NO ROOM FOR SELF-ASSURED COMPLACENCY
"Blessed
are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs" (Mt 5:3).
In the Letter of St. James, we hear that the workers are crying
out because the rich have stored up treasures for themselves and they have
withheld wages from these faithful workers. Their treasure is materialism and
will one day be corroded. How sad it is! It seems we always have something that
challenges us or some nagging fault that still needs work in our lives. It
could be our temper, our mood swings, our need for material things, and so on.
Eventually, we come to know that we need to reaffirm our
commitment to some good work we agreed to do, and to be faithful in our prayer
life. In the Gospel Acclamation we proclaim, "Receive the Word of God, not
as the word of men, but as it truly is, the Word of God" (cf. 1 Thes
2:13). Complacency from our commitments can happen very easy. We all need the
energizing, loving power of God; the Force which can drive us to make a
difference in our world and our community.
Through the Word and the Eucharist we receive much from God, for
we are touched by His Spirit, which helps sustain us for an affective life and
ministry. In the Responsorial Psalm we acclaim, "Blessed are the poor in
spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs" (Mt 5:3). We receive something
much greater than what is in this world - it is the Kingdom. In this we have
hope! We are like a tree planted near life-giving water that yields its fruit
and prospers. For the Lord watches over us all!