Catholic Bible 101

A lot of people think that the road to salvation consists of the health and wealth gospel preached by so many protestant preachers on TV.  However, Jesus said in Matthew 16:24  to "pick up your cross and follow Me".  When the rich young man in Luke 18 came up to Jesus and asked him what we must do to be saved, Jesus didn't say "Give me a lot of money, plant your faith seed, and then you will be blessed in this life with health and wealth."  Rather, he told the rich young man to sell all of his possessions, give it all to the poor, and then he will have treasure in HEAVEN (Luke 18:22).

So if we set out to follow Jesus with our hearts, our minds, our lives, and our actions, our deaths, we should expect to have to carry a cross, and for satan to come after us with all he's got - temptation, confusion, depression, etc.  None of the great saints in history lived comfortable rich cushy lives.  They rejected the lure of the things of this world and gave their own lives in service of others. 

And that is the lot in this life for Christians.  The Blessed Virgin Mary told St. Bernadette at Lourdes, France, that she would never be happy in this life, but only in the next.  The natural state of man and his love of the things of this world can be overcome by accepting God's unlimited grace.  But it does take an effort on our part to do this, by praying for it.   Praying for the grace to overcome the natural lure of this world will work every time.  We all have to think about where we will be in a hundred years, a thousand years, a million years, etc.   Heaven is where we should be aiming for, and that all begins with a simple prayer for Jesus to send us the spouse of His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary - Namely, the Holy Spirit. Because once we turn our bodies into a holy temple for the Holy Spirit, miracles in our lives can occur - overcoming our love of money, sex, food, electronic gadgets, pleasure, travel, etc., and desiring to serve God by building up His Kingdom on earth through humble service to His poor and to His Church.

So if heaven is your goal, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?  START PRAYING FOR THE GRACE TO SERVE GOD NOW!  You just can't get a better deal on life insurance anywhere!