6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C, Year II)
Community Word: The grace of God empowers us to lovingly respond to Christ’s calling.
Theme: We lovingly respond to Christ’s calling when we are kind-hearted to others.
Promise: “Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.” (Lk 6: 23)
Reflection:
The readings of this Sunday highlight the meaning of how to be blessed in life. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus begins his sermon on the Beatitudes by saying, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours,” (Lk 6: 20). This may sound ironic because being poor is not literally a blessing. Yet, it is the grace of God that can turn a negative situation to something positive and beneficial. True blessedness comes from seeking the presence of the Lord in one’s situation and trusting in Him, while embracing one’s situation. Those whose ultimate trust is in Jesus and in the divine promises of God will experience fullness of life, perhaps not necessarily in this life, but definitely in the age to come.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus warns those who are uncaring, those who are affluent but are unkind to the poor, those who are lukewarm to those who are suffering. Thus, our theme for this week calls us to be kind-hearted to others. In the 1st Reading and Psalms, to be blessed is like a tree planted near running water that is able to produce good fruit even in drought or in the driest season. In the 2nd Reading, St. Paul exhorts us that being blessed is having faith in Christ’s resurrection, that as we were dead from sin, we have been raised in Christ. Thus, apart from the Lord, we cannot experience true blessedness and goodness.
As Christian disciples, we have a calling or a vocation to seek God and trust in Him. In Jeremiah, the Lord says, “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh…Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord.” (Jer 17:5a, 7). By our calling, we desire to be with the Lord who supplies the grace for us to follow that desire. This is true blessedness, a calling and gift from God. And as with all of God’s gifts, we must put this gift to practice in our daily life. An unused gift is no gift at all if it does not enrich the life of the receiver, nor please God who is the Giver of all good gifts.
So, how do we use the gift of blessedness? Jesus teaches us the way of the Beatitudes. With hope in the Lord, we are to accept the circumstance we face or situation we are in, and seek to bring God’s goodness by being kind-hearted to others. By living our life doing good to others, we will be able to sink our roots into the life-giving water and enable us to endure the barren and dry moments of our life. And though we may experience being poor, going hungry, being oppressed or hated, God’s enduring grace will turn all these into blessing and joy. Let us be encouraged by God’s promise, “Behold, your reward will be great in heaven,” (Lk 6: 23). Being blessed comes when we remain focused on the Lord and hope in Him, despite the difficulties we encounter. Then we will receive our ultimate recompense – to be with God forever.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we thank you for putting a fervent desire within us to be with You, for providing the graces to help us journey with You. Forgive us for the times we have gone astray by seeking earthly goals instead of seeking You. Continue to empower us by Your Holy Spirit, to eagerly do what we can to proclaim life with You as our goal. Let the good news of Your love be the driving force in our lives and help us to inspire others to seek You more. Help us to fix our eyes on You Lord Jesus, so that we will be able to say with the psalmist, “For the Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.”
May the powerful intercessions of St. Joseph and our Blessed Mother be with us as we make this prayer in the name of Your Son, Jesus, our Brother and Savior, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- What motivates me to be kind-hearted? In what way have I helped the poor, the hungry and the suffering?
- How can I promote or contribute kind-heartedness to each other in community and seek God more and more?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
February 13, 2022 (Sun) – Jer 17:5-8/ Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6/ 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20/ Lk 6:17:20-26
February 14, 2022 (Mon) – Jas 1:1-11/ Ps 119: 67, 68, 71, 72, 75, 76/ Mk 8:11-13
February 15, 2022 (Tue) – Jas 1:12-18/ Ps 94: 12-13, 14-15, 18-19/ Mk 8:14:21
February 16, 2022 (Wed) – Jas 1:19-27/ Ps 15:2-3, 3-4, 5/ Mk 8:22-26
February 17, 2022 (Thu) – Jas 2:1-9/ Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7/ Mk 8:27-33
February 18, 2022 (Fri) – Jas 2:14-24, 26/ Ps 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6/ Mk 8:34 – 9:1
February 19, 2022 (Sat) – Jas 3:1-10/ Ps 12:2-3, 4-5, 7-8/ Mk 9:2-13
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
