BLESSED

Isn't it true that we feel closest to God in times of trouble? The Lord gives us peace in the midst of the world’s difficulties. Haven’t we experienced God’s grace in time of affliction? He always comes to our aid. In the midst of the chaos of this world, we draw closer to Him. We go through sorrows and sufferings and see the paschal mystery, the cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We hold on to the paradoxical promises in the midst of affliction. Let us not lose sight of this and truly seek the Lord at all times. Amen. Hallelujah!

Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13
3 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice, seek humility;

The world's point of view is very contradictory to the beatitudes. The world chooses strength over weakness and poverty. What seems to be foolish for the world and folly to man is wisdom to God. The poorer you are the more Jesus will love you according to St. Therese. Jesus is attracted to our poverty and weakness because it is where we meet Jesus. Unlike the world who is attracted to strength and hires the smartest and world’s greatest. We have all kinds of difficulties and struggles. These are what drive us to Christ to cling to Him. Instead of always trying to complain and talk about it what we do is keep our eyes on the Lord. Sometimes He places something before us that He wants us to do. The challenge for us is to turn to Him in our weakness and cling to Him in prayer, faith, hope, love and abandon ourselves to Him. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
R: Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
The LORD keeps faith forever, 7 secures justice for the oppressed, gives good to the hungry. The LORD sets captives free. (R) 8 The LORD gives sight to the blind; the LORD raises up those that were bowed down. The LORD loves the just. 9 The LORD protects strangers. (R) The fatherless and the widow he sustains, but the way of the wicked he thwarts. 10 The LORD shall reign forever; your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.

We are invited to enter into the divine light and joy of the Lord to share in his divine nature and light. Only through this can we find the deepest joy of everything we long for in this life which can not be found in riches, fame, power or well being. In God alone can we find the source of everlasting love and happiness. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Corinthians 1:26-31
God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, 28 and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, 29 so that no human being might boast before God...“Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”

God gives us these beatitudes. It means supreme blessedness and felicity that comes from God. Being poor in spirit in the biblical sense is like the man who discovers his own limitations being a creature before the Creator. Our suffering and sorrow create a hollow place in our hearts, get our attention and make us thirst for help and love. God comforts and fills us with Himself. We accept our limitations in order for the kingdom to be a reality. For those who mourn beatitude, a Christian writer said that troubled souls are safe and the untroubled are the ones unsafe. The reason for this is because we are just in the place where God can reach us. We seem to remember God more often when we have problems. The meek and docile seek God’s will patiently in contrast to using force and control. We need to wait on Him and receive everything from the Lord with gratitude. We learn to appreciate the things in this world better, look at it in the right perspective and use it according to God's purpose. God is not limited by any circumstance and He comes to those who want Him and hunger for righteousness. We can't be pure of heart if we are fractured by sin. If we put God first in our life he’ll come to us in a deeper way. A child of God is transformed by His grace to bring peace to the world. We become like Christ and help redeem the world. The world is contrary to the gospel. As we look to the blood of the martyrs which became the seed of the Church we also unite our own sufferings with Christ. It becomes redemptive suffering. We need to have the spirit of the beatitude to transform the world and maintain the saltiness in this life. This is the way that a Christian becomes effective to the world and be salt of the earth. Amen. Hallelujah!


Matthew 5:1-12
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 He began to teach them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. 6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”