Some Opportunities Never Come Again

Pastor’s Column

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 1, 2026

The people who lived at the time of Christ were receiving an opportunity that no human being before or since has ever quite experienced…. God Almighty in the person of Jesus Christ, literally walked among them. He was only to live three more years, so when Jesus called, they had only one chance. Each day of our lives contains hidden opportunities to grow in character and faith, and the Beatitudes in today's Gospel are there to guide us in what really matters. Last week, Peter, James, John, and Andrew had to say yes when Jesus passed by. They recognized in that critical moment an opportunity that would never come again.

The Kingdom of God is at hand for us as well. At present, it is within us. None of us knows how long we have to prepare. When we die, we are immediately confronted with the absolute truth about ourselves and God’s constant love for us. Now is the time to prepare to enter the Kingdom, to be ready. Each day is a dress rehearsal for eternity, and God makes use of every event, whether pleasant, unpleasant, or even tragic, to prepare us. Saint Faustina has some words of wisdom from her diary that may help us:

“I live from one hour to the next and am not able to get along any other way. I want to make the best possible use of the present moment, faithfully accomplishing everything it gives to me. In all things, I depend on God with unwavering trust.”

       (Divine Mercy in My Soul # 1400)

The Lord serves up a daily banquet to us, a table literally filled with all kinds of rich foods, a feast which is called the Will of God. At times, we are required to suffer intensely. Other moments are filled with great joy; still others, opportunities to serve.  We are challenged to step out in faith. We are caught in traffic and must practice patience. We have relatives, co-workers, classmates, or friends that bug us. These are all precious opportunities to allow the Holy Spirit to prepare us for eternity.

The Beatitudes do not always look valuable in the world we live in now. Each beatitude has meaning. For example, when Jesus says, "Blessed are they who mourn," this means that we have truly loved, for we cannot mourn unless we have taken the risk and loved. And Jesus will give us back what we truly loved and lost one day. To be merciful is to receive mercy. To be poor in spirit means to have more room to receive gifts from God instead of being full of ourselves or excessive stuff. To be meek doesn't mean to be a doormat but rather to have the patience to accept God's will and wait for his answers. To be a peacemaker in a world of hatred means that in my little area of life, I will be a force for good and a force for peace, not one of tension and argument. At the Last Judgment, these will be the qualities that we will want to have.

Father Gary