On this holy day set apart for the Lord, Jesus invites us to go up the mountain with Him (Mt 5:1). There we can see for miles beyond planet earth even into eternity. We can see the heavenly hosts "from every nation and race, people and tongue" (Rv 7:9). We want to be in that number, go to heaven, and see Jesus face to face (1 Jn 3:2).

We ask Jesus how we can become a saint in heaven. He answers: "These are the ones who have survived the great period of trial; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rv 7:14). Saints are survivors who have received forgiveness for their sins. They are God's look-alikes. They are as they were created to be, in the image and likeness of God (Gn 1:27). Saints think like God, feel like God, talk like God. They are "like Him" (1 Jn 3:2). The Beatitudes tell us what God is like (Mt 5:3-12). They reveal the characteristics of a person "getting to look a lot like" Jesus.

Are you choosing poverty and a simple life? Are you repenting of sins? Are you trying to be lowly? Are rivers of mercy and peace flowing from you? Are you so single-heartedly committed to the Lord that you are a threat to the devil and a target of persecution? Are you "getting to look a lot like" Jesus?

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 3, 2007

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.