Your place

"When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down..." (Mt 5:1).

Let us ask ourselves a question: where are we? Do we find ourselves more in the crowd – amid human affairs, problems, worries, work, duties, relationships? Or are we closer to the solitude of the mountain, dwelling alone with God?

Anthony Hopkins, in his beautiful autobiography written at the age of eighty, claims that he was always closer to being a loner, even when he was among multitudes of people. This confirms the fact that the decision about where we are truly depends only on ourselves. It may relate to our extroversion or introversion, but whether we are closer to earthly or divine matters – that is an individual decision.

Jesus, presenting to us today the eight beatitudes, seems to draw us away from merely earthly reasoning toward the logic of his Father. He asserts that it is better to choose less rather than too much, because excess inevitably leads to unhappiness. Only when Anthony Hopkins understood what a misfortune alcohol abuse was did he become truly a humble person, sensitive to others. Only when he experienced what true sorrow is could he enter into a happy marriage and begin to rejoice in small things.

We would all like to experience God's mercy in our lives. When we approach the sacrament of reconciliation, we ask for God's mercy and count on the understanding of our heavenly Father. But how difficult it is for us to be merciful to our neighbors in ordinary daily life!

Yesterday we commemorated Saint John Bosco, who taught that it is much easier to react with anger and use the argument of force than to treat people with patience and understanding – even if they continually repeat the same mistakes. Which of us has a heart pure enough to see God in another person? Has our vision not become so corrupted over time that we see nothing more than the tip of our own nose?

We also often pray for peace for the whole world, yet how difficult it is for us to be people who bring peace at home, in our community, in our family. We would like others to establish peace, because we ourselves cannot do it.

The Son of God, Jesus Christ, reminds us all that we are children of God who, yes, experience suffering, but to them belongs the kingdom of heaven. He encourages us to strive at all costs to bless and not to curse, to pray for the multitudes of people who suffer and are sick, but also to be able to rejoice and be glad in the hope of eternal life.

Let us remember that the choice of where our soul dwells always depends on ourselves alone. Our heart can be on earth – among the crowd, or in heaven – if we draw near to Jesus like his disciples. Amen.