“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven”

Today at Holy Mass Jesus gives us the Beatitudes…..These teachings are the “blue print” into heaven….”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”……If asked the question - “Do you want to go to heaven?”  - Most people would answer “YES” - But if asked do you want to be meek, a peacemaker, merciful, clean of heart, mourn, be poor in spirit - Somehow I do not think we would all be saying YES to those requests - This is a problem because in this teaching Jesus is telling us that we can not create heaven on earth or get to heaven on our terms - He is also telling us that if you follow Christ, you most assuredly will have “trouble” in this world and when that trouble comes - Rejoice! - Because “your reward will be great in heaven” - Notice Jesus did not say your reward would be given to you here on earth…..Sadly, many American Christians want it both ways, whether we admit it or not - But that is not the way it works…..The “ways of the world” and the “ways of heaven” are in conflict, they always have been and always will be…We must accept that reality and when we accept that reality, we must make a choice…And if you choose God and the path of the Beatitudes - While we will be given peace that the world can not give, we also will suffer….Again, this is reality - Jesus says so - This is the way of the Cross - The only way to heaven……….And if we want to be authentic followers of Jesus Christ, we must accept this reality - Why? - Because it is reality!

“Rejoice and be glad; your reward will be great in heaven”

When I read the list of the Beatitudes, the one teachings that troubles me the most is being meek - I need to work on that virtue more…To be meek is to trust in God more then yourself…To accept whatever God gives to you - Both the good and the bad - And be at peace with it knowing that God loves us and knows what he is doing…..I struggle with this virtue because I rail against “the bad” - I rant and scream - I complain!….These are not qualities of being meek and because of that, I need to work on this virtue…How about you? - Is there a virtue contained in the Beatitudes that you have to work on?…..This is important because the Beatitudes are a fundamental teaching for a Catholic - This is how our life on earth will bear the most fruit and this is how we will arrive safely in heaven…..Circling back to....…”Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land”……One of Mother Teresa’s sisters once told me - “Joe - Everything comes from the hand of God” - That means when something does not go our way - God allowed that “bad thing” to happen for the betterment of our soul…When this happens - Do we accept it?……I am learning through God’s grace to accept those situations…..Think for a moment of Our Lady….How a “sword” pierced her heart - Our Lady had to accept the brutal murder of her son - Just because she was born Immaculate and never committed a sin does not mean that was an easy thing to accept - But she did accept it - Not only that, she stood silently at the foot of the Cross….This image of Our Lady for me epitomizes what is means to be meek…..Mary did not complain - She accepted everything….This is what I try to do and only by God’s grace will I achieve it…To be meek and accept everything from the hand of God - Both the good and the bad….Each of us is a “work in progress” - This is why we must through God’s grace put what we hear in the Gospel into practice - In doing so we give God permission to transform us into the people we were born to be - A holy people who will one day - “Inherit the land”!

“God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.”

Today at Mass we hear a message, which can easily be disregarded or dare I say ignored - Jesus is telling us as Catholics that we must live differently…….To be meek - To be humble - To be a peacemaker - These are not qualities that are praised around conference room tables in the halls of the powerful of this world…And this is why today we must make a choice - Again - We can not have it both ways….If we choose “the ways of the world” - Know this - We will be living in a way that conflicts with the Beatitudes, which is the “blue print” to heaven……..Far too many American Christians “think” we can have it both ways - That is a fantasy! - A false gospel!……To be a person of the Beatitudes, one must live differently - As Catholics we must strive to be salt and light to a dark and wounded world….To be in the world and not of the world…..By doing so, we will understand what it means to “rejoice and be glad”…To the world however, the sight of a person living the Beatitudes is a fools errand - And if you choose this path - You surely will be misunderstood…….Again - “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven”……..JMJ