RCIA Session 16: The Beatitudes
RCIA Session 34: The Beatitudes, November 16, 2010 (St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Gertrude)
Housekeeping: Bring flute--leave cleaning rod in. How’s everyone doing on researching their saints?
Treasure Hunt: example of someone living the virtues (shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe-magnificence)
St. Margaret of Scotland: born c. 1045 in Hungary where her family was in exile due to Danish invasion of England, came to England at about age 12 & was brought up at the court of England, surrounded by the flower of civilization and well-educated in academics and good manners. While fleeing the invading army of William the Conqueror when she was about 21, her family’s ship was wrecked off of the coast of Scotland. King Malcom III gave them refuge, sought her hand in marriage (it took a year or two to convince her). "Whatever pleased her, he loved for love of her. Although he could not read he would turn over the books she used for her devotions, kissing them and taking them in his hands ...Sometimes he sent for a worker in precious metals whom he commanded to ornament that book with gold and gems and when the work was finished the king himself used to carry the volume to the Queen as a proof of his devotion." "From her he learned how to keep the vigils of the night in constant prayer; she instructed him by her exhortation and example how to pray to God with groanings from the heart and abundance of tears. I was astonished, I confess, at this great miracle of God's mercy when I perceived in the king such a steady earnestness in his devotion, and I wondered how it was that there could exist in the heart of a man living in the world such an entire sorrow for sin." He helped her distribute alms (which she did lavishly) & wash the feet of beggars. She civilized him, the Scottish Church, and the whole country. She held court in an open field so everyone could bring their problems to her. Had 8 children; son St. David “The day he was both king and knight A monk devout he was by night.” Brought a golden age to Scotland. Died at 48, just after learning that her husband & son had been killed by treachery in battle ().
St. Gertrude the Great: born of a noble family in the early 1200’s in Germany, placed in a neighboring Costercian convent at age 5 & raised there with her sister (thought to have been orphans). Extremely intelligent: literature, music and song and the art of miniature painting captivated her. She had a strong, determined, ready and impulsive temperament. Vanity, curiosity; "in such mental blindness that I would have been capable... of thinking, saying or doing without remorse everything I liked and wherever I could, had you not armed me in advance, with an inherent horror of evil and a natural inclination for good and with the external vigilance of others. "I would have behaved like a pagan... in spite of desiring you since childhood, that is since my fifth year of age, when I went to live in the Benedictine shrine of religion to be educated among your most devout friends" (Revelations., II, 23, p. 140f.). “Since the preceding Advent my heart had been filled with an indescribable longing and unrest, whose salutary effects were to give me a disgust for the frivolities and levity of youth. This was the first step of Thy love in preparing my heart for Thyself . . . I was in the dormitory, just at the beautiful hour of evening twilight. According to the rule, I inclined toward an aged Sister in token of respect. Raising my head, whom should I behold but Thyself, O my Beloved, my Redeemer, the most beautiful among the children of men! Thou didst appear as a most charming youth, who in a friendly and pleasant manner didst approach me. “Standing before me, Thou didst say in accents of indescribable sweetness: ‘Thy salvation is at hand! Why art thou consumed by grief?’ Then I felt myself transported to the choir and heard these wonderful words: ‘I will save thee and deliver you; fear not. You have sucked honey amidst thorns, but return now to Me—I will inebriate you with the torrent of My celestial delights.’ “You opened Your arms invitingly. I endeavored to approach—but, lo! a great hedge of sharp thorny bushes barred the way. Dismayed, I stood there, bewailing my sins and defects. In a moment, You, O Lord, extended Your hand to me, and immediately I was beside You and reposed on Your Heart. My gaze fell upon Your hands and feet, and I saw, good Jesus, those five glorious Wounds with whose Blood You paid the ransom of the whole world. “From this moment,” adds the saint, “I commenced to taste only You, O my God. With new spiritual joy I began to follow in Your footsteps, and I found Your yoke sweet and light.” From this hour she discontinued all secular studies & studied God alone; went from carelessness in her life as a nun to a life of intense, mystical prayer. “Thou hast so often melted my soul by loving caresses that if I did not know the abyss of Thine overflowing condescension, I should be amazed were I told that even Thy Blessed Mother received such extraordinary marks of tenderness and affection.” God loved her boundless confidence in Him & would refuse her nothing because of it.
She became abbess at 30 & served for the next 40 years. Miracles, prophesies, extremely humble & charitable to all. People who met her were inspired with an awareness of being in the Lord’s Presence. Focus on divine Love. Devoted to the Passion (wept many tears), St. Joseph, Sacred Heart & Eucharist. “O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. O my adorable and loving Savior, consume my heart with the burning fire with which Yours is aflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your love. Let my heart be united with Yours. Let my will be conformed to Yours in all things. May Your Will be the rule of all my desires and actions. Amen. “ 1000 Souls Prayer (devotion to souls in Purgatory), stigmata
(readings from 4th Sunday of OT cycle A or All Saints cover the Beatitudes)
Song: #595 We Are the Light of the World
First Reading: I Corinthians 1:20-31 (God has turned the wisdom of this world into folly)
The Word of the Lord Response: Thanks be to God
Psalm:146 “Blessed the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs”
Alleluia: Rejoice and be glad; your reward will be great in Heaven
Gospel: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 5:3-12; Beatitudes)
Response: + Glory to You Lord
The Gospel of the Lord Response: Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ
Prayer: Father in Heaven, Creator of all, look down on Your people in their moments of need, for You alone are the source of our peace. Bring us to the dignity which distinguishes the poor in spirit and show us how great is the call to serve, that we may share in the peace of Christ Who offered His life in the service of all. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Blessing (in the absence of a priest): Make the sign of the cross.
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Summary: Through the Beatitudes, Jesus challenges us to imitate Him by turning away from worldly values in order to embrace the supernatural values of humility, holiness and mercy, no matter how much it costs. These values are the key to true and lasting happiness. (CCC1716-1729, 2546)
Over the past month or so, we covered the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist. These are the sacraments that bring us fully into the Body of Christ, the Church. In a month or so we will begin looking at the Sacraments of Healing: Confession, or penance, and the Anointing of the Sick. God designed these sacraments to heal the spiritual wounds and sicknesses that we suffer after Baptism.
In between we’re taking some time to look more specifically at how to tell the difference between spiritual health and spiritual illness. Last week Brian covered the virtues--spiritual strengths. During the next three weeks, we’ll look at the Ten Commandments, which are a sort of symptom list, if you will, of spiritual illness. Tonight I’m going over the Beatitudes--looking at what’s going on in the heart of the spiritually healthy.
What does it look like to be spiritually healthy? The short answer is that it looks like Jesus. When Philip begged “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us”, Jesus replied, “Philip, after I have been with you all this time, you still do not know Me? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:8-9). So what does Jesus look like? We can--and should--read the entire Bible for that answer, but Jesus has given us a summary, a spiritual self-portrait, in the Beatitudes.
The beatitudes give us a window into Jesus’ Heart, into the way He approached life. He was poor in spirit. He mourned, He was meek and merciful and pure of heart, He hungered and thirsted for righteousness, He was a peacemaker and He was persecuted. In the midst of it all, He rejoiced because the Kingdom of Heaven was His. He wanted to share that Kingdom, and that rejoicing, with us. He also wanted to give us a preview of what that Kingdom is like, to tell us that it will be an experience of belonging (the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs), of lasting comfort (they shall be comforted). Heaven will be an experience of righteousness and justice (those who hunger and thirst for justice shall be satisfied), of mercy (mercy shall be theirs), of family-intimacy with God (they shall see God; they shall be called sons of God) and of reward (your reward is great in Heaven).
Another way to look at the Beatitudes is to see them as the answer to the rich young man’s question, “What good must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus first pointed this young man to the commandments: “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.” But the young man was looking for more. “Teacher, I have kept all these since my childhood”. Then Jesus looked at him with love and said, “There is one thing more you must do. Go and sell what you have and give to the poor; you will then have treasure in Heaven. After that, come and follow Me” (Mark 10:17-21). Jesus affirmed the young man’s hunger for more, and gave him a taste of the first beatitude in His reply. The commandments of the Old Covenant are the beginning, but not the end. They lay a foundation--we can’t do without them--but the new covenant comes with new direction for our lives, with new heights for us to ascend. With God, there’s always more!
Like Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus ascends a mountain to deliver the beatitudes, to deliver this new “Law”, this new direction for life. Even the number of Beatitudes points to their role in the new covenant. Seven is the number of the first creation. Eight--surpassing seven--is the number of the new creation. “The eighth day” is the day Jesus rose from the dead. The eight beatitudes lay out the lifestyle of the new creation that we enter through Baptism. The Commandments of the Old Covenant point us away from the depths of sin: “Thou shalt not”. In the New Covenant, Jesus points us upward toward the heights of glory: “Blessed are they”. The Commandments of the Old Law tell us what our outward actions should be. The beatitudes of the New Covenant tell us what our inner attitudes should be.
The beatitudes are the stuff of which saints are made. All of the saints could be called “people of the beatitudes”, but there’s one in particular whom Pope John Paul II called “the Man of the Eight Beatitudes”. That man is Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young upper-class Italian from the early 1900’s who combined deep prayer and generosity to the poor with a vibrant social life and a mischievous sense of humor. I’ll be using examples from his life as we go through the beatitudes themselves.
Before we get into a closer look at each of the Beatitudes, let’s make sure we know what we mean by the one word they all have in common, namely, “blessed”: to be blessed is to possess a perfect good permanently, to love that good and to delight in it. As we’ve already seen, God, as He is in Himself, is the only perfect good. So to be blessed is to possess God permanently, to love Him and to delight in Him forever. That’s a good description of Heaven...but it starts right here on earth. So who are these fortunate ones who possess God permanently and delight in Him?
1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven (see also Matthew 19:21--when you sell all you have and give to the poor, you will have treasure in Heaven)
The poor in spirit. The Greek literally means “spiritual beggars,” and there, I think we have a key. The poverty Jesus is looking for has less to do with the size of our bank account, than with our foolish sense of self-sufficiency. Fr. Eugene Boylan puts it this way: “The truth is that we do not understand the value of our own weakness.”
Here’s an illustration. In order to fulfill its purpose, in order to make music, this flute needs to be filled with breath. What happens if it’s filled with something else? [try to play opening song] Something’s wrong. Can you tell me what? [remove cleaning rod] Now, let’s try this again. [play opening song] Ah, much better!
We’re like this flute. In order to fulfill our purpose, we need to be filled with the breath of God, with His divine life, and only God can breathe that divine life into. But when I act as if I’m self-sufficient, when I try to fill myself, then there’s no room for Him. Fr. Bartholomew Gottemoller once wrote, “What limits God is not His own love, but our willingness to accept His love. It has been aptly said, ‘It is not our misery that gets in God’s way, but our importance.’” Our weakness, our misery, our neediness is our claim on God’s infinite power. It draws Him down to us like magnet. St. Augustine put it this way, “Consider, O brethren, this great marvel. God is on high: reach up to Him, and He flees from you; lower yourself before Him, and He comes down to you.” In the spiritual life, we go up by going down, lower and lower into the depths of our weakness. When someone asked Jesus why He loved St. Gertrude so much, He replied that it was because of her unshakable confidence in Him. She was a spiritual beggar, serene in the certainty that God would never fail her.
St. Therese of Lisieux was like that too. As novice mistress, she was responsible for training newcomers to live as nuns. One day a novice who was suffering from a temptation that seemed irresistible said to her “This time. I cannot surmount it.” Therese replied: “Why seek to surmount it? Rather pass beneath...It recalls a little incident of my childhood. One day a horse was standing in front of the garden gate, and preventing us from getting through. My companions talked to him and tried to make him move off, but while they were still talking I quietly slipped between his legs...Such is the advantage of remaining small.”
So poverty of spirit means living the truth of our limitations, the truth of our dependence on God. It also means living the truth about other people: first that no matter how strange or unpleasant or even evil they may seem, each and every person, made in the image and likeness of God, is infinitely valuable; and second, that our dependence on God includes dependence on other people. We can’t get away with being dependent on God & independent of everyone else. God works through people--sometimes through very unlikely candidates! Caiaphas was the high priest who unjustly condemned Jesus to death, yet in the midst of this scandalous evil, God spoke through him in prophesy, declaring that Jesus would die to save the nation of Israel (John 11:50-51). If God can prophesy through Caiaphas, He can work good through anyone! There is no person so materially or spiritually poor that we cannot receive from them. Nor is there anyone so spiritually or materially rich that we have nothing to offer them. God designed it that way in order to bring us together.
Finally, poverty of spirit includes an inner detachment or freedom from created things which helps us see them for what they really are. Everything God made was designed to point us to God, to help us on our way to Heaven. When we become attached to things for the pleasure they bring us, they can become idols which distract us from God and ultimately enslave us. It doesn’t matter so much whether we’re rich or poor. Poor people can be enslaved by the few things they own or by the longing to own more. The question is, rather, do you own these things, or do they own you? When we are poor in spirit, things serve their intended purpose of helping us grow closer to God. Yes, we take care of them, but they don’t have the power to shake our peace or to compromise our ability to love God and people.
As I mentioned earlier, Bl. Pier Giorgio was an upper-class Italian. His father was a senator, ambassador to Germany and founder of a newspaper. His mother made no bones about the fact that he was not to marry a woman “below his social status”. But Pier himself avoided the hoity-toity balls and dinners of their “high society” as much as he could and made no fuss over his social standing. Even as a boy, whenever he saw someone in need--which happened all the time--he did whatever he could to help them. It was about 10 degrees one day when he saw an elderly man shivering without a coat--so he gave the man his own coat. When his father scolded him, he replied simply, “But Papa, it was cold.” He didn’t get much spending money, so he rode third class on the train to save money to give to the poor...and if he gave away all of his train fare--which was not unusual--then he ran home to be on time for dinner. When his father gave him the choice between a new car or a large sum of money as a graduation gift, he chose the money and gave it all to the poor. He joined the St. Vincent de Paul society so that he could work with others, and give credit to the society & not to himself. And his charity wasn’t just about money. He went to homes where the stench was so bad that other people wouldn’t go in. One woman reported that he’d met her husband when he was released from prison and found a job for him so he could support his family. He brought his poor friends to church for Confession and Mass to meet their spiritual needs. He once said, “I am as poor as any poor man.” Neither his wealth nor his social status had control over him. He was free.
This is the key to the Kingdom. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
Now, lest we get the idea that being poor in spirit means we’re not supposed to care about anything,
Jesus goes on to tell us that there are things we must care about, and care very deeply, deeply enough to mourn.
2) Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (see also Psalm 126:5--those who sow in tears will reap in joy Isaiah 61:2--Messiah is sent to comfort those who mourn, Revelation 21:4--God will wipe away every tear & there will be no more pain or mourning,
The challenge here is to care about the right things in the right ways. St. Paul makes a distinction between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow: “Indeed, godly sorrow produces a repentance without regrets, leading to salvation, whereas worldly sorrow brings death.” (II Corinthians 7:10)
Worldly sorrow is essentially selfish. We don’t get what we want, so we whine and complain like the children of Israel in the desert. And like the children of Israel, we discover that God doesn’t approve of grumblers. Godly sorrow was demonstrated by Jesus in the synagogue in Capernaum, where the Jewish leaders watched to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath. Jesus was deeply grieved because they had closed their minds against Him. He was grieved by their sin. We see Jesus’ godly sorrow again at the tomb of Lazarus, where St. John tells us that He was moved by the strongest emotions. He mourned because of death--the consequence of sin. Finally, we find Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, sobbing, “If you had only known the path to peace this day, but you have completely lost it from view! Days will come upon you when your enemies encircle you with a rampart, hem you in and press you hard from every side. They will wipe you out, you and your children within your walls, and leave not a stone on a stone within you, because you failed to recognize the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41-44)
Jesus was wrenched in the very depths of His being over sin and its consequences to the people He loved. This wasn’t a mourning that closed in on itself, the way ours so often does. This was the kind of mourning that moved Heaven and earth to set right what had gone wrong. This was the mourning that healed a withered hand, that called Lazarus from the grave and that sent Jesus to the cross to pay the debt of our sin. This is the kind of mourning He calls us to. When we mourn our own sin, that’s called contrition--the most important part of the sacrament of Confession. Contrition is mourning that moves us, that motivates us to change our lives, to ruthlessly root out every toehold of sin in our lives. When we mourn the sin of others, we are motivated to do whatever we can to draw them to repentance and to heal the wounds caused by sin. That’s work! But notice the hope Jesus gives us. Those who mourn will be comforted. And comfort isn’t just a pitty-pat, “there, there, it’s going to be ok”. The word Greek word used for “comfort” literally means “call alongside to help,” and it was used of a defense attorney who would plead your case in court. It’s a variation on the word “Paraclete”, which Jesus uses for the Holy Spirit, our Advocate. When we mourn our sin, God comes to help us to conquer that sin. When we mourn the sin of others, God comes to us to help us to act on our sorrow to heal the wounds of sin and to draw others to holiness. Even the consequences of sin will be redeemed--God will bring good out of them, and He will strengthen us to participate in that process. That’s part of the idea behind penance. We make sacrifices in order to right the wrongs we and others have caused.
This is the strength we see in Pier Giorgio’s life when he served the poor and urged people to reform their lives. It was his grief over the injustices and religious indifference of his society that drove him to relieve the suffering of the poor and to call others to a deeper life of holiness. He joined charitable societies and urged others to do the same. He gave talks to promote holiness and almsgiving. When a friend accidentally woke him at night, Pier thanked him, saying he’d forgotten to pray his rosary that day and asking the friend to pray it with him. His friend later remarked that it was just like Pier Giorgio to pray that extra rosary just to make sure his friend had prayed his!
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
If we mourn, God will come to us to help us to do something about the sin and the results of sin that caused our grief. That almost sounds like an invitation to impose holiness by sheer force. Gun down the abortionists, bulldoze the strip joints, drag people to church by their ears. So what does Jesus say next?
3) Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (see also Psalm 37:11--“the meek shall possess the land”. This points to the promised land & our new promised land is Heaven; Proverbs 2:21-22--the upright will inherit the land, but the wicked will be cut off from it)
The meek. Right. The weak, sniveling cowards who roll over and play dead as soon as anyone disagrees with them. But wait. Does that really sound like the Jesus Who called His opponents whitewashed tombs and physically drove the money changers out of the temple with an improvised whip? What is meekness, anyway?
There are many ways of defining meekness, but the shortest is that it’s strength under the control of reason. Fr. Hardon put it simply when he said, “Use your temper, don’t lose it.”
B.W. Maturin put it this way: “...meekness is the blending of gentleness and strength--a strength that has been won by victory over self and passion, and a gentleness that is the witness that this victory is the outcome of no harshness and bitterness towards the self or the world, but of love. Test true meekness by the severest trials to which it can be put, and you will find in it no flaw of weakness or harshness, but a dauntless courage and an inexhaustible gentleness.”
Meekness overcomes evil with good (see Romans 12:21). It governs passion by reason and accepts suffering patiently from God. The meek don’t just roll over and let bad things happen. They’re not weak. In fact, they’re stronger than those who fly off the handle because a person consumed by anger is out of control. Their energy is scattered like water sprayed in all directions. The meek person channels that energy, like water from a fire hose, to bring good out of evil. And this God-given strength, focused through meekness, wins an inheritance of amazing influence over the hearts of men. The meek inherit the earth--they influence people--because people are absolutely captivated by the power of true meekness.
Pier Giorgio had a tremendous influence over hundreds, if not thousands, of people in his own lifetime, and that influence has been growing ever since. When he died of polio at age 24, his parents were astonished at the flood of people who lined the streets to pay their respects--they had no clue how many lives their son had touched, how many people felt indebted to him for the meekness that channeled his sorrow over injustice into humble, concrete action to meet their needs. It was these people--the lowest and the least of the city--who petitioned the Vatican to start the proceedings for Pier Giorgio to be declared venerable, and then blessed.
That’s the aim of our mourning. The purpose of the strength God gives us when we sorrow over sin is not only to win grace for ourselves, but also to win the grace of repentance for other people. It may be someone’s ticket to Heaven.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth
So Jesus tells us to care deeply about bad things, to mourn over sin and to channel the energy of that mourning through meekness to set things right. What about good things? Are we supposed to care about those too? Listen to the next beatitude.
4) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (see also Proverbs 21:21--“He who pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor”)
This is not the “Oh, I suppose I could eat” sort of hunger. The Greek word used for hunger is to crave, to be starving for righteousness. This is an all-consuming need that makes every other desire pale in comparison. When Esau came in from the fields and smelled his brother’s lentil stew, his hunger was all-consuming. “I’m on the point of dying. What good will any birthright do me” (Genesis 25:32) The birthright was Esau’s prize possession. It was his right to the largest portion of the inheritance and to the position of leadership in the tribe. But in his hunger, he gave it all away--for a bowl of lentils. That’s the power of hunger. Esau put it to a rather foolish use. Jesus calls us to turn that intensity of desire toward righteousness, toward holiness. We are to desire God’s will so passionately that we would give literally anything to see it happen. When the disciples urged Jesus to eat, He replied, “My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me, and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34).
The good news is that this hunger will be satisfied. This is another key to happiness. Unhappiness is caused by unsatisfied desires. “Pain is the difference between what is and what I want it to be”. But when we line up our desires with God’s desires, when we turn from “My will be done” to “Thy will be done”, then He promises that we’ll always get what we want. Our desires, our spiritual starvation, will be satisfied. We will be happy.
This was part of the secret of Pier Giorgio’s trademark cheerfulness. His hunger and thirst for holiness outweighed any disappointment he felt at missing other things he enjoyed. He received Holy Communion every day, and often spent entire nights on his knees in adoration before the blessed Sacrament. He loved to go skiing, camping and mountain-climbing with his friends, but if a trip would make him miss Mass, he wouldn’t go. Often he invited a priest along and they would celebrate Mass on the top of the mountain. He hungered for social justice too. Pope Leo XIII had written the encyclical “Rerun Novarum”, on the condition of the working classes, a few years earlier and one political party had formed in Italy for the purpose of putting this teaching into practise. Pier Giorgio joined this party and participated in peaceful political and religious demonstrations to call attention to the need for social reforms. In his words, “Charity is not enough: we need social reform.” “To live without faith, without a heritage to defend, without a steady struggle for truth, that is not living, but merely existing; we must never just ‘exist’”.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
But there’s a risk in this hunger and thirst, as there is in any strong desire. In our passion for righteousness, we can be tempted to ride roughshod over other people or to despise those who don’t have this hunger. The devil can twist even this noble desire so that it becomes self-serving. “Look how holy I am, especially in comparison with those evil people!”
Jesus gives us the antidote to this poison in the next beatitude.
5) Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (see also Proverbs 16:6--older translations have “mercy” instead of “loyalty”)
“Justice and mercy are so united, that the one ought to be mingled with the other; justice without mercy is cruelty; mercy without justice, profusion - hence He goes on to the one from the other.” -Catena Aurea
I have two definitions of mercy: 1) mercy is the loving kindness, compassion, or forbearance shown to one who offends or to the helpless and needy 2) mercy is a radiation of God’s love which takes into consideration the weakness of His creatures
Mercy is love overcoming resistance. It has a lot in common with meekness. We show mercy when we forgive, and we show mercy when we meet the needs of others, whether they deserve it or not.
Traditionally the Church calls our attention to seven corporal (or “bodily”) works of mercy and seven spiritual works of mercy.
corporal works of mercy:
feed the hungry (Matthew 25:41)
give drink to the thirsty (Matthew 25:41)
clothe the naked (Matthew 25:41)
shelter the homeless (Matthew 25:41)
visit the sick (Matthew 25:41)
ransom the captive/visit the imprisoned
(Matthew 25:41, Hebrews 13:3, Luke 4:18)
bury the dead (Tobit 12:12-15)
spiritual works of mercy :
instruct the ignorant (Colossians 3:15)
counsel the doubtful (I Thessalonians 5:14)
console the sorrowful (Romans 12:15)
correct the sinner (Mt 18:15, I Thess 5:14)
forgive injuries (Matthew 6:14)
bear wrongs patiently (Romans 12:12)
pray for the living & the dead (Matthew 5:44,
I Timothy 2:1, James 5:16, II Macc 12:39-45)
These works of mercy were Pier Giorgio’s way of life. I don’t have examples of all of them, but I’ve seen enough to know that he wasn’t just ticking off items on a list. “Hmm...have I admonished a sinner today? Better go find one!” No, if he someone was hungry, he fed them. If someone wronged him, he bore it patiently. It was just who he was. And we know that he received mercy. The fact that he’s been declared blessed tells us that he’s in Heaven. He won mercy for others as well. His father, who had been an agnostic during Pier Giorgio’s life, returned to the sacraments some time after his son’s death. We see an example of this in the Bible too. When St. Stephen was being stoned to death, he prayed for his persecutors, one of whom was a man named Saul of Tarsus. Stephen’s prayers were answered rather dramatically some time later on the road to Damascus, where God brought Saul to conversion--Saul, whom we know better as St. Paul. I’ve lost the reference, but one writer has observed that without the prayers of St. Stephen, we would never have had a St. Paul. That’s the power of mercy.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy...for themselves and for others
Jesus keeps pointing us higher. He’s called us to release and to mourn the things that hold us back, to press upward in our hunger for righteousness and mercy. Now He points us to the very vision of the invisible God.
6) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (see also Proverbs 22:11--“He who loves purity of heart...will have the king as his friend”, Psalm 24: 3-6--the man of pure heart will ascend the hill of the Lord, Psalm 73:1--“God is good...to those who are pure in heart”)
Usually, when religious people talk about purity they’re talking about sexual purity. And that’s certainly an important part of it. If you don’t have sexual purity, every other kind of purity is out of reach. Fr. Hardon reports the following incident: “Some years ago I was giving some lectures at the University of Michigan, and had dinner with the catholic chaplain at the university. In the course of the conversation, he told me that not a few of the Catholics come to him and they tell him, “I can’t believe all this the Catholic Church is teaching.” So I tell them, “sit down” and my first question is, “How’s your sex life?” “My sex life, what’s that got to do with what I’m telling you?” He tells them, “Everything”. A pure heart is joined to a perceptive mind.” Sin, especially sexual sin, clouds the mind and weakens the will. And Jesus made it clear that purity isn’t just about actions. It’s also about desires and intentions. After Jesus gave the beatitudes, in the same sermon, he went on to say that a man who looks lustfully at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart! (Matthew 5:28) That’s not purity of heart!
But purity of heart goes beyond sexuality. To be pure of heart is to be single-hearted, sincere, to have a right intention in all that we pursue. It’s the opposite of manipulation, of being “good” in order to get something for yourself. A pure heart seeks God and His glory whole-heartedly. These are the blessed ones who will see God--an expression borrowed from Oriental court life, which implied royal favor and intimacy with the king.
Listen to Pier Giorgio’s words: "When you are totally consumed by the Eucharistic fire, then you will be able more consciously to thank God, who has called you to become part of His family. Then you will enjoy the peace that those who are happy in this world have never experienced, because true happiness, oh young people, does not consist in the pleasures of this world, or in earthly things, but in peace of conscience, which we only have if we are pure of heart and mind."
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God
To see God, to win His favor and intimacy, surely this is a great thing! But Jesus wants more for us. He wants us to be more than friends of God--He wants us to be sons of God:
7) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (see also I Thessalonians 5:13-14--“be at peace among yourselves”, Col 1:20-“making peace through the blood of His cross.”)
If we are to be sons of God, then we must be like the Son of God, Jesus, Who came specifically to make peace between us and God. This peace is not just an absence of conflict. In fact, it may require conflict, as it did so often between Jesus and the Pharisees when they didn’t want to hear what He had to say.
The peace to which we are called is first and foremost the peace we cultivate within our own hearts by seeking God’s truth--which brings us peace of mind--and doing God’s will--which brings us peace of heart. But seeking the truth and doing God’s will is often a battle--a battle against our own selfish impulses and a battle against people who want us to do their will instead of God’s. This conflict is the price of inner peace, and when we are at peace within ourselves, then we foster peace in our relationships by being self-giving, instead of self-seeking. This is the way Jesus lived. Even in the most heated conflicts, He gave of Himself for the benefit of his opponents.
Pier Giorgio recognized the importance of peace--and the source of true peace. He said,
"In a world gone astray from God there is no peace” and "May peace reign in your soul... any other gift we possess in this life is vanity, just as all the things of this world are vain."
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
And lest we make the mistake of thinking that peacemakers prevent conflict, Jesus tells us:
8) Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you. (see also I Peter 2:20-23, I Peter 3:14, I Peter 4:14-16, Acts 5:41, James 1:2--all about rejoicing in suffering)
Persecution certainly involves conflict! But the conflict must be for righteousness’ sake, filled with a self-giving love that points the other to Heaven. We must do what is right no matter what the cost because the reward will be far greater than the cost. In fact, rather than respond with hurt and anger and all the other negative emotions that normally come with persecution and false accusation, Jesus tells us to rejoice! We are to set our eyes on the reward He has for us and to take joy in the increase of that reward. This really takes supernatural vision and supernatural strength, which the Holy Spirit gives us in His gifts of knowledge and fortitude. These are already at our disposal through the sacrament of Confirmation. We just have to use them. We are to follow the footsteps of our Crucified Master who “for the joy which lay before Him endured the cross, heedless of its shame” (Hebrews 12:2).
Pier Giorgio had his share of persecution. He said, "We are living through difficult days because the persecution against the Church is raging more than ever, but this should not frighten you, brave and good young people. Always remember that the Church is a divine institution and it cannot come to an end." When anti-clerical activists attacked priests and religious, he defended them with his own body. He was beaten & imprisoned for participation in political & religious demonstrations, yet he could say, “It is not those who suffer violence that should fear, but those who practice it. When God is with us, we do not need to be afraid”
He suffered a more subtle, more painful, persecution at home, from parents who neither understood nor approved of his religious activities and generosity to the poor.
But this same young man was best known for his joy. If there must be political unrest and instability, well then he and his God-seeking friends would playfully call themselves “the sinister ones”. He was nicknamed “the Terror” by his friends because he never passed up an opportunity for a practical joke! Besides the usual short-sheeting of beds & siphoning gas out of cars, some of his jokes had his own personal touch. When his good friend, Tina Bonelli, persuaded her parents to allow her to travel to England, she received permission because she would be traveling in the company of an elegant lady named Mrs. Bellia. Pier Giorgio accompanied Tina to the train station and made a loud racket so that he got everyone's attention and then presented Tina with a box of candies. What she didn't realize was that Pier Giorgio had tied all of the candies together; so when she later offered one to the “very proper” Mrs. Bellia, they came out of the packet in a long chain, to the surprise and laughter of everyone present. After his best friend, Marco, entered the military, Pier Giorgio sent him a telegram about a recent unsuccessful attempt to climb a mountain. The telegram read: "Bessanese unassailable, bivouacking [camping] outdoors. Cannon shots. [signed] Robespierre." I assume “Canon shots” were photos from a Canon camera. And “Robespierre” was Pier Giorgio’s favorite nickname for himself. Robespierre was the worst of the ringleaders of the French reign of terror who sent thousands of people to the guillotine--for Pier Giorgio to take that name was sort like naming your pet turtle “speedy”. Unfortunately for Marco, this was a time of political turbulence and the military didn’t catch the humor of the message. It was quite some times before his officers believed that the message was really innocent fun!
This joy, this free spirit in Pier Giorgio was the fruit of the beatitudes.
Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Throughout the Beatitudes we find a constant theme. He who loses his life will find it. They’re all about giving ourselves away, all about selflessness, self-giving. Even a speck of self-seeking taints or ruins our poverty of spirit, our mourning, meekness, hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, purity, peacemaking and endurance of persecution. Self-seeking destroys love, which is self-giving. This means that love is at the heart of these Beatitudes. Jesus is teaching us yet again how to love.
The song I have for you tonight was written about Blessed Pier Giorgio, based on the photo that was used at his beatification, this one of him on his way up the mountain. He himself wrote on the photo, “Verso l’alto”, which means, “toward the heights”.
Toward the Heights
Words by Anna Dougoveto
Music by Andrea, Anna Dougoveto
Young man what are you doing? World wants to know
Imprint everlasting only twenty-four
Young man where are you going? See your head upturned
Eyes are gazing skyward, soul and body yearn
To scale a rugged mountain, breathe its purest air
Feet upon the solid rock will take you there
Toward the heights, beyond the grandest peak
Where shadows die and mercy rains upon the weak
Toward the heights, you've found what all should seek
A God who wants to carry you onward toward the heights
Young man what are you feeling? Spirit young and wild
You race up to the homeland, joyful in your trial
Ascent is gaining holiness, bathed in Beauty's glare
Pressing onward every stone and made it there
Inspired by his spirit, I lift my eyes to Thee
Oh give me strength to climb like him to where my soul is free
Suggested Activity: Pick the beatitude that seems the most difficult and ask Jesus to help you live it more fully. Be prepared to cooperate with Him when He answers your prayer!
Treasure Hunt: Be prepared to share a story (one you experienced or heard about) of someone living the beatitudes.
Closing Prayer:
Prayer to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, by Giovanni Cardinal Saldarini, Archbishop of Turin
Father, you gave to the young Pier Giorgio Frassati the joy of meeting Christ
and of living his faith in service of the poor and the sick.
Through his intercession may we, too, walk the path of the beatitudes
and follow the example of his generosity, spreading the spirit of the Gospel in society.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Discussion Suggestions:
1) How are the Beatitudes similar and different from the 10 commandments?
2) What does it mean to be blessed?
3) How do the beatitudes compare with the things most people think will bring happiness?
4) What does it mean to be poor in spirit?
5) What is meekness?
6) How did the saints you’ve been studying live the beatitudes (give an example)?
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In this sense it can be said that the Beatitudes are also relevant to the answer given by Jesus to the young man's question: "What good must I do to have eternal life?". VERITATIS SPLENDOR, Pope John Paul II
the Second Vatican Council, which spoke more than all the other councils put together on the religious life, describes religious life as a “lifetime commitment to practicing the Beatitudes.”-Fr. John Hardon
From “Thou shalt not”, to “Blessed are they”(from outward observance to inner attitudes)
The beatitudes are a follow-up on the Ten Commandments (10=perfection of divine order). There’s even a parallel in the setting--Moses went up on the mountain to receive the commandments & Jesus went up a mountain--this is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount--to present the beatitudes (8=new creation; superabundant). Even when we kept the letter of the Commandments, we missed the point. We were still focused on ourselves & trying to “get away with” as much as possible instead of learning what God really wanted for us. In the Beatitudes, Jesus began to lay the groundwork for us to live up to the spirit of the law as well, a spirit that points outward and upward, to that love which seeks the good of the other person above our own.
The Beatitudes turn our whole view of life upside down--or rather, right-side up, so that we will be ready for the Reality of Heaven. Worldly wisdom says that we will be happy when we’re wealthy, powerful & popular here on earth because then we will be comfortable and secure; in short, we will be happy when everything goes our way here and now. That should sound familiar. It’s the lie the snake sold Eve in the Garden of Eden. “Have it your way”. Jesus redirects our vision to God’s perfect plan for us. He assures us that poverty, weakness and rejection here on earth, when accepted in a spirit of self-sacrificing love, lead to real fulfillment and happiness. They teach us to give up our own way and to embrace God’s way. This prepares us for the joys of Heaven, where everything works together perfectly according to God’s loving plan. It points us beyond this world to the ultimate good of eternal life.
In addition, the beatitudes are a spiritual portrait of Christ. They give us a window into His Heart, into the way He approached life. He was poor in spirit. He mourned, He was meek and merciful and pure of heart, He hungered and thirsted for righteousness, He was a peacemaker and He was persecuted. In the midst of it all, He rejoiced because the Kingdom of Heaven was His. He wanted to share that Kingdom, and that rejoicing, with us. He also wanted to give us a preview of what that Kingdom is like, to tell us that it will be an experience of belonging (the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs), of finding lasting comfort (they shall be comforted), of righteousness and justice (those who hunger and thirst for justice shall be satisfied), of mercy (mercy shall be theirs), of family-intimacy with God (they shall see God; they shall be called sons of God) and of reward (your reward is great in Heaven).
With that, let’s dive in with the first Beatitude:
1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven (see also Matthew 19:21--when you sell all you have and give to the poor, you will have treasure in Heaven)
remedy for Adam’s sin
“I am as poor as any poor man”-Pier Giorgio
To be poor in spirit is to be humble. So what’s humility? It’s not walking around with a gloomy face telling everyone how horrid you are & asking them to walk all over you. That’s often a very deceptive form of pride.
humility: 1) the virtue of acknowledging that all goodness, including our own, comes from God; 2) a right understanding of ourselves before God.
It’s a consciousness of our absolute need for God. In the Greek, the “poor in spirit” are literally “they who beg. We must always be begging God for help.
Humility is the source of every other virtue, as pride is the source of every vice (& original sin). The proud seek an earthly kingdom, the humble, a heavenly one. Humility is also the foundation on which the rest of the beatitudes are built. The humble will mourn their sins. This recognition of their own sin will lead them to be merciful to others & love justice. This will lead them to keep their hearts pure, which results in peace of conscience which can’t be lost in the midst of persecution.
detachment from what we have & what we don’t have--even here on earth, attachment to anything other than God brings unhappiness
This beatitude also includes an inner detachment or freedom from created things which helps us see them for what they really are. Everything God made was designed to point us to God, to help us on our way to Heaven. When we become attached to things for the pleasure they bring us, they can become idols which distract us from God and ultimately enslave us. It doesn’t matter so much whether we’re rich or poor. Poor people can be enslaved by the few things they own or by the longing to own more. The question is, rather, do you own these things, or do they own you? When we are poor in spirit, things serve their intended purpose of helping us grow closer to God.
"All around the sick and all around the poor I see a special light which we do not have." -Pier Giorgio
2) Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (see also Psalm 126:5--those who sow in tears will reap in joy Isaiah 61:2--Messiah is sent to comfort those who mourn, Revelation 21:4--God will wipe away every tear & there will be no more pain or mourning)
"The sorrow of the world worketh death, but godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of." [2 Cor. 7:10]
Why do we mourn? Because something’s wrong. If we’re not mourning in this life, we think this is the way life is supposed to be. If we get too attached to it, we’ll have no appetite for the life of Heaven God wants for us. And what’s wrong with this world is sin, so that’s what we most need to mourn--especially our own sin.
contrition-needed for forgiveness
to be comforted is to be strengthened
Those who mourn over sin recognize that sin is the only real tragedy, the only real danger. We’ve already said that the ultimate good is to love God and the saints forever in Heaven. Only sin can cut us off from that. Death can’t. In fact, death is our doorway to Heaven. Pain can’t. Pain can actually help prepare us for Heaven. Everything we find unpleasant, everything we’re naturally afraid of, can actually *help* us get to Heaven. God can use it for our benefit (see Romans 8:28). Only sin can keep anyone out of Heaven. So sin is what we really need to mourn. Feeling sad about other things is fine, but it’s not at the heart of what Jesus is getting at here. If we mourn over sin, our sin and the sin of others, we will be comforted because there will be no sin in Heaven, and God will show us how He used even sin to bring about greater good (think of the Crucifixion--the most terrible sin of all--which purchased our salvation!). We have an example of this kind of mourning in I Samuel 15:35, when the prophet Samuel mourned for Saul, who had lost God’s favor because of sin. Paul was grieved over a man who was openly living in sin (I Corinthians 5:2 & II Corinthians 2:1-5).
Another way of looking at this beatitude is to realize that you only mourn the loss of what is dear to you. When you come to value God & spiritual gain above material things, you won’t mourn the loss of material things anymore. You get beyond superficial pleasures to the reality of the war between good & evil so that you mourn evil, even when the evil “feels good”
3) Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (see also Psalm 37:11--“the meek shall possess the land”. This points to the promised land & our new promised land is Heaven; Proverbs 2:21-22--the upright will inherit the land, but the wicked will be cut off from it)
use your temper; don’t lose it
So what is meekness? barometer of humility; justice restrained by love; forgive us as we forgive
“...meekness is the blending of gentleness and strength--a strength that has been won by victory over self and passion, and a gentleness that is the witness that this victory is the outcome of no harshness and bitterness towards the self or the world, but of love. Test true meekness by the severest trials to which it can be put, and you will find in it no flaw of weakness or harshness, but a dauntless courage and an inexhaustible gentleness.” -B.W. Maturin, _Self-Knowledge and Self-Discipline_
Meekness overcomes evil with good, governs passion by reason and accepts suffering patiently from God . It’s strength under control. The meek don’t just roll over and let bad things happen. They’re not weak. In fact, they’re stronger than those who fly off in anger because a person consumed by anger is out of control. Their energy is scattered. The meek person, like God, works to bring good out of evil. They don’t let their feelings of anger control them, but rather channel the emotional energy that anger provides into actions that make things better.
These are the people who will be prepared to inherit the land--the Promised Land, which is Heaven.
gentleness--love (sacrificial service) for those who push your buttons-- ultimately prevails over others, influence over human hearts--inherits the earth. The greatest are those who serve
I believe one of the hardest lessons to learn in life is the fact that whenever we practice charity the person toward whom we show our love, hear it, is our benefactor. Do you hear it? Giving us the opportunity of proving and showing our love for God by practicing charity toward those whom God puts into our lives for this one fundamental purpose that by loving them we might prove to God that we love Him.-Fr. Hardon
4) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (see also Proverbs 21:21--“He who pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor”)
To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to desire to be holy or to have holiness done. It’s a desire to grow spiritually, a longing for God’s will to be done. It’s turning from “My will be done” to “Thy will be done”, which is the heart of conversion. It’s the desire God will satisfy here on earth as well as in Heaven.
AUG. Or he speaks of food with which they sat and he filled at this present; to wit, that food of which the Lord spoke, My food is to do the will of my Father, that is, righteousness, and that water of which whoever drinks it shall be in him a well of water springing up to life eternal.
when we desire the right things, we know we’ll get them; redirect your desires (free yourself from covetousness)
unhappiness is unsatisfied desires, but if we want what God wants, all our desires will be satisfied--that’s happiness
Pier Giorgio loved trips to the mountains, but if it meant he couldn’t go to Mass that day, he wouldn’t go
-Pier Giorgio
"To live without faith, without a heritage to defend, without battling constantly for truth, is not to live but to 'get along'; we must never just 'get along'." -Pier Giorgio
5) Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (see also Proverbs 16:6--older translations have “mercy” instead of “loyalty”)
First of all, what’s mercy?
mercy: 1) the loving kindness, compassion, or forbearance shown to one who offends or to the helpless and needy 2) a radiation of God’s love which takes into consideration the weakness of His creatures
love overcoming resistance; forgiveness
When we show mercy, we actively work to alleviate suffering. We meet needs--physical needs as well as spiritual needs--whether the person in need *deserves* our help or not. We give alms, but we also offer forgiveness.
Traditionally the Church calls our attention to seven corporal (or “bodily”) works of mercy and seven spiritual works of mercy. We haven’t been able to find out when or how these were compiled (except to say that they’re really old!), but we’ve included Scripture references that point to them.
corporal works of mercy:
feed the hungry (Matthew 25:41)
give drink to the thirsty (Matthew 25:41)
clothe the naked (Matthew 25:41)
shelter the homeless (Matthew 25:41)
visit the sick (Matthew 25:41)
ransom the captive/visit the imprisoned (Matthew 25:41, Hebrews 13:3, Luke 4:18--Jesus came to ransom captives & we’re to imitate Him)
bury the dead (Tobit 12:12-15--Tobit risked his life to bury the dead & God rewarded him for it)
spiritual works of mercy :
instruct the ignorant (Colossians 3:15)
counsel the doubtful (I Thessalonians 5:14)
console the sorrowful (Romans 12:15)
correct the sinner (Matthew 18:15, I Thessalonians 5:14)
forgive injuries (Matthew 6:14)
bear wrongs patiently (Romans 12:12)
pray for the living & the dead (Matthew 5:44, I Timothy 2:1, James 5:16, II Maccabees 12:39-45)
Many of these are things we can and must do within our own families as well as for neighbors and strangers. As we show mercy to others, God will show mercy to us.
This beatitude needs to be united with those that came before it, especially our hunger and thirst for justice. “Justice and mercy are so united, that the one ought to be mingled with the other; justice without mercy is cruelty; mercy without justice, profusion - hence He goes on to the one from the other.” This quote is from a collection of commentaries on the Gospels by the early Church Fathers, which was compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas about 500 years ago. It’s called the _Catena Aurea_ (literally” Golden Chain”) and contains a wealth of wisdom from those who lived within the first few centuries after Christ.
when we show mercy to others, we not only merit mercy for ourselves, but also for them; this may be their ticket out of hell--that’s what happened when Jesus forgave His murderers & St. Stephen won the conversion of St. Paul
6) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (see also Proverbs 22:11--“He who loves purity of heart...will have the king as his friend”, Psalm 24: 3-6--the man of pure heart will ascend the hill of the Lord, Psalm 73:1--“God is good...to those who are pure in heart”)
This goes deeper than external purity, to internal purity. Later in this same Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will go on to say that he who looks lustfully at a woman has already committed adultery in his heart (Matthew 5:28). However, this beatitude extends beyond chastity to cover all aspects of life. To be pure of heart is to be single-hearted, sincere, to have a right intention in all we pursue. It’s the opposite of manipulation, of being “good” in order to get something for yourself. Rather, a pure heart seeks God and His glory whole-heartedly.
The blessing, “they shall see God” is a metaphor borrowed from Oriental court life. To see the king implied royal favor and intimacy with the sovereign.
the more sinful you are, the more blind you are, and vice versa; if you’re having trouble understanding and/or believing divine revelation, repent of your sin & things will become much more clear
“Some years ago I was giving some lectures at the University of Michigan, had dinner with the catholic chaplain at the university. In the course of the conversation, he told me that not a few of the Catholics come to him and they tell him, “I can’t believe all this the Catholic Church is teaching.” So I tell them, “sit down” and my first question is, “How’s your sex life?” “My sex life, what’s that got to do with what I’m telling you?” He tells them, “Everything”. A pure heart is joined to a perceptive mind.” -Fr. Hardon
Pier Giorgia promoted chastity & gave up the woman he loved for his family’s sake
"When you are totally consumed by the Eucharistic fire, then you will be able more consciously to thank God, who has called you to become part of His family. Then you will enjoy the peace that those who are happy in this world have never experienced, because true happiness, oh young people, does not consist in the pleasures of this world, or in earthly things, but in peace of conscience, which we only have if we are pure of heart and mind."-Pier Giorgio
7) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (see also I Thessalonians 5:13-14--“be at peace among yourselves”, Col 1:20-“making peace through the blood of His cross.”)
This is what Jesus, the Son of God came to do--to make peace between us & God. This peace is not just an absence of conflict. In fact, it may *require* conflict, as it did so often between Jesus and the Pharisees when they didn’t want to hear what He had to say.
The peace to which we are called is first and foremost the peace we cultivate within our own hearts by conquering our own selfish tendencies to rebel against God’s plan for us (also known as sin). We will experience the peace of God’s sacred order as we root out the sin in our lives that breaks that sacred order, as we bring our passions, or desires, under the control of reason--what we know to be right. The more we succeed, the better equipped we will be to foster peace in our relationships with other people, to be self-giving rather than self-seeking.
Peace of mind=knowing the truth; peace of heart= doing God’s will; then we’re at peace within, which is a prerequisite to being at peace with others
"In a world gone astray from God there is no peace-Pier Giorgio
"May peace reign in your soul... any other gift we possess in this life is vanity, just as all the things of this world are vain." -Pier Giorgio
8) Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you. (see also I Peter 2:20-23, I Peter 3:14, I Peter 4:14-16, Acts 5:41, James 1:2--all about rejoicing in suffering)
Jesus follows the Beatitude about being peacemakers immediately with one about being persecuted, lest we get the idea that peacemakers will prevent conflict. Persecution certainly involves conflict! But the conflict must be for righteousness’ sake, filled with a self-giving love that points the other to Heaven. We must do what is right no matter what the cost because the reward will be far greater than the cost. In fact, rather than respond with hurt and anger and all the other negative emotions that normally come with persecution and false accusation, Jesus tells us to rejoice! We are to set our eyes on the reward He has for us and to take joy in the increase of that reward. This really takes supernatural vision and supernatural strength, which the Holy Spirit gives us in His gifts of knowledge and fortitude. These are already at our disposal. We just have to *use* them. We are to follow the footsteps of our Crucified Master who “for the joy which lay before Him endured the cross, heedless of its shame” (Hebrews 12:2).
"We are living through difficult days because the persecution against the Church is raging more than ever, but this should not frighten you, brave and good young people. Always remember that the Church is a divine institution and it cannot come to an end." Pier Giorgio
Paradoxically, Pier Giorgio was best known for his cheerfulness. He was nicknamed “the Terror” by his friends because he never passed up an opportunity for a practical joke! Besides the usual short-sheeting of beds & siphoning gas out of cars, some of his jokes had his own personal touch. His good friend, Tina Bonelli, persuaded her parents to allow her to travel to England. She received permission because she would be traveling in the company of an elegant lady named Mrs. Bellia. Pier Giorgio accompanied Tina to the train station and made a loud racket so that he got everyone's attention and then presented Tina with a box of candies. What she didn't realize was that Pier Giorgio had tied all of the candies together; so when she later offered one to Mrs. Bellia, they came out of the packet in a long chain, to the surprise and laughter of everyone present. After his best friend, Marco, entered the military, Pier Giorgio sent him a telegram about a recent unsuccessful attempt to climb a mountain. The telegram read: "Bessanese unassailable, bivouacking [camping] outdoors. Cannon shots. [signed] Robespierre." I assume “Canon shots” were photos from a Canon camera. And “Robespierre” was Pier Giorgio’s favorite nickname for himself. Robespierre was the worst of the ringleaders of the French reign of terror who sent thousands of people to the guillotine--for Pier Giorgio to take that name was sort like naming your pet turtle “speedy”. Unfortunately for Marco, this was a time of political turbulence and the military didn’t catch the humor of the message. It was quite some times before his officers believed that the message was really innocent fun!
So how to we reconcile Pier Giorgio’s laughter and love of fun with Jesus’ call to mourn. After all, Jesus also said, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall weep in your grief” (Luke 6:25).” Well, just as there’s worldly sorrow and godly sorrow, so there’s worldly laughter and godly laughter. Scripture tells us again and again to rejoice. Worldly laughter winks at sin and delights in the pleasures of this world. Godly laughter is grounded in the humility of the poor in spirit, who take themselves lightly.
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Throughout the Beatitudes we find a constant theme. He who loses his life will find it. They’re all about giving ourselves away, all about selflessness, self-giving. Even a speck of self-seeking taints or ruins our poverty of spirit, our mourning, meekness, hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, purity, peacemaking and endurance of persecution. Self-seeking destroys love, which is self-giving. This means that love is at the heart of these Beatitudes. Jesus is teaching us yet again how to love.
beaten & imprisoned for participation in political & religious demonstrations (aiming for justice & alleviation of social systems that fostered poverty)
Closing Prayer:
Prayer for Peace (associated with St. Francis of Assisi)
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Jesus is continuing to knock down our stereotypes about happiness. In fact, in St. Luke’s version of the beatitudes, He goes on to say, woe to you who laugh now, for you shall weep in your grief” (Luke 6:25). That said,
Satisfied! Since when are we ever really satisfied?! After a big dinner, perhaps, or when we finally get something we’ve been working or waiting for...but that satisfaction doesn’t last. It may be a matter of hours, or maybe even weeks, but before long we’re dissatisfied all over again. Either we get tired of the thing we wanted or it doesn’t do what we wanted it to after all and off we go after the next thing.
Pier Giorgio Frassati “Man of the Beatitudes”
Quotes:
beaten & imprisoned for participation in political & religious demonstrations, but refused special treatment (his father was influential & could’ve had him released)
Rerum Novarum
Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, faith in Your Word is the way to wisdom, and to ponder Your divine plan is to grow in truth. Raise us beyond the limits this world imposes, so that we may be free to love as Christ teaches and find our joy in Your glory. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
St. Leo the Great on the Beatitudes
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