Monday of 10th Week in Ordinary Time, Yr. II: reflection

Theme: Do you wish to be blessed? Follow these paths

Reading: Mt 5:1–12

Everyone obviously needs blessings and desires abundance of blessings from God, but most times, people do not know the paths to follow in order to receive these blessings.

In the gospel reading of today, Jesus went up on the mountain and showed his audience and all of us the paths that lead to the blessings that we earnestly seek, listing the characteristics of lives that will draw God’s blessings. According to him, those who want to be blessed must be poor in spirit, they must be meek; they are those who hunger for righteousness, those who are merciful, those who are pure in heart, those who are mourning, those who make peace, those who are persecuted for doing what is right, those who are castigated for the sake of Christ and those who are falsely accused on account of Christ. These are the people who will be given a pat on the back on the last day and declared blessed by God the Father.

Most times, people tend to see those who drive big cars, hold prominent social positions, host lavish parties, and lead other luxurious lifestyles as blessed. However, today’s gospel has demonstrated that these attributes of life were left off in Christ’s list of qualities that lead to a blessed state.

May we, therefore, follow Christ own paths, which have maximum assurance of leading us to the blessed state which our hearts yearn for.

May God bless the work of your hands this Monday.

Fr Isaac Chima