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. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”


Reflection
This is a difficult gospel to preach from because it really is a list of the different things that Jesus taught at different times. And so what is universal about it? Well, I think it's this, that the idea of being blessed is being empowered God in you, God enabling you to be whatever you need to be for a situation, whether the situation is easy and wonderful, or whether it's really dark and difficult, whether it causes sadness or joy.
He's with you. So the key is to know that we are who we are because of the power of God in us and we can deal with all things and they all work together for the good.

Closing Prayer
Father, free us from any misconceptions that we’re so often in the Old Testament about you, blessed those who are good and you curse those who are bad. You are only a source of strength for every event that we encounter. Give us trust in that and let us be open to the growth that every situation creates. And we ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

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