Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; Seek justice, seek humility; perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the LORD'S anger. But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD; the remnant of Israel. They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; Nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue; They shall pasture and couch their flocks with none to disturb them.
Psalms 146(145)
The LORD keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. the LORD sets captives free.
The LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who were bowed down; the LORD loves the just. The LORD protects strangers.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains, but the way of the wicked he thwarts. The LORD shall reign forever; your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
First Letter to the Corinthians 1,26-31.
Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord."
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5,1-12.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER Dear brothers and sisters, choosing purity, meekness and mercy; choosing to entrust oneself to the Lord in poverty of spirit and in affliction; dedicating oneself to justice and peace — all this means going against the current in respect to this world’s mindset, in respect to the culture of possession, of meaningless fun, of arrogance against the weakest. This evangelical path was trodden by the Saints and Blesseds. (…) It is enough to think of the inexhaustible variety of gifts and real life stories there are among the saints: they are not all the same, each one has their own personality, and developed their own life of holiness according to their own personality. Each one of us can do it, take this path: meekness, meekness, please, and we will head toward holiness. (Angelus, 1 November 2020)
S. FAUSTI - "Blessed" Jesus says of those that we consider unhappy. For us is blessed the rich man, the mighty man, the honorable man, : the one who has, can and is important person. . For Jesus it is blessed the poor, the humble and the despised man. It is important the one who doesn't have , and isn't able and isn't important. . It ' is a radical upsetting of shares, without possibility of misunderstanding : either we are wrong , or He is wrong ! For Him they are blessed those whom we suppose to be cursed; cursed those who we suppose blessed. The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount is the manifesto, the "Magna Carta" of the Kingdom. It says who are the townsmen are , what is their condition. The criteria by which God judges and acts are just the opposite of ours. Kingdom of God and kingdom of man are opposed as two opposed ways of estimating and living. These are two opposite ways of being: that of Jesus, Son of the Father and brother of all, and that of those who, without the Father, and the brothers became by himself against everyone. We can use seven keys of reading to enter this text. The first one it is Christological. These words are an autobiography of Jesus. They reveal His Face of Son of God. The second one is theological. They manifest who God is : H'is His Father, equal to Him. The third one is anthropological. They show the face of the realized man, the face of the child to image of the Father. The fourth one is soteriological. They save us from the hypocrisy, from the falsehood, from the failure. The fifth one is ecclesiological. They show the featureres of the community of the children who live as brothers. The sixth is eschatological. They reveal the truth of reality: the judgment of God, the aim itself of the world. The seventh one is moral (not moralistic). They call us to "act " according to what we are, to live our identity. The Sermon on the Mount is a baptismal catechesis, a breviary of Christian life: the rule of life of the Son. But it is not a new law, more impossible of the ancient one. It is the new heart, promised by the prophets. In fact, what Jesus says here is what He lives, and, with His flesh, communicates to all flesh. His Words are not law, but Gospel; They are not noble and difficult requirements, but the sublime and beautiful gift that He offers us becoming our brother. Without the gift of the Spirit the Beatitudes are a sublime ideology , as much as much desperating as much sublime. Jesus doesn't only say , He gives us what He says. The Word of those chapters (5-7) has the power to make us new men:it purifies our life, it gives us the faith, it makes us capable of serving, it frees us from fear, evil, sin, sickness and death , It makes us able to see and proclaim the Kingdom of God. The Words of Jesus are the medicine for our ills, the truth that heals heart from lie that is at their origin. The Sermon on the Mount is a "indicatif " which becomes "imperative." The Son let us be what we are: children, then we have become brothers. Man has no other duty than becoming what he is. It s'important first to seize the "beauty" of this speach which presents again in the Son our true face and Father's face .This Words aren't only directed to disciples , or actually to more willing men, they are for everyone who searchs his own truth, they give to him his reality beyond any appearance. They are therefore the "salvation" of this world, the full development of its possibilities.
-->"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" Hunger and thirst are needs for life, and life is "righteousness," God's will, His Love for all. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst to experience on earth His Love of the Father who is in heaven. Satiety is fullness of life. Jesus, who fulfills all righteousness by standing in solidarity with His lost brothers and sisters, is the Son, full of the very life of the Father (3:15-17). From Him, made Bread, we too take filial strength and satiety. " Blessed are the Merciful" They are those whose hearts are touched by the evil of others as if it were their own. Mercy is the fundamental form of love : passion that becomes com-passion. The merciful find God Himself, who is mercy , and themselves, His child, as merciful as the Father. It is the only beatitude where one finds in the future what one already has now! "Blessed are the pure in heart" (Sl 24:4) The heart, the center of the person, contains "the hidden man" (1PT 3:4) : the Son, who by faith dwells in our heart (Eph 3:17). He who has a pure heart, not obscured by many desires and fears, finds Him. "They will see God" The pure heart is a transparent eye that sees God. And it sees Him in all things, because it has Him in itself and projects Him onto everything. Purity of heart is obtained by righteous intention : whoever in everything seeks only God, finds Him, who is all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake" Those who love the Father and their brothers and sisters come up against evil : they find hostility and persecution, in themselves and outside themselves. Peace is never peaceful . It costs the peacemaker cross; as to Jesus, so to His disciples, who consider it a "dignity" to be despised like Him. The Kingdom of Heaven, here on earth, lingers under the sign of the cross. The disciple's life is "under the banner of the cross," the meeting place between man's injustice and God's justice, love for all the unjust. "It is necessary to go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). We think contrarieties hinder it. But ours is the victory of the Lamb, victorious precisely because he was immolated. "Blessed are you ! " now Jesus addresses those who have allowed themselves to be generated by hearing the Word. He is the "You" of the brethren, who resemble Him in what is most His very own. His love of the crucified "just" for the unjust people. "When they insult you" The first form of persecution is the most serious : losing face. The sword kills the body ; the insult the dignity of a person. Here, however, it is a sign of the greatest dignity : we are esteemed worthy to be like the Lord, who lost face and life for us. Persecution, which erodes the integrity of life, generates the disciple in the image of the Master . Capable of giving his life (Jn 15:18...). For Paul it is the credential of his being an Apostle (2 Cor 11:16-12:10). Trials are proof that we are children, the cause of "perfect joy" , of full joy (1 Pet 1:6), of consolation in every tribulation. Defamation is publicly disseminated insult . It is the bad reputation, "being counted among evildoers" , which takes away name and honorability. Insult and defamation must be unjust . Only then are they witnesses to the "Just . Therefore " it is a grace , for those who know God, to suffer affliction by suffering unjustly , for what glory would it be to endure punishment if you have failed?" (1 Peter 2:19). "Your reward is great in heaven" We are granted a great reward , the greatest there is . "in heaven"-in God-we are begotten sons, in the image of the Son. Bliss becomes internal joy that is expressed in external dance : it makes one jump for joy.
Today we are examining the first of the eight Beatitudes of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus begins to proclaim his path to happiness with a paradoxical announcement: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:3). It is a surprising path and poverty is a strange condition for beatitude.
We have to ask ourselves: what does he mean here by the “poor”? If Matthew had only used this word, then the meaning would have been simply economic, that is, it would have meant people who have few or no means of sustenance and are in need of the help of others.
However, unlike Luke’s, the Gospel of Matthew speaks about “poor in spirit”. What does this mean? According to the Bible, the spirit is the breath of life that God communicated to Adam: it is our most intimate dimension, let us say the spiritual dimension, the most intimate one, the one that makes us human beings, the profound core of our being. Thus, “the poor in spirit” are those who are and who feel poor, mendicants in their intimate being. Jesus proclaims them Blessed because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
How many times have we been told the opposite! You have to be something in life, be someone ... One must make a name for oneself.... Loneliness and unhappiness stem from this: if I have to be “someone”, then I am in competition with others and I worry excessively about my ego. If I do not accept being poor, I hate everything that reminds me of my fragility. Because this fragility prevents me from becoming an important person, someone who is rich, not only moneywise, even well-known: everything.
Before oneself, everyone knows well that, as much as one does one’s best, he/she remains radically incomplete and vulnerable. There is no trick to cover up this vulnerability. Each of us is vulnerable inside. One has to see where. But how trying life is if one does not accept one’s limitations! Life is hard. One lives poorly. One does not digest the limitation; [yet] it is there. Proud people do not ask for help. They cannot ask for help. It does not come easily to them to ask for help because they have to appear self-sufficient. And how many of them do need help, but their pride prevents them from asking for help. And how difficult it is to admit a mistake and ask for forgiveness! When I offer advice to newlyweds who ask me how to live their marriage well, I tell them: “There are three magic words: may I, thank you, I am sorry”. They are words that come from poverty in spirit. One must not be intrusive but rather say excuse me: “Do you think it is good to do this?”, so there can be dialogue in the family, spouses are in dialogue. “You did this for me, thank you I needed it”. We always make mistakes, one slips: “I am sorry”. And usually couples, newlyweds those who are here and are numerous tell me: “The third one is the hardest”, saying sorry, asking for forgiveness. Because proud people cannot do this. They cannot say they are sorry: they are always right. They are not poor in spirit. The Lord instead, never grows tired of forgiving. Unfortunately, it is we who get tired of asking for forgiveness (cf. Angelus, 17 March 2013). The tiredness of asking for forgiveness. This is a bad state!
Why is it difficult to ask for forgiveness? Because it humiliates our hypocritical image. And yet, constantly seeking to hide one’s weaknesses is tiring and distressing. Jesus Christ tells us: being poor is an opportunity for grace; and he shows us the way out from this difficulty. We are given the right to be poor in spirit because this is the path to the Kingdom of God.
But a fundamental thing must be mentioned: we do not have to transform ourselves to become poor in spirit. We do not have to undergo any transformation because we already are! We are poor ... or more clearly: we are “wretched” in spirit! We are in need of everything. We are all poor in spirit, we are beggars. It is the human condition.
--The Kingdom of God is of the poor in spirit. There are those who have kingdoms in this world: they have goods and comforts. But they are kingdoms that end. The power of men and women, even of the greatest empires, pass and disappear. Often we see on the television news or in newspapers that that strong, powerful leader or that government that existed yesterday and no longer exists today, has fallen. The wealth of this world fades away and so does money. The elderly used to teach us that shrouds have no pockets. It is true. I never saw a removal truck behind a funeral procession: no one takes anything with them. This wealth stays here.
The Kingdom of God belongs to the poor in spirit. There are those who have kingdoms in this world, they have goods and comforts. But we know how they end. Only those who know how to love what is truly good more than themselves, reign. And this is the power of God.
In what way did Christ show his power? It was by doing what the kings of the earth do not do: give his life for mankind. And this is true power. The power of fraternity, the power of charity, the power of love, the power of humility. This is what Christ did.
Herein lies true freedom: those who have this power of humility, of service, of fraternity are free. The poverty praised in the Beatitudes is at the service of this freedom.
Because there is a poverty that we have to accept, that of being alive, and a poverty that instead we have to seek, the practical one, in the things of this world, in order to be free and to be able to love. We should always seek freedom of the heart, the freedom that has its roots in our own poverty.>
POPE FRANCIS GENERAL AUDIENCE 19 February 2020 In today’s catechesis we consider the third of the eight Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Mt 5:5).
Here, the term “meek”, literally means sweet, docile, gentle, devoid of violence. Meekness manifests itself in times of conflict. It can be seen by how one reacts to a hostile situation. Anyone can appear meek when everything is peaceful, but how does one react “under pressure”, if one is under attack, offended, threatened?
In one passage, Saint Paul refers to “the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor 10:1). Meanwhile, Saint Peter recalls the attitude of Jesus during his Passion: he did not respond nor threaten because “he trusted to him who judges justly” (1 Pt 2:23). And the meekness of Jesus can be clearly seen in his Passion.
In Scripture, the word “meek” also indicates one who does not have earthly property. Thus, we are struck by the fact that the third Beatitude says precisely that the meek “shall inherit the earth”.
In reality, this Beatitude quotes Psalm 37 which we heard at the beginning of the catechesis. There too, meekness and earthly possessions are juxtaposed. If one thinks about it, these two things appear to be incompatible. Indeed the possession of land is a typical setting for conflict: people often fight over a territory in order to dominate a particular area. The stronger one prevails in war and conquers other lands.
But let us look more closely at the verb that is used to indicate the possessions of the meek: they do not conquer the earth. It does not say “Blessed the meek for they shall conquer the earth”. They “inherit it”. Blessed are the meek, for they shall “inherit” the earth. In the Scriptures the verb “inherit” has a much deeper meaning. The People of God actually refer to the land of Israel which is the Land of the Promise, as their “inheritance”.
That land is a promise and a gift to the People of God and it becomes the symbol for something much greater than a simple territory. There is a “land” — allow me to play on words — which is Heaven, that is the land towards which we are journeying: the new heavens and the new earth towards which we are going (cf. Is 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pt 3:13; Ap 21:1).
Therefore the meek are those who “inherit” the most sublime of territories. They are not cowards, “weak” people who find a moral expedient to avoid difficulties. Quite the contrary! They are people who have received an inheritance and do not wish to squander it. The meek are not accommodating, but rather they are Christ’s disciples who have learned how to protect quite another earth. They protect their peace. They protect their relationship with God and they protect his gifts, God’s gifts, preserving mercy, fraternity, trust, hope, because meek people are merciful, fraternal, trusting people with hope.
Here we have to mention the sin of “anger”, a violent surge whose impulse we all understand. Who has not been angry at some point? Everyone [has]. We have to reconsider this Beatitude and ask ourselves a question: how many things have we destroyed in anger? How many things have we lost? A moment of anger can destroy many things. One loses control and does not value what is truly important. And one can ruin a relationship with a brother or sister, sometimes beyond any remedy. Many brothers or sisters no longer speak to each other because of anger. They distance themselves from each other. It is the opposite of meekness. Meekness brings people together. Anger separates.
Meekness can conquer many things. Meekness is capable of winning over hearts, saving friendships and many other things besides. People become angry, but then they calm down, they think it over and retrace their steps. In this way, one can rebuild with meekness.
“The “earth” to be conquered with meekness is the salvation of that brother whom the Gospel of Matthew mentions: “If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” (Mt 18:15). There is no earth more beautiful than the heart of others. There is no finer territory to attain than that of the peace found again with a brother or sister. And this is the earth to be inherited through meekness!
Book of Zephaniah 2,3.3,12-13.
RispondiEliminaSeek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law;
Seek justice, seek humility; perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the LORD'S anger.
But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly,
Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD;
the remnant of Israel. They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; Nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue; They shall pasture and couch their flocks with none to disturb them.
Psalms 146(145)
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
the LORD sets captives free.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
First Letter to the Corinthians 1,26-31.
Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise,
and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,
and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something,
so that no human being might boast before God.
It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,
so that, as it is written, "Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord."
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Matthew 5,1-12.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
RispondiEliminaDear brothers and sisters, choosing purity, meekness and mercy; choosing to entrust oneself to the Lord in poverty of spirit and in affliction; dedicating oneself to justice and peace — all this means going against the current in respect to this world’s mindset, in respect to the culture of possession, of meaningless fun, of arrogance against the weakest. This evangelical path was trodden by the Saints and Blesseds. (…) It is enough to think of the inexhaustible variety of gifts and real life stories there are among the saints: they are not all the same, each one has their own personality, and developed their own life of holiness according to their own personality. Each one of us can do it, take this path: meekness, meekness, please, and we will head toward holiness. (Angelus, 1 November 2020)
S. FAUSTI - "Blessed" Jesus says of those that we consider unhappy. For us is blessed the rich man, the mighty man, the honorable man, : the one who has, can and is important person.
RispondiElimina. For Jesus it is blessed the poor, the humble and the despised man.
It is important the one who doesn't have , and isn't able and isn't important.
. It ' is a radical upsetting of shares, without possibility of misunderstanding : either we are wrong , or He is wrong ! For Him they are blessed those whom we suppose to be cursed; cursed those who we suppose blessed.
The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount is the manifesto, the "Magna Carta" of the Kingdom.
It says who are the townsmen are , what is their condition.
The criteria by which God judges and acts are just the opposite of ours.
Kingdom of God and kingdom of man are opposed as two opposed ways of estimating and living.
These are two opposite ways of being: that of Jesus, Son of the Father and brother of all, and that of those who, without the Father, and the brothers became by himself against everyone.
We can use seven keys of reading to enter this text.
The first one it is Christological.
These words are an autobiography of Jesus. They reveal His Face of Son of God.
The second one is theological. They manifest who God is : H'is His Father, equal to Him.
The third one is anthropological. They show the face of the realized man, the face of the child to image of the Father.
The fourth one is soteriological. They save us from the hypocrisy, from the falsehood, from the failure.
The fifth one is ecclesiological. They show the featureres of the community of the children who live as brothers.
The sixth is eschatological. They reveal the truth of reality: the judgment of God, the aim itself of the world.
The seventh one is moral (not moralistic).
They call us to "act " according to what we are, to live our identity.
The Sermon on the Mount is a baptismal catechesis, a breviary of Christian life: the rule of life of the Son. But it is not a new law, more impossible of the ancient one.
It is the new heart, promised by the prophets.
In fact, what Jesus says here is what He lives, and, with His flesh, communicates to all flesh.
His Words are not law, but Gospel; They are not noble and difficult requirements, but the sublime and beautiful gift that He offers us becoming our brother.
Without the gift of the Spirit the Beatitudes are a sublime ideology , as much as much desperating as much sublime. Jesus doesn't only say , He gives us what He says.
The Word of those chapters (5-7) has the power to make us new men:it purifies our life, it gives us the faith, it makes us capable of serving, it frees us from fear, evil, sin, sickness and death , It makes us able to see and proclaim the Kingdom of God.
The Words of Jesus are the medicine for our ills, the truth that heals heart from lie that is at their origin. The Sermon on the Mount is a "indicatif " which becomes "imperative."
The Son let us be what we are: children, then we have become brothers.
Man has no other duty than becoming what he is. It s'important first to seize the "beauty" of this speach which presents again in the Son our true face and Father's face .This Words aren't only directed to disciples , or actually to more willing men, they are for everyone who searchs his own truth, they give to him his reality beyond any appearance. They are therefore the "salvation" of this world, the full development of its possibilities.
-->"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" Hunger and thirst are needs for life, and life is "righteousness," God's will, His Love for all.
RispondiEliminaBlessed are those who hunger and thirst to experience on earth His Love of the Father who is in heaven.
Satiety is fullness of life. Jesus, who fulfills all righteousness by standing in solidarity with His lost brothers and sisters, is the Son, full of the very life of the Father (3:15-17).
From Him, made Bread, we too take filial strength and satiety.
" Blessed are the Merciful" They are those whose hearts are touched by the evil of others as if it were their own.
Mercy is the fundamental form of love : passion that becomes com-passion.
The merciful find God Himself, who is mercy , and themselves, His child, as merciful as the Father.
It is the only beatitude where one finds in the future what one already has now!
"Blessed are the pure in heart" (Sl 24:4) The heart, the center of the person, contains "the hidden man" (1PT 3:4) : the Son, who by faith dwells in our heart (Eph 3:17).
He who has a pure heart, not obscured by many desires and fears, finds Him.
"They will see God" The pure heart is a transparent eye that sees God. And it sees Him in all things, because it has Him in itself and projects Him onto everything.
Purity of heart is obtained by righteous intention : whoever in everything seeks only God, finds Him, who is all in all (1 Cor. 15:28).
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake" Those who love the Father and their brothers and sisters come up against evil : they find hostility and persecution, in themselves and outside themselves.
Peace is never peaceful . It costs the peacemaker cross; as to Jesus, so to His disciples, who consider it a "dignity" to be despised like Him.
The Kingdom of Heaven, here on earth, lingers under the sign of the cross.
The disciple's life is "under the banner of the cross," the meeting place between man's injustice and God's justice, love for all the unjust.
"It is necessary to go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
We think contrarieties hinder it.
But ours is the victory of the Lamb, victorious precisely because he was immolated.
"Blessed are you ! " now Jesus addresses those who have allowed themselves to be generated by hearing the Word.
He is the "You" of the brethren, who resemble Him in what is most His very own.
His love of the crucified "just" for the unjust people.
"When they insult you" The first form of persecution is the most serious : losing face.
The sword kills the body ; the insult the dignity of a person. Here, however, it is a sign of the greatest dignity : we are esteemed worthy to be like the Lord, who lost face and life for us.
Persecution, which erodes the integrity of life, generates the disciple in the image of the Master . Capable of giving his life (Jn 15:18...).
For Paul it is the credential of his being an Apostle (2 Cor 11:16-12:10).
Trials are proof that we are children, the cause of "perfect joy" , of full joy (1 Pet 1:6), of consolation in every tribulation. Defamation is publicly disseminated insult .
It is the bad reputation, "being counted among evildoers" , which takes away name and honorability.
Insult and defamation must be unjust . Only then are they witnesses to the "Just .
Therefore " it is a grace , for those who know God, to suffer affliction by suffering unjustly , for what glory would it be to endure punishment if you have failed?" (1 Peter 2:19).
"Your reward is great in heaven" We are granted a great reward , the greatest there is . "in heaven"-in God-we are begotten sons, in the image of the Son.
Bliss becomes internal joy that is expressed in external dance : it makes one jump for joy.
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaGENERAL AUDIENCE
5 February 2020
Today we are examining the first of the eight Beatitudes of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus begins to proclaim his path to happiness with a paradoxical announcement: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:3). It is a surprising path and poverty is a strange condition for beatitude.
We have to ask ourselves: what does he mean here by the “poor”? If Matthew had only used this word, then the meaning would have been simply economic, that is, it would have meant people who have few or no means of sustenance and are in need of the help of others.
However, unlike Luke’s, the Gospel of Matthew speaks about “poor in spirit”. What does this mean? According to the Bible, the spirit is the breath of life that God communicated to Adam: it is our most intimate dimension, let us say the spiritual dimension, the most intimate one, the one that makes us human beings, the profound core of our being. Thus, “the poor in spirit” are those who are and who feel poor, mendicants in their intimate being. Jesus proclaims them Blessed because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
How many times have we been told the opposite! You have to be something in life, be someone ... One must make a name for oneself.... Loneliness and unhappiness stem from this: if I have to be “someone”, then I am in competition with others and I worry excessively about my ego. If I do not accept being poor, I hate everything that reminds me of my fragility. Because this fragility prevents me from becoming an important person, someone who is rich, not only moneywise, even well-known: everything.
Before oneself, everyone knows well that, as much as one does one’s best, he/she remains radically incomplete and vulnerable. There is no trick to cover up this vulnerability. Each of us is vulnerable inside. One has to see where. But how trying life is if one does not accept one’s limitations! Life is hard. One lives poorly. One does not digest the limitation; [yet] it is there. Proud people do not ask for help. They cannot ask for help. It does not come easily to them to ask for help because they have to appear self-sufficient. And how many of them do need help, but their pride prevents them from asking for help. And how difficult it is to admit a mistake and ask for forgiveness! When I offer advice to newlyweds who ask me how to live their marriage well, I tell them: “There are three magic words: may I, thank you, I am sorry”. They are words that come from poverty in spirit. One must not be intrusive but rather say excuse me: “Do you think it is good to do this?”, so there can be dialogue in the family, spouses are in dialogue. “You did this for me, thank you I needed it”. We always make mistakes, one slips: “I am sorry”. And usually couples, newlyweds those who are here and are numerous tell me: “The third one is the hardest”, saying sorry, asking for forgiveness. Because proud people cannot do this. They cannot say they are sorry: they are always right. They are not poor in spirit. The Lord instead, never grows tired of forgiving. Unfortunately, it is we who get tired of asking for forgiveness (cf. Angelus, 17 March 2013). The tiredness of asking for forgiveness. This is a bad state!
Why is it difficult to ask for forgiveness? Because it humiliates our hypocritical image. And yet, constantly seeking to hide one’s weaknesses is tiring and distressing. Jesus Christ tells us: being poor is an opportunity for grace; and he shows us the way out from this difficulty. We are given the right to be poor in spirit because this is the path to the Kingdom of God.
But a fundamental thing must be mentioned: we do not have to transform ourselves to become poor in spirit. We do not have to undergo any transformation because we already are! We are poor ... or more clearly: we are “wretched” in spirit! We are in need of everything. We are all poor in spirit, we are beggars. It is the human condition.
--The Kingdom of God is of the poor in spirit. There are those who have kingdoms in this world: they have goods and comforts. But they are kingdoms that end. The power of men and women, even of the greatest empires, pass and disappear. Often we see on the television news or in newspapers that that strong, powerful leader or that government that existed yesterday and no longer exists today, has fallen. The wealth of this world fades away and so does money. The elderly used to teach us that shrouds have no pockets. It is true. I never saw a removal truck behind a funeral procession: no one takes anything with them. This wealth stays here.
RispondiEliminaThe Kingdom of God belongs to the poor in spirit. There are those who have kingdoms in this world, they have goods and comforts. But we know how they end. Only those who know how to love what is truly good more than themselves, reign. And this is the power of God.
In what way did Christ show his power? It was by doing what the kings of the earth do not do: give his life for mankind. And this is true power. The power of fraternity, the power of charity, the power of love, the power of humility. This is what Christ did.
Herein lies true freedom: those who have this power of humility, of service, of fraternity are free. The poverty praised in the Beatitudes is at the service of this freedom.
Because there is a poverty that we have to accept, that of being alive, and a poverty that instead we have to seek, the practical one, in the things of this world, in order to be free and to be able to love. We should always seek freedom of the heart, the freedom that has its roots in our own poverty.>
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaGENERAL AUDIENCE
19 February 2020
In today’s catechesis we consider the third of the eight Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Mt 5:5).
Here, the term “meek”, literally means sweet, docile, gentle, devoid of violence. Meekness manifests itself in times of conflict. It can be seen by how one reacts to a hostile situation. Anyone can appear meek when everything is peaceful, but how does one react “under pressure”, if one is under attack, offended, threatened?
In one passage, Saint Paul refers to “the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor 10:1). Meanwhile, Saint Peter recalls the attitude of Jesus during his Passion: he did not respond nor threaten because “he trusted to him who judges justly” (1 Pt 2:23). And the meekness of Jesus can be clearly seen in his Passion.
In Scripture, the word “meek” also indicates one who does not have earthly property. Thus, we are struck by the fact that the third Beatitude says precisely that the meek “shall inherit the earth”.
In reality, this Beatitude quotes Psalm 37 which we heard at the beginning of the catechesis. There too, meekness and earthly possessions are juxtaposed. If one thinks about it, these two things appear to be incompatible. Indeed the possession of land is a typical setting for conflict: people often fight over a territory in order to dominate a particular area. The stronger one prevails in war and conquers other lands.
But let us look more closely at the verb that is used to indicate the possessions of the meek: they do not conquer the earth. It does not say “Blessed the meek for they shall conquer the earth”. They “inherit it”. Blessed are the meek, for they shall “inherit” the earth. In the Scriptures the verb “inherit” has a much deeper meaning. The People of God actually refer to the land of Israel which is the Land of the Promise, as their “inheritance”.
That land is a promise and a gift to the People of God and it becomes the symbol for something much greater than a simple territory. There is a “land” — allow me to play on words — which is Heaven, that is the land towards which we are journeying: the new heavens and the new earth towards which we are going (cf. Is 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pt 3:13; Ap 21:1).
Therefore the meek are those who “inherit” the most sublime of territories. They are not cowards, “weak” people who find a moral expedient to avoid difficulties. Quite the contrary! They are people who have received an inheritance and do not wish to squander it. The meek are not accommodating, but rather they are Christ’s disciples who have learned how to protect quite another earth. They protect their peace. They protect their relationship with God and they protect his gifts, God’s gifts, preserving mercy, fraternity, trust, hope, because meek people are merciful, fraternal, trusting people with hope.
RispondiEliminaHere we have to mention the sin of “anger”, a violent surge whose impulse we all understand. Who has not been angry at some point? Everyone [has]. We have to reconsider this Beatitude and ask ourselves a question: how many things have we destroyed in anger? How many things have we lost? A moment of anger can destroy many things. One loses control and does not value what is truly important. And one can ruin a relationship with a brother or sister, sometimes beyond any remedy. Many brothers or sisters no longer speak to each other because of anger. They distance themselves from each other. It is the opposite of meekness. Meekness brings people together. Anger separates.
Meekness can conquer many things. Meekness is capable of winning over hearts, saving friendships and many other things besides. People become angry, but then they calm down, they think it over and retrace their steps. In this way, one can rebuild with meekness.
“The “earth” to be conquered with meekness is the salvation of that brother whom the Gospel of Matthew mentions: “If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” (Mt 18:15). There is no earth more beautiful than the heart of others. There is no finer territory to attain than that of the peace found again with a brother or sister. And this is the earth to be inherited through meekness!