4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday, January 28, 2023

First Reading: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13 
Psalm #146 R Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Gospel Acclamation Verse: Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
Gospel:  Matthew 5:1-12

Theme:  Road map to holiness

Commentary by Jane Prini

Do you like to go on road trips? What are the first few things that need to be considered before leaving? First you need to know where you are going, or at least in what direction you want to start. Second, you need to plan out your route and third, prepare what you will bring with you. That is a lot of planning, but doing so can make your road trip so much more enjoyable. 

In all of today’s readings we are given little bits of encouragement and a plan on how to become the best version of ourselves. The first reading encourages us to seek the Lord, righteousness and humility, and gives some ways to achieve that. The psalm recounts all that God does for us when we believe in him. St. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, reminds us that we are simple humans, but that belief in Jesus helps us to make wise choices. Our gospel reading is a well known one called, The Beatitudes. It is like a road map to true happiness. 

We see that the place we are going, the place we strive for is to be holy, or put another way, to be the best version of ourselves so we can spend eternity with God our Father. We know the direction we are going, because we follow what Jesus has taught us and we listen to the guidance of the Church to help us along the way. Best of all the Beatitudes give us a road map along our journey to the Father.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. What does that mean? That means we are blessed when we know that we need God as we learn to be the best version of ourselves. We cannot do it well on our own. Jesus continues with eight other trials that he turns into blessings. He promises ways that will give us true happiness as we learn to follow his examples. This happiness is not like the happiness when you get a bag of your favourite candies, or that new piece of clothing. Once the candies are eaten, or your friends have seen you wear it, you may find yourself looking for something else to give you joy. 

Jesus promises a happiness that to many, will seem foolishness. How can a person who hungers and thirsts for righteousness be filled? How can the merciful receive mercy or the pure in heart see God? All this can be possible when we make the choice to make God the reason we do everything. 

The beatitudes are our road map to doing just that. With the grace from God, we can work to be the ones that are peace makers, or those who work for what is right and just in our homes, schools and communities. We can be all these because we know without a doubt that we are children of God; that he loves us so much. We know that by Jesus dying and rising again, he made it possible for us, who can make bad choices, to have a special friendship with our creator God, and we are invited to say ‘yes, I want this happiness’. Jesus tells us that our ‘yes’ will bring us true and lasting happiness.

May you have the courage to give your “Yes” to Jesus for he will never leave you.

Family Prayer, Discussion Starters, Colouring and Word Games Page: Pages 2-5
Resources used for inspiration in this post:  Holy Heroes, Footprints in Faith, Sermons4Kids

Prayer for Families: 

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift a road map to true happiness in the Beatitudes. Bless us as we strive to live as Jesus taught us. We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reign with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. AMEN.

CLICK, READ MORE FOR FAMILY RESOURCES, Colouring Page, Cross Word Puzzle and Word Search
 

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