Today's Gospel Matthew 5:1-12 tells Catholics all over the world (including 88 million Filipinos) of the Beatitudes. In all Masses today, Catholic priests shall focus their sermons in the Liturgy of the Word on the Lord Jesus' sermon on the Mount, known to Christendom as the Beatitudes.
My wife and I had the privilege to visit the Mount of Beatitudes in the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. A beautiful Byzantine Church had been erected lower down the slope and Pope John Paul II, now Saint John Paul, celebrated the Holy Mass in that same site in March 2000. There are nine beatitudes and each one is the Lord's expression of admiration for certain attitudes and values, with a corresponding promise of rewards. The first one is addressed to the poor in spirit, and they were promised no less than the Kingdom of Heaven. The second is for those who mourn and they were promised comfort by the Lord. The third is for those who are meek. They were promised to inherit the earth.
The fourth beatitude is for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. They were promised satisfaction. The fifth is for people who are merciful and they were promised mercy. The sixth is for those with pure hearts. They were promised that they would see God. The seventh is for the peacemakers and they were assured that they would be called the children of God. The eighth beatitude is for those who are persecuted and they were assured of the Kingdom of Heaven. The ninth is for those who are insulted, persecuted, and falsely accused because of God for they would rejoice and experience true happiness. In today’s highly materialistic and secular world, God’s people truly and urgently need the promises of the Beatitudes for their salvation and well-being.
I want to focus on the fourth and the eighth beatitudes, I refer to persecution and false accusation and call attention to contemporary events and circumstances. A certain Gigi Reyes, a female lawyer and former chief of staff of presidential legal adviser Juan Ponce Enrile, has been released upon orders of the Supreme Court which granted the Writ of Habeas Corpus in the name of speedy administration of justice. But Senator Leila de Lima who has been detained for so long is still languishing in detention. She has also filed a number of motions to be granted bail but the same continues to be denied and the single mom, now unemployed, is indefinitely deprived of her liberty. I wonder if she is to be considered blessed, and I wonder when she will ever find her salvation and liberation.
A poor farmer in Pangasinan committed a simple error in judgment when he picked a few mangoes from a tree that turned out to belong to an adjacent property owner. He was immediately arrested, booked for the crime of theft and then thrown to jail. It was only the kind and merciful intervention of compassionate people that saved that poor farmer from indefinite detention. On the other hand, the son of the Justice secretary was arrested in Las Piñas for a drug related accusation. He was immediately attended to by the best lawyer. His case was given outstanding priority and in no time, he was acquitted by a very hardworking judge who did the impossible of expediting the disposition of a very special case involving a very special Filipino. The prosecution was fast, the witnesses were immediately available, there were no postponements and presto the evidence was found weak and his guilt was not proven beyond reasonable doubt. How blessed indeed when you are a son of a Justice secretary.
It is my prayer then that the poor, oppressed Filipinos who are often red-tagged, subjected to tokhang and some even summarily executed, will continue to be poor in spirit, meek, and pure of hearts so that they can inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. I pray for the workers who are being exploited, harassed and cheated by their employers, subjected to all forms of unfair labor practices and deprived of due process. May they be called children of God, inherit the earth and experience justice, peace, and joy in life. In the meanwhile, they just have to persevere, to bear all the burdens, to work hard, shed blood, sweat, and tears to be trusting and confident that in the end they will indeed see God. Amen.