Are you convinced? - Be convinced - Because this is how we bear fruit for the Kingdom of God

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel of John one of the most important sentences in the entire Bible……This sentence should serve as a “blue print” for our spiritual life…..”He must increase; I must decrease”……..As Catholics we should not try to “add on” jesus to our life - In fact, Its the exact opposite - We have to subtract “the self”, pouring our life out for others, which in turn allows the Holy Spirit to fill us…This process can be accomplished whether you are a priest, you are married or live in the single state of life….Our world rails against living a sacrificial life - This is why the world does not know Christ…..By living a sacrificial life and by being open to whatever God puts in front of us - This is how we live out our vocation….Most times, for those who embrace this model of living, this way of life goes unnoticed….We die to our self in the little moments of life…Caring for the children, Cooking dinner, Mowing the lawn, Working hard to provide a living for your family, Saving money for the education of your children…These things go unnoticed by the world…But in doing these “little” things consistently, we slowing but surely die to our self….As we live sacrificially, the “cup of our life” becomes empty…When its empty, God fills it - But how?….Through daily prayer - Weekly fasting, Frequent Sacramental confession, Frequent reception of the Blessed Sacrament at Mass…In doing those things, the Holy Spirit has room in our life to animate us…As St Paul tells us…..”Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me”…This can not happen if we are “full of ourself”….The cup must become empty before it is filled…This is why what John the Baptist said is so important…..”He must increase; I must decrease”…..By ourselves we can do nothing - Once we are truly convinced of that reality and begin the process described above in this reflection - That is when you will do everything - Even the impossible - All in the name of Christ, by and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

“The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.”

Its very easy to read something in the Bible and “miss” the importance of it…This is why Catholics need to see our faith lived out in real time…This concept given to us by John the Baptist will not be fully comprehended until we see it lived out…For me, I saw this in the time before I was married serving for seven years with Mother Teresa’s sisters…..I was their driver in Manhattan every Saturday…I served with them in New York, San Francisco, Haiti and India…Over that seven year period, the sisters showed me how John the Baptist’s words - ”He must increase; I must decrease” - will bear fruit for the Kingdom of God…..The Missionaries of Charity, when they make their final vows, give all to God….They live in poverty….They wash their cloths by hand…They sleep in a common room….They take bucket showers……They only go home to their family once every ten years….That is how they “decrease”….I watched this play out before my eyes for seven years……..What else do they do?…..They pray each and every day….Morning reflection, Daily Mass, Daily Holy Hour, Daily Rosary, Angelus, Liturgy of the hours…That is how they allow God to “increase” in their lives….Again, I watched this happen in real time…What I also saw is the fruit of this life style…Mother Teresa’s sisters are holy woman - Period Full Stop!…If you ever encountered them, you will know exactly what I am talking about….And because they are holy, they bear fruit for the Kingdom of God….Again, I have watched this with my own eyes…..How their lives greatly impacted others and the world around them……So here is the question - If this “model” of living works for the Missionaries of Charity….Why would it not work for us?….When we encounter a holy person, we can too easily dismiss that person as being some kind of anomaly…The saints are no different then us when you come right down to it……They were “regular people”….The difference however between the saints and the “average guy” in the pews of our Churches is - They take what John the Baptist said serious……”He must increase; I must decrease”…….Just as Mother Teresa’s sisters do…That is what makes them saints……How about us?….We can do this too, if we make becoming holy a priority…..The closer we grow to God, the more he can use us…This should be the goal of every Catholic throughout the entire world…Nothing should be valued more then our own sanctification….And John the Baptist tells us how to do it……”He must increase; I must decrease”

“The Lord takes delight in his people.”

There are many things told to us in the pages of Scripture…Today, in my humble opinion, what is told to us by John the Baptist at Mass could be one of the most important singular statements made that we will ever hear……Did we catch it?…Did what John say, go in one ear and out the other?…….In order for the Holy Spirit to really work in our life we must “decrease” and when we do, we allow Jesus to increase……..We saw just how effective this model of living was in the life of John the Baptist…We can also see this model of living play out in the lives of countless saints over the course of 2000 years - Just pick up a book and read about them……..So here is the question - Why not us then?….Life is about choices and its through our choices that we “speak” to the world - By and through our life’s witness….But here is the “deal” as we say in New Jersey - We can not give what we do not have…And before we receive “the gift”, we must be “emptied of self”, to make room for it….....John the Baptist enlightens us once again - ”A voice of one crying out in the desert:‘ Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”….So get out of your own way and make room for God!…God can do more with your life then you can - First we must be convinced of that, and when we are convinced - We will make “room” and not before - No need to “add on”, its more important to “subtract”……..”He must increase; I must decrease”…….Because without me, you can do nothing - Are you convinced? - Be convinced - Because this is how we bear fruit for the Kingdom of God………………..JMJ

“Be made clean!”

Today we hear at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Luke how Jesus cures a Leper….Jesus has compassion for this man and after the man approaches Christ and asks to be made clean…Jesus does as he requested….The Leper in this story clearly understood that something was wrong with him…That he had a disease…That no one other then Jesus Christ could address that disease……Now let’s apply this idea to us….We are sinners…No matter who you are…Even the best of us are sinners…We are born with original sin and we live our life with human weakness, which leaves us vulnerable to sin….Jesus who is God knew this…So what did he do?….He established a Church….We forget far too easily that Jesus did not write a book…The bible as we know it came 400 years after the death of Christ…Jesus established a Church…Which he gave authority to forgive sins…..So why do we not take advantage of this gift?…Like the leper in today’s story…..We can not cleanse our self…..This is the mistake of modern man….He carries the burden of sin upon his shoulders, not knowing what to do with it…..The only solution to “that problem” we all have is allowing Christ through the Sacrament of Reconciliation to absolve that sin……..“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it.  Be made clean.” .......American Christianity is under the delusion that once we proclaim Christ “Our Lord and Savior” that somehow every sin we ever committed or will ever commit is automatically wiped away……This is a delusion…Its only through the Sacraments, first Baptism and then through frequent Confessions with a priest that we are absolved from sins…..This is also how we grow in virtue and open our soul up to the grace of the Blessed Sacrament received at Mass…..Because all of us are sinners, we should NEVER underestimate the pull of sin and the depth of our fallen nature…This is why we MUST cleave to Christ and his Church…..Just as the leper was cleaned today in the Gospel of St Matthew……We too can be cleansed...…..”And the leprosy left him immediately”…..What a gift - Why not take full advantage of it?!?

“Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people.”

By my office building in Manhattan there is a Catholic Church where I go to daily Mass on my lunch hour…I also go to Confession there two times every month…..At my job I work with a good friend of mine who happens to be a fallen away Catholic…..Robert is his name……Robert is a good man who reads Scripture and believes in Christ, however, because he is away from the Catholic Church, he does not receive the benefit of the Sacraments…..Just a few days ago, I went to Confession after Mass and headed back to my office…Robert was there when I returned and I wanted to tell him just how good it feels after one confesses their sins Sacramentally, how the grace of the Sacrament is tangibly felt….This is not some “psychological delusion” as many today “think”……While I wanted to share concept with Robert, I felt he probably would not receive it well, so the Holy Spirit direct me not to say anything…But the sentiment was there and still is there for Robert and the entire world to experience the peace and joy of resting in Christ after confessing their sins….Siting at my desk, I thought to myself - How blessed I am to be Catholic!……What a gift it is to be Catholic in this world……Does the reader of this reflection feel the same way?……And if you do not - Maybe its because you are carrying a burden, like the leper was in today’s Gospel story by St Matthew…My bet is, if you are freed of that burden, through the Sacrament of reconciliation, you would think differently about your Catholic faith…..Going to Confession with a priest is a direct encounter with Christ himself….Our Protestant brothers and sisters always talk about their -  “Personal relationship with Jesus Christ” - Well - It does not get any more person then being freed of your sins…Its time to really “get personal”! ……- Don’t you tink?!?..……“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”  Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do will it.  Be made clean.” ….What is stopping you? - “Be made clean”!

“He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat he fills you. He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word!”

Today St Matthew at Mass tells us a story that the people of his day could relate too….The story about a leper….In our modern world, there are no lepers walking around New York City, however, there are many who do not know the healing power of Christ….This is a tragedy!…..As I walk to my office, as I will do soon today, I see so many faces on the sidewalks of New York City…So many people, carrying so many burdens……As I see this sight, I often think of the words of Christ……..”As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes”….How can we as Catholics convince people of the great gift of our Catholic faith?…How can we convince the world that they are one Sacramental Confession away from peace?…..The only way to communicate this gift is by living our faith…People need to see in real time your peace and joy…And when they ask you….How do you do it?….Your response should be - I am a practicing Catholic….Seeing is believing - We will never argue anyone into the doors of the Catholic Church…But if people “see” the very thing every person on earth longs for - Authentic joy and peace - Maybe the world will second guess choices made and change their mind…..Each and everyone of us, like the leper today in St Matthew Gospel wants to - “Be made Clean”…However, there is only one way to accomplish that desire….The world must “see” for itself the fruit of what it means to be Catholic….St John tells us what that means….”Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life”…..Far too many people are walking around “dead on their feet”….Only Christ can give them life - But if the world does not “see” Christ in us - How will they believe in the only cure for their “condition”……..Our life must “speak” of that cure…..“Be made clean!”………….JMJ 

”For whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith”

Today we hear from St John in the first reading from Holy Mass…He talks to us about being obedient…Clearly something the world has problems embracing….We are convinced we “know better”…This was the sin of Adam and Eve…God told them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge - What did that tree signify?…..God by making that statement to Adam & Eve was telling them, you can have everything I created in the Garden of Eden, but I determine what is good and what is evil - You do not!….And Adam and Eve could not accept that…And nor can we today sadly…St John today at Mass tells us this mentality must stop…That we cannot claim to love God with our words when our actions rebel against the Natural Law and the Teachings of the one Church Jesus founded - The Catholic Church….”In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments.”…St John also goes on in this passage…He tells us that we must love our brother…But who is our brother? - The answer - Everyone!…But how can we do this?……If we do not love God and if we do not embrace a life of prayer, fasting and Sacramental living…We will never be able to love our neighbor as our self…Why is that?…Because in order to do this, we need God’s grace….This is the “missing link” today in our “modern” secular culture….We all fall short of loving our neighbor as a result of human weakness and our fallen nature….This is why human beings need God…We are his creation and without him, we are in essence “incomplete” - Our world today in its hubris is not convinced of this reality…..As Catholics, if we can see Jesus fully present in the Blessed Sacrament, we will surely be able to see him in our neighbor….And in doing so, we will love our neighbor as our self…..This kind of love is outside of our grasp without God’s grace…But is this too difficult?…St John answers that question for us as well……”And his commandments are not burdensome”…Nothing asked of us by Christ or the Catholic Church is impossible as many people sadly believe…The important thing to remember is - Doing what is asked of us as Catholics is only possible by God’s grace…Outside of that grace - Yes - Its impossible - So what should that tell us…Live in a state of grace and all things will be possible for you!

“The Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.”

How can a Catholic live a chaste life before he or she is married?…How can a priest live a celibate life?…..Many today do not think such a way of living is possible, given our human nature…But that mentality is incorrect - How do I know this?…Because before I was married, from the age of around 28 to 43, I lived a caste life….Even when I met my wife at the age of 42, we did not engage in sexual intercourse until we were married…How is that possible one many ask? - The answer - God’s grace!…..In my twenties when I decided to take my Catholic faith seriously, I tried to “self manufacture” a chaste life, relying upon my own power and will…And I failed….It was not until one period of intense fasting during Lent that God gave me the grace to live a chaste life…..In trying to achieve this on my own and failing - God showed me just how grace can work when we opens our soul up to it - He also showed me just how weak I am without that grace….So the question is for those reading this reflection - Do we open our soul to grace?…One may ask - How do we do this? - The answer - Frequent Sacramental Confessions…Reception of the Blessed Sacrament - Daily if possible….Daily Prayer…Weekly Fasting…..God can not work in our life if we do not cooperate with him….But if we do cooperate him, all things are possible when it comes to living out our Catholic faith, no matter what vocation we have…..We must do our part, so God can do his part.

“For whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.  And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.”

St John today tells us how to be authentic people…We can not claim to be Catholic and hate others…We can not claim to be Catholic and disregard what the Church teaches us….We can not claim to be Catholic and not accept the Pope and his teachings……But how can we do all these things?….They sound to difficult - Right?……Everything we do comes down to grace….Never think for a moment that you can live as a Catholic without God’s grace…The second you “think” its all about you, is the very moment everything will come crashing down…..”Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall”……Live in and by God’s grace - Trust in grace implicitly!……….Because if we say one thing and do another - “The world” will take note - And so will God………….”For whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith”………JMJ

Why?…..”Because as he is, so are we in this world”

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading St John telling us love is something that needs to be “completed” or “made perfect”…What does this mean?…..”No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.”…Authentic and pure love gives completely…Easy to say VERY hard to do…This is what I believe St John is referring to in the passage read to us at Mass….In order for love to be made perfect, the “gift of self” must be total….This implies something and St John tells us what that implication is….”In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world.”…..We say similar words when we pray the Our Father, the only prayer Jesus gave to the world…..”Thy Kingdom come they will be done on earth as it is in heaven”……The process of sanctification is just that - A process!…And we are to live that process while we are on the earth…As St John tells us very clearly…..”Because as he is, so are we in this world”……How can one live on this earth as we would in heaven?…..That should tell us all something….That we are not to “follow the crowd”…That Catholics are to “stand out”…To be a light to the nations….It also means we will suffer…To not belong to the world implies we will not take part in the “fruits of the world” to the degree that one who lives a worldly lifestyle would normally do…There lies as we say in New Jersey “the rub”…..Many Catholics want to “be of the world” - And still enjoy the “fruits of heaven”…It does not work that way….As St John tells us…..”Because as he is, so are we in this world”…….Jesus Christ gave us the example to follow…He made a total and complete gift of self…..This is the goal…This should be the aim of every Catholic, who claims they too hope to one day go to heaven…….Is this your goal?…Is this your aim?…To die to your self completely…..To allow God to “perfect” you…Or better said - Sanctify you while you walk this earth….This is the message of St John today…And if we are serious - We need to not only take this message seriously - But put it into practice.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.”

As Catholics, if we “follow the blue print”, which is laid out for us by the Church…Whether we are a priest, married or live a single life…We are all called to perfect love of God and neighbor…..And if we are paying attention to the circumstances of life presented to us by the hand of God - If we pray and are attentive to the Holy Spirit…We will be lead to emptying our life out for others…..Our world today rejects this concept of love…..And because of this - Our world today suffers…..As St Francis tells us…”It is in giving that we receive”…..To love authentically, we must give ourself away…We do that in our chosen vocation…Again - Whether we are a priest, married or live a single life….Is this what we aspire to do as Catholics?……The more we empty ourself, the more the Holy Spirit will fill us......St Paul put it best…..”I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.”…..We can not give what we do not have and in order to give Christ away to the world, we first must give ourself away, so God can fill us with his very self.

“This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit.”

Once again St John tells us at Mass very plainly what authentic love really is all about…But does our world see it that way?……Catholics living in the manner that St John speaks of today will “turn heads”……Radical self giving touches the hearts of everyone, even those who claim there is no God….There is something about such a witness that makes a person reflect upon their own life…Its in that reflection that God can be found, no matter who you are….…This is why Catholics must do the majority of “their talking” with their actions…..We are not going to argue anyone into believing what St John tells us today about love……However, if we live out what St John tells us, the world will take note……And many hearts and minds will turn to God…..Why?…..”Because as he is, so are we in this world”……JMJ

Loves gives - It does not know how to take

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the First reading what St John as to say about love…Love is a word that gets throw around a lot today….But do we know what it really is in our modern world?…….Let’s see how St John defines it…..”Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins”…….Love is sacrificial - It gives all - It never takes…St John tells us that God the Father gave his only son to the world, knowing the world would slaughter him…He did this to save us from our very self…This is love!….What person do you know would do this? - Give up his only son to an ungrateful world…..But that is what God did - He proved his love for us by his sacrificial offering of his son…..And Jesus in turn gave us a tangible example of that sacrifice in real time on the Cross…Remember - Jesus was tempted in the desert by the devil - He could have rejected the Father’s plan - But as we know, he did not…He “drank” from “the cup”, which was given to him…How about us?…The reason why there are so many problems in the world, particularly among families is - We do not view love properly…Love is sacrificial - There is no other way to view it…And when “love” becomes selfish, its destroys itself…This is what we see in many secular marriages…..There is a lack of understanding what love truly is….This is why the Church teaches married couples to be open to life………. Children - In some cases many children in a marriage - Teach a married couple what it means to “die to their self” and in doing so, we sanctify our lives…The secular world rejects this - Why? - Because they do not know what love truly is - They will claim they do - But do they? - If they did - Tell me why so many modern marriages end in divorce……St John tells us flat out……God loves us - And he proved it - How? - Through his sacrifice…How about us? - How do we prove that we love each other and love God?….Words are easy to say - Love is an action - Its not simply a word spoken.

“The Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.”

How do we learn to love sacrificially?……A great question……Human beings by our very nature are selfish…..We must learn how to love and that process takes the majority of our life time…..The more we give of ourself, the more room we make for God to enter our life…This process, in my humble opinion can not be self-manufactured…You can not “will” this to happen without God’s grace….This is the mistake of many today…They try to do this on their own - And sadly fail......This is why God established a Church…This is why God gave us the Sacraments….This is why a Priest must pray and live a Sacramental life….This is why married couples must live Sacramentally….And this is how a single person living outside of marriage or the priesthood can live a chaste life……..Because without the assistance of God’s grace - Selfishness creeps in - And selfishness destroys love…..Our world today does not know what love is - I feel I can say that because our world today adamantly rejects sacrificial living……To love means to live sacrificially…..And until the secular world “figures that out”…..Don’t expect our problems to go away…But how will the world around us “figure this out”?….People need to witness sacrificial love lived out in real time…..Catholics of every stripe must be that witness…Single people living for others…Married couples living for each other and their many children….And the clergy deeply sacrificing for the people who they were called to serve…This witness “opens eyes” - If Catholics are not willing to love in this manner - How can we expect the world too?……Catholics must lead the way - We were give the example to follow - ”God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him”….Now its our turn - “Death to self” allows the Holy Spirit to animate our life…And that is how we animate the world around us.

“When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things”

St John today at Mass defines what love is…..Do we agree with his definition?…..Love is much more then a feeling - The “feeling” part is just the beginning - We must make a firm decision to love - In many ways authentic love is an act of the will….This is why the world’s definition of love does not last - Secular love is solely grounded in the “feeling” of love…But what happens when “times get tough”?….This is why we need God’s grace…This is why we need God’s Church…This is why we MUST live Sacramental lives - In order to love sacrificially………We will never be able to accomplish this kind of love on our own - But remember - With God all things are possible - The saints show us the way - The way to authentic love of God and of neighbor…..St John tells us…”Everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God”…..And we only really know God when we look outside ourself…….Loves gives - It does not know how to take…..JMJ

There is no middle ground

Today at Holy Mass in the first reading St John draws a line in the sand - The world on one side and God on the other……………..”You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They belong to the world; accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world, and the world listens to them”…..We cannot have it both ways!….As Catholics we are called to be in the world but not of the world…That means we are to live differently - The question is - Do we?…..How can we be salt and light to the world around us if we live exactly like our pagan neighbors….Our life’s witness should stand out very clearly…….St John goes on today in the first reading….He ends the passage with this statement…”We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us, while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us. This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit”…….There is an implication here about how the Church contains the Truth and those who do not listen to the Church have been deceived…..Many Christians today, even Catholics sadly, try to separate the Truth from the Church itself…Separating Jesus from his Church…Separating Catholics from the Pope and the Bishops - This is impossible!…..Jesus is the head and the Church is the body….The “head” cannot be separated from the “body” - Its impossible to do so….Catholics must learn to be obedient…We also must learn as St John tells us to discern the difference between the whisper of God’s voice and the clamor of the world………... “Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist who, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world”………..Its very easy to get “caught up” in the world…This is why we must cling to Christ and his Church…..In doing so, we will both “see” and “hear” our Lord and know the Truth, which remains forever and stands firm.

“Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people”

“I am Catholic” - ”BUT”……But what? - There are no “buts”!……The beautiful thing about being Catholic is - Its all written down…All we have to do is read it….The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) is a very readable document….Everything the Church professes is contained within it….That means this document should be used as our guide…The Church is not ours to manipulate…The Catholic Church belongs to Christ and we are simply members….And here is the deal…If we adhere to “the vine” as Jesus tells us to…We will bear “fruit that lasts”…For those reading this reflection and have doubts about what I just wrote…All you have to do is look at the lives of the saints….The saints show us the way…They did things God’s way - Not their way…They remained firmly to “the vine”…And as a result, they made a tremendous impact on the world around them - We can surely do the same - Right?!?…It all comes down to our will and God’s grace…We MUST bend our will until it breaks and we also must open up our hearts to God’s grace…There is the key - Plain and simple…..No person, no matter how gifted has a “better plan” then God’s plan…Jesus laid out that plan for us - He did it by creating a Church…Its time to “follow the blue print” and in doing so, we will shake the foundations of the world!

“Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession.”

St John today at Mass is very clear - The question is - Are we?…..The world or God - We must choose and no choice is a choice……Far too many people “sit on the fence” when it comes to the world and the Church…They allow comfort, the crowd, politics and the desire to belong to influence their Catholic faith - In doing so we “water down” our life’s witness…..No one will ever be convinced to be Catholics by the witness of “Lukewarm Catholicism” - Be assured of that…Jesus was a radical man and so were all the saints…That should tell us something - We too must live our faith radically in the world….We CANNOT be like everyone else….We have to make a decision - Its the world or God……………..There is no middle ground….JMJ

Keep searching and if you do - You will find what you are looking for

Today the Universal Church commemorates the Epiphany of the Lord…….We all know the story…The Three Magi (Kings) traveled a great distance, following a star to find the Christ Child and pay him homage….”When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod,  behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,  “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage”……..What was it about the star that made these prominent men travel such a distance?….As a general rule, no person wants to live in the dark, human beings need light to see...I think everyone would agree with that statement….The same goes for the “light” of God….Without God, mankind can not “see” properly…He is in the dark, in more ways then one…..The light of God “warms” mankind’s soul…And as a result, whether we realize it or not, human beings “search” for God….Sadly, many times search in the wrong place but none the less, there is an innate need to find God, its written in our DNA and as a result, we are in a constant state of searching until we find him……This drama I just described played out with the three Magi…They were prominent men in the world but they knew “something was missing” in their life…So they went on a long journey to find that “something”…..And when they found it, they knew!…How about us?….Is your heart at rest?…If it is not, all I can say is - Keep Searching…..“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me”…….The great St Augustine tells us…”The heart does not rest until it rests in thee”…..How true - Keep Searching - Those who “search” with an objective and open heart ALWAYS find!

“We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage”

America is currently living in a Post Christian Society…..This is not an opinion…We have legalized radical abortion, same-sex marriage, no fault divorce, usury…Just to name a few of the mortal sins, which have become completely mainstreamed…Our people do not even blink at these acts anymore…..With that being said….When a society rejects God, there are consequences and we are seeing these consequences play out in real time in America, Europe, Canada, and Australia…..As a result, a “darkness” has fallen upon West Civilization….Families are fractured and falling apart, mental illness is pervasive, so is depression, suicide rates are up - I could go on…Why?….Let’s circle back to St Augustine….”The human heart does not rest until it rests in thee”…….Our society has turned its back to God and because of that our society suffers….What does all this have to do with the Feast of the Epiphany, which the Universal Church celebrates today?….Like the Magi, who followed a star, we Catholics have to be that “star” for the world…As our world gets darker and darker, people will see the “light” coming from Catholic families…It will be unmistakeable!….And when those who live in darkness see this “light”, they will “figure out for themself” (no need for lectures and arguments) that this “light” is what they were always searching for….This is how the “darkness” we see will go away….Evil, in time ALWAYS undoes itself - It collapses under its own weight…So be patient - And keep shining!…Allow the light of Christ to fill your life….Remember, for that to happen, we first must empty our self of “self” to make room for that “light”…But when we do, this “light” can not be mistaken by the dark world!…The secular world all around us will be drawn to it - Drawn to you!!!! - And it’s then your job to point to the source of that light, which is Jesus Christ! 

“Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.”

Today the Universal Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany….Three wealthy men traveled a great distance to find “something” their hearts burned for…..Why would these men, who had everything the world could offer (They were kings) still feel in need of “this light” they saw in the sky?….And when they found a poor child under that light, they paid the child homage…..Interesting - Right?……Why would men like that do that?…..Maybe because their hearts were at rest when they saw the Jesus….Maybe because they found peace in Jesus’ presence…Now lets fast forward to today…Do you somehow think we will not find the same peace in Jesus’ presence as the Three Magi did? - A peace we all long for!….Maybe the “wise men” were truly “wise” after all?….Maybe they can teach the world something today?………In many ways, human beings have not changed in the 2000 years since Christ was born and died?……..How can I say something like that, you may be wondering? - Because - ”The human heart does not rest until it rests in thee”……..So keep searching and if you do - You will find what you are looking for…………….JMJ