Medicine for the World
(Is.8:23-9.3; 1Cor.1:1-13,17; Mt.4:12-23)
Today, Jesus sits down on the mountain and delivers his eight Beatitudes. They are at the heart of all his teachings.
The Beatitudes aren’t just a list of virtues – they are a portrait of a heart that’s ready for God’s Kingdom. They also describe who God is and who God calls us to be.
In 2002, Pope St John Paul II called the Beatitudes the Magna Carta of Christianity. What he meant is that they are a pivotal guide for how we might live our best lives as followers of Jesus Christ.
One good way to understand these eight blessings is to hear them alongside another passage from Scripture, which describes the very opposite of God’s Kingdom.
The Book of Proverbs (6:16-19) lists seven things that the Lord hates: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet that to rush into evil, a false witness, and one who stirs up conflict.
It may seem harsh to speak of ‘what the Lord hates,’ but Proverbs isn’t describing people for us to condemn. Rather, it’s revealing the attitudes and behaviours that block God’s grace, the things that close our hearts and deform our communities.
Proverbs spells out what destroys the human family, while the Beatitudes show us what heals it. Let’s look at the contrasts:
- Where pride raises its ugly head, Jesus blesses the poor in spirit, those who know their need for God.
- Where deceit and dishonesty poison relationships, Jesus blesses the pure in heart, whose yes means yes and whose no means no.
- Where violence and hardness of heart can shed innocent blood, Jesus blesses the meek, who do not need to dominate or control.
- Where unjust schemes grind the poor into the dust, Jesus blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
- Where feet rush to evil, Jesus blesses the merciful, who slow things down with compassion.
- Where false witness twists the truth, Jesus blesses the peacemakers who bring people together.
- And where conflict tears people apart, Jesus blesses those who endure persecution for the sake of the Gospel, standing firm in truth and love.
Proverbs shows us the heart that pushes God away. The Beatitudes describe the heart where God lives.
Someone who came to live the Beatitudes is St Oscar Romero, the archbishop of San Salvador who was martyred in 1980. In him, these blessings became flesh.
Oscar began as a cautious, bookish priest who avoided making waves. But when he witnessed his people being cruelly abused by the Salvadoran government: the innocent killed, the truth manipulated, and communities torn apart, his heart woke up. He realised that the wounds described in Proverbs were all around him: pride, deceit, violence, injustice, false witness and discord.
He started taking Jesus’ words to heart.
He embraced poverty of spirit, by standing with the poor without seeking praise or power.
He hungered and thirsted for righteousness, speaking truth when it was costly.
He showed mercy, even to those who threatened him.
And ultimately he was persecuted, killed at the altar while celebrating Mass.
Oscar Romero’s life makes the Beatitudes real. He shows us that these are not gentle, sentimental words, but a call to courageous, self-giving love. And they are possible in every age when hearts are open to God.
He became a peacemaker, pleading for an end to all violence.
Today, our world still reflects everything Our Lord hates: pride, lies, violence, injustice, discord. Sadly, these are daily news.
The Beatitudes, however, are Jesus’ roadmap for a different way of life. They tell us that holiness is not about dramatic gestures but about a heart that welcomes God: Humility instead of pride. Truth instead of deceit. Gentleness instead of violence. Justice instead of scheming. Mercy instead of vengeance. Peacemaking instead of conflict. Perseverance instead of despair.
While Proverbs spells out the wounds of the world, in the Beatitudes, Jesus gives us the medicine we all need.
This week, I encourage you to adopt one Beatitude and pray: ‘Lord, make this true in me. Give me this heart.’
This is how saints are made: one step at a time, one virtue at a time, one conversion at a time.
It’s also how God’s Kingdom grows.
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Infographic courtesy of Fr Don at thewordthisweek.net:
