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