We must learn to “get out of our own way"!

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading St Paul gives a message to the Corinthians who I am sure were impressed by the words of St Paul…Paul assures them that his words have nothing to do with “human eloquence” but are rooted in the the Cross of Christ…What does that mean?….As human beings, even the best of human beings, we can NEVER understand the depths of the love of Jesus Christ, who was PERFECT in every way and who lowered himself to live the life of a poor man and to die as brutally as he did for the life of the world…..No one baring his Holy Mother can understand this great mystery….But Paul knew enough to know that there is GREAT POWER in sacrifice….And St Paul “tapped in” to that power by living sacrificially…..As Catholics we can “tap in” to that power too……..Remember this - God can not “fill us” with his LIFE if we are full of ourselves!….The “cup” MUST become empty in order for “milk” to be poured into it….What does this mean?…It means we as Catholics MUST live sacrificial lives…When we willing give our life away….The power of the Holy Spirit WILL animate our life…..How do we do this?….Give of your time to others - Share your wealth and live simply - Have many children - Fast regularly…All these practices detach us from the world and allow the grace of the Sacraments to penetrate deeply into our soul…This is the POWER that St Paul is telling the Corinthians about today….If you have ever been in the presence of a very holy person and that person was addressing a room of people, you will notice how the crowd seems almost mesmerized by the words of such a person….St Luke tells us about this phenomena - “Jesus then went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority”……..If we want to make the Catholic faith known to the world…We MUST allow the Holy Spirit into our lives…That is where the POWER comes from……For that to happen - We must first become empty vessels

“Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish?”

If you are interested in seeing what I just described above - “Google” when Mother Teresa addressed President Bill Clinton and his Vice President Al Gore and spoke about abortion at the American National Prayer Breakfast in 1994…..The people in the room were “mesmerized” by the words of Mother Teresa….Why? - Many of these people were pro-abortion advocates - How could Mother Teresa’s words impact them?…….For the very reason St Paul spoke about today in his message to the Corinthians….”Brothers and sisters: Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”…Holy people stop traffic!…..They are impossible to ignore…..What keeps us all from becoming holy?…We are not willing to “empty the cup” of our lives, so God can pour his Holy Spirit into us…..Mother Teresa was willing to “go there” - And that is where her POWER came from…..Jesus “shocked people”…..Story after story in the New Testament tell us how Jesus “broke down established social barriers”…As Catholics we too can have such an impact…We must be willing to “go there”……John the Baptist said it best…”He must increase; I must decrease”…Are you willing to “go there”?

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength”

Today St Paul is addressing a crowd of people that placed great importance on human wisdom…The Corinthian culture was grounded in the achievements of Ancient Greece…St Paul, who was an educated man did not “hang his hat” on his cultivated intelligence, he relied on the Holy Spirit to work through him to effectively address the sophisticated Corinthians….Paul possessed the Holy Spirit because like other saints, Paul recklessly emptied himself, allowing God to animate his heart and soul…Paul did not “hold back”….Sadly most people do - And when we “hold back”, we sell ourselves short…..God has so much to give to us but in order for us to receive it - We must learn to “get out of our own way”!…..JMJ