Feast of Saint Pedro Poveda Castroverde

Good morning. What is worth everything to you? Is there anything you possess that will last forever? That seems to be the point of today’s Gospel reading. If our attention is not on where we plan to spend eternity then we are wasting our time because the only thing that truly matters in life is getting to heaven. So often I have families in my office that find themselves lamenting over not being able to offer their children those things other children have, or over not being able to do the things other families do. Other times I find myself with couples who have allowed themselves to grow apart in their marriage pursuing their careers, and keeping up with the demands of climbing the ladder of success. It can be a real struggle sometimes to help these families, to help them overcome the poverty that they are truly stricken with, this of course being a spiritual poverty which causes them to miss the point of today’s Gospel.The point of the Gospel is of course to live our lives with our sights on heaven. How often we forget that we are created to love and to be loved, and that we are called in marriage to walk together on the path with each other and with Christ toward the Kingdom. There are many distractions in life; if they keep us from focusing on the Kingdom then we will surely find ourselves lost. So often in these conversations with folks I’m reminded of the exchange between the Cheshire cat and Alice in Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. ‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I don't much care where---' said Alice. 'Then it doesn't matter which way you go.' said the Cat.'---so long as I get somewhere.' Alice added as an explanation. 'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.' So if the focus of our marriage is not on each other and on the purpose God calls us to, it doesn’t really matter which way we go. We’re sure to get somewhere but not where we are intended for. Make a great day!

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and works of Saint Pedro Poveda Castroverde.