June 9, 2003 - Monday, 10th Week in Ordinary Time

BEATITUDES

Readings
2 Cor 1:1-7; Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9;
Mt 5:1-12 (Listen to MP3 - Sermon on the Mount: Beatitudes)

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
when your Son spoke his good news
to people who were poor and blind, they understood him,
for they knew what its means
not to be satisfied and not to see.
Make us poor with the hungry,
groping with the blind, powerless with the defenseless
and small with the little people,
that we may experience the message of the gospel
to the marrow of our bones
and share it as good news with all those around,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Scripture Readings

First Reading Introduction
       “As we have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so do we share in his consolation,” Paul tells us today.

First Reading: 2 Cor 1:1-7

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, to the church of God in Corinth, and to all the saints in the whole of Achaia. May you receive grace and peace from God our Father and from Christ Jesus, the Lord.

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus, our Lord, the all-merciful Father and the God of all comfort! He encourages us in all our trials, so that we may also encourage those in any trial, with the same comfort that we receive from God.

For whenever the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so, through Christ, a great comfort also overflows. So, if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we receive comfort it is also for you. You may experience the same comfort when you come to endure the same sufferings we endure. Our hope for you is most firm; just as you share in our sufferings, so shall you also share in our consolation.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Gospel Introduction
       What Jesus proposes in the beatitudes is a turning upside-down of values, (attuned with the message of Paul in Year I). But we are not too eager to take them seriously; they are too uncomfortable... Many say they are utopian, but that can be said of many parts of the gospel, unless you believe. Followers of Christ are dreamers, of a brotherhood of all people, of a better world and a better earth.

Gospel Reading: Mt 5:1-12 (Listen to MP3 - Sermon on the Mount: Beatitudes Mt 5:1-12, 38-48)

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. He sat down and his disciples gathered around him. Then he spoke and began to teach them:

Fortunate are those who have the spirit of the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted.
Fortunate are the gentle, they shall possess the land.
Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.
Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.
Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God.
Fortunate are those who work for peace, they shall be called children of God.
Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are my followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God. This is how this people persecuted the prophets who lived before you.

Commentary

As one stands on the slopes of the hills that surround the Lake of Galilee in springtime, one is surrounded by immense beauty. The harp-shaped lake is calm but underneath it is teeming with fish, life for the local fishermen. Wild flowers bright with various colors swathe the green landscape. Trees begin to bloom and the birds dancing on their branches sing their sweet songs. Seeds newly planted begin to sprout watered by the gentle rain. It must be on one such day that Jesus climbed up the mountain to proclaim the beatitudes. He led his audience to realize the Father's care and love eloquently proclaimed by nature. Then they could appreciate how blessed they are even when stripped of the trappings of wealth, power, fame. They are blessed simply because they are children of God.

General Intercessions

– Lord, who call the poor blessed, give us people who know how to live soberly, who find joy in simple things, we pray:

– Lord, God of the gentle, make us peaceful, merciful and compassionate, that your kingdom may be ours, we pray:

– Lord, strength of those persecuted, give perseverance to those who suffer persecution, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
in the poverty and emptiness of our hearts
we place on this altar
a bit of bread and a mouthful of wine.
It is not much, Lord,
but we know what you can do with simple things
and with people aware of their indigence.
And so we pray you: turn this bread into Jesus Christ
and change us into men and women
rich with your life and enriching themselves
by giving away to others without measure
their time and attention and love.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
you write straight with crooked lines.
Let the disturbing words of your Son
wake us up and help us to see
where to find your kind of happiness,
for it is the only one that lasts.
And let your Son here with us
be our nourishment for the road
to you, our God for ever and ever.

Blessing

The disciples of Jesus are called “blessed,” that is happy, if we are so open to God that we let him fill us with something of his own happiness. We have to be poor, not filled with ourselves. Then the happiness of God’s kingdom will be ours, like a foretaste of the happiness of heaven. Put yourselves in God’s hands and ask him to bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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