The Catholic Calendar for Monday, June 6, 2005
Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
St. Norbert, bishop

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
2 Corinthians 1:1-7
Psalm 34:2-9
Matthew 5:1-12

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

If ever there was a measuring stick to gauge our spiritual development, it is the Beatitudes. As such it isn't strange that the world for the most part finds the beatitudes absurd, a sad symptom of our collective spiritual bankruptcy. And what of our individual spiritual status? Do the Beatitudes seem hard even for us who have been the recipients of God's grace. No doubt they do, because sin has marred us and made what was once meant to be our natural state, injured and in great need of healing.

If it wasn't that there was some hope of movement toward living a life of true blessedness we might have cause for real despair. Thankfully in the person of Jesus we see and learn what blessedness is and, even more, are given a way of attaining it.

It is in the imitation of Christ that we find our real selves, that the way we were created to be comes into focus and seems possible. Let us then not be overcome by the immense contrast of the blessedness of the world vs the blessedness of God, but understand with God's grace, that this world, and what it so often considers a blessing, is passing away; but the blessedness of the children of God will endure forever.

- Donna Raye Nelson, OCDS
(drn3rd at hotmail dot com)

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