The Beatitudes:

Gospel of St. Matthew 5: 1-12:

"When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

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

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

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

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

Blessed are you when people 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 in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Entering the Kingdom of God

28 April 2019

When Jesus preached the Beatitudes in His sermon on the Mount, He spoke about the Kingdom of God and who would inherit it. He taught them that those who were pure, meek, humble, merciful, peace loving and righteous would enter the kingdom. This was a new teaching as the people believed that obeying the Ten Commandments and following all the rituals and ordinances of the Law was enough to get them close to God.

God chose the people of Israel to be His people and gave them the Law through Moses, so that they could know what sin is and the consequences of sin. The consequence of sin is a separation from God and so the Law was meant to help them denounce sin and return back to loving God. However, though they followed the Law and its Ordinances and rituals strictly, their hearts were far from knowing and loving God. They were engrossed in the external forms of observances and piety rather than an inner cleansing of heart. It made the relationship of God and man appear as one of a Master and a slave who diligently followed the orders of the Master out of fear of punishment. The Law could not overcome the absence of love for God in the human hearts.

When Jesus, the Son of God, came and preached the Good News of the coming of the Kingdom of God, he spoke about the love and mercy of God the Father and how we could restore our relationship with God as His children. He taught us how to follow the commandments not by rule but in love. We read this in Matthew 22: 36-40 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” .

Jesus came not to abolish the Law but to bring it to its perfection by inviting the people to follow the Law and act out of love for God and neighbour rather than from fear of punishment. This was a new teaching of grace and freedom, of doing it from the heart. However to accept this teaching and follow it, we not only need to have love in our hearts but also faith and hope in the love and mercy of God. The virtues of faith, hope and love can take form in us only through the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that guides us and leads us to achieving the perfection in our Christian life where we become perfect like our Heavenly Father.

In John 14:16 Jesus promised to give us the Holy Spirit to be with us forever. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.” Through the Sacraments of the Church we have received the Holy Spirit and are sustained in our efforts to reaching perfection in our Christian life by constantly cleansing our hearts, practising the virtues, forgiving enemies, praying for persecutors and placing our hopes and seeking refuge in God alone.

We can see this perfection of a life in Christ in the Scriptures through the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ. She was the first to accept a life in Christ at the Annunciation by the angel when she was filled with the Holy Spirit. We read in Luke 1: 46-55 Mary’s song of praise wherein filled with Holy Spirit and a new life in Christ, she praises God for His love and mercy towards the meek, the merciful and the poor in spirit. In the Virgin Mary, all the virtues of faith, hope and love and all the fruits of the Holy Spirit were in their fullness. She was ‘full of grace’ when the angel appeared to her. These extra ordinary graces and virtues were bestowed on her by God our Father in order for her to become the Mother of Jesus. This is the state of fullness of grace that Jesus spoke in the Sermon on the Mount. We too are invited to this state of blessedness which is to be divine in our nature and being in the Kingdom of God. Our faith in Jesus and the Sacraments of the Church lead us to this life of knowing and loving God our Father who is the only source of all good and submitting ourselves in all humility to His love and care.

Mary’s Song of Praise:

Gospel of St. Luke 1: 46-55:

"And Mary said,
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in
God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on
the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all
generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down
the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry
with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home. "