Feast of Pope Blessed John XXIII

Good morning. We should be on the outside everything we suggest to be on the inside and vice versa. Jesus, in today's Gospel, makes it quite clear that God the Father is not in the market for masquerading Christianity. Disingenuous and pretentious need not apply. He soundly scolds the Pharisees for being this way: "Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools!” As Christian parents there is a very important lesson to be learned here, we need to practice what we preach. If we want our children to grow up in the ways of God then we need to be about those things we suggest our children need to be about. We say to our children, “Be pure in your thoughts and deeds”…while we sit down for an evening of Desperate Housewives or some other soft-porn primetime program. We say to them “You shouldn’t drink”…while Mom and Pop down a few highballs or beers nightly. We say “Sex is for marriage” yet we make a visit to the Gynecologist for Susie just in case. We say to our children, “It isn’t right to lie or cheat” yet our tax-time rallying cry is “Well, everybody fudges a little.” What are we really "saying" to our children? Do our actions measure up with our instructions? Blessed John XXIII, whose life we commemorate today offers us some sound advice for all that we do either as parents or otherwise: “What counts the most in life is blessed Jesus Christ, his holy Church, his Gospel, truth and goodness.” If our words and actions are centered on Jesus, His Church, His Gospel, His truth and goodness, we can’t go wrong and our children are likely to grow up in the ways of God. Let’s practice what we preach! Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and works of Pope Blessed John XXIII.