By Kristen M. Soley
In this presentation, I hope to unpack for you the Eight
Beatitudes given us by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount, and how we can apply
them to the vocation of wife and mother.
What is Beatitude?
First, it is important to understand what ‘Beatitude’
means. Beatitude, according to Merriam-Webster
is “a state of utmost bliss.” The word
comes from early 15th century meaning, "supreme
happiness," and directly from Latin beatitudinem, "state of
blessedness.”3
In previous talks, we have learned that we were created to
know, love, and serve God, that we may be happy with Him in Heaven. We have also discussed that each of us is
called to sainthood, and our vocation is the perfect path leading to this
end. Sainthood is eternity in heaven,
eternal beatitude, or happiness.
Did you know that we can begin to enjoy heaven on
earth? This is what we ask for each time
we pray, “Thy Kingdom Come,” in the Our Father.
We are asking for union with Christ.
We desire a foretaste of heaven while here on earth. Using the Eight Beatitudes as our guide, we
can ‘Get Happy!’ right here on earth!!
The Beatitudes
The Catechism teaches that “The Beatitudes are at the heart
of Jesus' preaching… and depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his
charity.
·
They express the vocation of the faithful
associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection
·
They shed light on the actions and attitudes
characteristic of the Christian life.
·
They are the paradoxical promises that sustain
hope in the midst of tribulations
·
They proclaim the blessings and rewards already
secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples.
·
They have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary
and all the saints.” (CCC1716-17)
“In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus introduces each aspect of
happiness, or beatitude, with the word ‘blessed.’ Therefore, the words blessed, happiness, and
beatitude are synonymous. 2
In the book Eight Happy People,
Reverend John J. Ahern explains, “We know that genuine happiness is a creative
activity nourished and sustained by serving others in this life. And the reward for that is happiness
eternal.” 2
This is a perfect summation of the vocation of wife and
mother; finding genuine happiness in serving others, for love of God, with the
hope of eternal happiness. Each of us desires
happiness or beatitude. We know that
Jesus is the source. In
His sermon on the mount, this seemingly simple lesson, Jesus outlines the
recipe for true happiness, or beatitude.
Today we are going to unpack the beatitudes,
individually, as they apply to the vocation of wife and mother. We are going to do this through practical insights
as well as investigating the lives of some pretty amazing saints, and how they
achieved beatitude.
As we look into the lives of the saints
who have lived out the beatitudes and have paved the road upon which we can
travel to this happiness, it is important to highlight one saint who lived out
each of these with perfect, humble, obedient, gentle, loving, and pure
submission; The Blessed Virgin. She is
the model we as wives and mothers can look to in each of the beatitudes.
The Eight Beatitudes, in the text of
St. Matthew chapter 5 read as follows:
1.
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven (verse 3).
2.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall
possess the land (verse 4).
3.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they
shall be comforted (verse 5).
4.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst
after justice: for they shall have their fill (verse 6).
5.
Blessed are the merciful: for they
shall obtain mercy (verse 7).
6.
Blessed are the clean of heart: for
they shall see God (verse 8).
7.
Blesses are the peacemakers: for they
shall be called children of God (verse 9).
8.
Blessed are they that suffer
persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (verse 10).
The First Beatitude - Blessed are the poor in spirit for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven, (Verse 3)
“The word poor seems to
represent an Aramaic 'ányâ (Hebrew 'anî), bent down, afflicted,
miserable, poor.”1 However, gospel poverty in the vocation of
wife and mother does not mean we should “Go and sell all that we possess and
give to the poor.” (MT 19:21) Nevertheless,
he is asking that we hold no attachment
to the things of this world; “To be in the world and not of it.” (John
15:19)
To fully understand gospel poverty, it might be easier, as Thomas
Dubay writes in the book Happy Are You
Poor, to point out what Gospel poverty is not:
Carelessness,
disorder, laziness, destitution – Living gospel poverty does not give
permission to not work to provide for our family. We need to provide a suitable home for our
children; providing sufficient food,
clothing, shelter, orderliness, cleanliness, work, and a plethora of love.6
Miserliness or
economy – “The miser loves money such that he is reluctant to part with it
and would deny another what he needs.”6 This creates a spirit of greed, not generosity.
We are to show generosity to our
children and in front of them as often as we can. Let them see us provide meals to the sick or
new moms. If we see somebody at the
library or grocery store unable to pay their bill, make the difference for
them.
As St. John Crysostom said, “Not to enable the poor to share in
our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess
are not ours but theirs."
Insensitivity
to beauty or health - “Scripture nowhere advises us to be careless regarding
health. True enough, there is no support
either for pampering one’s body. 6
Gospel poverty is “about 180 degrees
removed from the values of the world.
‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways.’
Indeed they are not… If we turn to the
pages of the New Testament we find a picture as opposite as it could be;
humility, being last, unknown, hidden in Christ, is a condition for getting
into the kingdom… prestige is worthless and even an obstacle to greatness… the
hard road and the narrow gate, carrying the cross every day is immensely
important… dying to our selfishness and crucifying our illusory desires are
indispensable … impressing people is of no importance at all, whereas being
pleasing to the divine eyes is everything.”6
Dubay speaks of gospel poverty in
marriage through the lives of married saints.
“Without exception they combined a care for their family with a
bountiful sharing with the needy.
Without exception they were beautifully fulfilled and happy people.” 6
The goal in our vocation is to live in this
spirit of poverty and with God’s grace, our children will have the inspiration
to follow this example. There are many
great saints who were called to the vocation of marriage and family and lived
out this gospel poverty. Their lives
have given us great examples to follow.
St. Thomas More, chancellor of England
under King Henry VIII, lived a simple life.
He did ensure their children were educated. “He preferred staples to delicacies in his
diet… He dressed simply.”6
Another great example, St. Elizabeth of
Hungary, loved her prince husband dearly.
She dressed beautifully to please him, but underneath wore a hair
shirt. She was exceedingly generous to
the poor. Elizabeth, with her husband’s
blessing, assumed control of affairs, distributed alms in all parts of the
territory of her husband, giving even state robes and ornaments to the poor. In order to care personally for the
unfortunate she built a hospital with twenty-eight beds and visited the patients
daily to attend to their wants; at the same time she aided nine hundred poor
daily. She said, “How can I, a miserable creature, remain wearing a crown of
earthly dignity when I see my King Jesus crowned with thorns.” 6 She
saw Jesus in everybody.
Offering wisdom to his married sister, St.
Charles de Foucald wrote, “You live simply, avoid any unnecessary expense; in
your manner and way of life, withdraw even further from everything that smacks
of the world, vanity, and pride… There must be no economizing on good books
(spiritual masters and lives of saints)… no economizing on alms; no reductions
here, but rather increases… Trust! Trust!
Be free from all anxiety… God will arrange [your children’s] future and
hundred thousand times better than you and all the people in the put together
could do.” 6
A practical illustration of gospel poverty in our vocation
can be found in Volume 6, by Anne the Lay Apostle:
Let us examine what is necessary for a child to flourish in today’s world. Food, shelter and clothing are the barest concrete necessities. What kind of food does your child need? Simple food, prepared at home, by someone who loves the child. This is the best way to nourish a growing body. If your child is well used to eating at home and eating simple foods, that child will not demand more elaborate fare. If the child does demand more elaborate fair, you simply say, “No.” Now we look at shelter. When a child is born and laid in his mother’s arms, he does not wonder how many rooms are in his home. He feels safe and warm and is content. That child is brought home. Again, he is not concerned with how big his house is, rather, he is concerned that when he cries, his mother responds. The child begins to grow and look around. Still, he does not say, “Why don’t I have a big house? Why don’t I have an expensive car to drive in?” He looks to his parents for guidance in this area and if his parents are content with what that family has, then the child understands there is no reason to complain.7
Living out gospel poverty in our own lives is simple, but
not always easy. A practical application
of this is to buy the second best of whatever it is we need or want, i.e., car,
and even some luxury items, such as a boat. Don’t buy the best or the most
expensive, rather, buy the second in line.
Remember, we are looking to buy an item to meet our need, not demonstrate affluence nor status.
Always trust that God knows what we need,
more so than we. This wisdom can help us
differentiate between needs and wants, especially when it comes to making
sacrifices for the greater good of our family.
“God intended for us to use wealth as a means to happiness,
not as happiness itself.” (unknown)
Part II - Blessed are the Meek for They Shall Possess the Land - is next! Come back for more!
-All For-
+JMJ+
Sources –
1.
Newadvent.org
2.
Eight
Happy People, Reverend John J. Ahern
3.
Etymonline.com
6.
Happy are
you Poor, Dubay
7.
Volume 6,
Direction for Our Times – Anne the Lay Apostle
8.
Courageous
Virtue, Stacy Mitch (A Bible Study on Moral Excellence For Women)
9.
Catholic.org
11.
The Twenty-Four Hours of the Passion of Our Lord
Jesus Christ – Luisa Piccaretta
