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