Feet on the Ground and Heart in Heaven
3rd Sunday of Easter
“Lord, you will show us the path of life.”Ps. 16
This is a phrase attributed to Saint John Bosco, and it is very important to learn how to live it out, since it contains great wisdom. The expression “don’t let your feet leave the ground” or “don’t get carried away” is used when someone gets overly excited or dreams more than they should, stops being realistic, and lets desire take over. We need to accept reality, even when it is hard, because it is part of the daily cross that Jesus asks us to embrace in order to be His disciples. Jesus appeared to those who were discouraged and walking away from the holy city, and that encounter changed their lives—a complete 180—so that they returned as witnesses of faith.
We must strive to change what we can according to God’s will, but also accept the reality we cannot change, as part of the daily cross or a healthy penance that we must embrace in order to be disciples of Jesus and thus remain on the path that leads to the Father. Therefore, we are realistic, with our feet on the ground, among the people of God, in the struggle and daily work of making the world more like the Kingdom of God, cooperating with the grace given to us by the living Christ.
The heart, however, must be set on the goods of heaven, precisely so that we may strive for them here on earth, clothed in Christ, to expand His Kingdom. This is what God asks of us in Colossians:
“Since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your hearts on things above, not on things on earth…”Col 3
If we set our hearts on the things of this world, we become worldly; we stop longing and striving for the goods of heaven, and we cease to be the salt that gives flavor, the leaven that makes the dough rise, because we become like those of this world. The risen Christ gives us a new life—as citizens of heaven, as children of God—so that we are in the world, but not of the world. To set our hearts on what is not God is to create idols, falling into idolatry of passing and earthly things—whether money, material goods, people, or projects—always different from what God desires.
Having our hearts set on the goods of heaven frees us from all idols that would take away the freedom of the children of God—a freedom we need to be ambassadors of heavenly values in this world, which is under the slavery of its enemies: the world, the devil, and the flesh. If we do not have our hearts in heaven and in God, it is due to a lack of light, to being influenced by the darkness of this world and the deceptions of the evil one. The risen Christ frees us from darkness, from the slavery of sin, from the futile way of life we once had (1 Peter 1:18) and makes us children of God—WITNESSES OF HIS RESURRECTION, like the disciples of Emmaus.
St. Anselm | April 21
St. Anselm of Canterbury left his home in Italy to travel as a young man and ended up at the monastery in Bec, France, which was known for the teachings of its leader, Lanfranc. Anselm rose quickly to become abbot of the community and his writings are now compared in importance to those of St. Augustine.
In 1093 Anselm was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by William Il Rufus, the son and successor of William the Conqueror. However, at the time there was a controversy in Europe over whether kings or the pope had the power to invest bishops. Anselm, who believed only the pope should have the right to invest an ecclesiastical authority, spent much of his time as Archbishop exiled in Rome.
St. Anselm’s teaching and works of theology are his most important contribution to the Catholic faith. He is considered of the fathers of scholastic theology and his chief achievement in philosophy was the ontological argument for the existence of God. His work Cur Deus homo? taught that atonement for sins could only be achieved through Christ. He was canonized in 1494 and named a Doctor of the Church in 1720.
Virtues, Explained!
This cardinal virtue of temperance is shown in the person who is master of his passions and his attachment to the world. “It ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable,” we read in the Catechism.
Readings of the Week
Sunday: Acts 2:14, 22-33/Ps 16:1-2 and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11/1 Pt 1:17-21/Lk 24:13-35
Monday: Acts 6:8-15/Ps 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30/Jn 6:22-29
Tuesday: Acts 7:51-8:1a/ Ps 31:3cd-4, 6 and 7b and 8a, 17 and 21ab/Jn 6:30-35
Wednesday: Acts 8:1b-8/ Ps 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a/Jn 6:35-40
Thursday: Acts 8:26-40/ Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20/Jn 6:44-51
Friday: Acts 9:1-20/ Ps 117:1bc, 2/Jn 6:52-59
Saturday: 1 Pt 5:5b-14/ Ps 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17/Mk 16:15-20
Next Sunday: Acts 2:14a, 36-41/Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6/1 Pt 2:20b-25/Jn 10:1-10
Celebrations of the Week
Sunday: 3rd Sunday of Easter
Tuesday: Saint Anselm, bishop and doctor of the Church
Thursday: Saint Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr; Saint George, Martyr
Friday: Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr
Saturday: Saint Mark, evangelist
Next Sunday: 4th Sunday of Easter
