February 1 2026. Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 5, 1-12

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

 

Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

 

Gospel:Matthew     5:1-12      

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples.

Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

‘How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage.

Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted.

Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied.

Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.

Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God.

Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God.

Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.’

The Gospel of the Lord.   Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

 

1. The spiritual life is not about moral coherence but happiness

The first reading from Zephaniah tells how the powerful, the nobles and the religious leaders will be taken into exile because of the infidelity of Israel, but the poor people will be spared this purification. The kings often led the people into idolatry, resulting in the deportation of the rich and powerful to Babylon. In the fifth chapter of Matthew, we have the Beatitudes. This reminds us of something that we often forget. The repetition of the word “blessed” or “happy” emphasizes the joy to which we are called. Too often we turn the spiritual life into a striving after perfection or spiritual narcissism.  We think Christianity is a question of moral coherence, but it is actually a question of personal happiness. The saint or holy person is not someone sad but someone who has found the beautiful kernel of life.

 

2. It is the humble, the meek, the merciful, those who strive after right, who discover the happiness of the life of the Kingdom

Who finds this kernel? The poor in spirit! Their humble condition permits them to receive the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who are meek will inherit the land because their focus is on a greater inheritance – the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven - than the worthless prosperity that we seek after here below. Happy are those who seek justice, not in the sense of revindication, but in the sense of the Kingdom, as we discover later. It is those who seek true righteousness and holiness who will be satisfied. The merciful are those who are aware of their own need of mercy. They find mercy because they pardon others, as the Our Father exhorts us. We need to forgive because we too are in need of forgiveness. This is true happiness, to experience the mercy of God.

 

3. Then our hearts are purified and we begin to see God. Then we begin to strive after peace.

It is in this way that our hearts are transformed, through this poverty, these tears, this meekness, this thirst for what is right. Then one begins to have a heart that is no longer deceived, that is pure, an authentic heart that is in touch with the centre of our existence. Finally, then, we begin to see God, and this is real beatitude – to see God in our lives, in the things that happen to us, even in tribulation. Then, we become operators for peace, and nothing counts more than peace. Sometimes we meet those full of aggression who seek to put things right at all costs. These are not makers of peace but of war. Sometimes they do it in the name of God, and religious violence becomes the most aggressive of the passions. Peacemakers are “sons of God” and we see this in the only Son, Christ, who brings peace between heaven and earth with his blood. Those who are persecuted, excluded, are the very ones who enter the Kingdom of heaven.

 

4. If we have lost joy in our lives, it is because we have lost humility, meekness, true mourning, true mercy. It is because we battle for the wrong things and seek success and applause.

These Beatitudes are the pathways of joy. Often, when we lose the joy in our lives, it is because we have lost these pathways. We are no longer in touch with our own poverty, we have forgotten our real motive for mourning, we fight the wrong battles, we have hunger and thirst for stupid things, we are slaves of mediocre and useless passions. We forget that we need mercy because our hearts are confused, we fight battles instead of striving for peace. We end up being people who live to be applauded, to have success.

 

5. It is not in possessions, success, laughter or entertainment that we find happiness, but in entrusting ourselves to the Father as Jesus did. Then we will experience the peace of the Spirit.

The Beatitudes finish with: ‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.’ Again, the key to this line is the first word: “happy” (or “blessed”). This is the secret of the saints, of those who belong to Christ. Even in the midst of persecution, their hearts remain steadfast. It is the Holy Spirit who consoles them and brings peace, the same Spirit of Christ who entrusted himself to the Father on the cross. It is only in God that our soul finds repose, not in the world or possessions, not in reward, entertainment, laughter. All the successes and celebrations of this world have their days counted. Everything will one day be washed away in the face of that which really matters, the Kingdom of Heaven

“In the Stars the Glory of His Eyes – Tales from an Irish Tour Guide in Rome”

FROM IGNATIUS PRESS

Tales of unexpected blessings, hilarious true stories, unique perspectives on the lives of the saints. An original, entertaining and orthodox presentation of the Catholic faith. You won’t be able to put it down!

"Captivating."

— Elizabeth Lev, Professor of Art History, Rome.

“Entertaining.”

— Cardinal Seán Brady, Ireland.

"I laughed out loud many times, and told the stories to others who laughed just as hard."

— Sally Read, Author.

"Enchanting."

— Bishop Brendan Leahy, Diocese of Limerick.

"Unique and insightful."

— Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly, Cashel and Emly

  January 25 2026. Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 4, 12-23

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

 

Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

 

GOSPEL: Matthew 4, 12-23

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,

he withdrew to Galilee.

He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,

in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet

might be fulfilled:

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles,

the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,

on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death

light has arisen.

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,

Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,

casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.

He said to them,

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

At once they left their nets and followed him.

He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,

James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.

They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.

He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father

and followed him.

He went around all of Galilee,

teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,

and curing every disease and illness among the people.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

 

1. The Gospel passage mentions the prophecy in Isaiah of darkness being transformed to light. In the Old Testament there are many instances of God giving victory to those who are small or insignificant.

On this Sunday which Pope Francis wishes to be dedicated to the Word of God, we reflect on the power of God’s work to being light and joy. In the first reading, we read how the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. This phrase refers to multiple things. The reference to “the day of Midian” refers to an event in the book of Judges when an insignificant member of the smallest family of Israel managed to win a great victory against a superior number of warriors, liberating the nation from oppression. This story of Gideon is a story of the weak defeating the strong, as is the tale of David defeating Goliath or the people of Israel overcoming the power of Egypt at the crossing of the Red Sea. Death is changed to life, darkness to light, that which we despise is turned into something glorious.

 

2. The Gospel is first announced by Jesus in an area of great confusion and darkness.

The Gospel passage from Matthew tells of the onset of the ministry of Jesus at the moment when John is arrested. As so often happens, what seems to be the end is actually the beginning. Jesus goes to preach in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that the prophecy of Isaiah might be fulfilled. We must remember that Israel was not a compact or isolated entity at the time of Jesus. The area of the Decapolis had ten cities which were pagan in nature. The “way of the sea” was a valley that went from the east towards the Mediterranean. It was an easy route for travel and had very heavy traffic. This area must have seemed a bit like Babylon, an area of promiscuity and darkness, but it is in this very area that the light is manifested.

 

3. Jesus asks us to repent, to liberate ourselves from our own narrow mental schemes. We too can discover that the kingdom of heaven is not a distant utopia, but near at hand.

Jesus begins his preaching by saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!” Repentance means to go beyond what one normally thinks, to open oneself to another way of conceiving things, to free oneself of one’s own narrow perspective. The kingdom of heaven is near, in contrast to our usual notions of utopia, which tend to be abstract and theoretical. In reality, the kingdom is near for it is a matter of conversion, a matter of a change of heart.

 

4. To get out of darkness and enter into the light, we must get away from our own vision of ourselves and enter into what God thinks of us and what he can do with us. Let us open ourselves to this light. This is what the word of God can do when it comes into our hearts. It offers us another key for understanding everything.

Jesus says to his disciples, “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men”. He doesn’t say, “Be good, be committed, make a big effort.” No, what is happening here is a work of God. We are often sad and in darkness, not seeing that the kingdom of heaven is near us, because we think it is up to us to save ourselves, to resolve our own problems. Instead, it is God who appears in our valley of darkness, in our Galilee of the Gentiles, in our world of confusion. He simply asks us to follow him so that we can discover what he can accomplish in us. As we see in St Peter, it is a long process of the apostle learning that it is not what he can with himself as the centre, but what the Lord can do in him. Peter is called in this Gospel, but will have to pass through failure and darkness before he learns to follow the Lord. The darkness of his betrayal will be illuminated by the forgiveness of Christ. Only then will he become a fisher of men. In the case of John and James, sons of Zebedee, to be converted, they must come out of their own framework of thinking, they must move away from the influence of possessive paternal or familial influences. When Abraham was called, he had to leave his paternal home, the zone of his original interpretation of who he was as a person. To get out of darkness and enter into the light, we must get away from our own vision of ourselves and enter into what God thinks of us and what he can do with us. Let us open ourselves to this light. This is what the word of God can do when it comes into our hearts. It offers us another key for understanding everything. Let us allow this key to unlock God’s grace, the goodness of the kingdom of heaven which is not distant but very close.

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY

 Sunday has been designated by Pope Francis to be the Sunday of the Word of God. Did you know that we can be enslaved or liberated by words? We are relational creatures and we are always fundamentally in dialogue with something. It is important that we be in dialogue with God’s word and not with a lie! The serpent in the Garden deceived us with his lie. This has caused us to distrust God and each other, and has led us to live lives of

 isolation and suspicion. But into this darkness, comes Jesus! The Gospel tells us that ligh begins to shine on the people who lived on the “way of the sea”. This was the commercial route to the Mediterranean. Jesus did not meet people on top of a high mountain, but went right into this busy region and called the first disciples. They were living in darkness in the

same way that all of life is in darkness and heading towards death and nothingness. Jesus calls them (and us) to conversion. Conversion means to change direction and head towards the Kingdom. So the people who lived on the way of the sea are now living on the way to the Kingdom of Heaven! This Sunday we are called to embrace the life-giving word of God,

change direction and allow the Kingdom to come in our lives.

“In the Stars the Glory of His Eyes – Tales from an Irish Tour Guide in Rome”

FROM IGNATIUS PRESS

Tales of unexpected blessings, hilarious true stories, unique perspectives on the lives of the saints. An original, entertaining and orthodox presentation of the Catholic faith. You won’t be able to put it down!

"Captivating."

— Elizabeth Lev, Professor of Art History, Rome.

“Entertaining.”

— Cardinal Seán Brady, Ireland.

"I laughed out loud many times, and told the stories to others who laughed just as hard."

— Sally Read, Author.

"Enchanting."

— Bishop Brendan Leahy, Diocese of Limerick.

"Unique and insightful."

— Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly, Cashel and Emly