Thursday,
November 1, 2018
All Saints Day
1st Reading: Rev 7:2-4,9-14
2nd Reading: 1 Jn 3:1-3
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. He sat down and his disciples gathered around him. Then he spoke and began to teach them:
“Fortunate are those who have the spirit of the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted.
“Fortunate are the gentle, they shall possess the land.
“Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.
“Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.
“Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God.
“Fortunate are those who work for peace, they shall be called children of God.
“Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are my followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God. This is how this people persecuted the prophets who lived before you.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
“Not everyone who wins rejoices”. When I hear about this maxim, I remember this joke: Sam wins a sack of rice. He is happy being a winner. However he feels sad because the rice awarded to him is pre-cooked.
Another maxim is the obverse of it: “Not all who lose mourn.” Perhaps this anecdote will help elucidate: A priest, an altar boy, a congressman, and a lawyer are on board a troubled plane. There are only three parachutes available. The lawyer and the politician grabs a parachute each and jumps out of the troubled plane, leaving the priest and the boy with only one. The priest insists that the boy should take the one remaining parachute. “No big deal, Father,” the boy confesses, “there is a parachute for you and for me because the lawyer grabbed my knapsack”.
Today’s Gospel formulates an idea not very far from the maxims we have cited. It basically tells us that those who rejoice today mourn tomorrow; those who mourn today rejoice tomorrow. If we go long term, we realize that the world wrongly considers victorious the spiritual losers. This is because those considered losers by human standard are real winners in the eyes of God. Their process of winning, though, is slow and painful, but sweet is the victory of those who persevere.
Today we honor these real victors as we celebrate All Saints’ Day. May their lives inspire us to brave the storms of earthly trials and so come one day to the victory that awaits those who persevere! – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M. Email: [email protected].
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