BEADS OF JOY 09-07-16
“Blessed Are The Poor”
©2016 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
“Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.”
Reflection:
Ok, I was originally going to start with another statement. I’ll get back to that shortly. But I came across a much more compelling one. Have you ever been thirsty or hungry before? I don’t mean like you were purposely fasting and your stomach was growling; or you missed lunch and you couldn’t wait to eat dinner. I mean that you haven’t eaten a thing in two days because you had no food in your home and no money buy any. I’m sure I hit a nerve with someone. Chrissy and I have been there. Poverty and hunger are difficult, they are tough enough for one person, but when 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 kids are looking at you and say they are hungry; there’s no way a parent can eat, all the food must go to the children and the parents must not eat anything. We have done that many times in the past and even a few times in the present. You don’t understand poverty and hunger till you can’t fulfill your own desire of hunger.
Now flip this over and pat it down and let’s fill it with Joy. Have you ever had a hunger and thirst for the Lord that was so great and so strong that you just had to: Open your bible, go to Mass, be at Adoration for hours, tell everybody about Jesus, write about Him, sing to the Lord out loud!! Now this Hunger is a hunger that overflows with Joy. And the Joy is Jesus. This Hunger can only be satisfied by Jesus. We must have a hunger and desire of the Spirit that seeks out Jesus our whole life. Do you know what the “Poverty of Spirit” is? It is not what is may sound like, what it is to me is, our Spirit making room in our life to possess God alone and making Him our Greatest Treasure in this life. Our nourishment by which we gain our strength is God’s Word and Love. The “poverty” which brings “sorrow” to me is when I allow my life, that is “my time” to be wasted, away from my Lord.
Fr. Mullally once, ok several times, OK Many Times, told me, “Jim, you need to have other activities and interests in your life other than just your faith.” I was like “WHAT??? NO!!” I’ve shared this in great detail in another recent blog. To me Jesus, our Lady and the Rosary are my whole entire Life. PERIOD! What is the point of this life, if we don’t use it to properly to prepare for our eternal life? Think about this: Why would a person who is studying to be a doctor spend years studying and learning and when it came time for the MCAT exams not care? Of cause they would care and of cause they spend time reading and studying. They have spent part of their life preparing for the MCAT, do you not think they would make sure they would be ready. They would probably eat, drink and sleep MCAT thoughts day and night with excitement. They too would not be 100% certain of the outcome, but they would do all they can to be 100% ready. Ok our future Doctors of The Soul, prepare yourselves NOW for Heaven. We have been granted this time to prepare. Let us use it wisely. See you all tomorrow.
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
**(NEW DAILY FEATURE)
Today is Wednesday: We pray the Glorious Mysteries:
The Glorious Mysteries
1. The Resurrection (Faith) –Mark 16:1-8
2. The Ascension (Hope) –Luke 24:50-53
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Love) –Acts 2:1-4
4. The Assumption of Our Lady
(Grace of a Happy Death) –Rev 12:1-6
5. The Coronation of Mary (Mary’s intercession) –Judith 15:9-10
Rosary Man Jim's Glorious Reflections: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-glorious-mysteries.html
