The “currency of heaven” is very different from the “currency of the world”

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew, Jesus tell us something that on its surface many not make sense to some….“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike”…How is it that someone who is highly educated and wise in the ways of the world somehow “miss” what Jesus is saying?….You would think such a person would “get it”…But sadly many people like that do not “get it”…..How we live and the choices we make have a lot to do with what we “see” and “hear”…If your world view is secular and materialism drives your thinking - Just about every that Jesus said will make no sense what-so-ever to you……In fact, such a person would “think” Jesus was simply a fool……We as Catholics must be very careful as to how we we live because secularism can easy “slip” into our life……When we read the Beatitudes, which is the “road map” for Catholics as we journey to heaven - One must conclude that one cannot be secular and embrace the Beatitudes…”Blessed are the meek” - Are you kidding me!....A materialist would think that statement is utterly ridiculous….If we as Catholics “blend into” society, we clearly are not living the Gospel…..Jesus tells us very clearly……”No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon”…As Americans, these words cut deep into our world view…….Its very easy to “think” we can have both - God and Mammon” - But Jesus addresses this “idea” very directly……”Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God”…..If we have been blessed with material wealth…The money itself does not make us sinners - Its when we do not share what we have been given that does……A rich man must stay close to the poor and remain humble by living simply….We do that by sharing, first with our family and then with the poor…..Material wealth “clouds” our view of God - Whether we realize it or not….Once again, these words seem hard to accept - Everyone wants to be rich - Right?!?…..There will come a day when the world’s social structure will be turned upside-down……Only those with a pure heart, who see Christ in others choose to share with others - Only those with a pure heart will “see” and hear” the Lord in the here and now - And only those with a pure heart will enter into eternal life.

“Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom”

For almost thirty years I have attended Daily Mass….For a time I traveled all over the United States and South America for work and have attended Mass in all of the places I have traveled…..If you look closing at who is in the pews in any Catholic Church during the work week - You will find without fail some very holy people coming from all walks of life…..Many of these people are completely ignored by the secular / materialistic world…But many of these people are VERY close to God…..We hear about “such people” when we read about St Joseph and Our Lady, when they presented the Child Jesus in the Temple…Scripture tells us about Anna and Simeon, who were very ordinary people, who prayed each and every day in the Temple…When Anna and Simeon saw the Child Jesus they “saw” something no one else saw…Why? - Because they prayed every day and their hearts were pure……To “see” in this manner has nothing to do with our formal education or our analytical aptitude…It has nothing to do with how big our bank account is…It has EVERYTHING to do with how pure our heart becomes…And our hearts can only become pure through Sacramental living, daily prayer and fasting - Are these practices that we prioritize? - Because if they are not - We will NOT “see” and hear” properly……“For although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike”......The “calculus” of God is very different from the “calculus” of the secular world…And if we want to enter into eternal life - We need to start “seeing” things differently.

“No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him”

Today St Matthew in his Gospel tells us that what we see and hear depends solely upon just how childlike we become…A child is innocent and the only way we can return to innocence is by frequenting the Sacraments - This is why salvation is found through the Catholic Church…The words of Jesus Christ will make no sense to a person who lives their life through a materialistic world view - In fact, such a person will think being Catholic is utterly ridiculous……This is why a concrete choice must be made by every human being…We can not live the Gospel and be “of the world”….There is no sitting on the fence! - In attempting to do so, we only fool ourself…….”For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it”…There will come a day when the power structures of the world will flip!!!! - “The last will be first and the first will be last”……Sounds ridiculous to some - But think again!…God’s ways are not our ways - The “currency of heaven” is very different from the “currency of the world”……..JMJ