Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 12, 2023
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.
Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Today’s gospel featuring the Beatitudes is undoubtedly one of the most beloved passages in Christian Scripture. Its appearance in the lectionary throughout the liturgical year and at various ritual celebrations invites us to consider the beautiful, multifaceted message of these sayings in new ways each time we hear it.
When paired with today’s first reading from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, in which the Apostle reflects upon the encouragement he receives from God in both joy and affliction, which he, in turn, passes on to fortify early Christian communities, it helps us to see the Beatitudes as a profound message of encouragement.
With this passage from the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew places us among the crowds as Jesus starts his teaching ministry. And what a first lesson it is! In each Beatitude, Jesus highlights people either enduring a particular source of distress or embodying a disposition that could place them at the peripheries of society.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, he calls them blessed because of it. Thus, as Jesus sets out to teach us about God’s kingdom, he doesn’t follow the convention of centering the prosperous, influential, or prominent. Instead, he celebrates and uplifts those who are humble, hurting, and hungry for a better world as exemplars of life in the kingdom of Heaven. What a remarkable word of encouragement for folks who our society often dismisses or overlooks.
As we encounter this cherished gospel passage anew today, let us take Jesus’s first lesson for his followers to heart by being attentive to those around us who need encouragement amid affliction or distress. By accompanying others with compassion, we bring the world ever closer to the vision of the kingdom Jesus offers us.
Prayer
Gracious God, you know how deeply we long for wholeness and a deeper happiness than we find in things and possessions. Teach us to take your Son’s beatitudes to heart, so that in letting go of those things that bind our hearts and minds, we may experience something of the joy and wonder now being experienced by all the saints in heaven. Amen.
Saint of the Day

Eskil was a British monk and bishop who was sent to Sweden to convert the native Swedish people to Christianity. The date of Eskil's birth and death are lost to time, but he lived sometime in the mid-to-late eleventh century.
Eskil is the patron saint of two diocese in Sweden where he spent most of his ministry. Eskil made the town of Tuna—which is now present-day Eskilstuna—the seat of his missionary diocese.
He worked tirelessly to convert villages in the surrounding area to Christianity. As part of his missionary travels, Eskil made a journey to Strängnäs, an Old Norse holy site. Eskil disrupted a ritual happening in Strängnäs , and he was stoned to death by the angry villagers. In the image to the left, Eskil is shown holding three stones, to represent both his message of bringing the Trinitarian God to Sweden and his manner of martyrdom. Swedish Christians brought him back to Tuna. Legend has it that, while on their journey, his pallbearers laid his body down on the ground. A miraculous spring gushed out from underneath his body and began to flow down the mountain.
To this day, the spring is known as the spring of St. Eskil. The traditional site of Eskil's martyrdom is now the location of the Strängnäs Cathedral.
Eskil is the patron saint of the dioceses of Södermanland and Strängnäs in Sweden.
St. Eskil, missionary to Sweden—pray for us!