”Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first readings how David after committing the sins of adultery and murder did not comprehend that he had sinned…….He was “blind”…So the Lord sent Nathan who brought the sins before him…….And to David’s credit, his “eyes opened” and he acknowledge his sin…….David’s situation is not unique….Just turn on the news today…..Our culture has mainstreamed mortal sin….We as a people do not even “blink” at sins that are an absolute abomination to God - (Abortion; Same Sex Marriage; Usury, to name a few)…..We are completely blind to these practices just as David was blind…..So the question is - How does our culture once again “see”?……Far too many people believe that our problems today are political - That if we somehow vote the right person into office, that person will “fix” everything….That will never happen - Why? - Because our society is deeply ill and as a result of its illness - Completely blind!…….“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?”…..Before we “vote” our way out of this problem, we have to get back to our moral footing……A house cannot be built upon sand, it requires a firm foundation - And that is exactly what we are lacking today - A firm foundation - Our society is unmoored, like a boat without oars being tossed about in the sea…..So how do we see again? - How do we regain our health?……The only answer is Jesus Christ - Sin is a plague and all of mankind is effected by this virus - The tendency to sin…Sin blinds us and dims our intellect…….This is what happened to King David and this is what is happening today right before our very eyes…Our culture can not see!…..The only solution is to return back to the Sacraments…One Sacramental Confession will take from us the burden of sin - Nothing else can do it!….Once we are free from this burden, then we can participate in the Mass fully by receiving the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace…Only then will our people “see” - Until then, we will be blind and what is evil in the sight of God will be acceptable to us…..King David was blind but through God’s grace his eyes were open to his sin and when he regained his sight - David repented….This is what needs to happen today……….John the Baptist got it right! - ”Repent - And Believe in the Gospel”….”Voting harder” is not going to “get it done!

“God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life”

When I was in my late twenties I remember going to confession and the priest was trying to get me to acknowledge a sin I committed against chastity….The priest was doing his best to bring this sin before my eyes but I would not “hear” it…I was actually arguing with the priest in the confessional - I was convinced of my innocence and thought I was completely justified in my actions…Looking back I clearly see now that I was wrong…I share that story because the story of King David today is very common…Many people are very sincere in their actions, but sadly are sincerely wrong….This is why the Church must be clear in its communication of the Truth…Our people will not know what the Truth is, if the teachings of the Church are not communicated clearly in the home, from our schools and from the pulpit on Sunday…And once the Truth is communicated, then we must rely of God’s grace to put the Truth into action…..Without God’s grace words will never convince us or for that matter make us do what is required of us as Catholics…We must graft our life into the life of the Holy Spirit…We do this by living Sacramentally, through daily prayer and weekly fasting…..If you think you are going to simply read the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church and then put those teaching into practice without Sacramental grace - You are on a fools errand - That is never going to happen………But before we get to the point of action - Our eyes must be opened - As King David’s eyes were made to open….As a write this reflection, the conversion of St Paul comes to mind - St Paul was utterly convinced that persecuting the first Christians was the right thing to do - He was completely sincere in his actions - But as we know - He was sincerely wrong!…God had to “knock him off his horse” for Paul to “see”…..And when that happened - The rest is history…….”Now Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that, if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains. On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He said, “Who are you, sir?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do”…….Jesus to this very day “gives sight to the blind” in more ways then one…….And just as the scales fell from the eyes of St Paul - So too must the scales fall from our eyes…..So we can see and once we “see”, we can then act accordingly.

“Create a clean heart in me, O God. A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me”

Today at Holy Mass we hear how David was blind to his sins - And how God sent Nathan to confront him and bring his sins before his eyes……Today is this “confrontation” of speaking the Truth directly to the sins of society happening? - When society sins mortally, is the Church “calling out” the sin? - Are we doing this in our homes, in our families and from the pulpits of our Churches?…Nathan had the courage to confront King David, who was a very powerful man - He told David what he did wrong…So the question becomes - Are we doing that today?……..Or……Have we conformed to the ways of the world, justifying objective mortal sin as something that is common place?……Catholics must not be afraid to “call out” sin for what it is…….The Church is not to conform to the world’s standards but instead is meant to raise the standards of the world to God’s standards....…That begins with words and it ends with grace, which in turn leads to Catholic action………Let us not be afraid!……Then and only then will the “eyes of the blind be open, the deaf will hear and the lame will walk”….…….”Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do”………JMJ