Happy are the Pure in Heart . . . Monday Morning Gospel QB
Channel: Sean Hayes
Date: 2020-11-02

Happy All Saints Day . . . explore the Beatitudes as we begin November and the month of Remembrance.  
November - month of Remembrance . . . Often on military loss / remembrance of the people in our lives or the world who have died this past year . . . And This year as we all know is unique because it is the year of COVID.  

So we pray for and holistically remember the 1.2 Million people  who have lost their life to the disease world wide:  1.2 Million people . . . Not stats but people - mothers / fathers / brothers / sisters / daughter / sons . . . Friends - people who loved and are love . . . We pray and honor and remember them and those left to mourn . . . "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN FOR THEY SHALL BE COMFORTED"


So How do you share a reflection on the Beatitudes, the evolution of the law . . . The beginning of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in 4 1/2 - 5 minutes . . . You don't - you pick your favorite and you go with it.  So here's mine: 

 Blessed are the Pure in Heart . . . They shall see God 
 
 Blessed are the Pure in Heart . . . They shall see God - this is what it means to be a Saint! - Happy All Saints Day
 
 To see God in all . . . The Universal Christ . . . In people, events, experiences, creation (the first book - Augustine  or first incarnation) 
 
 Blessed are the pure in heart - This is the hub - everything else evolves or grows out of this center / this insight, understanding, perspective . . . When you see God in all you will be:  a Peacemaker . . . Merciful . . . Poor in Spirit . . . Hunger and you will work for justice and you will be persecuted because you will fight for what is right even when its not popular . . . In fact especially if its not popular
 
You will see - your eyes will be opened to the truth that we are all truly made in the image and likeness of God, and that God is suffering in the streets of our city . . . In refugee camps . . . In shelters or long term facilities . . . in war, or homes trapped in the cycle of violence, in our jails, aboriginal communities, black men and women or people of color who suffer discrimination and prejudice . . . 
 
 You will see that we are interconnected - "brothers and sisters all" and you will see life as a blessing to be embraced and shared and lived and you will not see it as a list of things to do or goals to achieve . . . 
 
 Blessed are the Pure in Heart - they shall see God . . . They shall be God . . . They shall help co-create with God . . . They shall be happy and joyful and thankful . . . They shall be Saints
 
So may we pray for an ability to see .  .  . RIGHT,    "some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart" or "its only with the heart that one can see clearly what is essential is invisible to the eye" . . . Again what was blind Bartimaeus' request or prayer - "Lord that I might see".   Seeing is the key 
 
 That’s one of the KEYS - Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall SEE . . . They shall see God within and they shall stop putting themselves down / stop listening to the negativity or haters or judgemental garbage that’s all around us . . . Blessed are the Pure in Heart . . . and they shall live from this truth and see God as well, in others - and reach out to others in this truth . . .
 
 Blessed are the pure in heart . . . They shall see God - AMEN!