Pope at Audience: the Beatitudes
are a message for humanity
Inaugurating a new cycle of catechesis dedicated to the
Beatitudes, Pope Francis reflects on Jesus’ invitation to conduct a life of
humility, poverty and mercy.
By Linda Bordoni
Pope Francis said that In order to give Himself to us, God
often chooses "unthinkable" paths that point us beyond our
“limitations, tears and failures,” towards that Paschal joy born of Christ’s
own passage from death to life.
Speaking to the pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Hall for
the Wednesday General Audience, he reflected on the Sermon on the Mount
pronounced by Jesus who, he said, “enlightened” the lives of believers and also
of many non-believers.
“It is difficult,” the Pope said, not to be touched by these
words, and he encouraged the faithful to understand and welcome them “ever more
fully” because “they contain a kind of Christian identity card”.
The proclamation of the Beatitudes
The Pope explained how the proclamation of the message came
about: When He saw the crowds Jesus went up the “sweet slope” surrounding the
Lake of Galilee, sat down and addressed the disciples proclaiming the
Beatitudes.
“The message is addressed to the disciples, but there are
crowds stretching to the horizon, there is all humanity. It is a message for
all humanity,” he said.
A new law
The “mountain”, the Pope continued, recalls the one in
Sinai, where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. However this time, he said,
the setting is not that of a “terrible storm”, but of a place in which the
“sweet power” of the Good News is in the air.
Thus, Pope Francis said, Jesus began to teach a new law that
calls us to be poor, to be meek, to be merciful.
These "new Commandments", he added, are much more
than norms: “In fact, Jesus does not impose anything, but reveals the path to
happiness,” repeating the word ‘blessed’ eight times.
God's gift
Pope Francis explained that each Beatitude is composed of
three parts: the opening word “Blessed” followed by the situation in
which those who are called blessed find themselves – poor in spirit, mourning,
thirsting for justice – and finally the reason for which they
are blessed.
"There are eight Beatitudes and it would be nice to
learn them by heart and to repeat them in order to keep this law that Jesus
gives us in our mind and in our hearts,” he said.
He highlighted that the reason for Beatitude is not to be
found in one’s present situation, but in the new condition that those who are
blessed receive as a gift from God: "For theirs is the kingdom of heaven”,
“for they will be comforted”, “for they will inherit the land” and so on.
A condition of grace
As for the “reason” for happiness, the Pope noted that Jesus
often uses passive verbs like “they will be satisfied”, “they will be shown
mercy”, “they will be called children of God”; saying that the Beatitudes teach
that we are blessed not by our present situation, but rather by the new
condition that is ours by God’s grace
The Pope went on to dwell on the word “Blessed”, saying that
in its original meaning it does not indicate someone “with a full belly
or who is doing well.” He explained that it refers to a person who finds him or
herself in a state of grace and who is going forward on the path indicated by
God with patience, poverty, service towards others, consolation.
“He or she who goes forward on that path is happy, will be
blessed,” he said.
Read the Beatitudes
Reiterating that the Beatitudes “always lead to joy”, the
Pope invited those present to take the Gospel of Matthew in hand and read
chapter 5, verse 1 to 11, “perhaps a couple of times during the week, in order
to understand this beautiful and secure path to happiness that the Lord
proposes to us.”
Greetings to pilgrims
At the end of the audience, Pope Francis greeted the groups
of pilgrims present in various languages, and reminded those from Poland that
on Sunday, on the Solemnity of the Presentation of the Lord, the Day for
Consecrated Life is celebrated in their country and he asked for prayers:
“Let us pray for the religious who dedicate themselves to
God and to their brothers and sisters in daily service, according to their
charism, so that they may always be faithful witnesses of Christ's saving love.
Let us also pray for new vocations to the consecrated life.”
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