January 4, 2009

(From in Conversation with God)

The Kings opening their store of treasures, offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. The most precious gifts of the East they offer; only the best for God. They offer him gold, a symbol of royalty. We Christians also want to have Jesus in all human activities, to have him exercise his reign of justice, holiness and peace over all souls. We also offer him the precious gold we receive when in spirit we are detached from money and material goods. Let us not forget that these things are good, for they come from God. But the Lord has laid down that we should use them, without allowing our hearts to become attached to them, by putting them to good use for the benefit of all mankind.

We offer him incense, the perfume which was burned each evening on the altar as a symbol of the hope placed in the Messiah. Incense is our desire to live a noble life which gives off the ‘aroma of Christ’. To impregnate our words and actions with his aroma is to sow understanding and friendship. We should accompany others so that no one is left, or can feel, abandoned…

The pleasant smell of incense comes from some small, hidden grains of aromatic material placed upon the burning charcoal. Like wise is the sweet fragrance of Christ notice among men – not in a sudden burst of flame, but in the constant red-hot embers of virtues such as justice, loyalty, faithfulness, understanding and cheerfulness.

Myrrh is the spirit of sacrifice that can never be lacking in a Christian life. Myrrh reminds us of the Passion of Our Lord. On the Cross He is offered wine mingled with myrrh. And it was with myrrh that his body was anointed for burial. But do not think that to meditate on the need for sacrifice and mortification means to add a note of sadness to this joyful feast we celebrate today.

Mortification is not pessimism or bitterness. Mortification , on the contrary is very closely related to joy, to charity, to making life pleasant for others. Mortification does not usually consist of great renunciations, for situations requiring great self-denial seldom occur. Mortification is made up of small conquests, such as smiling at those who annoy us, denying the body some superfluous fancy, getting accustomed to listening to others, making full use of the time God allots us…and so many other details. We find it in the apparently trifling problems, difficulties and worries which arise without our looking for them in the course of each day.

We make our offering to Our Lord daily, because we can meet Him every day in the Holy Mass and Communion . When the priest offers the paten, we can place our offering there too, make up of little things, which Jesus will accept. If we do the little things we offer with a right intention, they acquire a far greater value than gold, frankincense or myrrh, because they are united to the sacrifice of Christ, the Son of God Who offers Himself there.

Sunday December 28, 2008

This week we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. We begin the Christmas season and reflect on the unity of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. All were united as one family. Joseph fulfilled his role as head of the family, protecting, guarding and leading them to the end. Mary fulfilled her role as the heart of the family and Mother of us all, giving the tender love and compassion that only she could give. Jesus as child, so little an innocent was raised by Joseph and Mary until he was old enough to fulfill God’s will.

All of this should cause us to reflect more on the awesome meaning of the family. It is as Vatican II said, the little domestic Church. Each family provides a nucleus to make up the local Church. Each family provides a home where love and truth are nurtured. I am blessed as a priest to see so many strong families raising their children in the faith. We can only go further in helping them know this more deeply.

Therefore, it cannot be said enough, that the family that stays together is the family that prays together. We must constantly return to adoration and prayer. It is there we help them know and love their purpose on earth. This week let Fathers look to Joseph, Mothers look to Mary and children to the innocence of Jesus for guidance. They are our example and we should pray to God to be like them.

December 21, 2008

The readings from the Fourth Sunday in Advent opens the way to Christ’s birth. And Mother Teresa gives us some reflection on the words of Mary, “…be it done to me according to your word.” Mother Teresa says, Mary trusted that God’s word to her would be fulfilled. At the visitation, Mary is called ‘Blessed’ by Elizabeth. She is blessed because of her perfect trust in God. A perfect trust is based not on ourselves but on the infinite perfections of God:His infinite goodness, His infinite compassion, His infinite power, His infinite love.

Mary reached out to Elizabeth in her time of need. Now Mary reaches out to us in her Divine Son in the Blessed Sacrament who says to us in all our needs, no matter how great, no matter how small, “Yes, as clay is in the potter’s hand, so you are in Mine…” “Be still and know that I am God.”

He who loves you infinitely more than you can think, imagine or desire, and who can do infinitely more for you than you can even ask for. “God will supply every need of yours according to His riches.” The greater our need, the more tender His love. “The Lord is compassion and love. I was helpless so He saved me.” No matter how deep the pit we fall into, His love always finds us. “I waited, I waited for the Lord and He stooped down to me.” With all our faults and failings, Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist and says, “My heart is moved with compassion.” “For I am the Lord, your God, who holds your right hand: it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you’.” “Anything you ask me in My name I will do.”

This is the joy of trust. God in His tender compassion continues to visit us in the Holy Eucharist that we may come to Him with confidence. “In Christ and through faith in Him, we can speak freely to God, drawing near to Him with confidence.”

Today Jesus visits us in the Blessed Sacrament to inspire us to have total confidence in the wisdom of His will and childlike faith in the goodness and power of His divine love. “Truly I have set my soul in silence and peace, as a child has rest in his mother’s arms, even so my soul in You.” THE MORE WE TRUST JESUS, THE MORE WE PLEASE HIM.

Life’s burdens are too heavy, only if we try to carry them alone. The obstacle to trust and the cause of all discouragements is pride. Pride centers our attention on ourselves, instead of the Lord. Humility opens our heart to trust, and with the light of faith, changes our bad thoughts into good ones by turning our attention from looking at our limits to centering our belief and absolute trust in the infinite perfections of God. “Grace enfolds the man who trusts in God.” “God has called you and He will not fail you.” “ Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. THE LORD IS NEAR.”

December 14, 2008

From the Pastor

The Third Sunday of the Advent calendar is typically called the Gaudete Sunday which uses the rose color to reflect a lightening of our penitential journey. This joyful time calls us to reflect on the hope of Heaven. In the meantime, God has established this time for his promises and a time when these promises will be fulfilled.

This time on earth then demands we feed our hope by trusting in His promises. We should trust God’s promises. He promised eternal salvation, everlasting happiness with the angels, an immortal inheritance, endless glory, the joyful vision of his face, his holy dwelling in heaven, and after the resurrection from the dead no further fear of dying. This was his final promise, the goal of all our striving. When we reach it we shall ask for nothing more.

What is the final goal? It is gaining eternal life in heaven and the first thing we should remember is that Jesus assures us we make the passage into this perfect paradise. When we live a faithful life, repentant and obedient, we can see Him. “In my Father’s house there are many mansions ”(Jn 14:1, 2). St Thomas Aquinas and St Augustine tell us that these words of Our Savior refer to different degrees of glory of the Blessed in Heaven.

Therefore, the degree of glory and happiness will be different for every soul. Why is this? Because everyone who dies in a state of grace will eventually attain the reward of heaven. Since every man is imperfect, we need help to see God. “My face you cannot see, for no man can see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). We need the light of God to light up our darkness of faith. The beatific vision (when we see God face to face) transcends our abilities.

Therefore, another gift must be added after death for the purification of the soul to be complete. The created intelligence must be strengthened and elevated by a special supernatural power call the light of glory. This allows us to see God face to face. By this light of glory we become illuminated by God in every part of soul and glorious body. We see as He sees. We experience His perfect happiness. We are like pure crystal, God’s light shines through us.

To sum up: the depth of the soul’s capacity to behold and comprehend God’s life and perfections, and the intensity of the soul’s return of God’s love, will depend on the degree of the soul’s participation in the light of glory. This depends on the soul’s love of God and neighbor at the end of his or her earthly existence. In other words, the level of charity we leave the earth with will be the level of charity we enter the heavenly kingdom. Let us continue to hope in God’s promises as we respond to His great love for us.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

From The Pastor:

“….The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard, “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief….” The day of the Lord is something often forgotten during the Advent season. We can get caught up in the image of Christmas and Christ’s first coming.

Let’s look at the twofold coming of Christ through the eyes of St Cyril of Jerusalem. He says, “ At the first coming He was wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manager. At His second coming He will be clothed in light as in a garment. In the first coming He endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming He will be in glory, escorted by an army of angels. We therefore look beyond the first coming and await the second.” The reason for the Advent season is to prepare for His second coming.

What do we know about this time? What signs will there be preceding the last judgment—the day of the Lord. The Council of Trent gives us a light. First, the preaching of the Gospel will be throughout the world. “The good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed through the world as a witness to all the nations. Only after that will come the end.” (Mt 24:14) Secondly, The falling away from the faith by many and the coming of the Antichrist. (2Thess. 2:3,4) It is commonly admitted by many theologians, that before the final coming of Christ there will arise a powerful adversary who will seduce many by his wonders, and persecute the Church.

Finally, on the day of the Lord, He will come in glory to judge the whole of mankind. The world will witness several great manifestations of God’s power. First, the destruction of the physical world by fire (2 Peter 3:7-13). Second, the raising up of all the dead. (Thes 3:16,17). Third, the judgment of mankind, which will involve the separation of the good and the evil, and the revelation of all that is hidden in the lives of every member of the human race.

All this talk about the day of the Lord could be a cause for fear unless we keep the hope and stay close to the Lord. How do we prepare for the coming of the Lord? Adoration will help us to know how to be with Christ here on earth and in the Heavenly kingdom. Reading the word of God will help us to know Christ, He who desires we return to Him. Participating in the Sacraments where we receive grace for the journey and new insights on how we fight the battle of evil and do good. And by living of the traditional teachings of the Church where we search for the truth that has been given to us, following the saints who kept the faith alive in their hearts. These things are necessary to prepare for the day of the Lord.

November 30, 2008

From The Pastor:

Jesus tells us to “be watchful! Be Alert! You do not know when the time will come. This is the Advent message. St Paul also gives us spiritual encouragement by telling us to be confirmed in Christ. In Him, we will not lack in any spiritual gifts as we wait for His second coming. In order to watch and be ready we must not be blinded by any sin. That is why during the Advent season like lent there is a call to repentance, almsgiving and prayer.

While prayer helps us to establish a deeper relationship with Christ and His kingdom. Confession is just as helpful in washing us of the obstacle of sin. Confession will give us grace to live closer to Christ and as St John of the Cross says, we become a source of the Holy Spirit.

Today, however, there has been so many misconceptions about confession. You hear many notions. “My priest told me I only have to go when it’s serious.” “I didn’t think I sinned.” “Why do I have to confess to a priest, why not just go to God?” “I’m ashamed of telling my sins to Father, he might think bad of me.” While these are prevalent thoughts today there is nothing that cannot be overcome.

The first reason we should go to Confession is to please God. Many people look at secondary aspects but the reason why we are created—-is to love and adore God. Therefore, if we love God we want to first and foremost please him. Secondarily, we may experience psychological peace and fulfill our duty to God.

A person may receive the sacrament of Penance frequently to not only please God but help them overcome a mortal sin through grace. There may be various weaknesses and bad habits and perverse inclinations, or the struggle of inordinate desires and self love. Therefore, we should be anxious to purify the soul through confession and keep our will striving for perfect union with God. Frequent confessions are good.

There are several points to making a good confession. First, we must make an examination of conscience. Ancient monks always regarded daily examination of conscience as essential to holiness. A daily examination reflects our choice of sin. Our reflection makes the examination in light of the ten commandments. Second, we confess our sins. The actual confession is the place where we tell our sins and receive grace. Third, we have a contrite heart. Without a contrite heart we cannot receive forgiveness or absolution. We must be heartfelt in being sorry for our sins. This implies that we make an amends not to sin again. Finally, we make satisfaction for our sins. The prayer and penance given in confession help us to mend up what was lost by sin. Works of penance are give by the priest and they become satisfaction that remit the temporal punishment. Let us follow Christ more deeply this Advent.

November 23, 2008

From The Pastor:

The Solemnity of Christ the King is as it were a synthesis of the entire salvific mystery. The feast brings the liturgical year to a close. Over the past months we have celebrated the mysteries of the life of the Lord. Now we contemplate Christ in his glorified state as King of all Creation and of our souls. The Church places this special feast as a remembrance for modern man to begin to sense his supernatural destiny.

The first reading emphasizes the love of Christ the King for his sheep. He did not come to establish his kingdom by force. His weapons are goodness and solicitude: “I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” The Lord tends to his lost sheep, to those men and women who have gone astray through sin. He wants to heal their wounds.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we hear of the Son of Man coming in his glory. He will separate one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Sometime we can fear being placed with the goats. This imagery of separation could produce a servile fear of God.

Servile fear can be when one thinks, “I’m afraid of God because I don’t want to be thrown in hell.” We crawl along when we have servile fear. We fear God because we afraid that we’ll be punished. Now, it is certainly possible for servile fear to lead us to adoration. Servile fear puts us more at the level of being afraid of God. This fear can cause us to turn completely inward and then it’s bad. God, however, can use servile fear to teach us to adore. It’s much better though to desire to love God more and avoid wasting time. Chaste loving fear wants to know him better and seeks his mercy. Then in turn we see our remaining time is best used in loving God and helping our neighbor.

“When you did not do for one of these little ones, you did not do it for me.” This call of Christ asks us to let go of our selfishness and help others. Christ’s final judgment takes account of our goods deeds. We should make efforts to reach others, even if we think they don’t deserve it or are trying to con us. Even in our own parish there are many widows and elderly who need help. Our hearts must be open to helping others which in turn can lessen our fear and assure us that we are following the Good Shepherd.

As we celebrate Christ the King, let us go forth this week living of this gospel message. There are certainly ways to help others here in Pendleton. We could put Christ message into action by serving meals at Salvation Army. May we prepare for the Son of Man to come in glory through adoration and helping our neighbors.

November 16, 2008

From The Pastor: {In Conversation with God}

We are stewards of God’s gifts.

“During these final weeks of the liturgical year, the Church calls us to consider the eternal truths. These truths are of immediate relevance to our souls. As we read in the Second Reading of today’s Mass, our encounter with the Lord will arrive without warning, like a thief in the night. No matter how prepared we think we are for its arrival, death always takes us by surprise.

“In today’s Gospel the Lord teaches us that we must spend our earthly life in such a way as to win Heaven. Jesus compares our time on earth to a long-term leasing arrangement. For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; to one he gave five talents, to another two to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The owner knew the capacity of each of his servants. He did not want to burden every one of them with the same responsibility. That would have been unjust. He therefore gave according to each one’s capability to receive. Despite the different amounts allotted to them, each servant had been entrusted with a considerable sum. After some time had passed, the master returned from his travels and came to settle accounts with his men. The servant with five talents produced five talents more. In like manner, the servant with two talents had doubled his share. These servants had made good use of their time to yield additional earnings. Consequently, each one thoroughly deserved these wonderful words of praise and blessing from their lord: Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.

“ The meaning of the parable is crystal clear. The talents are the qualities God has bestowed on us—our intelligence, our ability to love, our power to make others happy, temporal goods…The journey of the master signifies the duration of our life. His accounts is our judgment. The banquet is Heaven. The Lord frequently reminds us in the Gospels that we do not own what we have. We are stewards entrusted with God’s property. A day will come when we shall have to give an account of our behaviour. Let us examine our whole approach to the gifts we have received from God. Do we think of ourselves as stewards, or do we live under the illusion that we are the true owners of what we possess.

“We might want to reflect on our attitude towards our body and senses. Do we really us them so as to give glory to God: Do we contribute to the common good with our belongings, our professional work, our friendships? The Lord wants to see that his gifts have been well administered. His reward is in direct proportion to what he has already granted us. Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required; and to him to whom men commit much they will demand the more….”

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From The Pastor: {In Conversation with God}

Sacred Scripture teaches us that death was not part of God’s original plan for mankind. It is a consequence of the sin of our first parents. Through His resurrection Christ demonstrated His power over death: Mortem nostrum moriendo destruxit et vita resurgendo reparavit. God our Father, by raising Christ your Son you conquered the power of death and opened for us the way to eternal life. So sings the Church in the Opening Prayer for Easter. With His resurrection Christ has robbed death of it’s sting. He has made His death an act of redemption. It is through Him and with Him and in Him that our bodies will rise again on the last day. They will be united with our souls, which if we have been faithful will have been giving glory to God since the time of our death if there was no need for purification.

To resurrect means to lift up something that has fallen down, to bring again to life that which was dead, to restore to life that which has succumbed to dust. The Church has always taught that the resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our Faith. She has also consistently believed in the resurrection of our physical bodies in which we live, subsist and move. The soul will then be re-united with its proper body. The Magisterium has stated quite precisely that men and women will be resurrected in their own physical bodies. Our meditation on these teachings may help us to grasp the great dignity of each person, a being in Creation. Man not only has free will, but he is the divine masterpiece, made in the image and likeness of his Creator, gifted with an immortal soul by divine gift. Man is superior to all other creatures because he can be a temple of the Holy Spirit, as long, that is, as he is in the state of grace. St. Paul insisted with the early Christians on the importance of this idea: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you have from God?

Our Bodies are anything but some kind of prison for our souls. We look forward, as St. Paul says, to the redemption of our bodies; they are not encumbrances which we drag about with us, they are first-fruits of eternity, entrusted to our keeping. The soul and body belong to one another in a natural relationship . God made the one for the other. St Cyril of Jerusalem exhorts us: Respect your body since it is your good fortune to be a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not stain your body…, and if perchance you have stained it, purify it right away through penance . Clean it while you still have time. St. Paul gives us guidance: You are not your own ; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. Pope John Paul II has preached on this topic: Purity, as the virtue, that is, the capacity of ‘controlling one’ body in holiness and honor’, together with the gift of piety, as the fruit of the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in the ‘temple’ of the body, brings about in the body such a fullness of dignity in interpersonal relations that God himself is thereby glorified. Purity is the glory of the human body before God. It is God’s glory in the human body, through which masculinity and femininity are manifested.

Our Mother May was assumed body and soul into Heaven. She will remind us at every opportunity that our body has been created to give glory to God, both not here on earth and for evermore in Heaven.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

From The Pastor:

“Hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5). Hope is critical for us in these times. The Holy Father Pope John Paul emphasized hope and more recently did Pope Benedict in his encyclical, “Spe Salvi facti sumus” in hope we were saved. This journey to be saved requires the virtue of hope.

In the first reading from Wisdom, “for if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.” These are the souls that are still being tried in Purgatory and we particularly pray for them on All Souls Day. Those souls in purgatory are the Church suffering and until they are released, they remain suffering. Purgatory is the place to make atonement for the sins that were never dealt with on earth.

We have “hope,” then for the souls suffering in purgatory—the Church Suffering and for those of us still remaining—the Church Militant! Because the virtue of hope has as it’s object, God’s promises. God promises us eternal life. “For this is the will of the my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I shall raise Him on the last day.” (Jn 6:40). Everyone who looks at the Son with eyes of faith and believes and hopes to the end will gain eternal life.

This should give us a new direction. Our suffering here on earth will not be in vain if we constantly offer it to God. God uses our suffering to free those in purgatory and atone for our own sins on earth. We should not let this suffering go to waste. Today, we can also help our brethren in purgatory by doing an indulgence for their soul. We can also receive an indulgence for our own soul. We should take advantage of all the graces the Church offers us this week. That is our hope to prayer and stay close to the Lord even when there is great suffering.

As the Pope Benedict says, “A first essential setting for learning hope is prayer. When no one listens to me anymore, God still listens to me. When I can no longer talk to anyone or call upon anyone, I can always talk to God. When there is no longer anyone to help me deal with a need or expectation that goes beyond the human capacity for hope, He can help me. When I have been plunged into complete solitude….; if I pray I am never totally alone. The late Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan, a prisoner for thirteen years, nine of them spent in solitary confinement, has left us a precious little book: Prayers of Hope. During thirteen years in jail, in a situation of seemingly utter hopelessness, the fact that he could listen and speak to God became for him an increasing power of hope, which enabled him, after his release, to become for people all over the world a witness of hope—-to that great hope which does not wane even in the nights of solitude.”

This week let us make acts of hope and live of this hope in God.

ACT OF HOPE

“O my God, relying on your infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon for my sins, the help of Your grace and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my lord and Redeemer.”

From The Pastor:

The whole law depends on two commandments, love God and love your neighbor. Jesus wants us to know our purpose on earth—to love and be loved. God created hearts that would need the His care. And God has created hearts in such a way that no created thing can bring them true and lasting happiness. Only God can satisfy the heart of man. St. Augustine said centuries ago, “Our hearts are made for thee, O God, and will be restless until we rest in thee.”

The goal for which man is created is eternal happiness with God in heaven. Yet this goal can never be known or reached by man’s own natural powers. There is a gap between the natural and supernatural orders. The good news is that in this short time on earth, we can bridge the gap by God’s free gift of GRACE.

Since our time is short on earth let us reflect on how much time we spend in receiving grace. For the person who lives seventy years, 23 years of it will be spent sleeping. There will be 20 years or so of work, and 6 years of eating. This leaves plenty of time for God. However, if a person goes to Mass and prays one hour each week, they will have spent only five months of the seventy years in prayer.

If we see our time spent with God is relatively short compared to other things in life, we should desire to spend more time receiving grace. Divine grace is a free gift from God. Grace will perfect our weak human nature. By baptism we are partially healed through the sanctifying grace which removes sin and makes us a child of God. Sanctifying grace must express itself in action. This type of grace gives life to our soul. Our intelligence and will become more like God in His Divine goodness.

There are several effects of sanctifying grace we receive. We are adopted children of God. We are “begotten of God” (1 Jn. 3:9). Sanctifying grace admits us to the family of God. We then share through a mysterious way the nature of God Himself. As St. Peter says, “We are sharers in the divine nature” (2 Peter. 1:4).

A second effect of grace is we become heirs of God. Christians looks forward to heaven as the final inheritance. We are pilgrims on the way to our true homeland. Eternal happiness awaits those who persevere. “Heirs indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ, provided however, we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom. 8:17).

The third effect is that sanctifying grace makes the soul beautiful and pleasing to God. St. Thomas tells us that divine grace in the soul is already the beginning of the glory that will be ours in the life to come. In the next life, faith will no longer be needed. Hope will give way to actually possessing Jesus who we have hoped for. Charity will remain. We will see God in love, truth, goodness, and all His beauty.

Finally, the fourth effect is we become temples of God. The indwelling of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “If anyone loves Me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to make our abode with Him” (Jn. 14:23).

How important it is to receive all the grace God wants to give us. Let us this week learn more about Grace!

October 26, 2008

October 19, 2008

From The Pastor: (From In Conversation with God)

When it comes to fundamental questions of social morality, Christians should be fully aware of the fact that their religious faith serves as a powerful light illuminating the whole area of the common good. The teachings of God and His Church are not an obstacle to human welfare or scientific progress. They are rather a sure guide for the realization of those worthy goals. When, for example, a Christian maintains the indissolubility of marriage, he is showing the way to guaranteeing the health of society. He thus provides huge benefit to all. It is not a question of safeguarding our own special privileges. We have so much to give for the good of society! This is what we can learn from the example of the first Christians. A person with a well-formed conscience can make an enormous contribution to the real welfare of his or her fellow citizens. The Christian has a most precious light to offer amidst so much darkness!

What has come to pass in our society is most lamentable, as was pointed out by Cardinal Luciani, later Pope John Paul I: In this same society there is a terrible moral and religious void, he wrote, Today all seem frantically directed toward material conquests: make money, invest, surround oneself with new comforts, live the ‘good life’. Few think also of ‘doing good’.

God – who should fill our life has, on the contrary, become a very distant star, to which people look only at certain moments. People believe they are religious because they go to church; but outside of church they want to lead the same life as many oth