If we understand that self-centeredness, occupying the position where God should properly stand, blinds us to the real, then we can begin to appreciate the Beatitudes as avenues of access to God.

Before faith becomes a list of what is believed, it is an actual experience of the living God. Our emotions, desires, joys or sorrows are, as we say, touched by grace.

No one escapes the suffering that sin brought into the world. And there are no comparisons to be made between the sorrows of one person and those of another. It wouldn’t be suffering if it did not strike each one of us at the core of our being.

Epiphany is a feast of light, “the shining forth” of the newborn Christ. It prompts a thought experiment, a mental realignment, if you will.

A Homily for the Octave Day of Christmas, Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God by Father Terrance Klein

In the Gospel, the passion accounts are dramas. The infancy stories are tableaus. They simply want us to see something.

A Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, by Father Terrance Klein

That is what the Madonna represents: the initial whole, the divine unity of us, the world and God, is something that must be lost.

Look at the people with whom you live and work. How are they doing? How are they because of your role in their lives? These questions might reveal as much about your standing with the Lord as your list of sins.

Advent is a season of hope. Note that we speak of hope, not optimism.