IN THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS, WE SEE THAT GOD HAS LEFT A HUMBLE AND LOWLY PEOPLE WHO SOUGHT REFUGE IN HIM.

The readings...

"The Lord shall leave a humble and lowly people who will seek refuge in Him." [Zeph. 2:3; 3:12-3]

"God is the source of your life in Christ Jesus. He is wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification and redemption." [1 Cor. 1:26- 31]

Based on the beatitudes of Jesus, the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are blessed. [Mt. 5:1-12]

The homily...

This week, as I was preparing today's sermon, I suddenly perceived how the three Biblical readings were describing the Saints who are our Christian models in the Church.

In the First Reading, God commands us to seek Him out, to obey His commands, to seek righteousness and to seek humility. Then, He promises that He will leave among the people some who are lowly and humble. Answering God's commands, they will seek refuge in Him, do no wrong and utter no lies. They will not have a deceitful tongue. They will pasture and lie down and no one shall make them afraid.

Now, surely, this is a beautiful description of the Saints of the Church and a fulfillment of God's promise to leave among the people some who are lowly and humble. Many of the saints had humble lives that were not recognized until years after their death. In recognition of their righteousness and their having sought out the Lord God, moved by the Holy Spirit, the Catholic Church elevated them to Sainthood.

The Saints placed their trust, all 100% of it, in the Lord Jesus who was their refuge, they fearing no one but the Lord Himself. For many of them, their refuge in the Lord has led to their martyrdom.

Having perceived how the Saints were being described in this reading, I then noticed that in the second reading, there is a guideline to follow to achieve Sainthood. First of all, by the grace of God the Father, we have to turn to Him Who is the Source of our lives in Christ Jesus. The Second Reading states that Jesus is our wisdom. In Him is the way, the truth and the light. In Jesus, we obtain our original righteousness before God through faith and the Sacrament of Baptism. Following this, we are sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, we are redeemed for having persevered in our living faith, qualifying to join the Saints of the Church in the Kingdom of God.

This all appears to be very simple. But what exactly must we do to qualify to join the membership of the saints? Today's Gospel Reading answers that question. It gives specifics details as to what we must do to inherit the Kingdom of God.

Blessed are the poor in spirit! The poor in spirit have little valuable worldly possessions, if any. While the spirit of these Christians are poor in worldly wealth, they are rich in spiritual wealth. The Kingdom of God does not belong to the rich, but rather to the poor.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Many suffer because of social injustices, their prayers reaching up to the Heavenly Throne for justice. While they may not inherit justice in this world, surely, they will inherit eternal Divine justice in the Kingdom of God.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Here, we can associate with personal and worldly righteousness. On a personal basis, how often have we been taken advantage of by someone who abused our goodness or our forgiveness? How often have we wished that the truth would come out and righteousness would flourish? On a worldly basis, we see many things that offend us. Children suffer because of divorce. Crimes are on the rise. Abortions flourish in many cities. Some countries are torn by war. Some families are starving to death because rich nations will not share their food unless it is being paid for. And the list continues... All these things that disturb our spirit result in hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Do we not all pray that we will be forgiven our mistakes that offend others. But how quick are we to forgive others who have done wrong against us? Did Jesus not say that we will be judged by the measure that we judge others? If we cannot forgive others, can we expect Divine justice to forgive us?

Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God. The pure of heart are those who have a sincere heart in all their actions. When the fruit of the Holy Spirit flourishes through them, they do not seek worldly rewards in return for their charitable acts of goodness. In love, they reach out to others, seeing Christ in all without discrimination.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God. The peacemakers bring worldly comfort to those who suffer. They make life a little easier for all. If there were no peacemakers, all would be suffering greatly in this world.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness's sake. How often has it been heard that when someone tried to break up an argument between two people for the love of Jesus, the two arguing parties turned against him? Or how often has someone been persecuted for speaking up against abortion or for speaking up when someone was abused? Did Jesus not warn that those who would do His work would be persecuted because of His Name? It is obvious that goodness does not blend in with evil. If one seeks righteousness, he must expect persecution. In the end, he will gain the Kingdom of God.

When reviewing the blessings of the beatitudes that Jesus spoke of on the mountain, we can associate them with the suffering of the Saints of the Church. At the same time, we must not forget that there are many others who have suffered and some who continue to suffer today, maybe not having been elevated to Sainthood by the Church, but who will be elevated in the Kingdom of God when Divine Justice is served to all.

Today's readings are guidelines that teach us how to achieve our own sanctification so we may be pleasing to God. No one said it would be easy. It fact, Jesus make it clear that it would be difficult. At the same time, Jesus did not leave us alone to walk the Christian life. He left the entire Body of Christ, the Church, with us. Large is the number of Christians who would gladly reach out to those in need, encouraging them to persevere by helping them to carry their crosses. That is what Christian life is all about!

This week, on your journey to sainthood, let us open our Bibles to Chapter 5 in the Gospel of Matthew and reflect on the blessings that are found in the first twelve verses. Each day, let us reflect on one blessing and ask ourselves, "Do I qualify for this blessing?" If not, what must I do that is necessary through prayer, a change of heart or a certain action to qualify me for that particular blessing?

In the meantime, let us pray for each other as we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass.

Total: 1123 words.

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