God is there to meet you in the centre of all your trials, and to whisper His secrets, which
will make you come forth with a shining face and an indomitable faith that all the demons of hell shall never afterwards cause to waver.
- E. A. Kilbourne
(God is there . . . God is here . . . Be
open.) |
RV 7:2-4, 9-14; PS 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6; 1 JN 3:1-3
MT 5:1-12A
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."
Reflection on the Scriptures |
We have all lived through hard times in our lives. We all had experienced times when we were in mourning or felt somewhat persecuted. And doing those times in my life, I was so grateful to the people who comforted me or encouraged me instead of judging me as a weak, indecisive
person.
We are in a such difficult time in our country with so much bitterness and disdain for those on the opposite sides of the aisle. It feels like what is being described in today’s first reading:
(One of the elders) “said to
me,
‘These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.’”
Are we going to follow Jesus? Or is it easier not to engage people in discussions about who we are as a country? We have to choose …. every day we have to choose as a follower of Jesus.
Avoidance instead of hard conversations? Isolation over community?
- by Julie
Kalkowshi
Revelations of Divine
Love - by Julian of Norwich
Fourteenth Revelation, Chapter 52
“We have now matter of mourning: for our
sin is cause of Christ’s pains; and we have, lastingly, matter of joy: for endless love made Him to suffer” For after one wise is the Beholding by God, and after another wise is the Beholding by man. For it belongeth to man meekly to accuse himself, and it belongeth to the proper
Goodness of our Lord God courteously to excuse man. And these be two parts that were shewed in the double Manner of Regard with which the Lord beheld the falling of His loved Servant. The one was shewed outward, very meekly and mildly, with great ruth and pity; and that of endless Love. And right thus willeth our Lord that we accuse our self, earnestly and truly seeing and knowing our falling and all the harms that come thereof; seeing and learning that we can never restore it; and therewith
that we earnestly and truly see and know His everlasting love that He hath to us, and His plenteous mercy. And thus graciously to see and know both together is the meek accusing that our Lord asketh of us, and Himself worketh it where it is. And this is the lower part of man’s life, and it was shewed in the [Lord’s] outward manner of Regard. In which shewing I saw two parts: the one is the rueful falling of man, the other is the worshipful Satisfaction that our Lord hath made for
man.
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