February 1, 2026 ~ 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ year A

Spiritual Reflection

 February 1, 2026 ~ 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ year A (PDF)

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt.5:3) 

God’s light tries to show us, who are so tortured by our own selves, the path to freedom and poverty. Following the path to poverty does not necessarily mean losing things. Rather, the path to poverty entails turning our hearts away from the things to which we are attached so that we are not enslaved by them. However, if our attachment is so strong that breaking free from all of the shackles proves to be impossible, then it is necessary to lose some of the things that enslave us so that our hearts can then be free for the Lord in the end. 

In your daily routine, try to hear the Lord who is knocking. Through difficult situations that deprive you of the material goods to which you are attached, even if you do not know that you are so attached to these goods, God desires to give you the freedom of spiritual poverty. Perhaps you lost or misplaced something important. Perhaps someone stole something from you. Perhaps you were in a car accident or you lost a job that paid well. Try to see that this is God’s knocking. This is His way of asking you to accept loss so that you may become poor and free for Him. On the other hand, God may also want you to take advantage of certain material goods. However, He still expects a certain detachment, distance and freedom of heart from all temporary treasures. After all, Jesus reminds us: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth” (Mt 6:19). For the person who is poor in spirit, things only have meaning insofar as they help him to fulfill God’s will. God, who is knocking, desires to show us how to turn our hearts from the things of this world toward the one and only true support – God’s will. 

Human nature clings to treasures and riches. It is full of greed and lust. Consequently, the attitude of poverty does not come easily to us. Losing is very painful for the ego and our pride. Each time we lose something, we have to overcome ourselves in order to accept the truth. When you go after God’s light, which shows you the path to poverty, and you want to surrender something to Him, your feelings or mind may resent this action and suggest to you: “Do not do this because you will lose your life” or, “look, you are growing old, you are losing your strength, and you will not realize your dreams.” Meanwhile, God desires that we continuously give up our attachments, until we give away our last penny in order to purchase the pearl of eternal life. 

A person who is poor in spirit places his entire hope in God and not in the things of this world. Blessed are the poor in spirit because they acknowledge their own total dependence on God, and they are open to His all-powerful love (cf. Mt 5:3).

Slawomir Biela, Open Wide the Door to Christ, pp.11-12

Reference from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1718 The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it: 

We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated.13 

How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you.14 

God alone satisfies.15

Questions for Reflection

1.       Do I hear God knocking in my daily routine? In what ways?
2.       Have I ever considered poverty of spirit as a road to happiness? Why?
3.       How can God’s powerful love be manifested in my experiences?
4.     How can Mary guide me to be detached from worldly things?

Prayer after Sharing

Thank you God, for allowing me to see the truth about my weaknesses and how it calls upon the abyss of your merciful Love.