Celebración de la palabra

Monday June 8

Monday of 10th Week of Ordinary Time

BEATITUDES

Introduction

We have in the following days some readings from the cycle of the great prophet Elijah and his gigantic fight against the evils of his day. He is bold enough to face the godless king Ahab and the dreadful queen Jezebel, for he is sure that God sends him and that he is, therefore, in the hands of God.
What Jesus proposes in the beatitudes is a turning upside-down of values. But we are not too eager to take them seriously; they are too uncomfortable… Many say they are utopian, but that can be said of many parts of the Gospel, unless you believe. Followers of Christ are dreamers of a brotherhood of all people, of a better world and a better earth.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
when your Son spoke his Good News
to people who were poor and blind, they understood him,
for they knew what it means
not to be satisfied and not to see.
Make us poor with the hungry,
groping with the blind, powerless with the defenseless
and small with the little people,
that we may experience the message of the Gospel
to the marrow of our bones
and share it as good news with all those around,
in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Reading 1 1 Kgs 17:1-6

Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab:
“As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve,
during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word.”
The LORD then said to Elijah:
“Leave here, go east
and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan.
You shall drink of the stream,
and I have commanded ravens to feed you there.”
So he left and did as the LORD had commanded.
He went and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan.
Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning,
and bread and meat in the evening,
and he drank from the stream.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 121:1bc-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

(see 2) Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
Indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and you’re going,
both now and forever.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Alleluia Mt 5:12a

Alleluia, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad;
for your reward will be great in heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 5:1-12

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.
Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Commentary

The Matthean Beatitudes read today declare blessed those who work for the reign of God and those who endure for it. The mourners, the meek, and the persecuted are called to suffer with patience and to persevere for the love of the Lord. The poor in spirit (those who remain always open to God), those who pursue the cause of righteousness (those who hunger and thirst), the merciful and the peacemakers actively pursue the cause of God’s kingdom.
There are many people who question their lot in life. It is not easy to explain why good people suffer, and for some, suffering continues for years. But has it not always been so. Christ did nothing to incur the hatred and hostility of his opponents. But in enduring such a lot, he opened the door of hope in his example of goodness. We are at times at a loss to explain why people turn against us, or why one family is called to drudgery and hardship. Some people never escape the edge of poverty. And yet they never give up, and in countless instances give an example of unfailing dedication.
And we also know people who are tireless in the pursuit of good. They work for peace and harmony within family and community. And the “poor in spirit” live a life of spiritual transparency. They have no hidden agenda; honesty lies at the root of their lives. They live without recrimination, only with an outstretched hand that says, “There is someone here for you.”
These are not the qualities of which an aggressive society stands in awe, which tells people that there is room for them in what can seem a very cold and indifferent society. Heaven is comprised of people who endure to the end. The Beatitudes express what that means in practice.

Points to Ponder

Being poor in spirit
Enduring rejection
Peace making and seeking justice.

Intercessions

– Lord, you call the poor blessed, give us people who know how to live soberly, who find joy in simple things, we pray:
– Lord, God of the gentle, make us peaceful, merciful and compassionate, that your kingdom may be ours, we pray:
– Lord, strength of those persecuted, give perseverance to those who suffer persecution, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, our God,
in the poverty and emptiness of our hearts,
we place on this altar
a bit of bread and a mouthful of wine.
It is not much, Lord,
but we know what you can do with simple things
and with people aware of their indigence.
And so we pray you: turn this bread into Jesus Christ
and change us into men and women
rich with your life and enriching themselves
by giving away to others without measure
their time and attention and love.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
you write straight with crooked lines.
Let the disturbing words of your Son
wake us up and help us to see
where to find your kind of happiness,
for it is the only one that lasts.
And let your Son here with us
be our nourishment for the road
to you, our God, for ever and ever.

Blessing

The disciples of Jesus are called “blessed,” that is, happy. If we are so open to God we will let him fill us with something of his own happiness. We have to be poor, not filled with ourselves. Then, the happiness of God’s kingdom will be ours, like a foretaste of the happiness of heaven. Put yourselves in God’s hands and ask him to bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.