Sixth Sunday of the Year (13 February 2022)

Hymns for Mass – Press Here

READING (Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings; blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.)

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (17:5-8)

Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, but stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth. Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes; its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (1:1-2, 3, 4, 6)

R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. (Ps 40:5a)

Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night. (R)

He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers. (R)

Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. For the Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes. (R)

SECOND READING (If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain.)

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (15:12, 16-20)

Brothers and sisters: If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Lk 6:23ab)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Rejoice and be glad; your reward will be great in heaven. (R)

GOSPEL (Blessed are the poor. Woe to you who are rich.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (6:17, 20-26)

Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: “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. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.” —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Celebrant: Rich and poor alike, God calls us together as sons and daughters of the Church. Let us pray to our Father with open and sincere hearts.

READER: For places where our Church is under persecution, that the faith and sacraments may hold the faithful together in solidary, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For all believers who suffer animosity, rejection and hatred because of their faith, that they may rejoice always in the Lord and the hope of the resurrection, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For all of us gathered here today that we can learn to trust in the Lord and live more faithfully the Beatitudes in our daily life, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For young men and women in our diocese that they may be stirred by the call of Christ to serve the Church as priests and religious, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For Bernice Conceicao, for whom this Mass is offered, and for all those who have asked for our prayers, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

CELEBRANT: Almighty God, hear our petitions, as you accept the sacrifice we offer of your crucified and risen Son, who lives and reigns, for ever and ever. (all) AMEN.

Prayers

Jeremiah 17: 5-8
1 Cor. 15: 12, 16-20
Luke 6: 17, 20-26

“Blessings and Curses”

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “blessings”?

For some, the word might mean some degree of prosperity, or the blessing of good health. For others, it could be something more serious such as a deliverance from harm, or it could be as every-day as passing a difficult exam, or a sports team winning a hard victory. For most of us, we might agree that when circumstances seem to go the way we want, we would consider this a BLESSING.

And what about “curses”? We don’t have to turn to fables and folklore about witches or demons putting a curse on someone. We all understand what curse words are in language and regret their proliferation in social discourse in recent years. We may not believe that we have been cursed when we face misfortune, but many here, after two hard years of restrictions, social distancing and now a more stringent lock-downs and churches closed all around, we might have every reason to think perhaps we are cursed.

When the Lord says “Blessed” are you poor, hungry, in mourning and hated, he is not saying to those who are burdened by life that their life is ideal – FAR FROM IT! The Lord is teaching us that there is a truth within their circumstances, a strength that perhaps they do not realize. Within the tragedy of their lives there is a hidden grace and they are blessed.

And when the Lord says, “Woe to you who are rich, popular and healthy,” he is saying that there is a hidden danger in their lives, and they could be cursed.

A key to the meaning of these Beatitudes is found in the prophecy of Jeremiah in our 1st reading, where the prophet compares the just person to a tree planted beside water whose roots go down into the stream. In drought or in heat, its leaves stay green because the tree is connected not to the sand and dirt but to the stream. Look around to trees even here in Hong Kong that continue to sprout in the middle of Mid-Levels or amidst so many hi-rises. These trees are strong and enduring because their roots go deep below the surface. They survive all kinds of seasons and temperatures because the roots find nourishment from a source of unseen water deep in the ground.

Jeremiah counsels us to trust in God and in his Law for the true meaning in life. Foir this reason, the upside down logic of the Gospel can make sense. Those suffering from what we would consider “curses” are now the “blessed,” while those the human eye would consider “blest by wealth, health, popularity, prestige,” are – in God’s eyes, cursed. Wealth does not insure happiness, a faithful marriage or spiritual vitality. If we look for popularity, we discover that people are fickle. When we do something contrary to what they want or expect, or we “break from the pack” so to speak and become controversial, many friendships are put on hold or evaporate – or in today’s parlance, we or they can be “cancelled.” We find ourselves leaving messages that never receive an answer. If we look for the truth about ourselves in the health and happiness of the moment, we can deceive ourselves. That bubble can burst so easily when tragedy strikes, losing a job, losing a loved one, receiving bad results from a medical test, or now, suddenly locked in, locked down, and constricted from movement, from meeting, from social gatherings – even from the solace of praying in our churches.

The Beatitudes help us face life’s crises. For those of us who have faced grief, we know that deep tragedy can be like an eye-opener to grace. Tragedy can open us to the deep hidden waters of God’s life, God’s will, God’s grace.

When a natural disaster destroys a home, people can be thankful that their loved ones survived. When things break apart, when tragedy occurs, we discover the truth of human life, that our real anchor hold is not material but spiritual.

Through these “blessings” and “woes” the Lord is teaching us to look at what really nourishes our soul. Do we draw our self-worth, our identity and our purpose in life from the surface or from the deep, hidden stream? What nourishes our life? Is it the dry sand, or the deep stream of divine grace?

If we are aware of serious needs in our life, there is a blessing in that. We will not be easily distracted or fooled by surface attractions. The Psalm reminds us: “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord”! Yes, Trust God and cherish God’s Law. And Jeremiah reminds us, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside waters that stretches out its roots to the stream.”

What nourishes our life? What will help us when we face challenges, sickness, and tragedy?

Each Sunday, we gather as a community of faith, as a people of the Beatitudes, to join in common prayer and praise. Around us are some who suffer, some who are poor in spirit, some who are lonely or grieving, some who face seemingly insurmountable challenges, some who feel cut off, hungering for answers, carrying a deep problem. What can nourish our life?

The answer is simple. That Biblical stream of running waters that nourish the roots of the tree, is the stream of grace that flows into us through Baptism, and the way to drink from that stream, to be nourished, is through prayer – constant prayer, intentional prayer, praying for ourselves, but also for each other and for others – anonymous others who need our prayers. In a few weeks we will begin Lent, and that is a good time for all of us to sink our roots into the deep, clear, refreshing waters of God’s life again! But we can do it even now – today – as we pray for all around us in this church, remembering, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord!”

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