When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. I have been doing these reflections for nearly two and a half years now, and although I have never repeated anything I have said in them —well, not deliberately, anyway — I am going to make an exception today. The reason is because I usually give myself five short paragraphs to do these reflections, and with one of them already gone, I don’t think I could sum up eight beatitudes better in the remaining four. So, here goes: These beatitudes - I like to call them BE Attitudes - are eight attitudes that lead to us being blessed. Let us understand what these are. One, the poor in spirit. The poor in spirit are essentially people who recognize how impoverished they are without God’s grace and assistance. Two, those who mourn are people who struggle with life and sinfulness, constantly seeking God’s help in overcoming their spiritual battles. Three, the meek are those who are like little lambs allowing themselves to be led by the shepherd, or if you prefer, led by the Spirit. Four, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are those who don’t want their will in their lives, but only the will of God. These are people who offer their lives to God as a living sacrifice as Paul advises in Romans 12:2. Five, the merciful are those who understand how much in need of mercy they, themselves are, and consequently do not hesitate in extending mercy towards others. These are people who will forgive those who hurt them no matter how often or how deep the hurts are. Six, the pure in heart are those who seek to do everything for the love and glory of God. Seven, the peacemakers are those who heal instead of hurting, repair instead of breaking, seek harmony instead of turmoil. And, finally—eight—blessed are those who are accept suffering gladly because it allows them to be partakers of Christ’s suffering. This is especially true when it is because of their faith in him, and because of their proclamation of his kingdom here on earth. Well, if you ever wanted to know how well you are faring as a Christian, this is the checklist.
