“Merely to love things above is already to mount on high.”
Pope St. Gregory the Great

For Reflection:
On a scale of one to ten, how high am I mounting today? What tells me so?

“I have been made for heaven, and heaven for me.”
Saint Joseph Cafasso

For Reflection:
To what extent am I truly headed toward my eternal destiny?

“Lord, I will put myself at hell’s gate, so that I can stop anyone else from entering there.”
Blessed Dominic Barberi

For Reflection:
How can I “put myself at hell’s gate” to aid souls from entering there?

“God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1037

For Reflection:
This teaching of the Church implies that we choose hell for ourselves. Am I in mortal sin? In light of the fact that no one knows when he will be called from this life, what need I do?

“I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth.”
St. Therese of Lisieux

For Reflection:
How do these words of St. Therese resonate with me? Am I willing to take them as my own? If so, what implication does this have for my life now and in the future?

“In the glory of heaven the blessed continue joyfully to fulfill God’s will in relation to other men and to all creation.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1029

For Reflection:
How does this teaching of the Church correlate to her teaching on the communion of saints? How have I personally experienced the reality and truth of this statement? Do I look forward to being a saint and “reigning with Christ” by being of assistance to other men and all creation?
(See tomorrow’s Grace Line for one saint who planned on it!)

“Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he is,” face to face.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1023

For Reflection:
What do I think it will be like to behold God face-to-face? Do I have an interior hunger to do so?
 

“We are each our own devils and we make this world our hell.”
Oscar Wilde

For Reflection:
How have I witnessed the truth of this statement? In my life? In the lives of others? Am I living it out right now? How can I surrender to God’s grace to make it now so?

“The world is only peopled to people heaven.”
St. Francis de Sales

For Reflection:
What a beautiful quote! What does this tell me about me? What does this tell me about God’s plans for me? What does this tell me about everyone I meet? What does this tell me about all that happens to me? How can this quote give direction, meaning, and purpose to my life?
(Compare this to tomorrow’s Grace Line.)

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030

For Reflection:
How does Purgatory reveal to us the mercy of God? Why is purification and true holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven?