Apocalypse 7:2-4,9-14; Psalm 23(24):1-6; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12a
The Beatitudes are one of the most well known passages from the Gospells, and so perhaps today when they are used on this glorious feast of All Saints, we should pay a little attention to how we pray them. Here is one technique - it may work for you, or it might not!
Replace the word 'Happy' on each line, and make each one personal to yourself: then we are praying them as Christ intended, as a personal encouragement and guide to ourselves: The translation of Happy, can be a little weak! Nicholas King translates to 'Congratulations' others to 'Blessed'. Use your inner voice to tell you what word or words you need today: for examples:
Cheeful am I, when I am poor in Spirit
Blessed am I when I am Gentle
Comforted am I, when I mourn...
etc.
And leave a moment or two between each line.
If you have a quarter of an hour, this can be done rather like a Rosary, repeating the beatitudes with a different word each time. The repetition of the personal adjectives can become God's way of nudging us towards where we need to be in today's moments. Then summarise at the end, with "Cheerfull, Blessed, Comforted..... am I, for my reward will be great in Heaven.
Because - we do all have a reward waiting for us: we are al called to be saints. Just as each one of us is put on this earth for some special purpose (St John Henry Newman), so to are we all through our baptisms, called to be saints, and every saint has a job waiting for us to do for God in heaven. This week we have had Saint Jude - who cares for those who feel lost. Tuesday we remembered Blessed Maria Teresa of Saint Joseph Tauscher who we might pray for in support of needy children. Last Saturday we might have prayed to St Chad, who is patronal saint of Birmingham where some of us have family roots - so we might pray to St Chad when we hear of something Birmingham needs to look at.
This feast then gives us cause to look inwardly, at how we as individuals should respond to the beatitudes., and also to look out, at how our community needs us to be saintly. And always remember to talk to the saints - by name, and be confident that they will respond.