envy abundance sufficiency conquerors
society invitation spiritual victors
raiment contrition special deserve
_The poor in spirit_ are those who, having little of the good things of
this life, are content with what God has given them, and do not envy those
who are better off. Those, too, who having a sufficiency or an abundance
of the pleasant things of this world, do not let their hearts get too fond
of them, are ready to give them up if God should take them away, and are
generous in sharing them with those in need. To poor, such as these, our
Lord promises all the riches of Heaven by and by.
_The meek_ are those who have gained a mastery over anger and revengeful
thoughts. They possess as conquerors three lands--the land of their own
soul, which they control as lords and masters, the Land of Heaven, where
nothing will trouble them any more, and, strange to say, that very land
in which they seemed to be overcome. For in the little difficulties and
differences of daily life, it is those that yield who are really victors.
How many conquests has meekness made!
_The mourners_ are those who all their lives long have a quiet, loving
sorrow for their sins--not as though they were unforgiven, but just
because they are forgiven, because they have offended Him who forgives so
readily and so often. Those, too, are blessed mourners who remember when
sorrow comes that He who loves them only permits it for their good, and
that in a very little while He will wipe away all tears from their eyes,
and they shall be comforted, “nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall
be any more.”
_Who hunger and thirst after justice._ The soul, like the body, has its
hunger and thirst. Our Lord says those are blessed who take care to
feed it with those things which keep it alive in the grace of God, with
prayer, and instruction, and the Sacraments. Blessed are those who hunger
after this spiritual food, who are always trying to get more and more of
God’s grace, who go hungry to prayer, hungry to Confession and Communion.
Almighty God says, “Open thy mouth and I will fill it.” And our Blessed
Lady sings in her canticle, “He hath fed the hungry with good things.” It
was because all the saints hungered like this that so much was given them.
_The merciful._ There is nothing our Lord tells us so often and so plainly
as this--that to obtain mercy from God we must ourselves be merciful. If
we wish Him to judge us kindly and to forgive our many faults, we must be
forgiving and kind. “Be merciful,” He says, “as your Heavenly Father is
merciful.” He tells us that at the Last Day He will say “Come” to those
who have been merciful to others for His sake, and “Depart from Me” to
those who have been unmerciful to the poor and needy, and therefore to
Him. For what we do to His least brethren He counts as done to Himself.
If, then, we want to hear His sweet invitation on that dreadful Day, we
know how to secure it--“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy.”
_The clean of heart._ The reward and the joy of the next life is to see
God. There are many joys in Heaven--freedom from pain and care, the
delights of the glorified body, the society of the Angels and Saints,
reunion with those we loved on earth. But all these are as nothing
compared with the Vision of God. It is this that makes Heaven what it is.
Without this all the rest would not satisfy us. But to see the All Holy
God we must be holy. In Heaven all are clothed with white robes, and the
nearer the approach to the Great White Throne, the more dazzlingly white
is the raiment. We must be getting ready to join that spotless throng.
How? By taking as much pains to keep our soul free from stain as we do to
prevent soiling our dress when we go along a miry road; by shunning with
care all mortal sin and deliberate venial sin; by being careful in our
examination of conscience, and often cleansing our soul in the Sacrament
of Penance, and by frequent acts of contrition. If we do this we shall be
among the clean of heart, and one day we shall see God.
_The peacemakers._ “Some there are who are neither at peace with
themselves nor suffer others to be at peace. And some there are who keep
themselves in peace and study to restore peace to others.” Gladness goes
with these peacemakers; they turn aside little words and jokes that would
give pain, and come among us like our Blessed Lord, whose favorite word of
greeting was, “Peace be to you.” They are so like their Father who is in
Heaven that they deserve to be called in a special way His children.
_The persecuted._ If our Lord had not told us these are blessed, should we
ever have guessed it? To be persecuted seems such a terrible thing, and so
indeed it is unless we can bring ourselves to think more of Him for whose
sake we suffer than of the suffering itself. Perhaps we may have known
the quiet happiness of being by the side of one we loved who was in pain.
The thought that our presence and our sympathy soothed that dear one was
greater joy than any pleasure to be found elsewhere. Something like this
is the gladness those have even now who for our Lord’s sake are hated and
persecuted. They know that if they are like Him in His suffering they will
be like Him one day in His glory. Are they not blessed then?