The Other Fr Steven Beatty Project

José Sánchez del Río was born in Michoacan, Mexico. He grew up in a devoted Catholic home: daily rosaries and devotions, faith as the clear center of family life. His activities included playing marbles, horses, and convincing other kids to make holy hours. José was born in 1913, so he could conceivably have still been alive today as one of the oldest people in the world, at age 106. As it happened, he made it to 14. By then, practicing the faith in his country had become… not so simple. Mexico was ruled by a maniacally anti-Catholic socialist government. Many USA citizens today think of Mexico very simplistically as a Catholic country, totally unaware that within a current lifespan Sacraments were outlawed, Bishops exiled, and resisting priests tortured and killed on sight. A rebellion called the Cristeros rose against this, and young José was eager to join. It wasn't easy for him to find a role he could play at such a young age, but his courage and actions turned out to be astou…

C.S. Lewis said, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

It’s a simple conclusion based on a simple observation. The observation is from within himself, observing his own nature and the way his heart works. Lewis finds in himself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy. I hope you’ll turn that observation on yourself. Is it true for you, too? Do have desires that nothing in this world can satisfy?

The truth is that everyone does. The tragedy is that not everyone knows it. Some of the unhappiest people you will ever meet are the ones who think everything their heart wants can be found in this world. They’ll keep looking and looking for that perfect satisfaction.

It’s a little tragic that they’re looking for something they can’t find. It’s much more tragic that because of it, they’ll miss out on the best things in life. All the best things in life will be disappointing to them, beca…

I like the phrase “walk with Jesus.” I’ve heard it a lot, I’ve used it too. It emphasizes that Jesus is with us, He is our companion through whatever is happening in our life, and it has that sense of progress and pilgrimage - we haven’t arrived yet, we’re on the way, and He’s with us. He can and does continue to work with such imperfect instruments as we are! I could go on, but anyway I like this common phrase about “walking with Jesus.”

But Colossians 2:6 says to “walk in Him,” and to ‘walk in Jesus’ sounds somehow more radical, somehow more challenging. The verses that follow underline this sense of not just being near Jesus, but radically identifying with Him, a sense that somehow His divine life and our own lives become so intertwined and cooperative that it’s hard to draw a line between one and the other. I don’t know if that’s the right way to say it, so let’s let Paul speak for himself: “You were buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him,”… “He brough…