“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) The Kingdom of Heaven is the ultimate goal of the Christian life. Jesus, in the Beatitudes, shows us the path that leads to this Kingdom. He begins by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom [...]
Be Salt and Light in the World “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.” Salt and light are so ordinary—present in nearly every home, every meal, every sunrise—and yet, in Jesus’ hands, they become extraordinary images of the Christian life. Salt preserves, enhances, and even heals. A sprinkle of salt enhances the taste [...]
In the Beatitudes that Jesus proclaimed on the mountain, we discover the values by which a Christian is called to live. While the Beatitudes present a great challenge, they also promise great rewards, both in this life and in the life to come. Too often, the values by which we live have little to do with the values of the [...]
Let Your Light Shine In the Gospel reading for today, Jesus, after seeing His crowd of followers, sits down and decides to teach them. Something He saw in the people propelled Jesus to take the time to sit down on the side of a mountain and teach what we would come to know as the Sermon on the Mount. In [...]