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
Mary, God’s Humble Handmaid
As we give thanks to the Omnipotent, whose name is Holy, we, too wish to raise up a hymn of our exultation together, because He has looked upon the lowliness of His servants.
The Blessed Virgin intoned the ‘Magnificat’, knowing that, to accomplish the plan of salvation for all mankind, the Lord willed to bring her, a humble maiden of His People, into association with it. We are here to intone our ‘Magnificat’, after the example of Mary, knowing that we have been summoned by God to a service of redemption and salvation, despite our inadequacy.
The grander the task to be achieved, the poorer the instruments called to collaborate with the divine plan. It is true that the power of God’s arm is made evident by the weakness of the means employed. Thus, the smaller the persons invited to serve, the greater the things which the Almighty is disposed to accomplish through our means ...
‘The Almighty has done great things for me’, Mary declared. She was fully aware of the greatness of her mission; but at the same time, she recognized herself to be, and remained, ‘a lowly servant’, attributing all the merit to God the Savior.
The grandeur of the redemptive mission is accomplished in Mary through perfect accord between the divine omnipotence and humble human docility.
Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, pp198-9
“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.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Forge”, 874)
• Our Lady of Grace, in the Abbey of Saint-Sauve, at Montreil sur Mer.—(Chronicon S. Salvi.) (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of Grace (in Abbey of Saint-Sauve, Montreil-sur-Mer). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady of Grace (or Our Lady of the Bowed Head), Rome (1610). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• Our Lady of Grace. Abbey of Saint-Sauve, Montreil-sur-Mer. Rome. 1610. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
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