That is how you know those who are the real deal - And others will know it too!

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Luke, Jesus continues to address the Pharisees and Scholars of the law…As I read this passage, a line jumped off the page at me…..”You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces.  Woe to you!”…….This is one of the “signs” to watch out for to identify those who are the “real deal” or not….A “man of God” could CARE LESS if he has all the “things” the world values…And one of those “things” is attention and prestige….People who are authentic Catholics more times then not, even when by the way they have accomplished incredible things, they operate in the background…Watch for this trait in people! - It is a sure sign that someone - A Bishop - A Priest - Lay Catholic - is the REAL DEAL….How do I know this to be true?…Because this is how Our Lady “operated”…Mary was the greatest of all disciples  - Pure as can be - And she ALWAYS was in the background - Working!!!…..Authentic humility binds us to Christ….No one was more humble then Jesus and Mary…And when we have acquired this virtue, we become a FORCE against the devil and all his legions in this world….Remember this - The devil is not afraid of you - In fact, when you “think” you can “stand up” against the devil, utilizing your God given gifts - That is when the devil KNOWS he has you…However, when we embrace, in humility, our human weakness and give it to the Lord - That is when we are filled with grace…THEN - The devil does  NOT have a chance!….A priest once told me when I was behaving badly - “Joe, arrogance is not of God” - His words pierced me to the core and have stuck with me to this day!…..Those who are truly humble, more times then not, have been humbled…Real humility must be felt, its not learned by reading books….And when you live the message of the Gospel in this world - Trust me! - You will be MADE to FEEL the "weight of this world" - The good news about that - This makes us humble and when we are truly humble - We become a FORCE in this world….Jesus clings to us…..Watch people closely - I DO - Look for this trait in them…..Do you take the “seats of honor” where ever you go?…or…Do you offer “the best seat” to others and sit with the rest of the crowd?….A different priest told me another story….”Jesus is rarely found in the front row of the Church…He is found usually in the back of the Church - There he is broken and alone - But if you go to him in the back of the Church - He will take you by the hand and bring you to the front of the Church……Watch what people do and when you “see” a person who does this - KNOW this - They are the REAL DEAL!

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Then he said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Before I was married was the the driver for Mother Teresa’s sisters in Manhattan for seven years…It is during that time, that God formed me and taught me…That time prepared me for marriage and “sent me forth” into the world…The lessons I learned in those seven years, I can write about for days and days!…..Today we hear in the Gospel at Mass about how Jesus addresses those who take the “best seats” in the synagogues and in marketplaces….One thing I can tell you about Mother Teresa’s sisters - They NEVER took the “best seats” anywhere - Even when they were offered!…I can say this with 100% honesty - I have NEVER met a person or a group of persons more humble…How do the Missionaries of Charity sisters learn this virtue?….The answer - They LIVE in poverty themselves and when you live this way - You “feel” poverty - If we as Catholics do not feel the cross of Christ in our daily life, frankly we are not living the message of Christ…And when you do bear the weight of the Gospel upon your shoulders - This will make you an authentically humble person…And this is what is LACKING today, especially in the American Catholic Church and with most American Catholics…We are FAR TOO comfortable………Every time I traveled to Kolkata, God always taught me something different - So many lessons!…..In the mornings, I would get up before 6:00am to go to Mass….The streets of Kolkata were just starting to get busy….People washing themselves in the gutters and Muslims walking to their Mosque to pray as I was walking the streets to go to Mass in the dark before the sun came up….When I would arrive at Mother House, the main convent for the sisters on AJC Bose Road, I would see the nuns washing all their clothes by hand near a public well in the courtyard of the convent….In New York, where I served with them too…The sisters did the same…Washed their cloths by hand - A VERY labor intensive job!!!….When Mother Teresa died, she was asked if the Missionaries of Charity, as a religious community, would continue on without her…Mother said if two things continued to happen, the order would continue to thrive…The first - The sisters must continue to keep the Blessed Sacrament at the center of their life…The Second - The sisters must live in poverty…This second condition many make people uncomfortable - Especially in America - But how can the sisters understand the poor they serve if they were not poor themselves?….For us Lay Catholics in the world - We are not called to live in poverty - We did not take a vow poverty…But the Social Compendium of the Catechism (Social Teaching) is VERY clear…Lay Catholics are called to live simply and to share their wealth with the poor…Not through a tax structure proposed by the state or country we live in - But from our own hands!!….This makes people uncomfortable but this is what our Church teaches!!!!….We are ALL called to share!…And living simply, meeting the needs of your family first and then helping your neighbor will make you authentically humble - How? - Because you will FEEL the weight of THE CROSS - Not just “read” about THE CROSS but FEEL it on your shoulders!….This is what Missionaries of Charity do…And this is what we must do as well…No one ever became poor by sharing!….Authentic humility is not learned by reading books - Its learned by living - We must “feel” the weight of our cross - That is how you know those who are the real deal - And others will know it too!....……JMJ

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