[Pearls Ep 156: Bringing Sunday into the week.]
Sunday’s Gospel turned our minds to the beatitudes.
But what exactly makes something a beatitude? How is it different than simply a good habit, or virtue? For example, when does “being poor in spirit” become beatitude and not just trying to live a more simple life?
For starters, the Beatitudes depict the “perfection of Christian life.”
Are you feeling perfect? Us neither. In fact, from a metaphysical standpoint, we can’t perfect ourselves precisely because we’re imperfect. We need something beyond ourselves to raise us up to a higher level.
That’s how everything in life works. If we want to learn piano, we need a piano teacher. If we want to improve at a sport, we need a coach. If we want to get better at eating donuts … well, that one actually seems to come naturally, but you get the idea.
If we want to become “perfect” (another word is holy) we need to be led by the source of perfection – God. And so we need to pray for the grace to grow in beatitude.
Only then can we do our part. But we don’t do our part by trying to practice the beatitudes per se. Let’s return to “blessed are the poor in spirit.” Part of that is detaching from worldly comforts. But two things we soon learn when trying to live that way:
- It does not come naturally – it takes effort. It hurts to deprive ourselves. It requires grace.
- It really does not get any easier if that is all that we do.
#2 is the key to the situation. If our sole focus is self-denial, our progress will be slow and difficult. Self-denial is important, but it is just one piece in the puzzle. What we need first and foremost is to grow in relationship with God, and everything that entails – mental prayer, worship, love of neighbor and denial of self (the first beatitude).
When we grow in love for God and neighbor, we will necessarily become less self-absorbed. Guess what happens then? After a while, self-sacrifice comes easier. It becomes natural. And with more grace, comes a time when we actually welcome sacrifice because we experience it as a way of uniting ourselves to Christ, of becoming our true self, and being a source of grace for the people around us.
Now when we sacrifice and act as if we are poor, we are happy – with a true happiness that is not forced. This true happiness is beatitude. We arrived there by doing all the little things of a holy life in cooperation with God’s grace.
And now we understand Blessed Are the Poor. It is no longer something that we are consciously forcing ourselves to do. It has become who we are. Or more accurately, our way of life has become God’s way and … the way people live in the kingdom of heaven.
Perhaps this week, we can pray to the Holy Spirit for inspiration for the next small step to take on your way to the kingdom and the grace to take it.
Blessings on your journey with Christ –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life
Postscript: The Beatitudes – Mt 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.”