Monday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time
Jesus and Paul do something similar in each of today’s readings: they link things that men usually separate. Whereas we are generally inclined to see affliction as driving out encouragement, Paul weds the two together. And while it is not uncommon to hear people say that the Beatitudes are their favorite part of the Bible, I wonder how often the qualities proposed therein make our list of what it means to be happy. To be poor in spirit? To mourn? To be persecuted? Do not our senses recoil from such conditions? If we are to pay more than lip-service to Jesus and Paul, if we are to regard them as true models for living rather than as naïve dreamers, we must go deeper.
The point is not that persecution or affliction are goods in themselves, but rather that God is especially near to those who love him and his righteousness above all else. This means loving him more than not only sinful and forbidden things, but also legitimate and lawful things. He who forsakes some of life’s pleasures, or who is afflicted and persecuted for God’s sake, possesses a greater measure of peace and joy. Such a person is truly blessed, in this life and in the next.
But we will not be convinced of this by argument alone. We must trust in God and allow him to transform us. Often it is only when we have seen grace operative in the life of someone else that we are willing to take that risk ourselves. You and I, dear readers, must be that “someone else” for others, their salt of the earth, their light of the world.