Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – 01st February 2026
Dear brothers and sisters,
Jesus goes up the mountain, sees the crowd, and stops. Not because of hurry, not out of duty, but because his heart is moved. He sits down and, before asking anything, before correcting or commanding, he offers a word that comforts: “Blessed.” It is as if Jesus were saying, “I want you to know first how God sees you.” Not as failures, not as believers who are never good enough, but as people called to happiness, even where life hurts.
Before him there are simple people, with dusty clothes from the road, with many worries and tired souls. Some have lost someone they love, others struggle with illness, poverty, or injustice. And to them Jesus does not say, “Endure,” but “Blessed.” It is a reversal that heals. Jesus does not deny suffering, but he gives it meaning and opens it to hope.
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Not those who have nothing, but those who do not believe they own everything. It is the person who knows how to say, “I need help,” “Help me,” “Lord, without you I cannot.” It is like the elderly man who enters the church leaning on his cane, sits in a pew, and, perhaps without many words, places his whole life into God’s hands. This poverty of heart creates a free space where God can dwell.
Blessed are those who mourn. Not because tears are easy, but because they are never wasted. There is the crying of a mother keeping watch beside a sick child, the tears of a husband or wife left alone, the tears of someone who has realised they have made mistakes. In all these tears, God is present. Sometimes he does not change the situation right away, but he changes the heart. And from a comforted heart, new strength is born.