How does our loving Lord and God want us to live our lives? In poverty, hungry all the time and sorrowful? Nay! Afterall Jesus our Lord did say,”I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) We have life to the full indeed when we live in Him, with Him, for Him and for one another. Sounds simple enough? But as we very well know, it is far from simple.
There is nothing wrong with being rich, but are we rich for ourselves and our family alone? Have we enriched the lives of others? Do we see the poor and do nothing? There is nothing wrong with being well fed, but do we feed those who have nothing? Have we performed corporal and spiritual acts of mercy? There is nothing wrong with being joyful, but have we brought joy in the lives of others who are lonely, downtrodden, distraught? Have we shared the joy of knowing Christ with others?
Like all good things we need to work hard at and for it by setting our sights to Heaven as our only goal; for us, our families and all our dearly beloved sisters and brothers. We must strive for Holiness as we reject all sin, sinfulness and temptations. We must choose always to live in the light in which Christ had bought and paid for by laying down His life for us. In the same way how much of how we live our lives for others determines how Christ-like we become.
Jesus I want to live my life for You. Be with me, dwell in me, stay with me, now and forevermore. Amen
First reading
Colossians 3:1-11 ·
You must look for the things that are in heaven
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; all this is the sort of behaviour that makes God angry. And it is the way in which you used to live when you were surrounded by people doing the same thing, but now you, of all people, must give all these things up: getting angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, abusive language and dirty talk; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.
Gospel
Luke 6:20-26
Happy are you who are poor, who are hungry, who weep
Fixing his eyes on his disciples Jesus said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’
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