Wednesday of the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Blessed Are You... Or Woe To You...
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. Regarding each person’s state in life, whether celibate or married, Paul gives his personal advice that conversion does not require changing this status but rather living it according to the best of one’s abilities.
Gospel. Luke is the only evangelist coming from paganism – a world of slavery, fear and oppression, and of moral license. He is so struck by the fact that Christ had a place for the poor and for marginal people, for whom nobody cared in his milieu, that this concern of Christ is one of the major emphases in his gospel, particularly in its social aspects. For example, he says, not like Matthew, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” but “Blessed are you, the poor. Woe to you, the rich…”
Opening Prayer
Lord, God of the rich and the poor,
let the message of Jesus your Son
strike us and shake us up
from our certainties and securities.
Indeed, may we use our riches
of mind and heart and faith and goods
in the service of the poor,
our power for the benefit of others,
our abundance to be shared
and to get us out of our self-satisfaction,
our happiness to console
and bring your joy, not ours.
Make us poor in pride, hungry for justice,
weeping for the evil we have caused.
And let people insult us
when we do not live up to the gospel
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Marriage and Virginity
Regarding those who remain virgins, I have no direct command from the Lord, but I offer some advice in the hope that I am trustworthy through the Lord’s mercy.
I believe this is good during these difficult times we live in. It is beneficial for someone to stay as they are.
If you are married, do not try to divorce your wife; if you are not married, do not marry.
He who marries does not sin, nor does the young girl who marries. Yet they will face challenging experiences, and I would like to spare you from them.
I say this, brothers and sisters: time is running out, and those who are married must live as if they are not;
those who are weeping, as if they are not weeping; those who are rejoicing, as if they are not rejoicing; those who are buying, as if they do not own;
and those who deal with the world, as if they have no dealings with it. For the world in its present form is passing away.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (11) Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
forget your people and your father’s house.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
for he is your lord, and you must worship him.
R. Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters;
her raiment is threaded with spun gold.
In embroidered apparel she is borne in to the king;
behind her the virgins of her train are brought to you.
R. Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
The place of your fathers your sons shall have;
you shall make them princes through all the land.
R. Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rejoice and leap for joy!
Your reward will be great in heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Raising his eyes towards his disciples, Jesus said:
“Fortunate are you who are poor,
for the kingdom of God is yours.
Fortunate are you
who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
Fortunate are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Fortunate are you when people hate you, when they reject you and insult you and number you among criminals, because of the Son of Man.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. Remember, that is how the ancestors of the people treated the prophets.
But alas for you
who have wealth,
for you have been comforted now.
Alas for you who are full,
will go hungry.
Alas for you, who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Alas for you when people speak well of you, for that is how the ancestors of the people treated the false prophets.
Love for Enemies
Jesus said to his disciples:
Prayers of the Faithful
– For the poor, that God may fill their expectations; for the satisfied, that God may change their hearts and make them capable of sharing, we pray:
– For those who are hungry, that the Lord himself may give them the bread of life and inspire us to give them the bread of every day, we pray:
– For those who now weep, that the Lord may console them with his love; for those who now laugh, that he may remind them of the seriousness of life and make them capable of reflection, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God, with bread and wine
we celebrate the death and suffering
of your Son Jesus Christ.
Teach us here, by his example,
that sickness and pain make sense,
that even death is a seed of life.
In humility and with shame
we accept this insight, Lord,
and ask you to let it inspire us.
May we accept it also
as a hard but saving reality,
by which we try to live, in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you let the Word of your Son upset us,
but this Eucharist gives us the strength
to take his word with open hearts and minds.
Let our riches in any form
not satisfy us but others,
that there may be room in us for hope.
Let us feel the weight of our limitations,
that we may keep hungering
for love and justice and freedom.
Give us tears to weep
that we have not dared to be
your sign of contradiction in this world.
Bless us, Lord, that we may praise and bless you
and your Son, now and forever.
Blessing
Blessed are you… What God wants is our happiness. He leaves us free: we are the ones to make the choice what we are going to do with our lives. May God give you the right insight and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Luke 6:20-26
Blessed Beyond Comfort
Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel challenge our usual ideas about life. He describes the poor, hungry, grieving, and rejected as blessed, while warning those who are rich, satisfied, and praised. Of course, he does not glorify misery or condemn happiness. Instead, he reveals where true security lies and highlights the risk of hearts so comfortable that they no longer need God.
Fr Armellini teaches that these Beatitudes are addressed to disciples living in God’s kingdom. Their poverty is not a resignation to their fate, but their freedom from possessiveness. They rely on God, share their resources, and reject a world where some indulge while others go hungry. The related woes serve as warnings, urging us to avoid self-sufficiency that can harden our hearts.
Fr Ron Rolheiser highlights that wealth can create the illusion of self-sufficiency, but we still depend on God and others. True spiritual maturity starts when we can humbly ask for help and when we are moved by others' needs despite our abundance. Embracing Gospel simplicity involves reducing consumption, sharing generously, and aligning ourselves with the poor.
The Beatitudes assure us that suffering isn't the end. Hunger will be fed, tears will turn into laughter, and rejection for Christ will lead to joy. This transformation starts with us, as we feed the hungry, comfort those in pain, welcome those rejected, and stand up for others in need.
Today, Jesus asks: Where have my comfort and approval made me numb? May the Lord free us from shallow satisfactions and give us hearts that hunger for justice, weep with the wounded, and rejoice in faithful love. Then we will discover the happiness of God’s kingdom.