Matthew 5:1-12

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.

Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I am blessed to be a member of the New Covenant People of God. Help me to appreciate and value what that means. Humanity walked in darkness for centuries, but now has the light of Christ and his words of eternal life. I have received that light and those words, and I thank you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Three Beatitudes of Humility: Today, we begin our twelve-week daily journey through the Gospel of Matthew with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon begins with a list of nine blessings (Matthew 5:3-12) and ends with three warnings (Matthew 7:13-27). The nine blessings or beatitudes can be grouped into three sets of three. The first three focus on humility, which is the foundation of prayer and the Christian life (CCC, 2559). Being “poor in spirit” means not being puffed up with the spirit of pride, it means being detached from earthly wealth, it means using our wealth to serve others who are less fortunate, and it means being humble through the grace of the Holy Spirit. The second Beatitude blesses those who mourn. Mourning is something good when we shed tears of repentance, when we comfort someone who has just lost a loved one, or when we cry out to heaven for evil to be overcome in the world. The third Beatitude encourages us to be meek and gentle of heart. A person who is truly meek is not weak or timid. They are patient, keep their anger in check, and act prudently and promptly. If we are humble, if we mourn, if we are meek, then, with God’s grace, we will enjoy the comfort of God’s love and live in the Kingdom and Promised Land of Heaven.

2. Three Beatitudes of Righteousness: The next three beatitudes focus on justice and righteousness. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: this can refer to the pursuit of justice or the deep desire for holiness. Being righteous means being in a right relationship with God and also with our neighbors. Blessed are the merciful: Mercy, in the New Covenant, is at the foundation of justice. Sometimes we are tempted to seek justice and occasionally be merciful. But this is not how the Church speaks about the relationship between justice and mercy. God is always just and merciful. The two are inseparable. There can be no true justice without mercy and no true mercy without justice. Blessed are the clean of heart: on the one hand, this beatitude makes us think of purity and chastity; on the other hand, it means having an undivided heart. We cannot love both God and money. We cannot love God without loving our neighbor. We cannot pursue justice and righteousness if we have warped second intentions. We will not be righteous if we act like the Pharisees and put on a good external show for others, but inwardly are corrupt in our hearts.

3. Three Beatitudes of Peace: The last three beatitudes speak about being peacemakers in the world, suffering persecution for the sake of righteousness, and suffering insults and false accusations on account of Jesus. We find the supreme example of these beatitudes and every beatitude in Jesus. He worked tirelessly to bring about the ultimate reconciliation between God and humanity and the reconciliation of human beings with other human beings. And for this, he was persecuted, beaten, insulted, falsely accused, and crucified on the cross. Can Jesus’ followers and disciples expect anything different? In Jesus, we have the model of redemptive suffering. We can unite our sufferings to his, and this has a redemptive value. And this contributes greatly to building up peace in this world and storing up treasure in the world to come.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I thank you for the gift of the New Law and for the grace of the Holy Spirit to fulfill it. You truly have the words of eternal life and have marked out the path that leads to eternal beatitude. Help me to choose this path always in all that I do.

Living the Word of God: When I examine my conscience before the Sacrament of Reconciliation, do I limit my exam to the 10 Commandments? How can I examine my conscience in the light of the Beatitudes and the New Law: Am I poor in spirit? Merciful? Meek and pure of heart? A peacemaker? Just in my dealings with others? Generous in giving to the poor?