The world is watching!

Today at Holy Mass we are reminded in both readings that Jesus Christ is the Truth…We hear that often but do we take this reality for granted?…..To love Jesus is to love the Truth and if we love the Truth, we must live it!……Easier said than done!…..The world rejects the Truth - Why? - It does not pay!….In order to fully embrace the Truth, Catholics and all people of good will must be willing to pay a cost….Yes - There is a cost to living the Truth and if we want to walk the narrow road to heaven, we must be willing to pay that cost…Let’s not fool ourselves! - There is no heaven without the Cross!…..”I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth”….How can we possibly think that living in this world as a Catholic will be easy….How can we possibly think that we can be both a Catholic and “go along to get along” among “the children of this world”? - Yet we do “think” we can have it both ways - As we say where I from in New Jersey, “we want to have our cake and eat it too”….Let’s face it - We all want to live comfortable lives - But here is “the deal” - We were not created for comfort - We were created for greatness!…..If we fully want to become the people we were born to be - We must rely on Divine grace….No man is an island and the full weight of the world will come down upon us when we embrace the fullness of Truth…This is why St Paul tells us….”Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground”…….St Paul understood that the battle was real because he fought it! - And so will we if we engage in the "Zone of Truth" in the public square…And if we attempt to “fight the good fight” - Without Divine Grace - We will most assuredly lose that fight!….St Paul in the first reading today warns his friends……“Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the Church of God that he acquired with his own Blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears. And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated”…….To follow Christ is to “be in the fight”…..And as the old saying goes - “The Truth will set you free” - But before it sets you free - You must fight for it!

“Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth”

The Catholic Church is universal, which means everyone is invited to Mass…No matter who you are - You do not even have to Catholic to attend Mass - That sounds very inclusive to me - Right? - But here is the “rub” - In order to receive the Blessed Sacrament - A Catholic must be in the state of grace - That means we must confess our sins to a Priest at least once a calendar year and if we fall into mortal sin, we confess that sin before receiving the Blessed Sacrament at Mass….This is not my opinion - This is a perennial Catholic teaching that cannot be changed - Not even by the Pope.

“Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1415)

With that said - Is this teaching of the Church taught with clarity? - A better question may be - Is this teaching put into practice?…..For example - When a Catholic politician is living in objective mortal sin - Is their sin addressed and if it is and the politician obstinately refuses to change their position - Is the Blessed Sacrament withheld from them at Mass?….A teaching is a teaching and if we say we believe that Jesus is fully present - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament - Then we should act like it - Right!……And because we do not always “practice what we preach”, the world does not take the Catholic Church seriously - Face the facts!!! - And if we want to be taken seriously as Catholics, we have to live what we say we believe - Its really that simple - But is it simple?…..In order to live what we believe - We must be grounded in Sacramental grace…..Living “counter” to the world requires super-natural assistance - Daily Prayer, Weekly Fasting and the Sacramentals - There are no two ways about it! - So are we living in this manner?….Are we willing to suffer the cost for speaking and living the Truth? - This is the question - And believe me - The world is watching!.......JMJ