The Sermon on the Mount

     My work commute routine has been precise as clockwork for the past year. I leave the house at 4:55 am and by the time I'm driving on the freeway, I am listening to the EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) radio mass at 5 am through the Sacred Heart Radio (Seattle) app on my phone. What a great way to start my day and an incentive for me as well to leave the house on time so I'm not late for work and mass. After all this time, I started recognizing the voices of the priests. I continue to cherish these mornings alone in Prayer and in celebration of the Eucharist with our Lord. By the time I arrive work, the sermon is normally finished.

    This week is the first week of Lent. All week, as a catholic I am reminded again of the Lenten trifecta: The Prayer, Fasting and almsgiving. I find this practice rewarding and renewing every year.

    I started reading the Sermon on the Mount ( Matthew Ch. 5-7)  this week and the first sermon is
"The Beatitudes". It's one of my favorite parts of the Bible (together with 1st Corinthians 13). I really believe that if we try to read this everyday, we will be encouraged to live like Christ in every instant of our lives. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the chapter on "The Dignity of the Human Person", the beatitudes is dissected into an incredible detailed group of messages . Number 1717 states:  
    
   " The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints." 

  It simply fulfills the promise of the Kingdom of Heaven.

   What else can I live for but to fulfill the promise of God. Am I doing enough? It will not be enough if I have to think about that. All I can do is to try to live everyday like HIM. I know that HIS reward in heaven  will be greater than anything here on earth.

    Have a Blessed Lent: