Bulletins

February 24, 2019

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Many of us want to live disease-free
but few of us want live a healthy life.
Many of us want to be free of evil
but few of us want to be holy.

If we spend a lifetime actively not wanting to become holy but wanting only to avoid losing our salvation, then we set up the inevitable predicament of wanting heaven and not wanting heaven.

Imagine the person who wants to finish a marathon but does not want to run, the one who wants to be educated but does not want to read. Or just picture the individual who wants to be rich but does not want to work.

Desire the goal and the means of achieving the goal.

Heaven is the life of holiness in perpetuity. Since we desire that sincerely we also implicitly desire the means to that life of happiness. On a simple level it implies the life of virtue. But that is not enough. St. Paul reminds us over and over that following laws does not make us holy. “Keep the commandments,” Our Lord tells the young man who wants to know how to have eternal life (Matthew 19,16-20). But these are not just rules to follow. This is a roadmap of life. What is the first and greatest commandment? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22,37-38). The commandments direct our hearts to love of god and love of neighbor.

Heaven is the life of perfect union with God in perpetuity. Since we desire that sincerely we also implicitly desire the means to that life of love. On a deeper level it requires the life of prayer. Learning how to say our prayers is essential. Holy words and the holy sentiments they elicit set us on course for a real relationship with the Lord. But many of us stop short of that.

Jesus taught the Apostles how to pray (Luke 11,1-4). More importantly He allowed them to witness His prayer life (Matthew 26,36; Luke 6,12; 9,18; 9,28; 22,39). Spend time in quiet with God the Father as Jesus did and He taught us to do. “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6,6).

Fr. Christopher J. Pollard

p.s. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Heb 13,8)