Fourth Sunday of Lent (Heb. 6:13–20; Mk. 9:17–31)

In His sayings about the Beatitudes (Mt. 5:1–12), the Lord depicts the heart of paradise.

Its disposition includes: humility, mourning and contrition, gentleness and freedom from anger, a complete love of righteousness, perfect mercifulness, purity of heart, peaceableness and peacemaking, and patient endurance of misfortunes, false accusations, and persecutions for the faith and the Christian life. If you want paradise, become such a person. Even here you will taste paradise in advance, and you will enter the paradise that awaits you after death as its pre-appointed heir.