The Golden Rule…we’ve all heard it from the time we were old enough to understand. Basically, treat others as you want to be treated. Jesus gave it to us, and elaborated on it quite extensively in His “Sermon on the Plain,” which we continue to read in today’s Gospel. What is Jesus trying to tell us? At a first reading, one might be tempted to think Jesus is telling us how to get to Heaven…and I don’t discount that interpretation. But I think there’s more; Jesus is telling us how to make a little bit of Heaven here on Earth; how to bring His kingdom into play right now. Just imagine a world in which people didn’t judge others, in which people freely share what they have with those less fortunate, in which people forgive others for their sins and truly see all others as loved by God and worthy of respect. It’s been said before…what a wonderful world that would be! As followers of Jesus, this is how we’re called to live. Our mission while on Earth is to help to establish God’s kingdom, and we can never show others how to live if we aren’t willing to live that way ourselves. We’re not perfect and we can’t do it without God’s grace, but His grace is freely available to all who ask for it. As Jesus said, “Give, and gifts will be given to you.” Let us all make an effort this week to live the way Jesus taught us in today’s Gospel, and maybe bring a little bit of Heaven to our corner of the world. Reflection by St. Catherine’s parishioner, John Ceglarek