(Optional Memorial for the Most Holy Name of Mary)
Readings may be taken from: #21. The Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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| “Sermon on the Mount” by Cosimo Rosselli, 1481-1502. |
Commentary:
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 7:25-31
Commentary on 1 Cor 7:25-31
St. Paul gives his opinion (“Now in regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord”) as opposed to a definitive requirement. It is his feeling that the Christians are already living in the “end times,” and that the Parousia, Christ’s second coming, is imminent. The language he uses is quite similar to “the time of distress” mentioned in Zephaniah 1:15 and Luke 21:23.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17
R. (11) Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
Commentary on Ps 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17
Psalm 45 is a royal psalm originally sung in honor of the king’s marriage to a queen (of foreign extraction). It is likely that it influenced St. Paul’s instructions on virgins and marriage. It emphasizes the beauty of the sacramental relationship (see 1 Corinthians 7:25-35).
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Gospel: Luke 6:20-26
Commentary on Lk 6:20-26
This passage is the introductory section of St. Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain.” Addressed primarily to a Gentile audience, this discourse differs from St. Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5:1-7:27) in that it addresses economic conditions of the day. It begins, as does St. Matthew’s sermon, with the Beatitudes but follows these with antithetical woes which contrast the blessed with those who ignore the poor and hungry.
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Reflection:
Jesus brings a message of hope to the world. His promise to all who are in distress is that their hope is in God. He tells us emphatically that anyone who suffers economic distress, hungers, is despondent, in mourning, or persecuted because of faith in Christ will find hope in him. With the world in turmoil and economic conditions still in the process of recovery, this is as important a message today as it was at the time St. Luke first recorded it.
The poor, those who are destitute or without any financial support, need to hear this message, and in hearing it in the midst of a loving faith community, they will find that they are, indeed, blessed with riches. Because that community will be generous, supporting their own, helping them. The poor can also be those who have no hope, the poor in spirit. They too can find riches in God’s earthly kingdom, which is composed of his faithful. God’s mercy and consolation are expressed through modern disciples, who offer their presence and spirit to those who are lost and alone.
The hungry will be fed, again, by those who follow Christ faithfully. The charity we offer has no strings or conditions. We do not require a person to sing hymns of praise, or be otherwise beholden to the people of faith who offer to share their abundance. We are fools for Christ as St. Paul
Those whose pain forces them to tears, will find with us Christ’s love embracing them, and in our midst we pray with them and for them, so that the darkness that envelops those who grieve may be lifted, and hope and happiness might come to wash away the tears. Sharing the pain of those who grieve is our community’s gift. Christ’s consolation dispels the anguish of the weeping heart.
Ah, and those of us who take Christ into an unwelcoming world will find joy in the persecution we face. We simply remember that our Savior was also despised by those he loved and had come to save. In that remembrance, we share his glory and exult in the knowledge that we join our Savior, who purchased life for us through his great passion.
Today our hearts are lifted as we recall Christ’s promise of love and peace for the world. We pray for the strength to reflect the love he promised to those we meet today.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “Sermon on the Mount” by Cosimo Rosselli, 1481-1502.
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