“Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice, seek humility.” – Zephaniah 2:3 St. Augustine said, “We all want to live happily.” He’s right, of course. Who doesn’t want to be happy? God has placed the desire for happiness in each and every human heart (cf CCC 1725). The Catechism teaches that the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) “shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian…
Blessed are they…-Matthew 5:1-12 The Beatitudes are a rule of life that can help us live a life that is truly happy and holy. It’s a picture of a life lived virtuously, full of faith in the Lord, confident hope in His promises, and love of God and neighbor. Following the Beatitudes is like a blueprint for conforming our hearts to Christ’s Sacred Heart. Christ is the exemplary image of each one of the Beatitudes.…
Happy Gaudete Sunday! Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin. We rejoice this week because Jesus is coming soon. We will celebrate that Jesus, the Life (John 14:6), came to us through the Blessed Virgin Mary. We rejoice and thank Mary for her “yes”–her fiat. We rejoice and give thanks to God the Father for giving us the gift of His Son (cf John 3:16). We rejoice in Christ, the Light (John 14:6) who is coming into…
“What are you looking for?” John 1:38 We are all looking for something in this life. We wake up each day searching for it. We often think that people or things can bring it to us. The Declaration of Independence affirms that all people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” and the thing we are all looking for is one of them. Do you know what it is yet? 🙂 The thing…
Jesus offers us the key to discipleship in today’s Gospel reading: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16: 24-25). Paradoxically, this is also the key to fulfillment and happiness. To be Christian disciples, we must deny ourselves by emptying ourselves of sin, pride,…
In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells His disciples that they are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5: 13-14). Part of the role of a disciple of Christ is to make the world better for everyone. The places where we live and work should be more peaceful and happy as a result of the salt and light that we bring to them. Salt is a seasoning that brings…
The story of Zacchaeus climbing the tree to see Jesus reminds me of the story of the men who went around the crowd and opened the roof of a house so their friend could be healed (Mk 2:1-12). Or remember the woman who only touched Jesus’s clothes and was cured of her hemorrhage (Mk 5: 25-35)? What lengths people went to so Jesus might heal them! We might suppose that Zacchaeus subconsciously wanted to see…
Letting go of our own plans and ways and trusting in God’s plans and ways is a theme in today’s scripture readings. Detachment from things, preferences, and ideas can help us to fully embrace God’s will. When we have confidence in God’s will for us—when we know that He has our best interests in mind—we will feel more peace and happiness. Imagine that there’s a certain task that you want to accomplish. You’ve thought it…
This week we will celebrate Independence Day—our day of liberty and freedom. Our political freedoms are protected by the Constitution. More importantly, our spiritual freedom is a free gift from God. Our political freedoms are based on this spiritual freedom. The Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty…
Pope Francis wrote, “Do not be afraid of holiness. It will take away none of your energy, vitality, or joy. On the contrary, you will become what the Father had in mind when he created you, and you will be faithful to your deepest self” (Rejoice & Be Glad, 32). In the Beatitudes, Jesus teaches us the key to happiness: holiness. The world says that happiness consists of money, pleasure, power, and honor. But Jesus…