Jesus wants us to act mindfully, deliberately, and lovingly!

 
Reading: Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. Matthew 5:1-2.
 
Good morning, happy Monday, and many blessings my dear family.
 
In today’s Gospel (Matthew 5:1-12) Jesus is teaching his disciples. In his teaching, he gifts them with the Beatitudes. We all are familiar with the Beatitudes. However, do we take the time to sit with these beautiful teachings and ask ourselves: “How do I strive to be a living example of this beatitude?”
 
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
 
There are no portraits of Jesus, but the beatitudes offer a glimpse of his interior landscape, of the sources of his happiness. We understand that we cannot govern with the Sermon on the Mount. It is not legislation, but an interior vision, fired by a hunger for justice in this world, and confidence in a future when the mourners will be comforted, the poor will be enriched, and the meek will inherit the earth.
 
Each of the ‘blessed’ is a statement about something important in the Christian life. They are an ideal of how to live and how to find God close to us. You could look over your life and see if they fit, make sense, if they have brought a certain wholeness to life when you were humble, merciful, peacemaker, justice-worker, mocked for your beliefs, or gentle. God is close to us when we are like that. We can ask for the grace to live by this vision of life, which was at the root of how Jesus lived.  Jesus does not want us simply to act.  Jesus wants us to act mindfully, deliberately, and lovingly! Will we choose to do this today? We may not only give a great gift to another, but we may also receive a great gift as we share the little that we have!
 
Blessings,
 
Luis+