In his novel, The Mysterious Island, Jules Verne tells of five men who escape a Civil War prison camp by hijacking a hot-air balloon.  As they rise up in the air, they realize that the wind is carrying them over the ocean.  Watching their homeland disappear on the horizon, the five escapees wonder how much longer the balloon can stay aloft.  You see, they had no way to heat the air in the balloon.  As the hours pass and the surface of the ocean draws closer, the men realize that they must lighten the balloon, to stay in the air.  They started with the obvious.  They got rid of everything that they didn’t need.  They took off their shoes, their overcoats, and eventually even their clothes, tossing them into the sea, and the reluctant aviators did feel their balloon rise.  But it was only temporary.  Next, they got rid of their weapons that they had accumulated in their escape.  They had several guns and quite a bit of ammunition. This too helped briefly.  But soon enough, the balloon was once again dipping down into the waves.  Finally, the five men dumped all of the food that they had brought with them into the ocean.  Better to be in the balloon and hungry, than to be dumped in the ocean and drown with a full belly.  Unfortunately, this too was only a temporary solution to their situation.  Finally, one of the men realizes that the only way for them to cut enough weight to keep them flying for very long, was to cut the ropes that hold the basket, or passenger car, allowing it too to fall into the sea.  And the five men stood on loops that they had tied in the ropes that formerly held the basket.  This last effort worked brilliantly.  The hot-air balloon shot back up into the air.  Not a minute too soon, they spot land, an island.  As they neared the small piece of land, the five jumped into the water and swim to the island.  The five men survived because they were able to discern the difference between what they really needed and what they did not.  And they weren’t afraid to cut off anything or get rid of anything that was keeping them from their ultimate goal.  In the end, it must have terrifying to climb up on those ropes, and cut loose the basket that had been carrying them, watching it crash into the sea, but if they hadn’t taken that bold move, they most certainly would have perished.

       We hear our Gospel story today, and we’ve heard it so much, that we think that Jesus is kidding with his words in this passage.  God isn’t really asking us to cut off our hands or our feet or pluck out our eyes, is He?  We find great comfort in the fact that Jesus is trying to make a point.  And yet, we must be very clear to NOT rationalize away Jesus’ message either.  My brothers and sisters, there is nothing worse than being sent to Hell.  Not cancer.  Not  AIDS.  Not divorce.  Not bankruptcy.  And there is NO sacrifice, that isn’t worth it, when it comes to avoiding Hell.  In particular, we truly must root out of our lives all occasions of sin.  We should run away from sin just like it was going to kill us.   And do you know why?  It is because sin is killing our souls.  As modern Catholic Christians, we like to flirt around with sin.  We like to think it’s no big deal.  We like to think that we can look and be tempted, but not fall.  We open the door to the Devil just a crack, and the next thing you know he’s got it wide open and he’s taken over.  We can’t mess around with this stuff.  Sin and evil are powerful, very real entities, and yes, Virginia, your hands, your feet, and your eyes can get you in big trouble, if you let them.    We need to stop sin before it starts.  We need to stay focused on where we’re going and not let anything pull us down from our goal.  We can’t be afraid to do whatever we need to, to keep following Christ.  Sometimes, that means some pretty big changes for all of us.  Make the changes that are necessary.  Change your heart and change your life.  Cut out what you need to keep growing.

        The Letter to the Hebrews says, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”  Is that exactly what Jesus is telling us today?  The five men from Jules Verne’s novel, were amazed to find out that what they once thought of as necessities, things that they couldn’t live without, became the very weights that almost cost them their lives.  How many things, how many ways, and how many sins are doing that same thing to all of us?   We are all invited to the life in the Spirit.  God is allowing all of us to be His prophets.  But we can’t work for God, if we are slaves to this world or slaves to the flesh.  Cut it out.  Cut it off.  Get rid of everything that is keeping you from God.  It is the only way that you are truly going to fly with Him!

May God bless us this Sunday,  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti…Pray for us !!!