WE CAN'T TAKE IT WITH US

You can’t take it with you!

We have all heard this phrase time and time again.

And, we know it is so true.

We can’t take the stuff…the things…the detritus of this life…with us into the next life with Christ.

And, who would want to?

There is nothing man can make on earth…no matter how fabulous it may seem…that can compare to what God has ready for us in heaven.

No, we can’t take the stuff of this world into the next.

Neither can we enter the next world with the baggage of sin on our souls!

We don’t like to admit it much…but…

WE ARE SINNERS!!

We make mistakes…we do and say things that we shouldn’t…and we don’t do and say things that we should…every…single…day.

We are imperfect.

Jesus tells us in today’s gospel that if our hand causes us to sin…we should cut it off. If it is our eye through which we sin we should pluck it out!

And, what about our tongue…angry words spoken in the heat of a moment…gossip, rumors…telling our “friends” things that we know will hurt them...and sometimes cause them to re-evaluate everything they have ever believed…under the guise of “better they should hear it from me than someone who doesn’t love and care for them?!”

If that’s how we love and care for our friends…I feel sorry for our enemies!

Sins!

Over the last two weekends, the Level 2 children and parents came for gatherings. The first sacrament the boys and girls will receive in 2010 is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The children come up in the church…they are taught to bow as they approach the altar...as they will on their First Holy Communion Day...and sin is explained to them.

SIN…such a little word that causes so much terror and distress...in our lives...and...in our world.

Last week, one of the second graders raised her hand and said, “I don’t sin.”

Once sin was explained, the look on her face said clearly…that she too has sinned...at least once...in her seven years.

So, too… you and I.

The good news is, Jesus gave us a wonderful gift before he left us…The Sacrament of Reconciliation.

When we grow weary from the weight of the baggage of sin we carry with us…a few minutes of heartfelt confession with a priest...renews our soul...our heart...and...our conviction to live a life of love...so that we may be welcomed into the loving arms of Christ...and...granted eternal life.

When First Reconciliation Day comes…some of the children will be a little anxious…they are encouraged not to be nervous because when they are done they will be refreshed...and...renewed.

They will be given a new page upon which to write their future.

Some come out literally glowing!

And how about us?

Sometimes we feel weary…overburdened.

Sometimes we need to be refreshed…renewed…strengthened to resist temptation.

So I invite you to accept the gift Christ so graciously offers…the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

It is true…we can’t take it with us!

When we die…all the things we hold dear here on earth will be…disbursed…discarded…even destroyed.

Our soul will always be…either with Christ…or…in Gehenna.

In the Religious Education Program, it is our task to help you…help…your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews grow in relationship with Christ.

Each and every one of us is called to be a prophet.

Would that we take that calling seriously, and model by our actions, the things our words say.

We must...

Walk the Talk.

Why not…walk the talk…right into the confessional…and…show our boys and girls the importance of cleansing our soul…even as we nourish it each week…at the altar?

I promise you…that even if you are a little anxious…you will feel so much better afterward.

You will be refreshed…renewed…you may even…GLOW…with the mercy...and...glory...of God!