There comes a time when we need our own little miracle from God. The story of the healing of the two blind men in Matthew 9.27-35 is a gift from God for us today. When we allow God’s mercy and grace to work in our lives to open our eyes to our shortcomings. It is too easy to walk through life with our comfortable blinders, but once He opens our eyes, then our relationships can be healed. Ask God for mercy and He will open your eyes. Then you can be blessed to see clearly and be healed.

We have all received gifts from God. Saint Paul taught us the gifts should be used, and we should use them with faith. Whether we have received the gift of teaching, or organization or even giving, our gifts should be used for the glory of God. They should be used with faith, with love, and with mercy.

There are many immigrant stories of people who leave everything behind to come to America for a better life. Our ancestors risked losing everything for something better. Christ says, “Seek first the kingdom of heaven.” We must be willing to risk everything to reach heaven. Heaven is only destination worthy of risking everything because it isn’t just a better life, it is the best life.

The world is at war with the Church, trying to convince us what is good and what is not good. The world believes that life is disposable. The Church teaches that life is sacred. When we choose to follow Christ, and leave behind the world, it begins with not allowing how the world thinks to influence the way we think. The world will not wait for us to ponder the pros and cons of following Christ. We must choose immediately to leave the world behind and follow Christ. We must choose to live a NEW LIFE with Christ.

On the Sunday of All Saints, the Church directs out attention to those holy men and women, many of whom we will never know, to honor their holy lives. The Saints were those who put God ahead of all things in their lives. Christ gave us two very important ways to become Saints. We must confess Him in front of others, and we must love Him above all other things and people. If we are going to live as Saints, like God has called us, it begins with imitating the Saints.

On the Sunday between Ascension and Pentecost, the Church commemorates the Sunday of the Holy Father of the 1^st Ecumenical Council which was dedicated to the unity of the Church. Shortly before His crucifixion, Christ prayed for us to be one as the Trinity is one. If we are going to be like God, then we must be committed to unity, not just in the name we call ourselves, but in the way we think about God. We must be committed to the oneness of mind with the Church.

On the Sixth Sunday of Pascha, the Church recalls the healing of the man born blind. Known as the Sunday of the Blind Man, it is truly about faith. The Blind Man saw Christ as God with his heart. The Pharisees refused to see Christ as God, not because they eyes didn’t work, but because they thought it was easier to remain in their sins. Too often, we do no live as if we believe, like the Pharisees. The time has come for us to change our lives, and finally live the faith we claim.

Every few years the commemoration of the Myrrh Bearing Women and Mothers’ Day coincide, as they do this year. It offers us a great opportunity to honor the faith and courage of women in general, and mothers specifically. Without our mothers and grandmothers and their grandmothers, going back to Eve in the Garden, we would be lost in the darkness without God. Our faithful and courageous mothers help us find God, which is worthy of all honor. Thank you mothers!

Six days before Passover, Christ was greeted with such extraordinary love of a woman, that we today could not comprehend such actions. We struggle to love God enough to come to Church on Sunday. Holy and Great Week is our chance to show God our love by giving Him our time. We may not be able to give thousands of dollars for perfume to anoint His feet, but we can give our hearts. If we want to love like Mary, then we must love God with all we’ve got.

There are two types of people in the world. Those who are aware of their addiction, and those who are not aware of their addiction. We all suffer from addiction, but we don’t always realize it. For some, our addiction is food, or money and wealth, or it may be power and prestige. There is something in life that consumes us. We are all addicted to sin, and the only way to defeat our addiction is to go through detox. Great Lent is our detox, and the chance for us to make a drastic change to our sin.