Saturday, October 10, 2020 - 27th week of Ordinary Time - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11, 27-28 - Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!

Dear Christians, it is well known that Saturday is a day dedicated to the Virgin Mary. She is the one who, according to the Gospel, is the Blessed because she carried Jesus for nine months in her womb and fulfilled what Jesus said: "to have heard and kept the word of God". In Luke 1, 48 she says of herself: "From now on all ages will call me blessed".

So for us, we should also feel happy when we receive the Holy Eucharist because we carry Jesus within us. In fact, our hymns say: "If you want to be happy, receive Jesus in your heart", and also "This is the precious hour when I shall rise to receive my Jesus from you; I am so happy". This is possible when we receive the Holy Eucharist with dignity. But it is a condemnation for ourselves and a sacrilege to receive it in a state of mortal sin. Therefore, we can say: Blessed be the womb of the Christian who bears Jesus with dignity.

Then, listening to the word of God is another source of happiness, as Jesus taught here. Indeed, the word of God is preached in many ways today. It passes through the ears of many, but remains in a state of passive listening. This is what it means to hear the word of God. However, listening to the word of God does not stop at hearing, but one must allow oneself to be corrected both in behaviour and attitudes, and in feelings. That is what observing the word is all about. Here, Jesus praises the one who listens to the word of God, that is, to hear and observe.

So let us not let ourselves be deceived by any semblance of happiness. True happiness does not come from the creature, but from the Creator. Happiness is not in the transient but in the Eternal. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and forever." Amen.