BEATITUDES SERMON ON THE MOUNT Matthew 5:3-12

1. BEATITUDESSERMON ON THE MOUNTMatthew 5:3-12 "The Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus' preaching. They take up the promises made to the chosen people since Abraham. The Beatitudes fulfill the promises by ordering them no longer merely to the possession of a territory, but to the Kingdom of heaven." (C.C.C. # 1716)

2. "The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. • They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; • They shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; • They are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; • They proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples; • They have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints." (C.C.C. # 1717)

3. The solemn blessings (beatitudines, benedictiones) mark the opening of the Sermon on the Mount the very first of Our Lord’s sermons in Matthew. (Four of them occur again in a slightly different form in Luke 6:22, where they are illustrated by the opposition of the four curses (Lk 6:24-26)). The prominent place given the Beatitudes in Matthew is in accordance with the scope and the tendency of the First Gospel, in which The spiritual character of the Messianic kingdom -- the paramount idea of the Beatitudes – is consistently put forward, in sharp contrast with Jewish prejudices.

4. “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Having no money is not an automatic “in” to heaven Being rich is not an automatic ticket to hell He wants us to see all forms of poverty and helplessness as a symbol of their total dependence before God. We are all in absolute poverty before God

5. The word poor in Aramaic is `ányâ (Hebr. `anî), bent down, afflicted, miserable, poor Meek is a synonym from the same root, `ánwan (Hebr. `ánaw), bending oneself down, humble, meek, gentle. “Beggars before God" humbly acknowledging the need of Divine help. Being poor is not confined to economical need and distress, but rather to the whole of the painful condition of the poor: their low estate, their social dependence, their defenseless exposure to injustice from the rich and the mighty.

6. Besides the Lord's blessing, the promise of the heavenly kingdom is not bestowed on the actual external condition of poverty. The blessed ones are the poor "in spirit", who by their free will are ready to bear for God’s sake this painful and humble condition, even though at present they may be actually rich and happy; while on the other hand, the really poor man may fall short of this poverty "in spirit".

7. “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Christ practices poverty of Spirit on the Hill of Calvary Modern society might be characterized as acquisitive • Its primary concern is to acquire, to own, to possess • Its aristocracy is not one of blood or virtue, but of money • It judges worth not by righteousness but in terms of possession The poor in spirit are those who are so detached from wealth, from social position and from earthly knowledge that, at the moment the Kingdom of God demands a sacrifice, they are prepared to surrender all. Blessed are they who are not possessed by their possessions Christ conquered the three kinds of pride Pride of what one has (economic) Pride of what one is (social) Pride of what one knows (intellectual

8. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the land. The biblical meaning of meek is unassuming and tolerant. Matthew 12:20 The meek can restrain their anger; they can be tolerant. They are not lordly, overbearing or haughty. They are not wimps, or spiritless or overly submissive. Yet they will go the extra mile, turn the other cheek The meek are gentle but firm of faith, peaceable but uncompromising.

9. Inasmuch as poverty is a state of humble subjection, the "poor in spirit", come near to the "meek" The anawim, They who humbly and meekly bend themselves down before God and man, shall "inherit the land" and posses their inheritance in peace. This is a phrase taken from Ps.37:11 It refers to the Promised Land of Israel, but here in the words of Christ, it is of course a symbol of the Kingdom of Heaven, the spiritual realm of the Messiah.

10. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” Christ exemplified this meekness from the cross How different this is from the world! Ours is not a world of open hand rather it is a world of clenched fist. To correct such a war-like attitude of the clenched fist, Our Lord both preached and practiced meekness. Matthew 6:38-48 A meek man is not a man who refuses to fight, nor is he a man who will never become angry. He will never fight when his own conceit is attacked, but only when a principle is at stake.

11. Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted. If God is our total concern Our heart must weep for the insults thrown into God’s face by injustice in the world. Those who mourn over the evils that beset us all because of sin. “Father into your hands I commend my Spirit”

12. Motives of mourning are not to be drawn from the miseries of a life of poverty, abjection, and subjection The "mourning" in the Third Beatitude refers to those miseries from which the pious man is suffering in himself and in others, as a result of the tremendous might of evil throughout the world. To such mourners the Lord Jesus carries the comfort of the heavenly kingdom, "the consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25) foretold by the prophets, and especially by the Book of Consolation of Isaiah 40-55. Even the later Jews knew the Messiah by the name of Menahhem, Consoler. These three blessings, poverty, abjection, and subjection are a commendation of what nowadays are called the passive virtues: abstinence and endurance.

13. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied. If you are poor in spirit --in touch with your inner poverty and finiteness— you need something to fill you. You are hungry for the food of God! You want “justice”, a good relationship with God, you want God’s will to be done for all. This justice is that for which we hunger and this spiritual hunger is as all consuming as the need for material food.

14. First of all, "hunger and thirst" after justice: A strong and continuous desire of progress in religious and moral perfection, the reward of which will be the very fulfillment of the desire, the continuous growth in holiness.

15. “I thirst.” The cry of discipleship fell from Christ’s lips on Calvary The indifference of the world is the fear of being identified whole-heartedly with the God for whom we were made. The world by its nature is seated in indifference. • It is fond of talking about religion but dislikes doing anything about it • It dismisses zeal and intense love of God with the “sneer” of mysticism • It regards religion as something incidental to human life, like poetry Are we mindful that thirst for justice will save our own souls? James 5:19-20 Strong love makes strong actions, the measure of our zeal in bringing souls to the feet of Christ is the measure of our love for Him. A Christian soul longs for everyone to be God-like and God-ward.

16. Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy. If God cleanses our hearts we must then know what it means to feel mercy. Forgiving others should be no big deal if I have tasted God’s love and forgiveness. If you can rise above your own pain and go into the suffering heart of another --even someone who continues to hurt you— you know the compassion of the Father. You enter into the compassion of Jesus, who could say, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)

17. From this interior desire a further step should be taken That is, acting on the works of "mercy", corporal and spiritual. Through these the merciful will obtain the Divine mercy of the Messianic kingdom, in this life and in the final judgment. The wonderful fertility of the Church in works and institutions of corporal and spiritual mercy of every kind shows the prophetical sense, not to say the creative power, of this simple word of the Divine Teacher.

18. CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY • Feed the hungry - We are called not only to feed but to contribute in formation of legislation to prevent hunger in the world (Mt. 25:34-35) • Give drink to the thirsty - We are called to give water but also to actively protect the worlds water supply and prevent waste (Ps 41:17-18) • Clothe the naked -The poor are increasing in number. We are called not only to lift them up but to control our own debt. (Lk 3:7-11) • Shelter the homeless - Assist in finding homes for all who are without by shaping the social policies of our nation and the world. • Visit the sick - Visit the sick but step beyond the visit to protect the terminally ill and the defenseless. • Visit the imprisoned - Ransom the captive not simply those imprisoned due to crime but the victims of age, handicap, latch-key and unemployment. (Dt 24:17-22) • Bury the dead - Show true Christian community in not only attending funerals but in helping the living to mourn. Aid in decreasing the cost of burial.

19. SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY • Instruct the Ignorant - Become a teacher, instruct others in spirituality and craft • Counsel the Doubtful - Bear witness to confidence in Christ throughout your day-to-day life (Mt 14:31) • Admonish the Sinner - We have a social responsibility to reject and name sin (Mt 18:15-20) • Bear wrongs patiently - Suffering has potential for spiritual growth bear it with patience and dignity (1 Peter 2:21-23) • Forgive offenses - Healing travels astride forgiveness. One can not occur without the other (Lk 22:33-34) • Comfort the Afflicted -We must walk with others in their pain giving hope through our presence (Luke 14:27) • Pray for the living and the Dead - We must daily lift up to God the needs and concerns of others (Rom 8:26-28)

20. “This day thou shall be with me in paradise” Christ practiced this beatitude as he addressed the thief from the cross The beatitude of the world is quite different “Blessed is the man who thinks first about himself” • The world insists on “rights,” how rarely does it emphasize “duties.” • The world uses the possessive “mine,” and rarely the generous “yours.” • The world is full of “courts of justice” but few in “courts of mercy.” A person is merciful when he feels the sorrow and misery of another as if it were his own. The merciful man seeks to dispel the misery of his neighbor just as much as if the misery were his own. Matthew 18:20-35

21. Blessed are the clean of heart for they will see God. We have all known people who leave a pleasant atmosphere behind them and others a trail of depressing cynicism. A clean person is open to God--ready to be filled with God’s presence! The clean of heart without reserve express the purity of their heart. It includes the idea of single-heartedness and purity of intention of motivation unclouded by selfish aims. “Clean of heart” refers to the purity and integrity of the whole person.

22. The "pure heart" is the simple and sincere good intention In the Old and New Testaments (Gen. 2:5; Job 33:3; Ps 24:4; 53:1; I Tim 1:5; II Tim 2:22), The "single eye" of Mt.6:22 Opposed to the unavowed ends of the Pharisees (Mt 6:1-6, 16-18; 7:15; 23:5-7, 14) According to biblical terminology, "cleanness of heart" cannot exclusively be found in interior chastity, nor even, as many scholars propose, in a general purity of conscience, as opposed to the Levitical, or legal, purity required by the Scribes and Pharisees.

23. This "single eye" or "pure heart" is most of all required in the works of mercy and zeal in behalf of one's neighbor. At least the proper place of such a blessing does not seem to be between mercy and peacemaking, nor after the apparently more far-reaching virtue of hunger and thirst after justice. And it stands to reason that the blessing, promised to this continuous looking for God’s glory, should consist of the supernatural "seeing" of God Himself, the last aim and end of the heavenly kingdom in its completion.

24. “Son behold thy mother, Woman, behold thy son.” Mary became our mother through purity. Flesh is essentially selfish even in its legitimate satisfaction. • All its pleasures look to itself and not to another • Even the law of self-preservation implies a kind of selfishness • For the flesh to satisfy itself it must tyrannize over others • It consumes others to enkindle its own fires The greater the purity of heart the less the selfishness God in his wisdom has instituted two escapes from the selfishness of the flesh: The sacrament of matrimony and the vow of chastity “Given a purity which is the Purity of Our lord on the cross and you have someone so detached from ego, so strange to selfishness, so thoughtless of the flesh that He looks upon His Mother, not uniquely as His own, but as the Mother of us all.” Bishop Fulton Sheen Perfect purity is perfect selflessness

25. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God. Jesus didn’t leave us a formula for making peace. Peacemaking comes more easily for the poor in spirit--who can see the beauty of reconciliation--than for the proud-hearted, who only see the need to avenge their hurts. When Jesus greeted others with “Shalom!” He meant total well-being. It’s not just health of body, but health of mind and heart. All who seek healing as a way of life are dispensers of “Shalom.”

26. “It is finished.” On Calvary Christ made a consummate act of peace between God and man Peace is the tranquility of order, A subordination of all things to the sovereign good which is God The "peacemakers" are those who not only live in peace with others but moreover do their best to preserve peace and friendship among mankind and between God and man, and to restore it when it has been disturbed. It is on account of this godly work, "an imitating of God’s love of man" as St. Gregory of Nyssa styles it, that they shall be called the sons of God, "children of your Father who is in heaven" (Mt 5:45).

27. 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. Jesus said the result of his coming would not be peace, but division, even within families Courageous people of all ages suffer ridicule simply for being chaste or standing up for justice and equality and the values of Christ many in the world do not accept Congratulations! You Are Blessed.

28. When the pious disciples of Christ are repaid with ingratitude and even "persecution" it will be but a new blessing, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The eight conditions required constitute the fundamental law of the kingdom, the very pith and marrow of Christian perfection. For its depth and breadth of thought, and its practical bearing on Christian life, the passage may be put on a level with the Decalogue in the Old, and the Lord's Prayer in the New Testament, and it surpassed both in its poetical beauty of structure

29. So, by an inclusion, not uncommon in biblical poetry, the last blessing goes back to the first and the second. St. Thomas Aquinas “The eighth beatitude is a confirmation and a declaration of all those that precede. Because from the very fact that a man is confirmed in poverty of spirit, meekness and the rest, it follows that no persecution will induce him to renounce them. Hence the eighth beatitude corresponds in a way to all the preceding seven.” The pious, whose sentiments and desires whose works and sufferings are held up before us, shall be blessed and happy by their share in the Messianic kingdom, here and hereafter.