Twelve “rogues” did change the world…..Be careful who you “write-off”….”Rouges” sometimes surprise you!

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel we hear from St Luke how Jesus befriends a known sinner……Levi was a tax collector and in the eyes of the Jewish people, that made him a trader….Interestingly enough, Levi is the very man who changed his name to Matthew and wrote one of the four gospels….Just shows you if you give someone a chance, they might surprise you!…But let me not digress…..Levi was so happy Jesus befriended him that he gave a great banquet…And as one would imagine…Because Levi was on “the wrong side of the tracks”, all his friends were also public sinners…But this did not phase Jesus…However, “polite society” and the leaders of the Jewish people were scandalized….Addressing those who took an issue to Jesus making friends with public sinners, this is what he said…."Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”…….Very often people compare ourselves with people who “do not have their act together”…..Its a way to make ourselves “feel good”….In reality, we all are in need of God’s mercy…..Imagine if we compared ourselves to saints?…Or to Jesus himself?…..I have said this publicly before and I will say it again…Its because I am a sinner - And know it - That is why I am Catholic….I fully know what I am capable of as a man…Therefore, like a beggar, I come to the altar to receive God’s grace…The minute you “think” you are better than someone else, you become worse……With that said, the fact that we are all sinners should not be used as an excuse to stay that way…..We must strive each and every day to purify our words, thoughts and actions, trusting in Sacramental grace to transform us into the people we were born to be…In the meantime….Never “write off” a person who you may “think” has “no hope”…..Many times those are the people who respond to God’s call and shake the foundations of the world…If you don’t believe me…..Levi in today’s Gospel should convince you of what I just stated….Levi not only was transformed but became a Gospel writer, who later became a saint who gave his life for Christ…..Sometimes, the “bad guys” will surpass you!

“I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live.”

A priest once told me that very rarely Jesus in found in the front row of the Church, more times than not he is found in the back of the Church broken and alone…And if you go to him in the back of the Church, he will take you by the hand and bring you to the front of the Church….Do we judge others?….Now, I am not talking about making excuses for bad behavior….Objectively speaking actions are good and bad…However, only God can judge the person - That is not “our job”…I have found that a hand of friendship offered to someone can go along way…And many times people will surprise you….Being friends with someone does not mean you have to see “eye to eye” on everything…It just means you meet them exactly where they are…....People more times than not do not respond to sermons - When they are “preached too” inside the walls of a Church or outside on the street…However, I will tell you what does get people’s attention - Your actions!….The best way to communicate the Truth of the Catholic faith is to live it radically…Trust me - People who know you are Catholic watch you very closely….And a consistent witness to the life of Jesus Christ “speaks” very loudly!….In the meantime, if a person does not “see life the way you do”…That does not mean you cannot be friends with them….In time, the witness of your life…The joy and peace that is tangibly apart of your life will be noticed…And that witness will spark questions within the hearts of those around you….Not everyone will become a saint like Levi in today’s Gospel, who after one invitation to a dinner from Jesus gave up everything and followed him……However, the conversion of those around us starts with an extended hand of friendship…..That means you cannot and should not “write people off”….Never underestimate a consistent witness to the Gospel….Whether you realize it or not…People are watching…So know what I say…Let them see!…Leave the rest to God

“Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth”

Today in the Gospel we see Jesus extend a hand to a known sinner…And in doing this “polite society” took offense…..Do we give people a chance?…Are we quick to write people off?……Never let what other people “think” of you stop you from pursuing your life as a Roman Catholic in the Public Square…We can not control what other people “think” of us, but what we can control is ourself……..If you look at the first twelve guys Jesus chose to build his Church…They were not exactly what we would call “The Best of The Best”….They were uneducated men….Rough around the edges - And that is being kind!…However, I will tell you what they did have…They had heart…They had grit…They never gave up…And they fought until the end and gave their life for Christ and died martyrs in the far reaches of the known world….Maybe that is why Jesus chose them - You think?…..Give me twelve committed men like that and I would change the world!…Wait….That is exactly what happened…..Twelve “rogues” did change the world…..Be careful who you “write-off”….”Rouges” sometimes surprise you!

”The Lord heard and had mercy on me; the Lord became my helper” - ”A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading the Prophet Isaiah tells us what a our Lenten fast should look like…..”This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!”………As we read this its easy to think we will never be in a position where we have to “cry out for help”…Many of us are financially secure, we are strong in mind and body…However, if you have ever watched a loved one get old and die…You know that there comes a time when all our strength is taken from us…..Our money no long has value because of old age and terminal illness….Its then we all will “cry out for help”…And as the Prophet Isaiah tells us today…If we are good to others, God will be good to us in our time of need…….There are many chapters to life and frankly, God plays the “long game”…We too should view life in terms of the “long game”……We can not “earn our way to heaven” - Heaven is not for sale….And during this Lent, when we fast, we are too remember why we are doing it…To make ourselves vulnerable….And in that state of vulnerability, we will open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit and in turn take another step towards God….....The road is long..... And we get where we need to be one step at a time.

“For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”

Four years ago my father passed away…He died of Parkinson Disease, which eventually left him bed-ridden for the last eighteen months of his life….For an athletic man who worked on his feet for almost four decades, this must have been very difficult…However, my father accepted his fate and to be very honest with you, I never really saw him complain…..That takes grace….You can not “self manufacture” this kind of attitude when suffering is so real…..God took care of my father because my father “took care of God" and others….He lived his marriage vows for fifty-two years…And he died in the grace of the Sacraments……No one ever thinks that suffering like what my father experienced will happen to them……But sadly, more times then not…When death comes to us - Its not pretty!….This is why the Prophet Isaiah warns us in the first reading at Mass today…..”Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!”…….When you know you did your very best to live out your vocation as a Catholic…..You did your very best to live in and under God’s will…When “your time comes” - And it will come!…God will give you grace and sustain you….That is what I saw with my Dad…God sustained him in life and in death…..This is why we must think of our life in terms of “the long game”…..Lent is a time to help us to “re-adjust” our life towards God…This is why we fast….This is why we pray…This is why we give alms……This is why we reconcile ourself with God and the Church….For one day....We too will “cry out”…And the fruit of a good life is a good death

“Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the Lord will be with you”

Today the first reading at Mass asks us to think about why we engage in our Lenten practices…..”Giving something up” for Lent has a purpose…That purpose is for us to grow in holiness…..Is that the goal of your fast?…….God is not impressed with spectacular feats of asceticism…God wants our sins…..God wants our obedience, which leads us to a good life here on earth and ushers in a holy and peaceful death when that time comes.....….These forty days, if we live them out properly can help us get to where we need to be….”Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed”……The Prophet Samual in the Old Testament tells us…….”Obedience is better then sacrifice”….However, in order to learn to be obedient, we must come to know that God loves us, that God is real and God will provide for us with his grace…..Our Lenten fast can teach us that…..When we feel our humanity as the result of a fast, we will also experience how God’s grace sustains us - Because grace is real and so is God!……This is how we grow in faith - Step by Step……”The Lord heard and had mercy on me; the Lord became my helper” - ”A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”

Jesus Christ tells us point blank the way to get to heaven…..Its up to us to not only listen to him, but to follow him…..”I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse - Choose life”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy…..Moses presents a choice to his people as they journeyed to their home across the desert….”I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life”…This same choice remains in front of us today….We all must make a choice and it is through that lens of that choice that all our decisions will be made…..Words do not have to echo the choice we made, our very life speaks of it…Moses goes on….”If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy. I call heaven and earth today to witness against you”….History can tells us a great deal about the present…If you look at the history of the Jewish people in the Old Testament…An over-arching theme that cuts across many of the books is the theme of exodus and return…This theme repeats itself over and over again…And Moses today brings this up again to his people…Whenever the Jewish people forget about God, everything falls apart and due to the misery that resulted from their turn from God, usually a person is raised up (today that person is Moses) and that person leads them back to God…Exodus & Return…Exodus & Return…….Is this theme, which we read about in the Old Testament any different from today?…..You would think mankind would learn….Sadly, we do not…We learn through suffering and hardship more times then not…….There are no short cuts to a good life here on earth…Just as there are no short cuts to heaven…Moses tells his people like it is…..And so did Jesus….These were the words of Jesus today in the Gospel of St Luke…"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”….There are no shortcuts!…..And to think there are is a self rationalization that gets us nowhere….The grace of God is real - But it’s not cheap!

“Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. For the LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.”

If you are a student of history you will notice that powerful people and massive empires have attempted to take down the Catholic Church….The Roman Empire……Hitler and the Nazi’s….Stalin in Russia….Napoleon in France…Castro in Cuba….What do all this men and empires have in common?…They all failed in taking down the Catholic Church….Why?…Because God himself founded it……………….”Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. 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.”……..The same goes for when the Catholic Church was in need of renewal…The Lord rose up men and women saints to address the issues at hand…St Francis…St Dominic…St Ignatius Loyola….You would think that the secular world would learn and come to the obvious conclusion that the Catholic Church is indestructible…But sadly, the secular world keeps trying to take the Church down…But how about us?….Have we looked at these trends in history?…..The outcomes should be very obvious, yet we rationalize away the obvious so we can pursue our own agendas, which ultimately lead to nothing in the end…And many times, our own agenda, which take us from God lead our lives into misery in the here and now….I have learned that no matter what I say…No matter how logical I may be…Know matter how perfectly I present the outcomes of history…....This will not change the minds of men and lead them to God…....Words do not cut it!......You can not argue a person into the doors of the Catholic Church……Only one thing can accomplish the change we desire to see…It is the witness of a holy life…If we say we want to bring about the Kingdom of God here on earth and are not pursuing a holy life ourselves, frankly we are wasting our time…This is what Lent is all about…Its a time to recognize where we have gone wrong, repent of our sins and in turn open ourselves up to God’s grace…Which is the only catalyst for change, first within ourselves and then by our witness, for those around us

“He is like a tree planted near running water, That yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.”

Today at Mass, the theme of exodus and return is communicated to us once again….We are told by both Moses and Jesus that we must make a choice…If you were to ask one hundred people this question…”Do you want to go to heaven?”…Every single one of them would probably say - Yes…However…If you then asked those same hundred people if they agreed with what Jesus said about how we are to get to heaven….."If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”….Sadly I don’t think we would get the same outcome as we did to the first question….But here is the thing - Whether we agree with Jesus or not does not change reality……What mankind has not “figured out” is this….We do not make the rules - God does and only God has authority - We do not….Jesus Christ tells us point blank the way to get to heaven…..Its up to us to not only listen to him, but to follow him…..”I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse - Choose life”

If we only knew what we could accomplish if we allowed God to really work in our life!….But before that transformation happens, we must “go into the desert”….Today begins that “journey” once again…And as St Paul told us……”Now is a very acceptable time”

Today is Ash Wednesday…What is this day all about?…..Today we begin a journey…..We should go into these next forty days one way and come out another way…Like all journeys, they are filled with ups and downs….When the “downs” come, and we feel our humanity, we cling to God…In doing so, we empty ourself and are filled with the Holy Spirit…Lent is not about “giving something up”…Its not a “test” of our strength or a display of how self-disciplined we may or may not be…Lent is a time to “enter the desert”…This morning I read a passage from a Belgian Theologian (Jacques Leclercq), this is what he wrote: “Man wants to build heaven on his own…He must remember that he is a creature, that all of life for him is only God, and when he attempts to separate from God and act outside of him, everything collapse. Nothing remains of the grandeur of man, without God, but this little hand full of dust at the corner of the altar, on this Ash Wednesday, with which the Church will mark our foreheads as with our own substance.”………Jacques Leclercq is reminding us, no matter who we are or what we have accomplished here on earth, we all end up in the same place (six feet under the ground)…..However, while we still have breath and life, God can do great things through us if we allow him too…….Today the journey begins once again - A journey to be transformed!…I promise you this - If you take these forty days seriously, God will surprise you….Grace animates mankind and enables him to do the impossible….Because nothing is impossible for God…..But remember….“From dust you came, to dust you shall return”

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”

People always speak about being “transformed”…But how can we really do it?…..And if we do make a change, will it last?…..This is why we need God’s grace but in order to receive it, we must be open to it…Sometimes “opening ourselves up” to God can be challenging…..Years ago I met a mathematician volunteering with the Missionaries of Charity in Lower Manhattan named Vijay ….He was at a “cross roads” in is life and literally went on a 40 day water fast, volunteering with Mother Teresa’s Sisters serving the poor…I met Vijay while he was fasting and frankly could not believe anyone could possibility live on just water for forty days…After this period of time, my friend was baptized and became Catholic…..I have written about his in the past - In my twenties, when I was committing myself to live as a faithful Catholic and was not married, I fasted rigorously to implore God to give me the grace to live a chaste life until I was married…I failed after one period of Lent…Only to try again the next Lent and receive the grace of chaste, which lasted for roughly 15 years until I met my wife and got married….God can do the impossible, but many times in order for him to do the impossible, we must “strip away” layers of “ourself” in order for God to enter those parts of us we keep from him…That process is not always pretty but if we want to be “transformed”, that is what it takes more times then not…..Before Jesus began his mission, which as we know was no small task to accomplish, he went into the desert for forty days…There he was tempted three times…..”Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread. ”He said in reply, “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’ ”Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’ ” Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: ‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.”…...This time in the desert prepared Jesus for what was to come - His Passion and death….God uses everything - Nothing is wasted - Not even our failures and struggles!…We too must “enter the desert” in order to be transformed….But know this, when we are “tempted in the desert” as Jesus was, God’s grace will sustain us - “Behold, angels came and ministered to him”…And if we fail, we need to get up and try again!

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”

Today at Mass we hear the words of St Paul in the second reading….”Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation”……Time waits for no man….And like everything else in life, if you want something, you need to get serious and make it happen!….Well, life in the Spirit is no different…If we only knew what we could accomplish if we allowed God to really work in our life!….But before that transformation happens, we must “go into the desert”….Today begins that “journey” once again…And as St Paul told us……”Now is a very acceptable time”

Jesus did not write a book, he established a Church, which is comprised of both saints and sinners……I am one of the sinners!…That is why I am Catholic for that very reason!…This is why I need to live a Sacramental life…So I can “see”…My very life depends upon it!

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark, Jesus makes a shocking statement…..….....”But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first”……I have often pondered this statement, due to the fact that I have traveled extensively throughout the world and have encountered many different types of people…..When Jesus returns, the power structure of the world will flip 365 degrees!……Think about that for a moment……A man living in a penthouse apartment in Manhattan may not be viewed as favorable by God when compared to an illiterate laborer working in the streets of Brazil…..When we view the world through the statement Jesus makes today - The question that comes to my mind is - How do we view others?……Its very easy to “pass people by” without considering them as human beings…All of us do this every day…..But how can we change our line of sight?…….St John tells us in his Gospel…If we claim to love a God we do not see and do not love our neighbor who we do see, St John says we really do not love God - A strong statement indeed, but when you step back from it objectively, its an accurate statement…But how can we “see” our neighbor differently?…..If we are able to see Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, we will view our neighbor, even strangers differently…And in order to “see” the Blessed Sacrament for what it truly is…We must be in the state of grace…How does one enter into the state of grace?…By making a Sacramental Confession with a Catholic Priest….The world is not convinced of what I just said, not even some baptized Catholics are convinced…But what I just said is reality!…We forget that Jesus walked this earth as a man…He understands humanity very well - He understand how “we” operate!…This is why he gave us a Church, which in turn gives us the Sacraments…..We can “complain” all we want about the men who run the Church…But it is only through that Church that humanity receives “the medicine” it needs in order to “see” our neighbor as our self…..As the saying goes…..“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?”…..Without Sacramental grace, humanity is unable to see clearly….This is why many who are first will be last

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

Years ago, I would have coffee each morning with a homeless man at the train station of my home town. This man also attended my Parish on Sundays…His name was Daily Dowd…..Daily is now with the Lord…I would always tell him, he was a saintly man because he was…Anyway, back to my story…Not everyone could appreciate Daily and I get it…His cloths were always dirty and his physical appearance was not well maintained….One day I was in daily Mass and Daily came in late and was approached by a man who was not pleased to see him in the back of the Church….This man chased Daily away from the pew and pointed him to go over to the side of the altar…Ironically enough, that was where the tabernacle was…So as irony would have it, Daily was “chased away” from the back of the Church, only to get the best seat in the house, next to Jesus in the tabernacle…No one seemed to notice this - But I did…..Mother Teresa used to say the following, “When I die and stand before the gates of heaven, the poor will defend me”….I think about that statement often…I also think about Daily often…He truly was a saintly person….And no one “saw” him…He was completely invisible to the world….In many ways this is how Jesus today walks among us….Mother Teresa would teach her sisters that when you serve the poor, you are serving Jesus himself - And she meant it!….This should change our prospective…However, the only way to “see” in this manner is to be in the state of grace…One can not “manufacture” this kind of vision….One day while I was working in the Home for the Dying in Kolkata, a man came to the door. His hand was in a plastic bag and two of his fingers were literally all bone…The flesh and skin had rotted away….There was no room in the home, all the beds were taken….I begged this one sister to take him in - And the sister eventually found a place for him……There are many things that prevent us from seeing, even the best of us…Trust me!…I “miss” opportunities each and every day due to my “lack of sight”…This is why we must stay close to the Sacraments…Only by the grace of God will we “see”…And if we are “blind”, we too will fall “into the pit”…..“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?”……Our sight does not depend on how “smart” we are…Or what we do for a living…Or where we went to school…..What we “see” all depends on how close we are to Christ…This “closeness” can not be self manufactured….It does not matter who people “think you are!”…”Many that are first will be last, and the last will be first”…..I am a sinner and one day I too will stand before God…..Like Mother Teresa, it is my hope that the poor will defend me too

“Peter began to say to Jesus,” We have given up everything and followed you. "Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more”

Today in the Gospel Jesus reminds us to take stock in how we value others…When we see our neighbor, what in fact do you “see”?….People have away to “size others up”…..We make quick judgments….Jesus is telling us today to “take another look”…..However, the only way we can acquire this “vision” is by and through God’s grace….Its very easy to “pass others by”…I do it each and everyday on the streets of New York…This is why we must cling to the Sacraments!….Jesus did not write a book, he established a Church, which is comprised of both saints and sinners……I am one of the sinners!…That is why I am Catholic for that very reason!…This is why I need to live a Sacramental life…So I can “see”…My very life depends upon it!

Are we interested in the things that make for peace, most specifically within our self?…..If so - ”Let us then pursue what leads to peace and to building up one another”….Real and lasting peace begins with a choice - Its not found in silly slogans and empty words

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Book of Sirach a call to those who have lost there way…..”To the penitent God provides a way back, he encourages those who are losing hope”…..As long as there is breath in our bodies, there is hope….Lent is approaching, its the time to assess our habits once again….The first readings goes on….”Return to him and give up sin, pray to the LORD and make your offenses few. Turn again to the Most High and away from your sin, hate intensely what he loathes”…….But how do we do this and make Lent meaningful?……Deep within each of us, we know when we are on the “right side of things” or for that matter on the “wrong side of things”……All we have to do is “follow our peace" or our "lack of peace”…..There will be no peace within ourselves until we “return to God”….Why is that?……Because we were all made by God to live for God…All of us are “wired” the same way even though each of us is different….God made us for himself and to deny this reality is to create a form of chaos within ourself…..The first reading from Mass today ends with this……”How great the mercy of the LORD, his forgiveness of those who return to him!”…In our world today, many speak of their desire for peace…Peace begins within ourself and until we find that peace, we cannot give it away…Peace begins and ends with us reconciling with God and his holy will…To attempt to find peace any other way is a total waste of time…By doing so, the only person we fool is our self

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I covered not. I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD," and you took away the guilt of my sin.”

When Jesus walked the earth he addressed his own and for the most part, they did not want to hear it……“Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.”……”Polite society” was not “having it” during Jesus’s day…And frankly things in many ways have not changed…..Are we willing to “go against the tide”…To live "differently"?…….Years ago I remember going to a funeral for a blind man…I drove two of Mother Teresa’s sisters to this Funeral Mass….For those who many not know, the Missionaries of Charity sisters not only serve the poor, they also live in poverty themselves…I remember siting in the back of the Church, looking at the crowd in the Church and then looking at the sisters siting among the people…The nuns with their oversized jackets bought from second hand stores in many ways looked like they lived on the street themselves…..The nuns wore cheap boots and old coats - The sisters you can say “stood out”…..Well - How about us? - Do we stand out?…Or are we like everyone else?……To live our shared Catholic faith means we are to be “in the world but not of the world”……This “side of heaven” is not our home, we are simply passing through as a pilgrim - Do we view life in this way?…..If we do, that means we must live differently but at the same time live among others….Why?….Because a Catholic’s life should be a living sign of the life to come…One of my professors in graduate school had twelve children…The man worked on Wall Street by day and I am sure he made a good wage, however, he had twelve children, so I am sure life was not easy…..I remember seeing him one day before class in the parking garage at St Peter's College in Jersey City…He drove an old van and the class he taught that I attended was held Saturday mornings….The man’s shirt was always wrinkled and I would laugh to myself as he stood in front of our class…He always looked so tired, as if he was “rolled down a hill” - Twelve kids will do that to you!…Clearly, this man’s life could have been different - Like many of his colleagues on Wall Street - Living in a nice house, driving fancy cars, taking great vacations…But my professor was Catholic - Not just in word - He lived his faith - No words necessary!….He was a living sign to me of life to come….To this day I remember him, while many of my other professors I have completely forgotten about…..Again, are we willing to live differently?…..Our first reading today should be a reminder to us…”How great the mercy of the LORD, his forgiveness of those who return to him!”….In order to “return” to God, we must make a decision….And “going along to get along” is not apart of that decision - That I can assure you

“Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich”

Lent is coming, and we need to start to think about how we can “return” once again to the Lord…No matter who we are, we all fall short….Lent is a good time to assess how we have fallen short and to strive to return once again to God and his Holy will…..This does not happen on its own…Prayer, Fasting and Alms-giving are the tools of Lent….They help us to empty ourself and allow God’s grace to enter into our life….The first reading today at Mass tells us in no uncertain terms………….”Stand firm in the way set before you, in prayer to the Most High God”…..…..Are we interested in the things that make for peace, most specifically within our self?…..If so - ”Let us then pursue what leads to peace and to building up one another”….Real and lasting peace begins with a choice - Its not found in silly slogans and empty words

Our “best argument” addressing the ills of society is the witness of our very life….This witness comes from a deep interior life…..Such a witness can and will transform the world…..This witness begins with removing the “wooden beam” from our own eye first

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Luke a reference to how we see or better put how clearly we see…..”Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye, when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”…….Once again, the theme of “sight” is brought up in Scripture…..What is this “wooden beam” that causes our vision to be blurred?…….If you watch and listen to people today…Many of them are very sincere…Many of them are highly intelligent…Let their actions and words are far from the will of God…"Something" gets in the way…What is that "something"?….The mistake I have made in the past and many still make today is…Logic, facts and even plain old common sense cannot remove this “wooden beam” from the eye of society, allowing it to “see” clearly…..Only God can do this…So what can we do?…….The mark of a holy life can not be understated….Because only saints change the world…..There is something in each person that recognizes a holy life, even if that person is very far from God….This is why if we want to “remove the wooden beam” in “eye of our society”, we must strive to become a holy people…This “witness” I am talking about comes from our interior life…We must deepen our interior life by emptying ourself, thus allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us….Our best argument against the ills of society is the witness of our life…But before that happens, we first must “remove the wooden beam” from our own eye, this in turn will help those around us to "see" the "beam" in their eye, so they can do the same - And remove it!.

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit.”

St Francis lived during a time when the Church was in need of renewal….It was said that one time St Francis encountered a priest who had a girlfriend. When St Francis saw this priest, instead of scolding him, St Francis kissed his hands telling the priest it is because of his consecrated hands that he is able to receive the Blessed Sacrament…This priest was so moved by St Francis, who at this time was known for being a holy man, that the priest repented from his life of sin…I have also read a story about a lay woman from France, who had a husband who had many extra-marital affairs….This woman led such a holy life and after her death, when her husband read his wife’s prayer journal, not only did he repent of his life of sin but he became a Dominican Priest. - That is a true story…How did this happen? - How could this happen?….The mark of an authentically holy life changes people…How?…Because within each of us, even if we “bury it”, is the Spirit of God…And when a person witnesses a holy life, something within themselves is stirred…..No argument - No amount of facts - and No sermon can make this happen - Only the witness of a holy life…So this is what Catholics must strive to do if we want to make a difference in this world because without such a witness we are in essence wasting our time….When Mother Teresa started her first home for those who were dying on the street, she worked in a Hindu neighborhood near a temple…The people at first hated her and even threatened her with physical violence…But one day one of the men that was leading the protests against Mother Teresa went inside the Home she founded with her sisters and saw with his own eyes what she was doing…Something “changed” within him…After seeing for himself what Mother Teresa was doing, this man addressed the violent crowd and said this to them….....”When your mothers, wives and sisters do what Mother Teresa is doing, then you can protest, but until then, we must leave her alone”…..The “wooden beam” was removed from this man’s eye….Not by arguments, not by listing out facts…But by the witness of a holy life…..This is the only way to be an instrument of change….So this is what we must strive to do

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

St Luke today in the Gospel tells us that in order for us to “see” what is wrong with others, we must first address what is wrong with ourselves…Everyone today wants to “change the world” but no one wants to change themselves…..But how do we change ourselves?…This begins with acknowledging our own sins….All the virtues stem from the virtue of humility…A humble person knows that he or she is a sinner and admits their faults…That is step one…Step two - We confess our sins to a Priest…Only God can forgive sins and time does not heal our wounds caused by sin…Time only allows our wounds to fester…Step three - Once we are in the state of grace we receive the Blessed Sacrament, which is Jesus himself…..We can not “transform” ourself without the help of God’s grace…But I will tell you this, when we open ourself up to God’s grace, not only will we be transformed, but we will transform the world around us…..Our “best argument” addressing the ills of society is the witness of our very life….This witness comes from a deep interior life…..Such a witness can and will transform the world…..This witness begins with removing the “wooden beam” from our own eye first.

If only we make the time…If only we go to him…..Our God is one of us!…Jesus Christ was a man of the people…..He waits for us in the silence

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Mark that Jesus’s disciples were trying to keep little children away from him…..”People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, Let the children come to me; do not prevent them”……Maybe the disciple thought they were doing something good…”Why would such an important man like Jesus want to be “bothered” by little children?”…”His time is valuable!”…."What can children bring to this gathering?”……As we can see by the Gospel narrative, Jesus was not having it!…In fact, he was upset that his friends were keeping the children from him…….Again, maybe the disciples thought they were doing something good…Or…Maybe they thought they were “too important” to be bothered with children - That they were somehow “better” than others……Jesus clearly took a different view…..God sent his son into the world as a carpenter for a reason - He could have made him a doctor or a wealthy merchant…Instead, God’s son was a working man….This I believe was done to show us that Jesus was and is relatable - He was and is one of us!…..So the question for today to ponder is…Are we relatable?…Do we as faithful Catholics “think” we are better than others because we “do not sin” like the world sins….If we do think this way, remember this - “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”……..As faithful Catholics we are called to be salt and light in the world….We are not meant to separate ourselves from others - We must “walk among them”…..Jesus proclaimed the Gospel message by living and working among his people…This is our task as well….People believe what they see….So let them see

“Whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it”

My wife gave birth to five children all of which were born by means of a cesarean birth, also known as a C-section…After our first baby was born (Teresa), we did not have a great experience with the doctor, so we asked around to find another….We were told to seek out a doctor by the name of Dr Robert Gallo, which we did…..Dr Gallo was the father of ten children….He was an exceptional surgeon and understood, based upon his life’s example, that “those who have been given much, much will be expected” - The man had ten kids!….The first time I met Dr Gallo was right before my second child Francesco was born…..Dr Gallo was outside the operating room checking up on things - He had his surgical mask on…As he was working, he and I were talking about the Mets and baseball…..To be honest with you, I thought he was a nurse…There was not a pretentious word spoken - Dr Gallo was so down to earth…Once I was told that he was the surgeon, I asked him about my wife…I was very nervous….So I asked him, “Doc, how many times have you done this kind of surgery?”….Dr Gallo responded to me…..”Joe - About 5000”….Again, his response was without pretense and so down to earth….Why tell you this?…It’s very easy to “think” that if you are very gifted in this life (as Dr Gallo was)……. Or if you have wealth….Or if we are very smart…Its very easy to “think” you are better then others……Jesus today shows us in the Gospel that is not the way to “think”….The disciples wanted to keep Jesus apart from others…Jesus was not having it........Jesus was a man of the people….Just as Dr Gallo was….And so must we be

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

Today in the Gospel from Mass, Jesus's friends did not want him to be “bothered” by little children…Jesus took a different view - He wants us to “bother” him!…..As we all know, famous and powerful men do not always “have time” for regular people like you and me…Well, it does not get more famous and powerful then God's only son…Jesus ALWAYS has time for us….Nothing is too small or insignificant a concern for us to bring to Jesus Christ…..Our Lord waits for us in the tabernacle…..In the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus once again humbles himself, coming to us under the appearance of mere bread…..If only we make the time…If only we go to him…..Our God is one of us!…Jesus Christ was a man of the people…..He waits for us in the silence