“The beatitudes we are promised
confronts us with decisive moral choices.
It invites us to purify our hearts of bad instincts
and to seek the love of God above all else.
It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being,
in human fame or power, or in any human achievement –
however, beneficial it may be – such as science, technology,
and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone,
the source of every good and of all love.”
Paragraph 1723 from The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Gospel for All Saints Day this past Wednesday was the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:1-12. Here is how I perceive how some of the saints lived these out:
For giving up a life of comfort and dreams of chivalry surely St. Francis of Assisi is blest by being poor in spirit and has inherited the Kingdom of God. For accompanying those abandoned and alone on the death bed and offering solace, Saint and Mother Theresa of Calcutta comforted those who mourned. In his humility and meekness in regard to others, St. Martin de Porras inherited an eternal homeland. In being martyred for upholding the values of his faith despite opposition to the King of England, St. Thomas More’s hunger and thirst for righteousness has found him a satisfaction in the peace that only God can give.
When St. John Bosco took in youth who were mischievous and petty criminals, the mercy he showed them had to have been shown to himself by God. By riding her convents of excesses and distractions from their true mission, St. Theresa of Avila’s clean heart fostered visions of God and of a renewal of religious life. In influencing the fall of Communism in Poland and other Eastern European countries, Saint and Pope John Paul II’s peacemaking efforts made him a true son of God. For converting to Catholicism at a time when Catholics in the early years of our nation were persecuted, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton can now rejoice with the saints in heaven for the fruit of her life and ministry.
Which beatitude will you be remembered for?
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