Meditation on the Sermon on the Mount

Commencement and preparatory prayer as usual.

Prelude 1.—Let us recall how Jesus Christ ascends the mountain in Galilee, followed by a large crowd, and gathering His chosen disciples round Him, He makes a discourse to them. ¹

Prelude 2.—Let us picture the scene in our imagination.

Prelude 3.—Let us beg what we want, that is, light to grasp the doctrine of Jesus and grace to reduce it fully to practice.

Point 1.—He promulgates the Eight Beatitudes. ² The crowd had followed Him to witness His miracles and to hear His preaching. When He had healed their sick, exorcized those who were possessed, and had taught them, He ascended higher up the mountain, and gave His Apostles special instructions. Let us join them and be illuminated. ³ As a king in the midst of his subjects, or a father in his family, “solemnly raising His eyes, He opens His mouth to teach them.” All this denotes the gravity of the occasion and the importance of His discourse.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, they that mourn, that hunger and thirst after justice, the merciful, the peacemakers, and they that suffer persecution. Of these, three relate to perfect abnegation, to which we were pledged in the “Kingdom of Christ,” namely, poverty, mourning, and persecution for justice' sake; three refer to our conduct to our neighbour, meekness, mercy, and peacemaking; the other two regard more immediately our relations with God, cleanness of heart and hunger after justice. Let us consider each of these, their depth of meaning, the examples of each left us by Jesus Christ, and the reward attached to each.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall see God.” They are blessed, for they are the objects of the special love and interest of Jesus Christ, they are in a station more like His own, they are less exposed to danger and temptations, are on the right road to eternal beatitude. Yet this blessing is not for those who suffer privation from necessity and against their will, but only for such as cheerfully accept of their hard lot, or who through love of God have voluntarily made themselves poor in effect, or have detached themselves from their possessions, and whom we considered in the third of the “Three Classes.”

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land.” Closely connected with poverty is the virtue of meekness. The meek keep under control their feelings of impatience, anger, or vindictiveness; accept with calmness and resignation adversity or injuries from their fellow-men, confiding in the fatherly providence of God, and directing all things that happen to His glory and their own salvation. Of this virtue our Lord proposes Himself as our model—“Learn of Me, that I am meek and humble of heart” ⁴ —and example, when He accepted the kiss of Judas, forgave the denial of Peter and the thief on the Cross, and prayed for forgiveness of His executioners. They shall hereafter possess the Kingdom of Heaven, and in this life they possess their souls in peace.

“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” This blessing is not given to all who mourn, or who on earth would not then be in comfort and consolation. It is only attached to those who in sorrow and with resignation accept their trials, who bewail their own and other's sins, who maintain the strife against their flesh and its concupiscences, who are faithful in the times of desolation or persecution, &c. They shall be comforted in the next world by “the future glory which shall be revealed in them,” ⁵ and also in this present life, for their love for God will make those things sweet to them which human nature regards as bitter and sad.

“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill.” They that hunger and thirst after habitual justice by which they are sanctified, and after actual justice in the actions which they perform, are strenuous in the exercise of virtue, aspire to that which is perfect, and strive to unite themselves ever more closely with our Lord by a lively faith and ardent charity, and by frequent reception of Holy Communion. It is to such that abundance of supernatural gifts and graces are promised: it is such that “He filleth with good things.” ⁶

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.” He is merciful or pitiful of heart who loves and assists those that are wretched, whether they suffer exteriorly or interiorly; but this mercy, to secure the blessing, must rest on a supernatural basis, and be exercised for God's sake. “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” is the teaching of Jesus Christ, ⁷ which saying the world reverses, “Happier to get than give.” It is by our mercy that our eternal lot is to be decided: for it is by charity, the mother of mercy, that “a multitude of sins is covered.” ⁸ The merciful even in this life are led by God's grace to seek remission of their sins, and in the next are made partakers of eternal mercy.

“Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.” The clean of heart are, first, all those who are not conscious to themselves of mortal sin unrepented of; secondly, those who are free from venial sin, which stains the soul, disposes to mortal sin, and removes us so to speak to a distance from God; thirdly, all those who seek in all things only the will of God and His service and praise. They shall see God face to face with special clearness in the next life, and also in this shall be blessed with a pure and keen knowledge of Him. So was it with John the Baptist and that other John whom Jesus loved.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” Such are they who are meek and show themselves amiable and gentle to all, and avoid giving offence to others, unless it be in a good and just cause. Such too are they who smooth down quarrels, reconcile those that are at variance, and who strive to induce men to seek reconciliation with God, and with Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who brought peace into the world to all men of good-will. They are called and are in reality sons of God by adoption and brothers of Jesus Christ by grace, ⁹ most dear to Him who came down from Heaven to establish this peace.

“Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” To do bravely is to be a hero, but to suffer greatly and well is to be a Christian; and to suffer is in general far harder than to do; whence we may say that of all Beatitudes this bears away the palm. To have to endure injuries, contempt, pain, and death, because we do our duty, or for our religion, or because we observe the laws of God, &c. Such persecutions separate us from the world and drive us to God, they make us like to our great original, and force us to seek consolation from above. Hence it was that St. Ignatius prayed that there never might be a time in which his Society might be without suffering.

Let us examine ourselves and see how much we have been wanting in our efforts to secure the blessings here promised; let us make acts of sorrow for our past negligence, and firm resolutions to strive more earnestly for the future.

Point 2.—He exhorts them to a right use of their talents. ¹⁰ Let us see the astonishment of the Apostles on hearing these truths, which have been concealed from the wise ones of the world, and the modesty, earnestness, and avidity with which they listen, as in this second part of His discourse He treats of the three-fold duties of an Apostle. “You are the salt of the earth.” Salt gives flavour to food and preserves it from corruption; so you by the sanctity of your teaching and conduct, and by your efficacy in prayer, must save others from corruption. If these two qualities be wanting, we are fit for nothing. “You are the light of the world,” so that by your teaching you are to dispel error, sin, and ignorance. Hence let us see the necessity of acquiring not only a theoretical, but also a practical knowledge of the science of the saints; for to have the former without the latter is to be like a tinkling cymbal. “You are as a city upon the mountain.” It is the duty and office of the real apostle to gather round him a society of men bound together by the bonds of charity and united in their views and prosecution of good, living a holy life, raised above sublunary things, and persevering with firmness and constancy figured by the mountain. So must we become all to all men, that by our charity and self-devotion we may gain all to Christ.

Point 3.—In the third part of His discourse, Jesus convicts the wisdom of the world of folly. Better to be a fool with Christ than to be worldly-wise. ¹¹ He came to perfect, not to destroy the Law, and this He does by requiring not only external observance, but also the service and worship and internal adherence of the heart; and further, by superadding the Evangelical Counsels, we are not only to abstain from wounding, but also from anger in regard of our neighbour; not only from acts of impurity, but also from deliberate thought, word, or desire against the virtue of chastity; not only from perjury, but also from all swearing; and lastly, henceforth it will not suffice to love only our neighbour, but we must go still further: we are to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, and to pray for those who persecute us or calumniate us, and do all kinds of evil things against us. To the wise ones of this world, all we have said above is mere folly, whereas the infinite wisdom of God commands it. Let us take these lessons to heart, and examine how far we have reduced them to practice.

In whatever state we may be, whether ecclesiastical or religious, whether in the family or in a position of authority, we are, according to our position in life, bound to observe the Beatitudes; we are to be as salt, or as light, and in the observance of the law we must not rest satisfied with simple external compliance, but must observe it in spirit and in truth. How far are we convinced of these obligations? How much have we failed, and by doing so have to confess with shame that we have been rather a source of scandal or bad example, than a cause of edification.

Let us in our colloquy pray for the grace to correct what has been faulty, and to see more practically the means by which we may correct ourselves. End with “Our Father.”

1. St. Matt. v. 1—48.
2. “And opening His mouth He taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall find mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” (St. Matt. v. 2—10.)
3. “Come ye to Him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be confounded.” (Psalm xxxiii. 6.)
4. St. Matt. xi. 29.
5. Romans viii. 18.
6. St. Matt. i. 53.
7. Acts xx. 35.
8. 1 St. Peter iv. 8.
9. Galat. iv. 7.
10. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out and to be trodden on by men. You are the light of the world. . . . So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven.” (St. Matt. v. 13—16.)
11. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written: I will catch the wise in their own craftiness. And again: The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are vain.” (1 Cor. iii. 19.)