“I never knew you. Depart from me”………I NEVER want to hear those words! - And this drives me….Allow it to drive you too!.....Allow your life to speak…An authentic life speaks

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St John how the aggressive dialog between Jesus and the Pharisee continues…..”You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world”…What did Jesus mean by this statement?…Was he simply highlighting the fact that he was God and they were not?…I believe there is something much deeper here…Something for us to reflect upon in the here and now…..As Catholics we have been taught that we are to be “in the world but not of the world”…..We are to live as a “nation set apart” while at the same time walk among men…We are to be a “light on a hill”…..Do we do this?…..Jesus was an example - Are we?…This means we do not “go along to get along”…..It also means we do not hid from the world either…..When one makes a decision to live in this manner, life will not be easy…This is why “the crowd” does not follow the “narrow road”…But make no mistake about it…”The gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.”…This is what Jesus is highlighting to the Pharisees today in the Gospel…Faithful Catholics must serve the world by giving an example to the world….This example is fueled by prayer and Sacramental grace - Such a life can not be “self-manufactured”….And only our example will speak to a weary world…Are we “different” from the crowd?…The answer to that question will be addressed by the choices we make…Who we marry?…What we do with our money?….What we prioritize with and for our children?…And these actions speak to the world in a way words never will….Ultimately, our time here on earth is short…We are just “passing through”….Does your life serve as a light to others?…Are you in the world but not of the world?…Don’t answer - Let your life answer for you

“The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him. Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.”

I went to a Jesuit University and frankly the people I met there were some of the greatest people I have ever met in my life…That clearly was the result of their families…How they were raised…One of my roommates was the son of a lawyer from New York….Sean my friend was one of the most generous people I have ever met in my enter life….He probably does not know this but I often marveled at just how generous he was……While he came from a privileged home, his parents had five children and his father, a successful attorney was a devout Catholic…I remember having to pick Sean up for a wedding we were attending in Washington DC…His family home was on the beach by the ocean…As I was driving to his house I was waiting to see a huge and elaborate home…But when I arrived their I saw that his home was very modest…Clearly, that was a decision made by his parents…They made a choice…They used their wealth to have many children and lived generously towards others - Clearly, that is why Sean was who he was…I was fully aware that my friend’s father was a successful attorney and when I saw for myself his modest home…I was very impressed…More so then if his home was huge and elaborate…This example “spoke to me”….And this is why I highlight it….This is how Catholics are to live…Oh, we can “talk a good game” in the pews and on our podcasts and social media feeds…But when the “rubber meets the road”…How do we live?…Are we generous?….What do we prioritize?…..The answer to these questions “speak to the world” one way or another….And frankly, people are not fooled for one minute!…..Do you really believe what you claim to believe?…If you do, then show me! - That is what the world says to us…And this is also what Jesus challenges us with today - Show me!…To be very honest with you, this is one of the things that drives me….If I say I believe in my Catholics faith, then well - I need to live it….For me, its all or nothing!

“O LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you. Hide not your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily.”

Today at Mass, Jesus confronts the Pharisees once again…Notice Jesus is not “shy” about telling it like it is…..He tells the Pharisees...…”Where I am going you cannot come”……The Pharisees made their choice…And frankly so did Jesus…And as we all know…Choices have consequences…..How we live, not what we say or claim to believe will define us in the here and now and also in the end - This is our “witness to the world” - For better or worse….There is passage in the Scripture that terrifies me….I think about it often when I “go to far” or I do not live up to the great gift of my Catholic faith that was given to me…Allow me to share it with you….“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me”…I NEVER want to hear those words! - And this drives me….Allow it to drive you too!.....Allow your life to speak…An authentic life speaks