January 30-31: Preparing to Celebrate Sunday’s Mass / Preparándonos para Celebrar la Misa Dominical

As we listen to the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount this weekend (Matthew 5, 1-12), let’s be sure to hear how different His first public teaching is from what the world would teach. By the world’s standards, the Beatitudes would sound like this:

“Blessed are rich – who can take care of themselves.

Blessed are – those who never know a loss.

Blessed are – the powerful.

Blessed are those – who are realistic and

compromise their principles at every turn.

Blessed are those – who demand an eye for an eye.

Blessed are – the clever, the alert,

and those who seize every opportunity for personal gain.

Blessed are those bold enough to make war.

Blessed are those who do good things expecting great praise. And Blessed are those who follow Jesus … until it gets tough.”

Jesus knew that all of that had to be replaced by something else. It had to be replaced. Something new had to be found. And His time was the time to do it. And He was the one to do it. And yet, all of what appears above is the way most of this world worked then and the way it still wants to work today. Do we appreciate the challenge we have been given: to accept His teaching and turn away from what the world wants to teach us?

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La Iglesia nos va a ofrecer en la Misa del domingo las Bienaventuranzas de Jesús. (Mateo 5, 1-12) La propuesta de Él en su enseñanza se sitúa en la línea de la fraternidad universal ya que todos somos hijos e hijas de un mismo Padre. Esa amista social es la que posibilita que todos puedan ser felices. Somos una única familia en la que nos preocupamos por los pobres, los humildes, y los bondadosos. 

Jesús no ha canonizado la pobreza y menos todavía la miseria. Ha mostrado, sin embargo, cuáles son los peligros de las riquezas y cuál es la verdadera actitud del creyente ante ellas. Las riquezas están al servicio de la comunidad, sobre todo de los necesitados. 

La tentación del hombre moderno es la de buscar la salvación en sus propios recursos técnicos, producto de su inteligencia. Olvida que la salvación es una oferta gratuita de Dios. La salvación es el mismo Jesús. Acojámoslo en la celebración de la Eucaristía y pidámosle que nos haga experimentar la alegría de las Bienaventuranzas.