Ash Wednesday is beckoning us to joy. The Book of Sirach says, "As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in tribulation is the test of the just." This week Oro Valley Catholic discusses how the virtue of temperance brings joy from pleasure and protects them both from our passions, appetites and tendency towards self-destruction.
"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." Jeremiah 17:5
In Luke 5, Jesus calls Simon to follow him. Peter experiences a tremendous catch of fish, but, after all, he is a fisherman. Why does a boatload of fish compel him to describe himself as a sinful man. A mystical experience transforms how we see reality, opening our eyes to the presence of God, hiding in plain sight.