Don't use peer pressure, greed or laziness as an excuse to chase after false gods and become a wildly successful failure, Pope Francis said. Slow down, reflect and choose the path that takes you closer to God and your loved ones, he said during a recent morning Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he lives. One mistake in life, he said, is "always seeking one's own success, one's own benefit without thinking about the Lord, without thinking about one's family," he said. Vatican Radio and L'Osservatore Romano released excerpts from his homily, which examined the day's first reading from Deuteronomy, in which Moses sets before the people "life and prosperity, death and doom," and encourages them to choose life by following the Lord. Christians are still faced with the same difficult choice every day, the pope said, "to choose between God and the other gods -- those that have no power to give us anything, just tiny little what-nots that are fleeting." It is not easy to make the right choice because "we always have this habit of following the crowd a little." So our work begins. How does this look in the USA where we have been told that more is always better? I have taken the first step to simplify my life. Any clothes or shoes I haven't worn in six months, I donate to a local St. Vincent de Paul store. I am looking more closely at how I spend my money. I am looking to increase my donations to my church and other Catholic charities. It is the Franciscan model that is most helpful in this habit-changing exercise. I hope your Lenten journey is filled with opportunities for the Holy Spirit to grow in you.
The twelve apostles chosen by Jesus formed the bedrock of the early Church , and their Catholic identity is deeply rooted in their direct relationship with Christ and the mission He entrusted to them. The Catechism of the Catholic Church highlights this foundational role, stating that Jesus "instituted the Twelve as 'the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy'" ( CCC 860 ). These men were not simply followers; they were handpicked by Jesus, lived intimately with Him, witnessed His miracles and teachings firsthand, and were specifically commissioned to preach the Gospel to all nations ( Matthew 28:19-20 ). Their unique position as eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and their reception of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, established them as the authoritative leaders of the nascent Church, a reality echoed in the writings of early Church Fathers like Ignatius of Antioch, who emphasized the apostles' authority as repre...