Sometimes I celebrate a mass at our parish, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Road 3, Project 8. In this parish, I met a servant who is generous. He gives his time to serve in the Church as a lector. His name is Bernie Benedicto. He is a Single Blessedness. Being a single blessedness helps him to serve others and God more. Besides Bernie, I know several single blessed people in our area.

I remember the Single Blessedness vocation because we heard several times the word ‘blessed’ in our readings for this week. From the First reading to the Gospel, at least 10 times the word ‘Blessed’ is written.  In our First reading from Jeremiah, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD.  He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream. In our responsorial Psalm: “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.” We will repeat it Four times. And in our Gospel today, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.  Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

These four blessings said by Jesus in the Sermon on the Plain are well known as Beatitudes.

It is difficult to understand Beatitudes from a ‘worldly’ point of view. Usually, we will say, “Happy are those who have a lot of money; Happy are they who have big power; Happy are those who are famous.” However, this kind of happiness will not last forever. It will not be permanent. The rich can be the poor. Someone in a high position can be powerless. At least, all these will be ended and can be destroyed by death. In front of death, all of us are the same. We are at the same level.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus' preaching. The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples. (1716-1717)

Only in the light of the passion and resurrection of Jesus, we can understand the Beatitudes. Although from a ‘worldly’ perspective, the life of all prophetesses is not easy; The life of the Virgin Mary and all the saints are burdensome, but they are examples of the living beatitudes; we must see it in the wider perspective.

As a Xaverian, our readings remind me the Xaverians Martyrs: Fr. Rastelli, Fr. John Botton, Fr. Louis Carrara, Br. Victor Faccin, Fr. John Didone, Fr. Mario Veronesi, Fr. Valerian Cobbe, Fr. Albert Pierobon, Fr. Salvatore Deiana, Fr. Aldo Marchiol and Fr. Ottorino Maule. Once again from a worldly perspective, we can say their life is hard. However, in the faith perspective: Blessed are they.  

The Xaverian is a religious congregation. A Xaverian has vows of Poverty, Chastity, Obedience, and Mission. We have to see the vows from the Beatitudes’ point of view. A vow is an expression that our center is the Lord; we trust in the Lord; our hope is in the Lord alone and poor for the Kingdom of God. We are living in the Beatitudes according to the Gospel today.