Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all encouragement,
who encourages us in our every affliction,
so that we may be able to encourage
those who are in any affliction
with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.
—2 Corinthians 1:3-4
The richness of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount which we begin hearing from today is overwhelming. The Beatitudes which are the foundation of the Christian life provide something new for our hearts to contemplate even if we read them every day (as Pope Francis recommends). Yet, today, the Church listens to the Beatitudes right after hearing from St Paul that the God we Christians worship is the “God of all encouragement” who especially comes to us when we are afflicted.
As we listen to each of the beatitudes, we hear that those to whom Our Lord promises divine blessedness are often afflicted. They are poor, in mourning, living in places that lack justice and are in need of peace; they are persecuted. God does not wait to offer them joy until all the troubles of this world have passed. God certainly promises the fullness of happiness in the life to come. However, Jesus says to those who are afflicted right now, that He has blessedness for them right now. St Paul reminds us that the God of encouragement comes to stand right next to us in our affliction, and that He encourages us through our time of affliction.
Today, let us pray for the gift of hope, that in the difficulties of life, we might trust that God indeed answers us when we are looking for Him in life’s difficulties. Let us ask God to show us how He offers us a share in His beatitude right now, and let us begin to look for others who face affliction so that we may encourage them as well.