FATHER JIM'S JOTS - St. Elizabeth Catholic Church - Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - February 1, 2026

St. Elizabeth Catholic Church

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 1, 2026

FATHER JIM'S JOTS

Greetings,

We will have Mass at the usual times this Sunday:  8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.  I hope everyone was able to stay safe during the past week due to the weather conditions.

This Sunday we read the story of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount from Matthew's Gospel.  Below is an excerpt from Pope Francis' 2020 General Audience regarding the Beatitudes.  This is a wonderful breakdown on the meaning of the Beatitudes and how as Christians, we should apply them to our daily lives.  I recommend you read the entire message online if you are able, but these excerpts touch on the core of the message.

This passage, which starts the "Sermon on the Mount", illuminated the lives of the believers and also that of many non-believers.  It is difficult not to be touched by these words of Jesus and the desire to understand them and welcome them ever more fully is righteous.  The Beatitudes provide the "identity card" of Christians - this is our identity card - because they outline the face of Jesus himself, his style of living.

...the "mount" recalls Sinai, where God gave Moses the Commandments.  Jesus begins to teach a new law:  to be poor, to be meek, to be merciful...  These "new commandments" are much more than a set of rules.  Indeed, Jesus does not impose anything but reveals the way of happiness - his way - by repeating the word "blessed" eight times.

...the reason behind the Beatitudes is not a current situation, but rather, the new condition that the blessed receive as a gift from God:  because "theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven", because "they shall be comforted", because "they shall inherit the earth" and so on.

But what does the word "blessed" mean?  Because each of the eight Beatitudes begins with the word "blessed".  The original term does not mean one with a full belly or one who is doing well, but rather, it is a person who is in a condition of grace, who progresses in God's grace and progresses on God's path:  patience, poverty, service to others, comfort...  Those who advance in these things are happy and shall be blessed.

In order to give himself to us, God often chooses unthinkable paths, perhaps the path of our limitations, of our tears, of our defeats.

The Beatitudes always bring you to joy.  They are the paths to reach joy.  It will do us good to take Matthew's Gospel today, chapter 5, verses 1-11, and to read the Beatitudes - perhaps a few more times throughout the week - in order to understand this very beautiful path, so sure of the happiness the Lord offers us.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim, Pastor

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