Year C

February 16, 2025

On this page you will find:

The readings for Mass, the Mass leaflet with the choice of hymns
A sample universal prayer available for download , in PDF and editable Word formats.
A meditation on the Sunday Gospel , a spiritual text and a commentary by Marie-Noëlle Thabut

6th Sunday

Ordinary Time

Blessed be the man
who puts his faith in the Lord,
whose trust is in the Lord.
It will be like a tree planted by the waters,
which pushes its roots towards the current.
He is not afraid when the heat comes:
Its foliage remains green.
In the year of the drought, he is not worried:
It certainly bears fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Readings from the Mass

https://www.aelf.org/2025-02-16/romain/messe

Mass leaflet

Universal Prayer

Lectio Divina
Consult this page for a prayerful preparation for the liturgy and then read the meditations below.

Reflection…meditation on the Beatitudes

– Introduction – Synoptic Gospel of Saint Luke / Saint Matthew

Rightly or wrongly, the Beatitudes are often spoken of as a summary of the Gospel message, or as a criterion of Christian authenticity. The true Christian will be the person of the Beatitudes, the Church we dream of will be the Church of the Beatitudes… In other words, to be able to claim to follow Jesus, one must accept making the Beatitudes the norm of one's life… Statements of this kind sufficiently justify the interest in the Beatitudes, the attention given to their text to understand exactly what it says.

Two Versions,

We can observe first that, in Matthew as in Luke, the beatitudes constitute the "preamble" of what can be called a programmatic discourse: at the beginning of his ministry in Galilee, Jesus sets out how he understands the requirements of God.

In Matthew's Gospel, it is the "Sermon on the Mount," in Luke's, the "Sermon on the Plain." Luke's discourse is almost entirely contained within Matthew's, but Matthew includes many sayings not found in Luke or found elsewhere in his Gospel. The overall focus is somewhat different: in Luke, it is primarily about the duty to love one's neighbor, a duty that extends even to enemies; Matthew places greater emphasis on the transcendence that the demands of the Gospel represent in relation to the demands of Jewish Law.

As for the Beatitudes, the first striking difference is that of the number: in Matthew, there are nine; Luke has only four, but these are followed by their counterparts: "Woe to you who are rich... Woe to you who are well-fed... Woe to you who laugh... Woe to you when people flatter you..."

But the difference in content is no less considerable. In Luke, the first beatitude is addressed to men who are poor; in Matthew, it speaks of people who are poor "in spirit".

The following beatitude is addressed in Luke to those who are hungry now; in Matthew, it is addressed to those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness".

Clearly, being poor and hungry, as Luke writes, is not the same as being poor in spirit… and hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Luke considers concrete and painful situations that cause suffering; Matthew speaks of spiritual dispositions, attitudes of the soul…

Origin

When we go through any passage of the Bible (old or new testament), we should always ask ourselves the question, "Who is writing? What is being written? For whom?" What the evangelists are offering is not a neutral and strictly "objective" report.

By drawing parallels with Jesus' words, they are not so much seeking to reproduce them verbatim as to help their Christian readers understand the relevance of these words to their own lives, in situations that differ from those in which Jesus spoke during his ministry.

That is why, in our catechesis, we will try to see what they can still tell us today in 2021, after having traversed twenty centuries!… (We can think that this concern for making them relevant to current events is ultimately more respectful of Jesus' true intention than a “superstitious” respect for the words he spoke…)

To gain a clearer understanding, we will seek a third witness, perhaps less directly involved, but who will help us distinguish between what was actually said and the interpretations given to it. This is an oracle (a prophecy) from the Book of Isaiah that played an important role in how Jesus presented his mission to his contemporaries. (There is good reason to believe that Jesus formulated his Beatitudes by echoing this oracle):

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he consecrated me by anointing.

He sent me to bring Good News to the poor,

To heal those with broken hearts,

To proclaim the prisoners' liberation…

Comforting the afflicted (Isaiah 61:1-2)

* The Beatitudes of Jesus carry a "revolutionary" novelty, a model of happiness contrary to that usually communicated by the media and by dominant thought. For the world's mentality, it is scandalous that God came to become one of us, that he died on a cross! In this worldly logic, those whom Jesus proclaims "blessed" are considered "losers, weak."*

Pope Francis

The promise of true happiness

“Christians have received the promise of true happiness. Without love, the commandments are felt as a heavy obligation. When the baptized are animated by faith, hope, and charity, they joyfully enter into the new life offered to them here below as a path to authentic happiness.”

The Bishops of France, Catechism for Adults, No. 634

The Old Testament already hinted, on numerous occasions and in many ways, at humanity's vocation to happiness. Creation is offered to humankind for its happiness: "God saw that it was good," and the man's enthusiastic cry before the woman in Genesis 2:23.

The Law itself aims to ensure the happiness of the believer. And echoing the public reading of the Law, Nehemiah dares to address all the people of Israel with this phrase: "The joy of the Lord is your strength!" (Neh 8:10).

The wisdom writings - and especially the Psalms - love to sing of the faithfulness of God, who alone does not disappoint, and the peaceful happiness of the one who puts his trust in the Lord, rather than in the riches or the powerful of this world.

(Ps 40/5; Ps 84/6,13; Pr 16/20).

The prophets, for their part, update the unique message of salvation from a God who promised Israel to accompany it in all its tribulations and who wants to remind it of his love and forgiveness always offered.

Jesus embraced this tradition to the point of defining his mission by that described long ago by Isaiah: "To proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the captives and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

(Lk 4/18-19 citing Is 61/1-2).

This promise of happiness in Jesus' message is so central that St. Mark titled his booklet: "Gospel", that is, "Good News"!

(Mk 1/1)

The joy, which is sown on the path of Jesus (Lk 2:10) and which no one can take away from his disciples (Jn 16:22), is also often cited among the fruits of the Holy Spirit: (Acts 13:52)

It goes without saying that the quality of our enthusiasm is an indicator of our spiritual life and our familiarity with the Lord, and that it can, conversely, serve to identify our sin... one of the definitions of which could be: that which, in us, contributes to "grieving the Holy Spirit" (Eph 4/30), or even the fact of depriving ourselves (like the rich young man in the Gospel) of the immeasurable joy that companionship with Jesus provides!

Let us therefore take up, one by one, each of these beatitudes, as reported by the apostle, and see if they cannot awaken in us both thanksgiving for the journey already traveled and the desire to enter further into the joy promised by Jesus to those who follow in his footsteps...

The Gospel for this Sunday

presented to children

(and to those who resemble them)

Interview with Bernadette Dumont

for Magnificat

(I highly recommend subscribing: here )

Rejoice and be glad, says the Lord

for your reward is great in heaven.

◗ For us, happiness is a matter of luck, health, wealth, success, fame…

And for Jesus, it's quite the opposite! Jesus dares to tell us: Blessed are those you believe to be unhappy, and unhappy are those you believe to be happy! What a reversal of the core values of our lives!

◗ In the perspective of the eternal happiness that God invites us to share with him, we understand what Jesus wants to tell us.

Yes, it's true, from the perspective of eternal life, wealth, power, and fame are poor investments, because they are lost upon death. The resurrection of the dead fills the hungry and afflicted with good things, but sends the powerful and the rich away empty-handed…

◗ For us Christians, the beatitudes are wisdom, but folly to those who do not have faith.

Not so crazy after all. For even here on earth, our human experiences confirm the validity of the paradoxes that Jesus proclaims. La Fontaine illustrates this well in his fable The Cobbler and the Financier: the cobbler sings all day long while he is poor, but when he inherits the financier's wealth, he also inherits his anxieties, and joy departs from him.

Many of the rich and famous people we envy are actually unhappy. Many can only cope with their lives by enslaving themselves to serious addictions…

Is it not because God alone can satisfy the infinite thirst for happiness that is within us?

Absolutely! This fundamental truth can be expressed differently: only Love with a capital L can fill us with happiness. Yet, wealth, success, and fame too often turn our hearts away from both God and true Love. This is what the first reading tells us: Woe to him who turns away from the Lord!

◗ In truth, true happiness, the fruit of Love, we will only experience in heaven.

More precisely, we will only experience it fully in heaven. For in preaching the Beatitudes, Jesus teaches us that even in the midst of our poverty and afflictions, our life here below can become, with God's grace, the true beginning of our eternal happiness. Yes, through the Beatitudes, Jesus calls us to choose to be happy in this world. And he gives us the infallible means: "Love one another as I have loved you."

◗ Infallible, why?

When Jesus gives us the power to love as God loves, even in this world, he also gives us the power to be happy, despite everything, even in poverty, hardship, and persecution. For in God, love and happiness are one.

Bernadette Dumont is a mother and grandmother, catechist and author of children's books.

Better understanding the Gospel
with Marie-Noëlle Thabut

Mieux comprendre l'Évangile

avec Marie-Noëlle Thabut

LES DEUX VOIES

La première lecture, tirée du livre de Jérémie, nous avait mis en garde : ne mettez pas votre confiance en vous-mêmes et en vos richesses de toutes sortes...

Ne vous appuyez que sur Dieu seul. L'évangile des Béatitudes va encore plus loin : Heureux, les pauvres ; mettez votre confiance en Dieu : Il vous comblera de ses richesses... SES richesses...! « Heureux », cela veut dire « bientôt on vous enviera » ! Il faut dire premièrement que ce n’étaient pas les gens socialement influents, importants, qui formaient le gros des foules qui suivaient Jésus ! On lui a assez reproché de frayer avec n’importe qui ! Deuxièmement, le mot « pauvres » dans l’Ancien Testament n’a aucun rapport avec le compte en banque : les « pauvres » au sens biblique (les « anawim ») ce sont ceux qui n’ont pas le coeur fier ou le regard hautain, comme dit le psaume ; on les appelle « les dos courbés » : ce sont les petits, les humbles du pays, dans le langage prophétique. Ils ne sont pas repus, satisfaits, contents d’eux, il leur manque quelque chose. Alors Dieu pourra les combler.On retrouve là le langage des prophètes : tantôt sévère, menaçant... tantôt encourageant ; sévère, menaçant quand le peuple fait fausse route, se trompe de valeurs ; encourageant quand le peuple traverse des périodes de détresse et de désespoir. Ici Jésus, regardant ses disciples et, au-delà d’eux la foule, éduque leur regard : il reprend ces deux langages prophétiques ; et on retrouve là le même discours que dans la première lecture de ce dimanche, le texte de Jérémie : vous qui mettez votre confiance dans les richesses matérielles, dans votre position sociale, vous qui êtes bien vus, « bientôt, on ne vous enviera pas ! » Vous n’êtes pas sur la bonne route. Si vous étiez sur la bonne voie, vous ne seriez pas si riches, pas si bien vus.Un vrai prophète s’expose à déplaire, Jésus en sait quelque chose ; un vrai prophète n’a ni le temps ni la préoccupation d’amasser de l’argent, ou de soigner sa publicité... On peut tout à fait appliquer à Jésus-Christ ces quatre Béatitudes : lui, le pauvre qui n’avait pas une pierre pour reposer sa tête et qui est mort dans le dénuement et l’abandon ; lui qui a pleuré le deuil de son ami Lazare ; et qui a connu l’angoisse du Jardin des Oliviers ; lui qui a pleuré sur le malheur de Jérusalem ; lui qui a eu faim et soif, au désert et jusque sur la croix ; lui qui a été méprisé, calomnié, persécuté, et pour finir, supprimé au nom des bons principes et de la vraie religion (ce qui est quand même un comble si on y réfléchit !)LE REGARD DE L’HOMME ET LE REGARD DE DIEUEn proclamant « heureux » ceux qui vivent ces Béatitudes, à commencer par lui-même, Jésus rend grâce en quelque sorte : car il sait de quel regard d’amour son Père l’enveloppe ; et il sait que la victoire est déjà acquise : la promesse de la Résurrection se profile déjà derrière ces Béatitudes. Il nous révèle ce regard de Dieu, cette miséricorde de Dieu : étymologiquement, le mot « miséricorde » signifie des entrailles qui vibrent ; ce texte vient nous dire : il y a le regard de l’homme, il y a le regard de Dieu ; l’admiration de l’homme se trompe souvent d’objet : son admiration va vers les riches, les repus, les gâtés de la vie. Le regard de Dieu est tout autre : « un pauvre a crié, Dieu l’entend » dit le psaume ; ou encore « d’un coeur brisé et broyé, Dieu n’a point de mépris » (Ps 50/51).Les pauvres, les persécutés, ceux qui ont faim, ceux qui pleurent, Dieu se penche sur eux avec prédilection : non pas en vertu d’un mérite de leur part, mais en raison de leur situation même. Et Jésus ouvre ici nos yeux sur une autre dimension du bonheur : le véritable bonheur, c’est ce regard de Dieu sur nous. Et alors, sûrs de ce regard de Dieu, les pauvres, ceux qui pleurent, ceux qui ont faim, trouveront la force de prendre leur destin en main ; comme le traduit André Chouraqui, le mot « heureux » veut aussi dire « en marche ». Par exemple, le peuple guidé par Moïse a trouvé la force de sa longue marche au désert dans la certitude de la présence constante de Dieu à ses côtés. Encore une fois, cette opposition entre béatitudes et malédictions ne divise pas l’humanité en deux populations distinctes : ceux qui méritent ces paroles de réconfort et ceux qui n’encourent que réprobation. Nous faisons partie tour à tour de l’un ou l’autre groupe, et c’est à chacun de nous que le Christ dit « en marche...! »Je disais plus haut que ces Béatitudes sont d’abord applicables à Jésus-Christ, elles le sont ensuite aux disciples. Luc nous dit : « Jésus, levant les yeux sur ses disciples, déclara : Heureux, vous les pauvres : le royaume de Dieu est à vous. Heureux, vous qui avez faim maintenant : vous serez rassasiés. » ; traduisez ‘Vous qui me suivez, voilà ce que vous récolterez : la faim, la soif, la pauvreté ; vous pleurerez de découragement dans l’entreprise d’évangélisation, vous serez persécutés, assassinés les uns après les autres, mais vous avez fait le bon choix’.« Vous serez rassasiés, consolés, soyez heureux et sautez de joie » : c’était déjà dans l’Ancien Testament, la manière de parler du bonheur qu’apporterait le Messie ; les disciples connaissaient bien ces expressions ; ils comprennent du coup très bien ce que Jésus leur annonce ici : ‘Vous qui êtes sortis de la foule pour me suivre, vous n’êtes pas partis pour récolter les honneurs ni la richesse, mais vous avez fait le bon choix, puisque vous avez su reconnaître en moi le Messie’.