Mothers help us become saints

           Today we celebrate Jesus' Ascension into heaven and Mother's day.  Our mothers raise us.  They take care of us when we are sick.  And they correct us when we do things we shouldn't do.  Proverbs 29 tells us: "a child left to himself brings shame to his mother." Clearly, good and holy mothers are critical to the health and well being of their children.   Children don't raise themselves.  And a good child isn't raised by a village but by a family.  Mothers are the heart of the family.

            Last week at the first communion masses, I watched the mothers and fathers as they proudly came up to the altar with their children who would receive the Eucharist for the first time.  I noticed one mother who was crying as her twins received communion.  After mass, I asked her why she was crying.  She said that they were tears of joy as she watched her children and thought about how hard it has been raising them on her own.

            Mothers routinely sacrifice for their children.  They sacrifice their time, talent, and treasure to make sure that they are well fed and happy.  That's what mothers do. 

            There is a special place in heaven for all mothers.  Mothers have to endure a lot in raising their children.  When the children are young, they have to be at their beck and call most of the time.  And when they get older they still have to nurture them, direct them, and make sure that they stay on the straight and narrow. 

            Most mothers have some favorite sayings in directing their children.  I remember that whenever I did something bad by imitating one of my friends, my mother would say:  "If Chucky jumped off a bridge, would you do that also?"  She also was fond of saying: "offer it up" whenever I complained about something.  Often, a mother's sayings get passed down to their children and grandchildren.  Occasionally, I will hear my daughters say something to their children that my wife used to say.  That certainly makes me smile. 

            In the first reading, after Jesus rose into heaven, two men say to the apostles: "Why are you standing there looking at the sky?"   This sounds like something that our mothers might say to us.  Why are you just standing there wasting time, get to work! 

And so it is for us who look for Christ in the clouds when all the time he is here among us.  The early Christians spent a lot of time looking up at the heavens for Christ. Their writings reveal a general expectation that Christ would return soon, perhaps even before those who knew him firsthand had died. There is a legend that in the early Church someone was appointed, probably a deacon, to go outside during the celebration of the Eucharist to see if Christ had returned. Gradually, the Church learned that it should be concentrating on building up the Kingdom of God here on earth rather than gazing at the heavens.

 As members of Jesus' church, we are clothed with power from on high.  And, it certainly is time for us to get to work.  Let us honor our mothers by becoming saints.  I know that sounds like a difficult target, but, by definition, we cannot get to heaven unless we are a saint.  So, the goal for each of us is to become a saint.  And for many of us, our mother, by her love, her prayer, and her discipline, helps us either here on earth or from heaven as we continue along this journey. 

At a recent CRHP meeting, Several men commented that our parish is special.   They indicated that the many young, vibrant families here drew them to our parish.  In these families, we see the love and sacrifice of the mother.  Each week at mass, a family is asked to bring up the gifts.  Often, these families have young children.  And, typically the youngest end up carrying the gifts while the parents follow behind praying that the children successfully make it up the aisle without dropping anything.  Several weeks ago, a family with several young children was bringing up the gifts.  Their twin boys, who are around two, were each carrying a bowl with  money in it.  And their four year old daughter was carrying the carafe of wine with another young boy carrying the plate.  Fortunately, they made it safely up to me.  I am impressed with the courage of parents who trust their children to do this at such a young age.

Today, I salute all of the mothers present.  For those of you who brought your children, thank you for bringing them to church.  I know that this isn't easy especially when they are little and even when they are teenagers.  And I salute my wife who is the mother of five and my two daughters and two daughter in laws who are raising my nine wonderful grandchildren.

God bless and happy mother's day.  

The shepherd and heroic leadership

A number of years' ago I read a book titled Heroic Leadership.  It is about the 500 year history of the Jesuits.  In the book, they give four key principles which enabled the Jesuits to survive during some very turbulent times.  The four principles are: self awareness - knowing who you are and what you value, ingenuity - exploring new ideas, love, and heroism.

Today I want to focus on the last principle, which is: when the opportunity presents itself, do something heroic.  There is no question that Jesus did this when he died on the cross for us.  He is the best example of  heroism the world has ever known.  He was even  willing to give up his life for us.

            In today's Gospel, we are given the image of Jesus the shepherd.   John is encouraging his community to pay attention to the shepherd, who is present to and guides his flock. They are to listen to him.  And he even pays attention and listens to us, the sheep of his flock. If we hear the voice of the Shepherd, we will remain close to him and he will strengthen us as the world closes in and opposes us- as it did to him.

            We are meant to follow Jesus, our shepherd.  Many of us are also shepherds for others in our roles as parents, grandparents, friends, bosses, and co-workers. In these situations, we are meant be like Jesus and lead them to him.  I know that this isn't always easy.  And, like Jesus, we may be ridiculed, and face resistance in our attempts. 

            So, this is the act of heroism that all of us are meant to perform during our lives.  We are meant to lead others to Jesus, even if we are ridiculed and our efforts don't seem to be bearing fruit.  We are meant to lead others to Christ by our words and our actions.  Now, this may not seem to be heroic - especially if we only talk to those who are members of our own community.  But, we all know how difficult it is to bring up Jesus and our Catholic faith to others.  It certainly isn't easy.  But, that is our role, to shepherd those who we come into contact with and to lead them to Jesus' flock. 

            Of course, it is especially important to lead our family and our friends to Christ.  When we get to heaven, we will want all of them to be there with us.  And sometimes it is more difficult to talk to them than it is to talk to someone we hardly know.  That is why this evangelization effort requires constant heroism.  When the opportunity presents itself, do something heroic.  When the opportunity presents itself to lead some lost sheep toward Jesus, the Good Shepherd, do it. 

            Now, you may say that you don't know enough about Christ and his Church to do this.  If you don't, you should.  Pick up your bible and your Catechism and learn your faith.  Turn on EWTN or Sacred Heart Radio or log onto our faith formation web site: formed.org and watch the programs, listen to the CD's, watch the religious movies, and read the books.  The Catholic telegraph called this site, Netflix for Catholics.  There simply isn't any excuse these days for not knowing your faith.  And if you struggle with some aspects of your faith, come see Father Bernie, Father Wood, or me to discuss these areas. 

Many times during our lives we are faced with a critical decision.  Often, we can decide to either take the easy way or the difficult, road less traveled.  Normally, our world tells us to take the easy way out, the path of least resistance.  In fact, we might even be ridiculed if we go against the tide.

            We are not meant to wander off  from the rest of the flock and go it alone.  While it is possible to attempt to follow Christ on our own, that isn't the model that Jesus left for us in his church.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.  If we attempt to discover truth on our own, we will be deceived by the evil one.  We are meant to follow Christ in community so that we have the love and support of each other, especially on the difficult parts of our journey.

Perform an act of heroism by telling your family and your friends  about Jesus, the Good Shepherd.  Tell them how you have experienced the love of Jesus in your life.  Share your faith.  Your reward will be heavenly.      

Master, I want to see!

In today's Gospel, Bartimaeus says: "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!"  Jesus responds: "What do you want me to do for you?"  Then, Bartimaeus says: "Master, I want to see." 

Do you ever wish that you could have a conversation with Jesus like Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, had?  Well you can.  The first key to having this conversation with Jesus is to realize that we are blind and cannot recover our sight on our own.  Now, most of us are not physically blind.  Due to prescription glasses, contact lenses, and laser surgery, we can see pretty well.  Instead, I am talking about spiritual sight.   That is, how we see things which have an impact on our eternal life.    In a spiritual sense, the eyesight of all of us is clouded to one extent or another by the world that we live in.  We cannot help but be influenced by the movies and TV that we watch, the music that we hear, and by our friends. 

My point is that we are all influenced by these things whether we realize it or not.  They can give us spiritual blinders when it comes to our eternal destiny.  And, to make it even worse, we don't even realize it.  Our moral decisions are clouded and yet, we think that is perfectly normal.  Yes, this is the state of affairs in our world today because, as Jesus tells us, the devil is the prince of this world.

So, what can we do?  We can start by approaching Jesus as Bartimaeus did in the Gospel, saying: "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!"   We need to acknowledge our sinfulness and beg for his mercy.  No matter how many or how few sins we might have committed, this is an excellent place to start.  We can go to the sacrament of reconciliation which will wipe away our sins and give us a clean slate.

Then, we can approach Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist and prayerfully listen to his loving advice.  In our prayers after receiving the Eucharist, we can pour out our difficulties to him and then  silently listen to his will for us.

Anyone who repeatedly exposes himself or herself to the Eucharist and confides in it will be changed.  We cannot receive the Body of Christ again and again, we cannot sit in his presence frequently without being affected by him and challenged by him, being changed and led by him.  We may of course lag behind him.  But, in the long run there are really only two possibilities: either to shake off the Eucharist or to surrender to it, to hold fast to it.  If we hold fast to the Lord, we will not be abandoned by him.  If we share our problems and concerns with him calmly and patiently, humbly and sincerely, we will be led by him and will never be denied his light.

Besides receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, we have a great opportunity to pray here at St Francis every weekday before the tabernacle.  And one day each week, the Eucharist is exposed in the monstrance so that we can actually see the consecrated host as we pray.

I have been blessed to have an adoration hour in church on Monday from 1 till 2 for the past twenty years.  Before I retired, this was my busiest day at work but during my prayer hour I would normally experience peace in the presence of the Lord.  I have witnessed many changes in my life over those years.  Often, I have placed my concerns and my struggles before the Lord.  On occasion, I didn't like the answers that I received from him.  Although sometimes I have been challenged, in the end I have found joy when I have followed His will.  I have come to realize that he knows what is best for me better than I do.  I still haven't managed to completely let go and let God.  I am still stubborn and think that I know better.  But, I'm improving and he continues to work with me. 

If you don't already have an adoration hour, I'd encourage you to sign up for one.  Normally, there are one or two people at each hour, so you'll have Jesus almost to yourself during your hour.  You can sit or kneel in the adoration chapel and experience the presence of the Lord.  You might wonder what you will do for an hour in silence without your phone or anything else interrupting you.  You can pray the rosary or the Divine Mercy chaplet.  You can read and meditate on the bible.  You can write a letter to God and share your joys and sorrows.  Or you can just sit quietly and listen. 

Bartimaeus waited patiently for Jesus on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem.  Then, he had to ignore the rebukes of Jesus followers  and continue to cry out for his mercy.  When we want to spend time with Jesus, it is much easier, maybe too easy.  We can receive him in Holy Communion when we come to mass in the state of grace.  We can spend time with him in the adoration chapel on any weekday.  All we have to do is to commit to one hour each week.  If you don't already have an adoration hour, please sign up for one in the gathering space at the end of mass.  Jesus is waiting for you.  He will ask you as he did Bartimaeus: "What do you want me to do for you?"  Then, you can tell him: " Master, I want to see."

The rich man goes away sad

In today's Gospel, a wealthy man came to Jesus to ask what he needed to do “to inherit eternal life.” Evidently, this man was where many of us are. His material needs were being met, but not his spiritual ones. He wasn't a bad man, just an empty one.

This man believed that, if he just kept the Law, he would have it made spiritually. He thought money would make him happy. But it didn’t. He thought minding all the rules of his faith would make him happy, but it didn’t. All his life he had been taught that if he had enough money and if he was a good person, that would be enough. But it wasn’t.

He was asking the right question: "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"   This is the ultimate question for all of us.  But, he didn't get the answer that he was expecting and hoping for.  He probably was expecting Jesus to tell him that he was following all of the commandments and was a pretty good guy, so he was on the right track for heaven. 

Jesus looked at this man and loved him. Jesus knew this man was trying to live as his society told him he ought to live. And Jesus appreciated that. Jesus wanted to give him the key to what he needed. “One thing you lack,” Jesus said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 

If accumulating toys won’t bring you happiness and keeping the rules won’t buy you salvation, what’s it going to take? If we take everything we have and sell it, and give the proceeds to the poor like Jesus was telling this man to do, is that enough? Well, that depends. Is money what’s most important in our life? Is it money that’s keeping us from giving our all to God? When Jesus told this man to sell everything he had and give to the poor, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus was telling this man the truth about what came first in this his life--and that was his money.

What is it that comes first in our life? What is it that keeps us from doing something great for God? Is it our job? Is it time playing computer games, or watching sports on TV, conversing with our friends on Facebook, or some hobby? Where do we devote our time, our money, our dreams, and our energy? Is it the accumulation of ever more wealth, ever more toys?

Jesus calls us to follow Him not on our terms but on His.  In fact, Jesus doesn't even promise us a roof over our heads.  The foxes and birds have better benefits than we do.  Jesus demands our all.  It would be unreasonable for anyone else to make such demands.  But a crucified, nail-scarred Savior has the right to expect our all. 

Jesus' teaching can evoke feelings of guilt.  We are a comfortable community.  Few of us have any fears about food or shelter, or basic human needs.  Our children are cared for, our responsibilities are met, our future is as secure as one might hope for in these insecure times.

But Jesus’ words today call us to look beyond our lives, to the needs of the poor.  Nobody likes to feel guilty, but I think guilt is like cholesterol.  There is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol; so too with guilt.  Bad guilt can immobilize you, making you feel hopeless or helpless. Good guilt helps you get off the dime and get moving, and opens you to making some needed changes. 

The wealthy young man who came to Jesus probably thought that he had it made. But, in truth, he was a slave to his wealth. Jesus was offering him a lifeline, but he couldn’t see it. All he could see was what he would be giving up.

Jesus doesn't say that it is impossible for people with money to enter the kingdom. He said, “All things are possible with God.” The people in danger are those who put their wealth before God. The people in danger are those who enjoy their wealth while turning a blind eye to the needs of the poor. The people in danger are those who have no greater purpose in life than the accumulation of more.

We all want to be liked.  When we post something on Facebook, we want to get a lot of likes.  In fact, some are almost addicted to being liked.  But, in the big picture of life, these likes don't matter.  What matters is the like that we get from Jesus at the end of our life.  St Francis of Assisi once said: "Who you are before Jesus is who you are; nothing more, nothing less."  All of the money, the friends, and the power we might have in our life doesn't matter.  What matters is who we are before Jesus.  Will he like us?  Will he comment: "Well done my good and faithful servant, now enter the kingdom of heaven"?           

Deaf and dumb

       Ten years' ago, I felt a calling to the diaconate and discussed this with several people in the parish.   When I told a good friend that I would have to go to school for about five years, he commented that I knew my Catholic faith well and shouldn't need all these classes.  As I took classes, I realized that there were large gaps in my knowledge of the faith.  I knew a lot in some areas but very little in others.  When I read articles in the paper criticizing church teaching, often I couldn't articulate why the church taught what it taught.  In short, I was deaf and dumb when it came to my faith.  I needed my ears and mouth to be opened like Jesus did in today's gospel.

The deaf man with the speech impediment in the gospel points to our own difficulty in hearing the message of the gospel as it is proclaimed in our own time. Each of us is in continual need of being healed of our own deafness—not the physical deafness of the man in the gospel, but a more critical impediment: our faculty for hearing with our souls. We go through life struggling to hear the Word more clearly. Because if we cannot hear the Word clearly, we cannot proclaim it clearly or live it out well in our daily lives. Learning to listen in this way to what God is saying is a lifelong discipline.

For many people today, the words we will soon declare in our confession of faith, the Creed, are simply absurd. They have no meaning.  The atheist, for example, finds absurd the notion of a loving God who, out of love for you and me, would send his son into the world to be crucified. Such a person is impeded from hearing the voice of God in the words we proclaim. His or her deafness is as real as that faced by Jesus in the gospel.

And what about us? Do the words we recite in the Creed seem absurd to us? Of course they do, because they are such huge thoughts! Anyone who is not a little hard of hearing when it comes to the great truths we proclaim is not being honest with themselves. We are all impeded in our hearing of the Word of God, not because we are insincere or because we don't try, but simply because of the magnitude of the task. We go through life begging Jesus to heal our deafness a little more, to remove a little more of the impediment, to help us to listen and truly hear what God wants us to hear.

And how does the cure work? Is it done with touching and spitting, as Jesus did in the gospel?  No, it happens through our prayer and ultimately our obedience.

 This week we witnessed the obedience of the court clerk in Kentucky as she refused to sign the marriage licenses of same sex couples.  She was being obedient to her conscience.  As a result, she suffered the consequences and went to jail.   I can sympathize with her because, as a deacon, I might someday have a same sex couple come to me to get married.  Odds are, when I follow my conscience and refuse to marry them, I too will suffer some consequence.

Most of us won't be tested as this clerk was.  But we may on occasion need to support others whose faith and conscience is tested.   More and more we are seeing that our society's laws are contrary to God's laws.  And often we cannot even be quiet bystanders in this battle.   But, we must know our faith and have a well-formed conscience so that we can play our role in this spiritual battle. 

Healing our deafness and following our conscience requires that we learn our Catholic faith.  It isn't enough for us to just attend mass on Sunday.  The Sunday readings and homily give us a good start on our faith journey.   But, we need more.  You may think that you know your faith, like I did ten years' ago.  But, when you have to defend what you believe to your children, your neighbor, or your co-worker, you'll probably be at a loss for words.

This fall, we are offering several faith formation programs to help all of us learn our faith.  We are offering the second part of the Symbolon series which will focus on living the faith including those teachings on morality and marriage which impact our day-to- day lives.  Once again, we will offer this excellent program two times - between the 9 and 11 o'clock masses once a month starting next week and weekly on Monday nights starting a week from Monday.

Also, on the first two Mondays in October, Father Earl Fernandes, the Dean of the Athenaeum and an outstanding speaker and teacher, will be here to offer sessions on beginning of life and end of life issues.  He will discuss our Church's teaching that a person from the tiniest embryo to an elderly adult is always worthwhile and that everyone has inherent dignity because we are all made in the image of God, not because of our usefulness to society.

I would strongly encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities to learn your faith.    Once again this year, our high school PSR class will be attending the monthly Sunday faith formation sessions.  For those parents who have high schoolers in these PSR classes, I would encourage you to attend these monthly sessions.  This will provide an excellent opportunity for you to  discuss these important topics with your high school student.

In my homily two weeks' ago, I asked us to decide if we were fans or disciples of Jesus.  A disciple of Jesus knows Jesus and can proclaim and defend the teachings of His church.  Become a disciple of Jesus.  Learn and spread the good news.   Arm yourself for the on-going spiritual battle.

Jesus' fan or disciple

I'm a Cincinnati Reds baseball fan.  I have tickets to twenty games each year.  But, I miss quite a few of these games, like today's game, because something comes up which is more important, like a  birthday party for one of my children or grandchildren.   I'm not an avid follower of the Reds.  When they are losing, as they are this year, I don't go out of my way to see them.    

For the past few Sundays, we have heard Jesus tell those with him about the Eucharist - his flesh and blood present in the appearance of bread and wine.  These people are following Jesus because they heard about his miracles -multiplying the loaves and fishes, healing people.  Now, they have come to see and hear Jesus first hand.  Jesus tells them: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."  But the people respond: "This saying is hard, who can accept it?"  So, most of them walk away from him. 

Those who walked away were fans of Jesus, like I'm a fan of the Reds.  They were not avid followers or disciples.  Jesus wants disciples, not fans.  He says to the apostles:  'Do you also want to leave?"  Later he tells his apostles to make disciples of all nations.  That's the message for us today:  be disciples of Jesus, don't just be fans.  Jesus asks us to accept His teachings, including those of his church, based on faith.  Accept all of them, even those that you don't fully understand, like the Eucharist, trusting Jesus great love for us.

This wasn't easy  for the followers of Jesus as we hear in the Gospel.  And it still isn't easy today.  We think we know better.  We want to pick and choose what we will believe.  Our society tells us that some teachings of Jesus are good, like loving our neighbor, while others, like the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, are not viewed as relevant in these enlightened times.

For many Catholics today, it's easier to accept the Eucharist than it is to accept the teaching of Jesus' church regarding our relationships.  We'd rather listen to Doctor Phil or to Oprah in these areas than to Jesus' church. 

Today's reading from chapter 5 of Paul's letter to the Ephesians about the relationship between husband and wife is probably the most misunderstood and controversial scripture passage.   But, if properly understood, this passage helps us see the intended relationship between husband and wife in the marriage covenant.  And, just to be clear, this relationship is not one of master to slave or of dominance by the husband.

Clearly, our society is struggling with marriage and the relationship between husbands and wives.  The divorce rate has skyrocketed over the past fifty years and now we're even struggling to define what marriage is.  So, it is important for us to take a hard look at the timeless wisdom of our Church in this area.

Five times in this reading St Paul compares the relationship of a husband and wife to the relationship of Christ and his church.  St Paul is telling husbands that a husband is expected to be willing to sacrifice for his wife to the point of death as Christ did for his church and a wife is expected to receive and return this love.  This kind of love excludes every kind of submission by which the wife would become a servant of the husband.

This passage in Ephesians can be summed up as follows: the husband is the one who loves. The wife is loved, so as to love in return.  While both are called to love and to subordinate themselves to the other, the husband initiates the gift, and the wife receives the gift. In fact, this relationship is stamped into their bodies.   Men and women are created by God to be equal but different.  In their creation, they are complementary.

 To live these teachings, we need the grace that comes from receiving the sacraments regularly, especially the Eucharist.  I know that many of you may be thinking as Jesus' fans did: "This is hard, who can accept it."  Are we fans of Jesus or disciples of Jesus?  Do we sacrifice our time and treasure for him?  Can we accept and live those teachings of Jesus which we don't understand?  

For many years, I was a fan of Jesus.  I knew his commandments and followed them.  For me, Jesus was a judge and I tried to follow his rules.  I certainly didn't know God as a loving father.   Then, after a marriage encounter and a life in the spirit seminar, I began my long journey to develop a relationship with Jesus.  Slowly, I began to become his disciple and to feel the joy of his love.  I began to develop a greater love for the Eucharist and to attend mass more frequently.  Of course, this process for me is far from complete; I have a long way to go. 

Today, I'd encourage each of you to begin your journey to get to know Jesus.  Become his disciple.  Trust in him.  Know and follow the teachings of Jesus' church not because you understand them but because they came from Him.  Feel the peace and joy that comes from following his plan instead of yours. 

The shepherd and fireflies

The first reading today from the prophet Jeremiah tells us about false shepherds who have shirked their responsibilities toward the people of Jerusalem.  These false shepherds were the political and the religious leaders who lost sight of the law and all that God had done for them.

We have lots of false shepherds in our midst today.  They are often well educated people who are in positions of authority.  They may have power, money or fame.  Because of their position in life, they often assume that they know better than Jesus or his church.  Unfortunately, often these self-appointed shepherds just follow the latest fad to determine what is right or wrong.

The shepherd is meant to be a good leader, who protects his flock and keeps them out of danger.  The sheep are dumb and, if the shepherd doesn't protect them, will wander off and die.  The sheep know their shepherd and the shepherd knows his sheep.

In the Gospel, Jesus wanted to get off by himself for a little while.  But a crowd followed him and he was moved with pity because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

Today, we, as sheep, struggle in many areas of  our lives, especially in our relationships.  We want to do things our own way rather than God's way.  We forget that God, who created us, who formed each of us in our mother's womb, knows what is best for us.  We, like those with Jesus, are like sheep without a shepherd.

Several years ago, while we were in Gatlinburg on vacation, we went to Elkmont to see the synchronous fireflies.  These are male fireflies who, during their month long mating season, all light up in unison to attract female fireflies.   

So, we went to Elkmont just before dark and stood there and waited.  We all had flashlights to light our way, once it got dark.  But we had to put a red foil over our flashlight so that it didn't confuse the fireflies.  Slowly, it got dark and a few fireflies began to light up.  Gradually more and more of them lit until eventually the woods lit up and then grew dark as thousands of male fireflies attempted to attract a mate.  It was truly an amazing sight.  And, it caused me to reflect on our amazing God and his creative genius.

These fireflies were following God's plan for them.  And since they don't have a free will or intellect, they always follow his plan with incredible results.  We see similar things in nature all around us since God created all different kinds of insects and animals with unusual and incredible habits.

We, as humans, are made in God's image and likeness.  Unlike the fireflies or other insects or animals, we have an intellect and a free will.  God has designed us perfectly.  We are made to love God and to love our neighbor.  As men and women, he designed our bodies so that they are perfectly made for each other.

But, since we have a free will, we can decide to do things our way rather than God's way.  We can follow our plan instead of His plan for us.  We can ignore the fact that God is all knowing and all loving.  We can forget that He wants and knows what is best for us. 

Compared to God, we are sheep.  We want to be happy and think we know what is  best for us.  Often, we follow the lead of dumb sheep instead of following the shepherd.  This is especially true in our relationships.  As a result, we often make a mess of things.  And, worst of all, we often blame God for our failures. 

We fail to realize how infinitely smarter the shepherd, Jesus is, compared to us.  And we don't realize how much this shepherd wants to help us on our journey.  He gives us scripture like the readings we read today to instruct us.  He gives us a community of believers, his Church, to provide guidance.  And, most importantly, he gives us food for the journey, his body and blood in the Eucharist. 

Today, I would ask each of you to try following the shepherd.  Acknowledge the fact that you are a sheep and that Jesus is the all knowing shepherd.  Go do him whenever you face a difficult decision, especially those decisions which are related to those you love.  In prayer, listen quietly to his advice for you.  He will speak to you in the silence of your heart. Then, if you question whether this advice is truly from God, check to make sure that it agrees with the teachings of his church.  Pull out your catechism, go to the index, and find the relevant topic.  Read the paragraphs which relate to your situation.  If the advice you receive in the silence of your heart contradicts Church teachings, ignore the advice since it comes from the evil one.  If you still have questions, talk to a priest and ask him for guidance.

If you are able to follow God's plan for thirty days, you will find peace and joy.  If you think that you need a prayer partner for this effort, send me an email or stop me after mass and ask me to pray for you.  I'd be happy to do this.  When we pray, God will always answer our prayers.  He may not respond as we expect - remember we can be dumb sheep - but he will always give us what is best for us.

My prayers are with you.  God bless.