Homily

The Beatitudes for Man is Impossible, but All Things are Possible with God

Sunday, February 3, 2008, Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A (delivered Saturday vigil Mass, Feb. 2)
Assumption Grotto Parish, Detroit

          For us sinners, it can seem that true holiness of life is a pie in the sky, and a far off goal which we will never be able to attain no matter what. It appears to us as a brilliant star, which, no matter how far we stretch out our hand, we cannot snatch from the sky and press to our bosom.

          Yet the great philosophers, even the pagans, have understood that all men desire to be happy.(1) And so there is this conflict: by nature we move towards happiness, yet it seems as if we move towards and impossible goal. The sorrows of life, the sicknesses and injuries of the body, the miseries of the soul, the burden of poverty and misfortune either afflict us or threaten our happiness. Having despaired of happiness, the sinner then turns to lesser things which provide not happiness but momentary gratification; but then that makes him even more unhappy in the long run.

          Then comes the Lord with the message of the Gospel, “Blessed!” “Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are they who mourn, blessed are the meek.” This “Gospel,” or as Pope Benedict calls it, this “Saving Message,” (2) comes to us a surprise. Poverty, mourning, meekness, purity, hunger and especially persecution do not spontaneously arise in the consciousness of man as means to happiness. And so we are challenged to think of happiness not as do the sons of men, but as does the Son of Man.

          What is this “happiness”? When I rarely praise the English translations which we use for the liturgical reasons, this one time I will allow myself to do so: the term we find is not “happy,” but “blessed.” “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” I do not shy away from happiness, even when the more seriously minded Catholic might perceive that word as indicating silliness, giggles, as something superficial. The word happiness in English spans the whole spectrum from spiritual beatitude to the fleeting joy of the moment. So what is this “happiness,” this “blessedness” of which Jesus speaks?

          By Providence the manuscripts we have of Matthew are in Greek. The Greek word Matthew records for us is μακάριος, a Greek word associated to bliss, it is the happiness of the gods, by which I mean the pagan gods in whom they believed. (3) A more common Greek word for happiness was ευδαιμοία, the happiness that comes with prosperity. Other words for happiness in Greek include όλβος, is a worldly bliss which comes from wealth; or ευπραγία, welfare, success. The jocund aspect of joy was expressed with yet a different word, φαιδρός. The world the Lord uses is makarios, well translated as blessed: it is a divine happiness, and it is not prosperity or wealth or success or jocundity. The Lord promises divine bliss, and nothing less. This only puts us, however, in a harder position than the first; for if the sinner has despaired of true happiness in this life, how can he now aspire to divine bliss?

          To settle this problem, we need to turn to Rome, for from the Holy See, from the throne of Peter, from the Pope and Popes of all ages, we can always find sure doctrine regarding matters of interpreting the teaching of the Lord. Our current Pope has written extensively about the Beatitudes in his brilliant book, Jesus of Nazareth. Many of you are attending the weekly seminar discussion, on Friday evenings, with Fr. Bustamante; and I encourage the rest of you to go, too. Buy a copy of the book and attend as often as you can. In his book, he has an entire 29 pages (4) about the beatitudes. One highlight of his reflections is the following sentence, which will be helpful for us now, with our dilemma regarding “happiness” or “blessedness.” He says, “They beatitudes display the mystery of Christ himself, and call us into communion with him.” (5) They have a “hidden Christological character.” The beatitudes are first about Christ himself, and only after that, about us.

          Yet with further thought, it is obvious that such is the truth. For the Lord said to Moses, who had asked to see God’s glory, “You cannot see My face; no man can see me and live” (Ex 33:20). Yet now Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” Jesus is perfectly pure, and forever sees the face of the Father. Again, by our sins we made ourselves enemies with God, yet of the Redeemer St. Paul writes “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Cor 5:19), and he supremely fulfills the beatitude which says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” In this way, the Christ the Lord fulfills all the beatitudes.

          It is impossible for man to attain the happiness of beatitude, to attain blessedness, in this life. But the Lord himself encourages us in his mercy where he says, “Those things which are impossible for man are possible for God” (Lk 18:27). The solution is to “put on the new man” (Col 3:10), that is, live in the state of sanctifying grace. This is done first by baptism, it is restored by confession, perfected by Eucharistic communion, and cultivated in all the other sacraments and by all the virtues. This state of grace is a sharing in the life of God. If the Lord lives in you by grace, you will live the beatitudes with a power which comes not from within you but from God himself. God wants you to be blessed, for he knows you, and he loves you, and he awaits you. (6) Abandon yourselves to him, renounce your sins, and make the Holy Trinity the center of your lives, with the powerful help and love of Mary, your mother in heaven. Amen.