Twenty-Third Wednesday of Ordinary Time

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.

God blesses those who are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated because they are the ones in most need of blessing and spiritual support. He understands what it means to be all these things because he witnessed all these things himself. He saw how the poor around him suffered. He himself went hungry when he fasted in the desert. He wept and knew others who cried tears of suffering, remorse, and sadness. He was hated, excluded by his own hometown, insulted by numerous others, and denounced by the Pharisees and others. He knows first-hand what all these trials entail and that is why he blesses those who are going through them. His blessings give them strength so that one day they will make it through these trials, rejoice, and be rewarded for their sacrifices in Heaven.

What trials are we facing? What blessings is God offering us to help us through these times of difficulty? What can we do to help others going through these trials, too?

O Lord, bless us so we can overcome poverty, hunger, weeping, and hatred in our lives and the lives of others.

Amen.