It might come as a disappointment to ambitious-
minded people that God does not look for success

gauged and measured in human terms.  Nowhere do
we hear this message more clearly
Gospel this weekend –

than in our
which is the opening

passage of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount
commonly known as “the Beatitudes”.
beatitudes do is show us what a true Christian

–
What the

should be and, they spell out what our correct
relationship with God needs to be as well.  

We might feel a little uncomfortable as we listen to
Christ’s perspective on what brings happiness right
now in this life and not just in the future.  In a

startling reversal of earthly standards He puts a high value on
forgiveness and gentleness.  He rejects
freedom to do what we choose, because they give us the impression that we

mercy,
out of hand wealth, rank and

can manage our affairs without taking God into consideration.  Everything
the world values as a blessing is absent from what Jesus teaches in the
beatitudes and everything the world counts a failure Jesus proposes as a

Actually, the beatitudes give us a cause for reflection because they turn our
normal value system upside down, forcing us to confront whether we are

guided by the gospel or by the pattern set by society.  Their message
contradicts our “common sense approach” to life yet they are the guidelines

of Christ to us
heaven.

The life of a follower of Christ is not meant to be easy, as it calls on us to do
things that don’t come naturally to us.  Remember, Jesus is still speaking to
us today and wanting to know:  are we kind, considerate and helpful? Or,

Friends, Jesus offers us a joy which shines through sorrow and suffering,
and which nothing in life or death can ever take away.

Let us grow in strength together,
Fr. Hilary