My Thoughts on 09/07/2020

Pope Francis wrote that the Beatitudes are like a Christian’s identity card. In the Beatitudes, we find a portrait of the Master, which we are called to reflect in our daily lives. They are found both in Matthew 5:3-12 and Luke 6:20-23. Every day we will look at each beatitudes as presented in the Gospel of Matthew.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.

The challenge for us is to have a special love for the poor and to have a deep spirit of poverty in our lives. This we do in a spirit of love. We are called to recognise our own poverty, our need for God. Sometimes wealth, prestige and power blind us to our need for God. We have the arrogance to think that we don’t need God. If we are poor of heart then we are able to let God into our heart.

Fr Cantalmessa writing about this beatitude says: “The beatitude about the poor is of great relevance in the historical context in which we live, which is marked by a concern for ecology and preservation of creation. One way of living the gospel beatitude that is possible and accessible to everyone is a return to a moderate and temperate use of things, to a simple lifestyle that allows us to enjoy the goods of creation without abusing or wasting them.”

Lord give me the grace to cultivate a true spirit of poverty in my life that I will always acknowledge my deep need for you and give me a real spirit of generosity towards those in need and love for your creation.