Today at Holy Mass in the first reading, St Paul in his letter to Corinthians speaks about the need to die to our selves…This is a fundamental concept that every Catholic must FULLY embrace….At the core of Jesus’ message - He shows us that we must “die” in order to rise….Most people will not die like Jesus did…Martyrdom is very rare and frankly is a grace…One does not “will” them self to be a martyr, God gives a select few that grace to carry forth such a radical sacrifice…For the rest of us…We are called to what is referred to by the Church as “White Martyrdom”…….White Martyrdom is when we die to ourself completely by giving our life away in service to others…Most do this in the married state…Where a man and a woman, give themselves to each other completely, are open to life and pour their lives into their children…In doing that, such a couple will find God……This is how the “seeds” of grace take root in us…By emptying our life, we prepare ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit - Because if we are “full of our self”, God cannot “work” with us…..A Priest does this too - By living simply, serving his people tirelessly, sharing his material goods and living a celibate life…..A single person does this too…By using his spare time serving the community, praying daily, and sharing his income with the poor…This is how Catholics die to themself in each state of life…All three of these states of life, if lived in this manner, point to God…..”Someone may say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?”You fool! What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one”…..So basically there are only two kinds of people in heaven….”Red Martyrs” and “White Martyrs”…..If you do not “fall” into one of these two buckets, my guess is (And it is my guess - I clearly am not God) - You will not be in heaven…….”Then Jesus said to his disciples, “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. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”…We can read every book ever written about the Catholic faith….We can “go through the motions” and “tick every Catholic box” perfectly! - But if we do not give our life away…We will never know who Jesus Christ is…..Red or White - Pick your “poison”?
“Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance”
I know a very gifted Franciscan Priest whose name is Father Bernard…..Before Father Bernard was ordained, his name in the world was John….John was the oldest of seven boys…His father was a lawyer and John grew up in Connecticut - The eldest son of a privilege Catholic family…John was an exceptional student and went on to Brown University - As most people reading this reflection know - Brown is an Ivy League University and one of the most prestigious colleges in America…After college John took a year off to serve the poor in Appalachia - Again, for those who are reading this reflection and may not know - The Appalachian region of America is arguably the poorest region in all of the United States….John was fresh out of college - He had a brilliant mind - He stood over six feet tall and his body was very strong…John had it ALL! - And he knew it……So one day he was asked to help re-build a porch on an old home for a very poor old man…..And John went to work…And as he was working, he realized he did not know how to build the porch - He “thought” it would be easy - But it turned out to be not so easy…So John was visibly struggling and upset…..As he was struggling, the poor old man from Appalachia watched him and had the biggest smile on his face - While John toiled in frustration!…..Finally after hours of trying to fix the porch and not succeeding, John sees the old man, still with a big smile on his face and John screams at him…..”Why are you smiling!!!!!”….”Can’t you see me trying to HELP build this porch”…..The old man just kept smiling - Finally the man from Appalachia addressed John…..”The reason why I am smiling is I KNOW Jesus”…..John heard this and he only got more enraged…He responded - “I know Jesus too - That is why I here trying to build your porch!!!!!!”……The old poor man, still smiling heard what John said and responded back……”You “know” about Jesus - But you DO NOT KNOW him”…”If you did - You would be smiling too”…..This statement left John speechless - He was stopped dead in his tracks….John told me later that night, after thinking about what that poor man said to him, that it caused him to weep bitterly!……“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me”…..Before we can “understand” who Jesus is - Before we can live our Catholic faith as we are called too…We MUST give ourself away!!!!…This is how we “tend the soil” of our soul - So “the good seed” can bear fruit…….We are told in the Gospel today that God “sows seeds” - Some on rocks, some in thorn bushes and some on good soil…..Our job as Catholics really is a simple one….Give your life way in service of others in the way God called you to do it - Priest - Married - Single…Then Pray Daily - Fast Weekly - Live Sacramentally…If you do this - “You will bear fruit that will last” - And save your soul…Whether you live in the Hills of Appalachia or graduate from an Ivy League school - Does not matter!……”But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance”…….Do you “know” about Jesus…or….Do you KNOW Jesus?…….JMJ
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