Memorial
of St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr.
Bible
Study: Wisdom 7, 22 to 8, 1. And Luke 17, 20 to 25.
Very
often, we think of heaven as something that is very far away, some even have a
physical description of heaven as a place that is somewhere above the skies.
Jesus, today tells us that heaven is not far at all. In fact, rather than wait
for the last day to experience heaven, we can start living in heaven right now
because God’s kingdom is right in our midst.
This is
exactly what St. Paul was saying in Romans 14, verse 17. “For the kingdom of
God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit.” To live righteously, to experience peace of mind, to be filled with
that joy which only the Holy Spirit can give is to live in heaven. That said,
our greatest aspiration while still on earth should be to turn our earthly
existence into a heaven of some sorts such that even when we depart from earth,
we are already used to the culture of heaven.
From St.
Paul’s description of heaven as righteousness, peace and joy, we can see that
the central characteristic of heaven is HAPPINESS or JOY. Each time, we are
really happy, we are already in heaven. And to find happiness is to live right
and living right means that we also help those around us find happiness. There
is a lot of truth in the song: “The time to be happy is now, the place to be
happy is here and the way to be happy is to make someone happy and we’ll have a
little heaven down here.”
In our
first reading this morning, we see a connection between wisdom and purity of
heart. Wisdom itself is spotless and undefiled by worldly corruption. For God
loves nothing so much as the man who lives with wisdom. When your heart is
pure, God comes to dwell inside as he himself loves purity thereby making your
heart another heaven. How happy is the man who has God living in his heart. He is
always at peace, he is truly satisfied and his life is always exemplary like a
light shining in a dark place.
Today we celebrate
the life of St. Josaphat, the Bishop and Martyr who was killed in his attempt
to deepen the unity of the church. Read more about him in http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=71
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, deepen my faith and help me to discover its power to change and
transform me. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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