Tuesday in the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time

“Their hearts are far from me.”  Not long ago, a priest was arrested in Los Angeles.  Fr. Erwin Mena wasn’t your typical priest.  He wrote a book titled “Confessions of a Renegade Catholic Priest.”  When the Pope came to the United States, he collected money from parishioners for a pilgrimage to share in that historical event.    

But the pilgrimage never happened because he wasn’t really a priest.  He had been impersonating one for twenty-five years.  Whenever an investigation of his activities threatened to expose him, he would take off with the money he had collected, only to turn up somewhere else.  He honored God with his lips, but his heart was far from him

The prophecy of Isaiah continues to be fulfilled.  “People honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” We are here this morning because of our love for Jesus.  May our hearts always be close to him as we honor Jesus by our prayers and by our lives.  May we joyfully bear fruit for the salvation of the world, especially for those whose hearts are far from him.