“For my yoke is easy, and my burden light”….Do you really believe that?….Tell the Truth

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of St Matthew how Jesus instructs his first Bishops, the original twelve apostles, how to deal with disputes among people……”If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that  every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”……The Church has authority! - Why? - Because Jesus who is God gave it authority…….Mankind from the very beginning indirectly tells God by his choices and actions that - “They know better”…We saw this with our first parents Adam and Eve…..God gave them everything - They were prohibited to do only one thing - To eat of the “Tree of Knowledge”…What did that “tree” symbolize?….That God is the author of all knowledge and the he decides what is right and wrong - Not man…So what does Adam and Eve do? - They tell God, by their actions, that they decide what is right and wrong - Not him….The rest is history and we all know how that choice worked out - Paradise Lost!….The same bad choice takes place today…Mankind does not recognize God’s authority in the one Church he founded…And as a result….The world is a mess!……As a  Catholic we must be “fully on board” with everything the Church teaches - It is not for us to “pick and choose” what to believe….While this is not easy - If we avail ourselves to God’s grace found in the Sacraments - God will help us and give us everything we need to be obedient - Now that is a “bad word” today - Obedient - “Get over it!”…Now does being obedient to what the Church teaches mean we will never fall? - Of course not, we are all sinners…But that is why we were given the Sacrament of Reconciliation…That is why we were given the Blessed Sacrament - That is why we were given Our Lady…And if we are consistent…Sins we struggle with will no longer trouble us in time and we will grow in holiness…In order for this to happen, we must fully acknowledge the authority of God and his Church….”Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”……God’s way works!….And if we adhere to “the vine” - We will “bear fruit”…And if we do not - We will not

“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation”

I came from a good home…My parents were hard working good people who loved my brother and I…Everything they did was for us…But when I went away to college…I took for granted everything I was given and fully embraced the “ways of the world”…..After four years of living a very bad life….I returned home heart broken and completely lost….This is when I decided to embrace my Catholic faith…..And after realizing that “MY WAY” does NOT work…I decided to try God’s way…Not everyone has to take this path to God but many sadly do…We have to “come to the end of ourself”…And for some people this takes many years and many trials and heart aches……When I made my first “adult” confession at the age of twenty two - My life began to change…..God uses everything to transform us - Even our bad choices…But transformation takes time - So be patient with yourself and with others…..But now after over thirty years living as a practicing Catholic…I can honestly say, the decision to live as a Catholic that I made at twenty two years old was BY FAR the BEST decision of my life…..And God is not done with me yet…..The secular world around us “thinks” God takes from us…That the Church “does not know what it is talking about”…How wrong that mindset is!!…Sadly, words will never convince others about the goodness of God….This is why the world needs saints…Only a saintly life can “speak” to those around us with hard hearts….People believe what they see not what they are told…..And when a person encounters a saint - They know it!…..For all the Catholics who are frustrated with the secular world around them - Look on social media - You will find them!….Channel your frustrations into striving with all your heart to become a saint…..Every time you see the sins of mankind and you want to condemn others and SCREAM - Fast and Pray!…..Channel all your frustrations…..The closer we get to God - The more God can uses us…And that is how the world is transformed - There is no other way

“Praise, you servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD both now and forever”

Today we are told by Jesus that he gave his authority to the Catholic Church - Do you fully recognize that authority?….Let’s be honest - People do not like to be told what to do and some people REALLY do not want to be told what to do…..That mindset must change!….There is one path to heaven and God determines that path…Jesus said he was the Truth….That means Jesus determines the Truth - Not us!…..God is not a slave-driver, as the secular world believes and once we realize that God only gives, he never takes - That the teachings of the Church are to help us live a good life - That the “wages of sin” is death - Once we realize all that - Life begins!…Living a life of sin “costs” us in the here and now - Like it or not!!! - Life is so much BETTER living as God requests of us…..But people need to “figure that out” for themself…We can help them by our example - We can pray for them - And Fast for them - But even a good example will never be able to force someone to change….God never imposes himself on us - We must choose him freely…In the mean time…God waits “on the side of the road” for us…..“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light”….Do you really believe that?….Tell the Truth……JMJ