Newton Basumatari csc –
Readings: Zeph 2:3,3: 12-13; 1Cor 1:26-31; Mt 5: 1-12
Today is the fourth Sunday in ordinary time. The gospel is from the sermon on the mount, which contains some of Jesus’ most challenging teachings.
According to Pope Francis, this passage contains a kind of Christian identity card. He further added that it is all humanity, and it is a message for humanity to practice the virtue of humility in our day-to-day living.
In the first reading, we hear that to experience God we need to be humble in dealing with people. And when we failed to practice these virtues of humility in our life problem occurs, problems occur in our families, in our religious community, and particularly in our society. Therefore, we need to practice this virtue of humility to bring peace to our family and to our religious setup.
Today in the gospel reading we hear Jesus giving us a new law that calls us to be poor, to be meek, and to be merciful. For some of us, it is challenging to be poor, meek, and humble because we always want to dominate others. But today we can be poor and meek in front of God to receive His grace. Or we can be merciful when someone makes mistakes and ask pardon from us. Today let us pray that these beatitudes may inspire us to practice the virtue of humility in our day-to-day living.