>> A READING FROM THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. THUS SAYS THE LORD: CURSED IS THE ONE WHO TRUSTS IN HUMAN BEINGS, WHO SEEKS HIS STRENGTH IN FLESH, WHOSE HEART TURNS AWAY FROM THE LORD. HE IS LIKE A BARREN BUSH IN THE DESERT THAT ENJOYS NO CHANGE OF SEASON, BUT STANDS IN A LAVA WASTE, A SALT AND EMPTY EARTH. BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO TRUSTS IN THE LORD, WHOSE HOPE IS THE LORD. HE IS LIKE A TREE PLANTED BESIDE THE WATERS, THAT STRETCHES OUT ITS ROOTS TO THE STREAM: IT FEARS NOT THE HEAT WHEN IT COMES, ITS LEAVES STAY GREEN, IN THE YEAR OF DROUGHT IT SHOWS NO DISTRESS, BUT STILL BEARS FRUIT. THE WORD OF THE LORD. >> THANKS BE TO GOD. [ORGAN] >> ♪ BLESSED ARE THEY WHO HOPE IN THE LORD ♪ >> ♪ BLESSED ARE THEY WHO HOPE IN THE LORD ♪ >> ♪ BLESSED INDEED IS THE MAN WHO FOLLOWS NOT THE COUNSEL OF THE WICKED, NOR STANDS IN THE PATH OF SINNERS, NOR SITS IN THE COMPANY OF SCORNERS, BUT DELIGHTS IN THE LAW OF THE LORD AND MEDITATES ON HIS LAW DAY AND NIGHT ♪ >> ♪ BLESSED ARE THEY WHO HOPE IN THE LORD ♪ >> ♪ HE IS LIKE A TREE THAT IS PLANTED BESIDE THE FLOWING WATERS, THAT YIELDS ITS FRUIT IN DUE SEASON, AND WHOSE LEAVES NEVER FADE, AND ALL THAT HE DOES SHALL PROSPER ♪ >> ♪ BLESSED ARE THEY WHO HOPE IN THE LORD ♪ >> ♪ NOT SO THE WICKED, NOT SO, FOR THEY ARE LIKE CHAFF, SHALL BE DRIVEN AWAY BY THE WIND, FOR THE LORD WATCHES OVER THE WAY OF THE JUST, BUT THE WAY OF THE WICKED VANISHES ♪ >> ♪ BLESSED ARE THEY WHO HOPE IN THE LORD ♪ >> A READING FROM THE FIRST LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS. BROTHERS AND SISTERS: IF CHRIST IS PREACHED AS RAISED FROM THE DEAD, HOW CAN SOME AMONG YOU SAY THERE IS NO RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD? IF THE DEAD ARE NOT RAISED, NEITHER HAS CHRIST BEEN RAISED, AND IF CHRIST HAS NOT BEEN RAISED, YOUR FAITH IS VAIN, YOU ARE STILL IN YOUR SINS. THEN THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP IN CHRIST HAVE PERISHED. IF FOR THIS LIFE ONLY WE HAVE HOPED IN CHRIST, WE ARE THE MOST PITIABLE PEOPLE OF ALL. BUT NOW CHRIST HAS BEEN RAISED FROM THE DEAD, THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP. THE WORD OF THE LORD. >> THANKS BE TO GOD. [ORGAN] >> ♪ ALLELUIA ♪ ♪ ALLELUIA ♪ ♪ ALLELUIA ♪ >> ♪ ALLELUIA ♪ ♪ ALLELUIA ♪ ♪ ALLELUIA ♪ ♪ REJOICE AND BE GLAD, YOUR REWARD WILL BE GREAT IN HEAVEN ♪ >> ♪ ALLELUIA ♪ ♪ ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA ♪ >> Father: ♪ DOMINUS VOBISCUM ♪ >> ♪ ET CUM SPIRITU TUO ♪ >> Father: ♪ LECTIO SANCTI EVANGELII SECUNDUM LUCAM ♪ >> ♪ GLORIA TIBI, DOMINE ♪ >> Father: JESUS CAME DOWN WITH THE 12 AND STOOD ON A STRETCH OF LEVEL GROUND, WITH A GREAT CROWD OF HIS DISCIPLES AND A LARGE NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE FROM ALL JUDEA AND JERUSALEM AND THE COASTAL REGION OF TYRE AND SIDON. AND RAISING HIS EYES TOWARD HIS DISCIPLES HE SAID: BLESSED ARE YOU WHO ARE POOR, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS YOURS. BLESSED ARE YOU WHO ARE NOW HUNGRY, FOR YOU WILL BE SATISFIED. BLESSED ARE YOU WHO ARE NOW WEEPING, FOR YOU WILL LAUGH. BLESSED ARE YOU WHEN PEOPLE HATE YOU, AND WHEN THEY EXCLUDE AND INSULT YOU, AND DENOUNCE YOUR NAME AS EVIL ON ACCOUNT OF THE SON OF MAN. REJOICE AND LEAP FOR JOY ON THAT DAY. BECAUSE YOUR REWARD WILL BE GREAT IN HEAVEN. FOR THEIR ANCESTORS TREATED THE PROPHETS IN THE SAME WAY. BUT WOE TO YOU WHO ARE RICH, FOR YOU HAVE RECEIVED YOUR CONSOLATION. WOE TO YOU WHO ARE FILLED NOW, FOR YOU WILL BE HUNGRY. WOE TO YOU WHO LAUGH NOW, FOR YOU WILL GRIEVE AND WEEP. WOE TO YOU WHEN ALL SPEAK WELL OF YOU, FOR THEIR ANCESTORS TREATED THE FALSE PROPHETS IN THIS WAY. ♪ VERBUM DOMINI ♪ >> ♪ LAUS TIBI, CHRISTE ♪ >> Father: I'D FIRST LIKE TO WELCOME THE PASTOR AT ST. BERNADETTE PARISH IN BAYOU VISTA, LOUISIANA. HE TOLD ME IT MEANS OUR LADY OF THE SNOWS. WE WELCOME YOU, FATHER. IT WAS IN 2014, SEPTEMBER, THAT POPE FRANCIS CROSSED THE ADRIATIC SEA TO VISIT ALBANIA, A COUNTRY THAT SUFFERED PERHAPS THE WORST COMMUNIST PERSECUTION EVER, FOR LIKE 50 YEARS. FROM THE 1940s UNTIL 1991. MANY PRIESTS, RELIGIOUS WERE MARTYRED. THERE WERE CHURCHES THAT WERE JUST BURNT DOWN. THE GOAL WAS TO, AS THEY PROCLAIMED IN 1967, THEY WERE THE FIRST COUNTRY TO DO THIS, "WE ARE AN ATHEISTIC STATE. NO GOD HERE. NO GOD PERMITTED HERE." BUT WHEN POPE FRANCIS WENT THERE, THERE WERE TWO PEOPLE WHO ADDRESSED HIM. THE FIRST WAS A PRIEST, FATHER ERNEST TROSHANI SIMONI. AND HE WAS TAKEN AS A PRISONER. HE WAS GIVEN THE DEATH SENTENCE BUT THEY COMMUTED THAT JUST BEING PUT IN PRISON. IN HIS PRISON CELL, HE WROTE, "FOR ME, LIFE IS CHRIST." QUOTING THE WORDS OF ST. PAUL. HE WAS TORTURED CLOSE TO DEATH A NUMBER OF TIMES BECAUSE HE WOULD NOT STOP SPEAKING ABOUT CHRIST. ENDURING FORCED LABOR FOR 18 YEARS BUT EVENTUALLY BEING ABLE TO RECEIVE HIS FREEDOM. IT WAS TWO YEARS LATER THAT POPE FRANCIS CREATED HIM AS A CARDINAL. HE WAS NOT A BISHOP, ONE OF THE NECESSITIES FOR THAT. HE DISPENSED FROM THAT BECAUSE OF HIS SUFFERING AND LIVING MARTYRDOM THAT HE WENT THROUGH. IN 2016, HE WAS ELEVATED TO A CARDINAL. HE'S NOW 93 YEARS OLD. THE SECOND SPEAKER THAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT IS THIS DEAR SISTER, SHE JUST DIED JANUARY 2ND AT THE AGE OF 92. SHE TOO WAS IN ALBANIA. HER NAME IS SISTER MARIJE KALETA. AT A YOUNG AGE, SHE FELT CALLED TO THE CONVENT, SHE JOINED THE SISTERS. AND WHEN THE COMMUNISTS TOOK OVER, SHE WAS FORCED TO LEAVE. SHE ALSO HAD TO ENDURE FORCED LABOR. SHE LIVED AT HOME WITH HER PARENTS. SHE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE HER FINAL VOWS FOR 50 YEARS. WHICH SHE DID. SHE ALWAYS KEPT THAT LOVE FOR THE LORD ALIVE EVEN THOUGH SHE WASN'T ABLE TO PRACTICE IT IN THE ORDINARY WAY, LIVING IN A CONVENT. A PRIEST HAD GRANTED HER THE PRIVILEGE OF HAVING THE BLESSED SACRAMENT IN THE HOME. SHE WOULD DISTRIBUTE HOLY COMMUNION TO THE SICK, TO THOSE WHO WERE DYING. EVEN THOUGH IT WAS AN ENDANGERMENT TO HER OWN LIFE TO DO SUCH A THING. IN HER ADDRESS TO POPE FRANCIS, SHE TALKED ABOUT HOW SHE WOULD BAPTIZE INFANTS. PEOPLE WOULD BRING THEM TO THE DOOR AND SHE WOULD BAPTIZE THEM SECRETLY. THERE WAS ONE OCCASION WHERE SHE WAS WALKING, SHE HEARS A VOICE CALLING BEHIND HER. A WOMAN WITH HER BABY. SHE KNOWS THIS WOMAN IS A COMMUNIST AND SHE THINKS IT'S A TRAP. THIS WOMAN SAYS "I WANT YOU TO BAPTIZE MY BABY." SHE SAID, WELL, THERE'S NO WATER AROUND HERE. I CAN'T BAPTIZE YOUR BABY. THINKING THAT IT WAS A TRAP. NO, THERE WAS A CANAL, WATER IN THE CANAL. SHE INSISTS. AND WHEN SHE CAN SEE THAT THIS WOMAN INDEED HAD FAITH, THEY WENT OVER TO THE CANAL, THE SISTER TOOK OFF HER SHOE AND WITH THE WATER, SHE BAPTIZED THAT BABY. THIS TESTIMONY BROUGHT POPE FRANCIS TO TEARS. HE REMARKED THAT WHEN HE WENT FROM THE AIRPORT, THERE WERE PICTURES OF MARTYRS, PEOPLE WHO HAD SUFFERED MARTYRDOM THERE, IN ALBANIA, FOR THE SAKE OF THE FAITH. AND THIS WAS A GATHERING OF PRIESTS AND CLERGY AND RELIGIOUS SEMINARIANS. HERE'S WHAT HE SAID TO THEM: HE SAID, WHAT WAS IT THAT ALLOWED THEM TO SUFFER SO MUCH? IT WAS THE STRENGTH THE LORD GAVE, THE LORD THAT GAVE THEM THE STRENGTH TO GO ON. HE SAID WOE TO US IF WE SEEK ANOTHER CONSOLATION. HE SAYS, I DON'T WANT TO BEAT YOU TODAY. BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IF YOU SEEK CONSOLATION ELSEWHERE, YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY. WHAT'S MORE, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CONSOLE ANYONE BECAUSE YOUR HEART IS NOT OPEN TO THE LORD'S CONSOLATION. IN FACT, SISTER MARIJE KALETA, IN HER ADDRESS, SHE CONCLUDED BY SAYING "WHEN I THINK OF IT, I WONDER HOW WE WERE ABLE TO ENDURE SUCH TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS. BUT I KNOW THE LORD GAVE US STRENGTH, PATIENCE, AND HOPE. THE LORD GAVE STRENGTH TO THOSE HE CALLED. IN FACT, HE HAS REPAID ME FOR ALL MY SUFFERINGS HERE ON EARTH. BECAUSE SHE HAD THE FORTUNE OF BECOMING RELIGIOUS. SHE DIED ON JANUARY 2ND IN HER CONVENT IN NORTHERN ALBANIA. MAY SHE REST IN PEACE AND INTERCEDE FOR US. AND IT'S QUITE A REMARKABLE THING THAT THE LORD REVERSES WHAT THE WORLD HOLDS AS BLESSINGS. THAT FOR THE WORLD, IT IS GAINING ALL THAT YOU CAN. ALL THE RICHES THAT YOU CAN. BEING FILLED TO KNOW AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. HAVING ONLY LAUGHTER AND NO STRUGGLE OR SACRIFICE. HAVING EVERYBODY SPEAK WELL OF US. THE LORD REVERSES THAT. EVEN WHEN PEOPLE PERSECUTE YOU BECAUSE OF THE SON OF MAN, REJOICE, LEAP FOR JOY. WHY? BECAUSE YOUR REWARD IS GOING TO BE GREAT IN HEAVEN. CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT SISTER MARIJE KALETA'S REWARD IS? WHAT SHE ENDURED? THE REWARD IS GOING TO BE GREAT IN HEAVEN. THE LORD IS SAYING, HOW GREAT MUST THAT BE? BEYOND OUR IMAGINING. REJOICE AND LEAP FOR JOY BECAUSE YOUR REWARD IS GOING TO BE GREAT IN HEAVEN. YOU WHO ARE POOR, YOU WHO ARE SUFFERING, YOURS IS GOING TO BE THE KINGDOM OF GOD. YOU ARE GOING TO BE SATISFIED. IT IS INTERESTING TOO THAT THE LORD SAID THE BREAD THAT HE'S GOING TO GIVE WILL BE A BREAD THAT WILL SATISFY US. THOSE THAT ARE HUNGRY AND THIRSTY, COME TO ME WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY AND THIRSTY. THERE WILL BE A SATISFACTION. YOU KNOW, THE FATHER WHO HAD SUFFERED, FATHER ERNEST, HE HAD SOME BREAD THAT WAS SMUGGLED IN TO HIM, AND HE COULD SAY GRACE. SISTER MARIJE KALETA -- I'M SURE SHE WAS ABLE TO RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST IN THAT WAY IN HER HOME, AS I SAID. BUT IT'S A GREAT PRIVILEGE WE HAVE IN THAT THIS IS A BREAD THAT WILL SATISFY US. HIS VERY BODY, BLOOD, SOUL, DIVINITY. HE'S THE ONE THAT STRENGTHENS US IN THE TRIALS OF THIS LIFE. HE IS THAT LIVING WATER. WE HAVE BOTH JEREMIAH, WHO SEEMS TO BE QUOTING 1 PSALM, THIS TREE NEAR WATER. THE LEAVES STAY GREEN BECAUSE IT CAN REACH OUT TO THE STREAM. WHAT ABOUT US? WE JUST ROOTED IN THIS WORLD? ARE WE GOING TO PUT OUR ROOTS OUT TO THAT LIVING WATER, WHO IS CHRIST? WE FIND OUR CONSOLATION, OUR SUSTENANCE IN HIM. WE WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. EVEN IN THE STRUGGLES OF THIS LIFE, THE LORD TELLS US THERE'S GOING TO BE A GREAT REWARD IN HEAVEN. REJOICE AND LEAP FOR JOY. PETER KREEFT IS THIS WONDERFUL AUTHOR WHO HAS HAD SUCH A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON CATHOLIC THOUGHT OVER THESE LAST FEW DECADES. HE WROTE THIS ARTICLE ABOUT JOY. WE ALL WANT JOY, DON'T WE? WE ALL WANT JOY. IN FACT, HE QUOTES ST. THOMAS AQUINAS WHO SAYS "NO MAN CAN LIVE WITHOUT JOY." AND THAT IS WHY ONE DEPRIVED OF SPIRITUAL JOY GOES OVER TO CARNAL PLEASURES." ISN'T THAT WHAT WE SEE TODAY? SOME TRYING TO ASSUAGE THIS HUNGER, THIRST, DESIRE FOR A DEEP JOY. JUST LOOKING FOR SOMETHING. AND SO THOMAS TELLS US, "WE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT JOY." SO WHAT IS JOY? PETER KREEFT SAYS THAT JOY IS MORE THAN HAPPINESS. JUST AS HAPPINESS IS MORE THAN PLEASURE. PLEASURE IS IN THE BODY. HAPPINESS IS ON THE MIND AND FEELINGS. JOY IS DEEP IN THE HEART, THE SPIRIT, THE CENTER OF THE SELF. EVERYONE WANTS PLEASURE. MORE DEEPLY, EVERYONE WANTS HAPPINESS. MORE DEEPLY STILL, EVERYONE WANTS JOY. AND THIS IS TRUE. BUT IF WE ARE TRYING TO SEEK OUR HAPPINESS IN JUST THIS WORLD AND WE ARE NOT STRETCHING OUT OUR ROOTS TO THE LIVING WATER WHO IS CHRIST, WE ARE GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT POINT THAT PETER KREEFT MAKES. THIS HAS BEEN PROVED BY EXPERIENCE BY MANY, MANY PEOPLE, MANY, MANY TIMES. YOU CAN REPEAT THE EXPERIMENT AND PROVE IT TO YOURSELF. JUST SEEKING HAPPINESS IN THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD? IT AIN'T GONNA WORK. IT'S NOT GOING TO SATISFY YOU. WHEN YOU SEEK IT IN THE LORD, THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO BRING YOU JOY. THIS HAS BEEN PROVED BY EXPERIENCE BY MANY, MANY PEOPLE, MANY, MANY TIMES. YOU CAN REPEAT THE EXPERIMENT AND PROVE IT TO YOURSELF. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS HAVE TRIED THE EXPERIMENT. AND ALL WHO SEEK, FIND. THIS IS NOT JUST A PROMISE ABOUT THE NEXT LIFE, TO BE BELIEVED BY FAITH, BUT A PROMISE IN THIS LIFE. NO ONE HAS EVER SAID TO GOD, THY WILL BE DONE AND MEANT IT IN HIS HEART, EVER FAILED TO FIND JOY. BUT THERE'S A CATCH. YOU REALLY HAVE TO DO IT. NOT JUST IN YOUR MIND. BUT NO ONE WHO HAS EVER SAID THY WILL BE DONE AND MEANT IT, MEANT TO CARRY IT OUT -- THERE'S NOT A PERSON WHO HAS DONE THAT SINCERELY, REALLY MEANT IT, STROVE TO CARRY IT OUT THAT DID NOT EXPERIENCE JOY. IN THE HERE AND NOW. HE SPEAKS ABOUT HIS OWN LIFE. HE SAYS "EVERY TIME THAT I HAVE NOT ONLY SAID THY WILL BE DONE AND MEANT IT, LOVED IT, LONGED FOR IT, I HAVE NEVER FAILED TO FIND JOY AND PEACE IN THAT MOMENT." YOU CAN THINK OF THESE PEOPLE WHO SUFFERED SO MUCH IN ALBANIA. I THINK FATHER ERNEST MUST HAVE EXPERIENCED JOY AS HE WROTE "FOR, TO ME, LIFE IS CHRIST." IN HIS CELL. THAT IS WHAT MATTERED, DOING GOD'S WILL, NO MATTER WHAT. HE HAD THIS DEEP JOY. EVEN WHEN IMMERSED IN ALL THE PLEASURES AVAILABLE, YOU CAN NEVER FIND -- NO MATTER WHAT HARDSHIPS OR SACRIFICES ENTAILED, DOING HIS WILL, LONGING FOR IT, STRIVING TO CARRY IT OUT, WE WILL EXPERIENCE JOY. BLESSED ARE YOU, EVEN WHEN YOU ARE POOR. BECAUSE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS YOURS. EVEN IF YOU ARE WEEPING NOW, YOU ARE GOING TO REJOICE. THE REWARD IS GREAT IN HEAVEN. PETER KREEFT CONTINUES, "EVERY OTHER CHRISTIAN WHO HAS LIVED HAS FOUND EXACTLY THE SAME THING IN HIS OWN EXPERIENCE." AGAIN, THERE IS A CATCH. A BIG ONE. YOU REALLY HAVE TO DO IT. NOT JUST THINK ABOUT IT. TO SURRENDER TO GOD. GIVE OURSELVES TO GOD. YOU EITHER BELIEVE ALL OF THIS, OR YOU DON'T. IF YOU DO, DO IT. IF YOU DON'T, TRY IT. YOU'LL LIKE IT. [LAUGHS] TODAY, IN CONCLUSION, TODAY'S READINGS POINT OUT TWO DIFFERENT WAYS WE CAN GO. WE ARE AT A CROSSROADS IN OUR LIFE AND EVERY DAY WE MAKE A CHOICE. IN PSALM 1, THERE IS A WAY OF BLESSEDNESS AND THERE IS A WAY OF WOE. BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT FOLLOWS NOT THE COUNCIL OF THE WICKED OR WALKS IN THE WAY OF SINNERS, BUT WHO DELIGHTS IN THE LAW OF THE LORD. WHO MEDITATES ON HIS LAW, DAY AND NIGHT. LIKE A TREE PLANTED NEAR RUNNING WATER THAT YIELDS ITS FRUIT. JEREMIAH SAID "IT STRETCHES OUT ITS ROOTS TO THE STREAM. THE LIVING WATER WHO IS CHRIST, HIS TEACHING, HIS SPIRIT, STRETCHING OUT THE ROOTS TO THE STREAM. THE GIFT OF THE EUCHARIST, WHICH OUR HUNGER IS SATISFIED. IT FEARS NOT THE HEAT WHEN IT COMES. THE LEAVES STAY GREEN. IN THE YEAR OF DROUGHT, IT SHOWS NO DISTRESS. IT STILL BEARS FRUIT. NOT SO, THE WICKED, NOT SO. FOR LIKE CHAFF, THEY WOULD TAKE THE GRAIN, THE WIND WOULD BLOW IT AWAY. THAT'S WHAT IT'S LIKE, TO LIVE THE DRY, WICKED LIFE OF JUST SEEKING THIS WORLD. THE LORD WATCHES OVER THE WAY OF THE JUST. TODAY, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TRY WHAT PETER KREEFT SUGGESTS. DESIRE TO DO GOD'S WILL. LOVE IT, LONG FOR IT, STRIVE TO CARRY IT OUT. STRETCH OUT YOUR ROOTS FOR LIVING WATER. IF YOU'RE FEELING HUNGRY, THIRSTY, LONGING, DRY, STRETCH OUT YOUR ROOTS TO THE LIVING WATER WHO IS CHRIST, LIFTING YOUR HEART TO HIM IN PRAYER. RECEIVING THE SACRAMENTS AS OFTEN AS YOU ARE ABLE TO. YOUR LEAVES WILL STAY GREEN.
