The Beatitudes 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 show 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

Called to Beatitude Chapter 4

The Beatitudes God created us to know, love, and serve him in this life and in the next. It is the how of our Christian vocation.

Jesus As Our Moral Norm Jesus is our moral norm because He is God (fully divine) made-flesh (fully human), and have become children of God through the Paschal Mystery. The Sacrament of Baptism incorporates or has “grafted” us into the Mystical Body of Christ.

Jesus’ Teaching The Gospel writers focused on Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God – which is the reign of God’s justice breaking into our world. For this to happen we must repent – reform our hearts, minds, and wills, and avoid sin. This is called metanoia.

Jesus’ recipe to live a good and moral life is love: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Lk. 10:27)

The Sermon on the Mount: Jesus the New Moses Requirements for Christian discipleship as recorded in Matthew 5-7. Just as Moses, the lawgiver, handed down God’s law from Mt. Sinai, Jesus delivers his instructions from the mount. The Beatitudes describes that attitudes of what Christians ought to be.

The Beatitudes 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 show 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

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law Jesus fulfills the Law of Moses by emphasizing its spirit and intent rather than stressing a strict interpretation of the “letter” of the Law.

Jesus on Good works, prayer, and trust (MT. 6) Disciples of Jesus are called to perform good works humbly, for the purest of motives, and not for show or praise of others, Do not put your trust on earthly treasures. To worry is to waste energy Seek first the Kingdom of God

The Golden Rule and Other truths to live by (Mt. 7) God will forgive us as we forgive others, judge us as we have judged others. Do not be enticed by false voices – love God above all. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Journal Reflection “Worrying is a lot like rocking in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but you don’t get anywhere.” Write about a time when your worries turned out to be meaningless and a waste of your time and energy.

Justification Justification – the Holy Spirit’s grace that blots out our sins through faith in Jesus Christ and baptism; it changes the state of the soul from spiritual death to spiritual life; it makes us right with God.

Grace Grace – a free and unearned favor from God, infused into our souls at Baptism, that adopts us into God’s family and helps us to live as his children. Also known as sanctifying grace – it makes us holy; the grace of justification is an example. Other types of graces – Actual grace -- God’s direct intervention for our conversion or to make us holy. Sacramental grace – specific graces that comes from the sacraments Charisms – special gifts of the Holy Sprit given to individual Christians to build up the Church.

Merit and Holiness Our good works and efforts can lead us or “merit” for us the ultimate happiness of union with God. God has freely chosen us to join him in his work of grace. He decided that our “good works” can count as our participation in His work. Merit is what is “what is owed to us” for living a holy life and cooperating with God’s grace. Merit is only possible because of the love of Christ, who died for us on the Cross

Discipleship Christ calls all of us to holiness/discipleship – which requires self-denial, prayer, and cooperation with God’s grace. Whenever we live holy lives, we participate in Jesus’ three-fold office of priest, prophet, and king.