The Beatitudes
A Summary
(Dcn D. McManaman)
The Beatitudes
Each beatitude begins with Makarios ("Blessed
are..."), which is a blessedness or happiness that
is sufficient unto itself, complete, and is the first
taste of life eternal. As a whole, the beatitudes
describe the spirit of the one who lives in the
Person of Christ.
1. "Blessed are the Poor in Spirit; the
kingdom of heaven is theirs"
This means blessed are those who are aware of
their radical need for God. A person who is poor
knows his poverty, is aware of his indigence.
Spiritual poverty is the beginning of the spiritual
life. Only those who know their need for God
will call out to him, and if we call out to him, he
will hear us and draw close to us.
2. “Blessed are those who mourn; for
they shall be comforted"
If we truly love someone, we will suffer when
they suffer. Imagine if your own mother told
you she was mugged and beaten. You would
feel great sorrow if you love her. In the same
way, the more we love God, the more we mourn
the sins of the world. We mourn the fact that
God is loved so little.
3. Blessed are the meek; for they shall
inherit the earth
A meek person is not quick to get angry. He is
self-possessed, in control of his emotions,
especially anger. A meek person is gentle.
Meekness, however, does not mean never
becoming angry. Recall that Jesus became angry
at the money changers in the temple and drove
them out.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for what is right, they shall be satisfied
The hunger and thirst of a first century Palestinian is very
different than what we are used to in the 20th century.
They experienced the heat of the desert, and a first
century laborer might go hungry if he went a day without
work. In other words, they likely knew hunger pangs and
desert thirst, unlike most of us. Christ is saying blessed
are those who thirst for justice as would a first century
Palestinian would thirst for water in the desert, or who
hunger for justice as would one suffering from hunger
pangs.
5. Blessed are the merciful; they will
be shown mercy
Christ revealed God as absolute mercy. He came to
die for us and cancel the debt of sin, which we were
unable to pay. The Latin word for mercy is
misericordia (miser, cor, dia). The word means “the
heart (cor) of God (deus) touching our misery
(miser). God enters into our misery by becoming
man in the Person of Christ. We are obligated to be
merciful to others, to concern ourselves with their
suffering, since mercy was shown to us in him.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart, they
shall see God
Something is pure if it is unmixed. For
example, pure maple syrup is unmixed with
anything else. To be pure in heart is to have
an undivided love for God. Some people love
creation more than the creator. They love
things; they worship things, wealth, the
pleasures of the earth, etc. God calls us to
love him more than the things he creates. If
we do, we shall see him as he is in himself
(heaven is the Beatific Vision).
7. Blessed are the peacemakers; they
shall be called the children of God
The Latin word for peace is ‘pax’. Pax means unity. A
peacemaker is one who strives to bring together, to
maintain harmony among people. A peacemaker is not a
“peacenik”. A peacemaker is not a “peace-lover”. Rather,
he is one who is willing to ‘make’ peace, to work for it,
even to fight for it if that is necessary. A true peacemaker
is even willing to take up arms and fight, perhaps die for
peace (pax, the unity of the people), like our war
veterans. Gossipers are those who are not peacemakers,
but love scandal and love to see and bring about division.
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted
for the sake of what is right; for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven
If you belong to Christ, you will be
persecuted. You will have great joy, but
you will suffer persecution and rejection
to some extent. Christ suffered rejection,
so will his followers. But that is the test.
How much do you love God? How much
do you love what is right? Do you love
God, truth, justice, etc., more than you
love yourself? Do you love Christ more
than you love yourself? Blessed are you if
you do, the kingdom of heaven is yours.