Revisiting the Beatitudes (Lucan Version)

In the Old Testament, the source of moral guidelines for every faithful is the Decalogue more commonly known as the 10 Commandments. In the New Testament, the source of moral guidelines of how we should witness life in all its fullness is the challenge of the Beatitudes.

Simply put, the Beatitudes, according to the teaching of the Church, is the attitude of becoming God, of becoming Jesus Christ. It is the attitude of becoming authentic disciples of the Lord.

What is the very attitude of Christ? The Beatitudes, according to St. Luke, talk about blessings and curses. Blessed are the poor, the hungry, the weeping and the persecuted. On the other hand, cursed are the rich, those who are full, happy and successful.

This would be very difficult to accept. It is very difficult to accept that to be rich, to be successful, to be happy, to be full is to be cursed for this is what we aspire to achieve in life.

Therefore, we must learn how to reconcile our human aspirations to that of the attitude of God so we will come out blessed. This is the challenge.

Why are the poor, the hungry, the persecuted blessed? They blessed not because they are poor but because they totally depend on God for everything. They totally depend on God for their very survival. Saint Paul reminds us that if you have the attitude that you attribute everything working in your life to God’s providence, then you are blessed (1 Cor. 15). Unfortunately many people when they become successful, happy and rich tend to be alienated from God. They tend to attribute these blessings not to God but to their personal “merits.”

The first teaching of the Beatitudes is that blessed are those who attribute everything to God’s providence working in our lives and cursed are those who believe that everything is merely human effort.

The second teaching of the Beatitudes is that you are blessed if whatever we have, what we do in life is oriented toward what is good, perfect and pleasing to God (Rom 13). Cursed are you if what you do and what you have is not oriented to Him.

There are people who were able to be rich, happy and successful. But how did they become successful? Where does their happiness come from?

There are people who get rich by means of illegal activities. There are people who are happy because of immoral and unethical activities. There are people who are successful but rooted in evil if not sinful undertakings.

The second insight of the Beatitudes tells that we must orient everything we say and do to what is good, perfect and pleasing to God.

Third and last, blessed are those who, despite their wealth, happiness and success, continue to recognize and not close their eyes, hearts and minds to those who are poor, sick, weeping and persecuted. As we become successful, happy and wealthy, we must never forget our solidarity with the poor, the hungry, the sick, the weeping and the persecuted. When we recognize them as our responsibility, and take action, then and only then are we truly blessed before God and man.

There is nothing wrong in desiring to be rich. There is nothing wrong if you want to be happy. There is certainly nothing wrong if you want to be successful. But make sure that your attitude is the attitude of Christ toward life. We are blessed if we attribute to God’s providence all that we have right now and not merely on you own efforts. Blessed are we if we elect to do and say everything according to what is good, perfect and pleasing to God. And third, blessed are we if we recognize that the poor, the hungry, the weeping and the persecuted are our responsibility before God and society. 

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In the Old Testament, the source of moral guidelines for every faithful is the Decalogue more commonly known as the 10 Commandments. In the New Testament, the source of moral guidelines of how we should witness life in all its fullness is the challenge of the Beatitudes.