Daily Liturgy
Monday 07 June
TENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
BEATITUDES
Introduction
“As we have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so do we share in his consolation,” Paul tells us today.
What Jesus proposes in the beatitudes is a turning upside-down of values, (attuned with the message of Paul in Year I). 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 its 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: 2 Corinthians 1:1-7
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 34: 2-9
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Alleluia: Mt 5: 12a
Alleluia, alleluia
Rejoice and be glad;
for your reward will be great in heaven.
Alleluia, alleluia
Gospel: Matthew 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.”
Intercessions
– Lord, who 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 that we 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.
Commentary
The prelude to Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians is a practical presentation of the Matthean second Beatitude: “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Depression is a word that I never fully understood until I was well into my ministry. It is not simply experiencing a “low or “feeling bad.” It is a psychological state of mind that calls for the help of a professional person. At one time I sat for lengthy periods with a man who twelve years prior had urged his pregnant fiancee to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. His failure had been dealt with sacramentally and spiritually years before. But he never succeeded in overcoming his deep sense of guilt. His failure kept returning and, try as he would, he remained unconvinced that God had forgiven him.
Paul speaks today of the encouragement in his life and ministry that comes from God the Father. It is that spirit of endurance that flows from faith that enables Paul to bring encouragement to those who suffer. Just as his difficulties are endured for others, so too the encouragement that he receives redounds to the good of others. He is quite confident for the Corinthians. If they share in his sufferings, they share in his encouragement as well.
Encouragement goes beyond words. There are times when there is nothing to say. What is needed is simply a calming presence. To sit quietly at the bedside of a very sick person. To hold a hand, to say a prayer, to kiss a furrowed brow. These are ways in which encouraging comes to life.
Points to Ponder
Enduring hardship
Compassion in ministry
Blessed are they who mourn.