Jesus wants us to have the best things in life

Abundant Life

In the gospel Jesus spoke these words “…I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10 What does Jesus mean when he speaks of having an abundant life? Some are convinced this means that Jesus wants us to have all the best things life has to offer. He does! But some believe the best things in life are a fancy car, a mansion, millions of dollars, money to be able to do whatever they want. Some call this prosperity, but this is not the “prosperity” or the “abundant life” that Jesus is talking about. The poorest people in the world know what Jesus meant, because they are living life abundantly in their poverty. Consider this, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” What plans does the Lord have for us? The abundant life Jesus wants us to have is a life of holiness, goodness, blessing, love, peace, joy, grace and the promise of eternal life.

We’ve heard the story from Matthews’s gospel of the rich man who asks Jesus, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?” In Matthew 19:16 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” Matthew 19:21-22

Prosperity is not a sign of an abundant life! Think about the famous rich people you hear about. Many of them are involved in drugs, sex scandals, crime and some even commit suicide. Think about this, the prophets, the apostles, many of Christ’s disciples and many of the saints lived in suffering and pain, but when you read stories of their lives, we read of joyful lives with much praise to God. This is the abundant life of peace and joy. Happiness can’t be found in money or in having a lot of things. Happiness is found in living the life God wants us to live so that we may live with him forever.

I believe that the suffering I have in my life is God’s way of keeping me close to him.

Living the Life God Wants for Us

What do we mean by Morality? Morality is knowing the difference between good behavior and bad behavior, the right or wrong thing to do. God gave us free will to make these life choices. We can choose the bad, which separates us from God, or we can choose good, keeping the Commandments and loving and helping one another and staying close to God. The Moral Vision of the Church is to show us the way to true happiness. We can only be truly happy by following God’s will, by obeying the Commandments God has given us.

Does this sound right that we can only be happy by doing what God wills? Think about a time when you went against God’s will. Go through all 10 Commandments one at a time. Think about the times you kept the Commandments and the times you didn’t. What worked out better for you? God doesn’t give us rules to restrict our lives. God gives us rules to make us free.

What is a Virtue?

A virtue is a habit of doing good, while a vice is a habit of doing that which is not good for us.

II. THE THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES(the following are excerpts from the CCC 1812 to 1829)

The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.

Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself. By faith

"man freely commits his entire self to God." Vatican Dei Verbum

For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God's will.

"The righteous shall live by faith." Romans 1:17

Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.

"Let us hold fast the confession of hope he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.” Hebrews 10:3

The virtue of hope... keeps man from discouragement…by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.

“Hope, O my soul, hope. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end.”St Teresa of Avila

Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. Jesus makes charity the new commandment.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."John 15

The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself.The practice of the moral life animated by charity gives to the Christian the spiritual freedom of the children of God.The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy; Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works.

There is the goal; that is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest. St Augustine

What is the Catholic Church's Teaching on Conscience?

(taken from http://www.stjameshopewell.org/questions/question_conscience.htm)

“Every human being has a conscience, an inner guide to determining right from wrong. About this faculty, the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Church had this to say: ‘In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does not impose upon himself, but which holds him to obedience. Always summoning him to love and avoid evil, the voice of conscience can, when necessary, speak to his heart more specifically: do this, shun that. For man in his heart a law written by God. To obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be judged.’

So we hear the Church telling us that it is our duty to follow the dictates of conscience --- that, in fact, God will judge us according to how we follow the leads of conscience. Does this mean, then, that it’s alright for people to do anything just so long as their consciences tell them it’s right?

No, it does not mean this. We sometimes find people in whom conscience is ill-formed simply because they have never been taught right from wrong in a proper manner. Conscience, like all our other human faculties, must be disciplined and trained through time. There are also individuals in whom the voice of conscience has become distorted, or even silenced, because of habitual sin.

In the teachings of the Church concerning the moral life, we find a clear expression of the manner in which both the natural and divine laws can illuminate and direct conscience. This is why religious education is so important --- for young people and adults as well. We may also work toward the formation of a good conscience through daily prayer and reflection on the Scripture, through effective preaching and by spiritual reading.

Those who avail themselves of the benefits of religious education, prayer, reading and moral living will discover that a good conscience is essential to experiencing greater freedom and happiness. A good conscience can help us to discover God’s will in our lives and it is by doing God’s will that we most truly realize our fullest measures of freedom, growth, peace and joy.”

Wow! The law in our heart is written by God. I’m moved by the wonder of this statement!

Theologian, Doctor Taylor Marshall asks us is it easy or hard to be a Catholic? He believes it is easy based on what Jesus revealed to us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Dr Marshall says he often wondered about this verse from Matthews 11:28-30. He pictured a yoke that an ox wears when helping his master in the field. He remembered that the yoke was made to be worn by two together. He wondered who was in the other side of the yoke and he realized it must be Jesus. Jesus carries our burden with us.

I say how can we go wrong with Jesus by our side? I will gladly take the yoke upon my shoulders as I remember his promise to me “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” My soul will find rest in Jesus!