Are you still “chasing after” what cannot satisfy?

Today at Holy Mass in the first readings from the Prophet Isaiah we are given a promise…”All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David”……….Do we believe this? - Most people believe there is a God but many people are “turned off” by what the Catholic Church teaches - Why? - Because they “think” their life will not be fulfilled if they live as the Catholic Church requires of us…..Now mere words can not convince people who hold this view to change their mind - They must see for themselves the joy and peace of those who live out their lives as Catholics - In time and if we are consistent, this witness will convince some…But in actuality, what also can be very convincing is the fact that all the things of this world, even the best of material things, after awhile fall short….They do not fully satisfy…Whether its chasing after beautiful women, driving fancy cars, living in a beautiful home, traveling the world to interesting and exotic locations…After awhile, even these things “fall short”, they fail to satisfy us deeply…This is reality!!!!….St Augustine tells us this and St Augustine was a very gifted man who experienced many of the “good things” of this world before he was fully converted to the faith by the prayers of his mother (St Monica)…....”The heart does not rest until it rests in thee” - This idea that Augustine tells us in his famous book Confessions is the same idea in a sense that the Prophet Isaiah is telling us today…That true peace and joy can only come from living in the state of grace…And only God can give us this - Not even the best things of this world…….Now again, these are mere words, which will be easily dismissed by many….The secular world MUST witness our joy!!!!…There is a deep longing in every human soul for God - The problem is mankind seeks to “fulfill” that longing with “material stuff” that can not satisfy….So our “job” as Catholics is to show them the way forward by the witness of our life….”Taste and see the goodness of the Lord”…..God never takes - He only knows how to give…That is what love is all about - It never takes - It only gives!

“The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season; you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing”

My father was a barber and while my family was not poor, we did not experience many extravagant things in our family home….We had what we needed but outside of that, we never experienced “the best” of what the material world had to offer…..So when I got out of college, I got a job in banking and my job required me to travel all over the United States and South America…..When I got this job I was so excited and I would stay at the very best hotels and eat at the best restaurants in amazing cities…I did this for thirteen years……In the beginning I was so impressed with these hotels, the great food and the interesting cities…..Chicago, San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires…..After years of this, believe it or not, the novelty wore off….Going to San Francisco became “old hat”…Eating at the latest great restaurant was nothing that excited me any more…..I can remember one night after a late flight checking into the Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, which is a five start hotel - Its beautiful by every human standard - And not caring…All I wanted was a bed because I was exhausted from my flight…..All these “experiences” in time got old!!!!….I lost appreciating for them…When I started traveling, I was so excited but as time went on, the experience grew tiresome….This is what the Prophet Isaiah today at Mass is trying to tell us….That only God can satisfy us deeply!!!….Now that does not mean we will not experience simple pleasures in this life - Because we will - But our deepest desires can only be satisfied by God….This is reality!!! - And if we do not accept reality - We become like a dog that chases his tail - Never to catch it - Never to be satisfied…..“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord”

“The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth”

Our Lord assures us….”Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid”…Sadly mankind does not believe Jesus when he said this - Most of us have to “figure it out” for ourselves!….And once we take a “big bite of the apple”, we soon learn that “not everything that glitters is gold”……And once we “figure this out” and ultimately “come to the end of our self” - The Lord stands waiting for us…Not to scold us but to welcome us…..This is ‘the story” of many of the saints - St Augustine - St Francis - St Paul……These man were sinners by every estimation, who were transformed by the Lord - They experienced what the world had to offer and after they did - They gave it all up and followed Christ radically…..What will it take for you to do the same?……Are you still “chasing after” what cannot satisfy?….JMJ