Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Luke we hear about Jesus healing a man in the synagogue who was possessed by “the spirit of an unclean demon”…..As Jesus was helping this man the demon cried out - What he said was interesting - So take note - “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”…How is it that the demon knows EXACTLY who Jesus was and even the twelve disciples were still unsure?…..This should make us pause - The reality of evil in the world is just that - Reality…The devil is REAL and is a highly intelligent being….Infinitely more intelligent then human beings….The devil knows all our weaknesses and we ALL have weakness….Its only when we humble ourselves before Christ and his Church that we are protected to satan’s reach…..St Paul warns us as well…..”Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil”….The older I get and the more I “see” just how significant St Paul’s warning is to all of humanity…..Sanctifying grace gives us “eyes to see”…..The secular world, in its hubris, is getting “eaten alive” by the traps and tricks of the devil….Most do not even realize what is happening as their life spirals out of control…..How many people in our nation are living in the state of grace?….Think about that for a moment…What does living in the state of grace mean?….Going to confession with a priest (at the minimum as required by the Church) once a calendar year and receiving the Blessed Sacrament once a week…How many Americans are actually doing this?….Why is this important? - Because if you are not living in the state of grace - The devil will eat you alive!!!!!……Your will not be fortified - Your sight will be dulled - And when this happens - You become your worst enemy……”Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?”…..This is what we “see” all around us today……The “blind leading the blind”
“Now the natural man does not accept what pertains to the Spirit of God, for to him it is foolishness, and he cannot understand it, because it is judged spiritually”
Sacramental grace elevates our human nature - It perfects it…..Without Sacramental grace, human beings do “stupid things” - Why? - Because of our fallen nature…This is why Jesus established a Church and this is why EVERYONE needs to live Sacramentally…The Sacraments are the “medicine” for the world……At most parishes in America, confession is available for one hour each week on Saturday….And if you go to some of these parishes that keep this schedule, you will find that very few go to confession regularly…How can we as Catholics not be regularly going to confession!!!!!…..Being Catholic is not rocket science….Go to confession once a month - Go to Mass once a week - Pray the Rosary every day…Is this so hard?!?….This costs you NOTHING - Its FREE….And if you do this - You surely are on the road to heaven….I am involved in Catholic social media…I co-host a radio show in the New York Metropolitan area….Being that I am involved in social media, I talk to many different people - I also see what others comment and post on social media….To be very honest with you - Some of the comments I read and and hear lack so much charity I can’t even believe a person can even “think” that God would approve of the content - Never mind “think” the comments are even remotely “Catholic”….Why bring this up?…Do we examine our conscience every night before we go to bed? - As the Church recommends…..Do we go to confession regularly (at least once a month) with a good priest?….Trust me - I am far from perfect and I have said some very uncharitable things in my day - Publicly I might add - But I do strive to improve - How about you?….I have confessed my comments more than a few times to a priest - How about you?……”Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?”…..Only by living an active Sacramental life does one “see” - And more importantly live as Jesus requires us to live as Catholics….Because without that grace, we do not even realize just how “off” we actually are.
“Similarly, no one knows what pertains to God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God”
Today Jesus addresses a man who is spiritually ill…..If you think about it - We are ALL spiritually ill…We are ALL sinners….And because of that we must “work on ourselves” in order to grow in sanctification…..How do we do that? - Daily prayer; Weekly fasting, Monthly Confession and reception of the Blessed Sacrament…..Getting back to the man in the Gospel today…..This man that Jesus helped was possessed by a demon….And the demon knew exactly who Jesus was…How about the rest of the people in the synagogue?…..They clearly had NO CLUE who Jesus was…..Eyes to see and hears to hear only come to us when we live in the state of grace….Without the grace if God - The human condition frankly is lost….You cannot “read” your way to Divine grace…And its not “rocket science” to obtain it…It requires a humble and teachable spirit…..”Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”…..How do you “measure up” to the Beatitudes?…Jesus taught “blessed are the meek”…Is this what we see on social media?…..If we fall short - Which I do - Maybe its time reflect - And Repent…..JMJ
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