Are you willing to be “last” in order to be first?

Today at Holy Mass Jesus tells his friends that he will suffer and die…and be raised on the third day…..Stop and think about that for a moment…If someone seriously said that to you right now - How would you react?….Yes, Jesus performed many miracles - Yes, Jesus spoke with authority and great wisdom…..But now he welcomes death and will come back to life!!!!!…..Jesus Christ was the world’s GREATEST revolutionary…..Not just by what he said - But by what he did……Was it because the twelve disciples recognized the revolutionary spirit in Jesus that they believed him?….Let’s be honest - The twelve disciples were utterly confused - Many times I will add…Jesus was a mystery to them…Yet they followed him anyway and all but St John gave their life for Christ…No one gives their life away for a lie….So what “pulled them” towards such a radical commitment?….The Truth is within each human soul - We all have a natural pull towards it and when it is spoken, even if we have committed our life in the opposite direction, when the Truth is spoken or seen we recognize it…This is why King Herod, the man who murdered John the Baptist liked to listen to what John had to say….If this is true, and it is, what keeps the world from following Christ today?……We get our answer from St Peter today in the Gospel……”Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you”…Peter was a good man - But he did not want to suffer - And neither do we!……Just as each of us have the indelible mark of God implanted within our heart as a result of our Baptism - We reject suffering and tend to want to be comfortable…..Jesus knowing this very human quality addresses it in his exchange with St Peter today….."Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”…This is the ONLY path to heaven….Do not be deceived - or deceive yourself….Only by and through grace can we live in this manner…..This is why Jesus established a Church and if we live outside the state of Sacramental grace - We will “chase” after comfort and reject the Cross….”The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”….To deny ones self is an act of the will….And grace fortifies the human will, perfects our broken human nature and allows us to share in the divine life…..One last thing - There is no such thing as “cheap grace”

“May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call”

Married Catholics are called to be open to life - That means no contraception….And that usually means, barring some natural medical physical impediment on the part of one of the spouses, the couple will have numerous children…..My wife and I committed our marriage to life and have given birth to eight children, three died in my wife’s womb and we are currently rising five - Thanks be to God!….The world sees the pictures on social media….But do people realize just how hard it is to raise numerous children in this world?….The pictures on social media do not tell that story….The sleepless nights - The house that is always a mess - Homework to be done after a hard days work….Running around all day Saturday like a mad man….I could go on and on….This is why secular married couples, who have money I will add, are not interested in such a life…..But this is exactly why Pope Paul VI wrote in 1968, at the height of the Sexual Revolution, the famous encyclical Humanae Vitae…..When a couple is open to life and has many children, they naturally “die to themself” and in doing so God animates their life in a very real and powerful way - Caring for their many children sanctifies them…..The Church in her wisdom “baked this in” to the vocation of marriage….We can not claim to follow Christ and live a selfish life….Whether a Bishop, a Priest, a married couple or single Catholic….If we are not committed to a life lived for others, pouring our life out daily, we are simply deceiving our self into thinking that we are authentic disciples of Jesus Christ…Being Catholic is not an “academic pursuit” as if we are studying the natural sciences…Catholicism is a lifestyle…..”Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”…These are the words of Jesus Christ - Not some University professor!!!!…..Do we understand what those words that means!?! - More importantly are we living those words out daily?!?…The road to eternal life is narrow - So get on that narrow road!…..And do not be deceived…..Does not matter your vocation…..Whether a Bishop, a Priest, a married couple or single…God called you to “give your life way”….Hear “the call” - And get to it!

“Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect”

Today St Peter and Jesus have a conversation in the Gospel….And the conversation is rather shocking….On the surface, many people could say that Peter was just being a “good friend” to Jesus…..Jesus tells him he will be murdered by an angry crowd and Peter being his friend says…"God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you”….Makes sense - Right?!?…..Not to God….."Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do”…..Sadly, human suffering is apart of every human life….And if we choose to follow Jesus Christ as a Catholic, our life will not be easy - Let’s just be honest…But if we choose to follow Christ, we get much more then “comfort”…We get deep peace and lasting joy - “The pearl of great price”…And we cannot have it both ways - "You cannot serve God and mammon" - So don’t be deceived or deceive your self…..”Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life…….But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first”…..Are you willing to be “last” in order to be first?…..JMJ