Homily Cycle A 02-01-2026 Offered at OLPH
Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020126.cfm
Zephaniah instructs us to “Seek the Lord…. Seek justice, seek humility.” And St. Paul reminds us that “God chose the foolish … the weak and the lowly [and that we] … should only boast in the Lord.”
A few months ago Fr. Murphy was walking down the main street in his little town outside of Dublin when he saw the Lord, Jesus Himself walking toward him. He panicked and took out his cell phone, called Pope Leo, to his surprise he got right through to Pope told him what was happening and asked Pope Leo “what should I do?”
The Pope said, “Look Busy!”
Our Gospel is about being busy “listening to the Lord” and doing God’s work in building up THE KINGDOM. Today we are called to the Mountain, the one that Jesus called His listeners to 2000 years ago. Sometime today gaze at South Mountain [in Bethlehem, PA]and imagine walking up it to listen to Jesus. He calls us [as He did them] to make the Beatitudes the center of our lives. What anxiety, what need, what prayer, what emptiness will you give to Jesus to lift off your shoulders as He blesses you?
Picture a dusty mountain in Galilee, where the sun baked the earth & hope felt as scarce as shade, where fisherman, carpenters, field workers, homemakers, servants, day laborers & others were searching for the answers to life’s questions. Some were comfortable, but most were struggling. For them and for us there are bills, mortgages and taxes to pay, mouths to feed, violence on the streets, and in the world. There are many in need of the essentials of life, food, housing, safety.
Blessed? Who can call this life blessed?
Our Catechism [#2546] offers us this profound insight, “The Beatitudes reveal an order of happiness and grace, of beauty and peace. Jesus celebrates the joy of the poor, to whom the Kingdom already belongs.” Pope Francis put it this way,“The word blessed…. Is like a refrain reminding us of the Lord’s call to advance together with Him on a road which, for all its many challenges, leads to true happiness.” Many years ago Jesus spoke God’s Word and His fame spread like wildfire, even though there were no TV broadcasts, no Social Media, no Newspapers [paper or electronic].
The teaching of Jesus of Nazareth called the people of His time and of our time to live the way God created us to live. A life to honor & love God.
Today we join the crowd as they climb up the rocky path and we pray for our nation for civil discourse, the restoration of trust in our government, but most importantly for the courage to follow Jesus faithfully and fully. We pray for our world, our families and ourselves. Jesus sat like a rabbi of old, His disciples close, the air filled with anticipation & curiosity, His eyes fixed on the hearts and burdens of the weary crowd in front of Him, BUT, also on each one of us today. You and I are called to listen to Jesus and allow His Words to lead us to True happiness, True blessedness. The Beatitudes are a way of life, where our burdens, hardships & crosses flow into eternal blessings.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart and [in our time] the peacemakers. If we live the Beatitudes we will experience insult & persecution because of Jesus but He assures us we will “rejoice and be glad for our reward will be great in heaven.” For a few minutes think about how you will respond to Jesus call to live the Beatitudes.
May God Be Blessed.
Thanks, George. We as a nation need to take these ideas to heart. We need to eliminate “God Bless America” as a catchy political slogan and return it to a prayer. If we want God to bless this nation then we should ask ourselves “Why should He?”. Living the Beatitudes should be the guiding light for us as individuals and as citizens and should be viewed as a fundamental responsibility for us all. We should actively combat our inner struggle and become the best version of ourselves as humans and as a nation. We should demand this not only of ourselves but also of our political leaders who presently display very little character and integrity. Is it possible to really be “One nation under God” or has this become a meaningless political statement too?
ReplyDeleteI guess this was my little “blink”! Thanks for your thoughtful insight!