Gospel Reading: Luke 6:17, 20-26
Blessed are the poor. Woe to you who are rich.
Jesus came down with the twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he 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. 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.”
Saint’s Words:
Neither wealth, nor honors, nor vanity can make a man happy during his life on earth, but only attachment to the service of God, when we are fortunate enough to realize that and to carry it out properly
—John Baptiste Marie Vianney, sermon
Prayer for a Loving Attitude:
Lord Jesus Christ, You gave your life out of love for all people, and You encouraged your followers to do good to others. Over the years many Christians have found this difficult and I am no exception. I try, but it is so hard to have a loving attitude toward all, and then I feel hypocritical in claiming to follow You.
Help me, dear Lord, to really believe that Christian love is the greatest power in the world. Let me see that this is not an emotion, but a central attitude of one's being, an attitude of service for others in Your Name. It is the result of your grace, and prompts us to will only good things for others as images of God. Grant that I may always strive to attain this attitude and so live up to the noble vocation to which I am called. Amen.
