Reflection: Matthew 5:1-12

The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 5:1-12

Today Jesus is teaching his disciples. In his teaching, he gifts them with the Beatitudes. We all are familiar with the Beatitudes. However, do we take the time to sit with these eight beautiful teachings and ask ourselves: “How do I strive to be a living example of this beatitude?”

Today is Sunday, the beginning of a new week. I invite you to read the whole Gospel passage and reflect on it. Then I invite you to simply reflect on the first Beatitude for 5-10 minutes. Ask yourself: how do I live this beatitude in my daily life? What does it mean to me to be poor in spirit? Do I strive to be poor in spirit as I go about my day? Then move on to the second Beatitude and consider the following reflection questions:  Whom do I comfort? How do I strive to show my concern and comfort to others? Whom do I ignore when they need comfort?

If you have sufficient time, you may continue with the other six Beatitudes. Another option is to take one Beatitude a day for the next six days. This will enable you to reflect deeply on each of the Beatitudes and also on how you strive to live them out in your daily life.

Jesus does not want us simply to act.  Jesus wants us to act mindfully, deliberately, and lovingly! Will we choose to do this today? We may not only give a great gift to another, we may receive a great gift as we share the little that we have!