St. Felicity was a Roman citizen of noble birth. She reared her seven sons in the Faith despite the persistence of persecution and falsehood. When pressured to make pagan sacrifices to idols, St. Felicity, along with her children, solemnly refused, thus bringing torture and death upon themselves. In St. Felicity we find a model of Christian heroism, for she placed the Faith above earthly suffering.

God’s Fifth Command—Thou shalt not kill—does not merely forbid extreme acts of violence such as murder. Rather, it addresses a whole disposition of soul that can result in this degree of wickedness. Anger is a distorted disposition that opens the door to violence, hatred, and a desire to take revenge on others. This vice, which often arises out of self-love, is an affront to charity and must be resisted at all costs.

Jesus asks us to do more than the bare minimum. Yes, we all have duties relative to our state in life. However, love–the spirit of charity–calls us to do so much more. We must imitate Christ, Who owed us no duty. Yet out of His infinite love, sacrificed Himself so that we may be saved. That is the model we are called to aspire to every day.

To be true friends of God, we must be prepared to take up our crosses. Our Lord does not want fair weather friends, that is, only those who show their faithfulness to Him when life is going well. In the lives of the saints we are given countless examples of those who were prepared to suffer all for Christ. In the lives of Ss. John Fisher and Thomas More, we find two heroes of the Faith who suffered martyrdom rather than deny God and the Catholic Faith.

Applying the supernatural truths of the Catholic Faith to our everyday lives is a continual struggle. It is altogether too easy to compartmentalize our Catholicism, living as if it is only real or meaningful on Sundays during Mass or when we set aside time for prayer. Yet every day we see all around us the tragic reality of sin, which should call us to remember that what we individually and as a society need more than anything is Christ Jesus Our Lord.

Superficiality is a perennial problem that we must struggle with. Even the Apostles had to confront it. We want to have a casual life that makes no demands upon us. Yet we know we are called to something deeper, a more demanding life. We are called to live for God and above all it is our highest calling, yet we are challenged by a world that tempts us to disregard Our Lord.

Recently Catholics celebrated the feast day of the pillars of the Church, Ss. Peter and Paul. It is through the Catholic Church and the Catholic Church alone that mankind finds salvation. Through St. Peter the Church continues onward to this day under his successor who is tasked with governing her. And in unity with St. Paul, the Church fulfills the great commission to preach God across the world.

We know that St. Peter is the rock upon which Christ established His Church. He is one of the greatest saints, and we owe him our veneration. Yet we should also reflect on St. Peter’s conversion, where he recognizes Our Lord along with his own sinfulness. Despite St. Peter’s imperfections, Christ beckons him to follow. And so we see, throughout the Gospels, St. Peter not only following, but chasing after, Our Lord. We are called upon to do the same: recognize our sinfulness and never give up our pursuit of sanctification in Christ.

Following the series of post-Paschal feasts that are intended to be consoling, Holy Mother Church steps forth to remind us that salvation is not automatic. This warning is intended to keep us vigilant even outside of the penitential season of Lent. Moreover, the Church desires us to know that the Catholic Faith is not just about consolations and that we must not make excuses for putting off the work of our salvation when we do not receive them.

Prayer is the oxygen of the soul. It is the high point of our lives. Whether vocal or silent, it is our means to connect with God. Through prayer, we ask everything we need to save our souls. Through prayer, particularly the devotion of the Holy Rosary, we are invited to draw closer to God and to reflect on the fact that we know we are in the presence of Our Lord.