“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Mt 5:1-12
With the Sermon on the Mount, we enter into one of the great teachings of Our Lord. Saint Thomas Aquinas explains that we must distinguish between two moments, two different preachings of Jesus Christ on the same theme.
In the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Our Lord preaches to those who are closest to Him. He goes up the mountain to speak to the apostles, to His intimate followers. He therefore enters into deeper, more interior realities, intended for those who are closer to Him.
On another occasion, Our Lord Jesus Christ seems to have preached at the foot of this same mountain. Saint Jerome explains that it was not Mount Calvary, as some have tried to maintain. It may perhaps have been Mount Tabor, or another high mountain. But at the foot of the mountain, before a larger crowd, and not only before His apostles, Our Lord also treats the same theme, giving beatitudes, but also woes: “Woe to you, woe to you, woe to you.”
In this passage from Saint Matthew, Our Lord speaks to His intimate followers, to those closest to Him, and we see the eight Beatitudes.
According to Saint Augustine, this sermon must certainly have been long and detailed. Our Lord must have explained each of these Beatitudes very carefully, though they are reported to us here in an extremely summarized form.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Here we already have an important consideration for our spiritual life.
Saint Augustine says that pride appears when people puff themselves up, when they want to appear to be what they are not. He compares this to someone filling himself with wind: he fills himself with something that has no substance, something entirely empty.
How often in our lives are we not tempted to let ourselves be carried away by vanities, by things that truly have no substance? They are empty, passing things that lead nowhere.
That is why Our Lord teaches His apostles:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
According to Saint Augustine, this refers to those who have a humble heart. These are the blessed ones to whom Our Lord Jesus Christ is referring, much more than in certain interpretations that reduce this saying to a merely material aspect.
It is not material poverty that Our Lord is speaking of here. He is teaching the way of humility.
We may then ask ourselves: whom was Our Lord thinking of when He said this? Without any doubt, He was thinking of all people of all times, throughout all history. But in speaking of the Beatitudes, He certainly had in His Sacred Heart an ideal model to present to His apostles.
And it could not have been otherwise: Our Lord must have been thinking of the one who was His most beloved creature, the Most Holy Virgin Mary.
Who was poorer in spirit than she?
She who, in her great richness of virtues, made herself nothing. She wanted to make herself the servant, she who would be the Mother of the Saviour. And yet, she was chosen. The Almighty did great things for the one who made herself a servant, for the one who made herself nothing, for the one who, so to speak, annihilated herself, placing herself entirely in the hands of God.
Our Lord continues His preaching:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
How many trials, temptations, and battles must be endured by the one who decides to follow Our Lord Jesus Christ! These are afflictions. But those who decide to practise virtue, those who decide to be faithful to God, will also receive their reward and will be comforted by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Then Our Lord says:
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
How often covetousness drives people to throw themselves into activities, to seek, amid so much competition, to be better than others! Then come jealousy, intrigues, arguments, so many problems, so many tensions, so much disorder.
All this happens because people are attached to themselves or to the things of the earth. They then lose meekness and become extremely agitated, nervous, and fixed on passing things.
Our Lord therefore teaches His apostles what they first had to live themselves before passing it on to others: to be meek of heart, like Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
We could go through all these Beatitudes, but time is limited and we cannot dwell on them too long. Let us therefore take a fourth and final consideration among the Beatitudes in this passage.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Saint John Chrysostom explains who those are who possess peace: they are those who do not live in disputes or quarrels. Even in situations of discord, they strive to restore concord and harmony of hearts.
How pleasant it is to live near such people! They are calm people, people who want the good of others, people who have goodwill. These people also radiate peace. They are pleasant to be around.
On the other hand, how unpleasant it is to live with people who constantly create obstacles, problems, and difficulties. Whatever the subject or shared situation may be, they see problems, difficulties, and negative aspects. They see the faults of one person and another. This makes life unpleasant, heavy, difficult, and negative.
Our Lord teaches us to be peaceful. And not only to be peaceful, but to promote peace.
These, says Our Lord, will be called children of God. They establish peace, which, according to Saint Augustine, is the tranquillity of order. Everything around them becomes pleasant, calm, and harmonious because, first of all, in their own hearts, they are already living this peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
As we meditate on these wonderful Beatitudes, with so many teachings, let us think of the Virgin Mary.
Just as Our Lord certainly had as His ideal model the one who is blessed, the Most Holy Virgin Mary, let us seek to meditate on the way she lived.
Certainly, she was not immersed in the things of the earth. She did not live in despair amid afflictions and difficulties. It would be absurd to think that she lived amid disputes and quarrels.
The Virgin Mary was the blessed one among the blessed.
She was peaceful, merciful, pure of heart, and poor in spirit.
Thus, let us seek to follow the example of the Blessed Virgin.
