What is “To Be Blessed”?

 1.  The beatitudes in Luke are only four, not eight as in Matthew. It might have been that Jesus was now preaching to a broader audience. But in any case, these four beatitudes are related to the four goods of life. 1) Those who are poor lack of material, external goods. 2) Those who are hungry lack of physical, corporeal goods. 3) Those who are weeping lack of the emotional good of joy, perfect peace. 4) But then comes the spiritual good, which is the knowledge of the truth and being morally good. Jesus does not say “Blessed are the ignorant or the sinners” because you cannot be blessed if you lack spiritual goods. The other lacks are like certain conditions of blessedness, but lack of knowledge and most importantly lack of goodness do not make a human being happy or blessed.

However, there is something that can be lacking in those who know the truth and are morally good, which is social recognition. Let’s put it this way: people can steal your goods, take away your food and try to make your life miserable, but if you love the truth, they cannot take it away from you. Also, the only way to lose your integrity is to give it up yourself. Now, when people try to hurt those who are morally good, since they cannot take away their goodness from them, they “hate” them interiorly, avoid them or “exclude” them exteriorly, “insult” them verbally and promote these actions among others, by denouncing their “name as evil.”

2.  These four “lacks” are not per se what makes you blessed, but certain conditions that, properly understood, make you blessed. Now each beatitude has three parts. “Blessed” refers to a present possession, to something perfect in the present. Then comes a condition of that blessedness, which are the aforementioned lacks, which are also present but passing, fleeting, temporary. And then the cause of blessedness, which is partly present and imperfect and partly future and perfect. We are blessed because God’s kingdom is ours even now, although not yet perfectly (first beatitude, present). We are blessed because God’s kingdom will be perfect one day in Heaven (the other three, in the future). The poor are not promised money in the future, because money will not be necessary, and even now cannot buy blessedness. But we are promised the satisfaction of the body, of the emotions and of the spirit. “You will be satisfied,” “you will laugh,” “your reward will be great.”

3.  Being poor is the beginning. It is not necessarily “not having,” but rather not desiring. This is why Matthew clarifies, “poor in spirit.” This poverty means, more precisely, not desiring anything like a god, or anything that would displease God, or anything that does not take me to God. The one whose heart is free from these desires is poor because he has nothing of this world in his heart; and, however, he possesses a Kingdom, because he desires only God and whatever takes him to God. God cannot dwell in a heart who desires something that takes you away from the path of Heaven, as is mortal sin. He dwells in the poor in spirit, those who are committed to not desire anything of this sort.

Overcoming sin implies being hungry, sometimes, like fasting and doing penance. Being hungry also means that we do not put pleasure above God and realize that happiness is not in a fleeting pleasure, but in the eternal possession of God in Heaven, where we will be completely satisfied.

The path towards Heaven is marked by the cross. We will weep, but only for a time. We know that happiness is not in the fleeting, temporary joys of this world. Having fun is good, but it passes away. Happiness is sometimes weeping with those who weep, and being loved when you weep. Blessed are those who weep in this way, because one day they will laugh non-stop.

4.  Whoever is poor, hungry and weeps in this way is invincible. This person is blessed, and those who are evil cannot tolerate seeing the happiness of the good Christian. And because they can take nothing away from this person, they envy them, hate them, persecute them, etc. It is not a good thing per se, but it is a good sign to be hated by evil people, when this is because of our good works. If people hate us because of our defects, this does not count on our favor. Sometimes, true, they will use our defects as an excuse of their hatred. In any case, our job is to correct ourselves and pray for them. It is not a good sign to be resentful when we are persecuted: the blessedness of the persecuted is manifested in the fact that, sometimes, they are able to radiate goodness even to their enemies.

**  Maybe we are poor or hungry, maybe we weep but, are we blessed? Are we poor of bad desires? Are we rich of good desires? Is God our treasure? Are we hungry of justice, of God’s word? Do we weep with those who weep? Do we share in Jesus’ sadness for our sins, or for people who would not repent? Maybe people speak ill about us but, are they right? And if not, how do we respond to that hatred? May we be blessed, may we be so wise and so good as to be for the world like a prophecy, like a statement, like a homily showing clearly what God wants. When you are a prophecy, your very presence demands a response. This response will not always be acceptance but let us try to make our lives so beautiful that people may be attracted and caught in the meshes of divine grace.