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Scripture & Prayers for Daily Life
September 11, 2024
Wednesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel Reading: Luke 6:20-26
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"Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”
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The Beatitudes bring us face to face with a choice we must make throughout our lives. ​Do we take the easy way which yields immediate pleasure and profit, or will we take the hard way which yields immediate toil and sometimes suffering? Do we concentrate on the rewards of this world? or, do we concentrate on Christ? If we take the way of the world, we cannot but abandon the values of Christ. If we take Christ's way, we must abandon the values of the world.
Christ had no doubt which way brought happiness ultimately. As one Christian writer said, "Jesus promised his disciples three things--that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy and in constant trouble."
While we must all try to make the world a better place, the fact remains that it isn’t our real home. It is Jesus' teaching that the joy of heaven will be more than enough to compensate for our troubles here on earth. As Paul says, “The afflictions we experience here are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2Cor.4:17).
The challenge of the beatitudes is simple: "Will we be happy in the world's way, or in Christ's way?"
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