Wisdom is to despise the perishable things of this world and to aspire to what is eternal. – St. Francis de Sales
Bishop Edward Rice, bishop of the Diocese of Springfield – Cape Girardeau, reflected on this quote from St. Francis de Sales at Mass this morning. He challenged the 4,200+ teens to truly be wise by seeking the eternal things and not becoming caught up in the things of this world.
While he acknowledged that things of this earth are good and necessary, Bishop Rice said that our identities can become wrapped up in the latest trends and what other people think. It is then that the things of the earth become an obstacle to the ultimate purpose of our lives: Heaven. The things of this world are to help us reach eternity.
When we worship God, that is when our hearts are the fulfilled because that is what our hearts were made for. Bishop Rice noted that we are most authentically who we are in God’s eyes when we enter into worship.
Bishop Rice’s homily was a beautiful reminder of the importance of the Mass. Even when we can become bored by the mundaneness or distracted when we pray in Adoration, we should remember that we are joining with the angels and the communion of saints in worship. In receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, praying in Adoration, or finding forgiveiness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are able to have our thrists truly quenched. We are made to worship God and that will bring us ultimate joy.
Quotables
“Remember the goal of this life is not this life. The goal of this life is eternity.”
“Within each of us is the thirst for the Divine.”
“Don’t settle for less; strive for the things that are eternal. United your hearts to Jesus in worship and in Adoration.”
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