickness of sin….”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”

“He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him”

When I was a little boy I liked to ride my bicycle around my neighborhood……And as all little boys do, I rode my bike recklessly and sometimes I would wipe-out and skin my knee…When my mother saw that I hurt myself, she would want to put medicine on my wounds, but I did not want her to do so…So I would hide my skinned knee with my hands - Gripping the wound tightly…..But my mother knew I needed medicine and the wounds needed to be clean….So she would gently prior open my hands over my knee so she could clean the wounds and put medicine on them so they would heal…Why am I telling you this story?….This story is an analogy…This is what we do as adults when we sin….Sin creates a wound within us…And most people do not want another person (ie a Catholic Priest) to know when they sin, so they cover it up and tell no one…But the Church is our mother and she tries to convince us to show her our wounds in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where our mother the Church can place healing grace on our wounds and we can be healed…..Sin is like a cancer, if it is not addressed it slowing spreads and kills us…..Only Jesus can forgive sin and only in the Sacrament of Reconciliation can that sin be wiped away……Far too many people in our world are carrying around a tremendous burden….Don’t you think its time to go to the “Divine Physician” so we can be cured?…Only he has the “medicine” we need

“Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel”

Today in the gospel from Mass we hear about Jesus curing people…Jesus loves us and does not want to see us suffer…That is why he cured the people who were physically sick, he had compassion for them…But that was not the driving purpose of his mission…He came to free us from our sins….Many of these people I would bet, knowing human nature for what it is…Only wanted to be physically cured…..Forgetting the needs of their eternal soul…How about us?….How many of us go to the gym five times a week yet neglect going once a month to a Sacramental Confession with a priest…One day our body will turn to dust, but our soul is immortal - Do we tend to the needs of our soul? - And like all things, our soul needs to be cared for…..Allow the “Divine Physician” to address what makes us “sick”….Sin is just that, a sickness…And there is only one cure

Give people who are different from you a chance, many times when you do, they surprise you…..Inside us all, there is a common bond…We are more alike then most people realize…..“Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark when Jesus is confronted by the leaders of his day….He “grieved at their hardness of heart”….Jesus seemed almost frustrated by how power blinded these men in the face of something that was clearly good - The healing of a man’s hand…..God was staring the Pharisees right in the face and they missed it…..How about us?…Do we allow our biases and various “identities” to blind us to the Truth?…..Before you answer give it some thought…..Do we give credit where credit is due, even if that person or group does not belong to our religion, political affiliation, or family?…….Its very easy to get lost in societies various “identities”, whether they are political, socio-economic or ethnic….The Truth is the Truth no matter who says it……Jesus Christ said he is the way, the truth and the life…He did not say he was the custom - However any person, no matter who they are, if they speak the Truth or better yet, live the Truth should be supported by Catholics……”Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward”

"Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people."

We hear this a lot these days - What is your political identity?…For Catholics, we should identify as one thing and one thing only - Followers of Jesus Christ - Period Full Stop - Our "job" is to live the Gospel….That is how I view myself and the world around me - Through a Catholic lens…..Do we view the world through our Catholic Faith? - What clouds that view?…..And when I mean the world, I am addressing specifically, your marriage, the rising of your children, how you spend your time, how you spend you money?……All these things should be viewed through the lens of our Catholic faith…..And when we see someone who is not Catholic but does something that comports with our belief system, do we acknowledge them? - Do we give credit where credit is due?…Or do we shut them down simply because they are “different” then us?……As Catholics, we possess the fullness of the Truth…The teachings of the Catholic Church are time tested and perfect….But sadly many times non-Catholics can out do us by the way they live….When they do, do learn from their example?…….Where I live in New Jersey there is a town near me where Orthodox Jewish families live….Clearly Catholics and Jews have a different belief system however, there are also many things we can agree upon…One of those things is having strong families…One Saturday my wife and I were driving through this Orthodox Jewish neighborhood and the people were all walking to the Temple…We saw three generations of families walking together…It was such an edifying sight to behold!…..And if I were completely honest, I would have to say that for the most part, I do not see the same thing from parish life here in America from Catholics…..I greatly admire the family structure of our Orthodox Jewish brothers and sisters…How their communities are tightly woven, how they support one another and maintain their culture in a world that radically opposes them…So here is the question - Can you as a Catholic acknowledge something that is good when it comes from a group of people that does not belong to your group?….Do we get lost in our “identity” and can not see passed it, even when what we see is good?……This is what Jesus was addressing today in the Gospel - He healed a man on the Sabbath and the Pharisees would not acknowledge the good he did…Do we do the same thing?………There is a great danger in living our life like this……Our eyes need to be open to others and so must our hearts

“Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand…..”He stretched it out and his hand was restored.”

Today at Mass we heard Jesus get frustrated at the Pharisees…Their hearts were hard and their eyes were closed…Jesus did not “belong” to their group so immediate the Pharisees shut him out…What about us?……Do we have a tribal mentality? - Before you answer, think long and hard……Our world needs to look passed this way of living and thinking…….As Catholics we may not see eye to eye with everyone but when an individual or a group does something good and expresses a view that comports with the Truth, we need to acknowledge it…Getting lost in “group think” is dangerous….Far too many people today live in “echo chambers”…They only hear one voice and that voice “locks out others” no matter what they say, even if they say something that is good….When society does this and our society currently does do this, there is a great danger to de-humanize people and the groups they belong too…Do we talk to our neighbors who are not like us, even those neighbors who do not vote like we do, who go to a different church or no church at all for that matter?…..If we don’t we should talk to them.....…Give people who are different from you a chance, many times when you do, they surprise you…..Inside us all, there is a common bond…We are more alike then most people realize…..“Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand”

God is full of mercy……Be encouraged…..And “hold fast to the hope that lies before us”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark about maintaining a ritual of the law…To honor the Sabbath…This is important…On Sunday we go to Mass with our family…But do we ever ask ourself why we do this?…Sometimes rituals are performed without thinking…We go through the motions, not thinking about why do the things we do as Catholics…Everything we do must lead us to God…Everything is done for that purpose and if we forget the purpose, the ritual becomes empty…..On the other end of the spectrum, Catholics can become so focused on the ritual itself, in turn making the ritual an idol, forgetting again what the ritual is all about…A way to reach and honor God

“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

My wife and I have five children under ten years old….We have always gone to Mass together as a family…With that said, bringing five children to Mass is not easy…..There are times I have spent the enter Mass in the hall with one of my children however it’s important that we go…Why?….Because as a family we must be nourished together by the Sacrament and live out our married life Sacramentally - This is vital - God must be the center of family life because without God, we as human beings so easily “get lost”……As all Catholics know, there are times during the Mass we are required to kneel and sometimes I can not because of one children are on my lap……I have reflected about that and thought to myself, its more important that I bend my will in that moment and take care of a restless child then bend my knee….The bending of my will is more pleasing to the Lord…..The lesson learned here is do your best…Don’t get “caught up” in performing rituals with the idea that they have to always be perfectly executed - You are a human being and humans are not perfect - So get over it….That does not mean rituals are not important because they are…However, when our primary focus is the ritual, we can lose focus on why we do them….God does not “tick” boxes and nor should we….Do what is required of you to the best of your ability….Trust God will take what you do and make use of it for both your benefit and the benefit of the world around you

“Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

St Mark tells us today that we as Catholics need to make Sunday special…Its a day for families to get together - Have a meal together - Have a laugh - And most importantly worship the Lord together at Holy Mass….However, let us never forget we are human and when human beings gather together, no event, not even going to Mass will always run smoothly…And that is ok….Do your best and God will recognize it…..Through our imperfections, God is at work……Be patient with yourself and learn to have patience with and for others…..God uses everything, the good and the bad, the perfect and the imperfect…Everything is used, nothing is wasted…So do your best, God will honor it…Don’t get “caught up” with trying to be perfect because you never will be perfect, while at the same time do everything for the Lord….Remembering always why you are doing it…..God is full of mercy……Be encouraged…..And “hold fast to the hope that lies before us”

”So by their fruits you will know them”…….It all comes down to obedience and recognizing authentic authority…….”For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading a Letter to the Hebrews…In it the author of the letter is explaining what makes for a good high priest…..”No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was”…….Those who enter religious life have a calling…Jesus himself calls them…Its something deep within their heart…Secular people have a difficult time believing this…But it is true….God calls his priests…Being a priest is not like any other “job”…..And frankly you can tell when a priest has a true vocation……Conversely, you can tell when a priest does not…..There is a old saying…A good priest will save a thousand souls and a bad priest will lose a thousand souls…..But how do we tell who is good and who is bad?…..Two things: The first is this - Do you see joy in that person?…True joy cannot be self manufactured and if someone is “faking" their so called joy - You can tell immediately……The second is obedience - A “dirty word” these days…..A good priest is obedient to the teachings of the Church come hell or high water!……The Deposit of Faith is passed down and the job of the clergy is just that - To pass on the deposit of faith down - Not to twist it…….Clearly, not every Catholic is called to religious life…However, every Catholic by means of their Baptism is called to be faithful - And that means being obedient to the will of God and the teachings of the Church…I know - there is that “dirty” word again - Obedience!……”You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”……Many Catholics gloss over the fact that Jesus was completely obedient to his Father’s will….”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”…….And because of that reality, we must be obedient too - I know - There is that “dirty” word again!……Far too many people have a problem with being obedient to a higher power…..And frankly, that is a big problem…..And that problem manifests itself in the Church and in the world…..It all began with our first parents Adam and Eve…God said to them, you can have everything you want in the garden but you cannot eat from the “Tree of Knowledge”…What was God saying to them by that statement?…Let me break it down as only an Italian man from New Jersey can - “I am God, you are not - And because of that, I determine what is right and wrong - And you do not”……I can hear it now - I just lost many who are reading this reflection - I am not selling anything, so let me break it down again as only an Italian man from New Jersey can - “It is what it is - Get over it!”…..God is God and we are not….The temptation of Adam and Eve had nothing to do with an “apple”…It had everything to do with a lie, which was told to Adam and Eve by the devil himself, “You will be like God”…And that is the lie that is believed to this day…“You will be like God”………And that is the lie that needs to be debunked….St. Michael the Archangel addressed this same problem when he faced off with the devil and his minions and this is what he said….”Who is like God”….....So as they say in New Jersey - "Get over it”!

“Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him”

What keeps us from being obedient?…Well, it comes down to us thinking we have authority, which implies a form of control….Having control is a myth because we all die, no matter who you are or “think” you are…We all die….We are completely powerless to that fact…And as far as authority goes, only God has authority......People ask me - Why are you Catholic?…Because Jesus founded the Church and he has authority and I do not - How is that for an answer!…I also tell people who question God’s authority - “When you raise yourself from the dead and form a Church, I will join that Church, until then, I am staying right where I am!…..Sadly, human nature being what it is, we hear what our “itchy ears want to hear”…We tell ourself “we are in control” and we disregard authentic authority - Which is God alone……I have taught the Catholic faith for decades now…I have spoken with countless Catholic religious, authors and intellectuals about the Catholic faith on my radio show….And I always say to them all…”Being Catholic is like painting by numbers, its all written down”…Yet some don’t see it that way…..It boggles my mind!……Just read it - I am not telling you “my opinion” - Just read it!....Yet some folks on the “far right” of the Catholic Church to some folks on the “far left" - They somehow cannot “see” what is written on the page as clear as day…At the root of it all, its not their ability to read that is the problem, its their will - They refuse to bend their will…..If I have learned one thing as a Catholic, it is this…”You tell a tree by the fruit it bears”…All good priests, nuns and religious orders who “adhere to the vine” thrive!…..And those who do not, simply wither away and die……Yet, still many are not convinced….Remember what Jesus said…………..”Without me you can do nothing”………….This is why I do not worry about the Catholic Church when I see crazy ideas spoken from clerics and lay Catholics alike…This maxim I just noted is a “self policing mechanism” (”You tell a tree by the fruit it bears”…All good priests, nuns and religious orders who “adhere to the vine” thrive!…..And those who do not, simply wither away and die)…..So what about us?…….Like all things in life, we all make a choice….We need to learn to trust God, who loves us…And God established one Church - The Catholic Church…Why is that?…Because God has authority and we do not - Remember God? - The man who rose from the dead!……For all you readers out there…Did you know that the Bible was not formally written until 400 years after the death of Jesus?…And for 400 years the Catholic faith existed….And if you trace the faith all the way back before the Bible, you will find that it is exactly the same faith as the Catholic Church today….That is a fact - Read the early Church Fathers…..So when someone tells me…"The Catholic Church is wrong - Its not the authentic Church of Christ”…Know what I say…”Who gave you that authority?”…You are just a mortal man and you will die like all men - When you come back from the grave - Then I will join your Church - Until then, I am sticking with the Church founded upon Peter!…”And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”…………..It all comes down to obedience and recognizing authentic authority

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

In the first reading from Mass today we learned that all priest are called by God - One can not “self manufacture” that “call”…..Its for us to listen to the Lord…While not all of us are called to be priests, by means of our baptism we are all called to “adhere to the vine” and if we do, our lives will “bear good fruit” - Period Full Stop!…That is the means and measure of discerning that is authentic and what is not….And frankly its as clear as the nose on your face if you choose to look…..A good priest will save a thousand souls…..Solid religious orders thrive…A good bishop will inspire numerous vocations….I can go on and on!….How does that happen?….Those who were called by God know that they must be obedient - And those who are obedient bear fruit - And those who are not frankly are “spinning their wheels” and will disappear in time - ”So by their fruits you will know them”…….It all comes down to obedience and recognizing authentic authority…….”For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you”…………She is telling us the same thing today…..“Do whatever he tells you”…The “best wine” is yet to come

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St John about Jesus’s first public miracle….There is a wedding and the wine runs out so Jesus’s Mom approaches the couple and asks if her son can help….This should tell us something right “off the bat”……Mary knew Jesus was God before everyone else did…..And at the request of Mary, Jesus does the impossible…He turns water into wine…..This again should tell us something….When we go through the Mother of God, our prayers are heard…Why?….Because Jesus can not refuse his Mother…Now that does not mean God is a candy machine and everything we ask for comes out of the machine if we ask Mary…..Sometimes the answer to prayers is NO…But if we continue to pray in the presence of the Lord, we will come to understand in time why the answer is NO…..Having a relationship with Jesus is vital in life because life itself does not make sense without Christ…Please allow me to explain why?…Because only Jesus gives meaning to suffering and death, something we all will experience….This is why those who do not have Christ in their life are lost when they suffer and experience death of a loved one…..Jesus is the only one who can give meaning to both of those very real experiences that we all will face…With that said, having a relationship with Mary is also vital……She is our Mother and she leads us to her son in the most direct manner possible….When we pray the Rosary, which is a mediation on events in the life of Christ, we pray this at the feet of Mary…....With each “Hail Mary” spoken, our mind is drawn to her son and the mysteries of God are revealed to us…..The Rosary is the vehicle in which we can change the world - Beginning with our self first……Yes - You heard that right - Change the World!……Mary today in the Gospel told the servers at the wedding feast of Cana something very important…She is telling us the same thing today…..“Do whatever he tells you”

“Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.”

Today at Mass Jesus performed his first miracle, he turned water into wine….Interestingly enough, the gospel ends with this sentence….”Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him”…Notice the use of the word “began”…..”His disciples “began” to believe in him”…..The word “began” implies to me that they did not fully “get it”….You would think that such a public miracle would have “closed the deal” for these 12 guys, but it did not….So it is with us as well…No matter how far along you are in your journey back to God, none of us “fully get it”…We are all a work in progress and that is ok, that just means we have to keep stepping forward!…The good news is, Jesus through daily prayer, weekly fasting and the Sacraments will help us to progress…..But in the mean time…Have you ever experienced a miracle?…..The Lord works in mysterious ways and miracles do happen!……When I was the driver for the Missionaries of Charity one of my jobs was to pick up expired food at Trader Joes (a Supermarket) at Union Square in Manhattan…I did this every Saturday afternoon so the people at Trader Joe’s got to know me…Sometimes the managers were good to me and gave me tons of food and sometimes they were not be so generous….This one Saturday, I arrived and the manager at the Supermarket told me there was nothing to give away…Just as I was about to leave, he called me back and said, “Hang out for a few minutes, let me see what I do”…After a few minutes he came out with hundreds of dollars worth of meats of all kinds: Chicken, Steak, Pork, Sausage…All in bags ready to be given to me…I was shocked by his generosity…When I got back to the sister’s convent, the Superior of the House told me, they had no meat, they gave it all away….And what the manager of the Supermarket gave us was much more then what the sisters gave away…This event taught me something….When we trust in God’s divine providence and do things God’s way…God will ALWAYS provide for our needs…..Now that does not mean God is a “candy machine” - Meaning when we “need something” and put a “coin” in the “machine”, that “something” we want comes out…But what it does mean is, if we trust that God will provide for us - And we do our part in the process - God will NEVER let us down…In fact, God can never be outdone in generosity…..When you follow this formula of trust, you will find that when we give God “an inch” he always gives you “a yard” in return…We just need to learn to trust him…This is the obstacle that stands in front of us…Our lack of trust…..God is your father and God loves us…..We need to learn to trust him

Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water. ”So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter. ”So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine”

Today we heard about a miracle, Jesus at the request of his Mother turned water into wine….Yet, Jesus’s friends were not “fully sold”…In many ways we are the same way…..This is why we must cling to Mary….She is our Mother and she will take us by the hand and lead us to her son…The Rosary is a simple prayer that takes only 15 minutes each day to pray…When we pray the Rosary, the “mysteries” of the Kingdom of God are opened up to us…All because we pray the Rosary at the feet of Mary...No one knows Jesus better then Mary….And because Mary is our Mother too, she is more then willing to help us get close to her son…..If you do not pray the Rosary each day, try it out…………..”When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine. ”And Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you”…………She is telling us the same thing today…..“Do whatever he tells you”…The “best wine” is yet to come