Trust the process - He is preparing us for the “final exam”

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of John how Jesus cures a sick beggar who lived on the street for 38 years…..Do you imagine living on the street for 38 years!…..”One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk." Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.”…….For all those years, this man probably prayed to God for help - And no help came - For 38 long years!…..Finally, a humble carpenter, the God-Man from Nazareth is the answer to his prayers……Sometimes God does not answer our prayers the way we “think” he will or should…Sometimes we almost feel like we are “groping in darkness” in our attempt to reach out to God - Do you know the feeling?….When those moments come - And they do - And they will - Do we lose trust?…Are we confident that God has a plan?…That God’s plan is better than our plan?……Our view of life and what we “think” we need somethings conflicts with God….God is concerned with your salvation and everything that happens to us, in one form or another, can be used if we allow it to sanctify ourself…Is this the lens you view your life through?…..To be sanctified?…Because this is God’s desire for all of us…If we are fortunate enough to arrive in heaven, all of our hardships and trials of this life will be forgotten in a split second…In the meantime, God can use our hardships and struggles to transform us….I bet the sick man in St John’s Gospel, who was sick for 38 years learned a “thing or two” during that time period before Jesus came and healed him….The same goes for us…Trust the process….We were not born to be “comfortable”…We were born to be transformed…To be sanctified…And that sanctification process is just that - A process…And trials and struggles are apart of it….Trust the process!

“God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.”

One of the great things about having life long friends and getting older is, you see how people evolve…I have many of the same friends I have had since my childhood…I can remember how they were then and when I compare how they are now - I marvel at who they have become as grown men…..This kind of transformation does not happen over night…”Life happens”…And life molds us…Life is the greatest of all teachers and God’s hand works through our life….All of which is part of “his plan”….To mold us into who we were born to be….American Christians, including many Catholic have a misconception about heaven…..Those who stand before God must be made pure…..American Christians “think”, we die and “bingo”, we enter into heaven…That clearly is God’s call and maybe for some that will be the case….But for most of us, we still will have "a way” to go…Purgatory is a place where God in his mercy makes us “presentable” for eternity for those who die in the state of grace but are still “rough around the edges”….This is why we should “do the heavy lifting” now….Years ago I went to Confession with Fr Andrew Apostoli…Fr Andrew was a world famous priest…In the confession, Fr Andrew explained to me that we must focus on our sanctification now, so we do not have to go to purgatory…This confession and what Fr Andrew said to me I remember to this day…Our life here on earth is so short, even if we live 100 years…Use the time!….Cooperate with God - If we do, we will be transformed and when the time comes for our “exit interview”…God will say these words to us….”Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.”….The sick man in St John’s Gospel waited 38 years before Jesus answered his prayers and cured him…Thirty-eight years when compared to eternity is like drop of water in the ocean…..God has a plan to sanctify us….Trust the plan

“The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. Come! behold the deeds of the LORD, the astounding things he has wrought on earth.”

Today in the Gospel from Mass Jesus heals a sick man…..We can all question why this man was allowed to be sick for 38 years….Only God knows the answer to that…However, I know this - God wastes nothing!…Everything that happens in our life is meant to be used for our sanctification….We can either get bitter or better!…..We were not created to be comfortable - Heaven is our true home….And getting to our “final destination” is a process…..God knows what he is doing….Do we view our life as being "clay in the hands of the master potter"?...God’s ways are not always our ways but know this - God knows you better then you know yourself and God is at work! - Trust the process - He is preparing us for the “final exam”