GRAMMA'S TEN TIPS FOR A HAPPY LIFE!

1. PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST: Love God with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. If you put God first, everything else will fall into place. In order to love God, though, you need to know his Son Jesus because He came to show us the Father. The closer we get to Jesus, the closer we will get to God and the more we will begin to experience the Kingdom of God here on earth.

2. PRAY ALWAYS: Keep the Sabbath holy, but also go to daily Mass as often as possible. You wouldn't eat just once a week. The Eucharist is the "daily bread" Christ taught us to pray for. After the Mass, the most important devotion is the Rosary. Read the Fatima messages and pray the rosary every day. If you have a young family, pray a decade. And often throughout the day make little acts of devotion. Here's one suggestion. Every time you turn on the water think of Baptism and make a little prayer: I love you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, save souls. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.

3. INTERCEDE FOR THE HIERARCHY: Beginning with the Holy Father, the Magisterium, your local bishop, your pastor, and all the clergy and religious of the Church. We need guides and spiritual teachers to help us along the road to heaven. Let's help them! Pray that those who have the responsibility to lead and teach will do it in persona Christi.

4. TEST THE SPIRITS: How do you know whether a priest or religious is telling you the truth? Know the faith and see whether what they say is in accordance with doctrine. If a priest (or even an angel of light) tells you something that conflicts with the truths of the faith, DON'T LISTEN! They are lying to you. And mistaking lies for truth will make you unhappy very quickly!

5. FOLLOW THE GOLDEN RULE: Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated - with kindness and respect -- even the liberal at the gym with the car filled with Obama stickers.

6. BE CHEERFUL, SMILE AT EVERYONE YOU MEET: Have you ever noticed that if you smile at someone he or she smiles back. I love to smile at strangers. And I've never had any of them frown back or look away. Cheerfulness is a gift you can give generously and it doesn't cost you a cent.

7. BE A CRITICAL THINKER: Check the data! If someone tells you the sky is falling or the ice caps are melting, or a particular prescription is the answer to your anxiety...do the research. Not every person in a white lab coat, or a roman collar, or standing in front of a classroom deserves your trust. Read Sirach chapter 6 for lots of good advice on how to achieve wisdom -- something we can all sure use!

8. DON'T GOSSIP: If you talk about others how can anybody trust you not to talk about them? NEVER tell someone the negative things someone said about them; ALWAYS repeat the praise!

9. READ INSPIRING WORKS AND READ INSPIRING WORKS TO YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN: Fill your own mind and the minds of those you love with the true, the good, and the beautiful. Meditate on beautiful and inspiring art.

10. IMITATE THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS: They're in heaven after all! They lived lives following the two great commandments: Love God and love your neighbor. Can there be any happier life than to end up in heaven? Reading the lives of the saints has converted many. Read and imitate!

AND HAVE A HAPPY LIFE! (P.S. Eat strawberries and chocolate.)