Marcus Grodi - Steps to Happiness

Marcus C. Grodi

CHResources
PO Box 8290
Zanesville, Ohio 43702
740-450-1175

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Copyright (C) 2009 by Marcus Grodi
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Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 978-0-9800066-4-3

The Scripture citations used in this work are taken from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV), copyright (C) 1965 and 1966 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Layout and design of the print edition by Jennifer Bitler www.doxologydesign.com

EBook by Marpex Inc. Steubenville Ohio

No matter where we live in the world today, we are inundated with opinions on how to achieve happiness. Actually, the world offers100's of contradictory opinions on what happinessis -- and the seeming lack of happiness indicatesthat most of these opinions are wrong. But Godcreated each of us to experience true happiness,both now and forever.

The following is a brief, step by step summaryof how, by grace, we can to attain true happinessthrough Jesus Christ and His Body, the Church.Concluding each step are references to portions ofScripture where you can read and meditate furtheron each subject.

May the Lord bless and keep you along thisjourney towards true and everlasting happiness.

Sincerely in Christ,

Marcus C. Grodi

God created each one of us in His image:

• To live in loving fellowship with Him andeach other;
• To be His sons and daughters;
• To imitate Him: to obey His laws andcommandments; to be perfect as He is perfect.
• To enjoy Him forever.

-- Genesis 1 and 2

But by the sin of our first parents, all of humanityfell away from this intimate relationship withGod:

• We all, each one of us, became tainted by this original sin;
• Our hearts became hardened to His love;
• No matter how hard people tried to obey,they continued to fall short of His glory andturned away.
• As a result, death came into the world.

-- Genesis 3

Yet through all this, God our Creator and Fathernever quit loving us:

• For generations He continued to visit Hispeople, to raise up Holy men and women tolead them back to Him:
• To teach and guide them how to follow Himand to turn away from sin and false gods.

-- The rest of the Old Testament

Even though people, of all cultures and religiouscustoms, have tried to walk with God, the taint ofsin was too strong:

• Not only did the people continue to sin, todisobey God laws, and turn away to falsegods,
• But even the leaders turned away under theinfluence of sin, providing false models forthe people to follow, leading them away fromGod.

-- The rest of the Old Testament

But...
"God so loved the world that He gave His onlySon, that whoever believes in Him should notperish but have eternal life. For God sent the Soninto the world, not to condemn the world, butthat the world might be saved through Him."
-- John 3:16-17

Jesus,
the son of God,
was born of the virgin Mary
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
and became man.
-- John 1; Philippians 2

JESUS...
taught what we were to believe and modeledhow we were to live so that we could return tofellowship with God and each other.
-- The Gospels

JESUS...
allowed himself to be crucified on the cross in ourplace, for our sins, so that we might be free fromslavery to sin, that we might be free to once againwalk in holiness and fellowship with God.
-- The Gospels

JESUS...
rose from the dead to free us from the clutches ofdeath that we too might spend eternity with God.
-- The Gospels

JESUS...
ascended to the right hand of the Father to benot only our judge but our merciful advocate,interceding continually for us.
-- Acts 1; 1 John 2

JESUS...
sent the Holy Spirit to live within our hearts sothat by His indwelling life and grace we might beempowered to live obediently:

• To believe in Him with new hearts of faith;
• To look to the future with the hope of ourown resurrection;
• To love God and one another as He loved us.

-- John 14-17; 1 Corinthians 13

JESUS...
sent His hand-chosen apostles, under theleadership of Peter, who together had witnessedHis life, death, and resurrection, and wereempowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost:

• To establish the Church through which allpeople might learn of Jesus,
• That all might believe in Him and experiencethe grace of salvation through Baptism and faith;
• That all might receive the gift of the HolySpirit by which they, too, could live inholiness and happiness, both now and forever.

-- Acts and the rest of the New Testament

• Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?
• Have you repented for your sin and asked forHis forgiveness?
• Have you been reborn by the redeemingwaters of Baptism?
• Have you entered into the fellowship of HisChurch, His family of redeemed sons anddaughters?
• Are you striving by grace to walk with Him inholiness?

-- Acts 2:32; 1 John 1:9

JESUS...
gave us His Church through which you canreceive this gift of His salvation and Hissacraments of grace.

• Call or visit a local Catholic Church;
• Talk to a priest or Catholic layman;
• Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
• Talk to Jesus right now in prayer...

Matthew 16:13-19; 1 Timothy 3:15

"Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy onme, a sinner."

Ask Mary, His mother, to pray for you:

"Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with you;
Blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus;
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

Marcus Grodi and his wife Marilyn were both "cradleProtestants." Marcus received his BS degree from Case Instituteof Technology in Polymer Engineering and worked for six yearsas an engineer. During this time he was involved in a varietyof Protestant youth and music ministries. He then received hisMaster of Divinity Degree from Gordon-Conwell TheologicalSeminary and was ordained to the Protestant pastoral ministry.Marilyn, Marcus, and their two older sons, Jon Marc and Peter,were received into the Catholic Church on December 20, 1992.Their third son, Richard, entered through baptism.

Marcus now serves as the President / Executive Director of