The Eight Beatitudes

The Eight Beatitudes:

1st Beatitude

The windows on the east and west sides of our Church symbolize the Eight Beatitudes. Matthew 5:3-10 describes Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount, which contained what are known as the Beatitudes. Jesus said:

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.

In the above passage Jesus promises us happiness. In fact the word "blessed" means "happy." The Beatitudes are at the core of Christ's teaching. They fulfill the promise made to the Jewish people by pointing beyond earthly happiness to the eternal happiness of heaven. The reward promised in each of the Beatitudes is primarily heaven.

The Beatitudes reveal the goal of human existence, the ultimate purpose of human acts; God calls us to his own beatitude. This vocation is addressed to each individual personally, but also to the Church as a whole, the new people made up of those who have accepted the promise and live from it in faith - CCC 1719.

If we live according to this plan of Christ we shall have a foretaste of the happiness of heaven in this life. Christ tells us that we will be happy by doing for his sake the very things which we may think will make us unhappy. Christ tells us that we must not set our hearts on money, whereas many people appear to want even more money than they already have. Christ tells us that we must forgive our enemies and love them, whereas many people seem to want to "get even with" or at least avoid those who hurt them. Christ tells us that we must avoid all sin, that we must be willing to take a lower place, that we must suffer for him, etc. These are conditions which might seem to make us unhappy, but the Lord's words tell us otherwise.

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