FIRST BEATITUDE
The
word poor seems to represent an Aramaic 'ányâ (Hebrew 'anî),
bent
down,
afflicted, miserable, poor; while meek is rather a synonym
from the
same
root,'ánwan (Hebrew 'ánaw), bending oneself down,
humble, meek,
gentle.
Some scholars would attach to the former word also the sense
their
need of Divine help. But the opposition of "rich" (Luke 6:24)
points
especially
to the common and obvious meaning, which, however, ought not
to
be confined to economical need and distress, but may comprehend 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.
Besides the Lord's blessing,
the promise of the heavenly kingdom is
not
bestowed on the actual external condition of such poverty.
People who are poor in spirit…
- admit
their strengths and weaknesses
- don’t
think they are better than others
- don’t
try for a false, macho image
- don’t
always have to have their own way
- admit
they need God and others to help them
- are not too concerned about what they have or don’t have; are willing to share with others without making a big deal about it
. 2. Blessed
are the meek: for
they shall possess the land.
SECOND BEATITUDE
come
near to the "meek", the subject of the second blessing.
The anawim,
shall
"inherit the land" and possess their inheritance in peace.
This
is a phrase taken from Psalm 37:11,
where it refers to the Promised
Land
of Israel, but here in the words of Christ,
it is of course but a symbol of the Kingdom of
Heaven, the spiritual realm of the Messiah.
Not
a few interpreters, however, understand "the earth". But they
overlook
the
original meaning of Psalm 36:11,
and unless, by a far-fetched expedient,
they
take the earth also to be a symbol of the Messianic
kingdom, it will be
hard
to explain the possession of the earth in a satisfactory way.
People who are meek…
- don’t try to get their way by
using physical, verbal or emotional violence
- don’t try to make others feel
stupid, or push others around, even when they know they are right
- won’t try to manipulate others
3. Blessed
are they who mourn: for
they shall be comforted.
THIRD BEATITUDE
The
"mourning" in the Third Beatitude is in Luke (6:25) opposed
to laughter
and
similar frivolous worldly joy. Motives of mourning are not to be drawn
from
the miseries of a life of poverty, abjection, and subjection, which are
pious
man is suffering in himself and in others, and most of all the
tremendous
might of evil throughout the world. To such mourners the Lord
Jesus
carries the comfort of the heavenly kingdom,
"the consolation
Consolation of Isaias
(11-16). 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,
and the Eighth Beatitude leads
us
back again to the teaching.
People who mourn…
- notice and understand when others
are upset
- offer support when others are sad
or going through a rough time
- show concern when they see
suffering throughout the world
- Blessed are they that hunger and
thirst after justice: for they shall
have their fill.
FOURTH BEATITUDE
The
others, however, demand a more active behavior. 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.
People who hunger and thirst for righteousness…
- Stick-up
for those who are being treated unfairly.
- Are
willing to give people a second
chance if they mess up.
5. Blessed
are the merciful: for
they shall obtain mercy.
FIFTH BEATITUDE
From
this interior desire a further step should be taken to acting to 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.
People
who are merciful…
·
Truly
forgives another, mercy is shown.
·
A
life is spared at the last minute by a merciful leader.
·
Forgives
someone who hurt him or her.
SIXTH BEATITUDE
exclusively
be found in interior chastity, nor even, as many scholars
propose,
in a general purity of conscience, as opposed to the Leviticus, or
of
such a blessing does not seem to be between mercy and
hunger
and thirst after justice.
But
frequently in the Old and New Testaments,
(Genesis 20:5; Job 33:3, Psalms 23:4
(24:4) and 72:1 (73:1); 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:22)
the "pure heart" is the simple and sincere good intention,
the "single eye" of Matthew 6:22,
and thus opposed to the unbowed by-ends of the Pharisees (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18; 7:15; 23:5-7, 14)
This "single eye" or "pure heart" is most of all required
in the works of mercy and zeal in
behalf of one's neighbor. 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.
People
who are in clean hearts…
·
An individual reads
the Bible, completely opening his or her heart to the message.
·
Children play together
at a park with no bias or prejudice of one another.
·
A person completes a
good act without expecting a reward in return.
SEVENTH BEATITUDE
The
"peacemakers" are those who not only live in peace with others but
moreover
, do their best to preserve peace and friendship
been
disturbed. It is on account of this godly work, "an imitating
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"
(Matthew 5:45).
People
who are peacemakers…
·
Leaders of countries
work towards and bring about peace.
·
Two old friends decide
to let go of a grudge.
·
Family members who
have not spoken in 35 years reunite with each other.
- Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake,
for theirs is thekingdom
of heaven.
EIGHTH
BEATITUDE
and
even "persecution". It will be but a new blessing,
"for theirs is
the kingdom of
heaven."
So,
by an inclusion, not uncommon in biblical poetry,
the last blessing goes
back
to the first and the second. 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.
And viewed in the intermediate verses
seem to express, in
partial
images of the one endless beatitude, the same possession of
fundamental
law of
the kingdom, the very pith and marrow of Christian perfection.
For
its depth and breadth of thought, and its practical bearing
the Old
testament, and the Lord's Prayer in the New Testament,
and it
surpassed
both in its poetical beauty of structure.
People who are persecuted for justice’ sake…
·
Someone is mocked for
standing up for an individual that others do not like.
·
Christians continue to
hold strong in their beliefs, even though they are persecuted.
·
A person states that
he or she is a Christian, even though the individual knows that there will be
consequences.
Clearly, there are a number of ways in which
the beatitudes come into play in daily life.
Indeed, there are certainly many other ways in which these tenets can be
lived out as
well. We as human can do
all of this, it is (the beatitudes) who guide us to live
accordingly.
Jesus had witnessed this kind of living and we are then also obligated to
follow His
steps .
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