8 Beatitudes

• Eight Beatitudes


  Beautiful attitudes inspired by Mission, driven by Excellence
• 10 Commandments


  Full of "do not's"
• Eight Beatitudes

  Positively constructed, Motivational rather than imposing fear of consequences, It emphasized the values Jesus would like his followers to embody
• The Eight Beatitudes
• Poor in spirit

  Humility, which is highly praised in Jewish circles, Those who are socially and economically needy and dependent (such as those being forced to beg), Those in particular need of God's help and have nothing to rely upon except God
• The "Kingdom of Heaven"
• The First Beatitude

  • Promotes the virtue of Humility, The parent of all virtues, On a personal level it is the recognition of one's limitedness- solely depending on God, On a social and communal level it is manifested in the practice of Sharing, which is an act of detachment and total reliance on God's goodness
• Mourning

  An act of great sadness or grief of death and great loss or suffering, It is also associated with repentance from one's sins
• The second beatitude

  • Promotes the virtue of empathy and solidarity, On a Personal level it focuses on empathy and solidarity with those who suffer or have encountered misfortune, On a social and communal level it emphasizes that we act on behalf of those who are suffering, Reward: Those who practice the virtue of solidarity and empathy will be comforted, too
• Meek

  Biblically speaking, they tend to be in line with the poor or those who mourn and are humble, It does not mean that the meek does not get angry, On a personal level it refers to an act of gentleness, possessing self-control and prudence, On a Social level it emphasizes the virtue of Meekness and gentleness virtues that contradict arrogance especially of those entrusted with power
• The third beatitude

  • Emphasizes the virtue of Meekness and gentleness, Meekness, as an essential moral virtue for the powerful, such as rulers in our society, points to what humility demands, It calls for the acknowledgment of our insufficiency, even though we seem to be more than capable and sufficient, The virtue of meekness helps transform our desire to dominate into a vital force to serve, It points to the loving service of God and God's people, Leaders are called to be meek; meaning recognizing God as the source of everything and them becoming channels of God's goodness and grace, Everybody is challenged to avoid violence or revenge, even in challenging times
• Righteousness

  It is essential to keep up the desire for righteousness and achieve it faithfully, The fourth beatitude calls to our attention the need for God's righteousness, Those who strive for God's righteousness will be satisfied by God, who gives us the eschatological banquet
• The fourth beatitude

  • The focus is the virtue of striving for God's righteousness/ justice, On a personal level it implies that we should not stop persevering in doing what is righteous and just, On a social and communal level it confronts us to ask if our society as a whole indeed strives for God's righteousness or otherwise, It challenges us to discern and reevaluate the values promoted by our society
• Mercy

  Aquinas explained that the term comes from misericordia, which denotes one's compassionate heart (miserum cor) for another's unhappiness, James Keenan defines it as "the willingness to enter into the chaos of another", Mercy does not oppose justice but is united with it, Mercy thickens justice by considering the chaos of the most marginalized
• The virtue of mercy

  • On a Personal Level, Christians are invited to exemplify mercy and compassion to those suffering and welcome those rejected, for it is an attribute of God, Mercy urges us to do something to alleviate the suffering of others, It has a direct connection with solidarity, On a social and communal level, Mercy should lead us welcome strangers or immigrants, people who has nowhere to go, It inspires us to forgive
• Pure in heart

  It points to neither external purity nor singleheartedness alone but a sense of integrity between one's interior life and external actions, It contradicts the sin of hypocrisy which is prevalent in the church right now
• The virtue of integrity

  • On a personal level, a person who has integrity is honest and reflects wholeness, There is personal congruence in his private and public life, On a social level, it challenges the leadership of our society and community to reexamine their roles as leaders in government and any societal role
• Peacemaking

  In Judaism peacemaking has long been considered a virtue, The Hebrew concept of shalom ("peace"), was fundamental to both the Old Testament and Jewish religions: it points to abundance and all-round right relationships, Peace is having societal stability, absence of conflict due to wars and social instability, Peace is having good relationship with one another
• Peacemaking as a virtue

  • The virtue of peacemaking in the seventh beatitude relies heavily on the acquisition of the core virtues in the previous beatitudes, On a Personal Level, To be a peacemaker, one needs to have peace within oneself, On a Social and Communal level, Peace must be built within one's relationship with everyone else, This peace must be extended to our society and even to other countries
• Persecuted for the sake of righteousness

  It reflects the unavoidable fate of those who seek for righteousness in a world living in a corrupted system
• The virtue of perseverance in seeking righteousness

  • On a personal level, it is a manifestation of the following virtues: Fortitude, Justice, Meekness, Gratitude, On a social and communal level, the virtue of bearing persecution is definitely other-oriented, for we strive for righteousness and bear persecution on behalf of the unjustly suffering, We are called to exercise our prophetic role in challenging these unjust structures and in seeking social change
• The beatitudes are Christian values that contradict the worldly vices