Blessedness is not conditional. It’s always available. Blessedness comes not through success in the eyes of the world but from being connected to the true God—“Like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream.”

Hope may be the most neglected Christian virtue. Even if we are not in the midst of some particular adversity, the routine of our daily lives seems to say, “This is all there is.”

We’re hit with a double celebration today: Valentine’s Day and World Marriage Day. The first observance honors romantic love and the second the even more romantic idea of lifelong fidelity.

I stood atop a mesa in New Mexico from where I could see for miles. I was struck by the contrast between the vast stretches of barren desert and the narrow band of abundant life skirting the bank of a dry river bed.

An old jazz duet was being interviewed on Larry King Live. It was fun seeing clips of their earlier days and hearing the behind-the-scenes stories of how they met and what other jazz greats they worked with throughout their long careers.

An 8-year-old child of a couple in the parish was devastated  when the Chicago Cubs didn’t make it to the World Series. He asked his father how there could be a God since no one answered his or all the other long-suffering fans’ fervent prayers for the Cubs.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus showed that our blessings flow not from our achievements but from our needs. As we prepare to bring our gifts to the altar, we acknowledge our reliance on the God who satisfies every need.

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain. Faith and hope make up two of the most important Christian values. Today’s scripture shows why.

If Christ is not raised for us, he is not raised at all, for there is no reason for him to be raised for himself. In him, the cosmos is resurrected, in him heaven is resurrected, in him earth is resurrected; for there will be “a new heaven and a new earth” [Rev. 21:1]. —Saint Ambrose (340-397)