This chapter tells us that through scripture we are being called to be like Jesus. Matthew and the other evangelists help us learn the values and treasures of Jesus through their Gospels. Jesus was viewed as a person who went against the mold in his society in the Gospels. He attacked the Pharisees and had different beliefs than those in society. Through instances in the Gospels where Jesus breaks the mold we learn that we are meant to break the mold in our society as well. By reading about other stories in the Gospels where Jesus is merciful and compassionate we too learn how to become merciful and compassionate. The Gospels call us to be like Jesus, the Jesus who us portrayed throughout the stories.

The first main idea I want to take with me from this chapter is the connection between Jesus and Moses yet the differences between their teachings. Both Jesus and Moses went up the mountain and brought back teachings for the people. Both Jesus and Moses taught their people how to follow God. However, the news that each person brought back to teach to their people were a little different. The Ten Commandments form a law in which the people are assigned their duties to maintain their side of the relationship with God. The Beatitudes are more of a set of guidelines that help you change your attitude towards life and your neighbors that brings happiness. The Beatitudes contain the secret for happiness not just after death but also in the future of one/s life, and they show how happiness can only be achieved through God, not things.

The second main idea I want to take from this chapter is the idea that everyone, even Jesus, goes through a struggle between good and evil throughout their lives. When we are in a lowly position in life and things are going are way it is easy to be tempted to do something bad. Jesus was in a similar situation when he was in the desert and had to resist evil. Instead of turning from God he trusted in God more fully and God's grace and strength helped him get through his tough times. By following Jesus' example we can resist the temptation of evil by trusting in God more as things get bad rather than turn away from Him.

Besides scripture, what are other ways we can learn how to be more like Jesus?

The Make-A-Wish foundation is an organization that tries to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Through many fundraisers and sponsors the Make-A-Wish foundation gathers money so that it can grant wishes for children with serious illnesses. A child with a serious illness is eligable to make a wish that within time will be granted. Children wish for a day on a T.V. show, a flight in an airplane with their dad or whatever they truly want to do.

There was a boy at my elementary school, who had a few disabilites already when he was diagnosed with a form of cancer, who made a wish at the Make-A-Wish foundation. I do not remember the boy very much because I was very young but my mom was friends with his mom and thats how I found out his wish had been granted. The boy could have made any wish but he decided to do a wish that included his whole fammily since his family had a hard time planning family vacations as he was very sick and needed a lot of medical care all the time. When his wish came true, though, they were finally able to go because he wished for a trip to Disneyworld with his family and the right medical care. Nurses accompanied the group around Disneyworld and everything was perfect for their family until the boy got really sick and had to stay the rest of their two weeks at the hospital. The boy was pretty sad because he thought he had ruined the trip so everybody including my mom were upset. However, the Make-A-Wish foundation heard what had happened and immediately planned another trip for the family so they could enjoy Disneyworld for another two weeks.

I believe that the Make-A-Wish foundation uses Catholic morals in its organization as it seeks to help others, especially the sick who Jesus helped a lot, without any benefit to themselves. Their goal really is to make a child happy despite their serious illnesses.