June 8, 2026// Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Read the Word// Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 5:1–12
Reflect on the Word //
When the call came in, I could hear the tension and fear in his voice. My older brother and his wife had just received the news: their baby, number ten, due in some months, had Down Syndrome. He asked, “Would you please pray for us?”
Naturally, they were initially awash in questions. What would this diagnosis mean for their child, for their family? Who would care for her after my brother and sister-in-law were gone? My sister-in-law took the news especially hard. But that season of fear and anxiety didn’t last long. Once little Maggie Rose arrived, all that fear was transformed into so much joy, I thought my sister-in-law’s heart would burst.
Her many siblings can hardly stop kissing “the Rosebud.” You cannot mention her name without my brother breaking into a beaming smile. My sister-in-law can hardly stand to be separated from her for even an hour. Maggie Rose has taken hold of the heart of the entire house, and her big, blue-eyed, pink-cheeked smile is like a little shock of Heaven bursting over the earth. Every time I see her, I think, that little baby is living beatitude, a little bit of heavenly blessing right here, right now.
How often the Lord works exactly that way, surprising us with burdens that turn out to be blessings. Oh, but we must learn to look with God’s eyes, His eternal vision, His vision that sees everything in its completion, its fullness. Jesus says our reward will be great in Heaven (Matthew 5:12), but that doesn’t mean He won’t give us a taste of heavenly joy right now. Maggie Rose is proof of that.
The paradoxical tension we feel in the beatitudes is not meant to frustrate us, but to orient us, to keep our eyes fixed on Heaven and eternity. When our burdens don’t feel like blessings, let’s ask the Lord to give us heavenly vision, to see as He sees, and to love as He loves.
Relate to the Lord // When have your burdens turned into blessings? Reflect on God’s goodness to you.
Liz Kelly is a jazz singer who met Jesus in late-night adoration. She is the author of more than a dozen award-winning books, includingAnchored by Hope, Meditations to Calm the Anxious Soul, Jesus Approaches, Love Like a Saint, and A Place Called Golgotha. Her take home retreat forJesus Approaches has been called "a spa for the soul." She holds advanced degrees in creative writing and Catholic studies. She is trained as a spiritual director, leading retreats and speaking around the world with a particular focus on helping women to flourish in their faith. Visit her website at LizK.org. Her popular column, Your Heart, His Home is available on Substack.
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