The Beatitudes are the road to joy

Last updated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 PM

General Audience: the Beatitudes are the way to joy

The Pope initiated a new series of catecheses on the Beatitudes of the Gospel according to St. Matthew at the general audience on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican. The Beatitudes are "the identity card of the Christian", because they draw "the face of Jesus himself, and his way of life," the Holy Father said.

First of all, it is important to know how the proclamation of the message of the Beatitudes was made, the Pope said at the outset.

"Jesus, seeing the crowds following him, climbed the gentle slope surrounding Lake Galilee, sat down and, addressing the disciples, proclaimed the Beatitudes. The message is therefore addressed to the disciples, but on the horizon are the crowds, that is to say, all humanity. It is a message for all humanity", Francis explained.

A new law of poverty, meekness and mercy

So it was from this "mountain", which refers to Sinai, where God gave the commandments to Moses, that Jesus began to teach a brand new law of the Beatitudes, from the Latin beatitudo, happiness: "be poor, be meek, be merciful...".

These "new commandments" are much more than norms, the Holy Father insisted.

In fact, Jesus does not impose anything. He reveals the way to happiness by repeating the word "blessed" eight times: "Blessed are they, blessed are they", all eight times.

Keeping the beatitudes in hearts and minds

Then there is the situation in which the blessed find themselves: poverty of spirit, affliction, hunger and thirst for justice, etc. The situation of the blessed is also very different. And the reason for beatitude, introduced by the conjunction "why": "Blessed are they because, blessed are they because...".

Thus, says the Successor of Peter, it will be good to learn by heart these eight beatitudes in order to repeat them, and to have this law that Jesus gives us, "in our minds and in our hearts".

In the third element, which is precisely "the reason for the beatitude", Jesus often uses a passive future: "They shall be comforted", "they shall possess the earth", "they shall be filled", "they shall obtain mercy", "they shall be called sons of God".

This beautiful road to happiness

But what does the word "blessed" mean? the Supreme Pontiff asked himself. "The original term does not indicate a person with a full belly or who is well, but a person who is in a state of grace, who is progressing in God's grace and progressing on God's way: patience, poverty, service to others, consolation.... Who progresses on this".

God, in order to give Himself to us, often chooses unthinkable paths, perhaps those of our limits, of our tears, of our defeats," Francis recalled. "It is the joy of Easter, of which our Eastern brothers speak, which has stigmata but is alive, has passed through death but has experienced the power of God". The Pope reaffirmed: "The Beatitudes will always lead you to joy. It is the way that leads to joy," the Pope concluded, inviting all the faithful to read the Beatitudes "several times a week" to understand "this beautiful road to happiness which the Lord proposes.

The eight Beatitudes taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the afflicted, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.

Source: Vatican News