Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:3

      When I was going through a tough time in college, I lost all my friends. It wasn’t because they were fair-weather friends, but because I chose to keep things to myself rather than burden them with my problems.

       At a recent youth encounter with the Pope at the University of Sto. Tomas, Rikki Macolor recounted how their engineering project provided light and gave hope to the Yolanda victims. The young inventor is a model of selflessness, and yet Pope Francis had this to say, “You still lack one thing.”

       The Holy Father advised that everyone has to learn how to become a beggar, to be evangelized by those we give help to. He said even the poor, the sick and the orphans have much to teach us. It takes incredible humility to learn to accept love and to acknowledge that we are not self-sufficient.

       “Do you know you, too, are poor? Do you know your own poverty and need to receive?” asked Pope Francis.

      I could have translated it to my old self: “Do you know that to unburden your friends, you have to allow them to help you? In order to give, first allow yourself to receive.” Cecil Lim (cez_lim@yahoo.com)

Reflection: Sometimes, the best gift we can give is our ability to receive.

Lord, may we learn to open our hands from our very own poverty.

St. Norbert, bishop, pray for us.

The drought is presented as a consequence of the evil deeds of King Ahab. Does God punish everyone for the sins of an individual or of a few? Droughts are natural occurrences, and in Israel they are common. This is an attempt to explain a drought — God is punishing the people because of their sinfulness.

1 Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word.” 2 The Lord then said to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he left and did as the Lord had commanded. He went and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. 6 Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the stream.

Psalm 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R: Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

1 I lift up my eyes toward the mountains; whence shall help come to me? 2 My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (R) 3 May he not suffer your foot to slip; may he slumber not who guards you. 4 Indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps, the guardian of Israel. (R) 5 The Lord is your guardian; the Lord is your shade; he is beside you at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. (R) 7 The Lord will guard you from all evil; he will guard your life. 8 The Lord will guard your coming and your going, both now and forever. (R)

The Beatitudes should be an integral part of our daily life. Our faith in Christ demands this of us. Let us open our hearts to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit so that we can let go of our negative tendencies and embrace the call to holiness.

Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven.

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 He began to teach them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. 6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

think: Let us open our hearts to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit so that we can let go of our negative tendencies and embrace the call to holiness.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

MODELS OF THE EIGHT BEATITUDES

There’s a joyful reason to ward off the Monday blues today. We begin this day with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in our Gospel Reading. This will be our material for the next two weeks and more. The opening salvo is none other than the well-known Eight Beatitudes.

     I am reminded of a certain place in Batangas (on the Tagaytay-Nasugbu route), actually a chapel nesting on a small hill, in the tranquil and scenic Don Bosco retreat house compound in Batulao, Nasugbu, Batangas. This circular chapel dedicated to the Adolescent Jesus has become a favorite destination for weddings and for the Holy Week visita iglesia. Its youthful charm has been very much enhanced by the eight recycled wood-and-iron sculptures adorning the chapel, all done by a noted Filipino sculptor. They portray various young saints, each depicting the Eight Beatitudes. They are all intentionally and appropriately thought of. The particular life, the praiseworthy holiness, or even the valiant martyrdom of the saints all serve as models of the Beatitudes.

       It goes without saying that we, too, must be similar models — through our own lives, values and attitudes. We must be like walking Eight Beatitudes — or at least even just any one of them! The very counter-cultural characteristic of these Eight Beatitudes is immediately the challenge for us.

       But various saints, including young ones like Dominic Savio, Maria Goretti and Charles Lwanga, have proven that it is possible, and that it is worth the effort. Not merely our own effort, for sure, but together with the unmerited grace of God.

       We may never have sculptures mounted in our honor in some hilltop chapel, but God will never let our collaboration with His grace go unrewarded. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTION: Which of the Eight Beatitudes is exemplified in your present life?

Dearest God, grace me with the spirit of the Beatitudes. Amen.