No more compromises and no more excuses - Our potential is there!

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah that it is the Lord who forms us - Its not something we do…We as Catholics can not read our way to a holy life…Unlike worldly achievements - To become holy is not about “adding on” - Its actually about “subtracting from” - Its about emptying our self and making room for the Holy Spirit to indwell in us….This is a process and Isaiah tells us about it…..”The LORD called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory”…..Again - Notice the language used by Isaiah - “YOU made me”……God knows us better then we know ourselves - And God sees our potential - Within each soul there are deep caverns, which only God can see - In these “caverns” untapped potential is waiting to surface - And only God can bring this potential about - If only we cooperate with him….In the Gospel today, St John tells us about a conversation Jesus had with Peter - Jesus sees what Peter does not…He tells him how he will fail but he also tells Peter that he will recover from his failure and ultimately become what God called him to be…."Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later”…God sees everything - Our successes - Our failures - And our potential….God also uses everything, even our sins to guide us to become the people we were born to be…”He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me”…This should be the goal of every human being - To become the person God created us to be - To become a saint….While its important to keep “the goal” in front of us - We must be fully aware of our fallen nature - But this should not discourage us - God uses everything…Even “crooked roads” can be made straight!

“I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth”

God willing - When we enter into eternal life, we are told in the Book of Revelation, that we will be given a new name….”To the victor I shall give some of the hidden manna; I shall also give a white amulet upon which is inscribed a new name, which no one knows except the one who receives it”…..Only God knows this name because only God knows our full potential - Our one and only job needs to be - To give God permission to mold us into the person we were all born to be…..Is this your goal?…Is this the primary goal you have for your children?……The unbelieving world is not convinced that God can do more with our life then we can - When we read the lives of the saints - We get a glimpse into this reality……In 2026, the Universal Church celebrates the 800 year anniversary of the death of St Francis…..Before St Francis gave his life to God, he was a very rich young man…His life was very good by all the standards of the world and if he did not consent to give himself completely to the Lord - Francis would have had a very comfortable life - Instead, he gave everything he had away!….And frankly, as a result of his choice to follow the Lord’s call, his life was not easy…Francis died at the age of 44 years old - Tradition also tells us that he also lost his sight in his lifetime…However, in the short life he lead - St Francis renewed the Church and the religious order he founded is active to this day - 800 years after his death…..…Interestingly enough, upon his death bed, these were the prophetic words of St Francis…."Let us begin, brothers, to serve the Lord God, for up to now we have done little or nothing”………How true those words turned out to be! - Here we are 800 years later and the work of St Francis is still alive in the Franciscan community, which exists all over the world….God saw St Francis’s potential from the very beginning, just as he sees our potential - In the “caverns” of our soul….The difference is, St Francis gave God permission to turn his potential into reality….And look at the outcome!…..This needs to be our goal as well - To become the person God called us to be - The potential is there!…….Then like the Prophet Isaiah, we too will proclaim the words read to us at Mass……”The LORD called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory”

“For you are my hope, O Lord; my trust, O God, from my youth. On you I depend from birth; from my mother's womb you are my strength”

What keeps us from becoming the people we were born to be?…..The only real and honest answer to that question is - Ourself - We have no one to blame but ourself and we consistently get in our own way!….…But do not be discouraged! - Why? - Because our potential is there - God sees it! - All we have to do is give our consent and cooperate with God…..When we read about the lives of the saints, we understand that God uses all kinds of people to do his work….Many of the saints too were great sinner at one time in their life, only to be transformed by God’s grace….To become a saint is the greatest thing a person can do!….Nothing we can accomplish on this earth can compare to becoming holy - Our greatness as human beings rests in this reality - And so does our lasting impact on those around us - Our YES to God must be unconditional for this to happen….No more compromises and no more excuses - Our potential is there!………….JMJ