Every disciple must make this journey. The ultimate journey (death to life) is made only once, but during one's life many other journeys are made. We can name the stages of this journey in light of Christ's own Passover.

This is a time of waiting. During this time one both grieves what was lost and becomes aware of the new life that is beginning to develop. The forty days are symbolic. It represents whatever time is necessary to grieve and to experience new life.

The Ascension is that time when one lets go of the past. To let go of the past is not to forget the past, but to let the past bless you even if it has been painful.

Pentecost signals the coming of a new spirit, the Holy Spirit. New life begins to blossom.

St. Irenaeus once said that, "the Glory of God is the human person fully alive." Indeed we might describe the goal of life as becoming fully alive.

We do this by awakening and responding to God's transforming presence in our world and in our lives. We become fully alive when we make a gift of ourselves to God as a Bride and Bridegroom do on their wedding day.

Mary is the Mother of Jesus, the Son of God, made flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit, our Savior. As such she has been especially honored down through the centuries as THE MOTHER OF GOD. Given by Jesus on the cross as the mother of John, the beloved disciple, she is also The Mother of the Church and our mother too. As a mother she intercede for us, protects, cares for and comforts us.

Mary is also the model disciple. She is the one who best teaches us what it means to say "YES" to God. Once she said "Yes" to God, it was easy for her to say "Yes" to her neighbor. This is demonstrated in Mary's going to help her cousin, Elizabeth, after the visit from the angel, Gabriel. Thus she is the glory and honor of the human family.

We recognize other men and women who, down through the ages, have said YES in a heroic way and call them Saints. Canonization is the process by which a person is publicly declared to be a saint, that is to say, one who can serve as a example of how to love God and neighbor with all the joys and fears, hopes and sorrows of life.

When we say, "We believe in the Communion of Saints", we are acknowledging that God always calls us as individuals but never alone. It is always in the context of a people. The Communion of Saints consists of all those who have died and said YES to God and those of us on earth who are still saying YES to God.

God has created humans with the gift of self-reflective intelligence and free choice. In other words, we can, to a large extent, direct our own growth as persons. What kind of a person shall we become? This is the question of morality.

The word "morality" comes from the Latin word meaning custom. Jesus acted in the same way his Father did. To be a Christian is to act in the same way as Jesus. "What would Jesus do?" is a popular way of asking ourselves how we should act as followers of Christ. The challenge, of course, is to discern what Jesus would do, not as a first century Jew, but as a person living in the 21st Century.

Jesus came to proclaim the Good News of God's Way of Life (God's Kingdom). In his inaugural address, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus invited his followers to live this new way of life. The Beatitudes stand at the heart of this address. They challenge us to look deep in our hearts to see what is really going on. Here is how Matthew states the Beatitudes:

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. (Mt 5:3)
   To be poor in spirit is to live in peace with one's own sense of emptiness. If one is poor in spirit one won't waste time trying to get rich, materially speaking, because one will know better. Indeed those who are not consumed by acquiring material possessions will possess the Kingdom of God.
   
   
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Mt 5:4)
   Those who mourn are in solidarity with the pain and sorrow of the world. They are not victims of illusions or fantasy. Much needs to be done to heal the earth and the people who live on it. Only when one understands the true cause of pain, can healing begin.
   
   
3. Blessed are the meek (gentle), for they will inherit the land. (Mt 5:5)
   In Jesus' time and so often today, land is possessed by force and oppression. Blessed are those who are not addicted to power, prestige or aggression. The non-violent will receive their inheritance.    
                                                                                         
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice (righteousness), for they will be satisfied. (Mt 5:6)
   It is an illusion to think that one can rest in peace when there is so much injustice in the world. Complacency has no part in the life of the Christian.
   
   
5. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. (Mt 5:7)
   Happy are those who understand that all things are related and interdependent. The human family is a reality. Blessed are those who refuse to live in isolation and know how to be compassionate, for compassion will be shown them.
   
   
6. Blessed are those who are clean of heart, for they will see God. (Mt 5:8)
   The single hearted is the one who loves God first and everything else for the sake of God. Such a person's "heart" or center is uncomplicated, unsullied, pure. They will see God.
   
   
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. (Mt 5:9)
   A peacemaker is one who reconciles quarrels. We live in a time of violence from war to crime to Domestic Abuse. Those who create an environment for peace shall be recognized as children of God.
   
   
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice (righteousness), for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. (Mt 5:10)
   Persecution for the cause of justice is inevitable. Instead of seeking to blame another Jesus is telling his disciples to rejoice and rejoice now, because the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.