Tuesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

JEROME:

There certainly is much truth in a certain saying of a philosopher, “Every rich man is either wicked or the heir of wickedness.” That is why the Lord and Savior says that it is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Someone may raise the objection, “How did wealthy Zacchaeus enter the kingdom of heaven?” He gave away his wealth and immediately replaced it with the riches of the heavenly kingdom. The Lord and Savior did not say that the rich would not enter the kingdom of heaven but that they will enter with difficulty. read more

All Saints

On the Feast of All the Saints, the Church rejoices with its fully divinized and purified members in Heaven.  The joy they have of being finally free from temptation, worldly allurements and the chaos of the passions expresses only a comparatively insignificant fraction of their happiness.  Their joy comes from an unobstructed vision of the Trinity, whose eternal glory has thickened their souls with love.  Heaven is filled with beings whose purity and perfection are the burning reality of God’s love that has completely transformed their essence.  The lives of the Saints as they were known on earth are but a depressing and sad shadow of their heavenly bliss. read more