Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5, 1-12
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.
Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
To be Blessed
1) The Church Triumphant. The church triumphant describes the Church in heaven. It refers to the saints, not only to those on holy cards or those we know on the altars. The Church also celebrates all the anonymous saints: those people who are blessed, who are blissful in heaven because they showed God’s love in their life. The Pope may not have canonized them, but they are in heaven because of their great work on earth. Blessed are all those who gave us a little bit of Jesus through their lives.
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2) Joyful. The word that is repeated in today’s Gospel is “blessed” meaning: happy, joyful, blissful… because when you truly meet Jesus, He changes your life. So, it means to be happy in Jesus, with Jesus and for Jesus.
3) Heaven. Saint John Bosco used to say to his boys: “We will have a great feast in heaven.” We know that following Christ, we begin to live true happiness here, but the fullness of that happiness is in heaven. Today God invites you to live in the knowledge that the key is to be happy with Jesus. With Him, everything becomes easier. Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
