TEXT: The Holy Gospel According to Saint Matthew 5: 1-12

In the Commentary on Matthew’s Gospel by Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Augustine said, "Whoever will take the trouble to examine with a pious and sober spirit, will find in this sermon a perfect code of the Christian life as far as relates to the conduct of daily life. Accordingly the Lord concludes it with the Every man who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, &c."

When I was growing up as an Evangelical Protestant boy, I heard a preacher one day saying that the Sermon on the Mount, and, the Beatitudes were not for us to hear today.  In short, that preacher said that this passage in the Gospel were not of the present dispensation.  It is important for me to say today that at that time I was deeply troubled by the statement of that preacher.  In fact, this was one stimulus that brought me back Home to the Faith of our fathers, the Catholic Faith.

When we take the advice of Saint Augustine and take the time to examine "with a pious and sober spirit" we will indeed "find in this sermon a perfect code of the Christian life as far as relates to the conduct of daily life. Accordingly the Lord concludes it with the Every man who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, &c."

Jesus sees the crowd today and he goes up to the high mountain to preach again to you and me this message that gives us with all saints the Gospel for living the life was have in Jesus Christ.

To live this life of the Beatitudes is to live completely for Jesus Christ and to become a perfect saint!

Do we not also hear the words of Saint James that call us to become doers of the words and not hearers only today as well?

This is our program for living.

Let us listen to it carefully and then become doers through the sanctifying grace of God.

We must remember that holiness is a gift.  In sacred Scripture to be a saint means principally to be in union with God, to have share in the divine life.

It is not human accomplishment but rather God’s gift: our sanctification, our share in the divine life (cf. I Thessalonians 4:3-8, RSV) --

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from unchastity;  that each one of you know how to take a wife for himself in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like heathen who do not know God; that no man transgress, and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we solemnly forewarned you. For God has not called us for uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you."

Jesus has much to say about holiness in the Beatitudes.

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Who are the poor in spirit?

The ancient prophet Zephaniah said this:   "Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the wrath of the LORD."  (Zeph 2:3, RSV)

The idea of "poor in spirit" is deeply rooted in the Old Testament.  It has as much to do with the  religious attitude of neediness and of humility towards God than with material poverty, We are poor in spirit when we have recourse to God without relying on our own merits.  When we trust God’s mercy to be saved we are poor in spirit.  We are little children in the eyes of God and we see ourselves as such.  We are then poor in spirit.  We know that our "treasure" is one that is in our earthen vessels to show us that the transcendent power is of God and not of ourselves!

When we discover this about ourselves, this poorness in spirit, we discover much and our total reliance upon God, who is our Treasure.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary cried out in her Magnificat this humility and awareness of what we all are called to see about ourselves before God.

4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Do you suffer from ANY kind of AFFLICTION?

Are you sorry for your sins?

Are you pained by the offences which others offer God?

Do you bear your suffering with love and in the spirit of atonement?

Are you crying?

The Spirit of God will bring consolation to you in the pain you suffer, as we trust in God for all things.   These are not empty promises.  The saints tell us this, because they suffered greatly, yet, they found the fountains of blessedness in the way of the Spirit spoken of here by our Lord Jesus.

5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Unjust persecution is suffered by the meek.  Do we remain serene in the face of unjust persecution?

Do we give way to discouragement or resentment?

Meekness trusts God and remains serene.

Let us pray for this meekness.  It is the program for sainthood.

Saint Paul tells us that "You are holy, therefore, become holy."  We are called to holiness, to become saints through Christ and the Father who sends us the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

A righteous person is one who essentially strives to do the will of God.  The will of God is discovered in the Commandments.

Saint Jerome teaches us that our Lord is asking us not simply to have a vague desire for righteousness: we should hunger and thirst for it through frequent use of the sacraments, an intimate relationship with God in prayer, a valiant effort to meet one’s social, [professional and family responsibilities. (cf. Navarre Bible, Matthew, 58)

7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

There are many who refuse to be merciful, hold grudges for life and expect God to swing wide the gates of heaven for them.  It is not the way that God will do things, beloved.

The unmerciful state of mind is sinful.

Being merciful means to be understanding of people’s defects, overlooking them, helping them cope with them and loving them in despite whatever defects they might have.  Being merciful means suffering with others and rejoicing with others.

8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Mary’s Heart was pure and she saw God.

Let our hearts be made pure through the sanctifying grace of God.  Saint Paul says in Phil. 2: 5-11, RSV) "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

He also said -- (Phil. 4:8, RSV) "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

This is the vocation of God for us all.  A new way of thinking and living is called for.  This is the way of holiness.

9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

This does not mean a man made peace.  Any "peace" that does not include God’s Peace is no real peace that is lasting.  This PEACE spoken of here and the "peacemakers," conveys an active peacemaker, that is, those who foster peace in themselves and others.  These are reconcilers who try to reconcile others to God.  These promote harmony and not strife.

The right exegesis of this passage is provided by St. John in his first letter (I John 3:1-3, RSV) -- "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure."

10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

If we are persecuted for being a holy person, then, that is what this means.  The saint were heroic.  We are called to such heroism!  Either we stay true to Jesus or we do not.

11 "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.

These Beatitudes were conditions that Jesus lays down for all of us to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

We are called to put these teachings into practice.

To practice this program, allowing God to give us the grace for application to our lives, is the way to become what we are in Christ Jesus.

May we learn this lesson well and practice these with all saints and Mary.



Deus et Sanctissima.