Time to start living like we believe it

Today at Holy Mass we hear Jesus in the Gospel of St John instructing his apostles…..“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be”….How easy it is to forget that Jesus will return for us!…In the midst of the craziness of life…The trials - The battles - The struggle….We forget!!!…..NEVER FORGET - Jesus will return and come back for us - He never forgets his own!….This makes all the trials - The battles & The struggles worth it!…….During this exchange between Jesus and his apostles, St Thomas makes an interesting claim…Keeping in mind that Thomas has seen the miracles with his own eyes - Yet he still makes the following statement…“Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”……In response to this question - Jesus tells Thomas - “Where I am going you know the way”………“I am the way and the truth and the life”……..Its appears that St Thomas “got lost” in all the “madness” going on around him - But Jesus, who is ever patient reminds him - And he also reminds us today…”Keep your eyes on me” - Straight ahead!……The line in this Gospel passage that jumped off the page for me is this one - “Where I am going you know the way” - How true this is…..The laws of God are written on every human heart - If we only take the time to turned off all the “noise” around us and listen - If we commit to regular periods of silent prayer each week, we too would hear the ever-present voice of God - And that voice is very clear - “Where I am going you know the way!”……And when we hear God’s voice - It then comes down to executing in our daily life what we hear!…..”Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves”…..Its not enough to just “hear” God’s voice….The path to hell is paved with good intentions….Once we hear God’s voice - Then its up to us to act upon it…..There is only one way forward - How do I know this? - Because “No one comes to the Father except through me”

“Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. You shall rule them with an iron rod; you shall shatter them like an earthen dish”

I have actually heard Catholics ask this question - What is the will of God?…How can we ask such a question?!?…Everything the Catholic Church professes to be true is written down in the Catechism - Its perfectly clear…..So where does the confusion come from? - The answer - In our hearts….This is why we must work at purifying our hearts….A pure heart will not only “see” God, but receive the word of God as it is…….Many years ago I attended a retreat the Missionaries of Charity gave for their Lay Co-Workers in New York City…At this retreat were some life-long volunteers and dare I say very holy men and women in attendance, who gave their lives in the serve of the poor….To this day I can not recall what was said at that retreat but I do recall one person…..There was a very simple minded man invited by Mother Teresa’s sisters to attend the retreat - And he was so happy to be there, you could tell - I watched him as we all took a break for lunch - He was so attentive to what was being spoken to him - You could see it in his face!….There was this one conversation where a woman was telling this simple man something about what was said by the priest conducting the retreat - And all this man kept saying repeatedly was…. YES - YES - YES…..The expression on his face I will never forget - He meant every bit of his YES….That was my “take away” from that retreat…The man who was by far the “simplest” - One could even say simple minded - He taught me the most….There was no ambiguity around what he believed…He was not like St Thomas in today’s Gospel saying - “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” - This man knew EXACTLY where he was going…..And this is how we must be - United in one purpose - Anchored in Truth and moving in one direction!…..There is no reason for us to doubt!!! - Jesus is “The Way”

“And now, O kings, give heed; take warning, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him; with trembling rejoice”

Today in the Gospel at Mass Jesus reassures his friends - He also reassures us….He tells them - “Don’t worry..Just follow me”….This same message must resonate with us today - Does it?….Its easy to “get lost in the fog” of doubts…To focus on the “storms” in life….But as Catholics we must always remember - We are an Easter People!….The battle has already been won on Calvary……”I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world”…We must live this statement and never forget it……Death has been conquered - We have nothing to fear………”But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself”……We know exactly where we are to go - There is nothing “unclear” about it…..Time to start living like we believe it…..JMJ