 Good morning It is so good to be here. Amen. It is so good. I like to joke It's not my phrase, but a brother priest of mine, you know, I'm from Boston and You know, why are you laughing? He likes to say up in the northeast. I'm sorry. I got to watch the monitor. They're timing me for my homely I don't know why but that maybe you'll learn Land the plane father. No, um Thanks for laughing like jokes people don't laugh back home I don't know why but anyways, but in Boston in that northeast part of the country We like to say our father likes to say and I like to repeat it where God's frozen chosen out there, you know You don't have to go to Africa or Papua New Guinea to be a missionary Just come to the northeast where God's frozen isn't chosen But it's really true like the further you fly west The the warmer people are in their greeting in their hospitality and it's so nice to like walk on the campus and to be greeted Hello father with a smile. So it's so good to be here interestingly enough. It was about 25 years ago Just about 25 years ago The first time that I stepped foot on this campus I was a senior in high school and my parents said would it be Wonderful if Matthew went to Franciscan University and I said, what's Franciscan University and like oh, it's this wonderful Catholic college But I'm like, oh Alright, well, yeah, I'll do it. I'll come and see sure. Yeah You know, I wasn't alone as as this guy. I didn't know the Lord yet at that point My senior in high school. So I remember my friend saying oh, you're going to college really great Go to parties and stuff. I'm like, yeah, I hope so, dude. Yeah, totally, right? Totally well that all changed quickly when the student who picked me up had rosary beads hanging on The the rear view mirror just like my parents do and and when I met the greeted the roommate Who was going to host me for the weekend had these divine mercy pictures just like my parents did all over their room And then I was told oh, we're gonna go to mass. I said it's only Friday Well, okay, so we go to mass and and there was a charismatic mass at that. I'm like, what are they saying? But the climax was on Saturday night. I was invited to a double date I was the fifth wheel on a double date And before we got in the Cudwood sin Angels to protect all four tires that we get to our destination safely to have a good night You've got to be kidding me I was like Where did my parents send me for this weekend? Mama Mia But I'll tell you something though seeds were planted. I wasn't ready for the full immersion in a Franciscan Unfortunately, but I wasn't ready But it planted seeds and I know I went home touched a little different because when I went to mass on Sunday with my family I Went to mass with a little different perspective and something Something awakened there seed was planted and it took a while for that seed to grow and many other things in my life Come to my talk on mediatrix of mercy. You'll hear more about that But I would say this I did not know worship. I did not know the Lord and I certainly wasn't hungering for the Lord I was struck by the First reading today in the Acts of the Apostles how the community was worshiping and fasting They were worshiping and fasting. They were hungry for God They were hungry for God's will. They were hungry for his power and his purposes Fasting makes us hungry for the things of heaven. I remember hearing a story from someone Talking with a priest and they were saying how hard it is to fast and the priest said this and it was beautiful He said you don't fast because you don't feast You don't fast because you don't feast on the word of God Fasting is so hard and I I stand before you as one who is a struggling faster. I'm a struggling faster But I know in this hour. It is what we're called in fact We've always has been a church of fasting since the beginning it flows from our Jewish roots fasting breaks Us in our attachments to the things of this world the kingdom of thing them it breaks us up of self-reliance it breaks us of comfort Self-medication we love to be comfortable Priests love to be comfortable It's true We all love to be comfortable, but that's not what the gospel calls us to Pope Francis is not calling us in this hour to a life of comfort Fasting breaks us of that comfort and makes us hungry for a movement of God The scripture says not by bread alone Does man live but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God? After Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman in John chapter 6 the apostles were all concerned look You want to eat did you eat and he's like I already ate I'm all set And they're like would you eat I'd see anybody and he says my food is to do the will of him who sent me We have to enter into that hunger of Jesus that hunger for God's will that hunger for God's power and purposes to be released In and through us me a disciple of the Lord So I come from New England Tom baby Tom Brady country Love Tom Brady big Tom Brady Tom. Just focus on football. Okay, just fuck off football But Tom Brady if you know anything about Tom Brady, he's convinced He's gonna play into his mid 40s in football right never been done really right, but you look at his diet He eats avocado ice cream his diet and his exercise routine are like Incredible his discipline is incredible his his work ethic with his teammates is off the charts What Tom Brady will do To win a Super Bowl Will I do to win a soul for Jesus Christ? What Tom Brady will do and I I mean no disrespect Will I do for Jesus Christ? I was just listening the other day to a news story Some woman is gonna be offering a new version of Curious George book about Ramadan And about the Muslim community and how they celebrate Ramadan and the fasting that's entailed in this When you hear about what Muslims do during the month of Ramadan and they're intense fasting It's inspiring it puts us to shame Jesus Christ is the way the truth in the life. He's the one mediator between God and men No one can get to heaven, but through the blood of Jesus Jesus who has been so good to us Will we fast for him? I Think it's cuz we're too full We're not hungry for God We're not hungry to see him move and I say that as much about myself as I say about anyone else We're not hungry to be that vessel We're not dependent for on God. We're not desperate for God. We're too self-sufficient We're too comfortable Fasting opens up the door to heaven Fasting opens up a door to a heavenly perspective Remember what the Lord said in Samuel not as man sees does God see talking about the calling of David? Not as man sees does God see Fasting opens us up to the purposes and power of heaven and to what heaven wants and not to what I want Father gave a beautiful reflection last night about saying yes Yes, Lord and that fasting is a beautiful powerful tool to enter into that fiat that fiat of our blessed mother Mary We have to begin as we take on a heavenly perspective To make a distinction between facts and truth Truth is Jesus Christ Risen from the dead. He is the way the truth in the life truth is is by his stripes. We are healed The truth is that Jesus Christ is Lord the truth is that the Lord God Almighty reigns. That's truth Facts are things like this. I'm depressed Facts are things like person has cancer Person has a three-month sentence to live before they pass away because of the cancer The fact is is that I don't have a job right now The fact is is that this person in my life is not converted and we can go on with all the facts But we have to make a distinction between facts and truth because facts can change When a doctor says you got three months to live I'll say thank you very much And we'll do everything with the doctors tell us to care for that person But he ain't God Jesus Christ is Lord if God wants to heal that person. He will we've been reading from Elijah the past week Elijah was told by the widow There's just a little bit oil left and a little bit flour left and then we're gonna die Elijah was faced with a reality of 450 ball profits, and he was the only prophet in Israel Then Elijah was faced with the fact That the woman son had died Those were the facts Haven't had something different to say The truth is the fact is the fact is Moses was caught in a hard place He had the Egyptians on one side of the Red Sea and the other those are the facts the Ethiopian eunuch He's reading Isaiah 53. He's got no one to share the gospel with them. Those are the facts David facing Goliath Goliath the master warrior massive giant of a man David should be squashed. That's the facts and After Jesus was crucified all the apostles went away The facts he's dead. Those are the facts But heaven had something very different to say We have to distinguish between the facts and the truth The truth is Jesus Christ is Lord the truth is that the Elijah Multiply through the power of God the why the oil and the flower the truth is through the power of God He called down fire from heaven and destroy the 450 prophets of Baal the truth is he raised them the wood Oh son from the dead the truth is The Red Sea was parted the truth is David slew the giant the truth is is that the Lord sent the deacon Philip to evangelize the Ethiopian eunuch the truth is Jesus Christ rose on the third day. Hallelujah the truth is Reality we get overwhelmed by facts and we don't look to the truth. We don't have a heavenly perspective We lose heaven's perspective because we're not hungry for our move of God We're not hungry. We don't believe that God can do something miraculous in this moment And if we step out we look kind of foolish right Because let's be honest. We're not called to a life of comfort Life of discipleship is not comforting. It isn't really disciples were pretty radical and zealous and bold and they stepped out And they looked like fools Remember what Saint Paul said when he when he started going the route in the areopagus and talking about how ultimately He tried using lot philosophy with them and then ultimately talks about Jesus raised from the dead and they're like, oh nice We'll hear you another time. Yeah, thank you And then that's when he made the decision He was gonna preach the cross more boldly Jesus Christ and him crucified We cannot allow our circumstances to dictate who God is amen You cannot allow the facts to dictate who God is amen We need a heavenly perspective because God wants to work in the facts now Here's the thing it does we can't predict how God's gonna work There's no formula because all is mercy all is grace. There's no formula I don't know why some people are miraculously healed and then others are not I don't know I don't know why some people get brain or vener and they get their job and stuff. I don't know but I know this I Know that the Lord reigns And I know he's got power and purposes. I know that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead And so my trust is in God and in God if you don't want me to have that job I trust Jesus I trust in you Jesus if you don't want to heal me Jesus. I trust in you Doesn't mean I'm not gonna pray for healing But Jesus I trust in you because you love me you gave yourself for me and your plan is much bigger than my plan But the key is we got to get into the plan of heaven not as man sees does God see we got to be about the power and Purposes of heaven amen so just to finish this out I was visiting a friend the other day and It was kind of funny because I was like Lord, I know I want to give this homely and I would love a really great story and He provided one as It was happening like you've got to be kidding me so I'm visiting friends of mine and they have a next-door neighbor and This next-door neighbors has terminal cancer and He's had this Brutal cancer for a number of years I think the fact that he's been living to this point as a result of many people praying for him And I've gotten to meet him a few times of the well anyways It was kind of late at night I was getting ready to leave and he happened to be outside because he's on such pain medicaid He can't he's really restless a lot of pain tremendous pain because of the cancer is brutal. It's brutal And and it's affecting the lungs and he's has a very hard time breathing And he's got this growth thing that's breaking a rib really just kind of a horrible situation pray for Joe So I came outside and he's like oh father Just need you to say a prayer for me. You know because it's really hard right now We bless my cross and I blessed his cross and His children happen to be there the wife and a lot of people And I said you know what can I pray with you like for real? He said yeah, sure father I had him sit down. We're out about 10 o'clock at night. We're in this front lawn Okay, and like it's I all the family comes out and then my friends came out We started praying and then like his daughter's like a young adult her friends kind of showed up And she's like running like okay, you know like trying to manage that whole thing You know and I just started I started praying like this. I said I said we know what the facts are Like we know what the facts are, but I want to tell you something doctors aren't God I reverent we reverence the medical community. We reverence the medical community and we do what they ask us to do As long as it's within our morals, right? But they're not God Jesus Christ is Lord and if he wants to heal him he will God's got power purposes for this man's life Most especially to salvation with soul So I start praying and I pray that God will come down and heal this man I pray that God will alleviate his suffering. I pray that he'd be able to breathe better And I didn't my prayer. I'm saying Lord we understand what the facts are But Lord you're God and you could do something and we beg you to do something this hour What the devil is written against Joe has been canceled by the blood of the land has been canceled by the blood of the land And we're praying father we call to be now that which is not as if it were as if it were because it is in the kingdom And it's now through faith in Jesus name pain be gone now be healed in Jesus name and we're just calling Well anyways when we finish, I'm not gonna say you get miraculous healed, but I'll tell you something You know what he said to me. He says father. I feel 90% better. Hallelujah Father I feel 90% better father. I couldn't stand up straight. I can stand up straight now. I wasn't breathing Well, I'm breathing out goes I can still feel like there's something here like this little pain here, but it's 90% better I was like, well, let's pray for a hundred percent Mike why is God gonna bring you there and we prayed more and he I didn't get a hundred percent. That's all right, but I But I'm telling you that because I stepped out and the Lord didn't he humbled me, right? He humbled me. I stepped out. I'm like, all right, Lord. I thought you're gonna get my back on that one. All right, whatever fine Your God, you know what you're doing But you know what that then began to do that started to give faith to the his family To which then now one of the siblings says mom you should get pray with you're going for a test next week For this this and this you should have she's like, oh, no, no, no, no mom you should so I pray with her Right and we pray for whatever she's going through and and then she starts to feel blessed See God works God works and you know, maybe maybe that encounter was less about his His physical thing although God wants but maybe it was more about the family be being awakened To God's love God's power and purposes and the God's alive I am not saying in any way father story was right on I probably have more hit misses than hits Okay, there's been many people at the Jelly Isle that I've gone by That the Lord is like you should speak to that person and I'm like So here's the thing like when I'm at conferences like this I have a minute left when I'm at conferences like this I'm praying that God speaks and then I get a word and everything and I'm not a I'll share it But man when he starts speaking outside of your comfort zone, you're like, oh, that must have been me. I play footsies with Jesus So I'm praying this weekend for myself that when he spawns I'll be a yes, man, and I know that if I take fasting more seriously, I'll be able to do it With great confidence in the mercy of our father. We offer to him our prayers For holy father Pope Francis that he may be strengthened and renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit To guide and lead the church. We pray to the Lord All public authorities that the Holy Spirit will guide them and lead them in right choices We pray to the Lord that all may trust the Lord and know his power to come all of the storms in each of our lives With his everlasting peace and love We pray to the Lord all who are sick especially our friends and loved ones that the Lord will bring them comfort and Consolation we pray to the Lord For the repose of the souls of all those who have died that they may rest in Christ's peace We pray to the Lord for all the prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts We pray to the Lord Let us entrust all of our prayers to the powerful intercession of our most blessed mother Mary Queen of the Apostles as we pray hail Mary Father we make all of our prayers in the name of your beloved son Jesus who is Lord forever and ever In song though darkness fills the night. It cannot hide the crush the end Underneath my feet you are my sword and shield though troubles lay Is truly right and just our duty and our salvation Always and everywhere to give you thanks to stand firm on apostolic foundations To be a lasting sign of your holiness on earth And offer all humanity your heavenly teaching Therefore now and for ages unending with all the hosts of angels We sing to you with all our hearts crying out as we acclaim An unblemished sacrifices which we offer you first