Beatitudes – To Hunger and Thirst

 The information provided in this series ont he Beatitudes is based on Scripture and articles published in “The Rosary Light & Life” Newsletter. This newsletter is publised through the Rosary Confraternity. If you pray the rosary regulary, please consider visiting the Rosary Confraternity website to learn more about it. [www.rosarycenter.org]

“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

In the first three Beatitudes we see a relationship between ourselves and things of this world. The Poor in Spirit is the reality that we must not focus on this world, but we must also develop ourselves spiritually to prepare us for an encounter with Christ. When we learned about those that Mourn, we see the pain and suffering of sin. This pain and sufferring is in us, and in the Body of Christ that we interact with. Finally, the Meek are those that have the ability to self govern themselves and not take what they want from this world without need or necessity. We see that the Meek do not demonstrate power over others for self gain, or self identification. 

Each of these Beatitudes requires that we reflect on what we need in this life, and what we want. We can see that goods that are a product of this world [sex, power, money] may have imense immediate appeal, but they do not create lasting satisfaction. Only God can fully satisfy us through the joy of his grace and love. God is so immense that He fills our infinite longing. God then becomes the only true possession that is not subjected to the threat of loss by our actions in this world. 

In these next Beatitudes we see how hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, and confront us with the moral choices we make in our relationship with God. St. Tomas Aquinas described the second happiness as the happiness of “activity”. This “activity” is our active participation in the life of others, in the Mass, and in the presence of God in our lives. 

Justice

In many ways justice is something we learn at a young age. If we have siblings we learn it more quickly, because we often express the disire to have fair treatment. 

From this we have developed two types of justice in our mental reasoning. The first is justice between ourselves and others [our neighbor]. The second is the justice that exists between God and ourselves. 

When we often think of justice with others we think of righting a wrong done towards us. The person that cuts us off while driving, the person that cheated us out of money, the person that is the cause of a car accident, the thief that takes, and the person that offends us. These are all situations that we imagine, when we think of justice. Justice becomes the act of retribution, and the “just judgement” given for the offense. 

This segues into our view of judgement and God. Often when we think of judgement we imagine the Book of Revolations and the final days of judgement. If we are bible savy we might think of Matthew 25 where Jesus puts the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. We might even spend time trying to hope and imagine that we are one of the sheep that get into heaven. 

God is a just and merciful God. We may sometimes do things that might be sinful, or things that we don’t think “are too bad” because we trust that God will be merciful. Instead we use the mercy of God as justification for our actions. We abuse the mercy of God for our own will and pleasure in this world. 

We can now see how these two forms of justice are self-centered, and even selfish. In the first, we concern ourselves for what the other person did to us. In the second, we focus on the forgiveness of God and His mercy to “Let us off the hook.”

The harder task is the abandonment of self-centered thought. We cannot truly grow in the virtue of justice unless we look outward instead of inward. We must see that real justice is in how we treat others. Not in the way that they treat us. Crucifixion was not a tool employed by Jesus to gain a seat at the right hand of God. He accepted crucifixion selflessly for the forgiveness of our sins. He was blameless, but took our blame to achieve the possibility of our salvation. This is authentic justice. The selfless act for the better of others.

Prayer

In previous articles we have explored differences in technique of prayer and the purpose of prayer. We have discovered that prayer should not resort to petitions [pleas for our needs] alone. When our prayer life is only filled with petition we pray selfishly and only pray to ask for more. 

“Prayer is nothing else than union with God… in this intimate union God and the soul are like two pieces of wax moulded into one; they cannot any more be separated. In our life of prayer we become like God by surrendering our wills to God’s and allowing ourselves to do as God commands us.” -St. John Vianney 

By releasing our intent on ourselves we can open ourselves to God’s will for us. The act of opening ourselves up, trusting in God to help us, and leaving things in God’s hands are part of the virtue of Justice. 

We act and live doing for God, instead of what God does for us. 

Sometimes we can get angry with God. Sometimes people leave the Church because they think that God hates them, or that God does bad things to people. When we allow ourselves to fall into this thought we stray away from true Justice. We stray away from acting for God and focus on the current trials in our lives as if they were intently for us. True justice happens when we face difficulties and we do not lose hope, faith, or site of God in our life. It is then that God reveals himself to us and protects us. 

Conclusion

When we start to learn what true justice is we build a hunger and thirst for it. We learn that God is offering so much for each of us, but waits for our fulfillment of the needs of others. When we strive for others, God’s grace and blessings overflow into us. This becomes the meaning of Justice, and the meaning we should focus on.

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman explains the Justice of God, to whom He says, “anyone who drinks the water I shall give will never be thirsty again.” For each of us, that does the will of God, will never hunger and thirst again.

Beatitudes, They Who Mourn

The information provided in this series on the Beatitudes is based on Scripture and articles published in “The Rosary Light & Life” Newsletter. This newsletter is published through the Rosary Confraternity. If you pray the rosary regularly, please consider visiting the Rosary Confraternity website to learn more about it. [www.rosarycenter.org]

Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Of the Beatitudes, this second is, perhaps, the most difficult to comprehend. Not because we do not understand what it means to be sad, but because the Scriptural understanding of sorrow has evolved over time, and our personal understanding of sorrow has failed to keep up.

We might think of the death of a loved one when we think of mourning. At the time of Jesus they would say, “It is good that they have died, because now they are saved.” The outlook of death was an outlook of freedom from this world of persecution and entering into the kingdom of Heaven.

For Jesus the promise of reward for those that mourn has a more scriptural meaning. For Jesus mourning would be for any pain and suffering experienced by the community. A pain and suffering through the Body of Christ. Remember that people think less of themselves and more for the Body of Christ.

Let’s take a moment to explore different types of sorrow and what they mean for us.

Personal Sorrow

Personal sorrow is in the example given before. We suffer from personal sorrow when someone close to us dies. We can also suffer personal suffer when something tragic happens to us, or a loved one. During these moments of pain and suffering we may not have an instinct to think about God, being Holy, or prayer. It is at these times when God and Prayer are most important. Jesus wants to comfort us, but we need to also reach out to Him.

A funeral mass is an opportunity for us to let go of our sorrow, and the pain, and grow in hope that the person who died is in the care of Jesus. When we imagine the involvement of Jesus we cannot lose hope that our loved one, and friend, is being presented with the promise of Jesus for eternal life.

Death is something that always changes us, as with all tragedies. Death reminds us of our own life and the shortness of it. We have the reminder of those words spoken on Ash Wednesday, “From dust you have come, and to dust you shall return.” It is in these moments that we make little changes in the course of our life in the hope of our own future encounter with Jesus.

With any tragedy and sorrow Jesus is never closer to us. He approaches all who are in grief, despair, anxiety, and even depression. He is there to hold us and comfort us. It is through this human grief that we find Christ. The same Christ that wept at the death of his friend Lazarus.

Through our human grief we can find the promise fulfilled in this beatitude when we receive our comfort from Christ. Our grief brings us closer to Christ by refining that image of Christ in each of us.

Collective or Spiritual Sorrow

This second form of sorrow is a bit different, because it is a grief is the expression of reconciliation and the petition of forgiveness of sin. Why is that?

Jesus always taught that sin was not only a barrier, or separation, between us and God, but that it hurt the community. If we become the Body of Christ through the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist than our injury is an injury to the rest of the community.

When one person sins against another, they are less of an example of Jesus.

A husband and wife living in sin are no longer living their Sacramental promises and dividing themselves from God and each other. This hurts the community because their children, and community, will see their life as the example to follow. An example that is not living close to God and right with all things.

We can see how sin can hurt the community by living selfishly we do not participate fully in the Body of Christ and the body suffers.

We experience sensual happiness from money, power, selfishness, sex, food, and other material goods. St. Thomas says that virtue [good habits] enable us to resist the lure of sensual happiness by taking things allowed in moderation.

If we strive for perfection and good moral choices than this Beatitude invites us to purify our heats and desires in order to seek the love of God above all things. This pursuit of God allows us to stray farther from sin. To live a life of virtue and not one inclined to sin which hurts Jesus, and creates the cause for the crucifixion.

Those with good conscience should feel remorse for sin, because it hurts the community and it hurts Jesus. But our Loving God the Father will comfort us all and we will be comforted.

Beatitudes, Poverty of Spirit

The information provided in this series on the Beatitudes is based on Scripture and articles published in “The Rosary Light & Life” Newsletter. The publication of this newsletter is through the Rosary Confraternity. If you pray the rosary regularly, please consider visiting the Rosary Confraternity website to learn more about it. [www.rosarycenter.org]

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

The journey to explore the Beatitudes starts with the spirit. What does this mean? How does it apply to me, today?

First, we should examine what “Poor in Spirit” means. We might mistakenly consider that Jesus is talking about the poor. Jesus looked after the poor and asked us to do the same.

Instead, Jesus is referring to our spiritual condition, or the poverty of our spirituality. This holds true today more than ever. The growing lack of interest in the Sacraments. The falling number of people that attend Mass. These are examples of our outward spirituality, the way in which we express our spirituality in our life.

There is also an inward spirituality that grows through our relationship with God. There are some people today that say they are “Spiritual” people. They might say that God is everywhere, or that we just need to be good people. While these statements are not entirely false, they do not render us a path to closeness with God. A closeness that can only be grow through the Sacraments and Spiritual Development.

By saying, “Poor in spirit” Jesus identifies our spiritual poverty. We must each recognize our own individual need for God. In order to do this we each need to be humble.

In humility we come to understand our place in the relationship with God. Through that understanding we find a God filled with so much love for us that He offers us grace. We can continue to grow and realize that God gives all the gifts and blessings in our lives.

Humility allows us to recognize the graces offered to us from God. It allows us to see our frailty and our reliance on God.

Without humility and a dry spirit we are no longer open to the true Word of God. We isolate ourselves from God’s words, and even if we attend Mass and hear the readings they can lose flavor for us.

Through this emptiness we can look to satisfy it by seeking happiness in this world. These forms of happiness may please for a moment, but it quickly fades. Then there is a growing need to find more happiness. We constantly seek something to make us whole, but the cup within our hearts has a crack from sin and drains that happiness. It becomes a task that never completes.

This is the primary difference between happiness and joy. The joy that God brings to us fills the cracks in our cup. It gives happiness that does not quickly drain away. With our cups filled we can focus on other areas of our life, no longer trying to fill a need that cannot be filled.

The most basic form of Spiritual Growth does not need any direction. It comes from inside us. It is the earnest desire to sit and talk with God through prayer. Prayer should not feel like a choir, or an obligation, but instead should be a deep interest within our heart to talk with God and grow closer to Him.

Prayers becomes the start to our spiritual journey and through it we will come to know God.

In conclusion, how does being poor in spirit give a person the kingdom of God? It happens through conversion. A conversion of the spirit. We recognize in our spiritual poverty that we are lacking God, we recognize that we focus on the sin of Pride instead of humility. We realize that we seek limited happiness in this world to fill us with temporary happiness. Through that realization, we seek God in prayer and attempt to become Rich in Spirit. Then the kingdom of God will not seem so far away. We will begin to experience it here, in this world, with God all around us.

Beatitudes

I thought it would be a good series of articles to explore the Beatitudes and to perhaps look at them in a different light. We will look at them from a perspective that most may not have considered. We will also try to look at ways to incorporate the Beatitudes into our modern life. 

The information in this series is a compilation of thoughts and ideas from many sources intended for talks given about the Beatitudes. Some of these thoughts include my own. The work to create these articles has taken several years and many of the references to the sources are no longer available.

Contrast with the Commandments

We have all heard the story of Moses. Moses came down from the mountain and brought with him two tablets containing the 10 commandments. These commandments are the laws of God. They teach us the things that we shouldn’t do. They teach us about what is sin. Learning about sin , and we are fearful of sin, because sin is how we move away from God. 

At the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches the Beatitudes and these Beatitudes are basis for all Jesus’ teachings. Through the stories and acts that He performs, He demonstrates to us the acts of these Beatitudes in our lives. Jesus lived as an example to us, on how to live the Beatitudes.

Living Like Christ

Christ became poor to teach us where we ought to look for wealth. Christ proclaimed that Love was the most important Law, that first we Love God, and then we love our neighbor (each other). The Beatitudes act as a moral guide for Christians. We can do what Christ teaches us, to Love one another by incorporating the Beatitudes into our lives. 

Biology shows us the food we consume becomes a part of us, fuels our body. But our faith tells us that “when we eat this bread and drink this cup” we become what we eat. Our transformation through the body and blood of Christ makes us an active part in the Body of Christ. This is at once a gift beyond any we might hope for. This gift challenges us transform the world. 

We live in a society based on compromise. We live life looking for an easy resolution that satisfies everyone involved. We want to appease to the needs of our family, friends, and coworkers. In our worship many have made compromises to allow God to fit into their life; instead of finding a way to incorporate their existence into the life and plan of God. We exercise this false authority over God in a vain attempt to not have a burden of Religion.

The first question of Christian discipleship … is not, What is the minimum requirement? What is the least I am obliged to do, or the minimum I must avoid? 

The first question of the moral life is, What does it mean to me to be like Christ Jesus? If we are a new creation in Christ, how does this change the way we should live? Instead of seeking the minimum, we should be moving to become more like Jesus.

If we want to become more like Jesus, the Eucharist is not only the focus of our worship, it bust be the basis for our morality. There is a direct connection between our moral life and the reception of the Holy Eucharist. Through the Holy Eucharist we receive the strength and grace to face the challenges in our life.  

The Eucharist is a blessing in the present, a promise for the future, and strength for our journey. The Eucharist is the connection that unites our hope for the future with living the beatitudes today. It transforms us into the Christ who humbled himself to be like us.

Scripture

To conlude this first part in the series we will now look at the scripture passage from Matthew 5: 1 – 12.

When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. (2) He began to teach them, saying:

The Beatitudes

(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 their s is the kingdom of heaven.

(11) Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil agains 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. 

I hope that this series will bring us closer to Christ. May it help each of us to see the beatitudes in a different light and allow us to live our lives a little more like Christ.