Gospel and Reading 13.2.2022
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 78
Reading I
Thus says the LORD:
Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season, but stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth.
Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the stream that stretches out its roots to the stream:
it fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green;
in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.
Responsorial Psalm
R (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked,
nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
but delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
that yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Reading II
Brothers and sisters:
If Christ is preached as raised from the dead,
how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised,
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain;
you are still in your sins.
Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are the most pitiable people of all.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad;
your reward will be great in heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus came down with the Twelve
and stood on a stretch of level ground
with 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.
And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”
REFLECTION
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.” Luke 6:22-23
It takes a lot of faith to “rejoice and leap for joy” after experiencing hatred and persecution from another. Even when one is persecuted on account of his/her faith in Christ, it takes a lot of faith and a lot of love to sincerely rejoice.
But with that said, this level of faith and love is possible! If it were not, our Lord would not have given this teaching. It is a teaching to live the highest ideal. It’s a calling to live in Beatitude.
Though it would be worth it to spend time on each and every one of the Beatitudes and to try to apply them to our lives, it’s also helpful to look at the more general fact that Jesus does not call us to mediocrity; rather, He calls us to the heights of perfection. It is within those heights that our souls find the greatest reward.
Reflect, today, upon this Beatitude. Perhaps you have never experienced persecution and hatred as a result of following Jesus. But even if you haven’t, try to put yourself into this situation and try to honestly discover how you would react. Would you be able to allow persecution to “roll off your back” so to speak? Would you be able to accept injustice in your life without allowing it to disturb your interior peace? Or would you turn bitter and angry as a result of the hurt you would feel?
Try to put your eyes upon the ideals of the Christian life. If you aim for anything less, you run the risk of actually attaining that lower goal. But if you put your eyes upon the high calling of the Beatitudes, then you will find that our Lord will continually draw you closer to His heart, cleansing you, strengthening you, filling you with more faith, hope and love, and bringing you to an increasingly blessed level of holiness. It’s worth it to aim for the ideal!
Lord of perfection, please make me holy. Help me to keep my eyes upon You and upon the virtues and Beatitudes that You call me to live. May I never settle for a mediocre life. Instead, may I strive only for a life of perfection and holiness making You the center of all I long for. Jesus, I trust in You.
From Catholic Daily Reflections.com
William G. Henry & Co., Solicitors
Stewart Fuel Oils, Boyle
