4th Sunday in Ordinary Time February 1, 2026

Readings: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Matthew 5:1-12a

The Beatitudes—a word meaning “blessings”—are indeed the key to world peace, the key to personal happiness, and the key to that holiness needed to enter one day into the Kingdom of Heaven.  The reason is simple:  these teachings of Christ reject the false, selfish, and self-destructive values of this world, and instead invite us to begin living here and now according to the rhythms and values of Heaven.  We cannot do this on our own, of course, but God’s grace is readily offered and given to everyone seeking to live as a true disciple of Jesus, most especially by means of prayer, Sacred Scripture, and the Sacraments.  Those who claim living by the Beatitudes is impossible, unrealistic, or too other-worldly are probably either afraid, lacking in faith, or too caught up in the things of this world.  However, the way of life Jesus proposes today is achievable, with His help, and the only guaranteed way of finding and preserving true and lasting happiness and peace.  We might say the Beatitudes are a way of leveraging the 40% of life we can control into a 100% chance of success in finding a true purpose in our time on earth and in preparing ourselves for a holy and joyous eternity.

Life is often hard or painful, and we can easily find reasons for discouragement, disappointment, and sometimes even despair—as far too many people in today’s world have discovered.  However, this was not God’s plan, and it doesn’t have to be that way.  Jesus offers us a very different way of living, and throughout the Church’s history millions of Catholics and other Christians—including great saints and ordinary believers—have discovered that it really works.  May this also be true for each one of us—for in this way the Gospel will be unleashed, our lives will be sanctified, and our world will be transformed.

Fr. Terry