”So by their fruits you will know them”

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Mark, Jesus addresses a particular mindset that plagues mankind to this very day….Calling good evil and calling evil good……”The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,  “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons”…..We see this in our post-christian culture today…….Divorce is a common practice - Same sex marriage has become mainstreamed - Abortion is celebrated and encouraged……Many of these abominations are referred to by our society as “progressive values”……How does a person arrive at such a place in their life to call what is evil good and what is good evil?…..The devil is very intelligent and he knows all our weaknesses…..When we are not grafted into the life of Christ by living in and through the Sacraments, we are susceptible to the devil’s deception…..One of the biggest mistakes is to under estimate demonic influence, which is all around us…..If we do not have “eyes” to see….We surely will fall….“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?”….But “seeing” is not enough - We need grace to resist temptation…….Jesus established a Church for a reason and one of the driving reasons for the Church is that it is the means of our Salvation…If it was not for the Catholic Church - How would we receive the Sacraments?…..Our modern world takes the Sacraments for granted and this is a grave mistake….The Eucharist is refer to in academic Catholic circles as “viaticum”, which is a  Latin word that means “food for the journey”…If we refuse to partake in this heavenly food, we surely will be “blind”, not to mention lack the grace we all need to resist the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil….Again, the world would disagree - But how is the world doing?…Seems to me, we are failing….Have you ever considered the driving reason for our failure?….Could it be a lack of Sacramental grace?

“Say among the nations: The LORD is king. He has made the world firm, not to be moved; he governs the peoples with equity”

Every year on New Years Day, people all over the world craft lists of all the expectations they would like to see happen in the coming New Year…In America we call these “lists” New Year’s resolutions….And while these resolutions are created with the best of intentions, most people find that within a short period of time, say around 30 days, the resolutions are abandoned….Nothing changes - Ever think about why that is the case?…..When it comes to life improving changes, more times then not, we need grace to make those changes happen…..Its very easy to find fault and list out how to address personal short comings - Its something altogether different to execute on this changes….This is where grace comes in…..Jesus gave us a Church so we can live a Sacramental life…..The Sacraments elevate our human nature and enable us to live the Christian life, no matter what state of life you are called to - Priest, Married or Single….To decide that we do not need Sacramental grace - And still believe that we will live up to the standards set by the Gospel is a fantasy!……And when we live a life devoid of this grace, we easily fall prey to the “values” of the world……We are told that the devil “prowls the earth like a lion seeking the ruin of souls”…..To some this is a “fairy-tale”…..But for those who “see” - This is very real…..One does not have to look very far to see people, many of them close to us, who have been greatly deceived and the witness of their life shows it! - They are a mess!……Jesus tells us - “You tell a tree by the fruit it bears”…….This is the standard by which we should weigh the ideologies and ideas of the world today……There are many today who have “a lot to say”, yet their life is in shambles - So the question is - Why do we follow them?…Jesus tells us very clearly - “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep”…….When the things of God are called evil, misery is soon to follow……And if light is called darkness, how very deep will the darkness be?

“Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel”

Today at Mass we hear some of the people in Jesus’s day call him evil - How can a person call God evil?…Before we make sweeping judgements of the people who did this - Let’s take a good look at our own society……….Jesus gave us only one prayer during his three year public ministry - The Our Father - And in it we say…..”Thy Kingdom come - Thy will be done - On earth as it is in heaven”…….We were taught that prayer when we were children - Yet, do we ever stop and listen to what we say when we pray it?……”On earth as it is in heaven” should tell us that we are to live a certain way day to day, that means we must live differently from the secular world around us……..Do we live differently? - Are we a people “set apart” - Are we in the world but not of the world?…..Because if we are not, maybe we need to take a step back a reassess……Calling good evil is nothing new - Such a mindset has been around for 2000 years……So how do we know if we are on the “right side of things”…..A good question in deed….The answer is found in the “output” of our life’s choices - Remember - “You tell a good tree by the fruit is bears”…So if the “fruit” is “rotten” - Maybe the “tree” is “rotten” too?…..”A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire”…………..”So by their fruits you will know them”…..JMJ