Homily for Ordinary
Time 6
February 15, 2026
Beatitudes, Part 3/3
Today we conclude our discussion of these great rules for
happiness, Jesus’ eight Beatitudes (if you missed the first two in this homily
series, you can find them on the St. Jude’s website).
Jesus goes on to say, “Blessed are the pure of heart.”
This refers to the virtue of chastity. Most people view chastity in the
negative – don’t have sexual intimacy out of marriage – but it’s actually a positive
virtue, as it means seeing another person made in the Image of God and
respecting them as such. John Paul II says that the opposite of love isn’t
hatred, but rather using. Lust is precisely that – using a person for sexual
pleasure – while chastity safeguards authentic human love, the desire to give
and not to use.
The story goes that two bishops were walking through the
streets of Rome when a very scantily clad woman passed by. One bishop looked
down to the ground in embarrassment, while the other one looked into her face
as she walked by. When she had passed, the first bishop reproached the other
one and said, “Why didn’t you look away? Didn’t you see what she was wearing…or
rather, what she wasn’t wearing?” The wiser and holier bishop replied,
“No, I only saw a soul.” Being pure of heart allows us to see God – and it
allows us to see God in each person we encounter, because we don’t want to use
them for our pleasure, but love them for the child of God they are.
Our seventh Beatitude is, “Blessed are the peacemakers”. I
doubt anyone who uses Twitter could ever qualify! The best way to develop
peace, both the inner peace of a right relationship with God and exterior
peace, is the virtue of magnanimity. This virtue is the opposite of
pettiness. Someone who’s petty is always finding a tempest in a teapot; a
magnanimous person has an eternal perspective. Consider – all the stuff we get
worked up about, will it matter in twenty-four hours, let alone in eternity? So
what if someone cut you off in traffic – what does it really matter? So our mother-in-law
insulted us – why do we care so much?
Magnanimity is seeing things through the eyes of God – so
it is no wonder that those who wish to be peacemakers will be children of God.
There is a beautiful story from the life of St. Dominic Savio, the schoolboy
saint who died at the young age of 15. Two of the boys in his class were in an
argument which escalated and they threatened to fight each other after school
on the playground. Dominic overheard their tiff, so he met them on the
playground after school. Immediately the boys thought he was there to be a
tattletale, but Dominic insisted, “I won’t tell anyone about your fight, but on
two conditions.” He pulled a crucifix from his pocket and said, “You must first
say out loud, ‘Jesus Christ, You died for me, and I am going to offend You by
harming my brother, for whom You also died.’ And second, you must throw the
first stones at me.” The boys were moved by his courage and kindness, and they
immediately dropped their rocks as their anger drained out of them. Dominic
could be a peacemaker because he had this magnanimity – the eternal perspective
which realized that a sin of anger was far worse than even an injury. Seeing
things from God’s eyes!
If you’re having trouble finding peace, might I recommend
the beautiful prayer written by St. Theresa of Avila? It goes like this:
Let nothing disturb
you,
Let nothing frighten
you,
All things are passing
away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all
things
Whoever has God lacks
nothing;
God alone suffices.
This is magnanimity – this leads to peace!
Finally, Jesus praises those who are persecuted for the
sake of righteousness. St. Cyril of Jerusalem once said, “No one can avoid the
malice of the wicked, no matter how we live our life.” We could be the best and
holiest person around and we will still face persecutions on two fronts: first,
misunderstandings from even our friends and family about how we live our faith;
and second, persecutions from the Evil One in the form of temptations and
spiritual oppression.
So the virtue in this case is the courage to endure
out of love. We can suffer all things if we keep our eyes on the prize: eternal
life with Christ. My father used to smoke cigarettes daily, but when he
proposed to my mom, she refused to marry a man who smoked. So he gave it up
cold-turkey – not easy, but love was a stronger motivator than nicotine.
Likewise, we will have courage despite internal and external trials, if our
love for God is stronger.
And how many saints have gone before us who were opposed
in their pursuit of holiness! We are given so many heroes who were persecuted –
in every country, every age. They believed with every fiber of their being that
Jesus was worth living and dying for. One of my favorites is the first
Japanese-born saint, St. Paul Miki. He was educated by the Jesuits and converted
to Catholicism, becoming a Jesuit priest himself. But the Emperor was
suspicious of how this new Western religion was spreading, and felt his power
threatened. So he made Christianity illegal in Japan in the late 1500s.
The government rounded up 26 Christians in Nagasaki. Led
by Fr. Paul Miki, they were led up a large hill to be crucified. But as he was
dying, St. Paul Miki’s speech was the most significant. First, he proclaimed
himself a Japanese – making the point that Christianity was not just a Western
religion, but one that could be embraced by every culture. Second, he said,
“Now that I am about to die, you would not assume that I would lie. So hear me
speak the truth: Jesus Christ is Lord!” He continued to preach the Gospel, even
from the Cross. Finally, his final words were: “After Christ’s example I
forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and
I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain.” He died
forgiving the very people putting him to death!
After the death of the 26 Japanese martyrs, there were no
more priests allowed into Japan for three centuries – so the faith had to
become deeply hidden. The Bible was passed down orally, and people would gather
to pray in secret but they had no more Eucharist. Finally, in the late 1870s, a
couple missionary priests returned to Japan and expected to find Catholicism
extinguished – but instead, they found 30,000 hidden Christians who approached
them cautiously and told them, “Our ancestors said there would be followers of
Jesus to visit us once again, but we are not sure if you are the right ones.
Can you answer the following three questions: Do you honor Mary? Are your
priests without wives? Do you follow the Pope?” When the priests responded
affirmatively, the people rejoiced – Catholicism was back in Japan!
The early Church father Tertullian said, “The blood of
martyrs is the seed of Christians.” The faith exists in Japan because of the
heroic courage of those 26 martyrs, led by St. Paul Miki, and the courage of
those who kept the faith in secret for centuries. We, too, should not be
surprised or afraid when trials come in our walk with Christ, but endure them
with courage based in a love for God that is stronger than death.
And thus we conclude the Beatitudes. More than anything,
Christ desires our happiness – not an easy life, but the deep fulfillment of a
life of sacrifice and virtue, directed to eternal joy!
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