Its not how you start, its how you finished that counts…..But if we want to “finish”, we must learn to be obedient…Yes - I said it - I know its a “dirty word”…..But a word we all must become very familiar with if we want fellowship with God

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Luke how Jesus was tempted three times…After reading the Gospel I read a commentary on it by Pope Benedict XVI…In the commentary, Pope Benedict puts forth this question for us all to meditate upon….”What place does God have in my life…Is he the Lord or am I?”…….If we think about that and break it down into the two parts, the first part I think is more digestible……Most professed Catholics would say God is first place in their life…However, when we get to the second part of the question….”Is he the Lord or am I“…Our response may quickly change, if we are honest…The second part of Pope Benedict’s question to us is where the “rubber meets the road”…Why is that?…Because the question asks of us to come second…To be obedient to what the Church teaches (which by the way is the body and Christ is the head of that body, the two can not be separated) asks of us a lot! - Much more than any of us want to give…..Obedience is a “dirty word” these days but in the life of a Catholic, obedience is foundational…..Jesus Christ was obedient - And he was God….The Blessed Mother was obedient - And she was conceived without sin…And being that these two people were the holiest of all - And both were perfectly obedient - How can we feel we do not have to be and still have fellowship with the Lord?…….God does not need anything from us! - He is God - He has everything!……Is there something God wants from us?……The answer is YES - Allow me to answer that - God wants our sin, so he can redeem us……God wants our obedience, so he can redeem us by molding us into the people we were born to be……To “think” we can be redeemed any other way is simply a self rationalization and a huge mistake

“Because he clings to me, I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in distress; I will deliver him and glorify him”

Years ago I attended a funeral Mass of an old friend’s father…After the Mass was over, the priest allowed my friend to say a few words…He began talking about his father with these words…”My father lived his life on his terms”……As a Catholic, when I heard that, I thought to my self…How very sad!…..My old friend, who by the way is highly educated has no idea what it means to be Catholic…He has no idea what is required of us to enter into the Kingdom of God….We can not follow God on “our terms” and expect to have fellowship with him and live in the state of grace……Jesus, who was God did not do that, so how can we “think” we can?…..Remember what St Paul wrote….”Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross”……Because of our aversion to being obedient to anyone, even God, we delude ourself into thinking we can somehow do “what we want” and still remain in the state of grace……That my friends is a delusion!…..Jesus was very clear….“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”….Keeping the words of St Paul in mind…..It is absolutely impossible to “give yourself away” without utilizing the grace of the Sacraments, daily prayer and weekly fasting - I do not care who you are!….What is asked of us is humanly impossible without utilizing God’s grace…..However, if we do use “the tools” given to us by God and his Church, in time we will not only do what Christ asks of us…But we will want to do it out of love for him……St Peter was a “chosen man” as we all know…Jesus hand picked Peter to lead his Church after he was to be killed…I love the character of Peter as a man, he was so human and in the end, he “came through” for Jesus…But before he did, he made many mistakes…..When Peter was to give his life up…He initially fled Rome…On the way, he encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus….The famous words were spoken - “Domine quo vadis?”, which is a Latin phrase that means "Lord, where are you going?”…Jesus replies to Peter…”I am going back to Rome to be crucified again”…Upon hearing these words, Peter turns around and accepts his fate…..No one wants to “give their life away - .No one!…However, this is what is asked of us as a Catholic by God himself…And if we do that…Not only will we have a “place with God” when our time on this earth comes to an end…But God in the mean time will be able to use us to do great things to help establish his Kingdom on the earth….It all comes down to obedience……St Paul tells us very clearly…”Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him”……What is good for the master, is good for the servant - To think otherwise is simply a huge and costly mistake.

“No evil shall befall you, nor shall affliction come near your tent, For to his angels he has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways.”

Today in the Gospel from Mass, we hear how Jesus was tempted and also how he overcame his temptation…Jesus was God but he was also fully a man…He experienced everything we experience except sin……That means Jesus understands us and our human nature…He knows how we all struggle with being obedient to God and his Church…This is why we must help ourself and “reach a hand to God” for help…..We are given everything we need to live out this “ask” from God…What is this ask? - To die to ourself!…..This is the solution to all the world’s problems….Men and woman who “die to themselves” make the most impact on the micro as well as the macro world stage - Believe it!…….This should be our number one goal - To die to ourself through obedience to God…..Because we are human and all have a fallen nature, we are all tempted to forget why we were created and what we are to do….We all need reminders…Like St Peter, who tried to run away….Our Lord helped him, by sending him “opportunities” to get back “on the road”…And Peter responded!……Its not how you start, its how you finished that counts…..But if we want to finish, we must learn to be obedient…Yes - I said it - I know its a “dirty word”…..But a word we all must become very familiar with if we want fellowship with God