Jesus disarmed the world by his simplicity - Do you think its possible we could do the same? - Have we become so “sophistication” that we miss what is most important?

Today at Holy Mass he hear in St Matthew’s Gospel the only prayer that Jesus taught his friends to pray…"This is how you are to pray: 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.' "If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions”…Jesus was so simple - He made things so simple! - The question for us all today is - Why do we make things so complicated!…….Over and over again in these daily reflections I focus attention upon First Principals….Leaving the “heavy lifting” to God and sticking to First Principals…..Remember the acronym - MARC: (Mass; Adoration; Rosary & Confession)……We have forgotten that the transcendental is contained in these First Principals….This is why I am Catholic and will always be Catholic!…The transcendental is what will save us - From who? - Our very selves!……No “plan” - No Powerpoint Presentation - No “ideas” - No ideology - No “agenda”….Can do what these First Principals can do….Saints over the centuries have ground their life in these First Principals and as a result, their natural gifts were magnified by grace and they shook the foundations of the world - Do you think YOU are somehow excluded from being used by God?……This is what Jesus shows us today in St Matthew’s Gospel - Keep it simple!

"In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him”

I am a co-host of a radio show that interviews Catholic authors and intellectuals….Recently we had on Dr Peter Kreeft…..Dr Kreeft is a brilliant man and a prolific writer…He has authored in his life over 100 books….In his recent book (maybe his last) he ended it with this short sentence…. “Less is more”….And we discussed that idea in detail in our conversation….What Dr Kreeft stated was politics & scholarship will not save the world…..We have to focus on the most basic - The very heart of Jesus Christ…From the Sacred Heart, we will not only find unity but we will be transformed and in doing so we will transform the world….As a person who is involved in Catholic Media, I sometimes step back and ask myself how we as a Catholic people have made things so complicated….We seem to forget that Jesus was a carpenter….And his first friends were humble fishermen…..These men understood what it means to “get down to basics”…And look at what God did through these humble fishermen?…..In the Catholic Church, both historically speaking as well as to the present day - Some of the most brilliant minds and thinkers can be found spanning the four corners of the globe…Yet we seem to “miss it” sometimes in my estimation…Jesus condensed all the Jewish laws into two laws - Love God above all things and Love your neighbor as your self…..Jesus gave us only one prayer - The Our Father…..See how beautifully simple Jesus was?…..This is how we must strive to be - Simple like a child…..Stick to First Principals and allow the Holy Spirit to transform your soul - Because it will!!!!…And then allow God to work through you - We each have natural gifts, which will be magnified by grace….My youngest daughter Maria was born on October 1st - The Feast Day of St Therese of Lisieux, known in the Church as the Little Flower…..St Therese was declared a Doctor of the Church and is known for the one and only book she wrote - Called the “Little Way”…In that book she illustrated a simple and pure faith, a path to God through childlike trust….When speaking with Dr Peter Kreeft, I brought up St Therese and her book…..And we both agreed and laughed, when we read her book, we both did not “get it” - It was “too simple”….Maybe that is the point! - And that is why we did not “get it”….St Therese of Lisieux’s “Little Way” is just another example of the wisdom taught to us by the saints….Stop making what is simple complicated…The “Little Way” is the most direct way to God - Its the answer to all our problems

“By the truth of Christ in me, this boast of mine shall not be silenced”

Today at Mass Jesus teaches us once again…He “breaks it all down” and focuses our attention on what is most important…..As Catholics living in the 21st century, its very easy to “get lost in the weeds”….We have become so “sophisticated” that we seem to miss it…..This is why we need reminders - Jesus knew this…And this is why the Church gave us people like St Therese of Lisieux and her “Little Way”……After my recent conversation with Dr Kreeft, I think I need to re-read St Therese’s spiritual classic….Maybe now I will get more out of it…..The great authors of literature are very similar to the authors of the four Gospels and the saints…They took complex subject matter and condensed it and made it understandable for the everyone…..This is what Jesus did - His brilliance was found in not only what he taught but by the way he taught it….Should we not strive to do the same?…….The great Dr Peter Kreeft after writing over 100 books condensed all his ideas into three words - “Less is More”….Maybe this is why God came to us as a humble carpenter - Jesus disarmed the world by his simplicity - Do you think its possible we could do the same? - Have we become so “sophistication” that we miss what is most important?