Today we hear from the Gospel of Matthew the Beatitudes. When you add up the weekday readings, Sunday readings and Scripture readings from weddings and funerals, the words of this Gospel are some of the most frequently heard by believers at Masses. And since we hear of the Beatitudes frequently, we might ask ourselves how are we to “keep these sacred words fresh” in our minds and actions? Like anything we hear—or do—often, it might become rote.

The Beatitudes proclaim to the hearer the idea of being “blessed” or as they are sometimes translated, “happy.” Blessed are the poor of heart…Blessed are they who mourn…Blessed are the hungry… How can those who are in pain or those who are thirsty or those who are grieving—be considered blessed or happy? It seems incongruous.

In a commentary I was listening to on this Gospel, the author said that he was reminded of the movie by Martin Scorsese entitled The Last Temptation of Jesus when Jesus was talking to a crowd of people who seemed to be on the fringes of society and one of the members of the crowd yelled to Jesus, “What about us poor people?” And the Lord answered, “You are blessed!” How can this be? The priest giving the commentary told a story that when he was newly ordained he officiated at a wedding of his friends and a year or so after their marriage they had their first child. Sometime after the child was born, the priest was called to the hospital as the young baby had died and he went to grieve with his friends. As their child’s funeral was being planned, the parents asked that one of the readings be taken from their wedding Mass, the Gospel of Matthew, chapter Five, The Beatitudes. The couple told the priest that at their wedding they listened to this gospel as a testament of their faith, and now at their child’s funeral they would listen to these same words now knowing what they really mean.

So how are we to be “blessed” or “happy” in the midst of the realities of human life? With faith in God and Trust in the Lord, we are called to live amid the joys and the storms of life, knowing that in the end, “He shall make all things anew.”

The other day I visited a lady here in town, who is quite ill and going through a number of difficulties, and yet she has a deep and abiding faith that allows her to, as Fr. Terry Kristofak, C.P., of the Passionist Order at Holy Family Retreat Center says “choose to be better rather than to be bitter.” Faith—trust and hope in Christ’s promises of Eternal Life and Glory—offers us the belief that no matter what the world offers us—joy or sorrows—Christ will provide a safe harbor in which we may drop anchor: our anchor is a rock-solid faith in the promises of Christ. Let us remember the words of that great Catholic funeral prayer: “May faith be their consolation and Eternal Life their hope.”

As we look forward to the celebrations of Lent which prepares us for the joys of the Easter Resurrection and the promise of Christ for a life of unending joy so that we believe and trust in Him, and that we may we use this time and the Words of the Beatitudes to remind ourselves that we are not alone. Our God is with us, through the precious Body and Blood of His Son and through the strength of the Word of God and in the community of believers on earth. We are not alone; we are in the midst of Joy that comes from the promises of Christ; and, we are called to live and believe in Him as a people of faith, gathered together so that we might offer Him glory and praise through both word and deed.