THE BEAUTITUDES

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Year C Luke 6:17,20-26 Our gospel for today speak about the beautitudes. The beautitudes are the standards of God. It is an invitation to a way of living that brings true happiness and supreme blessedness. Literally speaking beautitude means “happiness.” Now, looking each beautitudes it seems like it is illogical and unacceptable to think that being poor, hungry, weeping, hated, persecuted are considered blessed. Right? In the eyes of the world we take these as misery and being unfortunate! Yet, in God’s eyes it is blessedness because being poor, hungry, reject, persecuted mirror and reflect Jesus Christ. Each beautitudes begins with the word “blessed” (translated as extremely fortunate, well off, extreme happiness) and it speaks one as highly favored by God. Friends, we are blessed if we are poor, hungry, weeping and insulted. Why? Beause our only hope is the Lord. We are blessed because we take Jesus as real source of our joy. Friends, money, food, possessions, cars brings temporal happiness. “All that is not eternal is wternally useless because what is essential is invissible to the eyes.” When we follow the Lord we will never be poor. We will never be hungry. We will never be sad and that is our blessedness. There are eight beautitudes but today let me just highlight the firts one-being poor. To be gifted with riches is a blessing. We have all the desires to live in abundance and prosperity. We aspire to have good health, good job, good friends, good source of income. There is nothing wrong being affluent because wealth is a grace and gift from God. God does not condemn rich people but God warned them on their attachment to their riches. It is not sinful to be rich infact God wants us to live in prosperity. Being rich is a blessing. But replacing God with money makes it not acceptable with our Lord. Friends, attachment to material riches is a dangerous attachment. Too much possession will possess us. “If material things are what you are talking about when you say I am blessed, you have mo idea what blessing is.” Money cannot substitute God. Challenge: Today, use your money to help people. Dont use people to make more money. If we want to be extremely happy, live simply. “Blessed are poor of spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Friends, becareful of the non economic use of money. Money can make people selfish and greedy. Money can destroy relationships. It can break marriages. It can but people’s integrity. Money can be a pathway to damnation-hell. Let us be careful because the devil is very clever. He will help us to accumulate temporary wealth so that we will forget God. Woe to us if we fall on the trap of the devil. In this world, the rich are on the top and those who are poor are in the bottom. But in the kingdom of God there will be a reversal if you despise the poor because of your possessions. Friends, the coming of the kingdom turns everything upside down. Today, let us ask the Lord to give us the grace not yo be materialistic but to live according to His plans and designs. Blessings Fr. Jhack