Rejoice and Be Glad, for Your Reward Is Great in Heaven
Introduction: May you continue to reflect on God’s action in
your life, and may that reflection inspire you to reach out humbly to others,
sharing with them the Good News of God’s love.
In our younger years, we may have thought that humility and
humiliation were the same. We may even have reasoned that the only way to be
humble was to allow others to humiliate us—as if humility meant becoming a
doormat on which people wipe their dirty feet. It is true that both words come
from the Latin humus, meaning “earth,” “soil,” or “ground.” However, humility
does not mean thinking of ourselves as “just dirt,” nor does it mean thinking
less of ourselves. Rather, it means thinking of ourselves less often.
True humility is being firmly grounded in the Lord Jesus
Christ and recognizing that who we are and what we have are gifts God has
entrusted to us. It is not a passive acceptance of injustice or mistreatment.
Instead, humility is active: it expresses itself in generous service to others,
flowing from an awareness of God’s grace at work within us.
Mary stands as a luminous example of authentic humility and
holiness. In her prayer, the Magnificat, she neither denies the greatness God
has done in her nor claims it as her own. Instead, she gives all glory to God
(cf. Luke 1:46–55). Read the Magnificat carefully, and you will see how true
humility is rooted in gratitude, trust, and joyful surrender to God’s saving
action.
Today’s readings speak to us about humility. Humility has
often had a negative connotation, in the sense of “false humility” or
“passivity” or “letting people walk all over you.” The word itself comes from
the Latin word, humus, meaning “earth” or “ground.” We hear today how we are
called to be “grounded” in God. Zephaniah uses a form of the word “humble” at
least three times in today’s First Reading. The Responsorial Psalm reminds us
that God seems to be more attentive to those who are lowly and approach the
LORD humbly. Paul reminds the people of Corinth that most of the believers were
not of the upper class but rather the lowly class, yet God still chooses them,
sometimes in preference to the rich and famous. In the Gospel of the
Beatitudes, Jesus speaks about those whom God blesses because of their humble
attitude.
First Reading: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13: ‘I will leave in
your midst a people humble and lowly.’
Commentary: Before
the Babylonian Exile Israel tended to equate material prosperity with divine
blessing: those who prospered did so because of the LORD’s blessing; those who
did not must in some way be blameworthy. The Exile put an end to all that, and
the consequent puzzlement is visible in the Book of Job. These verses from the
prophecy of Zephaniah show the new and more satisfying analysis: it is the
humble of the LORD who will receive divine blessing, those who seek refuge in
the Name or Power of the LORD and recognize their entire dependence on him. The
nation of Israel was the plaything of the great powers on either side,
dominated first by one, then by the other. This is the spirituality of the
powerless Remnant, not giving themselves airs or trusting in their own
strength. It is perfectly and consciously exemplified in the personnel of the
Lukan Infancy Narratives, where Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph,
Simeon and Anna humbly obey the Law and await the salvation which is to come to
them from the LORD. This spirit was not the strong suit of the Corinthians to
whom Paul writes! It is partly exemplified also in the Beatitudes which will
form the gospel reading.
Responsorial Psalm: 146:6c-7. 8-9a. 9b-10: Blessed are
the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Psalm 146:6–10 proclaims the Lord as the faithful Creator
who remains true forever, acting decisively on behalf of the oppressed, the
hungry, and the imprisoned. The psalm reveals God’s special concern for the
vulnerable—the blind, the bowed down, the stranger, the orphan, and the
widow—showing that divine justice is expressed through compassion and
liberation. In contrast to fragile human powers, the psalm affirms that the
Lord reigns eternally, inviting believers to place their trust not in princes,
but in the God whose mercy sustains all generations.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31: ‘God chose what is
weak in the world.’
Commentary: The
Corinthians seem to have been particularly pleased with themselves, so that
Paul mercilessly lavishes his sarcasm on them. In their bravado and their
complacency they were happy to rely on their own resources, and expected to be
saved by them. Paul repeats to them the lesson of Zephaniah. The public reading
of the letter must have embarrassed those at whom it was aimed, and the vigour
of Paul’s criticism was perhaps the reason why his relationships with this
community continued stormy for some time. For us, however, the positive
teaching is a treasure, that Christ is for us our wisdom, our strength, our
holiness and our freedom. Only through Christ can we achieve our ambitions and
grow to full human maturity, by participating in these qualities of Christ.
Once incorporated into Christ by baptism, we already share in his wisdom,
holiness and strength, and even in his freedom, if only we rely on that and not
on ourselves. Paul goes on to say that Christ is the Wisdom of God, a teaching
which will be elaborated in the later epistles (possibly written not by Paul
himself) to the Colossians and Ephesians.
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a: ‘Blessed are the poor in
spirit.’
Commentary: These
eight blessings stand at the head of the Sermon on the Mount, pointing out
eight ways in which we can welcome God into our lives. They are ways of living
out God’s blessing. The first and the last knit them all together with ‘theirs
is the kingdom of heaven’. Luke also begins his Sermon on the Plain with four
such blessings – only his blessings are more on those who are materially
poor and in need, whereas Matthew’s concentrate on the spiritual attitudes
required of the Christian, ‘poor in spirit, hunger and thirst for justice’.
Jesus came to proclaim the kingship of his Father, and these are ways of living
it. For each of them, do you know someone who exemplifies the attitude? Which
is your own favourite? For most of them there are gospel incidents in which
Jesus sums them up, like the entry into Jerusalem on a donkey as the gentle
king, or the love he shows in his welcome to sinners, or his bringing peace to
those tortured by disease or contempt, or his purity of heart in his single-minded
pre-occupation with his Father’s will, and finally his acceptance of
persecution for what he knew to be right.
Meditation: What is the good life which God intends for us?
And how is it related with the ultimate end or purpose of life? Is it not our
desire and longing for true 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 heart of Jesus' message is that
we can live a very happy life. The call to holiness, to be saints who joyfully
pursue God's will for their lives, can be found in these eight beatitudes.
Jesus' beatitudes sum up our calling or vocation - to live a life of the
beatitudes. The word beatitude literally means "happiness" or
"blessedness".
God gives us everything that
leads to true happiness
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 (Matthew 4:17), the
vision of God (Matthew 5:8; 1 John 2;1), entering into the joy of the Lord
(Matthew 25:21-23) and into his rest (Hebrews 4:7-11). Jesus' beatitudes also
confront us with decisive choices concerning the life we pursue here on earth
and the use we make of the goods he puts at our disposal.
Jesus tells us that God alone can satisfy the deepest need
and longing of our heart. Teresa of Avila's (1515-1582) prayer book contained a
bookmark on which she wrote: Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you.
All things pass - God never changes. Patience achieves all it strives for.
Whoever has God lacks nothing -God alone suffices.
Is God enough for you? God offers us the greatest good
possible - abundant life in Jesus Christ (John 10:10) and the promise of
unending joy and happiness with God forever. Do you seek the highest good, the
total good, which is above all else?
The beatitudes are a sign of
contradiction to the world's way of happiness
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.
God reveals to the humble of heart the true source of
abundant life and happiness. Jesus promises his disciples that the joys of
heaven will more than compensate for the troubles and hardships they can expect
in this world. Thomas Aquinas said: "No one can live without joy. That is
why a person deprived of spiritual joy goes after carnal pleasures." Do
you know the happiness of hungering and thirsting for God alone?
Lord Jesus, increase my hunger for you and show me the way
that leads to everlasting peace and happiness. May I desire you above all else
and find perfect joy in doing your will.
Daily Quote from the Early
Church Fathers: Perfect
blessedness is humility of spirit, by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD)
"'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.' The Lord taught by way of example that the glory of human
ambition must be left behind when he said, 'The Lord your God shall you adore
and him only shall you serve' (Matthew 4:10). And when he announced through the
prophets that he would choose a people humble and in awe of his words [Isaiah
66:2], he introduced the perfect Beatitude as humility of spirit. Therefore he
defines those who are inspired as people aware that they are in possession of
the heavenly kingdom... Nothing belongs to anyone as being properly one's own,
but all have the same things by the gift of a single parent. They have been
given the first things needed to come into life and have been supplied with the
means to use them." (excerpt from commentary ON MATTHEW 4.2)
“seek humility” (zep 2:3): “...a
people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord.”
—Zephaniah 3:12
In 2023, when this was written, the memorial of St. Thomas
Aquinas occurred the day before this Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Thomas
differed from those described in today’s readings. He was wise; “not many of
[us] are wise” (1 Cor 1:26). He was the most brilliant of men, extremely well
educated. Yet Thomas also resembled the people written about in today’s
readings: humble, “poor in spirit” (Mt 5:3), dependent upon God.
Though Thomas wrote of the deepest theology, his humility
shone through. Near the end of his life, Thomas saw a vision of God. He stopped
writing, saying, “All my works are straw.” He then prepared to meet the Lord on
Judgment Day (see Am 4:12), humbling himself before God. In this way, Thomas
imitated Jesus, Who “humbled Himself,” living a simple life, hidden from the
public eye for thirty years (Phil 2:8).
The wisdom of God is immeasurably far above our thoughts (Is
55:8-9). The very best humanity can produce is simply a drop in the ocean of
God’s wisdom. “Mankind can do no boasting before God” (1 Cor 1:29). Yet
humanity is filled with “proud braggarts” (Zep 3:11).
Be like St. Thomas. “Seek humility” (Zep 2:3). “Bow humbly
under God’s mighty hand” (1 Pt 5:6) and use your God-given talents for the
Lord.
Prayer: Father, in all things, may You increase and I
decrease (Jn 3:30). “Blest are they who hunger and thirst for holiness; they
shall have their fill.” —Mt 5:6. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for
His mercy endures forever” (Ps 118:1).
The personal action for
today: What has been my
understanding of humility? Do I now see “humility” as being “grounded” in the
realization that God has loved me and empowered me to spread the Good News so
that God – the Giver of my abilities – will receive the praise that is due? How
can I more humbly give witness to the Gospel in my service of others?
The Claretian Martyrs,
celebrated on February 1: were
members of the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary who were martyred during the violent persecution of the Church in the
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). They included bishops, priests, brothers, and
seminarians who were arrested, tortured, and killed solely because of their
faith and their identity as consecrated religious.
What distinguishes their witness is not only the brutality
they endured, but the spiritual attitude with which they faced death: many
forgave their persecutors, reaffirmed their love for Christ and the Church, and
consciously offered their lives as an act of fidelity to their missionary
vocation. Their martyrdom embodies the Claretian charism—apostolic zeal, love
for the Word of God, and total availability to God’s will—and continues to
inspire Claretians and the wider Church to live the Gospel courageously, even
in the face of persecution.
