The ultimate end of our lives, as proposed by Jesus Himself, appeals to every human heart. Kateri was humble in her requests to be admitted to the sacraments of initiation, but from the time the seeds of faith had been planted in her heart by her mother, a deep longing for God was begun that drove her – despite her shyness – to ask to receive them. The faith was never imposed on Kateri – she was not forced to abandon her Native American beliefs. The message of faith brought her heart to an intimate relationship not with a great spirit, but with the man-God. Kateri tasted this Love in such a radical way, that the sufferings she could endure liberated her spirit to cling only to that Love. Her love for mortification brought her to an early death, but her love for Jesus brought her a fullness of life even before she died.
Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
The foolishness of building a house on sand is obvious. Unfortunately, the foolishness of building one’s life on the realities of this passing world is not as obvious. The house that is built on sand may even look the same as the one built on rock: perhaps the same materials were used, the same architecture, the same floor-plan. While the weather is good, it doesn’t seem to matter that one is built on sand and the other rock. People can build their lives the same way: they may have the same jobs, the same clothes, the same friends/activities. If they do not build their lives on Christ, however, when the storms of life come they will be utterly decimated.