Word from the Pastor

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 5: 1-12a

Dear parish family,
This Sunday, we meet Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry in Galilee. Saint Matthew presents us with His great “Sermon on the Mountain.” In eight striking sentences, Jesus delivers the essential teaching of the Gospel, the basic principles to those who seek the kingdom of God. They are called the beatitudes. ​

The message of the Beatitudes is perhaps the most challenging page of the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is precisely the heart of the Gospel itself. The rich, the arrogant, and the powerful feel self-satisfied; they have what they want. But they are dangerously self-centered and are too attached to their material possessions. Despite of their possessions, they are not fulfilled and happy. They took the wrong path that is opposed to God. Jesus, instead, praises the poor and those who suffer, not because they have little or nothing, or they are persecuted, but because the poor, the humble, the kind, and those who cry for the sake of others, are aware that they have nothing, but themselves to give. For this reason, they totally trust in God and in their brothers. Jesus counted among the blessed. ​

Jesus says clearly that detachment from worldly wealth open the door to true human fulfillment. Indeed, we are the stewards of the world’s riches, yet we tend to store up the goods of the earth for ourselves. Greed disfigures the human soul and blocks the progress of justice and peace. On the contrary, a healthy and sober use of the goods of the earth disposes the heart to wisdom. We are called to seek a treasure much more fulfilled than earthly riches. Beware therefore of the devastating effects of greed. The Beatitudes are the portrait of Jesus himself. He calls us to follow him. He invites us to seek happiness where we will find it: in God and in solidarity with others. ​

Have a blessed week! ​

Fr. Jean Jadotte
Pastor