Give your consent - Realize your potential - And set the world on fire!

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed that is sown in a field…..”It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches”….Within each Baptized Catholic is this “seed”….But like all seeds, we must nurture it for it to grow - And if we do not, it will bear no fruit……If one was to step back and objectively ponder the life of Jesus Christ and what he accomplished - It literally will blow your mind…An uneducated carpenter, who lived in a far corner of the Middle East two thousand years ago - This man preached for just three years and was then brutally murdered….After his death, he made such a deep impression upon twelve other uneducated men that they formed a global Church…Now again, step back and think about this - How could that have possibly happened if Jesus was not God….If that historic reality does not point to God - I do not know what does….Think about how global corporations are founded - Think about how many highly educated men and women are involved in establishing this corporations…And most of them, even the most successful of the companies - They do not even last one hundred years….And in the case of Jesus - A man who had no formal education - Who surrounded himself with other uneducated men - He forms a Church that has lasted two thousand years and has spread all over the world….If that does not “blow your mind” - I do not know what will……The parable of the mustard seed is also the story of the Catholic Church - The “seed” was Jesus…..How does this apply to us today? - Well, we were grafted into the life of Christ when we were Baptized…That means if we give God permission and “make room” for the Holy Spirit to animate our life - We too will shake the foundations of the world…What prevents us for this reality? - FEAR!!!….We are afraid, so we “settle” for mediocrity…..Think for a moment about the lives of the saints…The only difference between us and them is - They radically trusted the words of Christ - They took Jesus at his word and lived their lives through those words......The saints radically abandoned their dreams…And look at what happened…Look at the impact of the life St Francis - St Dominic - Mother Teresa…..All these people were in essence “mustard seeds”….And look what happened as a result of their radical trust in the words of Jesus Christ…..I believe when we stand before God, he will show us what we could have done if we trusted him more….Each of us, due to our Baptism has so much potential - Its about time we “tap” into that potential - And shake the foundations of the world!

“The Father willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures”

When I returned home from college at twenty-two years old, I decided to live my life as a practicing Catholic - To take my faith seriously….And that decision proceeded over the years to guide every decision I made since….And because I said YES to God…Many good things happened…For one I met my wife, who also shared in my Catholic faith….Once we were married we had five children in ten years because we were both open to life and fully believe what the Catholic Church teaches about not using contraception…If I did not make that decision at twenty-two years old - I surely would not be married to my wife nor would I have five beautiful children today….I could go on and on….I am now fifty-six years old…And all the “good things” in my life grew from that one decision I made over thirty years ago - To live as a practicing Catholic…That decision was the “mustard seed”….which “is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches”……”My story” is not finished either!….God continues to form and sanctify my life….The greatest “adventure” one can have is to radically commit one’s life to God….God has taken me all over the world and now I find myself on the radio co-hosting a Catholic radio show…What is next? - Only God knows - But in the meantime I have placed my complete trust in him…..He has taken the “smallest of seeds” and grown it into “the largest of plants” once again!…That “seed” was me!!!!

“The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened”

Today Jesus teaches us about just how much potential each and every Baptized Catholic has….When we study the lives of the saints, we learn that they were all very different…Some were brilliant - Some were simple minded - Some were rich - Some were poor…But even with all their differences, they all shared one thing in common - Radical Trust in God…..People today do not take Jesus at his word!!!!…If we only did - We would set the world on fire!…..Every Baptized Catholic is in essence a “mustard seed” waiting to grow into a massive tree!!! - What stops us from growing into that “tree”?….Maybe we are not convinced that God can do more with our life then we can - So we “settle” for mediocrity…….DO NOT SETTLE…….We were not born to be comfortable - We were born for greatness…There are no “mediocre” people in heaven and each person who is admitted into heaven was at one time a “small seed”, which over time grew into the “largest of plants”…..This “growth” begins with a commitment - Giving God consent to work in our life…..Never forget - One YES changed the entire world……”Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”…..Don’t think for one second that your YES will not have an impact…Give your consent - Realize your potential - And set the world on fire!…..JMJ