Seeing the crowds, “He went up the mountain, and after he sat down his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them ...” (Mt 5:1-2) Our Lord gives an in-depth picture of the true disciple. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who mourn ...” (Mt 5:3-11)
Our Lord’s words must have made a very strong impression on his hearers. Many of them would have been frustrated and some even disappointed. Jesus had just expressed in precise terms the new spirit He had come to bring on earth-- a revolutionary spirit which involved a complete change from the usual attitude.
The generally accepted human values, such as those of the Pharisees, saw earthly happiness as God’s blessing and reward, and regarded unhappiness and misfortune as God’s punishment. (cf “The Navarre Bible”, note to Mt 5:2, p54) Even nowadays, people tend to be perplexed by this startling contrast. They see the tribulation the Beatitudes bring, but not the genuine happiness Jesus promises.
The essential idea that “Jesus wanted to impress on his listeners was this: only serving God brings happiness to man. In the midst of poverty, of pain and a sense of having been forsaken, the true servant of God can say with St Paul, ‘My joy overflows in the midst of all my tribulations’.” A man can be desperately unhappy amidst opulence and all earthly goods. (Fray Justo Perez de Urbel, “Life of Christ”)
The people who listened to Our Lord fully understood that those Beatitudes were not intended to establish different classes of people, that they did not promise salvation to particular groups of society; but that they absolutely laid down the religious dispositions and moral conduct which Jesus demands of all those who want to follow him.
The ‘Beatitudes’ point to the same ideal -- sanctity. Whatever our life’s circumstances, we must know that we are invited to live the Christian life in all its fulness. We cannot say to the Lord: ‘Wait until I have solved this problem! or Give me time until I have recovered from this illness! or When I am no longer suffering calumny, then I will really begin to seek holiness!’
In the ‘Magnificat’ pronounced by Our Lady, we hear, “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty” (Lk 1:53). Our Lord invites us not to be satisfied with the happiness that mere transitory goods can give us; and encourages us to long for those good things which He has prepared for us.
If our search for happiness is along ways other than those willed by God, the quest ends only in loneliness and sadness. The experience of all who have chosen to ignore God when He has spoken to them in their hearts has always been the same-- the bitter truth that apart from God there is no firm and lasting happiness.
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 3:158-60, 162-3
“That earthly peace ...
“... which arises from love of neighbor symbolizes and results from the peace of Christ which radiates from God the Father. For by the Cross the Incarnate Son, the Prince of Peace, reconciled all men with God. By thus restoring all men to the unity of one people and one body, he slew hatred in his own flesh. ...
“For this reason, all Christians are urgently summoned to do in love what the truth requires, and to join with all true peacemakers in pleading for peace and bringing it about.”
Ref: cf From the Pastoral Constitution “Gaudium et Spes”, in “The Private Prayers of Pope John Paul II”, 2002, p106
Fruitfulness
“Pray for everyone, for people of every race and tongue and of every creed, for those who have only a vague idea about religion and for those who do not know the faith at all.
“This zeal for souls, which is a sure and a clear sign that we love Jesus, will make Jesus come.”
Ref: St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Forge”, 949
Selection -- “Let yourself be formed by the rough or gentle strokes of grace. Strive to be an instrument rather than an obstacle. And, if you are willing, your most Holy Mother will help you; and you will be a channel for the waters of God, rather than a boulder which diverts their flow.” (Ibid, Op cit, 874)
Our Lady of Grace (Our Lady of the Bowed Head), Rome (http://www.divine will.org/feastofourlady.htm)
Our Lady of Grace, in the Abbey of Saint-Sauve, at Montrenil snr Mer.—(Chronicon S. Salvi.) ( “Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
THE SEVEN SUNDAYS DEVOTION TO ST. JOSEPH -- Honors the seven joys and seven sorrows of St Joseph. (Ref: “Handbook of Prayers”, Fr Charles Belmonte and Fr James Socias [Eds], 1988, pp321-3)
“What must Joseph have been, how grace must have worked through him, that he should be able to fulfill this task of the human upbringing of the Son of God.
“For Jesus must have resembled Joseph: in his way of working, in the features of his character, in his way of speaking. Jesus’ realism, his eye for detail, the way he sat at table and broke bread, his preference for using everyday situations to give doctrine -- all this reflects his childhood and the influence of Joseph.
“It’s not possible to ignore this sublime mystery: Jesus who is man, who speaks with the accent of a particular district of Israel, who resembles a carpenter called Joseph, is the Son of God.”
Ref: St Josemaria Escrivà, “In Joseph’s Workshop” in “Christ is passing by”, 40
The second sorrow and joy of St Joseph -- His sorrow when he saw Jesus born in poverty, his joy when the angels announced Jesus’ birth.
“So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger.” (Lk 2:16)
“Ite ad Joseph: ‘Go to Joseph’. He will show us definite ways, both human and divine to approach Jesus. And soon you will dare, as he did ‘to take up in his arms, kiss, clothe and look after’ this child God who has been born unto us. As a homage of their veneration, the Magi offered gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus. Joseph gave all his youthful and loving heart.”
Ref: St Josemaria Escrivà, “The Epiphany of the Lord” in “Christ is passing by”, 40
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