“Teach Us, Lord, How to Be Blessed” by Beth DeCristofaro
Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (John 3:2)
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: "Blessed are...” (Matthew 5:1)
Piety
Help me Lord to rejoice and be glad, as I seek you first before even I draw breath. Help me recognize and accept how to be poor in spirit. Show me how to mourn estrangement from You and with my neighbor in her grief. Free me from pride to be meek. Fill me with the courage to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Open me to be merciful. Guide me in being clean of heart. Grant me the courage to peace make and lead me to forgive when persecuted for the sake of righteousness that comes from conforming to your will. And, my God, keep me in the palm of your hand that I never despair when insulted or persecuted falsely because of you.
Study
We are family! Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection made him like us and as a human brother, he invites us to be like the Divine. Breathtaking in copious love, this gift is also daunting in practice. Many of those we designate as saints wrestled with this in their lives. John rightly says we don’t quite know what that means for us because Jesus’ fullness has not been revealed. But Jesus gives us the beatitudes as a model, the beautiful roadmap to be him.
Spiritual writer Elisabeth Leseur penned “Whoever searches for the truth will find God…Let us develop in ourselves the ‘divine’ compassion for all men and women; only then can it be truly ‘human.’ All that we do to transform and improved ourselves serves the divine cause. When our inner selves expand, only God can fill them. Let us develop our wills even more: let us try harder to train all our faculties to accept responsibility freely and to fulfill it joyfully; and let us become more gentle toward others, more patient and interiorly serene. The gratuitous search for beauty, the passionate concern for justice, the love of truth are so many paths that lead to God. Sometimes we make many detours; we even get lost a little. And yet we always reach the goal toward which we walk without recognizing it” [i]
Action
The Beatitudes are signposts pointing the way. Which Beatitude speaks most to you today? What is the Holy Spirit putting in your heart, what is the signpost pointing you toward?
[i] From “Selected Writings”, Elisabeth Leseur, as quoted in “Give Us This Day: Daily Reflections for Today’s Catholic, Liturgical Press, March 16.
illustration: “Salvation’s Family”, Steve Voita, St Timothy Catholic Church, Mesa, AZ http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/get_out/church-mural-brings-religious-figures-to-life/article_c0a5a368-12a0-5c3b-a9cc-094442a09017.html
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