Anonymous artist, The Annunciation, mosaic, Marian Sanctuary of Torreciudad (Huesca, Spain)
All three of today’s readings refer to the virtue of humility. The prophet Zephaniah calls the faithful Israelites the humble of the earth. Humility is being open to God’s presence. A proud person does not need God. He or she is a god to himself or herself. The original sin described in Genesis was the sin of pride. Adam and Eve were too full of themselves to need God. The serpent touched a sensitive nerve when he told them that if they ate the apple they would be like gods. They did not eat because they were hungry. They ate because they were proud. A humble person needs God. A humble person fears what he or she might become without God in his or her life. A humble person recognizes God’s presence in others, God’s truth in different ways of thought, and God’s action in his own life. A humble person seeks the Lord wherever He may be found. In the gospel reading, Jesus went up a mountain and there he began to teach them: «How blest are the poor in spirit: the reign of God is theirs…. And Jesus went up a mountain and said, “Simplify your lives. Let me simplify your lives. Just trust in God, don’t let your lives revolve around other things. Be poor in spirit. Don’t mourn the loss of possessions, mourn for those who have lost their souls. Accept the presence of God in your lives, recognize your need for God and inherit the Promised Land. Don’t be two faced, and double dealing. Be simple and single hearted and you will be capable of enjoying the Vision of God. Bring God’s peace to others and assume the mission of his angels, be sons of God. And if you are mocked for this simplicity, this humility, so what? Your reward in heaven is great.” At the end of the day only a humble person can have a spiritual life, because only a humble person senses the need for a spiritual life. Humility is not looking negatively at ourselves. Humility is not berating everything we do. Humility is recognizing that God has made us wonderful and will continue to work His wonders in us! The humble enter into a dialogue with God to seek that which really matters. And the only things that matter in life are those that flow from God and those that lead back to God. Today let us ask the Lord this specific and wonderful virtue, and let us do it trough the intercession of the most humble and simple creature: the Blessed Virgin Mary. no one has been born and lived in as much humility as her. She, the Mother of God, introduces herself as the handmaid of the Lord. There is so much to learn from her!• AE
A Few More Readings
St. Dominic Catholic Schedule for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Saturday January 28, 2023
4.00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation
5.00 p.m. Holy Mass (English)
Sunday January 29, 2023
7.30 a.m. Holy Mass (English)
10.00 a.m. Holy Mass (English)
12.30 p.m. Holy Mass (English)
3.00 p.m. Holy Mass (Spanish)
IV Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo A)
J. Cocco, El Sermón de la Montaña, óleo sobre tabla, Museo de Arte Biblico (Dallas, Texas)
Cuando Jesús sube a la montaña y se sienta para anunciar las bienaventuranzas, hay mucha gente alrededor, pero dice el evangelio que sólo los discípulos se acercan a él para escuchar mejor su mensaje. ¿Qué escuchamos hoy los discípulos de Jesús si nos acercamos a Jesús? Dichosos los pobres de espíritu, los que saben vivir con poco, confiando siempre en Dios. Dichosa una Iglesia con alma de pobre porque tendrá menos problemas, estará más atenta a los necesitados y vivirá el evangelio con más libertad. De ella es el reino de los cielos. Dichosos los sufridos que vacían su corazón de resentimiento y agresividad. Dichosa una Iglesia llena de mansedumbre. Será un regalo para este mundo lleno de violencia. Ella heredará la tierra prometida. Dichosos los que lloran porque padecen injustamente sufrimientos y marginación. Con ellos se puede crear un mundo mejor y más digno. Dichosa la Iglesia que sufre por ser fiel a Jesús. Un día será consolada por Dios. Dichosos los que tienen hambre y sed de justicia, los que no han perdido el deseo de ser más justos ni el afán de hacer un mundo más digno. Dichosa la Iglesia que busca con pasión el reino de Dios y su justicia. En ella alentará lo mejor del espíritu humano. Un día su anhelo será saciado. Dichosos los misericordiosos que actúan, trabajan y viven movidos por la compasión. Son los que, en la tierra, más se parecen al Padre del cielo. Dichosa la Iglesia a la que Dios le arranca el corazón de piedra y le da un corazón de carne. Ella alcanzará misericordia. Dichosos los que trabajan por la paz con paciencia y fe, buscando el bien para todos. Dichosa la Iglesia que introduce en el mundo paz y no discordia, reconciliación y no enfrentamiento. Ella será Hija de Dios. Dichosos los que, perseguidos a causa de la justicia, responden con mansedumbre a las injusticias y ofensas. Ellos nos ayudan a vencer el mal con el bien. Dichosa la Iglesia perseguida por seguir a Jesús. De ella es el Reino de los cielos • AE
Más Lecturas
LA MEDITACION DE LA ESPOSA 