Worry about yourself! - That is a “full time job”

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Luke we hear about how the “scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely”…..Jesus taught before their eyes and clearly, at the minimum, they understood what this man said and did “cut people to the heart”…That did not matter!….They wanted to trap him!…..Do we give people “credit when credit is due” them?……..Social Media is filled with “short clips”….That includes Catholics Social Media…Many make a “living” out of “tearing down” Bishops and the Pope…”Sound bites” are extracted, without giving any context and agendas are broadcasted to the world….Why do we want to teardown?……The answer can only be found in our own hearts - Search for the answer - WHY!?!….Today in the Gospel Jesus knew he was being “watched”…He knew that if he helped this poor man on the Sabbath, that he would be criticized….And he helped him anyway!….Think for a moment of our Pope…He is no “dummy”…He knows that every single word he says is going to be dissected all over the world…Yet, he still gives of himself to the press and the throngs of people who hang on his every word…Speaking personally, I would not be as gracious!……Maybe that is why I am not the Pope!…..Upon reflection on the Gospel reading today - I thought to myself - Do I do what the scribes and the Pharisees do?….Do I “watch people closely” on social media - Looking for them to “slip up”?….And if they do - Do I pray for them? - Or - Do I criticize them? - Or, worse yet - Do I criticize them for money!…..We are all apart of the Body of Christ and if one of our members sins, this affects the entire body….How can we help each other?…First off, by not “jumping on top of the pile” in the social media “scrum” - By attacking others…Secondly, when we see this behavior - Do we pray for those who do “pile on”? - They may "think" they are “doing good” - May the Lord “open their eyes”!….Because healthy people do not behave in this manner…Listen, I am far from perfect - “I get it” - But to obsess about the sins of others 24/7…Something is wrong there - Look deep within your heart and address what is wrong - Take it to Jesus Sacramentally…..In this Gospel story today…Are we like Jesus? - Who helps a man, even when he knows he is going to be attacked?…Or…Are we like the scribes and the Pharisees, who find fault because Jesus did not do his “good deed” the way they wanted him too?……As I tell my children when they fight with one another and then tell me “who did what” and who should be blamed and who should get in trouble….I tell them this - Worry about yourself! - That is a “full time job”!

“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me”

I go to confession two times a month….There is a parish behind my office in Manhattan where I attend daily Mass and they offer confession three days a week during my lunch hour - Thanks be to God!…One of the sins I find myself confessing over and over again is the sin of the Pharisees….I find myself saying this phrase, both with my words but also in my heart very often…”Those People!”….I think to myself….”Those people are so stupid”…Or….”Those people need to stay away from me”…..What I am actually doing when I say that, whether I admit it or not is…”I am better then “those people”….And that my friends is a sin!….And that is why I confess this over and over again - Asking God to heal me……Before I enter the confessional and I examine my conscience…This passage from scripture often comes to my mind……”He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner. ’I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted”…….Once I am finished with confession and the Priest absolves me, I realize I owe others the same mercy as I was just given…But sadly I fall back into the same “trap”…Over and over again…So I ask all those who read this reflection to pray for me!…..Intellectual, I know all the good we do is the result of God’s grace…Everything is a grace!….But being Catholic is not an “intellectual pursuit” - Its a way of life - Its an encounter with a person - Jesus Christ!…..”Knowing something” and “doing something” are two very different things - This is why we need to ask God for grace….And we get that grace by living Sacramentally, praying daily and fasting weekly……A little bit of mercy goes a long way….So….. “Be merciful just as your heaven Father is merciful”

“Your boasting is not appropriate. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened”

Today in Luke’s Gospel from Mass we see another example of Jesus doing something good and the scribes and the Pharisees unfairly criticizing him…People love to criticize others…I do it to sadly - I too am in great need of God’s grace and mercy - So pray for me!…But do you ever notice?…That we mostly criticize people who “do not have their act together”….This makes us “feel good” about ourself - RIGHT?!?….Or…We we do this to “validate” OUR self - OUR agenda….Makes us “feel good” - RIGHT!?!…..This is an illness!!!! - And I speak for myself - I needed to be cured - Do you?…..God sees everything!!! - He knows how we “operate”….Ask God to help you see yourself as He sees you….No one is perfect!….Once again….I am the father of five children under twelve years old…..When they fight with one another and then tell me “who did what” and who should be blamed and who should get in trouble….I tell them this - Worry about yourself! - That is a “full time job”!……….JMJ