The Call To Saitnhood.

 Matthew 5: 1-12a

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

How many times have we heard, read and meditated on "The Beatitudes"? And yet the Church again wisely presents them to us, fittingly on All Saints Day, for if we live each one of them, we too can be counted among the saints, canonized or not. We balk, "Too hard!"  "Sainthood is not for me!" Oh, yes, then why were you, all of us, created?  "To know, love and serve God in this world and be happy forever with him in the next", to quote, or at least, paraphrase the Baltimore Catechism.  Do we think this is reaching too high?  It is a reach, but not too high, for nothing is impossible with God.  The saints we honor today did not slide easily into this level with God; even the Blessed Mother, had her trials and pains, but remained loving, confident and faithful.We don't have to be a genius to see the obstacles and challenges all around us today. One look at the headlines takes care of that. Between the Pandemic, constantly thrown at us by the media, the elections in the USA, the cries of the poor, and the injustices foisted upon us, we are like peanuts being crushed into peanut butter. Yet we look at the saints.  They suffered similarly, if not worse, and kept their faith.  May they provide inspiration, courage and fortitude as well as the assurance that Jesus is with us, and help us one day to share heaven with them.

Bro. Rene