On this 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Church in Her liturgy gives us the Beatitudes, a text that should form the backbone of our Christian life.
St. Augustine of Hippo says of the Beatitudes, “Whoever will take the trouble to examine with a pious and sober spirit, will find in this sermon a perfect code of Christian life” (Catena Aurea, St. Thomas Aquinas ed., vol. 1, pg. 133, 2014). Let us then go to the trouble of looking at the Beatitudes, with a spirit that is pious and sober.
At the beginning of his public ministry, Our Lord gives us one of his most famous teachings – The Eight Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor, those who mourn, the peacemakers…these words echo to the very depths of our humanity. The Beatitudes are simple – and they are also spectacularly challenging, for they offer no fine print. The Eight Beatitudes seemingly go against conventional wisdom, good common sense. For example, how are those who mourn to be called blessed? How are the meek or persecuted to be called blessed? If we were to rewrite the Beatitudes according to the spirit of the world, they might sound something like this: The poor in spirit are not blessed – for they will miss the opportunity to self-actualize, and won’t reach their full potential, from a human point of view. The meek are not blessed – for others will take advantage of them. The merciful are not blessed – for their mercy will be exploited, and used against them. The pure in heart are not blessed – because they won’t be able to get ahead in the world. Instead of rewriting God’s word to suit our own take on reality, we will need to draw upon God’s own Wisdom, the Holy Spirit who helps us understand and comprehend the Beatitudes, these truths.
To see the logic of the Beatitudes, we need to adopt a spirit that is present in the first reading, one that the prophet Zephaniah speaks about: humility. “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land…seek righteousness, seek humility, perhaps you might be hidden on the day of the Lord’s wrath.” To be humble means to know that we are not the Creator, or a co-creator, on par with God, but a mere creature. To be humble means to know that life is not about reaching your full potential, according to the world’s wisdom. To be humble means to lose the attitude of self-sufficiency; to be humble means to know, at times, the taste of failure; to be humble means to use one’s gifts and abilities not to build up one’s private capital and career, but work for the good of others, whether in our own families, or in the Church. Humility means boasting only in the Lord, as St. Paul puts it in the second reading, from the First Letter to the Corinthians: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” We need to stop bragging of our worldly advantages, our spiritual advantages, our economic advantages, our physical advantages and give glory to the Lord (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, Scott Hahn, ed., pg. 287, 2010). In other words: if I have been given gifts, talents, abilities, skills, intellect, etc., then I need to be making use of these to build up the Body of Christ, whether in my marriage, my family, or my church. As I use the talents that I have, I draw closer to sanctification, win over pride, and can be a source of inspiration to fellow brothers and sisters, especially in the faith. With a spirit of humility I can accept and even put into practice, the Beatitudes.
Let us see how the Beatitudes have inspired countless men and women. Maybe we could begin with “blessed are the poor in spirit.” This week, on the Feast of the Presentation, the Church will celebrate the World Day of Consecrated Life, which seeks to observe religious life, and the consecration made by priests, brothers sisters, monks and nuns, who have taken vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They are following the poor, celibate and obedient Christ. All the priests and brothers serving you here at St. Hedwig’s are in some way, consecrated – whether through religious vows, or promises. For anyone who has chosen consecrated life, is choosing to follow and put into practice, the Beatitudes. Consecrated life requires courage – and it also an invitation to live the Beatitudes. Perhaps some here are called to follow in the footsteps of the poor, celibate and obedient Christ.
There are many times that we practice among ourselves the fifth counsel, “Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy.” Some years ago, in another ministry setting, I spoke with a young man who came from a broken home, from a family in which the father was absent, neglectful, and unfaithful to his marriage promises. This young man was undertaking a heroic task – he was trying to forgive his dad, even though his father had never admitted to doing anything wrong. “Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy.” Many times in our families have we had to practice this beatitude, in matters small and great, in run of the mill situations and extraordinary circumstances. And so, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”
Finally, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” At times this persecution is not very oppressive, but perhaps you’ve found yourself saying something, maybe at the workplace, maybe among your peers, maybe in the family, where you’ve stood up against behavior that is immoral or unjust. You’ve said something, and now you’re getting resistance. Keep in mind this beatitude, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I pray that this will help you persevere.
And so, to paraphrase the words of St. Augustine of Hippo, we have taken the trouble to examine with a pious and sober spirit the Beatitudes, to find in them a perfect code of Christian life. We truly become blessed, when we put the Beatitudes into life. Mother Mary is the perfect disciple who lived the Beatitudes. She knows what it means to be humble, poor in spirit, a peacemaker, and persecuted for righteousness’ sake. We can draw upon Her own wisdom as we put this teaching into practice.
(Fr. Paweł Ratajczak, OMI, Jan. 29, 2023)