HOMILY OF MONDAY 10TH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: POOR IN SPIRIT LEADS TO LASTING JOY!
BY: Fr. Isaac Awe
1 KINGS 17:1-6, MATTHEW 5:1-12
Our help is in the name of the lord, who made heaven and earth!
Thomas Aquinas said: No one can live without joy. That is why a person deprived of spiritual joy goes after carnal pleasures.
In our first reading yesterday precisely Genesis 3:9-15, Adam was asked “Where are you?” and that same question goes for us. Are we where we can have lasting joy? He followed his own way by neglecting God’s way and that brought him fear and shame. Hence, short time gain led him to long time pain. Let us therefore mingle with Christ so as not to remain single in our moment of trials!
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What is the good life, and the ultimate end or purpose of life? Is it not happiness, which is none other than the complete good, the sum of all goods, leaving nothing more to be desired? Jesus addresses this question in his sermon on the mount. The word beatitude literally means “happiness” or “blessedness”. What is the significance of Jesus’ beatitudes, and why are they so central to his teaching? The beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness that God has placed in every heart. They teach us the final end to which God calls us, namely the coming of God’s kingdom (Matt. 4:17).
The beatitudes which Jesus offers us are a sign of contradiction to the world’s understanding of happiness and joy. How can one possibly find happiness in poverty, hunger, mourning, and persecution? Poverty of spirit finds ample room and joy in possessing God as the greatest treasure possible. Hunger of the spirit seeks nourishment and strength in God’s word and Spirit. Sorrow and mourning over wasted life and sin leads to joyful freedom from the burden of guilt and spiritual oppression. Do we know the happiness of hungering and thirsting for God alone?
PRAYER: Lord, increase our hunger for you and show us the way that leads to everlasting peace and happiness. May we desire you above all else and find perfect joy in doing your will. Amen
Happy New Working Week!
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