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Today the Church marks the Sixth Sunday in the Year. From today's Gospel:
"And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured" (Luke 6:17-18).
Commentary on the Mass Readings for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C:
The First Reading is from the Book of Jeremiah 17:5-8. Jeremiah lived through one of the most troubled periods of the ancient Near East as he witnessed the fall of Assyria and the rising of Babylon. In the midst of this turmoil, the kingdom of Judah, came to its downfall by resisting this overwhelming force of history. The lesson that Jeremiah wished to teach the people of Judah must have been crystal clear to them. They did not heed it and they suffered the consequences. They had abandoned God; their human allies in whom they trusted abandoned them; they ended up slaves in a pagan and foreign land. Jeremiah has a very clear lesson for us, too, this morning. We are Christians and have a far greater knowledge of our purpose in life and of God's infinite love towards us, as proved by the Incarnation, than the people of Judah had. Yet how often do we not only forget God but actually sin against him in arranging our temporal affairs?
The Second Reading is from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians 15:12, 16-20. This reading continues the teaching we heard last week on the resurrection of the dead. St. Paul addresses the Corinthian claim that there is no such thing as resurrection from the dead. If, as St. Paul says, our hope in Christ were for this life only, our religion, our Christianity, would not only be false, it would be utter folly. Why should a man not have all the pleasures, all the wealth, all the comforts possible, during his few years on this earth, is the grave is all that awaits him? Any man who would strive to lead a Christian life, knowing that it ended forever in death, would indeed deserve to be pitied as the Apostle says. The few years that we have on this earth may be short but they are invaluable because our unending future life will depend on how we use them.
The Gospel is taken from St. Luke 6:17, 20-26. What Christ said to his disciples that day long ago in far-off Galilee applies equally well to every true Christian today. We must never let the things of this world keep us from God. We may acquire and use earthly goods, but we must acquire and use them justly, charitably, and reasonably. While only a relatively small number of Christians are called on to take a vow of poverty, all Christians are forbidden to take a vow of wealth, i.e., to make the acquisition of wealth their purpose in life. While only a few special disciples of Christ are asked to give up even the lawful pleasures of the senses, all Christians are commanded to avoid unlawful indulgence in sensual pleasure.
No follower of Christ is forbidden to enjoy the legitimate joys of life, but every Christian must be prepared to accept life's pains and sorrows as well. We are pilgrims and strangers on this earth, weeding our way to heaven. The lighter our pack the easier and faster we travel. But there are cares and responsibilities, according to each one's vocation in life, which we may not and must not shirk. If we face these responsibilities honestly and cheerfully, realizing that they are the means by which God wishes us to gain our eternal reward then they will be less burdensome and less heavy for us.
These Beatitudes are personally important to all of us. If we are true followers of Christ and sincere Christians, we will take the rough as well as the smooth, the poverty as well as the plenty, the sorrows as well as the joys. These are the stepping stones which God has laid down for us to help us get across the river of life to the eternal shore. "Ours is the Kingdom of Heaven."
—from The Sunday Readings, Year C by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.
Things to Do:
- Read the more detailed, corresponding passage in Matthew 5:3-12 on the Beatitudes. Choose a beatitude to focus on for the rest of this month. Write it in conspicuous places throughout your house — desk, home altar, fridge, bathroom mirror. Think of some small practical ways to put this beatitude into action in your daily life. For some ideas on how to live the poverty and detachment prescribed by the first beatitude (Blessed are the poor in spirit), read this interview with spiritual director and writer Fr. Dubay.
- Read a summary of St. Bernard's advice for living the Beatitudes, and the Holy Father's exhortation to the youth at Toronto's World Youth Day to be people of the Beatitudes.