Having to-do lists is my default mode. Between work and home, the lists are never ending. I have to constantly remind myself to look beyond the list, to carve out time for prayer and devote undistracted time to those I love. 

Thank goodness for today’s Gospel, a reminder of what the world looks like when we have our priorities out of whack. Here, Jesus is preparing and encouraging the disciples because they have given up much to follow him. He reminds them that the prophets were also rejected. 

We too are called to be disciples. A powerful aspect of Catholicism is that we are connected to all the saints and their witness of proclaiming faith in this world. The ambitions or achievements of secular life on their own will always leave us unfulfilled. Without constantly and actively putting the work of God first, we find ourselves subsumed by the hectic distractions of daily life. Instead, we must reimagine and work for a better world, despite what it may cost us in this one. 

Nothing we can lose in this life—not money, time, or stature— is worth more than the reward in Heaven. The beatitudes inspire and motivate us to order our steps accordingly. 

✓ Listen to the needs of others and act on them. 

✓ Give your time to someone who would value it. 

✓ Share your faith. 

✓ Share your gifts.