My Dear Friends,

This week at Mass, we listen, once again, to the beatitudes. Unfortunately, they’re so familiar to us, that when we hear them read, we can so easily miss their meaning;. But unless we take them to heart and try to live our lives by what they proclaim, there will be no entry for us into the kingdom of heaven!

Following Christ isn’t easy, and being humble, showing mercy and opening our hearts to others is tough. Furthermore, we live in a world which praises efficiency, glorifies success and worships power. And happiness, we are told, comes from wealth and freedom from any form of suffering. The trouble with such thinking is, as we know from our own experience, it doesn’t work!

Jesus isn’t opposed to our striving for true happiness; but in the Sermon on the Mount he bluntly warns us against putting our trust in material comforts because, in the long run, they will turn out to be a source of misplaced confidence. There is more to life than superficial passing things. We are created to share God’s joy, and anything that calls us away from this goal is not good for us. Certainly, the message contained in this weekends’ gospel is both severe and challenging because it is at odds with our customary way of thinking, but we must take its message to heart., for many who profess Jesus to be their Saviour, live their lives without any real thought as to what Jesus is looking to find made manifest in them.

As we face the task of developing a proper relationship with God, we may well be frightened by the demands which the beatitudes make on us. But let us not forget, we are called not to worship wealth, food or comfort, but to worship the God who alone can grant us true happiness and joy.

Every blessing,

Fr. Dennis