August 13, 2012 – Catechism 1716 – 1719


Be poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker, persecuted, reviled and persecuted and you will be happy. If that isn’t the exact opposite message the world gives, I am completely confused about what the world is teaching. Look at the opposite of all of them (didn’t want to type that all out, but here is a beginning), be rich, cheerful, arrogant … you will be happy. Try to think of the reaction Christ received when He first laid this out. It was the same sinful world (I don’t think we realize some of the close similarities between Roman culture and our culture today).

I have to question those that think Christ was just a good man with some good ideas and are the Christians without a religion, do they treat the Beatitudes like they treat other teachings by Christ. In our moral relativistic world, are they relativistic about the Beatitudes. Yes, we will thirst for righteousness, but we really don’t have to be poor in spirit. Yes, we are merciful, but we don’t want to be persecuted or reviled. As with all Christ teachings, because He teaches Truth and it cannot be varied or compromised or edited, it is not something we can pick and choose. If you choose to be Christian, you are choosing to be persecuted, you are choosing to be meek, and you will be reviled. Being a very popular Christian that the world is accepting of what you are doing probably means you are not fully living out the Beatitudes. That may not be a popular thing to say, but persecution is part of the package. That is something every Christian should fully understand.