It was a great privilege to be part of the Memorial Day Parade here in Smithtown and to march through town with the Knights of Columbus from Holy Mother Mary Council. Each year they organize this parade and it is a great service to our community.  As I marched with the Knights it was amazing and refreshing to see so many people waving flags, displaying their joy in being an American.  Most of us received that privilege and blessing simply by being born here.  Of course to be a good American citizen we have the responsibility of being concerned about what is happening in our nation.  Some have shown that concern by serving in the Armed Services.  How good it was to ask God’s blessing on our veterans last weekend at all of our Masses.  Others serve our nation and community in political offices.  They are elected by us to serve the good of all.  To be a true American means far more than just sitting back and criticizing.  It involves rolling up our sleeves and sharing our time, talents and energy for the good of our community and nation. Following the parade hundreds of people came back to our soccer fields for an afternoon of food, games and one another’s company.  The desire to offer a pastime for the children of our community has formed a community.

In today’s gospel Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” What Jesus is saying is that we have to be his followers in more than name only.  For most of us this choice was made for us by our parents when we were baptized as infants.  That commitment was reaffirmed by us personally when we received the Sacrament of Confirmation.  Each time we pray, come to Mass, and encounter God in the other sacraments and one another we renew and enliven who we are as the followers of Jesus.  We don’t go around waving a flag, but we do wear symbols our of faith such as medals of saints and crucifixes.  These are merely external signs of an internal reality.  The real signs of our faith are how we act, speak and think in all the events and experiences of our everyday lives. Do I do “the will of my Father in heaven” at home with my family, at work with my fellow workers, in the gatherings where I am present, at the supermarket, on the highway driving? The list goes on and on.  But the question remains, “Am I what I say I am as a Catholic follower of Jesus?”

In past weeks I have written about our responsibility to vote for candidates that are truly good for our nation.  Even more, are they in line with God’s plan for our world and all people? We don’t impose God’s will on others.  We live his will out with the love and Spirit of Jesus.  Otherwise our actions, words and attitudes are not life giving for ourselves or others.  Our responsibility as Americans is superseded by our responsibility as the followers of Jesus.  But if we are true to who we say we are as Catholic Christians, then our nation will be better off and richer for our presence as concerned citizens.  So often polls in the media try to determine what should be done.  Truth is not something we vote on, but a gift from God that we seek to live as Jesus did.  It is not always easy or acceptable to others to live what we believe.  The challenge is to not allow ourselves to compromise who we are, but to be beacons of light, love, hope and truth.  The truth is not always popular, but to deny it is to make our lives and our world far less than God created them to be.

In the first reading Moses tells the Jewish people as they are about to enter the Promised Land after 40 years in the desert to take God’s words and commands into their hearts and minds.  To do so is a blessing.  Failure to do so will result in a curse.  A curse is not bad luck or a black cloud over our heads, but the presence of evil causing tension, anxiety and animosity.  Jesus came that we might have life to the full.  No one or no “thing” in our world can bring us that life, only Jesus. Our words, “Lord, Lord” are seen by the way we pray, worship and treat one another.  We know whether they come from an empty heart merely going through the motions or from a heart that is filled with love for God and gratitude for his love and mercy in Jesus.

Father Walden