29 May, 2022 – Pastor’s Corner

PASTOR’S CORNER
Dear Parishioners:
As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord into
Heaven this Sunday, it is good for us to reflect on the question:
“What is our purpose in life? What is our goal?”
For many people, it seems like their goal or purpose in life is to
make as much money as possible (“to get rich”), or to have as
much physical pleasure or comfort as possible, or to have power
over other people. Their goals seem to always be oriented toward
something in this world only.
For a Christian, and especially for a Catholic, our purpose in life is
“to know, love, and serve God in this life, and to be happy with Him
forever in the next [life].” In other words, our final goal — what we
are created for — is eternal life in Christ Jesus! In order to
accomplish any goal, we have to choose the means to get there,
and we have to always keep the final goal in mind.
Our Lord Jesus has ascended into Heaven, taking His throne at the
right hand of the Father in glory. He has “gone to prepare a place
for us,” but on our part, we have to be striving to unite ourselves to
Him, to conform our human wills to His Divine Will; to learn to love
as He loves, and to do good to those who hate us, and persecute
us, as He does.
Keep your eyes always on the goal! Take time to think about Our
Lord Jesus, and eternal life in Him, every day. We need to ask for
the grace to make ALL of our decisions in light of eternity, and of
our true home, which is heaven.
Then we need to choose what means are going to help us to get to
heaven: can we go to a daily Mass each week? Could we make a
point of going to confession once each month? Can we pray a daily
rosary, or spend time in Lectio Divina (“Divine reading”) of
Scripture each day? What means are going to help us on the road
to eternal life? What things do we need to eliminate from our lives
that are taking us away from eternal life?
Fr. Ben