3/15/2022 The Formula for J.O.Y.

Why bother listening to Gods word? Why bother listening to Gods voice ? Why bother serving God when He tells us people will hate us for it ? Why bother with Lent? Why bother with confession? Why bother following the commandments? We are citizens of heaven. This world is a passing place. The home is the domestic church. It is where vocations are born.The churches in Europe are closing. In One whole year Ireland only ordained one priest. What happens over seas eventually happens here. It is so easy to be deceived by the father of lies and the fruit he lures us to is poisonous. The devil is very real and demons exsists and satan is trying to divide us 1 against another. Why bother? To save our brothers and sisters from an attack they might not even understand is happening. Also if we go to confession regularly And receive the Eucharist regularly the devil has no power over us! Why bother ? So we can be granted the gift of wisdom to know when it it God moving us to speak and when it is God moving us to be silent. Anything else is from the evil one.

Father says that we can’t repay God for what was given to us through the death of Jesus, so we must in turn be people of radical forgiveness. He discusses Saint Maria Goretti and her radical forgiveness of a man who attempted to rape her and stabbed her 14 times leading to her death. She chose to forgive and chose to be Saint. If we want to live with God forever in Heaven we will be a Saint. So that starts now with our choices here on earth. Our Salvation depends on how we treat the least of our brothers and sisters. We need to be prayer warriors bc the devil is diving us. This Lent we can focus on three individuals we need to pray for and love with all our hearts: someone we are indifferent toward; someone we need to forgive; and someone we love very much that has walked away from their faith.

Father says that we want something more complicated than confession, yet it is that simple: confess and be forgiven. Lent is about giving our hearts into God’s care and trusting Him. Fall into the hands of the living God by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is a time for giving of ourselves in His service, being open to the needs of others, and letting go of our favorite sins so we might be filled with Faith and Grace.

Father explains the Bible story of the woman at the well and applies it to our own lives and relationship with Jesus. We meet Jesus personally and then communally. We will not know Christ unless we know him on both of these levels. We need Religion and personal relationship. Father urges us to seek out the sacraments to receive healing and grace and joy: Confession; Anointing of the sick, adoration; Mass. The lord is waiting for you like he was with the woman at the well. He is waiting for you at the alter, the confessional, and the chapel. Let us meet him and give him our first fruits.

In today’s message Father uses The work of Michelangelo to illustrate how God sees us, how we see ourselves, and how we are to view others. Joseph was rejected because he was a beloved son and Jesus was rejected because he was THE beloved Son, so naturally as Christians we will also be rejected. All of us have some degree of self loathing because we’re looking at ourselves from the eyes of the world and not from the eyes of God. God sees us exulted. Also when we look at our brothers and sisters, can we look past our judgements of how they appear and see them as God does?

Father says that God ministers to us through others. We are to trust in others but keep our hearts turned toward the Lord. He also explains that we have to be bringing and sharing Jesus Christ and our Faith to the poor like Saint Patrick did. Commenting on the parable of Lazarus, he says we cannot pass by homeless human beings on the street. Everyone on the street has a name and an identity. Everyone on the street is a member of our family. We are called to not only bring food, shelter, and clothing; but also we as Christian’s are called to bring Jesus Christ and our Faith to our brothers and sisters in need.

Father says Lent is a time to reflect: What false gods have I placed in the place of the one true God? Is it my job, a relationship, money, materialism? Is it the kingdom I have created on earth? During Lent we deny ourselves of things to place God back in his proper place. The proper order for JOY is Jesus others and then yourself.

Father says that in today's reading, Jesus teaches us how to find Peace and Joy in this life: "be merciful". God sees right through through us. He sees our hearts and our sins, and yet his purpose is always to redeem us and bring us back to Himself. By giving us mercy, He hopes that we may learn to be merciful with others.

For the Second Sunday of Lent, Father reflects on the Transfiguration and how we can begin to see Jesus, ourselves, and others in a divine way.