”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!