This week, I break down an amazing email that I recieved a few weeks ago. As any preacher will tell you, we can easily fall into the devil's trap of thinking that no one is listening. All our effort and prayer is wasted. We might as well be shouting into the darkness. Yet from time to time, God reminds us that he can still pierce hearts, through us, his broken and sinful messengers. We need only to humble ourselves like the chief tax collector Zacchaeus from the Gospel reading (Luke 19:1-10)

As hard as I try, I will fail you as your priest. My legion of faults and vices will always get in the way for those I am called to serve. Yet amazingly, the freeing truth is that we are not alone in this battle. God has given us brothers and sisters who have won the fight, finished the race, and kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). This "great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb," too many to even number, now pray for us here on earth (Revelations 7:9). For my failings, I humbly apologize and beg for your mercy. Praise God, it does not depend entirely on us.

If we want better lives, happier families, a vibrant parish, and an intense relationship with Jesus Christ, there’s one thing we can do now that will make all the difference in the world: KILL THE PRIDE. Squash it. Strangle it. Punch it in the face. Our pride is the greatest obstacle in our relationships with one another and especially with the almighty God himself. Pride tells us we are self-sufficient and amazing. It’s all about me and my magnificent needs. Kill it. Kill it now.

Emotions are fickle. Superficial beauty fades away. And yet, the powerful truth remains. 

When we grow in trust, the crosses of life can become bearable and maybe even beautiful. 

What are you doing with all your power and strength? That is the question Jesus proposes to us today with our Scripture readings this Sunday. When we use our gifts for others, were given something even better in return.

Why do you exist? How would you respond if someone asked you that question? Answering this question rightly gives life a lightning focus. If we answer it wrongly, we can easily find ourselves adrift and dazed. Our Creator gives us a clue.

We do the most ridiculous things for love, don't we? Not only teenagers are guilty of this, but even God himself. In fact, I dare say, Christianity can only be best understood in this way. 

Before we can truly love those we cherish the most, we must learn how to "hate" them first. Only then, can we finally begin to love them the way they deserve to be loved.

To be a good Christian is a lot like being a good student in school. Whether we're in elementary, high school, college, or in a trade school, a student, like the serious Christian must presume the gap. We need to recognize that we do not know everything; we have to be shown the way, or as the first line in the reading we heard from Sirach, we must "conduct (our) affairs with humility." (Sirach 3:17) Only the humble person knows that they need help. Once we presume the gap, only then can God, like the a Divine Teacher that He is, fill that hole. After all, that is why Jesus comes down to us in the first place.