To live by faith is to embrace the supernatural life. Even in these times of great confusion, the Catholic Faith guides those who embrace it. The just man lives by faith, which is an incredible gift from God. It is a gift that we must continually pray for so that faith continues in our lives.

Our Lord Jesus Christ took on the punishments for our sins. He gave Himself over to great suffering so that we may be saved. Through the model He established, numerous saints throughout history embraced His path and became victims for the sins of mankind. These great acts of compassion, in unity with Our Lord, helps ensure our salvation.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a devotion to Our Lord’s immeasurable love. Although the Sacred Heart devotion had been around since the Middle Ages, its prominence came at a crucial point in ecclesiastical history, namely during the spread of Jansenism in France during the 17th century. Contrary to the belief in God’s mercy, Jansenism taught that we can never be pleasing to God. As fallen and fallible humans who are often consumed by our own desires, we find it difficult to return love to Our Lord despite His great love for us. However, His love, and the unfathomable patience that comes with that love, never abates.

At the moment of the Ascension, we Christians are called to make disciples of all nations. It is a great responsibility to call others to the feast, that is, to Our Lord’s table. We must live faithfully to our calling, and doing so means bringing in others to live faithfully in the state of grace. We do this effectively by the example of our lives.

God loves the human race. But just as importantly, He loves all of us individually. In this beautiful feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we focus on the immeasurable love of Our Lord. We pierce His heart through our sins. Yet never does God waver from His love for us. He does not withdraw from us. Our Lord continues to pour out our love so that we may never lose what He has planned for the human race, namely heaven.

God uses sufferings for our good. It is difficult for us to see this truth, for of course we desire no setbacks in our earthly life. We must remember, however, that the ways of God our not our ways. The ultimate end of our lives is our sanctification. The crosses we bear are integral to this sanctification. Throughout history, mankind has tried to reconcile belief in a loving God with the reality of evil. Instead of looking at this matter in a purely earthly view, we must embrace a supernatural perspective.

We are often fearful of the world’s judgements. We desire respect and sadly fall prey to seeking it. This leads us seeking what others want for us rather than what God wants. Our desire for the respect of the world becomes a denial of Our Lord. This happens in small ways and large ways, but always to the detriment of our souls. This is why we must never be ashamed to represent that we are Catholic and in so doing, place Our Lord before the world in all things. 

The work of the Incarnation, the union of human and divine, is the work par excellence of God. It is a great work of love that comes directly through the spirit of love, namely the Holy Ghost. And so it should come as no surprise that it is the Holy Ghost that continues on with the great work of Christ from the day of Pentecost to our own day. It is incumbent upon every Christian to be another Christ. And while we cannot do this by our natural powers alone, the Holy Ghost assists us in charting a way forward toward this beautiful end.

The sacrament of baptism is our initiation into the Catholic Church. It is not just the washing away of original sin; it is also a revelation of the mystery of the Holy Trinity. By our baptism, the life of grace is opened to us. Sadly, today there are many invalid baptisms due to a lack of proper form. It is imperative for every Catholic to know how this essential sacrament should be administered, both for their own salvation but also those who may need to receive it in a state of emergency.

In our culture we are tempted to be infatuated with others, whether they be movie stars or athletes. Sadly, it makes us think our own lives are falling short. Yet we should recall as Catholics, we have an opportunity for a glorious and wonderful life in Christ. The world may tempt us to believe otherwise but the Faith gives us the path to what God has prepared for us.