Gospel of Matthew 5:1-12a

During the past two weeks we have discovered that all baptized persons have been given the privilege of changing their lives for the better by the grace of God. In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us the beatitudes; a blueprint for living the good news of the Gospel.

The beatitudes are not impossible ideals, but ideal possibilities. They enlarge our perception of who we are and what we can become. Unlike the Ten Commandments, the beatitudes are not new laws to live up to, but a new way of living beyond laws. They are the life of faith laid down for us, the meat and the meaning of what the reign of God is accomplishing in our lives.

In the beatitudes, Jesus speaks the language of benediction where generosity counts for more than success; where humility means more than haughtiness; where compassion is far greater than drive; where interdependence offers much more than self-sufficiency. The beatitudes urge us to look beyond the values of this world in order to discover the substance of our spiritual lives.

The cynic may say that only winners inherit the earth, not the meek or that there is no such thing as a good looser. But this assessment of life is entirely wrong. It stops at appearances and selfishness, and misses the point. To be a good winner or a good looser means achieving your goals and objectives in life with integrity of spirit; that is, by having the proper attitude in your dealings with one another. To appreciate the beatitudes is to accept the real substance of spiritual life. It means putting on those good, positive attitudes that change a person from within such as, humility, mercy, compassion, meekness, fairness, honesty and perseverance.

Jesus gave us eight beatitudes so that we can be renewed in spirit. The wonderful thing is that Jesus gives us a choice concerning the attitudes we will embrace each day. We cannot change the past or alter the facts of life, we can only change the way we handle things. A healthy Christian attitude is the best thing you have going for you.

That is why Jesus gave us the beatitudes.

Fr. Hugh Duffy 

“Do not miss tomorrow’s blog on Prayer.”