”Where were you?”……JMJ

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St John, we are told that Jesus was only interested in the Will of God….Have we ever stepped back and contemplated that mindset, as we live in a world that clearly is ONLY concerned with selfish interests…Jesus was God - And he completely handed his life over…He “could” have simply said - NO! - Let those poor hopeless sinners bask in their own misery!…..Now think about what the Church asks of us - It clearly is a fraction of what God the Father asked of Jesus….No one I have seen lately has been literally nailed to a cross!…Yet far too many balk at what is asked of us - As Bishops - As Priests - As Lay Catholics…One can say (as an excuse), we are sinners and born imperfect - And that would be true…But what are we doing to “correct” our sinful nature?…Do we put our trust in Sacramental living? - Do we pray everyday? - Do we fast to break the bonds of sinful habits?…..These are things ALL of us can do - Are we doing them?….Again, clearly what is asked of us is not anywhere near what God the Father asked of Jesus - And his YES was total…And our yes is partial……The obedience of Jesus Christ is nothing short of mind blowing!!!!!……“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me”……..One day each of us will stand before God…..And some “think” when they do - Jesus will “understand” about all the bad choices we make…..I would agree - Jesus surely will “understand” - But will he “look past” those selfish choices if we do not acknowledge we made them and then repent of them, trying to then improve?……What is asked of us is NOTHING compared to what Jesus was asked to do for us by God the Father…..And when we do what is asked from us - Whether a Bishop, a Priest, or Lay Catholic…..Be it not using contraception in marriage - Preaching the Fullness of the Catholic Faith from the pulpit at Mass……Living a chaste life as a single Catholic…Whatever our station of life calls for….These sacrifices are NOTHING compared to what Jesus was called to do….”Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light”…..Instead of complaining - Instead of ignoring - Instead of outright refusing - Maybe it’s time to start rejoicing…Because our burden is truly light!

“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”

What is the issue with the virtue of obedience?….Well, if we are honest, the “issue” is related to the root of all of our sins - PRIDE - “I will not serve” - Remember those words from the “guy who lives downstairs”?……Ultimately, when the Church asks us to live a certain way and we refuse - What we are saying, whether we realize it or not…”I know better then you God”….Because Jesus Christ cannot be separated from the teachings of the Church - And everything the Church teaches is WRITTEN DOWN in the Catechism of the Catholic Church…..”I know better than you God”…That statement if we “step back” from it is utterly RIDICULOUS….God shows us just how ridiculous that mindset is in the Book of Job, when Job complains to God about the hardships of his life……..

"Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its size? Surely you know? Who stretched out the measuring line for it? Into what were its pedestals sunk, and who laid its cornerstone,While the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God* shouted for joy. Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb, When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands. When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door, And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves stop? Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from it? The earth is changed as clay by the seal, and dyed like a garment; But from the wicked their light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered. Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about on the bottom of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know it all. What is the way to the dwelling of light, and darkness—where is its place? That you may take it to its territory and know the paths to its home? You know, because you were born then, and the number of your days is great! Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, and seen the storehouses of the hail Which I have reserved for times of distress, for a day of war and battle? What is the way to the parting of the winds, where the east wind spreads over the earth? Who has laid out a channel for the downpour and a path for the thunderstorm To bring rain to uninhabited land, the unpeopled wilderness; To drench the desolate wasteland till the desert blooms with verdure? Has the rain a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb comes the ice, and who gives the hoarfrost its birth in the skies, When the waters lie covered as though with stone that holds captive the surface of the deep? Have you tied cords to the Pleiades, or loosened the bonds of Orion? Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or guide the Bear with her children? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens; can you put into effect their plan on the earth? Can you raise your voice to the clouds, for them to cover you with a deluge of waters? Can you send forth the lightnings on their way, so that they say to you, “Here we are”? Who gives wisdom to the ibis, and gives the rooster* understanding? Who counts the clouds with wisdom? Who tilts the water jars of heaven So that the dust of earth is fused into a mass and its clods stick together? Do you hunt the prey for the lion or appease the hunger of young lions, While they crouch in their dens, or lie in ambush in the thicket? Who provides nourishment for the raven when its young cry out to God, wandering about without food?"

I love how God’s litany begins when addressing Job….”Where were you?”……In other words - “Job, YOU do NOT have a clue!”…..And today we see the same attitude from humanity…We “tell” God we know better then him…On topics like Abortion - Same Sex Marriage - Assisting the Poor - Chastity before Marriage - The use of Contraception in marriage…..By REFUSING to listen to God, through the one Church he established through his son Jesus Christ…We are telling God we know better than him!…In a word once again - RIDICULOUS!!!!…..Now I do not know the mind of God, but if I were to “bet” how God would respond to this behavior we see all our us today…I bet his response would be similar to what he told Job centuries ago……..”Where were you?”……JMJ

“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me”