Jesus offers nine benedictions:
Three
pertain to the Kingdom
(the poor in spirit, the persecuted, the calumniated).
Three to consolation (those comforted, those satisfied,
those obtaining mercy).
And three to possession (of land, of sight, of childhood).
But only one promises
God Himself:
the pure in heart
Every other blessing gives something other than, something
less than, God Himself.
This is kept only for the pure of heart.
All the other blessings pertain to God’s justice in the way of recompense,
and this justice is inseparable from His love.
But only this one pertains solely to God’ love, and not
His justice.
It is not a matter of recompense: it is a spontaneous gift,
the unsurpassable gift, the most sublime gift, of Himself to those
whose hearts are a pure reflection of His own love. Having been
created in the imago Dei, the image of God, that image
once again becomes, as it had been long ago at Baptism, pure, free
from sin, untainted by selfishness – with nothing in the soul that
is contrary to God. The mirror is unblemished and reflects nothing
other than God Himself; it is the giving of God to the soul
in the soul – not in anything outside
of it, but in the very soul itself!
These, St. John, tells us, are the ones
“who ... have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood
of the Lamb.”
(Apocalypse 7.14). Spotless, unblemished before God.
Strive for mercy, peace, meekness; thirst for
holiness, for justice — but seek first purity in heart
... and when you see God, you will see the beginning, the purpose,
and the end ... of all lesser things.
Geoffrey K.
Mondello
Editor
Boston Catholic Journal
Printable
PDF Version
Totally Faithful to the Sacred
Deposit of Faith entrusted to the Holy See in Rome
“Scio
opera tua ... quia modicum habes virtutem, et servasti
verbum Meum, nec non negasti Nomen Meum”
“I
know your works ... that you have but little power, and yet
you have kept My word, and have not denied My Name.”
(Apocalypse 3.8)
Copyright © 2004 - 2021 Boston Catholic
Journal. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise stated,
permission is granted by the Boston Catholic Journal for the
copying and distribution of the
articles and audio files under the following conditions:
No additions, deletions, or changes are to be made to the
text or audio files in any way, and the copies may not be
sold for a profit.
In the reproduction, in any format of any image, graphic,
text, or audio file, attribution must be given to the Boston
Catholic Journal.
|
