In Philippians 4:12, St. Paul tells us that he has learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens. His happiness stems from his acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. So is the secret to happiness that easy? Yes is the answer! Asking Jesus Christ to take over your life is truly a life-changing experience. Allowing the conversation between you and Jesus to never end is a very important part of this transformation. Not only in prayer and adoration but in ongoing conversation. Allowing Jesus and his beatitudes to guide us through life is truly the secret to happiness. St. Paul experienced many hardships, not the least of which was his initial blinding, as he began his conversion from persecutor to Christian. I enjoyed the depiction presented two Sundays ago on A.D. the Series. Saul's anguish and confusion was carefully depicted. His complete and utter surrender to the power of Christ is a great example to all of us. Too often the story of St. Paul gets lost to us as we read through his many letters in the Bible. But his story, his journey, his conversion experience provides us with the perfect path to Jesus Christ. His allegiance, loyalty and devotion show us how even a simple man, like us, can become a saint. St. Paul's past transgressions did not prevent him for living forever with Jesus Christ in heaven. We should not allow our past, whatever it is, to prevent us from this wonderful grace. Saying yes to Jesus Christ is easy. Let the happy life begin today for you by saying yes.
The spiritual climax of the Gospel of John, as Father John Waiss points out, occurs at the foot of the Cross, where Jesus utters his parting words: “Woman, behold, your son!” and “Behold your mother!” (John 19:26-27). While these words were addressed to the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, the Church has long understood this moment as a universal adoption. To truly image Christ, we must share in His parentage; if we embrace God as our spiritual Father but reject Mary as our mother, we treat Christ as a half-brother rather than our "firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). As Origen noted as early as the third century, the profound depths of the Gospel are only accessible to those who, like John, rest their heads on Jesus’ breast and receive Mary into their own homes. This maternal role is deeply rooted in biblical typology, positioning Mary as the fulfillment of the great mothers of the Old Covenant. She is the New Eve , the mother of all the living according ...