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What does it mean to ascend? It means to rise. Christians are called and challenged every day to ascend above situations. The opposite of ascend is descend. The world encourages us to descend into the-worst-version-of-ourselves. But every day we are called to ascend and become the-very-best-version-of-ourselves.
Today: As you pray the Rosary, place yourself there with the disciples as Jesus bids them farewell and sends them out to change the world.
We all need what I like to call a Pentecost Moment, that moment when things finally click into place and the genius of Catholicism makes sense to us. But our transformation doesn’t occur in a single moment. That is just the beginning, the jolt that gets us to see that we are sleepwalking through life and awakens us to all the possibilities. Now we need daily conversion to chase the selfishness from our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. But we
resist this ongoing transformation into the-very-best-version-of-ourselves. We resist the very things that will make us happy. This is the great paradox of our lives.
Today: Reflect on what is holding you back from surrendering once and for all to God. What are you afraid of?
What’s keeping you from just giving everything to God? It’s hard to do when you are still in love with your sins, when you are obsessed with what other people think about you, when you like to be the one in control. Are you ready to surrender once and for all to God? How would your life be different if you did?
Today: Pray the Rosary and focus on how you can surrender to God.
God invites us to look at everything in the context of eternity. Context is a beautiful thing, because it shows us the true value of things. A billionaire cares little about his money if his five-year-old son has cancer. That’s context. When the doctor tells you that you have only six months to live, you very quickly develop clarity around what matters most and what matters least. That’s context. Context gives us the clarity we need to make great decisions.
Today: Consider these questions: Are you more passionate and enthusiastic about the things of this world or the things of the next world? Are you more passionate about accumulating things in this world than about caring for the less fortunate, relieving the suffering of the poor, and working to eradicate injustice?