Many people spend lots of money on psychologists and self help programs in search of how they can find happiness. However, there is a free happiness guide hidden in the Bible in the form of the beatitudes. If we can learn to follow the beatitudes, we will find true happiness.
Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. We are not gods and the world doesn’t revolve around us. We will not get into heaven by saying how great and deserving we are. However, if we can be humble enough to realize that we are in need of God’s grace and mercy, then we will attain that grace and mercy and enter into God’s kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. God doesn’t promise that there will never be any pain, suffering, or death, but he understands the pain we go through in life. If we can shed tears for our fellow man, God promises to wipe those tears away and comfort us in heaven.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Do we constantly fight God and try to push our own agenda on Him or do we go along with what He has planned for us? Do we deny God’s reality and make my own instead? Let us be open to God’s will for us and we will gain our inheritance.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. We should always strive to live good and moral lives. God will satisfy our longing for the good by giving us a new life and existence that is completely good.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. How can we expect our sins to be forgiven if we can’t forgive others when they do bad that affects us. When we say the Our Father, we say, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Let us mean and live those words. God makes me smile sometimes by talking to me in many small ways. As I was silently typing the words from the previous sentence about the Our Father, my three year old son John just happened to be talking to himself in his room and said out loud, “forgive us our trespasses.”
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. One thing Catholics believe is that our soul must be completely purified to enter into heaven. God gives us purgatory to cleanse any small stains on our soul. However, we should try to keep our souls as clean as possible. I can almost guarantee you that if I eat spaghetti, I will get at least one small red stain on my white shirt. Let’s avoid doing those things that would likely stain our souls and if we do get a stain, clean it as soon as possible.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Although it is a great good to fight for what is right, we should avoid creating division and war when possible. I like the saying that says, “you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” Especially with all the negativity in today’s media, we should ask ourselves if our online posts are contributing to the negativity or making the world a better place.
The last two go hand in hand. Blessed are those who a persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. All I can say is to buckle up, because Christian persecution is going to be the new normal. You can look at the news now and see attacks on churches and saintly figures. Jesus’ message was usually against public opinion and He ended up getting nailed to a cross because of what He stood for. The consequences of spreading the Christian message could cost us our lives as well. The good news is that there will be a lot of Saints that will rise up from the ashes. Will you be one of them?
