We are an Easter people - Look to the East and never lose sight of what is to come…And make no mistake…One day Christ will come again

Today at Holy Mass we are remind in the first readings that something better is to come…How we can forget that reality…Our world is plagued with confusion and strife….Its so easy to get "caught up" in what we see around us and throw up our hands……The Prophet Isaiah at Mass reminds us to look forward…”I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people. No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying”……We are currently in the middle of our Lent journey….Easter is close but we have a way to go…..So it is with our journey back to God…..No one knows when Jesus will return again…But we must never lose sight of the fact that he will indeed return…..In the midst of the chaos of our days…Do we forget that Jesus will one day return?……Until then, it’s for us to persevere….We must never forget the words of Jesus as he ascended into heaven….“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.”….The best is yet to come!

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

A friend of mine who is a priest once told me…When we stand before God, he will ask us…”Where are your children”…..This statement is kind of strange coming from a celibate priest who did not have a wife or kids…But Fr George was trying to teaching me something deeper…As Catholics we are all called to bear witness to the life of Christ and his Gospel by our very lives…A life committed to this pursuit will produce “spiritual children”….What do I mean by that?….The example of a holy life points to God and when we study the lives of the saints…We see their lives served as a light to others…Their example “sparked” others to follow their example…This is why many saints founded religious orders - People were drawn to the saints because they saw Christ in them and in turn they too embraced the gospel…This is what my friend Fr George was trying to teach me when he said…God will ask us….”Where are your children?”…..Striving to get to heaven is not just about you…Its about bringing as many people with you as possible….And let’s not forget, the world is "not having it"!….We live in a fallen world and there are many “bumps” along the road to heaven…This is why we must remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah read to us as Mass….”I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind”…One day all the “craziness” we see around us will end….But until then, we must not lose focus…There is work to be done!

“For his anger lasts but a moment; a lifetime, his good will. At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing.”

How easy it is to forget…To get lost in “the fog”…To see only the darkness of the world around us…Jesus never lost sight of what he was called to do…Nor must we….There is work to be done and if we do not do it, who will?….As Catholics we have been given the fullness of the faith…We have everything we need to “get the job done”….The question is - Are we utilizing what was given to us?….Are we focused and do we prioritize the needs at hand?…..As my friend Fr George would tell me…..When you stand before God, one of the things he will ask you is…..”Where are your children?”…..If we allow God to transform us into who we were created to be, not only will we arrive in our heavenly home but we will bring a multiple of people with us…..In the mean time - Focus on the task at hand….The fruit of our life will naturally flow from our interior life, rooted in Sacramental grace, daily prayer and weekly fasting….Never get ‘blogged down” by the darkness around us - It will one day “pass away”…..We are an Easter people - Look to the East and never lose sight of what is to come…And make no mistake…One day Christ will come again

God did not leave us orphans…However, God helps those who help themself…So I echo the words of St Paul…”I implore you”…..Be reconciled to God

Today at Holy Mass in the second reading we hear from St Paul, who is encouraging his friends with these words…”We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”….Jesus walked this earth to reconcile the world to God the Father….He established a structure in his three short years of ministry and created a Church….It is through this Church, which is composed of imperfect people that this process of reconciliation is carried out and will continue forward until the second coming of Christ….Notice the words of St Paul….”We implore you!”……The only thing that stands in the way of you and I reconciling with God is our pride….And the devil knows this…The devil is not only real but cunning and the father of lies…We must learn to identify the voice of the devil and “step past it”….One Sacramental Confession has the power to not only reconcile us to the Father but begin the healing process from the wounds resulted from decades of sin…Just one Sacramental Confession!….As St Paul told his friends today…I tell you……”We implore you!”

“Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him.”

Fr Don Haggerty is a priest who serves at St Patrick’s Cathedral….I know Fr Don from the Missionaries of Charity in New York City…I knew his Mom and we go back many years, needless to say he knows me well….For a time on my lunch hour I would go to confession at St Patrick's Cathedral and Fr Don would hear my confession regularly…Now Fr Don knows me as a “good Catholic” who spent his free time serving the poor…But that is simply what people “see”…I am a sinner in need of God’s mercy, like everyone else!…To be very honest - By going to confession with the same priest, who is your friend for many years and really knows you is humbling - And that is a good thing!…..Fr Don knows me, warts and all…This is a good thing because it “brings me down to earth” and we all need this in life….Humility is the foundational virtue for all the virtues….Without the virtue of humility, we are incapable of knowing God and doing his will….The devil knows this…And because the devil is brilliant and knows how to attack us effectively, he uses our pride to “get in the way” of us growing in virtue and holiness…This is why we must learn to “hear the voice of God” and “see past” the tricks of the devil…..Some Christians and even many Catholics do not feel like going to a Sacramental Confession is necessary….I tell you now as a friend….It is necessary!…This is why God gave us a Church - Jesus created the Church - He did not write a book - The Bible came 400 years after the Church was established and the Catholic Church put the Bible together.....…Bottle Line - We are all in need of God’s mercy…And once again to borrow the words of St Paul….”I implore you”…..Be reconciled to God

“And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation”

Today St Paul reminds us all of our need to always be reconciled to God….There is great power, which comes from being in the state of grace…..God’s mercy towards us is infinite but we have to ask for it, its not an “automatic”….Do not get fooled in self-rationalizations and false concepts of mercy…”God understands”….”It does not matter” - “I am a “good guy”…..”I do not have to tell a priest my sins - I tell them to God”….These are the things we tell ourself….And these are the lies the devil “plays on”, keeping us away from peace and grace….Let nothing or no one hold you back from the freedom which God only offers!…Most especially, do not allow the devil to “play you”…..No one is perfect, Jesus understand this - However, this is why he created a Church…This is why he gave us the Sacraments…And the Sacraments are the “medicine for the world”….God did not leave us orphans…However, God helps those who help themself…So I echo the words of St Paul…”I implore you”…..Be reconciled to God

Because deep down everyone wants to be “good”…Give people a chance.....Sometimes “those people” will surprise you

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Luke Jesus addresses our self righteousness…We all have it and don’t think for a second you do not…”Look at those people!”……How many times do phrases like that come of our mouth….Jesus had something to say about that…We should all listen - Maybe better put - I should listen…….”Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “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.”……….Jesus tells it like it is…We are all flawed…While Objective Truth defines right and wrong…Its our job to worry about our self - And not point out the flaws of others…That does not mean we turn our head to the ills that plague both man and society…But it does mean that we show mercy to others, we try to understand where they are “coming from”, and even if they make a bad choice, we can keep the “lines of communication open” and do our best to give a good example…..I think what Jesus is telling us today in the Gospel is….We are all flawed - You want to impress God - Love God above all things and love your neighbor as your self…That does not mean you condone the sins of your neighbor…But it does mean you do not condemn your neighbor - That is not your job!…We need to worry about our own sanctification first and foremost - That is a “full time job”….And when we do that, our example will speak to the world in ways our words can not…This is how we “change our neighbor”…Not by our words or our condemnation…But by our example

“Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem; Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices, burnt offerings and holocausts.”

People sometimes surprise you…We see that in the pages of the New Testament…From St Paul to Mary Magdalene to St Matthew to Zacchaeus the tax collector….The religious leaders of Jesus time were convinced of their righteousness only to shut the door to God himself when he was standing right in front of their face…But the people I just noted above, who were public sinners somehow were open to the Gospel message and once they were “given a chance”, they radically embraced the message of Christ and shook the foundations of the world…People can surprise you when you give them a chance sometimes…This is why we should never “write people off” - Think about it this way - Did Jesus “write you off”?……Give me twelve public sinners who repent of their past life and commit to God any day of the week! - Men and women like that are dangerous because they speak from experience, they have “been around the block” and they know that the devil is real - How do they know? - Because people like that met the devil - And never want to meet him again!……When I would go to India I would meet all kinds of people…On two of my trips to Kolkata there was this Italian woman who lived in Bali and had tattoos all over her body….She was my friend…Karina was a beautiful soul and she was “searching for God” maybe even in ways she did not understand herself…I remember one year when I first arrived to Kolkata with a group of Americans that came over with me…Many of them were devout Catholics, I saw Karina in this local eatery that many of the volunteers socialized at and she came over to sit with us…When the people traveling with me saw her, I could tell they were “put off”…Karina had tattoos up and down her legs and arms…..What these “devout Catholics” did not see is…Karina’s heart - She was a beautiful soul - How quick we are to judge others by their appearance….As I write this another incident like what I just described came to mind…This past year on Mother Teresa’s Feast Day in early September I took my youngest daughter Maria to New York City to a Mass…At the Mass there were many of my friends and the Missionaries of Charity were there in full force…Siting not far from me was this young woman, she was dress very respectfully, with a long conservative dress on, however you could see she had tattoos all over her neck, her arms and legs…The way she was now dressed, indicated to me a radical change took place in her life…That she was once “another person” and now she is “someone else”…How can people change like that?…Only when you give someone a chance do you “invite the possibility” that they can be transformed by God’s love and grace….This begins with a hand of friendship…Sometimes that is all it takes….We all want to be “good”…And when we give people a chance and expose others to God…. First and foremost by our own witness, that’s when hearts change - Lives change and are transformed!….This is what Jesus did…And some times its “those people” who make for the greatest of people!

“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.”

Jesus today in the Gospel asks us to not be so quick to judge people…To take a good look at your own heart first….If we focus our efforts on sanctifying ourselves…Our witness will serve as a powerful remedy to our broken and fallen world….Words and criticism do not “fix people”…A good example fueled by Sacramental grace and daily prayer however “moves mountains”…Never write people off…Give people a chance…And most importantly, give a good example…This is what authentic Christian accompaniment is all about…In Catholic circles these days the word “accompaniment” gets thrown around a lot…..Authentic “accompaniment” is simply friendship minus the judgement…Its not condoning bad behavior - Its using the "vehicle" of friendship to give a "witness" to "saints and sinners" alike in our immediate circles of engagement….Its not about compromise……Authentic “accompaniment” opens doors as opposed to closing them and it allows God to do the “heavy lifting”….Because deep down everyone wants to be “good”…Give people a chance..... Sometimes “those people” will surprise you

Before we do the extraordinary…We must first do the ordinary…This is how God works…And this is how we must work as well

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Hosea the Lord calls to his people pleading with them to return to him…..”I will heal their defection, says the LORD, I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them.”….Above all, God is our Father and a Father’s love for his children is not subject to whims…We are flesh of his flesh….God’s love for us sees past our sins and faults…It sees what and who we were born to be….And only and until we know of this love will we subject ourselves to God’s transforming grace……Being Catholic is not about “ticking boxes”…Its not like studying from a book…Its a lived experience….It transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary….We too easily forget that God works in the ordinary….This morning I read a refection from a French Servant of God (Elisabeth Lesser)…This is what she said….”We must fulfill our responsibilities daily, without worrying about what fruit God will draw out of them. For us: work, sacrifice, the offering of ourselves. For God: the immediate or remote effect that the least of our thoughts and actions will have on others. Nothing is lost”…….This is how we are to live….And it is through the “ordinary” that we cooperate with God….Who is a Father above all things…Constantly calling to his children to return to him…However, before we are satisfied with performing the “ordinary”. We first must encounter the Father’s love for us….No book, sermon, or self-motivation will bring satisfaction to a hidden life…A humble life that does the “ordinary”…..And does it well

"If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways, I would feed them with the best of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would fill them."

When I was a kid I remember my father talking about how if you were good at baseball, the professional scouts will find you - No matter where you are from - They will find you…Well, God works the same way….When we look at the lives of the saints…Many of them lived very ordinary and hidden lives…Somehow God found them and so did the Church, who in turn canonized them and magnified their work in a way that almost seems impossible……But remember, nothing is impossible for God…..In the first reading from Mass, the Prophet Hosea talks about how God will heal his people….How does God do that today? - Well, people believe what they see….Not necessarily what they read or hear…..And a Catholic who embraces humble acts of self sacrificial service to others - This approach to life speaks - No - It screams of God to the world…..When the foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor (St Jeanne Jugan) was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI, the pope said you will be hard pressed to find a more humble saint. St Jeanne, was a poor French lay woman who worked menial jobs her enter life…One day she saw an old blind woman on the streets…St Jeanne took her into her own home and placed this poor stranger in her bed and cared for this woman….This began a work that spread all over the world….St Jeanne founded the Little Sisters of the Poor who care for the elderly who are destitute….How could such a simple uneducated person start something that spreads all over the world from some remote town in France?…Tell that to Harvard Business School…But this is how God works…God sees what we do not see and he magnifies our “ordinary” tasks….Far too many in the Church are “caught up” with trying to do the “extraordinary”…..If we focus on the ordinary…God will turn the “ordinary” into the “extraordinary”…Again, this is how God works…Like my father would always say…If your good at baseball, the professional scouts will find you….So it is with God….Once again, God who is a loving father is always calling to his children….We assist God in this call when we do the ordinary and do it well

"Unseen, I answered you in thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Hear, my people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, will you not hear me?"

Far too many see God as this ogre, who points out all our flaws and tells us what to do….I can’t speak for you, but that is not the God I know….God is a father, who continuously calls to us…Who works through the ordinary…..”Again they shall dwell in his shade and raise grain; They shall blossom like the vine, and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon”…If we as Catholics what to participant in God's eternal work of salvation - And many do! - We need to focus on our daily tasks at hand…And do them well…..When we are rooted in Sacramental grace and daily prayer…God will magnify our work…But this work begins in the “ordinary”…....The power of a “hidden life” can transform generations…..Do you doubt what I say?……St Joseph did not have one recorded word in the entire book of the Bible…Our Lady was always in the shadow of her son…And look at how God multiplied their “ordinary lives”….Before we do the extraordinary…We must first do the ordinary…This is how God works…And this is how we must work as well

”If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”…..When the excuses and self rationalizations end - The “great adventure” begins!

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Luke how people question Jesus. They do not believe he is the son of God even when they see the many miracles with their own eyes….”Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven”…….The human mind can “convince” itself of almost anything…At the root of the people’s disbelief and various questions is the fact that they did not want too change…If the people acknowledged the many miracles they saw with their very eyes, that would mean they had to change, which they were unwilling to do….Therefore they have to rationalize the miracles away…How about today?….Do people do the same thing?….When we see “the good fruit”produced by faithful Catholics around the world, whether by the clergy or lay faithful - Many people still seem to look for fault and will not acknowledge “the good fruit”…We see this in politics where our lives are grounded in irrational political identities blinding us to reality….Historically speaking, human beings have “convinced” themselves to commit all sorts of crimes against humanity, in the name of this or that…All because the people would not change…..Jesus today invites us to look within ourself…..Reality is not defined by our self rationalizations….And when we do not look life “square in the face” in the end the only people we fool is ourselves.

"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, Where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works."

I can remember in my mid-to-late twenties when I was a single man struggling with chastity I was in the confessional and an old Italian priest was trying to gently guide me to admit my fault…And I would not have it!…I was absolutely convince that my behavior was justified and nothing said could tell me otherwise……Once again, the human mind can rationalize just about anything…Looking back at that confession, I clearly was in the wrong and the priest was spot on!….Only through God’s grace can we “see” ourselves as God sees us, warts and all…And only through God’s grace can we transform our lives….This is why daily prayer, weekly fasting, monthly confession and reception of the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace is vital…When we commit to these practices, the “change” that takes place does not happen over night…But over time, little by little God “works on us”……Its like having an open wound….First you have to clean the wound with soap and water…Then you put bacitracin ointment on the wound…Then you bandage the wound….Then over time, the wound heals…This healing process can be likened to how we grow in grace when we utilize the “tools” given to us by the Church…..Like anything else in life…If we do not “work at it”, we do not achieve our goal…..So why do we not desire a life that embraces God’s will?…Is this our number one priority?….How about for our family, especially for our children?……Our society has believed “the lie” that God’s will limits our life…Nothing can be further from the truth…A life in union with God sets the world on fire!….But don’t take my word for it….Walk around any big city in the world and see how many buildings are named after Catholic saints that have died hundreds of years ago…..When was the last time that has happened to the “secular guy” you went to college with?…Or the secular PTA lady in your town who tells you there are 57 genders?…..Any buildings named after them?…….A person united to God sets the world on fire!…This should be our goal….And like anything else…..To reach our goal we must work at it…That is why they call us “practicing” Catholics…Because we all need to “practice”…..Because practice makes perfect!

“Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you, so that you may prosper.”

Today in the Gospel from Mass once again the people do not want to hear it…Are people today any different?…..The human mind can tell itself just about anything to avoid doing the “hard things” of life…Jesus addresses this behavior head on and this is what he had to say…"Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house”…Our lives can not be divided…Its all or nothing!….We can not have one foot “in the world” and one foot in the Church!…We must fully commit!……The best decision of my adult life was to fully embrace my Catholic faith in my early twenties…This is how I met my wife…This is why I have five children….This decision has brought me all over the world…This decision has placed me on the radio…I could go on and on…And the Lord is not done with me yet!…..All because I said YES to God and my Catholic faith…..Living as a committed Catholic is the greatest adventure of a lifetime…..”If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”…..When the excuses and self rationalizations end - The “great adventure” begins!

Exodus and Return…..Exodus and Return…….Exodus and Return…The “Hound of Heaven” never gives up…Until our last breath…Until we “figure out” that God’s way works and that he loves us

Today at Holy Mass both readings address a “bad word” no one likes to to hear - Rules….From the time we are young, we do not want to be told what to do….Even if what is told to us is good for us….Moses addresses this aspect of our human nature in the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy today…”Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees as the LORD, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy. Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, 'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people”….History, if we study it, gives us an indication of how the future will play out - Why? - Because history repeats itself!…People sadly do not learn - And human beings are fundamentally the same….Each generation “thinks” they “figured it out” for themselves only to have all their schemes and plans turn to dust…..When we read the Old Testament, many themes repeat themselves over and over again for the people of Israel…One of those themes is every time the people fall away from God and his laws, their nation falls apart…Then a central figure appears…King David, Moses, Abraham…And they organize the people, “lift them” from the ashes and the process starts all over again….Does this theme sound familiar?….If it does its because it is “playing out" once again today…..Mankind still has not learned!…God’s way works!….People and nations thrive when we follow the Natural Law, which is placed in each of our hearts…..The late and great Cardinal Francis George from Chicago made this statement about what he saw in the United States before he went on to his eternal reward in 2015….This is what he famously said…..“I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the church has done so often in human history”…….When will we ever learn?…..Exodus and Return…..Exodus and Return…….Exodus and Return

"However, take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children's children."

People do not listen…I say that simply because its true - It was true for me and most likely, its true for you….We have to “test the water” for ourself….The key is, when we do and “things do not go as planned”…Do we learn?…..Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome will result in a very hard life…..God gives us his law for our benefit…But words will never convince most people of that reality…We continue to “test the water”……Over the years I have met many people, myself being one of them, who strayed from their Catholic faith only to "figure out" that the Catholic Church has 2000 years of a proven track record…It provides a winning “blue-print” for life…..I have seen people destroy their marriage “trying it their way”…Fall into all kinds of vices “trying it their way”…Chase after empty promises and idols “trying it their way”…And some of those people, who are very close friends of mine did “figure it out”…And now live wonderful lives, have strong marriages, and thrive…..Once again, the theme of the Old Testament plays out…..Exodus and Return…..Exodus and Return…….Exodus and Return……My friend Alex got married young and had two daughters…He continued to drink and go out all the time…As a result, his marriage fell apart and he lost his family….At his lowest point, he returned to his Catholic faith and spent years living as a single man..During that time, God formed him through his daily prayer and Sacramental living…And after a period of time, he met a faithful Catholic woman…His first marriage was not Sacramental so he was given an annulment by the Church…He waited for the annulment before he married Jackie, whom he met in the Church…And now they live a healthy and wonderful life…Both Alex and Jackie are now thriving!….The interesting thing is both of them allowed God to form them when they were single…They did not “settle”…Alex and Jackie trusted the Lord…And their trust payed off….To this day they are good friends of my family and are Godparents to one of my five children….Exodus and Return…..Exodus and Return…….Exodus and Return……We need to face reality…God’s way works…And God’s way does not change…We need to change!….And don’t worry - God will “get your attention” when you ignore him…A good father never gives up on his children…..Most especially when his chidlren “stray”….A good father never gives up

“He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word! He spreads snow like wool; frost he strews like ashes.”

People hate rules…..However, the sooner we “figure out” that God’s way works, the better our life will be…All of us are “hardwired” the same believe it or not…God made us all…We were made for God, to love God and be with God for all eternity…However, God will never force our hand…Love cannot be forced upon a person…So when we stray and many of us do…God, who is the “Hound of Heaven” chases after us…..The famous poet Francis Thompson wrote these words…”I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways. Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears I hid from Him, and under running laughter”……Exodus and Return…..Exodus and Return…….Exodus and Return…The “Hound of Heaven” never gives up…Until our last breath…Until we "figure out" that God’s way works and that he loves us

No compromises, full throated and unrelenting….Our YES will ring out

Today at Holy Mass the Universal Church celebrates the Annunciation of the Lord…Mary’s YES changed the world…..”Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”…Let’s explore her YES because Mary did not put conditions around it…Her YES was complete and total…It did not compromise……I believe at the root of this YES was the fact that Mary knew who she was…She knew that she was a mere creation and that God was God….And when we know this reality - Creature / Creator - Our YES will also be complete….I say that because most people do not know who they are….Mankind chases after “images” of himself…..Creating false realities, which only lead to dead ends….Its only when we know who we truly are…Why we were created…What we were created for…And where we are meant to end up…Its only until will realize these realities that we are at peace…Each of us are wired the same way while being uniquely created….God’s law is “hardwired” into our very being…And when we reject it, we created turmoil within ourself that can only be resolved by our complete YES to God…Mary understood this at a very young age……Now it is for us to understand it…More importantly, its for us to give our complete YES

“And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.”

When I would travel to Kolkata in December each year the Missionaries of Charity would celebrate a Mass where sisters would make their final vows and enter fully into religious life…Not unlike a Wedding Mass, each sister would make their vows for life….As bells would ring out in the Church, the sisters two by two would present themselves at the altar and sign a book….The bells of the Church would ring out continually over the chaos of the city as this all took place…..I always found this event and how it played out to be very symbolic - While the world in all its madness marched on, a bell rings out!….This bell represents an eternal YES to God, which contradicts the very world that tries to “tune it out”…..So what about us?…..Have we given our YES to God?…And if we have, have we placed conditions upon that YES?….Clearly we are not like Our Lady because she was born without sin…So no matter how completely we commit ourselves to God, there will always be “cracks” in our commitment…This is why we need grace…And Our Lady is here to give it to us - She takes us by the hand and presents us to her son….The more complete our YES is, the greater our impact on the world we will have….Mary was obedient to God…So was her husband St Joseph….Obedience is lacking today…Why?…Because we “think” we know better…..Somehow we “think” we know better then the creator of the universe……We do not know who we are.......A person who is obedient to God, from the simple things in daily life to the biggest of decisions will be sign to the world….This is who we all were born to be as Catholics…Our life should be a contradiction, a sign to all who encounter us, that God walked among us - That Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead - That he sacrificed his very life for the forgiveness of our sins…No words necessary - Our life must speak this reality!…….The impact of our life all comes down to how committed our YES really is….Our life will speak if our YES is complete…No compromises, full throated and unrelenting….Our YES will ring out

“Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts 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.”

Today we read in the Gospel about Mary’s YES…..Mary said it out loud - ”I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”…Mary knew who she was - Do we?……Do we aspire to do God’s will as Mary did?….The world we live in today desperately needs men and woman who commit to a full throated YES to God…Mary committed her life to God on his terms, not her terms…This is the kind of YES I am speaking about….And like the church bells that rang out over the chaos of the city of Kolkata when Mother Teresa’s sisters made their final vows, if we give our YES, the witness of our life will “ring out” too…..No compromises, full throated and unrelenting….Our YES will ring out

”Be completely open”….Wise words indeed

Today at Holy Mass St Luke in his Gospel tells a story about how God appeared to two different people, who were not Jewish and were foreign born….“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian”…..Jesus was and is God…He walked among his own people and they rejected him…Why?…Jesus did not “fit the mold” of their expectations…So the question today we must ask ourself….What are we looking for?…Or better put…Who are we looking for?…..God can not be put in a box….Yet that is the “god” we like……A “god” we can control…A “god” we can define……In the lives of the saints, if you read about them, you will find that God works through people who can surprise you…What was their secret?….The saints were open…They allowed God to “set the agenda”….They cleared the way of all the “things” that get in the way of the Holy Spirit…..As Mother Teresa would famously say….”I am a pencil in the hand of God”…..This is how we must view our life….God is able to use people who the world disregards….Many times these are the very people that shake the foundations of the world……”The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. By the LORD has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes……Our God is a God of surprises…..Be open to surprises and trust the process

“Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me on And bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling-place”

I am a firm believer in giving people a chance…Many times because of the opportunity given to people, because they appreciate it, they come through big time!….Solanus Casey was born to a huge Irish American family in Wisconsin in the late 1800’s….He felt called to the priesthood but at that time the seminaries were taught in German and Solanus was not a scholar…While he was able to graduate, his grades were not very good, so while he was ordained a priest, we was not able to administer the Sacrament of Confession..He was also given menial tasks, like working as a door man at the rectory…But Solanus was humble and he accepted his role….As time went on, more and more people would come to the door and wanted to speak to Solanus because of his love for the sick and the poor….As it turns out, through his prayers, God would heal people after they spoke with him…And as word spread about him, the lines at the rectory door would get so long, his superiors would have to move him around the country…And everywhere he went, more and more people would come to him….What was Solanus's secret?…He trusted God and not himself…He could have been discouraged and disappointed when he was not given full faculties as a priest because of his grades in the seminary…Instead, he accept his role…And God used him to do amazing things…This is what we must do as well…..As the saying goes…”You are the potter, we are the clay”…Its in our surrender that God can uses us…..This is easy to say and very hard to do…But that does not mean we should not aspire to do it….When you read the lives of the saints, we will learn that God works through all kinds of people, some of whom are and were very ordinary…The secret is - And this is something most people miss…The saints do not rely on their own gifts…And some of them like St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas were very gifted…The saints rely on God…They abandon all their plans…All their “ideas”…And place themselves in the hands of God completely….A person that does this sets the world on fire......That person is completely free in a way the world only dreams about believe it or not….These are the people who sake the foundations of the earth…You and I can be that person….Let nothing stand in your way of being that person!

“I hope in the LORD, I trust in his word; with him there is kindness and plenteous redemption”

Today at Holy Mass Jesus is rejected once again for telling his people that God does not come in a man-made package of our own choosing….We must be willing to allow God to mold us…To mold our mind and mold most importantly our will….Everyone wants to make an impact - This is a wonderful aspiration to have!….And the key to making the most significant impact is this…God can do more with your life than you can - Allow him too!…..Only when we put down the cup can we grab the jug!…..Do not be afraid….When Mother Teresa was 18 years old, she left home never to see her mother again…Here mother’s last words to her were these as she boarded a ship………”Put your hand into the hand of God and never look back”…..Dare to be such a person!…One of my last times in India, I was speaking to this one nun I knew - A very holy woman - Extraordinarily close to God...…We had a common friend, our friend was from Croatia and she was also considering to become a nun…So I told Sister Andrea about her, that she was considering religious life…This is what Sister told me to tell our friend…”Be completely open”….Wise words indeed

“For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” - It does not get any clearer than that!

Today at Holy Mass in the second readings St Paul tells us something we should all pay particular attention too…”Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall”……This is coming from one of the greatest saints, who lived an extremely holy and devoted life - So we should take note!…..No matter who you are, we must always remember that temptation is very real…”The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”….Most people have the best of intentions, however intentions do not get the job done!…So the question is - How do we remain consistent and “adhere to the vine”?…The answer comes from living a Sacramental life…Far too many people disregard the efficacy of the Sacraments…They “think” they can “make it on their own”….You hear things like…”I don’t need the Catholic Church”….”It’s just about me and Jesus”….”I don’t need to confess my sins to a Priest”…….Again, the best of intentions could be behind these statements….However, once again - ”The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”….This is why we must “plug into” the grace of God through the Sacraments……I call it the “one-two punch” - Going to a Sacramental Confession once a month and receiving the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace every Sunday at Mass…When we do these two very simple things…We “plug into” God’s grace…This does not mean you will be perfect…But it does mean your human nature will be tamed by grace and you will have “eyes to see” many of the "pitfalls" in life and not succumb to them….Again, far too many people over-estimate their own self-reliance, will power and natural gifts…St Paul today at Mass reminds us…….”Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall”……Pride comes before the fall…..This is why we must “put on the armor of God”….This “armor” is available to us in the Sacraments and daily prayer.

“Repent, says the Lord; the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Many Christians claim to believe “everything in the Bible”….Ok…If that is the case, let’s start with this statement from Jesus himself………”Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him”……It does not get any clearer than that…”You will have no life within you” - If you do not “eat my flesh”!….Outside of getting hit over the head with a baseball bat, it could not be any clearer!!…..Over the years Catholics have seen many “celebrity priests” fall….Men who for a time spoke the bold truth only to “get caught up” in celebrity and fall from grace, some even leaving the priesthood…One can ask themselves how that can happen?…These men were highly educated…All of them were well formed in Catholic doctrine…..I can tell you how right now…I would bet the reason why they “fell away” was because they “disconnected” from God’s grace - They stopped going to confession monthly - Which leads to “slacking off” of their daily prayer - Which leads to “closing the flood gates of grace” when they received the Blessed Sacrament…..Living a holy life and doing God’s will can not be achieved without Sacramental grace - Why?….Because our human nature is prone to sin - Does not matter who you are!…This is why Jesus gave us a Church and this is why we were also given the Sacraments…..Its really that simple…..When a Catholic commits a grave sin….More times than not…That person was not “keeping up” with their daily prayer life…They were not fasting weekly (On Fridays)…They were not going to regular Confession…They were not receiving the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace…They were not praying the Rosary daily…..These activities do not make us “superman”…But they do help us to live out God’s will and be faithful to whatever state in life we are called too - Whether the married life or consecrated religious life…The great St Paul warning us today at Mass…We should all take note of his words.

“For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.”

St Paul today at Mass reminds us about human weakness..How we must not only be vigilant but also rely on Sacramental grace and daily prayer, which enables us to live out our Baptism calling……You really do not have to look far, to validate what I just stated in this reflection….People like to “throw stones” at the Catholics…However, when the Catholic faithful, pray the Rosary every day, go to monthly Confession and receive the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace - And many do for the record!…From the Pope down to the lady who cleans the toilets in the parish hall….These people “somehow” seem to stay out of trouble…Ask yourself why?…Is it that they are “strong”?….They have super human will-power?....Were they born that way with a "special gift"?….NO! - The reason why comes to us from the very words of Jesus himself…..”Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” - It does not get any clearer than that!

We don’t give mercy to people who “deserve it”......Because if they “deserved it”, it would not be mercy

Today we hear in the Gospel of St Luke the story of the Prodigal son…We all know this story...So I am not going to address the obvious….Before St Luke tells us about the son who wastes his father’s wealth…We are told that the Pharisees and the scribes were complaining that Jesus was eating with public sinners…St Luke tells us that Jesus addresses the Pharisees with this parable in his Gospel account…..And St Luke does this for a reason…..”Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So to them Jesus addressed this parable”…..St Luke is trying to communicate this story to those who “think’ they are perfect…Like the Pharisees and scribes did….The old brother in the parable, who did “everything right” in the story of the Prodigal son can be likened to the Pharisees and scribes….The elder brother did not celebrate his younger brother’s return to their father’s house….He did not have love in his heart…..This is a vital aspect of this parable that most people gloss over….The Pharisees and scribes did “everything right” - But they were still wrong! - Because they had no love for people…..God is not “impressed” by our sacrifices and works…While he asks of us to serve him - We are to serve him out of love - And what we do for God should not be treated as an idol because then it means nothing!…..If we do not have love in our heart for people, wanting what is best for them…All the works and sacrifices in the entire world mean absolutely nothing……”What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy”…….Our Catholic faith is not a matter of proving to others that “we are right”…Our heart must be centered on love of God and love of neighbor…..The elder brother in the story of the Prodigal Son did not celebrate when his younger brother “came around and came home”…..He refused to “enter the house”…..Remember, this son did “everything right” but he was lacking the most important quality of God - Love - He could not find it in his heart to forgive…..Mercy is not given to those you “deserve it” - Mercy is given to those who don’t deserve it - And I got some news for you - None of us “belong in heaven” - Its only out of mercy that God grants humanity eternal life - This is why we too must show mercy and love to our neighbor from the depths of our heart

'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.' But his father ordered his servants, 'Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast”

When I was in High School I was in many of the top classes, I state that now only because being in the top classes, I should have behaved accordingly but I did not….In my senior year I was the ring leader in organizing a group of students who cheated on our AP history final exam…A nun was the teacher of the class and we all took advantage of her…My High School Principal was a De La Salle Christian Brother, who called me out about the cheating…I lied to his face and frankly he knew it….Brother Stephen was his name and he had every right to throw me out of High School….I embarrassed myself, led my classmates astray and took advantage of an elderly nun’s goodness and trust in us…In fact, he should have thrown me out of school!…..And I know he knew I was guilty…But Brother Stephen did not….I remember to this day him confronting our class, these were all the top students of our class by the way…Telling us how disappoint he was…And me sitting in the back of the class and smirking…He addressed my arrogance directly but again, he did not throw me out of school - And he should have…To this day I remember how Brother Stephen showed me mercy…And the mercy shown to me was underserved!…Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States famously wrote: “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice”…..My High School Principal demonstrated a similar approach with me…And I am grateful to this day for it…Because I am the Prodigal son…And now that I have “returned home”… I must be careful that I never become the “elder brother” in the parable, who did not want to celebrate his younger brother's return because he felt his younger brother “did not deserve it’…Its because of the example of my High School Principal, that I will never become the “elder brother” in that famous parable…..Instead, I will show and have shown mercy to others in my life because mercy was shown to me

“My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”

Once again today at Mass, Our Lord is trying to teach us the importance of mercy….How we all are in need of God’s mercy and therefore we must show mercy to others….More times then not, we must first experience forgiveness before we usually feel obligated to give it to others….This is why many of the saints who were the most radical followers of Jesus Christ were at one time the most egregious of sinners……When Jesus was resurrected from the dead, the first person who saw him was not Peter, James or John…It was Mary Magdalene, who we are told in Scripture was a public sinner…Jesus appeared to her before anyone else!…”So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little”….God walked among us for one reason and one reason only - To take away the sins of the world…St Faustina, the great 20th century saint and mystic told us this message from Christ himself, “He who knows how to forgive prepares for himself many graces from God"…..We don’t give mercy to people who “deserve it”…..Because if they “deserved it”, it would not be mercy

A humble and open heart results in open eyes…Which results in finding our way….The blind cannot lead the blind

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Matthew a story about a rich man who goes on a journey leaving his property to his servants…..The servant do not take care of the property and in time begin to “think” that they can somehow “get over” on the owner…All the while, the rich man does not give up on his servants…He continues to send them people, to remind them of who they are and why he left them in charge of his property in the first place….Eventually, the rich man is forced to take the inheritance away from these men and give it to others…They just would not “come around”…..What does this story tell us?…It should tell us a lot….The ultimate message is - Time runs out!……God gives us every opportunity in this life to “see” and respond to him…However, God will never force our hand….Our time to respond to God is NOW!

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?”

If you ask people today, they will tell you - Everyone goes to heaven!…While the Catholic Church holds out hope that everyone goes to heaven…Scripture is rather clear on the subject of heaven and hell - And yes, Hell does exist for those who reject God…….What does it mean to reject God?…..If we reject the the laws of God - We in turn reject God himself…If we reject the Truth because Jesus said very clearly - He is the Truth - We reject God…If we reject the one Church Jesus founded - We are rejecting God…..Now, people do these things some times without having “full knowledge” of what they are doing - God will be the judge of that, that is not my job…….However, in the meantime it is for us to pursue the Truth….If a person has an open heart and makes the pursuit of Truth their number one priority......They will end up in the Catholic Church and live a Sacramental life - A bold statement to make but I believe a true one….Only we know, what prevents that from happening….Whether its a particular behavior - A choice made - A lifestyle we enjoy - Our pride - Our reluctance to “give up” our comfort - Our refusal to ask for forgiveness….These are some of the "things" that “get in the way” of us fully following Jesus and becoming who we were born to be…And ultimately, they “get in the way” of us ending up in heaven if we “knowingly persist with full knowledge” of what we are doing and refuse to change…..This is why we must strive to open our heart and make the pursuit of Truth our number one priority……Jesus is not looking for “perfect people”…Because “perfect people” do not exist…Jesus is looking for humble people…Who are willing to admit their flaws and sins….Its those people who cooperate with Christ and through God’s grace, they are perfected…….Many of us belong to “polite society” where everyone is financially comfortable, educated, and respected…..Its very easy to forget God and “get lost” when we focus on all the “things” we have…If you ever step out of “polite society” and “see” how people live in the “under-belly” of the world, you will “see” something completely different…These people, who live on the margins many times are quicker to ask for forgiveness then those of us who are “too comfortable”….Years ago when I would travel to India I would help Mother Teresa’s sisters in their work with mentally handicapped children…Many times I have thought to myself, while working with these young children, who by the way will never live “normal lives”….I would say to myself many of them were demonstrably happier then people I know who work in high paying corporate jobs….Sometimes while I was “helping” these handicapped children, I thought to myself, they were “helping” me to “see” that all we need to be satisfied in this life is to have our physical needs meant and to have God in our heart......This is why we must strive to live simple lives….To have open hearts and cooperate with the Holy Spirit….If we do that, God will lead us to himself and we will have joy and peace…God will remove all the obstacles that stand in the way if we allow him to do so

“God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son; so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.”

Today the Gospel from Mass tells us a story about who God is and what our relationship is to him….To ignore this reality is simply foolish…..We are given every opportunity to “see” God and follow his holy will in our lifetime…But time does run out!…..A humble heart, which strives to be open will always find its way….We do not just “float” into heaven…We were given everything we need to get where we have to go….The rest is up to us…..…..A humble and open heart results in open eyes…Which results in finding our way….The blind cannot lead the blind

Selfless men built this nation…And Selfless men will restore it…..If we “fix the man” - We fix society

Today the Universal Church honors Saint Joseph…..I read a reflection this morning written by a French Dominican Priest (Fr Joseph-Marie Perrin)…This is what he said about St Joseph - “Poor, obedient, silent and hidden - the man whom God could trust”…..Let’s reflect on those words from Fr Perrin for a moment….Not exactly attributes people today aspire to emulate - “Poor, obedient, silent and hidden”…Yet the Universal Church has given great honor to St Joseph…He was the father and protector of the Savior of the world…Husband to Our Lady…And in Scripture not one word of his was recorded - Not one word! - St Joseph was a man of action…His life spoke for him…..As Americans we have the tendency to “complicate things”…Jesus, Mary and Joseph did the exact opposite of that - They simplified things….These three people for thirty years lived a hidden life and I would bet that their life for those thirty years while not easy, was full of peace….We live today in what many call the “selfie” generation…Everyone on social media is screaming…”Look at me”….St Joseph took another path…His life screamed…”Look at God - Forget about me”…..And because of that - God greatly honored him.

"I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant: Forever will I confirm your posterity and establish your throne for all generations."

The role of a husband and a father in the life of every family cannot be understated…..The driving reason why our nation is in disarray is because of the breakdown of the family - Period Full Stop!….And if we “fix the man”, we fix society…Men have forgotten what is means to be men - Sure, we see on full display men carry on as “tough guys” in real life and in movies…How about we start doing the hard things?…Like living self sacrificial lives….Jesus Christ “pour out” his life for the world….The role of a father is to do the exact same thing….And the example of a man who does that effects generations…This was the example of St Joseph……This must be our example as well….To live a hidden life…To do the “hard things”….To be obedient to God…….To live simply….I recently read something about a man who everyday watered the grass at the cemetery of his deceased wife’s grave whom he was married to for 65 years…This couple raised nine children…And everyday this man went to Mass in the morning and following the Mass, he went to the cemetery to care for his wife’s grave site…..This “type of man”….Committed, Consistent, God fearing, Devoted…..These are the men who built our nation - And they did it quietly…With no “fanfare”….They raised families…They paid the bills…They took their family to Mass…..They lead by example…..This is why America’s first priority is to “fix the man”…When you fix the man, the family follows…And when the family is strong again - Our nation will be strong again - And not before - It begins with the man!

“Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.”

St Joseph teaches us to keep it simple…The measure of a man is not in his “toys”…Selfless men build and selfish men teardown….St Joseph was a man of few words…He did not have to speak because his actions spoke for him…..St Joseph put God first….St Joseph trusted in God’s plan and St Joseph abandoned his “plans” for the greater good…..Selfless men built this nation…And Selfless men will restore it…..If we “fix the man” - We fix society

Cleaning a toilet for the disabled can tell you more about our Catholic faith then a scholar can…God speaks though the humble of heart…If we do not lead by example, there is no point in even trying, our words will be empty

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Matthew how Jesus instructs his friends about how to approach the leaders of his time……”Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen”….Once again, notice how Jesus does not dismiss what the religious leaders of his time were saying…Everything the Pharisees said was right…It was their actions however that did not resemble their words…How quick we are as Catholics to “throw the baby out with the bath water” when we see segments of our clergy and lay Catholics say one thing and do another……Jesus is telling us point blank….The teachings of God are correct - All of them!…..So don’t let anyone’s actions distract you from the teachings…And in our case as Catholics, don't let anyone take you from the Sacraments!…..If we as Catholics want the world to be renewed…The only way for that to happen is for the world to “see” once again God in YOU and how the Natural Law written on every human heart is lived out in the public square through YOU……This is the only way authentic renewal takes place in a lasting way…The only way for that to happen is for the world see for itself an authentic Christian witness built upon sacrificial service…Words preached from a pulpit or from a social media platform can never and will never accomplish the renewal of anything….Its only in a living witness, which bears fruit due to God’s grace…..How can we be different from the example of the Pharisees?….We must surrender all our “ideas”….We must surrender our will to God….Then and only then through a Sacramental life will such a witness shine forth from us to the world….One pure drop of water can do more then a tidal wave of "noise"

"Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, Though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?"

One of the greatest Catholic witnesses I have ever seen in my life was one of the most simple….Years ago before I was married I would serve with Mother Teresa’s sisters every Saturday afternoon….The convent was located in downtown Manhattan and not far from it was a boarding house where many very poor men and women rented a single room…In this boarding house was a poor older woman named Sarah….Sarah was originally from Maine and my guess is, she “got lost” in life somewhere along the way and now in her old age was living all alone and was desperately poor……Sarah did not take care of herself too well and one Saturday afternoon, three of Mother Teresa’s nuns were headed out of the convent as I was entering it…They told me they were going to Sarah’s apartment to clean it…..Not only did the nuns clean Sarah’s apartment all afternoon, they did all her laundry too…..To be very honest with you, I have never seen anything like that in my entire life from any Catholic, never mind a nun or a priest…This story was and is a modern day parable….Jesus spoke about this kind of witness at the end of the Gospel today when he was instructing his twelve friends…......”The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted”……There is no such thing as “cheap grace”….If we believe what we say we believe about our Catholic faith, we need to "roll up our sleeves" and serve others, beginning with our family…This kind of service is not and will not be “fancy”……..If we truly want to communicate the message of Jesus Christ…Our life must be transformed in and through humble service to others….Before we do that, we must first understand who we truly are at our core…Far too many in our world today are pretending to be something or someone they are not…In doing so, we “get lost” and do not live up to who we were created to be….Jesus Christ was God, yet he humbled himself for us…..As Scripture tells us…”He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”……When we model our life on such a witness…Our life’s example will “stop traffic”…It will be truly authentic…And we will deeply impact those around us…This is how the world is renewed…..The only way it is renewed!

“Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow”

Today Jesus in the Gospel from Mass reminds us once again…We need to be people of action…Words without action mean nothing!…Jesus also tells us that we must be willing to have a servant’s heart….This is a requirement for those who want to follow the path that leads to heaven…Jesus was a man of the people…..He came to serve not to be serve…This must be our mandate as well….Humble service to our fellow man speaks of God and it speaks loudly!…..Such a witness is likened to a lighting bolt that strikes the earth….The hardest of hearts melt before it…..So many people today engage in what is commonly referred to social activism…Maybe if they did what Mother Teresa’s sisters did…And cleaned the apartment of a poor woman in their spare time - Maybe then their so called activism would have an impact and “bear fruit that will last”……Time to walk the walk and stop just talking the talk!…..Cleaning a toilet for the disabled can tell you more about our Catholic faith then a scholar can…God speaks though the humble of heart…If we do not lead by example, there is no point in even trying, our words will be empty