Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear friends in Christ

The Beatitudes form the Gospel of the Mass this Sunday. Blessed means graced by God and in each one of the Beatitudes Jesus tells us how we can receive grace and happiness from God. Our Lord points to the ways that can lead to limitless happiness in eternal life, and also happiness in this life. Poverty of spirit, a hunger for justice, for mercy, for purity of heart, and bearing rejection for the sake of the Gospel—all these are manifestations of the same attitude of soul: abandonment in God. We can ask for these graces and virtues even when those around us seem to be on a vastly divergent path. Saint Basil says we should not consider the rich man fortunate solely because of his riches, or the powerful man because of his authority and dignity, the strong man because of his bodily health or the learned man because of his eloquence. All these things can be instruments of virtue for those who use them rightly, but in themselves they do not hold the secret of happiness (cf his Homily on Envy). When in our search for happiness we attempt to follow other ways, other than those willed by God, we find that our journey ends in sadness and frustration. The Beatitudes, taken as a whole, point to the same ideal—holiness. This Sunday as we listen to these words in the Gospel, may we be moved to desire holiness, to seek holiness and live holiness in all the facets of life.

This weekend we welcome Edmund Adamus to our Parish. I have invited him to come and speak on behalf of the Charity The Friends of the Holy Land. He will tell us something about the situation there and the plight of our bothers and sisters in the Middle East. There will be an opportunity to show our practical support and charity in a retiring collection.

May God bless you all.

Msgr Kevin Hale