'Blessed are the poor,
for the Kingdom shall be theirs'

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Marshall J. Cook

A scruffy little beggar named Al used to stand at the corner of State and Lake Sts. He held a cup in his hands, said nothing, and did his best to avoid eye contact.

Most of the people who passed by didn't look at him anyway. He was the next thing to invisible.

About the only thing Al had in this world was that prime begging spot in front of the Walgreens, and even that wasn't a sure thing. If someone got there first, Al would either have to wait or stake out another spot.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Jan. 30, 2005) Zep 2:3; 3:12-13 Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10 1 Cor 1:26-31 Mt 5:1-12a

He was on his corner for hours each day, rain or shine, in severe heat and bitter cold. Silently asking for money was his job; I suspect it was a very hard job.

I don't know where Al was from or what brought him to that corner. He may have been a drunk or a user, mentally ill or just confused. Perhaps in the judgment of the worldly wise, it was his own fault that he had been brought so low.

I never will know Al's story now, because one bitterly cold night, Al froze to death out on the mean streets of Madison.

I do know this about Al. He was poor. He was weak. He was lowly. He spent a lot of his life hungering and thirsting.

And, according to the Master, he was blessed.

Blessed?

Jesus talked about the poor a lot, and He spent a lot of His time with them. In many senses, He was one of them. He was born in a stable, after all.

Although He had a trade, He spent the years of His ministry homeless, an itinerant preacher. He and His followers even resorted to noshing off the wheat growing in someone else's field.

He didn't have to worry too much about "rendering unto Caesar," because He didn't have anything that Caesar wanted. He even had to pull off that trick of catching the fish with the coin in it to pay His temple tax.

When He talked about "the poor," it was without the "there but for the grace of God" condescension many of us use. He was talking about His brothers and sisters, the dear children of His Father, the ones He had come to shepherd.

He didn't condescend to them. He loved them.

	Reflection questions • How do you respond when you see someone begging on a street corner? • How do you feel about the way you respond? • Perhaps instead of asking "what would Jesus do?" in such a situation, we should ask, "What would Jesus have me do?"

I think about Al every time I walk past that corner. And when I do, I think about the beggar Lazarus, cradled in the bosom of Abraham, free at last of pain and want. I hope and pray that's Al's fate.

There's usually someone else standing on "Al's corner" now, cup or hand outstretched, silently petitioning the passers-by.

The poor, after all, we will always have with us.

Marshall J. Cook is a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor in the Division of Continuing Studies.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Faith Alive!

In a Nutshell We are a mystery to ourselves! We humans are mysteries to be entered, not problems to be solved. It takes trust, relationships, courage and a willingness to slow down to really come to know ourselves well. And to know God's will, Christians need to know themselves, to know what is going on inside them, where it is coming from, where it is leading. Catholic News Service 3211 Fourth St NE Washington DC 20017 202.541.3250 cns@catholicnews.com	Food for Thought   The process of getting to know ourselves can be daunting. After all, we can never finish the task; there's always more to know about who we are and why we are. Furthermore, the task can be somewhat terrifying. How do we know we'll like what we find inside us? Again, self-knowledge could call for changes in how we live. Are we sure we want to change? Naturally, there is always the possibility that the process of getting to know ourselves will get derailed. We might like ourselves too much, becoming self-absorbed and more or less dead-ended. Getting introduced to our real selves ought to be rewarding. If we believe we are made in God's image, the process promises not only to reveal much about ourselves, but much about God too. full story   The Mystery That Each of Us Is By Father Richard Rice, SJ Catholic News Service We are such a mystery to ourselves! Who has not had to ask: "Why did I get so irritated at that?" or "Why did I turn at that corner and not follow my usual route?" or "Why did I laugh at that?" Observe yourself carefully for an hour and you will say or think or feel something surprising. That is what it is to be human. Few put it as succinctly as the psalmist when he prays: "It was you who created my inmost self, and put me together in my mother's womb; for all these mysteries I thank you: for the wonder of myself, for the wonder of your works" (Ps.139:13,14). full story  Things That Help Us to Know Ourselves By Jean Sweeney Catholic News Service What does it take to know ourselves? 1. Trust. Some people grew up with parents and siblings who basically loved them unconditionally. Many others weren't so fortunate. To be free to know ourselves fully in our failures as well as successes, we must be able to trust others around us not to hurt, shame or dismiss us. full story  Why Self-Awareness Matters So Much for the Christian Life By Father Warren Sazama, SJ Catholic News Service St. Ignatius of Loyola was a master at helping Christians examine their inner lives and discern the thoughts, feelings and desires at work in their hearts and souls. The goal of this self-knowledge for St. Ignatius is the freedom to know and generously respond to God's will. People often ask how God communicates with us. Of course, God speaks to us in clear external ways such as through Scripture and church teaching. However, Ignatius points out and the church affirms, the more personal language with which God speaks to us is the language of the heart, and the medium through which God speaks to us is our inner thoughts, feelings and desires. full story
	Faith in the Marketplace   This Week's Discussion Point: How can we improve our ability to listen to others -- truly to hear what they say?     Selected Response From Readers:
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