Dear Families,
Please continue to pray for our Faith Formation program and especially our sacramental students. Today’s Gospel offers a contrast to many of the messages we hear in our society today. If we were to accept uncritically the “get ahead” messages of our culture, we would think that happiness means having money, being successful, and having many possessions. In this way, we are not unlike the people who heard Jesus teach on the day that he taught the Beatitudes. They too associated happiness with possessions and success. The report of the Beatitudes in Luke’s Gospel, however, takes things one step further. Not only will we not find happiness through the “get ahead” messages of the world, but relying upon these messages will cause us harm. The warnings spoken are particularly challenging because they suggest that our way of life must change if we are to gain the lasting happiness of eternal life.
Talk together as a family about what society tells us makes a person successful. Make a list of the traits that you associate with a successful person. Then read together today’s Gospel, Luke 6:17,20-26. Reflect on Jesus’ description of blessedness in the Kingdom of God. Then consider the warnings. Why are these surprising and challenging? What, then, is the measure of success in the Kingdom of God? Together write prayers of petition based on your discussion. Pray these prayers together, asking God to help your family seek the blessings of the Kingdom of God.
loyolapress.com
Partners in Faith,
Phyllis Chudzinski
Wednesday, February 19th-Class 5:30-7pm