Mt 11:28-30 Come To Me

Mt 11:28-30  Come To Me

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Jesus said:  “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Come to me.  This morning, after reading the Gospel, I asked myself the question:  How does one come to the Lord?  What does “come to me” mean?  Immediately the word trust came to me.  To come to the Lord means to trust in the Lord:  Speak as I speak, live as I live, forgive as I forgive, love as I love, do as I do. 

Come to me all you who are burdened.  Why do I feel so overburdened?  Why do I feel the weight of the world upon my shoulders?  Why do I end the day totally exhausted and in fear?  Again, almost immediately, this thought came to me:  Because you are trying to play God.   Yes, that’s it! It’s true.  I’m trying to be God and I am failing miserably.  I can’t keep up.  I can’t do it all.  I can’t keep thinking about the past, what will happen in the future, and what I will do about it all.  I can’t!  I’m tired.  “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” 

I must trust in the Lord.  I must imitate the Lord, not replace Him.  I understand: there is a God and I am not Him.  Be meek and humble of heart. 

I am not here to say to you that what I have written above is easy to do.  Of course not!  It’s not easy to let go and allow the Lord to take control.  We all face difficult choices to make.  But the Lord is inviting us to choose Him.  If we want to play it safe, then the Lord invites us to play it safe with Him.  If we commit an error in giving up too much to Him, then He is invites us to err on His side. 

It happens far more often than we would like to think.  It’s not easy to have a child.  I know many who were blessed with many children.  I know some who were blessed with no children.  Sometimes those with many are criticized by those with a few.  Sometimes those with a few are criticized by those with many.  What’s important to remember is that all are blessed when all trust in the Lord. 

There’s no need to fight over that!

Tragedy will always strike when we choose to play God; when I place an enormous burden and a unbearable yoke around my neck.  That’s when I will feel like I am being choked to death.

Many years ago, as a seminarian, I met a couple that had two kids.  After the birth of their second child, they decided they were done.  Not too long after that, they lost one child in a terrible - freak - accident.  [Their grandfather ran over him while backing up in the driveway].  The couple was racked with guilt and burdened with doubts.  They asked me if the Lord had done this to them because of the decision they had made.  What was I going to tell them?  Could I speak for the Lord?  Could I put words in His mouth?  Could I be absolutely sure of what I was going to say?  I don’t know how I did it, but I did not tell them what I wanted to tell them.  Instead, I told them the truth.  I said, “I don’t know.” 

Over the years these types of heartbreaking stories have repeated themselves over and over again. 

But over the years I have learned something.  I’ve learned it myself and I’ve learned it the hard way:  If I want to play God, then I must be ready to go all the way; that is, I must be prepared to raise the dead.  Go ahead, raise the dead! 

If not, then take comfort:  Don’t play God.

Mt 11:25-27 Childlike Wonder

Mt 11:25-27  Childlike Wonder

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At that time Jesus exclaimed:  “I give praise to you, Father, of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” 

Peter Keller was bored.  That’s the reason he gave for killing his wife, his child, and eventually himself.  He was bored…with life.      

But life is not boring; people are boring, and people, like Peter Keller, are boring when they don’t know how to live.  Peter Keller was selfish and selfish people are boring.  Mother Teresa was giving and giving people are surprising.  When you give, you create.  That never gets boring.  When you are selfish, you destroy.  That gets boring, and fast.

What should be our attitude towards life?  If I only had one word to sum it all up, the word would be:  wonder.

Every day we should have the facial expression of a dead person.  Yes, every day we should keep our eyes, as well as our mouths, wide open.  After all, the happiest people are surprised people, and surprised people imitate dead people. They don’t look like they have seen a ghost.  They look like they have seen God.  And hopefully, most dead people see God.

We consider it the stuff of science that an apple tree should grow an apple, and consider it the stuff of fairy tales that an apple tree would grow a peach.  But why?  Why is one not as much of a fairy-tale as the other?  Don’t both deserve our sense of wonder?

Is it so obvious that we should share a sun with other planets, but have just one moon to ourselves, and one planet to call home?  Just because we can explain what has already happened does not mean it had to happen.  Instead of complaining that the days are boring because they begin and end the same way, we should shout “Bravo!” and ask for an encore as appreciative audience does in the opera house.  We should be childlike and say “Do it again!” at the slightest hint of pleasure and the simplest sense of wonder.

A year ago I heard a talk given by a Catholic author named Joseph Pearce.  He mentioned how he was shocked that his favorite rock band, The Rolling Stones, would sing, “I can’t get no satisfaction.”  Wait a minute!  Didn’t these guys have everything the world could offer them?  Didn’t they have tons of money; tons of drugs; and tons of women at their disposal?  Why would they be singing “I can’t get no satisfaction”??? 

Whoa, something is wrong here!  No.  Nothing is wrong.  It is the truth.  Christ is the only one that satisfies the mind, heart, body and soul.  It’s time we give him a chance. 

I worry about our kids.  They are growing up way too fast.  They are losing their childlike heart at an alarming age and rate.  They have become rational and logical far too early in life.  Someone has been poisoning them.  I’m not exaggerating.  I will never forget going to a High School production of Peter Pan.  I was sitting next to a child.  When Peter Pan suddenly appeared, flying across the stage, I looked at the child and said, “Isn’t it amazing how Peter Pan is flying in the air?”  The child looked at me and said, “It’s the wires.”  I looked at him and said, “What?  What did you say?”  Again, he repeated himself, “It’s the wires.”  I told him, “The wires?  It’s not the wires, it’s the fairy dust!”  He shook his head in disagreement and stared at me as if I were some idiot and said, “I wasn’t born yesterday.  It’s not the fairy dust.  It’s the wires.”  I told him he was wrong.  When he nudged at his mother to get involved in the debate, she waved both hands at me as if to tell me, “This is your problem.”  He asked for an explanation.   I gave it to him.  I told him, “When Peter Pan wants to fly, he throws the fairy dust.  If he doesn’t throw the fairy dust, he doesn’t fly.  It’s the dust that gives the guys in the back the signal to pull the strings and help Peter Pan fly.  Get it!!!  It’s the fairy dust that makes him fly.  Don’t make me repeat myself again!” 

How sad it is when a child loses his sense of wonder.  How sad it is when an adult can't figure out that there is Someone hidden pulling all the strings.

Mt 11:20-24 Comfortably Numb

Mt 11:20-24  Comfortably Numb

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I remember as a teenager listening to Pink Floyd but never really understanding it.  Today, it reminds me of children watching a cartoon with their parents and wondering why their parents are laughing at a certain comment.  Cartoons, like Pink Floyd’s music, were created for adults, not for kids.

If you don’t stand for something you will fall for everything.  Now I know where that saying comes from:  today’s first reading.  The Lord told Isaiah, “Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands…They shall not stand, it shall not be!  But within sixty years and five, Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation.  Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!”

Two smoldering stumps.  When did we go wrong?  How did we get so far lost?  It all began when we started believing the scientists and activists more than the religious; when we decided to heed human advice rather than Godly advice.

Remember how computers were supposed to make life easier?  Remember how they were supposed to eliminate paper?  Remember how they were supposed to save us time?  Hahahahaha! 

Life has not become easier or less wasteful, life has become less personable: comfortably numb. 

“Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail you!”  We don’t always have to run away from difficulties.  We don’t always have to curse them out!  Trials and tribulations can make us stronger and much more responsible! 

Over the years I have grown numb.  From my seminary days of cold showers and no heat, I have grown comfortably numb.  The reason for my numbness is due to my comfortness.  When I was in the seminary, if you wanted some Q-tips you would have to write a note to the superior and the superior would deliver them to your room.  He would usually leave just two Q-tips for the week.  I learned to use them at the right time and in the most efficient way.  Nothing was wasted!  Nothing.

Today, I have a confession to make.  I have a tendency to be very wasteful.  Why?  Because I live in a home that does not belong to me; I do not have to pay for my electricity, water or maintenance.  In the morning, when I leave my home and notice the front light still on, I don’t get of my car, I don’t even fret for a moment.  Instead, I tell myself, “Oh well, I’ll turn it off later.”  The next morning, when I notice it’s still on, because I forgot to turn it off, I promise myself I will take care of it as soon as I return.  Again, I forget to do anything about it.  Why?  Because I don’t pay for it.   I’m comfortably numb.

Yesterday, I got on an online debate with a group of people who were supporting Melinda Gates' billion dollar campaign to provide over 100 million women in Africa with free contraceptives.  I read all the same stale arguments over and over again:  "The Catholic Church hates women; the Church knows nothing about family struggles or about the problems in Africa!"  I screamed, “The Church hates women?  The Church knows nothing about Africa or families???”  That was it!  I couldn’t take it anymore!


Before anyone's great-grandmother was born, the Catholic Church had missionaries, priests and nuns working with poor families in Africa.  We know a lot about Africa and the struggles that families face.  We know more about Africa than anyone's personal experience or anyone's personal advisors.

But what do American's know about families?  When did America suddenly become the expert in raising kids and protecting families???  When did we become the role model of the world?  If ten million African girls are starving to death, why are ten million American girls starving themselves to death?  What do we know about families?  What do we think we can teach others about raising children?  I’ll tell you what we can teach them:  the mistakes we have made.

Why do we want to export to other nations and other cultures our programs and policies that never worked their wonders?  Why do we want to share with others our failed ideas?

Let’s take a good look at family life in America.  1-out-of-2 marriages fail, far more than any third world nation; more of our kids take drugs than any third world country (including those that supply them); more of our kids are committing suicide than any third world nation.  We spend more money on secondary education than any third world nation and yet most of our doctors, professors, and engineers went to a secondary school in a third world country.   Why do our test scores lag behind most of the industrial world?  I will tell you why:  because we don’t honor, support and protect the family like other nations do, especially third world nations, neighborhoods and families.

We have connected contraceptives with ending poverty, ending abuse, stronger families, success, job opportunities, responsibility, and higher "living" standards. These are all BAD CONNECTIONS.

Instead, we should connect contraceptives with the reality of infidelity, male invincibility, the hyper-sexualization of woman and the obsession towards the ideal body, irresponsible behavior and an increase in STD’s, abortion, suicide and lower standards of living in all categories except material.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux once said, “Hell is full of good wishes and desires.”  Today, we say “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”.  The roads to home may change, but the roads to heaven and hell will never change.   

We say we honor and value families.  If so, then why do we only encourage poor families to limit the number of children they have, but never encourage rich families to have more?  Why is that, if we honor and value the family?  Why do most rich families have just one or two kids?  Can they not afford to send their children to the best schools around?  Can they not provide each one their personal menu and show horse?

Do we really honor and value our families or is it that we care about something else?  

I don’t think we honor and value families like the rest of the world.  Instead, I think we honor and value personal choice; more specifically, choices that make us feel comfortable…“comfortably numb.”  And to not feel guilty about it, we would like to share our numbness with the rest of the world!

Mt 10:34-11:1 Getting Things Straight

Mt 10:34-11:1  Getting Things Straight

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Jesus said to his Apostles:  “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.  I have come to bring not peace but the sword.  For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

I know what you are thinking:  “Boy father…I must be holy.  I am definitely against my mother-in-law.  All day long I’m arguing with my daughter.  I must be doing something right!”

Not exactly.  Am I arguing with my family for God’s glory or am I arguing with my family out of pride?  Am I suffering because of my sins or am I suffering because of my Lord?  The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life.  The first is fruitless; the second is very fruitful. 

The Lord invites division not to confuse or harm us, but to heal us.  He takes the pieces of the puzzle we hastily put together and separates them and rearranges them in their proper places.  The Lord’s sword is his hand that re-places things poorly placed.

The Great Commandment.  The Lord has a way with words.  He loves to say the same things over and over again but in new and exciting ways.  Is this not our challenge?  Do we not face a communication problem with the Good News?  The Good News is sometimes shocking but always surprising! 

Christ says, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.”  Really???  Isn’t that a bit selfish or egotistical?  Yes, if you ignore everything the Lord says and does!  This saying may be shocking but it isn’t any more surprising than God calling us “friends”.

If God comes first, everything else will follow.  If we love God our Father, then we will learn to love our father.  If I show affection and devotion to Our Lady, then I will be able to show affection and devotion to any lady.  If I respect the Lord my brother, then I will respect all my siblings.  Our day has significance only if it is one step closer to our glory.  The enormity of my sins can be measured only by the scandal of His Cross.  All things may be connected to each other, but if they are not connected to God, then all things fall apart. 

When I love God above all things, it ensures that I will love the things of God, and that will help me to grow in my love.  For example, sex is good, but love is even better.  Living together with the person you love is good, but making a promise to them (marriage) is much better.  God said “It was good” when he created the animals.  But he said “it was very good” when he created man.  To live like a human is good.  To live like a Saint is better.

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.  I have always had a hard time understanding the first part of this paradox.  How does someone find their life and lose it?   Was the Lord referring to the rock stars or movie stars who “find” or “realize” themselves at the tender age of sixteen and lose it all (or desperately try to maintain it through performances in Las Vegas) by the age of fifty?  It may very well be.  Or was the Lord referring to those who hold on for dear life and have a hard time letting go for heaven’s sake?  Maybe.      

We should not hesitate in giving our Lord His just place, for we shall receive our just reward.  Jesus said to his Apostles: “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”  Perfect plan.  Perfect design.  Perfect order. 

Life is all about putting things in their proper place and getting things straight.   Let’s do some life cleaning.

Mk 6:7-13 Making The Right Connections

Mk 6:7-13  Making The Right Connections

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Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.  He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick – no food, no sack, no money in their belts.  They were, however to wear sandals but not a second tunic.    

No food, no sack, no money.  Thank God the Lord allowed them to wear sandals.  How generous of him!

What in the world is the Lord thinking?  Why is He doing this?  Is He punishing them?  Does He want to make their life miserable?  What’s the point?  What’s the connection between Jesus and material poverty?  What lesson does the Lord want his Apostles to learn?  Does He want them to learn how to rely on themselves and not on Him or just the opposite?  I think the answer is pretty clear:  Our Lord wants them to trust in Him. 

Christ could have talked all day long about trust.  He could have preached about it until he was blue in the face.  But eventually, His Apostles would have to experience it, and the only way they would ever experience His security, His authority, His power is if they left behind their personal securities, authority and abilities. 

It worked.    They all came back better than ever.  They understood the connection.

We are constantly connecting ideas and people together.  Sometimes we do a good job at it; sometimes we do a very lousy job at it.

Imagine moms and dads this scenario.  You pack your kids up for school.  You drive them to school and then one of them realizes that they left their lunch money or lunch, or homework, or P.E. uniform at home.  Now imagine what would happen if you told him, “Honey, I’m sorry but I will not go back to get them.”  What would your child think of that?  What connection would they make?  Would they think, “I get it.  It finally comes out.  You hate me, don’t you?”  If they think that, they would be making one big bad connection.  The truth of the matter is totally different.  You won’t go back not because you don’t love your child, but because you need to teach your child to be more responsible.  That’s the real connection!    

Make the connection.  If we wish to have a greater connection in our life with Christ then we must trust in his commandments, his love, his pruning, his love, his authority.  Take it step by step.  Acknowledge God before others.  Live the faith faithfully.  Bear fruit.  Be blessed.  This is how I ended yesterday’s meditation.  This is where I would like to pick up on today’s meditation. 

To have a blessed life does not mean to have an easy life.  That’s a very wrong connection that far too many of us have made.  On the contrary, to be blessed means to accept an invitation to follow and imitate the life of Jesus Christ; that is, to be a participant in salvation history; to take an active role in salvation and redemption.  Will it be easy?  Ask the Lord.  Make the connection.  Did the Lord experience hardships or suffering?    Yes.  So will I be surprised or shocked if I experience the same?  I shouldn’t be, if I made the connection.   

If you pray will you be successful?  Yes, but not in the way you think.  Too often we connect success with money and power.  In fact, we often associate a rich person as “blessed (by the Lord)” and a poor person as “cursed (by the Lord)”.  That’s a very wrong connection to make.  We are not believers in the “prosperity gospel”.  Take a look and tell me which of the Twelve Apostles turned out to be a millionaire?  We need to be careful of the connections we make.  Bad connections ultimately lead to bad decisions.  Success, “Christ style”, means life after death; glory after crucifixion; recognition and praise after suffering; steadfastness and determination in the midst of confusion and aggression.  

If I die like Christ, I will rise like Him.  If I live like Christ, I will suffer like Christ.  If I love like Christ, I will be more like Christ.  Make right connections today, not only with regards to the Lord but also in regards to your marriage and family.

This morning I heard that 18% of all children in the United States are obese.  Interesting…but then the announcer said that 80% of all children in the United States are on a diet.  The conversation quickly turned to parents taking responsibility by ensuring that their children eat properly and exercise regularly.  But I didn’t get the connection between bad food and so many kids on a diet.  The problem is not with what’s in the refrigerator.  The problem is what’s in the bedroom!  If only 18% of children are medically obese but 80% of our kids are on a diet then the problem is not with what’s in the refrigerator.  The problem is what are our kids watching?  I know what they are seeing (or reading):  Seventeen Magazine, Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, etc…  Our girls are “reading” magazines full of digitally modified bodies of teens!  No wonder over ten million girls have eating disorders.  Make the connection!  Get rid of the magazines!

Teenage texting is another area that needs to be addressed.  Parents pat themselves on the back because they think they solved the problem by giving their child unlimited texting.  Bad connection.  Instead, what they have done is create the illusion of unlimited time; that they have all the time in the world to waste.  50,000 texts in one month is nothing but a waste of time; which ultimately leads to a waste of a life.  That's really the right connection.   

For months there has been a debate whether or not football helmets make football players safer.  The purpose of helmets was to protect our players from head injuries.  Wrong connection!  Instead of making them safer, it made them more reckless.  It made them think they were invincible!  Maybe the same lessons learned on the football field can be applied to teenage sex.  Instead of encouraging our kids to engage in “safe sex”, we may have actually taught them to engage in reckless sex.   Good connection!

They say the truth hurts.  Bad connection!  What we really should say is the truth sets us free because Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  What really hurts is not the truth but rather our pride. 

Jesus never hurts.  Great connection!

Mt 10:24-33 Acknowledging God Before Others

Mt 10:24-33  Acknowledging God Before Others

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Jesus said to his Apostles:  “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.”

I remember a conversation I had with a nutritionist.  He told me that he no longer drinks milk.  I asked him why?  He told me he was lactate intolerant.  I told him, “Excuse me for my ignorance, but isn’t there lactate-free milk in the supermarkets?”  “Yes”, he said, “but it's ‘unnatural’ for people to drink cow’s milk.” 

Unnatural???  How is drinking cow's milk unnatural?  Is it ‘unnatural’ to eat a tree’s apple?  I don't get the connection between this poor man's lactate sensitivity and the 'unnaturalness' of cow’s milk.  Isn’t lactate intolerance due to a lack of an enzyme?

Too often we make the wrong connections.  How often do we think we can push someone away from God by being too religious?  I know what you are thinking.  I know…I know.  I have heard it over and over again.  Many people have told me that their daughter or son no longer practice the faith because they felt forced into it.  But that’s simply not true.  It’s not!  The problem was not that they were forced to go to Mass.  Was it ever a problem that you forced them to take a bath?  Did they tell you they would never bathe again?  Of course not! 

Too much of Christ is not a bad thing.  Too little of him has proven to be a horrible thing.  Too much fresh air is never a bad thing.  Too little is a deadly thing.  Our problem is not Christ or Christianity.  Our problem is with us!  If I do not live my faith faithfully, then I will turn others off.  That’s the bottom line.  If I am mean and judgmental, constantly preaching and lecturing, and going off on others by insulting them, and then force my children or grandchildren to go to Church every Sunday and tell them they will go to hell if they don’t, do you think I may very well turn them off to God (or turn them into a raging lunatic)?  I admit there are a few exceptions to every rule.  But the connection between the love of God and the love of one’s parents is a strong connection.  The Lord did it himself.  Examine your conscience and let me know. 

Offending or offering.  “I don’t want religion to get in the way of my friendships.”  “I don’t want to offend anyone because of my God.”  “I don’t want to impose my faith on others.  I don’t want to cause a stir in the family.”   I’ve heard it all.  Do we offend others by offering our hope or do we offend others by offering no hope?As the number of Christian baptisms and marriages slowly but surely declines, it’s easy to think it’s because of our secular world.  It's not.  Of course the secular world doesn’t help…or does it? 

Does a candle not shine brighter in the dark?    Is the bully not conceived from a secular womb?  Does the raging lunatic not lack faith, hope and love? 

Yesterday, I was shaking my head hysterically at the absurdity of how dumbfounded a news reporter was at how rational Peter Keller was.  If you do not know, Peter Keller of Washington State murdered his wife and daughter and planned to hide in a bunker out in the wild that took him months to build.  It was an elaborate, well thought out and executed plan.  He even made a video of himself explaining himself.  The news reporter couldn’t believe it.  She kept repeating over and over again, “He sounds so rational!”  Duh!!!  Of course he does!  What did she think?  Why are people so stupid to think that lunatics have lost their reason?  That’s the only thing they never lose.  The problem with lunatics is that they don’t think outside the box – that is, they don’t think outside of their tiny brain!  They leave no room for faith, hope or love.  That’s what drives the murderer to murder!  That’s what drives the bully to strike...behind the scenes.  They think they know it all.  They have no need for faith, hope and love.

Do you really think that someone who claims to be “tolerant” of all religions will end up being “intolerant” because of your authentic love for Jesus Christ?  No.  On the contrary, they will examine your faith and see if it hold up to pressure. 

Don’t make the wrong connections, please.  Don’t blame God for being "socially unacceptable", or "out of touch with reality".  Don’t blame God for creating wars.  Don’t connect all religions with war, otherwise, you will exclude the biggest, costliest and deadliest ones of all time.  But if you do, then be fair and connect Christianity with St. Francis, Blessed Kateri, Mother Teresa, John Paul II, and the millions of other saints that have lived the Gospel faithfully.  Be fair and connect Christianity with the humble, not with the prideful!

In today’s Alleluia proclamation, we read “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of God rests upon you.”  So…have you been recently insulted for the name of Christ?  If so, then, according to St. Peter, “you are blessed”. Why?  Make the connection!  If Christ was blessed yet insulted, humiliated and rejected by others, then I to will be blessed if I am insulted, humiliated and rejected for the name of Christ. 

Make the connection.  Take it step by step.  Acknowledge God before others.  Live the faith faithfully.  Bear fruit.  Be blessed. 

Mt 10:16-23 To know and To Know

Mt 10:16-23  To know and To Know

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Jesus said to his Apostles:  “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves…Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you…and you will be led before governors and kings…Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child…You will be hated by all because of my name.”

“I am sending you like sheep…”  It’s simply radical!  Amazing!  Refreshing!  The Lord’s honesty is simply out of this world.  How unique he is and in so many ways!  He is telling his men the truth and more than just the truth.  He is telling them the brutal truth and is not sugar coating it.  If He errs, he errs on the side of being too ‘negative’.  He really wants them to know what they are getting themselves into before it happens.  How refreshing!  How confident!  How trusting!

“Can you help me?  It will take five minutes.”  That’s what people say when they want your help.  I usually respond with a nod and a “surrre”.  The person asking knows perfectly well it won’t take five minutes.  Even I know it won’t take five minutes!  But my all time favorite is this one:  “Father, do you have one minute?”  That’s a very good one! 

“You will be handed over…”  Why in the world did the Apostles agree to say after hearing such dire predictions?  Why didn’t they pick up their things and leave…for good?  Simon Peter was not starving to death as a fisherman.  He would have been just fine where he was.  Paul was very intelligent.  He had a bright future!  He would have been successful in anything he put his mind into.  Luke was a medical doctor.  All doctors do well!!!

The reason is simple.  Christ is gain.  He will never be loss.  The greatest loss is to have never known the greatest Good.  To live a life devoid of Christ is like living a life without a heart.  It is impossible!  And those who try end up either ripping their heart out or ripping the heart out of others!  They live like Jack the Ripper!  Not nice.

The Apostles did not fear moving forward in their spiritual life, even if it meant persecution and great suffering.  But they did fear the thought of turning back.  Why?  Why is this so hard for us to understand?  Could it be because we have yet to test it out on ourselves?  Let’s do it!  Let’s try it out for ourselves.

I know a group of kids that just did.  They came from Ursuline Academy, Jesuit Prep, Bishop Lynch, Bishop Dunne and John Paul II High School.  They went to Honduras to do missions.  The weather was awful, the sweating was unbearable, the mosquitoes were humongous, the people were dirty, the food was disgusting, the work was nearly illegal (for children), the language was unspeakable, the timing couldn’t have been worse:  during Summer!  I warned them at the start of their mission preparation.  “Oh the beatings and scourging you will have!!!”  But I also told them about all the excitement and adventure and love they will experience.

So, how did it go?  All the kids had an amazing time!

I heard that at the University of Creighton, medical students are advised not to go on mission trips.  Why?  Because over half of the students that do go end up leaving medical school for social service careers!    Talk about shocking your parents!

Did you ever notice something about the Lord, how different He was from all the Jewish rabbis?  Most rabbis taught their pupils the faith indoors, between four walls.  Students would spend hours and hours studying sacred writings.  Not the Lord and not his Apostles.  They learned scripture on the road.  I am not saying that scripture was not important.  Of course it was.  But what I am saying is that the Lord taught them the faith in the wheat fields, on the road, in the villages, in the street corners, in his interactions with the crippled, the lepers, the criminals and the sinners. 

This is how the Lord taught His very own.  This is how we need to teach our very own. 

We all need to strive for a personal experience and relationship with the Lord, not just an intellectual relationship with the Lord.  To know Jesus Christ intellectually is a very good place to start, and it should continue for a lifetime.  But to know Jesus Christ, personally, is how we will cross the finish line.

English is not a very accommodating language.  It is somewhat limited in its verbs, especially in the verb to know.  We use only one verb to communicate to others that we know someone or something.  That’s not good.  “I know you” will never have the same depth or meaning as “I know math”.  It’s simply not the same as well as truth.  Most of the world knows this.  That’s why most romantic languages have two verbs.  In Spanish the verbs are saber and conoscer.   The Spanish speaker would say, “Te conozco” (I know you) and “se matematicas” (I know math).    They get it.  They get the difference.

To know the Lord is one thing, but to know him personally is another matter. 

Follow the Lord in all that he says and does and see what happens next.  Do it.  Try it.   And not only will you know the Lord, but you will have a very personal experience with Him.