Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, Priest
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 7:25-31
Brothers and sisters:
In regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord,
but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
So this is what I think best because of the present distress:
that it is a good thing for a person to remain as he is.
Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek a separation.
Are you free of a wife? Then do not look for a wife.
If you marry, however, you do not sin,
nor does an unmarried woman sin if she marries;
but such people will experience affliction in their earthly life,
and I would like to spare you that.
I tell you, brothers, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17
R. (11) Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
forget your people and your father’s house.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
for he is your lord, and you must worship him.
R. Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters;
her raiment is threaded with spun gold.
In embroidered apparel she is borne in to the king;
behind her the virgins of her train are brought to you.
R. Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
The place of your fathers your sons shall have;
you shall make them princes through all the land.
R. Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
Alleluia
Luke 6:23ab
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rejoice and leap for joy!
Your reward will be great in heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 6:20-26
Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets
in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false
prophets in this way.”
Meditation
Brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ,
Let us give thanks to God for this new day. The Gospel according to Saint Luke presents us today with the Beatitudes. Jesus calls blessed the poor, those who are hungry, those who weep, and those who are rejected, while He speaks words of woe to the rich, those who are satisfied, those who laugh, and those whom everyone praises. How can we understand that someone who suffers can be happy? And why should someone who seems to have everything they desire be unhappy?
The Lord does not ask us to seek suffering, nor does He condemn material possessions. Rather, He reminds us of an essential truth: no situation in our lives is permanent, and nothing should take the place of God. The Beatitudes therefore invite us to hope and detachment.
The first message of the Beatitudes is a message of hope. The one who weeps today will not weep forever. The person going through hardship, poverty, or injustice is not condemned to remain in that situation. What we are going through is not who we are, and what we are experiencing today is not necessarily what we will experience tomorrow. God remains faithful, and the person who hopes in Him is never without a future.
Detachment, for its part, teaches us not to make our happiness depend on our possessions, our successes, our difficulties, or the opinions of others. We can seek to improve our situation, but without forgetting that our true happiness is found in God.
Let us therefore take a moment of silence and ask ourselves these questions: How attached am I to what I possess or to what I am going through? Am I constantly trying to change my circumstances instead of seeking God in the situation where I find myself? Do I truly recognize my poverty and my need for God, even when everything seems to be going well in my life? What, in my life today, risks taking the place of God?
Let Us Pray
Thrice-Holy Father, teach me not to make my happiness depend on what I possess, what I am going through, or what others think of me. Help me recognize my poverty and my need for You, even when everything seems to be going well. In moments of joy as well as in moments of hardship, in abundance as well as in times of need, teach me to seek You and find You in all things. May nothing distract me from the ultimate purpose of my life: to know You, to love You, to serve You, and to live in intimacy with You.
Amen.
Intercession
Let us pray for those who are going through difficult times, those who are distressed and discouraged, that they may not lose hope. Let us also pray for those who live in abundance and success, that they may remain aware of their need for God. May each person learn, in their own situation, to seek the Lord and to make every circumstance a path to holiness.
Virgin Mary, intercede for them and for us!
Spiritual Exercise
Today, let us identify one situation that particularly concerns us: a difficulty, a lack, a success, a possession, or a situation that we desperately want to change. Let us entrust it to God and ask Him for the grace to continue hoping in Him, even if our circumstances do not change immediately.
Bebissi Stéphanie
Community of the Disciples of the Living Christ
