A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute youand utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.Rejoice and be glad,for your reward will be great in heaven.Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
REFLECTION
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Everywhere Jesus went, if there was a crowd He would teach. He gave many blessings and people who were in need of mercy and justice met Him there on the slopes. They knew who they were and what they needed. They were poor in spirit, aware that God is the giver of all.
St Therese of Lisieux knew that she would experience such great peace when totally poor, when she depended on no one except God. The first Beatitude is the source of all the others, it contains them all. Jesus left the grandeur and the richness of heaven to become poor, so that those who were poor might become rich.
The spiritually poor receive the Holy Spirit. And it is where we should be for God to shower us with blessings. Nothing we do, good behavior, good job, degrees or credentials will get us to where we need to be: to be totally free to receive and to be totally free to give. We are to rely solely on God, on His love mercy, and kindness.
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