Zephaniah 2.3;3.12-13 | 1 Corinthians 1.26-31 | Matthew 5.1-12a

We begin the fourth week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church, and at the same time, the month of February.

Today, the evangelist Matthew speaks to us about the Beatitudes, beginning the Sermon on the Mount.

From Matthew's perspective, Jesus was the new Moses. In this sense, just as the Jews learned the Law of Moses on Mount Sinai (Horeb), now Christians received the definitive interpretation of the Law through Jesus Christ, also on a mountain.

The Beatitudes are the life project, both of Christ and of Christians, with a logic that inverts social values. What is despised by society is valued by God, who consoles the sad and raises up the fallen, in line with justice and mercy.

Without a doubt, Jesus is the blessed one par excellence. Jesus dedicated His life to serving the needy of His time. They were the greatest beneficiaries of Jesus' redemptive action.

We, Christians, on the one hand, should be blessed, as Jesus is, we should participate in His blessedness, we should live as He lived, embracing His life project.

On the other hand, we should make our lives a service to the needy of our time. They should be the greatest beneficiaries of our evangelizing action.

The list of those in need today is long, and includes people who are depressed, anxious, addicted to legal and illegal drugs, migrants, exiles, homeless people, indigenous people, riverside dwellers, people with physical and mental disabilities, the elderly, etc. Let us direct our daily blessedness to them.

Today the prophet Zephaniah speaks to us of the humble of the earth and the righteous who would find refuge in the Lord. Zephaniah prophesied in the 7th century BC, in Judah, during the reign of Josiah.

The poor and humble would be the remnant of Israel who would put their hope in the name of the Lord. They would be shepherded and would rest because they would not commit iniquity nor speak lies.

For Christians, this prophecy of Zephaniah was fulfilled through Jesus Christ, the blessed one par excellence, in favor of the humble and poor who hoped in the Lord, practicing justice.

In the difficulties and challenges of daily life, let us find our refuge in the Lord, who shepherds us like a shepherd of sheep.

Today the apostle Paul speaks to us in his first letter to the Corinthians about the surprising inversion of human logic by God.

The apostle reminded the Corinthians that God chose what seemed stupid and weak to confound those who considered themselves wise and strong, so that no one could boast before Him. Paul taught that Christ Jesus became for us, from God: wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and liberation.

We are in the world and, if we are not careful, its value system can change our Christian principles. We must resist the culture of accumulation, the exclusion of the poor, the weak, the humble, the exaltation of egos, and vanity, proclaiming and practicing the blessedness witnessed by Christ and the Church.

Comentários

Postar um comentário

Postagens mais visitadas deste blog

Sirach 35:1-12 / Mark 10:28-31

Today we take a break from Ordinary Time, which will return after the Solemnity of Pentecost in the month of June. The reason is the beginning of Lent Season tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, a day of obligatory fasting and abstinence from meat. Today the evangelist Mark tells us about the hundredfold promise that Jesus made to His disciples. Peter reminded Jesus that he and the disciples had given up everything and followed Him. And Jesus promised that whoever had done this, for His sake and for the sake of the Gospel, would receive a hundred times more in the present age—house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, lands, with persecutions—and, in the age to come, eternal life. Jesus concluded by saying that many that were first would be last. And the last would be first. In a mysterious but real way, God's providence, through the members of the Church, takes care of the material and emotional needs of those who serve Him. He is the Good Shepherd and His sheep lack nothing. Of cour...
Leia mais

Exodus 12.1-8,11-14 | 1 Corinthians 11.23-26 | John 13.1-15

In this Holy Week, today we arrive at the Easter Triduum, with Holy Thursday, celebrating the Institution of the Eucharist, at the Last Supper, and remembering the Washing of the Feet, love made humble service. A short while ago, the Institution of the Ministerial Priesthood was celebrated, with Priest's Day, and the consecration of the Holy Oils for the anointing of catechumens, for the anointing of those being confirmed and ordained ministers (deacons, priests and bishops), and for the anointing of the sick. Today the Evangelist John speaks to us about the Washing of the Feet during the Supper. Jesus - the Lord and Master - washed the feet of His disciples, giving them the example so that they would do the same thing that He did. The evangelist emphasizes that Jesus was demonstrating all His love for His people in the world. Simon Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet, but he allowed it when Jesus told him that he would have no part with Jesus if he did not allow it.  In that...
Leia mais

Ezekiel 47.1-2,8-9,12 | 1 Corinthians 3.9c-11,16-17 | John 2.13-22

We begin the thirty-second week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church. In two Sundays, the Liturgical Year will conclude with the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. In 2025, the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, on November 9th, coincided with Sunday, the Lord's Day. The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, presided over by Pope Leo XIV. It is the oldest church in the West, inaugurated in the year 324, during the pontificate of Pope St. Sylvester I. It is the most important of the four papal basilicas in Rome (the others are St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and the Basilica of St. Mary Major). Five ecumenical councils have taken place there. She is considered the ecumenical Mother Church. Initially, the basilica was dedicated to Christ the Savior, and only centuries later was it co-dedicated to Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. Let us celebrate the catholicity...
Leia mais