A reading of the holy gospel according to Saint Matthew. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up onto the mountainside. This was probably up around the lake area. And after he had sat down, his disciples gathered around him and he began to teach them. How blessed are the poor in spirit, he said.
The rain of god is theirs. Blessed too are the sorrowing, they shall be consoled. And blessed are the lowly for they shall inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness. They shall have their fill.
Blessed are they who show mercy. For mercy, in turn, shall be theirs. Blessed are the single hearted, for they shall see god. Blessed to the peacemakers, they shall be called sons of god. Blessed are those persecuted for holiness sake.
The reign of god is theirs. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and also utter every kind of slander against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice for your reward in heaven is great. The gospel, the good news of the lord. In the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, amen.
And it is good news, but don't mistake it. People don't realize how our old friend Karl Marx has influenced much Catholic thought because it has turned so many sincere and sacrificing people away from god to be man centered. Social service, welfare, housing the poor, feeding the hungry, these are all mighty good things. But you don't even you can be a first class atheist and do them all. They're not particularly religious acts at all.
The thing I want to the thought I want to leave with you is the last thing I read here, that if you do all what what our lord here is saying, where do you expect to get your reward? Are you gonna have a happier life here, a more comfortable life here, a life that's free of sickness and illness and tragedy and embarrassments and and all the junk that fills up many a life. And there's very few lives that don't have some of it in it. Believe me, you just haven't lived on enough. Because one thing you're go oh, we're going to face is the open tomb or the casket.
That's not a pleasant thought but we live under it all the time. If we don't, we're dumb, we're blind, we're ignorant. Christ never promised us a paradise on earth. He never said you'll be comfortable if you follow me. Never once did he say that.
He said you're gonna carry a cross. But remember, multitudes of people carry crosses whether they want to or not. That's not the important thing because what Christ says, and follow me, and follow me in your sickness, in your tragedies, in your joys, in your anniversaries, in your wonderful happinesses, when you're on top of the wave. But remember, to every crest, there's a trough. And it can be so deep you can't even see the scar.
That's the way life is, and Christ never promised us anything but that. Except. Except. If you pick up his cross and follow him, you will find that cross light and sweet. I hate that word sweet, but I don't don't know any translation for it other.
And that's that's what our Lord's promising us here today. Now the the second thought I want to leave with you is something about that encyclical I preached four times on, but you can't get enough of it. There's one part of that encyclical that has never, that I've seen, been even noted. It's in the third chapter of the Splendor of Truth, the last ecyclical, Veritatis Splendor. And it's a long passage.
And what is it about? Do you know what it's about? Martyrdom. Martyrdom. Because in this last chapter, the article has three chapters.
In this last chapter, which is devoted supposedly to explaining the importance of truth, divine eternal truth for the church and for the world, here you have this long passage about martyrdom. Martyrdom, being martyrs for Christ. Because the holy father knows to pursue the splendor of truth is going to call for martyrdom of some sort of some sort. That's an important thought to that's at the end of this encyclical on the the splendor of truth. And it's a long passage.
If you expect to follow Christ, don't be a Marxist. You're not going to find your reward in this life. And no one ever promised it to you except old Carl himself. And there's a lot of that in many of our Catholic and Christian people's minds today. Look how many peoples fled the classrooms.
For what? For what? What did they give it up for? But today, let us get our sights Christian, you know what to expect. To be a Christian, you know how to get where you're going, to get what you expect.
It is that simple if we only trust god and his word. And it's not all that mystical and mysterious. It's on our doorstep. Doorstep. You good people here this morning know what it's all about.
You are not wandering souls. You're not trying to find yourself. You have found yourself. You know where you are, you know where you're going, and you know what to expect. Christ promised it to you.
Heaven, not on earth, but with him for eternity in heaven. In the name of the father and of the son and of the Spirit. Amen.