The Beatitudes
1 Q. Name the Beatitudes?
A. The Beatitudes are eight: (1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (2) Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land. (3) Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. (4) Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be filled. (5) Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. (6) Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. (7) Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God. (8)Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
2 Q. Why did Jesus Christ propose the Beatitudes to us?
A. Jesus Christ proposed the Beatitudes to us to make us detest the maxims of the world, and to invite us to love and practise the maxims of the gospel.
3 Q. Who are they whom the world calls happy?
A. The world calls those happy who abound in riches and honours, who lead a pleasant life, and who meet with no occasions of suffering.
4 Q. Who are the poor in spirit whom Jesus Christ calls blessed?
A. The poor in spirit are, according to the gospel, those whose hearts are detached from riches; who make good use of riches should they have any; who do not seek them too eagerly, if they have none; and who suffer the loss of such things with resignation when deprived of them.
5 Q. Who are the meek?
A. The meek are those who act tenderly towards their neighbour, bear patiently with his defects, and accept the offences and injuries they receive from him without contention, resentment, or vengeance.
6 Q. Who are they that mourn, yet are called happy?
A. They that mourn, yet are called happy, are they who suffer tribulations with resignation, and who mourn over sins committed, over the evils and scandals that prevail in the world, over Paradise because it is so distant, and over the danger there is of losing it.
7 Q. Who are they that hunger and thirst after justice?
A. They that hunger and thirst after justice, are those who ardently desire to increase daily more and more in divine grace and in the exercise of good and virtuous works.
8 Q. Who are the merciful?
A. The merciful are those who love their neighbour in God and for God’s sake, compassionate his miseries, spiritual as well as corporal, and endeavour to succour him according to their means and position.
9 Q. Who are the clean of heart?
A. The clean of heart are those who retain no affection for sin aqnd keep aloof from it, and who above all else avoid every sort of impurity.
10 Q. Who are the peace-makers?
A. The peace-makers are those who preserve peace with their neighbour and with themselves, and who endeavour to bring about peace and concord between those who are at variance.
11 Q. Who are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake?
A. They who suffer persecution for justice’ sake are those who patiently bear derision, reproof, and persecution for the sake of the faith and of the law of Jesus Christ.
12 Q. What do the various rewards promised by Jesus Christ in the Beatitudes denote?
A. The various rewards promised by Jesus Christ in the Beatitudes all denote under different names the eternal glory of Paradise.
13 Q. Do the Beatitudes procure us the glory of Paradise alone?
A. The Beatitudes not only procure us the glory of Paradise, but are also the means of leading a happy life, as far as this is possible here on earth.
14 Q. Do those who follow the path of the Beatitudes receive any reward in this life?
A. Yes, certainly; those who follow the path of the Beatitudes do receive a reward even in this life, inasmuch as they enjoy interior peace and contentment, which is the beginning, even though an imperfect one, of the happiness of heaven.
15 Q. Can those who follow the maxims of the world be called truly happy?
A. No, because they have no true peace of soul, and are in danger of being lost eternally.
Next - Catechism of St Pius X - On the Virtues and Vices -The Main Kinds of Sin
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