4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

To Heaven Belongs to Those Who Live not as Owners: But as Grateful Receivers 

(Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mathew 5:1-12a, 01 February 2026) 

In today’s liturgy, the Beatitudes according to the Gospel of Matthew are proclaimed (Mathew 5:1-12). The first is fundamental. This is what it says: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mathew 5:3). Who are the poor in spirit? They are the ones who know they are not enough for themselves, that they are not self-sufficient, and they live as beggars for God. They feel their need for God and recognize that every good comes from him as a gift, as a grace. Those who are poor in spirit treasure what they receive. Therefore, they desire that no gift should go to waste. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 2023) 

Beloved Brothers and Sisters, Today’s Gospel brings us to the mountain, where Jesus sits and teaches—like a new Moses, but with an even deeper authority: not merely giving laws, but unveiling the very logic of the Kingdom. The Beatitudes are not sentimental poetry, and they are not spiritual decoration. They are a revolution of meaning. They tell us what truly counts as blessed, what truly counts as successful, and what kind of life is already touched by Heaven. And the first Beatitude is the foundation of them all: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mathew 5:3). The first Beatitude is first not only in order, but in importance. It is the doorway. Everything else flows from it. 

“The Open Hands”-A priest once visited an elderly woman who had lived very simply all her life. Her small apartment was quiet, almost empty—just a chair, a little table, and a crucifix on the wall. As he sat with her, he noticed something surprising: she was joyful, peaceful, and deeply grateful. Before he left, he asked her gently, Are you ever afraid living with so little? She smiled and held out her hands—wrinkled, empty, and open—and said, Father, I learned something a long time ago: if I clench my fists, I can hold on to a few small things but if I keep my hands open, God can place Heaven in them. And the priest said later that her words stayed with him: the poor in spirit are not those who have nothing— but those who live with open hands, receiving everything as grace. 

The Poverty That Is Not Misery, But Truth-When we hear the words poor in spirit, we must be careful. Jesus is not praising psychological weakness, laziness, or despair. He is not romanticizing suffering. Rather, He is naming a spiritual posture: the interior honesty of a heart that knows it is not self-sufficient. 

Pope Francis describes it clearly: the poor in spirit are those who know they are not enough for themselves, who live as beggars for God. They recognize that every good comes from Him as gift and grace. This poverty is not humiliation—it is truth. It is the truth that we did not create ourselves It is the truth that our life is received. It is the truth that love, forgiveness, meaning, and hope are not manufactured by force of will, but welcomed as gift. The poor in spirit are not those who have nothing. They are those who know—even when they have much—that everything is received. 

The Great Temptation: Living as Owners-Here is the danger of the human heart: we slowly begin to live as if we are owners. Owners believe: My life is mine; My time is mine; My achievements are mine; My success proves I am secure; and My plans guarantee my future. And without realizing it, ownership becomes a spirituality: a self-salvation project. 

But the Gospel interrupts this illusion. Because ownership is never stable—it always produces anxiety. Why? Because what we own can be threatened, taken, lost, or changed. So the owner becomes tense, guarded, controlling, easily resentful. Yet the one who lives as a receiver becomes free: because the receiver knows that life was never a possession to defend, but a gift to steward. 

“Theirs Is the Kingdom of Heaven”: Not Later, But Now-Jesus does not say: Theirs will be the kingdom of heaven. He says: Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is not merely a future reward. It is a present belonging. Because the Kingdom is not first a place. It is first a relationship: God reigning in the heart. And God reigns most fully where the heart stops pretending to be its own savior. The poor in spirit are already living in Heaven’s atmosphere—because Heaven is not built on self-sufficiency, but on communion. And communion begins where we stop grasping and start receiving. 

Grace Replaces Grasping-Philosophically, we could say it like this: There are two ways to exist: Grasping — life as conquest and Receiving — life as gift. The tragedy of sin is not merely that we break rules. The tragedy is that we become graspers: we try to seize life, secure life, control life, possess life. But the Beatitude heals us by teaching us the truth: we are creatures before we are achievers. We are beloved before we are productive. We are receivers before we are builders. This is the beginning of faith: not that we have God figured out, but that we have finally admitted our hunger for Him. 

Gratitude: The Spiritual Language of the Poor in Spirit-Pope Francis says something beautiful: those who are poor in spirit treasure what they receive, and therefore they desire that no gift should go to waste. This means the poor in spirit are not passive. They are deeply responsible—but their responsibility is shaped by gratitude, not anxiety. Gratitude does something profound: It turns what we have into thanksgiving, not entitlement; It turns what we lack into prayer, not bitterness; It turns what we suffer into offering, not despair. 

The grateful heart is not naïve; it is spiritually awake. And gratitude is the opposite of the consumer mindset—which always says: More. Better. Faster. Mine. But the poor in spirit whisper: Thank You. Even this. Even now. Even here. 

The Poor in Spirit and the Cross of Christ-Ultimately, the Beatitudes are not only teachings—they are a portrait of Jesus. Jesus is the Poor One in Spirit: He lives entirely from the Father. He receives everything He gives everything He clings to nothing. Even His final breath is received and surrendered: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. (Luke 23:46) 

This is the deepest poverty of spirit: total trust. And this is why the poor in spirit inherit the Kingdom: because they live in the same attitude as the Son—open-handed, surrendered, receptive to the Father. 

A Concrete Examination: Where Do I Live as an Owner?-This Gospel is not meant to be admired; it is meant to convert us. So let us ask ourselves gently: Do I speak and live as if my time belongs completely to me?; Do I become angry when life interrupts my plans?; Do I treat my abilities as trophies, or as gifts to be offered?; Do I pray like a receiver—or do I negotiate like an owner? and Do I see others as burdens—or as gifts entrusted to me? 

The Kingdom grows when we can finally say: Lord, without You, I cannot live well. I cannot love well. I cannot endure well. I cannot become holy by myself. That confession is not failure It is the beginning of Heaven. 

Cumulative Summary-In today’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims the Beatitudes and begins with the foundational promise: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The poor in spirit are not those who are merely lacking, but those who live in the truth that they are not self-sufficient—humble hearts who recognize their need for God and receive every good as gift and grace. The homily contrasts two ways of living: as owners, who grasp and control in fear, and as grateful receivers, who live with open hands and interior freedom. This poverty of spirit is not weakness but spiritual clarity, because only the heart that stops clinging can truly welcome God’s reign within it. 

In fact, Jesus says: theirs is the Kingdom—not only someday, but already now—because the Kingdom is communion with God, and communion begins with surrender. Thus, Heaven belongs to those who treasure what they receive, waste no gift, and learn in Christ Himself the blessedness of living not by possession, but by grace. 

Concluding Words: The Open Hands That Can Hold the Kingdom- Heaven belongs to those who live not as owners, but as grateful receivers. Because only the open hand can receive. Only the open heart can be filled. Only the humble soul can be satisfied by God. The owner closes his fist around what he fears to lose. The disciple opens his hands to receive what cannot be possessed: grace, mercy, joy, peace, the Kingdom itself. So today, let us ask for the first Beatitude: the poverty that is truth, the dependence that is freedom, the humility that becomes joy. And may the Lord make us poor in spirit—so that even now, the Kingdom of Heaven may already be ours. Amen. 

Fraternally,
Fr. John Peter Lazaar SAC, Pastor 

Please join us for the Lenten Parish Mission: “Return to the Lord” Presented by Hallow – the #1 Catholic Prayer & Meditation App 

Dates: February 7, February 8, February 9 After 4pm Mass-Times: 5:30 – 7pm (Day 1), 1 – 2:30pm (Day 2), 6:30 – 8pm (Day 3) Location: St. Stephen (Day 1), St. Thomas (Day 2 & 3) Optional: Community meal 

This Lent, our parish invites you to step into a sacred journey of return through a special parish mission inspired by Hallow’s Pray40 Lenten prayer challenge, “The Return.” 

Rooted in the Parable of the Prodigal Son and drawing from The Brothers Karamazov, this mission explores the universal longing to come home to the Father. We’ll reflect on the ways we drift, the burdens that hold us back, and the mercy that waits for us—always closer than we think. 

Through reflection, prayer, and communal conversation, we’ll journey together as a parish this Lent—returning to the Lord, receiving His mercy, and allowing Him to send us out renewed as His hands and feet in the world. 

All are welcome. Come for one night or all. Bring a friend, and journey together.