The Beatitudes (From the USCCB website, NAB Matthew 5:1-12a)

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Poor in spirit” means you are humble.  If you are humble you realize that all your gifts and blessings come from God’s graces.  If you are poor in spirit you are completely empty, without pride, and open to the Word of God.  Humility brings inner peace that allows us to do the will of God.  If we are humble we can accept our human nature and its weakness, we can repent and we can allow God to grace us.

Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

A humble heart will appreciate all the blessings and gifts from God and will love and be grateful for Jesus Christ our Savior.  This can cause us to mourn our sins and the sins of the world and feel remorse for hurting God who has been so good to us.  We also mourn for others who are suffering.  God will comfort the humble heart that loves God and is grateful for blessings and gifts and feels pain and suffering for sins.  We also feel sorrow for our condition as humans and we long for the Kingdom of God.

Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.

A humble person is meek, or gentle and kind, and has a peaceful spirit even when things are hard.  A meek person has self-control.  A meek person is obedient to God and submits to the will of God and not to worldly things.  Meek people can bring peace in this world.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.

If we continuously desire something, we move in the direction of that goal.  To “hunger and thirst” for righteousness, for justice, will cause us to seek justice in life.  St Augustine outlined the seven gifts necessary to fulfill the Beatitudes: The gifts are wisdom, understanding, knowledge, fortitude, counsel, piety and fear of the Lord.  We must have fortitude to seek justice with courage!

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Mercy is forgiveness that is neither earned or deserved.  We are given mercy through the blood of Christ.  We pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”.  As we desire the mercy of God, we should likewise give mercy to others who offend us.

The Corporal Works of Mercy
1 Feed the Hungry
2 Give drink to the thirsty
3 Clothe the naked
4 Shelter the homeless
5 Comfort the imprisoned
6 Visit the sick
7 Bury the dead

The Spiritual Works of Mercy
1 Admonish sinners
2 Instruct the uninformed
3 Counsel the doubtful
4 Comfort the sorrowful
5 Be patient with those in error
6 Forgive offenses
7 Pray for the living and the dead

Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.

To be pure of heart, or clean of heart, means you are free of all selfish intentions and self-seeking desires.  When you perform an act that is perfectly free of any personal gain you have done something with a pure heart.  Acts of pure and selfless giving bring happiness to others.  Jesus tells us that people who are pure of heart shall see God!

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.

Peacemakers live peaceful lives and also try to bring peace and friendship to others. To be able to bring peace to others you must first possess peace yourself and to fill yourself with peace you must imitate God’s love and become a child of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”

Nearly all of the Apostles and many early Christians were martyred; they were killed because of their belief in Jesus Christ.  Many Christians over the centuries have been persecuted.  For those who are persecuted for the sake of Jesus Christ God promises a great reward in heaven.  Consider how difficult it was for the Apostles to continue to declare the truth of Christ Jesus while being tortured and eventually murdered.  This is probably, in my opinion, one of the strongest testaments to our Lord because one might expect that at least one of those Apostles would have denounced Christ Jesus during torture and yet none renounced the Lord! 

The Beatitudes are our guidelines for living our lives in such a way as to foster and strengthen our loving relationship with God.  It focuses our hearts and our minds away from ourselves and onto God and others, and removes from us our pride and replaces our pride with humility, with selflessness, so that we can accept the Word of God and be children of God.

The Psalm this week is Psalm 143: Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Have a blessed week!

In Christ,

Elaine