God is very real…And if we care to “look”…We will see just how real he is

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St John the words of Jesus spoken to those who do not believe in him….Let’s examine those words for a moment…”If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father”….Even the greatest miracles witnessed by humanity can not change the human heart…And if you want to look at 2000 years of Catholic history…If we look at the lives of the saints and all the countless miracles that have occurred in real time…Mankind still persists in turning his back on God and the Church….Jesus addresses this reality when addressing the Pharisees today in the Gospel…He is basically saying to them…”Look what I have done - You don’t like what I say - OK - Simply look at my actions”…But they want none of it!…Why?…Because they do not want to change…….”Nice words” cannot change people - Miracles witnessed cannot change people….Only we can change ourself with the help of grace, which is always there…..When we stand before God and He shows us our life…We will see very clearly all the opportunities he presented to us….Its for us to seize these opportunities now!….Because they are there!…Leave nothing on the table!

“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life”

Some times when God presents us with something to do, we hesitate but then we are given another opportunity to “turn back” and take care of what we neglected to do…We see this in St Peter..He denies our Lord only to come through in the end…God works through our mistakes and allows us to reflect on them…Second chances always present themselves…Its for us to seize them!…..Years ago I was serving with Mother Teresa’s sisters in the Home for the Dying and Destitute in Kolkata…A man came in from the street…..He was emaciated......He looked like someone who just got out of a concentration camp…..His skin was full of dry scales because of his time on the street….And his feet were especially in bad shape…When men like that came into the home, Mother Teresa’s sisters would put oil on their skin…One of the nuns asked me to do that to this man…This man was filthy!!!!!…And I did not want to do it…While I do not speak Bengali, the language of Kolkata, this man could see very clearly that I did not want to help him…But he continued to ask me with gestures…He was in great discomfort…After refusing to help him, I changed my mind and placed the oil on his feet…When I did that the man began to cry…And I felt deeply ashamed of myself…Looking back…The Lord gave me a second chance…He did not “give up on me”…And when the second chance came around, I took it…I invite you to do the same…God never gives up on us!

“In my distress I called upon the LORD and cried out to my God; From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears”

St John reminds us in his Gospel today that we need to stop looking for “miracles”….Miracles don’t change hearts…We change our own heart by choice - One step at a time - One choice at a time…We must make this choice - And know this - This "choice" presents itself each and everyday…..God did not leave us orphans!…He gives us everything we need…He presents us with opportunities each and everyday.......Take them!…Putting one foot in front of the other will get us to our desired destination…But it’s up to us to take the required steps - No one can do that for you!…..God is very real…And if we care to “look”…We will see just how real he is