4th SUNDAY YR A (The Beatitudes)
Fr. Dwight P. Campbell, S.T.D.
Today’s Gospel is the beginning of the greatest sermon ever preached – the Sermon on the Mount,delivered by the greatest preacher who ever preached – Jesus Christ.St. Matthew tells us that, “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him and He began to teach them.”
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus begins by proclaiming the Beatitudes. Beatitude means happiness. With the Beatitudes, Jesus teaches us the way, the means, to true happiness.In this sermon, found in chapters 5 through 7 of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus covers a broad spectrum of topics.
Why does He begin with happiness?Because all people long for happiness. We all want to be happy. Why did God make us? As our catechism teaches: God made us to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him in this life, in order to be happy with Him forever in Heaven. To put it simply, God desires our happiness; He want us to be happy here on earth, and to be happy with Him forever in Heaven, where we will enjoy the fullness of happiness!
While the Beatitudes are a means to true happiness, sin brings nothing but pain and misery – in this life and in the next.
The Beatitudes show us the way to lead holy lives, to become true followers of Jesus, to become saints.The Beatitudes are ways to attain holiness, and with holiness comes authentic happiness. This is why we never see saints who are sad, depressed, or grumpy.
And just a reminder: All of us are called to be saints, in whatever state of life we find ourselves: single or married, young or old, rich or poor. This is known as the universal call to holiness – which in reality is the universal call to happiness.So let’s look at these Beatitudes. They are worthy of our study, of our contemplation.
Jesus begins with the most important of the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Being “poor in spirit” does not mean to be lacking somehow in spiritual gifts or graces; rather, it means humility.
Humility is the first of the Beatitudes because it is the great virtue which counteracts sinful pride, the greatest and root of all sins. Sinful pride inclines us to place ourselves above others, to exalt ourselves over others, even God. Just think about it: Whenever we sin we really are telling God, “I’m doing things my way rather than your way, God.”
Just think about it: People filled with pride, who seek to glorify themselves, who are always concerned about being the center of attention and receiving honor and praise from others, are never really happy. Why? Because they can never receive enough honor and glory and praise; at the end of the day they are always left empty – and unhappy; they are never at peace.
Contrast this attitude and way of life with that of the humble person. Humility acknowledges that all of one’s gifts and talents are a gift from God, and are meant to glorify God, not oneself. Humble people are always happy and joyful, always at peace with themselves.
Consider the Blessed Virgin Mary: In her great prayer of praise to God when she visits her cousin Elizabeth (called the Magnificat), Our Lady says: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for he hath regarded the humility of His handmaid.” Jesus Christ Himself is the supreme example of humility. St. Paul tells us that “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, death on a cross.”
The second Beatutide is: “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Why does Jesus call those who mourn “blessed”? “Happy are they who mourn?” This seems to be a contradiction. Here we must understand what is a proper object to mourn over, and what is not. God does not want us to mourn and be truly saddened over mundane, earthly events; e.g., not getting our way, our favorite sports team losing a game (even the Packers!), etc.
Rather, the proper object for mourning is sin, which separates us, and others, from God. Mourning over our own sins leads to repentance – to confession and reconciliation with God. And, as any sinner knows, receiving absolution for our sins after confessing them brings great happiness and interior peace.
Praying and making reparation for the sins of others leads to happiness as well, especially when we see a sinner turn from his evil ways.
The third Beatitude: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.” The virtue of meekness is often misunderstood and equated with weakness. Not so. Another word for meekness is gentleness. It takes great strength of character to exercise meekness, to be gentle, in the face of insult or injury. Here again we have Jesus as our supreme example. He says, “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” Jesus was the antithesis of weakness. He showed His meekness, His great strength of character, when He allowed Himself to be mocked, scourged, and crucified for our sins. Jesus was firm with sinners, but very gentle with them.
Meekness is the virtue which counteracts sinful anger. The meek person is calm and composed, and is able to maintain interior peace, even when he or she suffers a wrong from others. The person who is always quick to anger, and who then seethes and broods over injuries he suffers – real or perceived – is never happy, never at peace. The meek person, by contrast, enjoys happiness and peace of heart.
“Blessed are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” It is never easy to let go of hurts and injuries suffered from others. Replaying events in our mind and imagining what we will do to get even with others who have wronged us nurtures our wounded pride – and leaves us unhappy and without interior peace. And remember, the Devil always tries to stir things up within us, because he want to take away our peace.
By extending mercy to those who have harmed us, we imitate God, who is always merciful to us. With this Beatitude Jesus is telling us that being merciful leads to happiness, because by doing so we know that God will bestow His mercy on us whenever we offend Him.
“Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.”St. Gregory the Great says that, “It is impossible to win the crown without mastering the flesh.” And St. Francis de Sales says, “Chastity is the lily among virtues and makes men almost equal to angels.” In this Beatitude Jesus teaches us that the chaste person, who strives to keep his heart pure and clean, will enjoy that ultimate happiness which flows from seeing God face to Face; and that only those who are pure and clean of heart will see God.
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” Again, another apparent contradiction. With this last and final beatitude, Jesus exhorts us not to be upset or saddened if people insult us, or persecute us, or even if they speak falsely and make up lies about us, whenever we stand up for Christ and defend the truths of our Catholic Faith. If we suffer insults and injuries, or are slandered or mocked and ridiculed for doing so, we must never be sad or disheartened; rather, Jesus tells us that we must rejoice and be glad, for our reward – that is, our happiness – will be great in Heaven.