Humbly submit your will to God (thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.

Jesus went out along the sea.
All the crowd came to him and he taught them.
As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus,
sitting at the customs post.
Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”
And he got up and followed Jesus.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples;
for there were many who followed him.

Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners
and tax collectors and said to his disciples,
“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 
Jesus heard this and said to them,
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
  Mk 2:13-17

Today, Jesus reminds us the reason he was Anointed, or His mission (the Catholic Church’s today/ours), to save us from sin.  Which one of us is not a sinner?  We are all in the same category in God’s eyes.  His love and mercy are infinite. Those who are baptized, repent and try to change their life by dying to self/our ego and putting on Christ each day are saved. Jesus reminds us in the Gospel today that “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners”.     

No matter how many bad decisions we make or times we sin, God is the Father of the story in the Prodigal Son.  How can we allow this love and mercy to stop with us?  We are called to go to the face of Jesus and to those who have made the worst mistakes and give them hope.

Pope Francis’s main mission as pope has been to get the Catholic Church back into the streets where Jesus started it.  ”I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been on the streets rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security”.  When is the last time you have seen the face of Jesus Christ in the homeless?  More importantly, when is the last time you forgave someone in your home?

Jesus is calling you to “follow me” into the streets to the least of the people among us.  It starts by helping those in our homes and parishes, but extends to those in our community. There is such a need.  Jesus ate with public sinners like tax collectors and prostitutes, cured the lepers who were banned from the towns, the orphans and widows, those possessed by demons, the drunks, those who lived in the cycle of poverty, and the rich who do not give. It is time to get uncomfortable for Christ.  Die to self, put on Christ and experience joy like you never have before.

Today’s challenge: Find the hardest, dirtiest, worst section of your Stewardship form and sign up.  Get out there and start helping those who are in need the most as Christ has done for you as a sinner.

Be a servant, become a saint!
Christian YODO (You Only Die Once)