When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 He began to teach them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. 6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Jesus’ sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:1-7:29) was addressed to the disciples as well as the crowd (Mt. 7:28) and is a collection of material that derives from Jesus as documented in the Gospel of Mark and other sources. Blessed in Latin is Beati, hence the Beatitudes. The qualities mentioned in the Beatitudes stem from the spiritual perspective that those who embrace the way of life Jesus teaches are blessed because it leads to the Kingdom of God. The beatitudes are virtues to which the Christian should aspire. The true reward for practicing those virtues will be fully received in heaven.
The poor in spirit are the humble, those who see themselves as lowly and rely on God. Heaven is for such individuals (v. 3). Those who mourn as a result of their righteousness without complaining will suffer for a while in the present time, but their grief will become joy (v. 4; Jn. 16:20). The meek are those who do not retaliate when faced with adversity but resign themselves to it. They will prosper in the land (Ps. 37:11; v. 5). Those who seek divine justice will be rewarded (v. 6). Those who show mercy, forgiveness, and empathy to their brother or sister will receive God’s mercy and forgiveness which is infinitely greater than man’s (Mt. 5:21-22; Mt. 6:12; Jas. 2:13; v. 7).
The ancients believed the heart to be the seat of many things; emotions, intellect, thought, desires, deeds, and decision making among others. So if the heart is pure, it is free from anything that separates us from God so we can see God face to face - the Beatific Vision (Heb. 10:22; v. 8). Those who are peacemakers shall be seen as the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27; v. 9). Those who endure persecution for the sake of the Gospel (Acts 5:40-41) and for proclaiming the name of Jesus (Lk. 6:22) will be rewarded in the kingdom of Heaven (vv. 10-12).
Almighty
God, we beseech you to look with mercy upon your lowly servants who are poor in
spirit, suffering from lack of understanding, and hungry for your word. Grant us the grace to forgive as you have
forgiven us and the strength to bear our suffering for the sake of your
kingdom. This we ask through Christ our
Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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