"And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples came unto him, and he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see GOD. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of GOD. Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost his savior, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
--Matthew 5: 1-16
Be your true self. That is what Jesus is saying in this speech to the multitudes. But know, that by being your TRUE self, you are an extension of God and all of His wonderful creations. God is pure, and so we were created pure, but by the Fall, and ensuing presence of Original Sin, we are destined to become impure, time after time, until our sins are washed away in purgatory, and we are admitted to God's kingdom in heaven.
However, just because we are inevitably destined to sin against God, does not mean that we should EVER take ANY pleasure in doing so. It is next to impossible for any of us to be perfect, and I say "next to impossible" because with God ALL things are possible--hence, the Immaculate Conception of Mary--just don't count on it in your case.
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." The definition of "meek" is: 1. characterized by patience and long-suffering; 2. deficient in spirit and courage.
This sounds like a gift and a punishment, if you ask me. The gift is for the members of the first definition--patient and long-suffering, who are worthy of obtaining God's most awesome creation. The punishment is for the members of the second definition--deficient in spirit and courage, who are unworthy (at present, not forever) of obtaining the ultimate goal, heaven. He blesses both. One in applause, the other in hope for change. Try putting your head around that...it's hard, I know.
All of the things Jesus talks about are virtues. And the definition of "virtue" is thus: 1. conformity to a standard of right; 2. a particular moral excellence; 3. manly strength or courage.
Therefore, a virtue is hand-in-hand with God, because He is ALWAYS right, and He can do NO wrong. On the contrary, we are prone to do wrong, because of the Fall, and when we do "right" we finally find ourselves in the company of GOD.
The most virtuous thing we can do is be loyal to GOD. And by being loyal to GOD we imitate Him as closely as humanly possible. Therefore, when evil and wicked spirits take over the hearts of men and women, we must stand strong and profess the Goodness of GOD, no matter the earthly consequences. We must be a "light", a "house on a hill" for all of those we encounter throughout life. And if we do so, we will be greatly rewarded by He, in His house--the only place we should ever truly wish to go.
Time after time we find ourselves asking God, "What do you want? Just tell me." The funny thing is, He does, and has, since the creation of man. We just don't listen. He wants us to imitate Him as well as we can...to be a light that sheds love on everything that passes us. Our lives, our existence, means NOTHING unless we do.
Love and God Forever,
Anthony Paul
3 comments:
I'm so glad to see that you're reading so much Scripture and applying it to your life. You know what St. Jerome said..."Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ".(He'sthe one who translated the Bible into Latin from Hebrew and Greek.) I'm actually just getting back into a regular reading of the Bible myself - thanks to your example!
I would just caution you to read the Bible "with the mind of the Church" as she exhorts us to do, by reading approved commentaries alongside Scripture, and then coming up with a meaning that applies to your life. Only b/c the devil wants to trick us however he can, and will even use Scripture to do so. He even tried to do it with Christ in the desert. Since the Church is infallibly protected by the Holy Spirit, we can always trust her interpretation, and hers is the only interpretation we can absolutely trust.
The only thing I disagree with in this post is the idea that "we're destined to sin in this life". We very likely will sin, at least venially, every day until we die, but we aren't destined to do so...we have every grace at our disposal to choose His will in each and every circumstance so that we can be purified in this life and consequently avoid the need for purgatory, IF we choose to seek and embrace His graces. Plenty of saints have done so, St. Therese never committed a single mortal sin in her life, and Bl. Jacinta of Fatima was promised to enter immediately into heaven.
I guess it's just a minor point about that word "destined", but there's something in it that just didn't sound right to me. I must say, though, you truly have a way with words. God has great plans for you!
Thank you very much for reading my posts, Sarah, and commenting on them...though I do not write them for the gratification of people's responses, it is a way to know that they are being read. And, more importantly, it opens a platform for discussion, such as this one. I guess used "destined" when I should have used "very prone...most certainly will, at least venially." And I thank you very much for bringing that to my attention. I see how the word "destined" could make it more comfortable for someone to commit a sin, being that they feel it is inevitably going to happen in one way or another...and hence, a venial sin could quickly turn into a mortal sin with the trickery of the devil always present.
I had no idea St. Therese never committed a mortal sin. Or that Jacinta of Fatima was granted immediate entrance into heaven. I do need to familiarize myself with everything Catholic, and I am trying. I should finish Mere Catholicism this week, and I have been very interested in Scott Hahn's new book "Signs of Life." Also, I do need to pick up a Catholic Chatecism (spelling?) book, if that's what it is called. Is that the book that provides Catholic perspective to the Bible?
One thing I have to say about "Mere Catholicism" is that it lays out in very simple fashion many things about the Church. Father Kerr's "break down" of the Holy Trinity was AMAZING, as well. I never looked at it the way he explains it. For instance, I never thought about how the Father came first, Jesus was sent down second as an earthly extension of Him, and finally the Holy Spirit was Jesus' earthly replacement once He ascended to heaven.
Lastly, Father Kerr's explanation of human beings being most human when they are perfect was a wake up call to me. We get too caught up with the Fall, that we feel "destined" to sin, and therefore, sinning feels human to us...acceptable. Just a few thoughts.
But thank you, and I love you.
Anthony Paul
Yeah, there are lots of little tidbits of knowledge (particularly about the saints) you pick up along the way :)
Thanks for being open-minded. I'm glad you saw that I wasn't intending to be critical, I just wanted to make a distinction which, you will quickly find, is a key element of theology. The difference between truth and error very often lies in one misplaced/misused word - I had to learn that the hard way through a handful of college papers on which I read something like, "Technically, what you've written here is heresy. I think what you meant to say was..." And one or two words would be added or deleted. Crazy!
I'm glad you're enjoying Fr. Kerr's book. BTW, I have a couple books I think you'll like but I need your new address; email it to me when you get a chance.
Peace.
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