We can do the same - What stands in our way?

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading St Paul telling the people of Ephesians, as he tells us…..”He chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him”…Some many hear this and think that God only “choses” a select few, the saints….But that is simply not true!…Each and every person conceived in the womb of a woman was “chosen” from the beginning of time and has a purpose in God’s divine plan…How much through our limited human mind we miss!….We get distracted and miss “the trees amongst the forrest” - And that is one of the devils greatest accomplishments - To distract us from our eternal purpose…To be holy - To return our soul back to God the way he gave it to us when we were conceived in our mother’s womb….Due to our fallen nature, which we all possess…We need help to achieve our potential…Again, in our hubris we disregard this help - Tragically!…The help provided to us is found in Our Lady and in the Sacraments….The Sacraments restore us to from original sin at Baptism, feed us on the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, and forgive our sins when we fall (and we ALL fall) in the Sacrament of Reconciliation….As for Our Lady - Like all good Mothers - When we are devoted to her in praying the Rosary every day, she teaches us and gives us grace to be more like her son…..If we all just embraced this simple “formula”!!!!…And it really is that simple….And not get distracted or discouraged…..And persevere!…We will become who we were born to be….Why do we “settle”for lesser things?…..Why do we trade comfort for greatness?……Our vision must be made clear and only prayer, fasting and the Sacraments can give us this vision…To see what is real - God is real - And you were made for something more! 

“In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth”

God sends us saints to remind us…To show us what regular people can do - If we only trust God!….We are not convinced that God can do more with our life then we can - So we “trade in” greatness for comfort…….Fr Louis was a simple Franciscan Priest, who served the majority of his religious life at The Church of St. Anthony of Padua located near the Holland Tunnel in Lower Manhattan…Fr Louis was in many ways very average…He was not particularly brilliant - He spoke with a common New York dialect, indicating he was born from a common family…But Fr Louis was special…What made him special?…He encountered a saint…When Mother Teresa opened the first Hospice in America for men with AIDS in Manhattan, Fr Louis walked from The Church of St. Anthony to see what was going on - There he met Mother Teresa…..She ask Fr Louis to “take care” of her sisters….And that is what Fr Louis did…For decades, he would walk with his religious habit on, through very aggressive anti-Catholic neighborhoods and serve Mass for the sisters, hear confessions and help the sisters care for these men who were dying of AIDS…I know this to be true because I knew Fr Louis and always wondered why this old Italian Priest would come to the convent on his “spare time” to help out…And one day he told me why - Because Mother Teresa asked him too…And he kept his promise - For decades!…..And this is why Fr Louis was GREAT…He was faithful to his word….A simple man who was transformed into a GREAT man…..We can do the same - What stands in our way?……..JMJ

“Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm”