I count nine beatitudes in Matthew’s version. The first seven are for people who are forsaken and need hope: Jesus loves them and wants to care for them. We, his hands and feet, are asked to attend to them, as is implied in the eighth and ninth beatitudes. However, we are reminded that those of us who do Jesus’ work can expect opposition. Bringing hope to the suffering is our baptismal call.

Some 20-30 years ago, during one of the many flare-ups in the Middle East, a group requested people around the world to coordinate their intention (that God brings peace to the area) and focus their prayer on certain days. The organizers gathered the statistics of admissions to emergency centers during the conflict. On the days when people worldwide prayed, a marked decrease in injured people and deaths was tallied. Coincidence?

Saint Peter Julian draws our attention to the inner dynamic of the Eucharist: adoration, thanksgiving, reparation, and petition—major themes also found in the Our Father. That is the intent of Christ’s eucharistic presence, bringing God’s love, hope, and healing to the world as a community and one person at a time. It’s personal.

God said to Francis, “Rebuild my church,” and Francis started piling stones. He got it wrong, but he learned. We pray, we grow, and as we grow, we learn to share, to witness.  As we witness, we heal—and sometimes, we use words.

Prayer becomes a routine, then a discipline, and becomes a passion.  There are times when we need help, and there are times when we need help.  Opening our hearts to the Real Presence, we focus beacons of God’s light into this troubled world.

Let Us Pray:

Pour forth we beseech thee, Oh Lord, thy loving grace. May we absorb into our hearts the passionate love you have for us. May we not be distracted by the world’s false entertainment. Help us to grow step by step like little children, aware that we grow from the small branch that we are on the vine, becoming a solid vine connected to you that helps to nourish others.