Message of 6-8-15

Published: Mon, 06/08/15

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Monday: June 8, 2015
Message of the Day
Consider that your life is a perpetual perishing, and lift up your mind to God above all whenever the clock strikes, saying, ‘God, I adore your eternal being; I am happy that my being should perish every moment, so that at every moment it may render homage to your eternity.
- J. J. Olier

(Everything is passing away. Each moment of life is a gift. Give thanks.)
Image
Readings of the Day
2 COR1:1-7;    PS 34:2-9;    MT 5:1-12

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad. 

Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him. 

The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.

USCCB lectionary
Reflection on the Scripture
Jesus "began to teach them: 'How blest are the poor in spirit: the reign of God is theirs.' " —Matthew 5:2-3

Jesus proclaims that He alone knows the secret to happiness. He says that happiness is:
  • choosing to be poor rather than rich (Mt 5:3),
  • sorrowing in repentance for our sins rather than feeling good (Mt 5:4),
  • becoming lowly rather than getting high (Mt 5:5),
  • hungering for holiness rather than getting what we want (Mt 5:6),
  • giving others a break rather than getting our rights (Mt 5:7),
  • having nothing but Jesus rather than having everything (see Mt 5:8),
  • dying for our enemies rather than killing them (see Mt 5:9), and
  • being insulted, persecuted, and slandered because of Jesus rather than being popular (Mt 5:10-11).
Many people think Jesus is a fool (see 1 Cor 1:25). What He calls the secret of happiness seems to them the way to misery. However, some people have believed Jesus. They didn't necessarily understand the Beatitudes, but they believed them and tried to live them just because Jesus said them. They walked "by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7). These people became the happiest people on earth and perfectly happy in heaven. Jesus was right all along.

Will you believe Jesus, look like a fool, live the Beatitudes, and be happy? Or do you think you know more about happiness than Jesus does?

Prayer: Father, may I be as happy as Your Son's death and resurrection warrants.

Promise: "He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have received from Him." —2 Cor 1:4

mycatholic.com

Amazon Gift Cards: Good for any occasion.
Spiritual Reading
NOTES ON THE LIFE OF CHRISTIAN PRAYER
 
2718.  Contemplative prayer is a union with the prayer of Christ insofar as it makes us participate in his mystery. The mystery of Christ is celebrated by the Church in the liturgy, and the Holy Spirit makes it come alive in contemplative prayer so that our charity will manifest it in our acts.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, IV, 3, 1)

- part 23 of 24

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, IV
Please support this outreach with a tax-deductible donation.
http://www.heartlandspirituality.org/support.html

Image