Today, 22nd of February, we celebrate
The Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle
Thus says the LORD:
Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
but stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.
Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
it fears not the heat when it comes;
its leaves stay green;
in the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.
(40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked,
nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
but delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
that yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Brothers and sisters:
If Christ is preached as raised from the dead,
how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised,
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain;
you are still in your sins.
Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are the most pitiable people of all.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Jesus came down with the twelve
and stood on a stretch of level ground
with a great crowd of his disciples
and a large number of the people
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon.
And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false
prophets in this way.”
Dear brothers and sisters, peace and blessings.
Some of us know the Beatitudes well, while others might be less familiar with them. They keep showing up throughout the liturgical year, and we could say they’re like little snapshots of Jesus himself—images of who he truly is. He was revealing his real self. As St. Paul said, “Though he was rich, he became poor for our sake so that all of us might be enriched,” and he gave up the immediate joy offered to him by taking up his cross without fear of disgrace. His openness to God didn’t let him live in self-satisfaction (remember when he asked the judge, “Why do you call me good?”), nor did he settle for just the minimum of obedience. He lived a new kind of justice—the kind that God gives and expects. Now, Jesus Christ, “holy and happy,” is the Son of the Resurrection, who has overcome both his death and mine.
Of course, even though the Beatitudes are well known, we don’t always fully grasp their message. The two versions—in the Gospel of Matthew and in Luke, which we read this Sunday—have led some to think that God is a bit harsh, as if to say that to be happy you must suffer or that you have to cry in order to laugh. But that isn’t the deeper meaning. Instead, it might help to consider our own human experience. If you’ve never known deep sadness, it’s hard to understand the comfort God offers. And if you’ve never cried, like Peter did when he felt betrayed, it can be difficult to appreciate the solace he received from God.
We can also see this spirit in the Beatitudes in the parable of the rich man, Epulón, and the poor Lazarus. The one who wept on earth found comfort in heaven, while the one who seemed happy ended up weeping because he never made the most of his life. That was what Christ had in mind when he pronounced blessings on his disciples and curses on the self-satisfied.
“Your reward in heaven will be great,” says Jesus, yet even here on earth we can feel a bit of that joy. St. Paul experienced many hardships as a follower of Christ—he was often close to death—but he also felt an overflowing comfort and strength from Christ, growing with every bit of suffering he endured. The Kingdom of God isn’t like a horizon that seems to move farther away as we walk toward it. It’s a gift that’s close at hand—inside us or right beside us—and if we open our hearts, we can sense its presence.
Not everyone lives by the values of the Kingdom. The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that we can choose to live by the ways of the world, as many do, or follow the way God invites us to live. Whether it’s a curse or a blessing is up to each of us. The two paths—life and death—that the book of Deuteronomy speaks of lie before us, and our choice is not trivial. Often, focusing on the wrong values leads to a bad outcome. We might work too hard for nothing, chasing vain ambitions, only to end up empty and disappointed—a life without meaning, which the prophet calls “cursed.”
On the other hand, anyone who lives by God’s commandments—that is, by following what God is calling us to do—will be blessed, even if many laugh at them. They might not receive much praise here on earth, but their eternal life is secure because the final judgment belongs to God, not to us. It’s definitely worth making the right choice.
If last week St. Paul reminded us of the core points of our faith, today he highlights the resurrection of Christ. “Christ has risen from the dead: the first among many,” he declares. And after these words, we all said together, “Word of God.” Because it truly is a living Word—a Word that brings light. It’s a joyful announcement of all that God has done for us. This resurrection gives us courage and hope, especially when we must say goodbye to someone we love. It’s true that we are made for meeting, not for separation—certainly not for final farewells. But thanks to the death and resurrection of the Lord, we can see this reality in a new light.
We know what God has planned for us, and His plan is one of love. We will experience salvation; we won’t simply fade away into nothingness, because we are born from love, and we are called to encounter Love. This belief helps us avoid seeing everything as bleak, even when death comes near. There is always hope, because Christ has overcome every enemy—even death.
In light of these readings, perhaps we can ask ourselves a few questions:
• What am I building my life on?
• What goals have I set for myself?
• Am I willing to change something or make a significant sacrifice?
• How do I face the suffering in my life?
• Do I try to please others at the expense of my own conscience?
• Am I ready to follow Christ, even when times or circumstances aren’t favorable?
Jesus listened to a huge crowd, eager to hear his words. Many were simply curious, but only a few stayed until the end. So, do I belong to that crowd that just hears the Gospel, or have I chosen to be a true disciple? What does Christ’s resurrection mean to me? How does it impact my daily life and my relationships with God and others? Is it a reason for joy?
The certainty of Christ’s resurrection is what allows the poor to inherit the Kingdom, the hungry to be satisfied, and those who cry to one day laugh with joy. Let us ask the Lord that this truth of our faith inspires us to live with confidence, knowing that hope goes beyond this earthly life and reaches into eternal life. Amen.
Your brother in faith,
Alejandro Carbajo, C.M.F.Blessing on you who recognize your poverty
and therefore put your trust in the Lord;
blessing on you when the Lord is your hope.
May the grace of the Lord be always with you.
R/ And also with you.
Those Whom God Makes Happy
People who have everything they need, or have what they think they need, are not easily open to God, or even to other people. On the other hand, people in difficulties are generally more open to others, receptive to help and love from God and people, and, consequently, also more open to see the needs of others and to help them; for they know from experience what it means to be poor, troubled, sorrowing and dependent on others. Jesus asks of us today to become people willing to feel our needs and to depend on God. Then we will also be open to our neighbor, to receive and to give. We acknowledge our poverty and dependence before Jesus.
God Is with the Poor
People who are clumsy and unfortunate, those who are suffering and persecuted are assured by the Lord: Consider yourselves fortunate, for I am with you! I will never abandon you. I will carry you, for you are aware of your poverty and you trust in me. We ask the Lord to count us among the poor who rely on him and to take us into his kingdom.
Too often we are too self-satisfied
to make room for God and for people.
We now ask the Lord and one another for forgiveness.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, you became poor for our sake
to make us rich with your forgiveness and life:
Lord, have mercy.
R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you came to join us in our miseries
to heal us and to bring us joy:
Christ, have mercy.
R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you make us hungry for enduring love
to fill us with your lasting happiness:
Lord, have mercy.
R/ Lord, have mercy.
Forgive us our weaknesses, Lord,
and make us live for you and for people.
Lead us to everlasting life.
R/ Amen.
Let us put our trust in God
and hope everything from him
on account of Jesus, our risen Lord
(pause)
God our Father,
you appeal to us today through your Son
to choose freely and responsibly
the kind of happiness that endures.
Let the gospel of your Son shock us
into recognizing the emptiness and poverty
of material riches and human power
and fill our poverty
with the riches and freedom
of your truth, your love and justice,
which you offer us through Jesus,
your risen Son and our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Jesus had his own definition of who are happy and who are to be pitied. Let us ask him that we may judge and live not by our standards but by his, and let us say: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
For the poor, that the Lord may fulfill their expectations; for the satisfied, that the Lord may change their hearts and make them capable of love, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
For those who are hungry, that the Lord himself may give them the bread of eternal life and inspire us to give them the bread of each day; and for those who are now filled with themselves, that he may arouse their hunger and open them to trust in him, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
For those who now weep, that the Lord may console them with his love; and for those who now laugh, that he may remind them of the seriousness of life and make them capable of reflection, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
For those who are hated, insulted, rejected, that the Lord may unite their sufferings to his own; for those who are praised and flattered, that he may wake them up from their self-complacency and reveal to them too the mystery of his cross, let us pray: R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus Christ, you wanted to experience the poverty, the hunger, the suffering and the persecution that is the lot of many. Give us a share in the newness of your own risen life, and let our lives proclaim the happiness to which you call us, for you are our Lord for ever. R/ Amen.
Lord God, loving Father,
in the poverty of our hearts
you give us your Son Jesus Christ
as our food and drink of life.
May he give us the courage
to place all our trust and hope in him,
that we may follow him, not blindly,
but knowingly and deliberately
on his way of loyalty and poverty,
that we may attain with him
your happiness that lasts for ever. R/ Amen.
Let us thank and praise the Father in heaven, for we know that we are in his hands. In him we have life and true happiness.
With those who hunger for bread,
for love and for happiness,
let us pray to the Father in heaven
in the words taught us by his Son:
R/ Our Father...
Deliver, us, Lord, from the curse
of placing our trust in ourselves,
our possessions, our plans,
our own schemes for happiness.
Instead, grant us the blessing
of going your insecure ways,
of living with our poverty
and hungering for your love and truth,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming in glory
of our risen Savior, Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
This is our Lord who said:
”Happy are you who are poor;
happy are you who are hungry now,
for you shall be satisfied.”
Happy indeed are we to be invited
to the table of the Lord
to be filled with his life and blessing. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Lord our God,
the words spoken to us today
by Jesus your Son
are hard to hear and accept;
they go against our mentality.
Let your Son make us wise
with your own insight and wisdom
and let him give us the courage
to be on the side of the poor and the suffering,
that our human insufficiency
may attract the riches of your grace,
which you offer us
through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Curse or blessing... Choose, said Jeremiah.
Good for you... Alas for you, said Jesus
through the evangelist Luke.
Let us be aware of our own indigence,
that before God, we are after all beggars
who have to open our hands
and to reach out to him
for happiness that can last.
May it not be alas or a curse,
but may God bless you:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
May the Lord go with you and fill your every need.
R/ Thanks be to God.
