Reading 1
Thus says the LORD:
Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
but stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.
Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
it fears not the heat when it comes;
its leaves stay green;
in the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.
Responsorial Psalm
R (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked,
nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
but delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
that yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Gospel
Jesus came down with the Twelve
and stood on a stretch of level ground
with a great crowd of his disciples
and a large number of the people
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon.
And raising his eyes toward his disciples he 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.
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
Today’s readings explain that if we secure our wellbeing in other people or goods, we will never be satisfied—and our happiness will inevitably crumble. Our priority as followers of Christ should be the invincible joy of Eternal Life, not comfort in mortal existence.
When Jesus talks about “blessedness,” He is not only referring to the favor of God, but also this true happiness and flourishing that we all seek. The conditions for flourishing are not what the world expects. This Gospel message may make us uneasy, but that is the point. The Christian life is not meant to be comfortable, and comfort is not the equivalent of happiness. Following Christ means laying down our lives for Him—letting go of our attachments and making ourselves into gifts of love.
Jesus upends our expectations by saying that the poor are flourishing. The impoverished are so close to Christ, who was poor and marginalized Himself, that the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God is so good that he can take suffering and turn it into a means for happiness and eternal delight. Jesus underlines with these words that the worldly definition of success is not His definition.
Jesus also says that the rich will only have their riches as consolation. As we have seen, riches are finite and insufficient to satisfy our deepest longings. To be left alone with wealth for our happiness is to be left without the possibility of true happiness. This idea is what Jeremiah means in our first reading when he says, “Cursed is the one…who seeks his strength in flesh…He is like a barren bush in the desert.” Ultimately, focusing on worldly security leaves us standing in “lava waste.” If our wealth tempts us to think that we are not in desperate need—of God, His grace, and His love—then that richness is woeful.
This Gospel does not mean to say that things like food, laughter, and money are evil in and of themselves. Rather, they are temporary and insufficient for true blessedness, and they can easily tempt us from the true path to Heaven. Our Responsorial Psalm is the summation of today’s message: “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.” Hope in the Lord, properly understood, does not annihilate our smaller worldly hopes and desires. Rather, it orders and submits them to the ultimate hope and desire for Heaven. If all that we do, have, and desire are not directed towards attaining sainthood, then we have nothing at all.
Let us ask God for the gift of His hope, so that our desires might direct us to Heaven, and our poorness and weeping might be turned to glory and rejoicing.
Please be assured of my prayers for you before Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+ Bishop Schlert
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