In this weeks Newsletter we feature details on lots of event taking place overt he coming weeks
How happy !
What’s so great about being poor, or hungry, or sad? On the surface, these Beatitudes of Jesus seem very strange: ‘How happy are you who are poor’. Surely it is better to be wealthy, to be well fed, and to enjoy good times – or to at least be comfortable and content?
But Jesus is not interested in comfort, or in maintaining the status quo. The Jesus of Luke’s Gospel is something of a revolutionary. He has come to turn the social order on its head: last becomes first and least becomes greatest. His concern is always for the poor and marginalised.
Jesus’ vision is of a world where the unjust structures that cause poverty, hunger and oppression are swept away. Sadly, as we hear on the news every day, inequalities in our world with regard to wealth, education, health and opportunities remain as stark as ever. Speaking about how we can tackle injustice today, Pope Francis has offered six ‘new Beatitudes’ for the modern Christian. Like the teachings of Jesus, they remind us that the task of the Christian is to tackle injustice and to act in solidarity with those on the margins of society.
Pope Francis’ ‘new Beatitudes’ include:
- Blessed are those who renounce their own comfort in order to help others.
- Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalised and show them their closeness.
- Blessed are those who protect and care for our common home.
Tríona Doherty