People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care….Sometimes mopping the floor “says more” then the most eloquent of words spoken from the most brilliant of people

Today at Holy Mass in the first readings we hear about the Prophet Jonah…God tells Jonah to go to the “great city of Nineveh” and tell the people to repent…Scripture also tells us that Nineveh was a massive place and we can infer that is was a “state of the art city”, with all the best of things the world had to offer….But Jonah, who was a chosen man, hand picked by God did not want to go…So God had to “convince” him!…As the story goes, Jonah was swallowed whole by a whale and for three days was inside the whale’s belly….As we say in New Jersey - God gave Jonah some time to “think”! - As he does with us, but let me not digress and get back to the story…So Jonah after the whale incident changes his mind and does what God asks….He enters Nineveh and tells the people to repent…And amazingly enough, they listen to him….So here is the question - Why would people listen to Jonah?….We have all been “around the block”…People don’t just “change”…So what made Jonah effective? - That is the question we need to explore today…My guess is, Jonah did not just “talk the talk”…Jonah “walked the walk”….This is why people listened to him…And this should be a message to all the “social media warriors”; social activists; and most importantly committed Catholics reading this reflection today - Let the message sink in!…If our life does not mirror the words we profess as Catholics, no one will listen - Not a single soul!…..Now that does not mean we have to be perfect - No one is - However, the witness of a holy life stops traffic - Trust me when I tell you this - I have seen it in action with Mother Teresa’s sisters in many places around the world……In order to give this kind of witness, we can not rely on our own gifts and talents - The mistake of many!…We must empty our self and be filled with God’s grace…..When a person is filled with God’s grace and he speaks, the world is silent - You can hear a pin drop when they speak….Why?….Because such a person speaks with the authority of God…My bet is - That is why Jonah today was successful in convincing the “great city of Nineveh” to repent…This is our task as well…..It is from your interior life that the words of eternal life spring forth - And when that happens, the world will stop and listen

“Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart for I am gracious and merciful”

People do not listen!…They simply do not….You can give the best of advice with the best of intentions and still, people do not listen….So what can change that?….Only the witness of a holy life - Then trust me - Then you have their attention…..I have seen this in action many times…Allow me to share with you a story about one of those times….I was in Montreal and working at a soup kitchen that Mother Teresa’s sisters ran in a rough part of town…The men that came in as you would imagine were not exactly “altar boys” - A rough crowd indeed….The line was so long to get in to the soup kitchen that it queued around the building….As we were serving food, we all heard at the door a violent banging…There was a man at the door, out of his mind on drugs, no shirt on with his pants bearly covering his body…He was banging on the door and shouting like a wild animal to let him in and he would not stop….To say the image of this guy was terrifying, is an understatement, words do not give the situation justice……So after some time of this, the Superior of the house goes to the door and opens it…She is a small nun (Sister Rose) and she gets into the face of the violent man….And believe it or not…This guy, completely settles down…To be honest with you, I could not believe my eyes…The guy went from “100 miles an hour to zero miles an hour” at the sight of Sister Rose…..If I were to have done what the Sister Rose did, in getting in the guy’s face, there is no doubt in my mind a different outcome would have resulted and I would probably not be writing this reflection, if you know what I am getting at - I would be dead…But at the words of this nun, this crazy man stopped being crazy…As I watched the two of them talk…I wish I had a camera…The sight was surreal!……To see this small and holy nun talking to this shirtless crazy man on the sidewalk was a sight to behold! - Sister Rose “tamed the wild beast”…But ask your self - Why did the man listen to Sister Rose?….Sister “walked the walk” and my bet is the man knew it from the neighborhood - She did not just talk to talk…The poor people in the neighborhood of Montreal and the people on the street know what the Missionaries of Charity are all about - They had their respect…Why?….Because not only do Mother Teresa’s nuns help the people’s material needs…..The nuns also live like the poor they serve…..I have not served with the Missionaries of Charity in the slums of Brazil…But I have been to Brazil for work…If you are not from the favelas (the slums), you cannot go into those neighborhoods…There is a 100% chance you will be robbed or maybe even killed - Not the Missionaries of Charity…The Sisters not only go into the favelas, they live there too…..How is that possible? - Because they “walk the walk - And do not just “talk the talk”…….As Catholics, we should pay attention to this example…If we want people to listen to us…We need to develop an interior life…Everything we say and do will come from that interior life - Our actions simply are “the fruit” of our interior life, nothing more…The closer a person is to God, the more God’s presence will be tangibly perceived by the world…Such a person is given authority and that authority is not their own…It comes from the Holy Spirit….This is the ONLY way the world will listen to us as Catholics - Get that through your head!….This is why today Jonah was successful in convincing the people of Nineveh to repent - That is my bet!….My guess is, the example of Jonah’s life spoke volumes!…And the people listened

“Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation”

Today at Mass we heard about Jonah…God asked Jonah to do something he did not want to do….And at first Jonah refused…But God knew Jonah was the “right guy for the job”…So God had to “convince him”…And in the end, Jonah does do what God requests of him…And he was successful…..Each of us has something to do in this life to build up the Kingdom of God…..But if we want people to listen to us…Even if those people are the members of your family in your own home…We have to “walk the walk”….And in order to give this kind of witness, that makes people listen, we must develop an interior life…..Never underestimate the power of a holy life - Trust me - I have seen it in action and have been in awe of the sight!……If we want the Gospel Truth to be proclaimed to the world and many sincerely do….First we must be transformed by that Truth…..This is why Jonah was successful….Take note…..People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care….Sometimes mopping the floor “says more” then the most eloquent of words spoken from the most brilliant of people