Fr. James
Martin, S.J. writes “What does it mean to be poor in spirit?” I must admit I
have always struggle with an understanding of this first beatitude. Fr.
Martin’s answer, “Poor in Spirit is to know one’s reliance on God, to
understand one’s dependence on God and to grasp one’s humanity.” I guess we
might say that to be “poor in spirit” is to let go and let God.
The other
challenge of the beatitudes is that to live fully any one of the beatitudes,
you will almost automatically begin to live them all. Perhaps to put it another
way, “You can’t live just one!” In order to be a peacemaker we need to also be
meek, merciful, clean of heart, righteous and poor in spirit. In order to be
merciful we need to be clean of heart, meek, poor in spirit, righteous and a
peacemaker. They go hand in hand.
However,
living the beatitudes is not easy because they will make us vulnerable to
insult, persecution and the evils of our world. They will open us up to the
insecurities of the world which can be troubling, harsh, insensitive and
hurtful. In other words, living the beatitudes can open us up to be stepped on,
hurt and not valued as a person. Living the beatitudes almost always put us in
tension with the ways of culture, society and the world.
Yet, in
the midst of all this Jesus tells us to rejoice and be glad. The challenge of
the beatitudes has been going on since the beginning of time. Women and men
before us have faced the challenge and their prize, the Kingdom, await us.
Perhaps all the beatitudes can really be proclaimed and lived in the phrase,
“Let go and let God!”
Have a
great Monday everyone!
Daily
Prayer:
O God, search us and know our hearts; test us and know our concerns. See if
there is any crooked way in us, and lead us in the everlasting way. For we
truly do believe so our prayer to you is help our unbelief. Amen!
A
Runner’s Thoughts: Remember if we have the desire to run with God, then the
specifics of the techniques used do not matter very much just keep hold of the
desire and God will be with you!
Daily
Blessing:
Monday greetings and blessings to all! I hope your day is starting off well. It
looks to be a nice day here in Brooklyn at least looking out my window the sky
seems to be clear as the sun rises. We had some storms blew through last
evening but they left a beautiful rainbow which we encountered after dinner.
In a few
hours I will open the first day of mission here at St. Ephrem’s. The weekend
preaching went well and I am looking forward to our three days of mission
together. I would ask that you keep the people of the Parish of St. Ephrem in
your prayers and if you could say a little extra prayer for their preacher it
would be greatly appreciated.
I hope
you will have a great day and that it is truly a good start to your week, but
if not please know that I am praying that things will get better for you. May
God’s blessings be upon you wherever you are and wherever your life brings you
today. May your day be rich in God’s grace, hope, love and joy and may you find
the strength and energy to share God’s blessings with whomever you meet! Peace
in Christ’s Passion…Fr. Paul
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