Easter Meditation

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Book 3 Chapter 9: How All Things Are to be Referred to God, Our Last End

Christ to His Disciple: “My child, if you desire true happiness, then I must be the ultimate goal of all your works.”

Too often we find ourselves seeking out worldly treasures which offer very little in satisfaction.  As soon as we get that prize, it no longer satisfies and we want more, or we want something new, or even worse, we want what our neighbors have. Everything that we do is to achieve more wealth, more material things and a higher status in society.  “And the rich man walked away sad!”  If you set your own happiness as your ultimate goal, you will end up sad and empty.  While it may seem counter intuitive, he who wants the world, will die in the world, but he who abandons the world for God will live in eternal joy.  How often do we strive to do things that glorify us? Our works are empty of any service to God.  We must realize that absolutely everything that we have and everything that is in our possession was given to us by God to fulfill His mission.  All gifts flow out of Gods goodness and therefore, we are called to return all things to Him. We must be happy with what we have and treasure those things as gifts from which we are to bring about the kingdom of Heaven.  Every talent you have is a gift from God that must be used to further the church.  We are His hands and feet; we are His everything on this earth.  Every talent we have was given to us so we can serve Him who gave it to us for “no one is good but God alone” (Luke 18:19).  “He alone is to be honored above all things and in all things shall He be blessed.” Last night I was at my Nephew’s confirmation. He gave me one of the greatest gifts that can be given to a person, to be a witness to the faith, to be his confirmation sponsor.  The priest asked the confirmandee and their sponsors, “Why did God give us the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation?”  He said it was so God could share His love with us in a deeper and more profound way.  It was through these sacraments that every gift we were given comes back to God who is the source of our salvation.  Without are participation in the Holy Church, we become the vine that withers and does not produce fruit. We must give absolutely everything we own, every treasure that we have and every talent that we’re given back to Him to glorify Him who is the only one who can accept us into Heaven.

A Simple Prayer

God, you are the creator of everything in the Universe.

You are the creator of all my gifts and all my treasures;

May I use these gifts and talents to further the kingdom of Heaven.

May everything that is in my possession be “referred to God, my last end.

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon