The Beatitudes The Characteristics of Christ and the Christian.

The Beatitudes

The Characteristics of Christ and the Christian.

The Beatitudes

The Context of the Beatitudes

• Context: The Gospel of St. Matthew has an account of the Beatitudes that we will focus on. That gospel is comprised of five major discourses, interspersed with the actions of Jesus, and the passion narrative towards the end.

• It has not escaped biblical commentators that there are also five books of the Torah.

Five Discourses

• The Sermon on the Mount (5-7)• the Apostolic Discourse (10)• the Parables (13)• the Discourse on the Church (18)• The Eschatological Speech on the End Times

(24-25).

Church of the Beatitudes

The Sermon on the Mount

• The Sermon on the Mount is in some continuity with the law. There is the “law of Christ.” Gal 6:2

• "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.

• For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 5:17-19)

How Jesus Fulfills

"You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven;” (Mt 5:43-45)

There is recapitulation and added depth.

The Importance of Jesus’ Teaching• "Every one then who hears these words of mine

and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.

The Authority of Jesus

• And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” (Mt 7:24-28)

The Beatitudes and the Commandments

• The Beatitudes parallel and continue the Ten Commandments, but do not replace them.

• “The Beatitudes are not specifically concerned with certain particular rules of behavior. Rather, they speak of basic attitudes and dispositions in life and therefore they do not coincide exactly with the commandments. On the other hand, there is no separation or opposition between the Beatitudes and the commandments: both refer to the good, to eternal life.

VS cont.

• The Sermon on the Mount begins with the proclamation of the Beatitudes, but also refers to the commandments (cf. Mt 5:20-48). At the same time, the Sermon on the Mount demonstrates the openness of the commandments and their orientation towards the horizon of the perfection proper to the Beatitudes.

VS cont.

• These latter are above all promises, from which there also indirectly flow normative indications for the moral life. In their originality and profundity they are a sort of self- portrait of Christ, and for this very reason are invitations to discipleship and to communion of life with Christ.” JPII Veritatis Splendor 16

Beatitudes and Commandments cont.

• “The Beatitudes are not infrequently presented as the New Testament’s counterpart to the Ten Commandments, as an example of Christian ethics that is supposedly superior to the commandments of the Old Testament. This approach totally misconstrues these words of Jesus. Jesus always presupposed the validity of the Ten Commandments. (see, for example, Mk 10:19; Lk 16:17) Jesus of Nazareth p70

The Beatitudes

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: • "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the

kingdom of heaven. • Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be

comforted. • Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the

earth. • Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for

righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Cont.

• Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

• Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

• Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5 2-11)

The Beatitudes Can be Considered as Fruits

You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. (Mt 7:16-20)

What is Meant by Fruit?

• St. Thomas Aquinas and common experience tell us that a fruit:

1. Is something that comes form a source, like a seed or root. The Beatitudes come form the Holy Spirit proceeding in us.2. Is something final or ultimate. The Beatitudes represent the perfection of the Christian life.3. Is something sweet and delightful.

Fruit of Discipleship

• “The individual Beatitudes are the fruit of looking upon the disciples; they describe what might be called the actual condition of Jesus’ disciples: They are poor, hungry, weeping men; they are hated and persecuted (cf. Lk 6:20ff) These statements are meant to list practical, but also theological attributes of the disciples of Jesus—of those who have set out to follow Jesus and have become his family.” Jesus of Nazareth p71

Lived Pauline Discipleship of Paradox

• “We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” 2 Cor 6:8-10

• “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” 2 Cor 4:8-9

The Beatitudes: Being Happy

• If the virtues are habits ordered to good action, the Beatitudes are being in the act or state of the fullness of the Christian life.

• The Beatitudes are the state of Christian identity, and a call to hope to progress along the path of holiness.

• They refer both to the present, and our final happiness in heaven.

Happiness

• “They are eschatological promises. This must not, however, be taken to mean that the joy they proclaim is postponed until some infinitely remote future or applies exclusively to the next world.” Jesus of Nazareth p 72

• “The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it.” CCC 1718

Is There an Order to the Beatitudes?

• The first three Beatitudes, poverty, meekness and mourning, have to do with not seeking our final happiness in the sensual life: riches or honors, acting out of violent passions, or the pleasures we sometimes turn to when we are sad.

• The fourth and fifth, justice and mercy, regulate our relationships to our neighbor.

Order, cont.

• The sixth and seventh, the pure of heart and the peacemakers, are concerned with seeking after and seeing God, and the peace that occurs when the person with wisdom is able to arrange things peacefully.

• So in the Beatitudes we have the right ordering of ourselves, to our neighbor, and to God.

The Order of the Rewards

• Some see that the rewards get better and better in a kind of crescendo. Being comforted in the kingdom is better than simply having the kingdom, and the inherited possession of it gives final security. Having one’s fill is more than just being comforted, and mercy goes beyond even that. Seeing God is very good indeed, and being God’s son or daughter is the most we could ever hope for.

Ladder of Ascent

• “Starting with being poor in spirit the Beatitudes form a ladder of ascent to God through ever deeper assent and cooperation with Him in His divinizing work in and through us.” –Dr. Bill Riodan

• We will now look at the Beatitudes individually, with an eye to how they are related to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

St. Francis of Assisi

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

Poor in Spirit

• This beatitude is the joy of detachment from exterior things for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.

• It corresponds to the Gift of Fear of the Lord, which is the desire to be separated by exterior things from the God who loves us.

• This term [poor in spirit] figures in the Qumran scrolls as the self-designation of the pious. They also call themselves “the poor of grace,” “the poor of thy redemption,” or simply “the poor.” Jesus of Nazareth pp74-75

Bl. Charles de Foucauld

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Those who Mourn

• The joy of liberation from our sorrows through God’s consolation.

• It corresponds to the gift of Knowledge, which sees who all created things come form God and go to God.

• It is not speaking of the mourning of despair.

St. Juan Diego

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

The Meek

• The joy of serenity, humility which will inherit the earth.

• It corresponds to the gift of Piety, which give God his due which is the worship of a creature who depends totally on Him.

• The biblical theme of the earth or land is very rich. It carries the connotation of a place of right worship of God, and therefore a place where God dwells. The inheritance of the land belongs to the pious.

St. Peter Claver

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

Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

• The joy in carrying out the just and good deeds leading to divine satisfaction.

• It corresponds to the Gift of Fortitude because it takes strength to carry through on justice.

• It is a desire that leads to Christ.

St. Faustina

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

The Merciful

• The joy of compassion, along with God, for all people, and thus to receive mercy.

• It corresponds to the Gift of Counsel and to prudence, by which we apply general principles of justice and morality to individuals who are fit for mercy.

St. Teresa of Avila

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

The Pure in Heart

• The joy in purity, simplicity thus to see God, Who is thoroughly pure.

• It corresponds to the gift of Understanding, which is the ability to grasp the essence of things.

• The eye of the heart must be pure in order to see God.

Pope Benedict XV

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

The Peacemakers

• Joy in the profound love of God and of all that God loves. The peacemaker is able to impart to things the tranquility of order.

• It corresponds to the gift of Wisdom which is having a taste for the things of God, and seeing how God is the source of all things.

Ugandan Martyrs

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The Persecuted

• The summary and perfection of all the beatitudes.

• “The Cross is the act of the “exodus,” the act of love that is accomplished to the uttermost reaches “to the end” (Jn 13:1). And so it is the place of glory—the place of true contact and union with God, who is love.” Jesus of Nazereth, p 73.

• The Cross sums up the paradox of the beatitudes.

Bibliography

• Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth vol.1, Ch. 4• JP II, Veritatis Splendor• St. Gregory of Nyssa, Homilies on the

Beatitudes, can be found online.• St. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, can

be found online.• St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I-II q.

69• CCC 1716-1729