CUARTO DOMINGO DEL TIEMPO ORDINARIO 2026

Queridos hermanos y hermanas: Este domingo se centra en tres ideas principales: En primer lugar, la invitación a buscar a Dios en nuestras vidas y a cumplir su voluntad. En segundo lugar, el reconocimiento de que hemos sido elegidos por Dios, no por nuestros muchos talentos y méritos personales, sino por la misericordia y el amor que Dios nos tiene. Y, en tercer lugar, las Bienaventuranzas como camino de santidad y oportunidad para heredar el Reino de Dios. Permítanme compartir con ustedes algunas preguntas: ¿Creen que Dios y su mensaje están ausentes en la mente de muchas personas? ¿Creen que Dios los ha elegido para alguna misión o ministerio en la Iglesia o en su familia por su inteligencia y sus muchos talentos? ¿Creen que vivir según las Bienaventuranzas en este mundo es fácil o difícil? ¿Alguna vez han sido criticados o perseguidos por su fe? ¿Creen que nuestra sociedad nos invita a vivir según las Bienaventuranzas o según los criterios de este mundo?

Queridos hermanos y hermanas, cuando ven las noticias y oyen hablar de violencia, guerras, abusos de autoridad, discriminación, narcotráfico o drogadicción, ¿creen que Dios está presente en la mente de esas personas o de los gobernantes que crean guerras y violencia? Permítanme decirles que, a veces, Dios está ausente en la vida y en la mente de esas personas, o que para ellos Dios es solo una palabra vacía o alguien a quien invocan sin que ello tenga ninguna repercusión en sus vidas. Desde esta perspectiva, es importante escuchar la voz del profeta Sofonías, que llama al pueblo de Israel y a todos nosotros a buscar a Dios y su justicia. Sofonías profetizó al pueblo de Israel en una época en la que Babilonia estaba dispuesta a destruir Israel y enviar a su pueblo al exilio. En ese contexto, les invitó a confiar solo en Dios y no en la fuerza del ejército de Israel. Esta es una buena lección para nuestros tiempos: confiar más en Dios que en los ejércitos. San Pablo tiene claro, mis queridos hermanos y hermanas, que Dios nos ha elegido para una misión, no porque seamos sabios ni por nuestros muchos talentos, sino por su amor y Misericordia hacia nosotros, para que «ningún ser humano pueda jactarse ante Dios». Para Pablo está claro que.

Dios eligió a personas que no son importantes en este mundo para avergonzar a los sabios. Esta idea se desarrollará más adelante en el Sermón de la Montaña, donde Jesús nos dirá lo que necesitamos para heredar el Reino de Dios y la importancia de las Bienaventuranzas para ir al Cielo con Él. En el Sermón de la Montaña, Jesús nos enseñó a heredar el Reino de Dios siguiendo las Bienaventuranzas en nuestras vidas. Hay tres dimensiones en lo que Jesús quiere de nosotros a través de estas bienaventuranzas. En nuestra relación con Dios, nos propone hacer de Dios nuestro absoluto, siendo pobres de espíritu, mansos y limpios de corazón. En relación con los demás, nos pide que seamos misericordiosos, que seamos pacificadores y personas que trabajen por la justicia en el mundo. Por último, quiere personas valientes que no teman las consecuencias de sus actos en apoyo del Reino de Dios. Estas personas valientes son dichosas cuando son insultadas y  perseguidas por el nombre de Jesús, o incluso cuando lloran por el Reino de Dios.

En su tercera exhortación apostólica, Gaudete et exultate, «Sobre la llamada a la santidad en el mundo actual», el papa Francisco nos dijo hace unos años que, si queremos ser santos, lo único que debemos hacer es vivir según las Bienaventuranzas. Para el papa Francisco y para nosotros, las Bienaventuranzas son el camino hacia la santidad y hacia el Reino de Dios. Queridos hermanos y hermanas, pidamos hoy a Jesús que nos ayude a vivir como Él vivió, haciendo de las Bienaventuranzas nuestra forma de vivir nuestra vida cristiana y una forma de dar testimonio de la presencia de Dios a los demás en esta sociedad. De este modo, daremos testimonio de que es posible vivir según la voluntad de Dios y no acomodarnos a las propuestas de esta sociedad, que a menudo son contrarias a lo que nos propone Jesús en su Evangelio.

P. Luis Segura M.S.C.

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FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 2026

Dear brothers and sisters, this Sunday focuses on three main ideas: First, the invitation to seek God in our lives and to do his will. Second, the recognition that we have been chosen by God, not because of our many talents and personal merits, but because of God’s mercy and love for us. And third, the Beatitudes as a path to holiness and an opportunity to inherit the Kingdom of God. Let me share with you some questions: Do you think that God and his message are absent from the minds of many people? Do you think that God has chosen you for a mission or ministry in the Church or in your family because of your intelligence and many talents? Do you think that living according to the Beatitudes in this world is easy or difficult? Have you ever been criticized or persecuted for your faith? Do you think our society invites us to live according to the Beatitudes or according to the standards of this world?

Dear brothers and sisters, when you watch the news and hear about violence, wars, abuses of power, discrimination, drug trafficking, or addiction, do you think God is present in the minds of those people or of the leaders who create wars and violence? Let me tell you that sometimes God is absent from the lives and minds of those people, or that for them, God is just an empty word or someone they invoke without it having any impact on their lives. From this perspective, it is important to listen to the voice of the prophet Zephaniah, who calls the people of Israel and all of us to seek God and His justice. Zephaniah prophesied to the people of Israel at a time when Babylon was poised to destroy Israel and send its people into exile. In that context, he invited them to trust only in God and not in the strength of the Israelite army. This is a valuable lesson for our times: to trust God more than armies. Saint Paul is clear, my dear brothers and sisters, that God has chosen us for a mission, not because we are wise or because of our many talents, but because of his love and mercy toward us, so that “no human being may boast before God.” For Paul, this is clear.

God chose people who are not important in this world to shame the wise. This idea will be developed further in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus will tell us what we need to inherit the Kingdom of God and the importance of the Beatitudes for going to Heaven with Him. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us how to inherit the Kingdom of God by living the Beatitudes in our lives. There are three dimensions to what Jesus wants from us through these Beatitudes. In our relationship with God, He proposes that we make God our absolute focus, being poor in spirit, meek, and pure in heart. In our relationship with others, He asks us to be merciful, peacemakers, and people who work for justice in the world. Finally, He wants courageous people who are not afraid of the consequences of their actions in support of the Kingdom of God. These courageous people are blessed when they are insulted and persecuted for the name of Jesus, or even when they weep for the Kingdom of God.

In his third apostolic exhortation, Gaudete et exultate, “On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World,” Pope Francis told us a few years ago that if we want to be saints, the only thing we must do is live according to the Beatitudes. For Pope Francis and for us, the Beatitudes are the path to holiness and to the Kingdom of God. Dear brothers and sisters, let us ask Jesus today to help us live as He lived, making the Beatitudes our way of living our Christian life and a way of bearing witness to God’s presence to others in this society. In this way, we will bear witness that it is possible to live according to God’s will and not conform to the proposals of this society, which are often contrary to what Jesus proposes in his Gospel.

Fr. Luis Segura, M.S.C.

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The Beatitudes…

In today’s liturgy, the Beatitudes according to the Gospel of Matthew are proclaimed (cf. Mt 5:1-12). The first is fundamental. This is what it says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 3).

Who are the “poor in spirit”? They are the ones who know they are not enough for themselves, that they are not self-sufficient, and they live as “beggars for God”. They feel their need for God and recognize that every good comes from him as a gift, as a grace. Those who are poor in spirit treasure what they receive. Therefore, they desire that no gift should go to waste. Today, I would like to pause on this typical aspect of the poor in spirit: not wasting. The poor in spirit try not to waste anything. Jesus shows us the importance of not wasting. So, I would like to propose to you three challenges against the waste and throw-away mentality.

The first challenge: not to waste the gift that we are. Each one of us is a good, independent of the gifts we have. Every woman, every man, is rich not only in talents, but in dignity. He or she is loved by God, is valuable, is precious. Jesus reminds us that we are blessed not for what we have, but for who we are. And when a person lets go and throws him or herself away, he or she wastes him or herself. Let us fight, with God’s help, against the temptation to believe ourselves inadequate, wrong, and to feel sorry for ourselves.

Then, the second challenge: not to waste the gifts we have. It turns out that about one-third of total food production goes to waste in the world each year, while so many die of hunger! Nature’s resources cannot be used like this. Goods should be taken care of and shared in such a way that no one lacks what is necessary. Let us not waste what we have; rather, let us disseminate an ecology of justice and charity, of sharing!

Lastly, the third challenge: not to throw people away. The throw-away culture says, “I use you insofar as I need you. When I am not interested in you any more, or you are in my way, I throw you out”. It is especially the weakest who are treated this way: unborn children, the elderly, the needy and the disadvantaged. But people are never to be thrown out; the disadvantaged cannot be thrown away! Every person is a sacred gift, each person is a unique gift, no matter what their age or condition. Let us always respect and promote life! Let’s not throw life away!

Let us ask ourselves some questions. Above all: How do I live poverty of spirit? Do I know how to make room for God? Do I believe that he is my good, my true and great wealth? Do I believe that he loves me, or do I throw myself away in sadness, forgetting that I am a gift? And then: Am I careful not to waste? Am I responsible about how I use things, goods? And am I willing to share them with others, or am I selfish? Lastly: Do I consider the weakest as precious gifts whom God asks me to care for? Do I remember the poor, those who are deprived of what is necessary?

May Mary, the Woman of the Beatitudes, help us witness the joy that life is a gift and the beauty of making a gift of ourselves. [Synthesized from Pope Francis, Angelus, 29 I 23]

Rev. Jos Rajesh Peter M.S.C.

4th Sunday – Ordinary Time – Cycle A

My friends, our Gospel today is the beginning of The Sermon on the Mount and is very uplifting and reassuring.  It’s a continuation of the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in Matthew’s Gospel.  We began a few weeks ago with the Baptism of Jesus.  Then, last week with the calling of his disciples.  And today we hear the first twelve verses of the Sermon on the Mount.  These twelve verses contain the Eight Beatitudes. 

The Sermon on the Mount has many verses, all of Chapters 5, 6, and 7.  Today’s gospel is only the first 12 verses of Chapter 5.  It is an incredible sermon and is the essence of Jesus’ teaching.

It’s interesting that today’s gospel is called, ”The Sermon on the Mount” because it is actually more teaching than preaching.  We know this because of the words, “…Jesus sat down, his disciples came to him and he began to teach them.”  A rabbi would always sit to teach his students or disciples.  Sitting was a sign of a rabbi’s authority, just as the Pope and Bishops sit in their chairs (or Cathedras) as a sign of their authority. 

My friends, the Eight Beatitudes are the starting point of the Sermon on the Mount and are considered to be the initial qualifications or minimum requirements of discipleship – what He expects of His disciples.  We, of course, are included as disciples of Christ Jesus.

Now, without knowing the context of this gospel and, if we didn’t have the first two readings and our Responsorial Psalm to refer to, these instructions from Jesus, the Beatitudes on their own might sound pretty bleak and depressing:

• Blessed are the poor in spirit ?

• Blessed are they who mourn ?

• Blessed are they who are persecuted ?

My friends, what Jesus was telling his disciples was that he wants disciples who are not filled with their own egos or agenda.  He wants those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are passionate for the Kingdom of God.  He wants those who are Poor in Spirit, in that they are empty of their own spirit  and open and hungry and eager to receive the Spirit of God.

By Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, Jesus does not mean that we are blessed if we are depressed or sad.  By Poor in Spirit, he means that we are blessed if we are not filled with our own self-righteousness.  We are blessed when we are open to be filled with the Spirit of God.

In the Old Testament, the “Poor in Spirit” were the ones who placed little or no importance on material possessions.  The Poor in Spirit were the ones who placed their trust in God alone. 

...In the second reading, Saint Paul also gives us good insights on being  Poor in Spirit:  “No human being should boast before God.  As it is written, ‘Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.’”

My friends, note that Jesus uses both the Present and Future tense in today’s gospel  He tells us that we, his disciples, are blessed.  And, the blessedness does not have to wait for some future date.  Even though Jesus refers to the future like:  “they will inherit the land; they will see God.”  He is saying that we are blessed NOW:

• Blessed ARE the poor in spirit…

• Blessed ARE they who hunger and thirst for righteousness…

Each and everyone of us are blessed right now because we because we have listened to and believe the Gospel Message of Jesus and have chosen to be His disciple.

An interesting note:  The very next words of Jesus after the Beatitudes in today’s gospel are:  “You are the salt of the earth…..”