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.”
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Reflection:
What is the objective of your life? Is it
limited only for the enjoyment of the things of this world? There is a more
meaningful life that lies beneath this superficial life. However, you wouldn’t
be able to discover the essence of life unless you learn to detach yourself
from this world and begin to embrace the teachings of Jesus.
What does it mean to be poor in spirit and
why is it a blessing to be poor in spirit? As the literal poor relies on the
generosity of his fellowmen so that he could sustain himself. To be poor in
spirit means that we always rely on Jesus in everything most especially for our
spiritual nourishment.
This means that we rely on the goodness of
Jesus. We continuously rely and hunger for God to fill our empty lives so that
He could enrich us spirituality.
Today is all Saints Day, we solemnly
remember the Saints they who generously gave their very lives for the mission
of Jesus. The saints are not actually spotless when it comes to sin. Just like
us they also had their own battle with sin and they triumphed over it because
of the help of Jesus.
The saints became saints for the simple
reason that they recognized their spiritual poverty. They discerned that life
is empty and meaningless without the guidance of Jesus. We too could become
saints in our own little way. If only we would acknowledge our own poverty of
spirit. And if only we would invite Jesus to come into our lives and fill our
empty and barren lives. - Marino J. Dasmarinas