It took an outsider to demonstrate the strength of love and faith that is required for gaining a place in the kingdom of heaven.

…This is exactly what the saints in North America, those great missionaries, accomplished. So how do we continue that legacy? What must we do in order to have, as you’ll hear me pray in the litany, “a good defense before the dread judgement seat of Christ”? The answer is quite simple: The easiest way to be a missionary, is to be a witness, a constant witness, a martyr for Christ.

We have learned over time, to love the things that we are supposed to hate, and to hate the things that we were meant to love.

That word “Spiritual” is an interesting word in today’s culture. I cannot tell you how many times I have had a conversation with someone, and when I ask them what Church they go to, I sometimes get this response: “Oh, I don’t go to Church…but I am pretty spiritual.”  While I typically just smile and nod my head, what I really should be doing is to putting my arm around them and saying“My beloved…I don’t think you know what that word means…”

“…Sometimes He (Christ) may seem too far off, hidden by the clouds of uncertainty and despair, to ever be able to provide that direction and guidance that we need and depend on.  But just as the strangers said to the disciples on the day of the Lord’s Ascension, we need to get our head out of the clouds and beginning focusing on the mission that Christ has chosen us to do.”