Tag Archives: struggles

Strengthen Your Family through Living the Beatitudes (Part 1)

28 Friday Jul 2017

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Sermon on the Mount

Stained Glass Windows – St. Vincent de Paul Chapel, St. Louis, MO

This is the first of a two-part series studying the lessons from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” commonly known as the “Beatitudes” (Mt 5:3-10). The Sermon on the Mount challenges us to live in heartfelt obedience to God’s commands. The Beatitudes tell us how to be blessed. This is more than a sense of happiness. It is an experience of hope and joy independent of circumstances, because we are focused on our eternal home in heaven. This hope and joy, the highest form of happiness, can only be found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

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Lenten Reflection: The Crucifixion

30 Thursday Mar 2017

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The Crucifixion, Jacopo Bellini, c.1430

For the final reflection in the series on Christ’s passion and death, we will use the movie The Passion of the Christ to help us understand the incredible sacrifice Christ made for our salvation.

And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. Luke 23:33

Last week, we reflected on Christ’s journey to Golgotha carrying the instrument of His death, the cross. Simon of Cyrene was enlisted to help Jesus carry the heavy cross. In the movie, we see Simon carrying the cross with the brutally beaten and exhausted Jesus hanging over Simon’s shoulder, appearing to add an extra burden for him to carry. But as Jesus falls to the ground at the peak of Golgotha, we see Simon crushed by the weight of the heavy, wooden cross. In spite of outward appearances, Jesus was in fact carrying the weight of the cross and the burden of the sins of the world.

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