Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
We are given Matthew’s account of the beatitudes for our Gospel today. They can, at times, feel distant or confusing to us. Let’s examine a few and find how to be challenged to live more fully in Christ.
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
Do we first recognize the gift of our lives and the source of any good thing? Do we truly humble ourselves in the face of God’s majesty and mercy? Allow the Spirit of God to fill you with gratitude for all you have.
Blessed are the Meek
Do we truly submit ourselves to the proper authority of our superiors at work or home? Do we truly submit ourselves to God’s will and not our own? Jesus was meek and humble of heart because he followed his father’s will. Let us place ourselves totally under obedience and live.
Blessed are they that Mourn
Do we ever grieve over the wrongdoings of others? Do we grieve when we see God, his Church, and his sacraments mocked, blasphemed, or ridiculed? Do we grieve over our own sins? We mourn because the more we meditate on the Word of God, the more we see the poverty of humanity and pray for it. Meditate on the Word of God.
Blessed are the Merciful
Have you genuinely forgiven your enemies? Do you, right now, have grudges toward a sister or a brother—and have refused to forgive them? To have mercy is to show compassion and love one another and reconcile with the person you find most difficult.
The Christian life is demanding, for it demands everything. To live it, we must follow Christ to Calvary, the way of the Beatitudes, and learn from God. We must give ourselves as a sacrifice of peace and of thanksgiving so that we may become holy as the Father is holy. If we do, we, in turn, receive the gift of eternal life and companionship with the holy ones of God—all the saints. Let us commit ourselves to a life of radical holiness and radical beatitude, and so receive a saints’ reward.
Reflection by Fr. Etienne Huard, OSB
Posted in Daily Reflections