This week’s Gospel presents us with some of Jesus’ most important teachings, the Beatitudes. One of the most important ways that I have ever heard them described is as “attitudes” that give us a new perspective on life which helps us to see things as God sees them.
In other words, the Beatitudes are like a pair of eyeglasses which, when we put on, give us clear vision so that we can see what is important. When we read and study them, we learn what is important to God...and find out that it is often not what we think is important. The question for any Christian is this “Do I have a Beatitude-Attitude towards life?” Do I value the things that the Beatitudes tell me I should or do I value the things that the world tells me I should value?
Having a “Beatitude-Attitude” sets me apart as a Christian. It makes me different from the crowd. Yet, such an attitude makes me more like Christ...merciful towards those who have wronged me, humble in a world of pride and ambition, seeking peace in the midst of war and
conflict and valuing purity in a society of hedonism and pleasure-seeking.
Jesus is clear. Those who, in faith, live the Beatitudes will “inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.” The Beatitudes help us to love Heaven, our true home, more than we love this world, which we are only passing through. They orient us towards holiness, focusing our attention on preparing
ourselves for eternal life rather than seeking fleeting worldly joys.
As we finish the month of January this week, let us ask the Lord to give us the grace to adopt a “Beatitude- Attitude.” May our sincere prayer for greater holiness and conversion help us to have a new vision of life that helps us to see as Christ sees.