R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad;
your reward will be great in heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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.”

This morning we come to the Gospel passage that speaks to us [right in the face] about the salvation of our immortal souls and the avoidance of eternal damnation. Someone commented to me recently how this world of ours has lost its sense of sinfulness — even that children today do not know the Ten Commandments by heart. I agree, that for many that may be true. But in the same breath, I would also state that the eight Beatitudes of our Savior are also essential to salvation. The Gospel of Saint Luke, as proclaimed today by the Deacon, puts it this way: four times, “Blessed are you …” and four times again, “Woe to you…”. You are blessed by God when you are poor, and when you are hungry, and when you weep, and when you are hated for love of Jesus and His Catholic Church. And, you are damned if you don’t.

Someone might say, “Well, Monsignor, you are not poor! You look like you never miss a meal! You wear nice clothes, and you laugh! You enjoy your status in society, too!” I would respond that this may all be true, yes, but you are poor when you share; you are hungry as you feed others at the table. You weep when showing compassion for others, and when you stand up for Jesus and the Gospel and the Church, that is when you are blest!

Did you know that the famous John D. Rockefeller, Sr., was a millionaire by the young age of just 23 — 23 years old!? And by age 50, he was a billionaire — in the early 1900s! He was a grabber, not a giver, greedy even. More, more, more — show me the money! And by age 53 he was so eaten up with physical diseases and a bleeding stomach ulcer so severe that doctors gave him a year to live at best. What good was being able to buy three restaurants right now if he could only eat crackers and milk, he once quipped? It was in reflecting upon this take, take, take, that Rockefeller decided to give — to Churches, to hospitals, to foundations and to medical research. Institutions in our own city of Youngstown directly benefited from his generosity even. And in giving, he released the negatives that were going on within him — his stresses, his tensions, and John D. Rockefeller, the 53 year old with a year to live, went on to live to the age of 90!

There is a story of another man who died at 90 that perhaps illustrates my point further: Arriving at the pearly gates of Heaven, Saint Peter said to this man, “You need 100 Points to enter Heaven!” The man replied, “I was married for 60 loyal years to my wife!”

“Great start. One Point,” replied Saint Peter.

“I was a lector at Mass. Faithfully!”

“Another Point!”

“… I taught CCD for thirty years.”

“Ooh, three points,” the Saint replied. “95 to go …”

The man thought a long moment and then said, “What about all of the times I surely must have lived out the eight Beatitudes in my life by the grace of God?”

“95 points! Good boy! Welcome!” Saint Peter announced, and ushered the man into Heaven.

Blessed, blessed are you, indeed!

Monsignor Michael J. Cariglio, Jr., Rector and Pastor, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica and Saint Anthony Parish

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.

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

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 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.

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,

Come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there

And unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.