A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 6:20-26
Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”
REFLECTION: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours."
God owes us nothing nor can we buy anything from Him. Before God we are absolutely poor, in spite of any material wealth.
"Listen to me, daughter, see and bend your ear." (Psalm 45) It is like the Sermon on the Plain is talking right at me. "Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours."
Today we celebrate the memorial of St Peter Claver, who understood this teaching and trusted in the Lord for all his needs. St Peter Claver (June 26, 1582-September 8, 1654), a Spanish Jesuit priest, ministered to the ill treated, poor and exhausted slaves in Cartagena, Columbia. He tended to their physical and spiritual needs and showed them human dignity, baptizing many into God's loving arms.
God in His mercy raises up the lowly and fills the hungry with good things. The poor in spirit trust in God for all things; inheriting, therefore, the Kingdom of God. Jesus left His riches behind and became poor for our sake. He has given us all His riches in His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.
There are so many people in this world that are not as fortunate as we who live in the United States. Many are hungry, discriminated, forgotten, destitute and deprived of all human dignity and forsaken as animals rather than children of God made in His image. With the aftermath of the Coronavirus Pandemic many will have no clean water, medicines nor food for their basic existence.
We have PAPA Joe, a ministry that helps the poor. Consider giving to PAPA Joe our daily loose change so that our sum total of our efforts may change the life of many.
God Bless You
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