In Season and Out of Season

Father Tom DiLorenzo: Good day, it's Father Tom and Anthony Antonio Tommaso. Little Italian today. I'm reading from the sixth chapter of St. John, the Gospel, and it says: "Truly, truly I tell you, whoever believes in me has eternal life." Do you believe in Jesus? Have you given him your life? If you have, you have eternal life. It's already started in you.

"I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna in the desert and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven so that anyone who eats this bread will not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever."

Oh, how often do you eat the bread of life? How often do you come to the altar to receive the very body of the Lord Jesus Christ? "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. As the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread come down from heaven, unlike the bread your ancestors ate in the desert and died. Those who eat this bread will live forever. And the bread that I shall give you is my flesh for the life of the world to come."

When was the last time you've eaten the flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus? When was the last time? Long time. Need to go to confession. Go confess your sins. I tell you, your sins, when they stay in your gut, will only make you miserable. Don't think that sin is fun. I tell you, after you've had the fun, you'll be in misery. Misery, misery, misery. Don't hold on to misery. Go to confession. Get rid of them. Tell Jesus and tell the priest, "I'm sorry. I've done it again. I said I wouldn't do it again, but I fell. I need you. I'm desperate for you."

I tell you, speak to God like that and great things will happen to you. Tell him the truth. Give him your feelings. Great things will happen to you. You see, he's the bread come down from heaven. We feast on that bread in the word of God. We feast on that bread at the altar, receiving the sacrament of his body and blood. It's not either-or, it's both-and. That bread come down from heaven, the word of God. That bread come down from heaven, the word made flesh, the Eucharist. I tell you, I want it all. Oh, I don't just want one. I want it all.

And to top it all, I need that Holy Spirit. Oh yes, "It is better for you that I go away. If I go away, I will send the Holy Spirit." How desperate the church is for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit. How desperate I am for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Nothing happens without the Holy Spirit. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

The problem with people that are in ministry is that they want to do the ministry. No, I want the Holy Spirit to go before me and then what he does, I want to enter into it so that people will be healed, saved, delivered by the name of Jesus. It's all what God wants to do, not what Father Tom wants to do. It's all what God wants to do and he'll use me, though I might only be a donkey, he will use me. And you know what I tell him? "You can sit on my back anytime you want. I'll go wherever you want me to go. I'll be your donkey if that's what you want me to be."

But he says, "No, I don't want you to be a donkey. I've raised you up to be a man of God." Are you a man of God? Are you a woman of God? Does the Lord Jesus reside in your broken heart? You're not only called to have a broken heart; you're called to be restored in Christ so that what God does in you and to you and through you, you can share with other people.

Oh yes, we serve the victor king. Victor King! His name is Jesus. Do you serve Jesus? He's the victor king. He's the victory over your garbage and the victory over my garbage. He's the Lord and has plans for you. Don't quit until you start living out those plans. Then you don't quit again. You just say, "More Lord, more in your Holy Spirit, more of your Holy Spirit."

Anthony Antonio Tommaso: God doesn't give us his spirit by measure. The Lord wants you to become an empty and pure vessel so the spirit can just blow through you and release the power and the plans and the destiny of God wherever you go. Wherever you go, you bring healing, you bring solution, you bring love, you bring grace, you bring the power of God. You are heaven's representative upon this earth. Isn't that good news?

You are heaven's representative upon this earth. And Jesus' plan is restoration. "I will restore the years the locusts have eaten. Sevenfold return." As soon as you come to the Lord, you come as you are, but you don't stay that way. The Lord wants to build you from the inside out. He wants to restore you and as your soul flourishes, your whole life will flourish.

Our life is a reflection of our interior, what's going on inside of us. we live from the inside out. So if everything's all crushed up within us, our life is going to reflect chaos. But as Jesus comes and he fills us with his love and his grace and the Holy Spirit brings order to disorder, it brings discipline to chaos, then suddenly we just become healed from the inside out.

And not right away, not immediately. Step by step, our life begins to reflect the light of Christ that lives in us. Jesus starts to open doors for us. Jesus starts to restore relationships for us. Jesus starts to bless us. Have you declared today that I walk under the blessing of God? That the blessing of the Lord Jesus flows to me easily and in abundance?

When we come to God, we've got to battle for victory, but that's until we gain that interior disposition. Then we get to walk in victory. It doesn't mean we're not going to go through trials. Trials are a gift from God to lift us higher. Suffering is a gift from God that softens our soul so that God can begin to mold us and shape us into the image of Christ. Trials are for promotion. But constant struggle means we're out of our purpose.

Jesus promises to take you from glory to glory with him. And every higher glory, we need to die to ourselves. We need to get out of the way and not become the stumbling block so we can live in the resurrection. We need to learn, "Those who wait on the Lord will restore their strength." We need to learn how to be alone in the secret place with the Lord Jesus Christ so he can fill us so that we can go release upon others.

Yesterday, I was watching an interview with a great, great minister who used to fill arenas. Yeah, it's on your tongue. I'll think of it later. Billy Graham. Yeah, and Billy Graham was such an amazing man of God. He looked about ninety right before God took him home and they said, "Billy, would you change anything about your life?" He said, "Yes, I would." He's like, "I would have studied more. I would have been alone with God more. I would have told the Lord Jesus I loved him more."

He said, "I would have taken less speaking engagements." You can't believe that this man led millions and millions to Christ. But what he said, he's like, "I would have taken less speaking engagements to have more time alone with the Lord Jesus Christ ministering directly to God and just telling God how good he is and how much I love him."

We love God by serving God and doing the will of God and winning souls for God, but that ministry is secondary to the priesthood that we have with the Lord Jesus Christ of telling him how much we love him, being in the secret place with him and ministering directly to God.

We do a lot of ministry, but eighty percent of the time being alone with the Lord and ministering directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. And then we come out of that place of prayer, out of that place of worship, out of that place of adoration, and you go and you minister to the people. You preach, you pray, you do what you do and then you're right back there with the Lord Jesus Christ. Right back there.

Father Tom DiLorenzo: And tonight, Anthony will be in the North End. He will be serving people wonderful pizzas, wonderful things, and not only will he be serving them, he is open to telling people about the love of God.

Anthony Antonio Tommaso: Before the first six hours of my day, before I go to work, I'm alone with the Lord. That is what gives me life. That is why I am alive: to pray to God, to let him fill me, to learn, to be in the word, to be in the mystics, to understand that my first job is to love God. Your first job is to love God and be loved by God.

Today when I was sitting in the chapel with the Blessed Sacrament gazing upon Jesus in the Eucharist, body, blood, soul, and divinity, that interview with Billy Graham came back to my mind, which is why the Holy Spirit's bringing it up to me. And I just thought, wow, imagine if Billy Graham not only had the revelation of the word of God and the grace that God gave him to preach, which is unbelievably people of the Lord, but in that other part of his life when he was alone with the Lord, what if he had a revelation of the Eucharist?

That I get to be with Jesus right now in the chapel for hours sitting with him, gazing upon him, letting his light fill me. Not only being holy, but letting God's divinity overshadow me so I am transformed from the inside out. That's what the Eucharist does. That's what confession does. Because there's two parts. It glorifies God that we bear fruit. So there's going to be the fruit that we produce in this life.

But then there's going to be another part where God looks at our soul, God looks at the intention by which we do things. God doesn't judge the greatness of the act; he judges by the love that we do the act with. God is the one who produces fruit through us. He's looking at the purity of intention. Am I doing what I'm doing to only love and service and glorify God?

There's the fruit we do, but then there's our soul. And when God sees our soul, I don't want it to have thistles and brambles and bushes. I want it to be beautiful flowers. I want it to be filled with the sun and the light of Christ. I want to allow the Lord to purify me. Anything that I need, Lord, take it out of me that doesn't reflect you.

When the Lord looks at us and when the Lord looks at our soul, what is he going to see? Is he going to see me speaking about other people? Is he going to see me gossiping? Or is he going to see if something happens that I don't like, I'm praying for that person? If someone comes against me, I'm praying for that person. Why is that the example the Lord's given me? Maybe it's for you. Maybe it's for me. Maybe it's for us.

Father Tom DiLorenzo: I tell you, when God gives us a word, it's a living word. Not a dead word. A living word. Go and proclaim the gospel. Go out into the world one at a time and proclaim the gospel.

Anthony Antonio Tommaso: Go get 'em one at a time.

Father Tom DiLorenzo: That's what you need to do. You see, God changed you. What about the people he wants to change through you? "Oh, but I'm not like..." Yeah, they don't have to be like me. They don't have to be like Anthony. They have to be like you. God the Father wants you to be a soul winner. Winner of souls, winner of bodies.

Oh, you go to people. They say, "You know, I've got a backache." And you know they don't know Jesus. So what do you do? You pray for the backache. You pray for healing. You put the hand on the place. You pray in faith. It's God's business to heal them. After you've prayed, tell the person Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart.

He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Anyone who opens the door, I will come in." And I will dine with them. Tell them he's coming in if you want him. And he's going to dine with you. "What do I have to do?" they ask. "Here I am, Lord, come in. Come in, come into my heart. Free me from sin. I want a new life in Jesus. I want a new life in Jesus."

It's so simple. It's so simple. A new life in Jesus. Have you got a new life in Jesus? That's God's will for you. I cannot tell you it's God's will that you make a million dollars. I can't say that. But I do know one hundred percent the Lord has a new life for you in Jesus one hundred percent. A new life.

And you said, "Well, I've tried so many lives. I've messed up my life." I want to tell you, when you mess up your life, it's like eggs that are beaten down and you have scrambled eggs. Use them, scrambled eggs, enjoy them. My life has been beaten down. That's the way it is. What's going to happen?

I'm going to be able to help other people whose lives have been beaten down so that they would ask the Lord Jesus: "Come into my heart, forgive my sins, heal me, my body, my soul, my spirit." Nothing is wasted in the kingdom of God. Nothing is wasted in the name of Jesus. You are a soul winner.

How many souls have you won during this month? How many? I don't have any idea. I don't know how many. I've preached it. No one's told me, but I've preached it. I'm sure there's more than three, more than four. I don't know how many, but I'm going to continue to preach it so that people come to know Jesus. Do you know Jesus? That's the issue. I'm asking you, do you know Jesus? Not do you know about Jesus. Have you met the fellow?

I remember Sister Josephine. I keep on talking about Sister Josephine. Oh, she had been a nun for years and years and years. And we're going to have a seminar and we're going to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And she comes up to me before I was a priest. She says, "Tom, I don't know Jesus."

I said, "Sissy, you've been a nun for how many years?" Twenty-eight. How wonderful. You never met Jesus. Never met the fellow. When you received first communion, did you meet? No, never met him. God forbid, never met him. So I said, "Let's do it now. Let's meet him now."

And how do you do it? You take the scripture, Revelation 3:20. Revelation 3:20: "I stand at the door and knock. Anyone who opens the door, I will come in and dine with them." He's knocking on the door of your heart today. He has a plan for your life today. He wants to do new things to you today.

And I'm going to tell you what he really wants. He wants you to live by faith. That's what he wants. Faith in the son of God who loved you and gave his life for you.

Anthony Antonio Tommaso: So you've got to dispose yourself to be able to hear the voice of God and be obedient to his will. The best part is I can never be Father, Father can never be me. All God wants for you is to be the full expression of what he created you to be. I'm not a holy pious man that can kneel in the pews for hours and have prostrations. I'm just me. I'm just Anthony and I just love Jesus.

I'm a sinner saved by grace through faith. Amen. But I know that because I am nothing, through me God can do all things. And I'm someone who just chases after God with all my heart because nothing of the world will satisfy me. It won't. Nothing of the world. Our hearts are restless until it rests in Christ.

I'm someone who's all or nothing. I want all of God. Maybe not everyone wants all of God. That's okay. That's not a requirement to be saved. But the more God you got, the more purpose your life will have, the more joy you will have. Whether I'm suffering or I'm in the glory, I wake up every day excited about the day because today is a day for me to serve God.

Every day is one step closer to heaven. Amen. I have faith in Christ that his mercy will take me to heaven. And for you, it's just so good. Today, like I said, I'm going to work, I'm going to work eight hours, nine hours at the restaurant, but I'm going to tell people about the Lord.

But if I don't give the Lord my first five, six hours of the day, I'm going to be running on empty. And my words aren't going to carry power. I'm not going to be connected to the vine. I'm not going to be able to witness as God wants me to witness.

The biggest thing is getting alone with the Lord and letting him fill you with wisdom and knowledge. Jesus has the answer to everything, whether it's where I'm going to live, what I'm going to wear, where my finances need to go, who I need to give to, what I need to say. When you're connected to Christ, you're connected to all truth, all power, all wisdom.

"I am the vine, you are the branches. Without me you can do nothing, with me you can do all things." Yesterday, it's funny because you can be possessed by the spirit. Yesterday when I was at work and these six kids came in, like college kids, and I ended up just going—it wasn't even my table—I ended up going to the table and I realized later, "Oh, I just took that table, it's not even mine." It's okay because we all share the tips.

Anyways, at the end of the thing, I'm like, "What are you guys doing here?" They're like, "We're here from Canada to do track and field and to race at BU." And I was like, "Oh, that's awesome." They go, "We were here last year and you were our server." I go, "Really?" I said, "Did I tell you about Jesus last year?" He's like, "No." I was like, "All right, well you're about to hear about him now."

And I gave them the witness and salvation and I prayed for them. That's how the Lord works. Everyone's very concerned about being possessed by the devil, but when you're possessed by Christ, you've got nothing to worry about. Sometimes the Lord, you'll be in third person if you live in the spirit and you'll like see yourself.

You're like, "What am I even doing here?" And then the Lord will—the Lord doesn't speak to me like that, it's just a knowing and an inspiration in my heart: "You're here to pray for this man or woman or tell them about the love of God." But the whole point is to live from the spirit. But to live from the spirit, you need to get into the spirit. You need to push in. You give your life to Jesus, he gives you the Holy Spirit, and then the fun begins.

Father Tom DiLorenzo: Whether you feel it or not. It's not about feeling it. Whether you feel it or not. Oh, I sit before the Blessed Sacrament and it's like I could be in the middle of a ball field, but I'm still sitting before the Blessed Sacrament. It's Jesus and his rays are touching me, even though I don't feel them.

You cannot be in the sun and not get a tan and a sunburn. Amen. I tell you, he's greater than the sun. Oh, he's got more light than the sun. You cannot be in the presence of Jesus' Eucharist without getting touched by the grace of God. Whether you feel it or not, it happens.

It's got to happen because there's great power that comes from the Eucharist. Oh, great anointing that comes from the Eucharist. I could be nothing but a Catholic. Why? Because I believe in the word of God. Yes, I believe in the power of the Holy Ghost. Yes, I believe in the Blessed Sacrament, this is body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus.

Yes, I believe that Christ anointed and founded one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Yes. Oh, we have not always been faithful, but he founded one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Hallelujah. Yes, we are in and out. Yes, we are filled with grace, but also filled with discouragement and sin.

We need, as a church, starting with me, to repent, to turn away from our sins. We need to give our lives back to the Lord Jesus Christ as a church, and me too. You too! You've got to give yourself to Jesus.

Anthony Antonio Tommaso: It's not the perfect church, but it's the church Jesus Christ gave us two thousand years ago. If you're looking for the perfect church, as soon as me and Father entered into it, it becomes not perfect because we're sinners. But you know what's perfect? All the doctrine of the church.

Jesus didn't come to give us a book; he came to give us a church. And three hundred years after he gave us the church, the church gave us the book. And every word of the Bible is true, but Jesus came to found a church. Not forty thousand, not fifty thousand, he came to found one church.

But we are saved by grace through faith, so you don't need to be Catholic, like everyone knows, to go to heaven. But the Catholic Church is what Jesus left us so we wouldn't be confused, so we'd have him in the Eucharist, so we'd have the apostolic succession.

When I came to the Lord, what was hard, if I don't agree with something that the church teaches, is there a problem with the wisdom of the church or is there a problem with the wisdom of Anthony? And when I realized it was a problem of the wisdom of Anthony and I need to just submit to the teaching of the church, my spiritual life exploded and I began to walk in an unparalleled freedom and under the grace of God.

It's like you're on a cliff and no one wants a fence because everyone wants to go where they want. But when you're on the cliff and there's no fence, you've got to be kind of careful because you might roll off the cliff and die. But as soon as that fence goes up, you can run in freedom like a little child, knowing everything the church teaches is true and for my good.

Father Tom DiLorenzo: And just remember this. In our sinful nature, all of us, each of us wants to be the Pope. Yeah, you're not the Pope and neither am I. There's one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Yes. And even though I don't want to submit, most people don't want to be Catholic not because of doctrine, because in our heart submission is hard. But through submission is total freedom. God bless you.