”We” are not the “vine” - Jesus is the “vine”…..So “do whatever he tells you”

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading the Prophet Hosea address the northern tribe of Israel…If we know your history, the Northern tribe committed sins against God and formed political alliances with foreign nations…In the reading today Hosea addresses this situation…..”Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols? I have humbled him, but I will prosper him. “I am like a verdant cypress tree”— because of me you bear fruit!”……When “politics” did not work - God stepped in….God “humbled” the nation and in turn the people responded…..This is in many ways the story of human history, which repeats itself over and over again - Even on an individual level…..Human beings many times have to “try it their way” - And when they fail - And they “come to the end of themselves” - They turn to God!…..Notice, God did not give up on the northern tribe of Israel (Ephraim)…Just as a father does not give up on a son that strays from his faith…..God was patient - He waited until Ephraim was ready - And when he came to his senses - He once again was restored……..Notice too what Hosea states….”because of me you bear fruit” - Are we as Catholics convinced of this reality?…..Jesus tells us this himself…..”Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you”…..This statement made by Jesus cannot be emphasized enough!!!….We “remain” in him by living as a faithful Catholic….We cannot separate ourselves from the teachings of the Catholic Church and “think” we are following Jesus - This is a self deception made by many…..But when we live our lives according to Catholic teaching - When we live Sacramentally - When we pray daily - When we fast weekly - We surely will bear fruit…..How clearly Jesus and the Church tells us - So where is the confusion? - The “confusion” is in our hearts - Its in our will, which we refuse to bend…..But just like the Northern Kingdom spoken about today by the Prophet Hosea - Ephraim was humbled!…And when Ephraim came to “the end of himself” - He once again turned to God - And he “bore fruit”….That is how it works!

“Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them”

Why is it that Catholic religious orders that are faithful to Catholic teaching always get vocations?…..Why is it when a Holy Bishop courageously teaches, preaches and lives the fullness of the Truth in his diocese - Seminaries are packed with vocations?……The answer to these questions are found in the words spoke by Jesus……”Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing”….Far too many people, both inside and outside the Catholic Church “think” they know better than God - I got some news for you - YOU DO NOT!…..As Catholics all we have to do is read what the Church proclaims to be true in the Catechism of the Catholic Church……Its not for us to be “pastoral” and under the guise of that word - Water down Church teachings…There is nothing “pastoral” about not proclaiming the fullness of Truth….When this happens - Church attendance is low - Vocations to the priesthood and religious life diminish - And Catholic family life suffers….Once again, how many examples do we have to see? - How many times do we read about this in the Old Testament when the Jewish people do not give God what belongs to God……In the life of a Catholic a “turning point moment” comes when he or she surrenders “his way” to God’s way….When a person fully digests the reality that God’s way works and “their way” does not - That is when God really begins to work in the life of that soul….God is not interested in “half measures” - With God its all or nothing……”I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth”…..The time of “lukewarm” Catholicism is OVER - When the world sees the “real deal” - The world will stop in its tracks!….This requires all of us to be “all in”!  

“A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me”

Today we hear once again how without God, we as his people can do nothing….Jesus drives this point home to us but do we hear it?….Our Lady tells us this as well at the Wedding Feast of Cana…She tells us - "Do whatever he tells you”…..Yet somehow this message gets disregarded - We choose not to hear it!…..As Catholics we need to stop trying to “re-create the wheel”….Jesus took twelve uneducated fishermen and built a global church……And if we today follow Jesus example - Do we somehow think we will not bear fruit for the Kingdom of God?…..The problem is - Our efforts are “half-hearted” - We lack courage - We try to conform our message to the world by “watering it down”…This needs to stop!…..The Catholic Church is not to be “like the world” - We must mirror the Kingdom of God and invite “the world” to live differently…..As we say when we pray the Our Father Prayer - “Thy Kingdom Come - Thy will be done - On earth as it is in heaven”…..There is nothing “pastoral” about watering down Church teaching!…..It all comes down to this - Do we believe the words of Jesus?…”I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing”……”We” are not the “vine” - Jesus is the “vine”…..So “do whatever he tells you”………..JMJ