The WORD today reminds me that God wants me to be poor in spirit.

Being poor is something we do not want. Ask people who want to be rich and successful, and almost all will want that. But not to be poor. We associate it to not having enough, to begging, to asking help from others. However, as God's ways are not our ways, being poor for Him is necessary. He said that blessed are those poor in spirit.

Being poor in spirit is necessary to receive an outpouring of blessings.

Being poor in spirit is being dependent on God. It is like being childlike. Being poor and trusting in God to provide. Being poor and relying on God to survive. Being poor and having faith in God to take care of us. Being poor and emptying ourselves and asking God to fill. We need to be this kind of poor.

In the gospel, we see Jesus telling his disciples to let go of what is not good. This will entail pain, and we can only do this if we are poor in spirit. If we rely on and are dependent on God. If we trust him enough to let go of these attachments and comfort , and have faith that he will take care of us and give us something better. The psalmist says the kingdom of God will be with the poor in spirit, and it will happen if we do what God wants. If we let go and rid ourselves of everything that is not of God, then we will really be blessed and be welcomed in the kingdom of God.

As we become poor in spirit, as we empty ourselves of worldly things, God can fill us, bless us, and mold us to become like Him.

In the first reading we are warned. God is a God of justice. If we remain away from Him, if we refuse to be poor and instead insist in being rich and reject him, if we keep a hard heart and remain stubborn, then eventually we will be punished. If we continue to be proud and cling on to earthly desires and power, then we are rejecting him. If we reject him, he cannot save us. Thus we will be condemned if we continue to live like this.

What is being poor in spirit for me? Do I think this is applicable for me? Do I live like a person poor in spirit, totally relying on God? Or do I live like a rich and powerful man, clinging to worldly things? How can I improve the way I live? Are there things, people, situations I am holding on to? What should i let go to be able to follow God wholeheartedly?

May we take God's heed to be poor in spirit and expect blessings and rewards, maybe not in this life, but in eternity.

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to learn about you. Thank you for the reminder that you want me to be poor in spirit. Sorry for the times I do the opposite. Sorry for being stubborn. Sorry for being full of myself, of my dreams, of worldly things. Help me let go. Help me trust in you. Help me empty myself. Increase my faith and enable me to do these things. As I do, I ask that you fill me with everything that is of you and make me more and more like you. Fill me with graces and blessings that I can pass on to others. Amen.

Blessed Day!

In Christ,

-g-

Daily Readings

Thursday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 344

Reading I

Jas 5:1-6

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,
your gold and silver have corroded,
and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;
it will devour your flesh like a fire.
You have stored up treasure for the last days.
Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers
who harvested your fields are crying aloud;
and the cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;
you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.
You have condemned;
you have murdered the righteous one;
he offers you no resistance.

Responsorial Psalm

49:14-15ab, 15cd-16, 17-18, 19-20

R.        (Matthew 5:3)  Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
This is the way of those whose trust is folly,
            the end of those contented with their lot:
Like sheep they are herded into the nether world;
            death is their shepherd and the upright rule over them.
R.        Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Quickly their form is consumed;
            the nether world is their palace.
But God will redeem me
            from the power of the nether world by receiving me.
R.        Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Fear not when a man grows rich,
            when the wealth of his house becomes great,
For when he dies, he shall take none of it;
            his wealth shall not follow him down.
R.        Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Though in his lifetime he counted himself blessed,
            “They will praise you for doing well for yourself,”
He shall join the circle of his forebears
            who shall never more see light.
R.        Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!

Alleluia

See 1 Thes 2:13

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Receive the word of God, not as the word of men,
but as it truly is, the word of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 9:41-50

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

“Everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,
with what will you restore its flavor?
Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”

My Simple Reflection

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Poor in Spirit