Sunday's Gospel
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 you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven."
Fr Gregg's Reflection
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The three liturgical readings this Sunday converge beautifully and interpret one another. The "poor in spirit" that the first beatitude speaks of are those whom the prophet Zephaniah describes as "a people humble and lowly, who shall take the refuge in the name of the Lord."
Saint Paul, reflecting on God's choice of the Corinthian Christians to be his own people, adds to our understanding of sense of the poor in spirit. He says that God chose precisely the foolish, weak, lowly, and despised of the world...those who count for nothing.
To them belongs the Kingdom of Heaven right now, without waiting for indefinite future. Why? Because right now they are enjoying the utmost freedom of people who do not have to depend on the standards of the world, on how the world defines who is beautiful, rich, famous, powerful, and deserving of honor. In God, who is their sole treasure they have all these. For them God alone suffices!
I remember when I was a seminarian back in the Philippines we used to visit the communities who are settling in the remotes areas of my town. Those people who lived in the small villages can only celebrate mass once a year because of the distance from their house to the town. In some cases, people had to walk 4-6 hours in order to get into the town to go to Church. I joined in the emersion program where the priest together with other seminarians went to those remote areas and celebrated mass with people. Every month we would go to different villages and not just bring them the holy Eucharist but also stay with them for a few days and lived with them.
As a kid who grew up in town where technologies existed and have the privilege to experience them, my first observation was indeed these people are in a very poor situation. But as the days passed by and as I spent my life with them I realized something; that I was really the one who had been missing out of the real happiness in life. Children in my town indeed have experienced to swim in the pool but they have a river. We have lanterns at night, but they have stars. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls to protect us but they have their friends. We have encyclopedias, but they have the Bible. I realized that it's not the money that makes us rich, it's the simplicity and dependency to our Lord, it's having faith in our lives for indeed God alone suffices.
The world tells us to seek comfort above all things; that suffering is medieval and should be avoided at all cost. We live in a world where we are constantly thought to seek approval, and likes, and re-tweets, and shares. But we have to choose to swim against the tides, to fight the current of complacency, and to do what is right no matter the cost, for how sweet it will be that at the end of our journey and when we finally meet our Lord face to face, the Lord will tell us: Rejoice and be glad for your reward is abundant in heaven.
Lord, help us to recognize the world's deceptive criteria for happiness and open ourselves up to the Gospel beatitudes that offer us God's criteria.
In Christ,
Fr Gregg
One of Bishop Barron's most familiar themes is that we attempt to find happiness through things rather than through God. And when we do, we end up frustrated and unsatisfied. He points us to the Beatitudes as the path toward happiness using Jesus' formula.