Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Today's MassReadings

This week is the 10th week in Ordinary Time; we continue to count our weeks with the Lord. We also commence St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. Paul’s letters were a way of remaining connected with communities that he had worked hard to convert to Christianity. It should come as no surprise that, like Christians today, those communities often struggled with living according to the gospel message. Today’s passage from 2 Corinthians is both inspiring and demanding. On the one hand, we read it and say, “Wow! We really find encouragement in Christ!” But on the other hand, we hear it and say, “Gosh, I’m supposed to endure suffering, including the suffering of others?” Encouragement sounds appealing, but suffering is a little more challenging. So also for today’s gospel passage from Matthew, which features the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. In this excerpt we hear the word “blessed” over and over again; these are hence referred to as “beatitudes” (the Latin word for blessing). What does it mean to be blessed? We often hear the expression used in casual conversation: “I’m blessed with a large income” or “She is blessed with the talent of speaking.” But if we look at the way Jesus is using the word “blessed” here, it challenges our usual understanding of blessing. For example, when we think of someone mourning the loss of a spouse, we seldom think of that person as blessed. Nor do we think of insult and persecution in terms of blessing. Others beatitudes might seem more attractive, for example, we might consider ourselves blessed if we are merciful or able to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Even those, however, entail at least some degree of sacrifice. So we might read this passage, and say, “Yes! I want to be blessed!” followed by “No! I don’t want to be persecuted!” Blessing seems appealing, but the sacrifices involved make it a little more challenging.

This reaction comes naturally to us; perhaps it is somewhat related to our lives of relative comfort in the Western world. But perhaps it is also just a part of being human. Most likely, those who heard Jesus’ words from the gospel today had a similar reaction. The Corinthians who read this part of Paul’s letter probably also had this kind of response.

What we have to do, then, is let ourselves be challenged by these words. The gospel message is one that draws us beyond this world to the next. It asks us to understand that there is more to life than what we see. Jesus’ life, suffering, death, and resurrection transform our entire worldview. Our own suffering now makes sense: we are encouraged in affliction and can also encourage others in our suffering.

As we go through life, each of us will have opportunities of suffering. We will at some time mourn, be meek, or be persecuted. Moreover, there are many others united with us in the Church that experience this in an even more profound way. Here I think especially of our brothers and sisters who live in great poverty and suffer from lack of clean water, electricity, food, and political freedom. As Church, we are connected with these people; we are of the same body. In some ways, these people are more blessed than we are. This is not to romanticize suffering, but to be realistic, that is, to let our worldview be transformed by Christ’s suffering. We cannot let others’ or our own suffering be meaningless. Rather, we must take it seriously and let it be an occasion for encouragement. In other words, we must let suffering give us courage to live a Christ-like life.

Jesus tells us that our reward will be great in heaven. But he also indicates that blessing starts here on earth. If we want to be blessed with that ultimate blessing of eternal life with God, we must allow ourselves to be challenged by these words. Today, let us take the time to reflect on suffering throughout the Church. Let us also think about our own suffering. How might we make this suffering more meaningful by offering it up for others in our Church?

- Maria Morrow