Get Happy! The Beatitudes of Life for the Vocation of Wife and Mother - Conclusion

Kristen M. Soley

The Eighth Beatitude - Blessed are they that suffer persecution for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Merriam-Webster defines persecution as “The subjecting of a race or group of people to cruel or unfair treatment, e.g. because of their ethnic origin or religious beliefs.”  

There are so many great saints that suffered persecution for the sake of justice. Saint Perpetua suffered for the justice of Christ crucified. She would not deny her Christianity and for this, she was martyred by the gladiators in Carthage in the year 203. In the arena, she was first tortured by wild beasts, and ultimately gave up her life by the sword. Before she handed her life over to the gladiator, she encouraged Christians that would come after her, saying, “Stand fast in the faith and love one another; and do not let our sufferings be a stumbling block to you." 10

Reading her testament in The Passion of St. Perpetua is a great investment of time as it demonstrates absolute surrender, love, and faith!  

Living out this beatitude in the vocation of wife and mother is simple, but not always easy. We are called to live our faith, really live it, regardless of the company and situation in which we find ourselves. We cannot choose to follow Christ with part of our life. We must follow Him in all things and “do not be afraid” (MT 14:27) to let Him shine through us, regardless of how people might respond to His love.   

Jesus promised that "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” (John 15:18 NASB) Suffering persecution does not need to entail blood for it to hurt; this differentiates white martyrdom with red. We encounter white martyrdom when we are judged for the size of our family, or what we do in our spare time, and our position on biblical truths in everyday life, specifically related to marriage, life, and education. We can, however, be consoled, as there is no pain of mockery, judgment, rejection, humiliation, nor abandonment that Jesus did not endure. Give your trials to Jesus.  

Like the great saints, we can find beatitude in these persecutions. We are found worthy enough to help Jesus carry His cross, what a privilege.  

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." – Jim Elliot

In Conclusion

The vocation of wife and mother finds genuine happiness in serving others, for love of God, with the hope of eternal happiness. The Eight Beatitudes are our roadmap to achieving this happiness here on earth and we know that Jesus is the source of true beatitude.  

The Beatitudes "confront us with decisive choices concerning earthly goods; they purify our hearts in order to teach us to love God above all things." (CCC1728) With God’s grace and loving Him above all things, we can achieve union with Him, experiencing Heaven on earth. With confidence, we can ask the Blessed Mother to pray for us, to be more like her, the embodiment of each beatitude.

Again, we were created to know, love and serve God, that we may be happy with Him in Heaven. Let us be gospel poor, meek, mourn for souls separated from Christ through sin, share Jesus’ mercy, remain pure of heart, be peacemakers, and suffer for love of God for the sake of justice. With God’s grace, living out the beatitudes will help us to achieve this beatitude. It is what we were made for!

Now go, and get happy!

Sources –
1. Newadvent.org
2. Eight Happy People, Reverend John J. Ahern
3. Etymonline.com
4. http://www.americancatholic.org/messenger/oct2000/feature1.asp#F1
5. http://www.copiosa.org/virtue/virtue_meekness.htm
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
10. http://stperpetuaparish.org/perpetua.php
11. The Twenty-Four Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ – Luisa Piccaretta
12. Michele Szekely - http://www.leblogdelabergerie.com/articles/Catherines.htm  
  

Get Happy! The Beatitudes of Life for the Vocation of Wife and Mother - Part VII

Kristen M. Soley

Seventh Beatitude - Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

The "peacemakers" are those who not only live in peace with others but help to preserve peace and friendship among man and between God and man. They also help to restore.1 

St. Francis of Assisi was a happy and blessed man, who found his beatitude in peacemaking.2 Preaching peace was his war cry.

The Prayer of St. Francis is a perfect embodiment of peacemaking and a great guide to living out this beatitude in our vocation. 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace – May we be the source of grace and peace in our home. Even if there is chaos, with God’s grace, we can help set the tone of our home. We can lovingly guide and reprove, use gentle and forgiving words and show consistency in our presence. If we can remain calm in all situations, with God’s grace, we can be a constant and reliable source of peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love- In all things, choose love. Not only should we teach this to our children, but we should live this out. Set an example of unconditional love, even when it does not come easy. Encourage charity among the children and do not tolerate uncharitable behavior. Ask Mary and Jesus to love through us and that they fill the gap of love we fail to meet in our homes.

Where there is injury, pardon – Again, to be forgiven, we must forgive, as we are taught by Jesus, in the Our Father, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We are also taught in scripture the number of time we are to forgive, "…I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:22 NASB) Encourage our children to say, “I am sorry,” and “You are forgiven.”

The rest of the prayer runs:
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy; 

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. 

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

This would be worth hanging on the fridge as a constant reminder that we are called to be the channel of peace in our homes. And with God’s grace through time spent with Him in prayer, He can bring this peace into our homes. 

May we become the "peacemakers" who not only live in peace with others but help to preserve peace and friendship among man and between God and man; in our homes and wherever He may lead us. 1

Sources –
1. Newadvent.org
2. Eight Happy People, Reverend John J. Ahern
3. Etymonline.com
4. http://www.americancatholic.org/messenger/oct2000/feature1.asp#F1
5. http://www.copiosa.org/virtue/virtue_meekness.htm
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
10. http://stperpetuaparish.org/perpetua.php
11. The Twenty-Four Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ – Luisa Piccaretta
12. Michele Szekely - http://www.leblogdelabergerie.com/articles/Catherines.htm  
  

The Little Things Done With Love, are Great!

In the Gospel according to Luke 9:51-62...

This passage speaks of Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, headed to His rejection, persecution, and ultimately, His death…  On the way He continues to show us how to treat those who reject us.  As with the Samaritans who turn Him away when looking for a place to stay... The Apostles ask of Him if they should call fire down upon them to smite them.  Jesus simply rebukes the Apostles as He turns in the direction of the next villiage.  Do not repay injury w/ injury…  just continue on the path, upon which we will carry our crosses that lead to ultimate salvation, through Him, with Him.

Then, on His journey, as He calls people to follow Him, they all have excuses (bury my Father, say good bye to family, etc.), and Jesus says “your duty is to go and spread the news of the Kingdom of God.”  That’s it, in a nutshell…  Our duty is to go and spread the news of the Kingdom of God.  Period…  in whatever vocation God has called us. 

 

I have been listening to the lives of saints with my children, a lot lately…and this reallllly resonates with me… each of us is called to spread the good news, but it looks different for each of us.  And when (not if, but when) we are called, we will know… that is if we give Him time in prayer and silence to listen… not even hours of silence… but with a true, faith-filled, open heart… if we ask for His wisdom, He will, and ALWAYS does provide an answer, whether we find it in scripture, or through His messengers (priest, spouse, children, even the radio)…  He always answers our prayers… 

We should not expect to be called to great things…  because fulfilling the duty and vocation to which we are called, with love is, indeed, GREAT!  As in the life of St. Teresa of Avila that we watched last night, sometimes, simply fulfilling, in obedience and love, our duty can be far more difficult that doing big things… so, it is, in doing our duty, out of obedience and love, we are doing great things and this spreads love, which is the Kingdom of God… the good news.  Jesus is love.

Our vocation, our duty is hard… and on trying days, we may just not feel up to the challenge.  We can get tired because at times our children are more trying than others.  They act their age... We may actually look up to heaven and say “I don’t feel like being a Mom today”…  However, we can say it with a contrite heart, because, we are sorry for feeling that way and know that we need Heaven’s help… but we cannot change how we feel.  We can only look to the one true source of comfort, knowing that we will be heard, and with faith in our prayers, we can be assured help will come.  Heaven is always near.

God may be asking us to flex our spiritual muscles and grow in holiness, through the fires of sanctification, but we must stand firm, as patiently as seemingly possible, and stay true to our family standards and house rules.  Oh how easy it would be to turn a blind eye.  That is not what God is asking of us.  Our duty is to raise saints, and God-willing… become one in the process…  

As Blessed Mother Teresa says:

"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action."

 

Therefore, truly, the little things done with love, are great.