Daily Thought

Raising The Standard Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20) In 1912, George Horine leaped two meters skyward during an Olympic trial. Usually, “two” isn’t very spectacular. But in the high jump, elevating yourself two meters is something special—and George set the world record. Over the years, that record would change hands many times, until 1993, when the bar was raised to its current height, a staggering 2.45 meters. If George were around, he might have marveled, “That’s impossible!” In today’s Gospel, Jesus dramatically elevated the standards for his disciples to live by. He proclaimed that unless they were more righteous than their religious leaders, they would not enter heaven. He then went on to expand the commandment against murder to include speaking and even thinking violence against others. You can just hear the disciples’ exasperated response, “This will be impossible!” Wh...

If More People Did This The World Would Be Better In each action we must look beyond the action at our past, present, and future state, and at others whom it affects, and see the relations of all those things. And then we shall be very cautious. Blaise Paschal

A Plea For Reconciliation Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord never tires of having mercy on us, and wants to offer us His forgiveness once again — we all need it — , inviting us to return to Him with a new heart, purified of evil, purified by tears, to take part in His joy. How should we accept this invitation? St Paul advises us: “We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). This power of conversion is not only the work of mankind, it is letting oneself be reconciled. Reconciliation between us and God is possible thanks to the mercy of the Father who, out of love for us, did not hesitate to sacrifice His only begotten Son. Indeed Christ, who was just and without sin, was made to be sin (cf. v. 21) when, on the Cross, He took on the burden of our sins, and in this way He redeemed and justified us before God. “In Him” we can become just, in Him we can change, if we accept the grace of God and do not allow this “acceptable time” to pass in vain (6:2). Ple...

The Zeal On One Particular Saint  Making people happy. Another force that drives me to preach and hear confessions is my desire to make my neighbor happy. If there is so much joy in healing the sick, freeing the prisoner, consoling the afflicted, and cheering the sad, then there is far greater joy in bringing one's neighbor to the glory of heaven. It means saving him from every evil and bringing him to the enjoyment of every good -- and for all eternity. Mortals cannot understand this just now, but when they are in glory they will know the great good that was offered them and that they will have, happily, attained. Then they will sing the everlasting mercies of the Lord and bless those who have been merciful to them. St. Anthony Mary Claret (Founder of the Claretians)

The Nature of Love True love is delicate and kind, full of gentle perception and understanding, full of beauty and grace… . There should be some flavor of this in all our love for others. We are all one. We are one flesh, in the Mystical Body, as man and woman are said to be one flesh in marriage. With such a love one would see all things new; we would begin to see people as they really are, as God sees them. Dorothy Day

The Sad Result of Shutting God Out Poor human reason, when it trusts in itself, substitutes the strangest absurdities for the highest divine concepts. St. John Chrysostom

Perseverance in Prayer If at times it seems that the Lord is not listening to us, we must be careful not to lose heart. It may be that He wants us to shout a little louder into the ears of His goodness, to prove as a result the greatness of His mercy ... When the Lord withdraws His consolations in prayer, He does not do this to discourage us or create a gulf between us, but to force us to come closer to His goodness, to practice perseverance and to give some proof of our patience.  St. Francis de Sales

The Importance of Fraternal Correction Being concerned for each other” also entails being concerned for their spiritual well-being. Here I would like to mention an aspect of the Christian life, which I believe has been quite forgotten: fraternal correction in view of eternal salvation. Today, in general, we are very sensitive to the idea of charity and caring about the physical and material well-being of others, but almost completely silent about our spiritual responsibility towards our brothers and sisters. This was not the case in the early Church or in those communities that are truly mature in faith, those which are concerned not only for the physical health of their brothers and sisters, but also for their spiritual health and ultimate destiny. The Scriptures tell us: “Rebuke the wise and he will love you for it. Be open with the wise, he grows wiser still, teach the upright, he will gain yet more” (Prov 9:8ff). Christ himself commands us to admonish a brother who is committi...

The Joy of Forgiveness The Gospel is the real antidote to spiritual destitution: wherever we go, we are called as Christians to proclaim the liberating news that forgiveness for sins committed is possible, that God is greater than our sinfulness, that He freely loves us at all times and that we were made for communion and eternal life. Pope Francis

Lent−Formation of the Heart As a way of overcoming indifference and our pretensions to self-sufficiency, I would invite everyone to live this Lent as an opportunity for engaging in what Benedict XVI called a formation of the heart (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 31). A merciful heart does not mean a weak heart. Anyone who wishes to be merciful must have a strong and steadfast heart, closed to the tempter but open to God. A heart which lets itself be pierced by the Spirit so as to bring love along the roads that lead to our brothers and sisters. And, ultimately, a poor heart, one which realizes its own poverty and gives itself freely for others. Pope Francis Message for Lent 2015

Forgiveness Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil. St. Pope John Paul II

The Gospel Is Supposed To Unsettle Us A church that doesn’t provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn’t touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed - what gospel is that? Archbishop Oscar Romero

Faith Working Through Love An interior conversion, a change for the better in one's life, is an indication of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Saint John the Baptist was sanctified in the womb of his mother; likewise, those who receive the Holy Spirit are transformed. So when you want to know if you have received the Spirit, keep a clear watch on your works; they will answer the question accurately.  St. Francis de Sales

The Anointing of the Holy Spirit As Christians we also receive an anointing (1 John 2:20-27), where there is question, not of a sacramental rite (Baptism or Confirmation) but of a participation in the prophetic anointing of Jesus, a Spiritual anointing through faith. In other words, our anointing by the Spirit is our own 'consecration' for a prophetic mission of preaching and suffering like Jesus, in favor of the world's poor. None of us may dare sing lightly, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me', for in singing of our Spirit-anointing or 'consecration', we are renewing our consent to be set apart and made holy, to be dedicated and qualified for a sacred role as God's chosen instruments to the poor and as witnesses of a new civilization! The early Christians understood this, and in cases where they did not, as with Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) or some Corinthians (1Cor. 11:26-33), there were sad consequences. Such unworthy disciples became gui...

Bringing Heaven Wherever We Go Those who carry God in their hearts bear heaven wherever they go. St. Ignatius of Loyola

Moving Forward Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. St. Pope John XXIII

Faith is the Answer to Fear Faith is the answer to fear. Deep down we are all afraid: of suffering, or of dying, or of God’s judgment, or of the unknown, or of weakness, or of our lives slipping out of our control, or of not being understood and loved. We sin because we fear. We bully because we are cowards. Faith casts out fear as light casts out darkness. God has shone his light into our world, and it is stronger than darkness (Jn 1:5). That light is Jesus Christ. Peter Kreeft

Putting Things In Perspective It is so hard to admit that one is a sinner; it is so hard to climb the hill of Calvary and kneel beneath a cross and ask for pardon, forgiveness. Certainly it is hard. But it is harder to hang there. Venerable Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen

Rooted in Christ We Can Do Great Things! In every period of history, including our own, many young people experience a deep desire for personal relationships marked by truth and solidarity. Many of them yearn to build authentic friendships, to know true love, to start a family that will remain united, to achieve personal fulfilment and real security, all of which are the guarantee of a serene and happy future. In thinking of my own youth, I realize that stability and security are not the questions that most occupy the minds of young people. True enough, it is important to have a job and thus to have firm ground beneath our feet, yet the years of our youth are also a time when we are seeking to get the most out of life. When I think back on that time, I remember above all that we were not willing to settle for a conventional middle-class life. We wanted something great, something new. We wanted to discover life itself, in all its grandeur and beauty. Naturally, part of that was due to...

  Recognizing Lazarus in Our Parishes All that we have been saying about the universal Church must now be applied to the life of our parishes and communities. Do these ecclesial structures enable us to experience being part of one body? A body which receives and shares what God wishes to give? A body which acknowledges and cares for its weakest, poorest and most insignificant members? Or do we take refuge in a universal love that would embrace the whole world, while failing to see the Lazarus sitting before our closed doors (Lk 16:19-31)? Pope Francis—Message For Lent

The Two Wolves Inside One thing is certain: losing one's temper in anger tears apart relationships.  An old man once said to his grandson, who was angry over an injustice received from a friend, "Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and hoping your enemy will die. I have struggled with these feelings many times."  He went on, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will fight only when it is right to do so, and in the right way.  "But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great.  "Sometimes...

When Life Gets Tough—Wait For The Lord When the grace of God comes to a man he can do all things, but when it leaves him he becomes poor and weak, abandoned, as it were, to affliction. Yet, in this condition he should not become dejected or despair. On the contrary, he should calmly await the will of God and bear whatever befalls him in praise of Jesus Christ, for after winter comes summer, after night, the day, and after the storm, a great calm. from The Imitation of Christ  by Thomas Á Kempis Book 2 Chapter 8

The Consecrated Life Is Of Great Value Do not join the ranks of the prophets of doom who proclaim the end or meaninglessness of the consecrated life in the Church in our day; rather, clothe yourselves in Jesus Christ and put on the armor of light — as St Paul urged (cf. Rom 13:11-14) — keeping awake and watchful. St Chromatius of Aquileia wrote: “Distance this peril from us so that we are never overcome by the heavy slumber of infidelity. Rather may he grant us his grace and his mercy, that we may watch, ever faithful to him. In fact our fidelity can watch in Christ (Sermon 32, 4). Pope Benedict XVI - Homily for the Presentation of the Lord (World Day For Consecrated Life) February 2, 2013

Never Be Ashamed of The Gospel Do not be afraid to go out on the streets and into public places, like the first Apostles who preached Christ and the Good News of salvation in the squares of cities, towns and villages. This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel (Cfr. Rom 1,16 ). It is the time to preach it from the rooftops (Cfr. Matt 10,27 ). Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living, in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modern "metropolis". It is you who must "go out into the byroads" ( Matt 22,9 ) and invite everyone you meet to the banquet which God has prepared for his people. The Gospel must not be kept hidden because of fear or indifference. It was never meant to be hidden away in private. It has to be put on a stand so that people may see its light and give praise to our heavenly Father.  St. Pope John Paul II Mass at Cherry Creek Park, Denver August 15, 1993