The Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount

My Dear Parishioners,

The Beatitudes are synonymous with the Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes, however, are just the beginning of the Sermon of the Mount. That beautiful teaching of Jesus then continues through chapters 5, 6, and 7 of the Gospel According to St. Matthew.

As you have heard me say before, and I will say it again, it is a powerful exercise to set aside some quiet time and to read the Sermon on the Mount straight through from beginning to end. There is a lot there, and I think you will find yourself re-reading it over and over again.

With the Sermon of the Mount, Our Blessed Savior Jesus Christ affirms that our hearts matter as much as our words and actions. Jesus wants hearts full of love, and love to be the motivation to follow the Law, because the Law actually teaches us how to love.

With love, the Law is something we no longer follow out of simple duty, but something we want to follow because it opens our hearts to God and neighbor: My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world. The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to live just as he lived (1John 2: 1-6)……..

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us   We

have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as He is, so are we in this world (1John 4: 7-12. 16-17).

Christian love, of course, is more than just a nice sentimental thought on a Hallmark Card. Christian love is a sacrificial love and is symbolized by the Cross. Just as the Cross led to the Resurrection, so too does Christian love lead to new life: Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies it bears much fruit (John 12:24). Moreover, we are promised many rewards when we embrace and live Christian love: Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great. As He said these things, He would call out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8). The good soil is a heart full of true love, which is Christian love.

Our willingness to sacrifice for love of God and neighbor gives us an opportunity to let go of what is negative in our lives. Christian love allows us to sacrifice our pride for the virtue of humility. Christian love allows us to sacrifice any hatred in our hearts for forgiveness and mercy. Christian love allows us to sacrifice any lust in our hearts for purity, modesty, and chastity. By sacrificing what is negative within ourselves, we open our hearts. Jesus then fills our hearts with the good gifts of Grace and Virtue that He wants to bestow upon us.

As I said this past week, our modern society especially struggles with the virtues of chastity, modesty, and purity. Yet, we hear this week that purity is a requirement to see God: Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8). To be clean or pure of heart is to allow God and His Grace to direct all of our thoughts and actions: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me^. Then the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8-9).

Sadly, our secular world too often teaches, through our schools, government programs, and social media, the opposite

of “purity of heart.” Sadly, our society actually promotes many sins against chastity, modesty, and purity.

Our young people are not only taught that promiscuity, co-habitation, same sex unions, contraception, pornography, and other sins against chastity are all okay but that these things are actually healthy and normal. Then our society too often teaches that abortion is a good thing, because abortion is then a necessary “remedy” that can “correct” the mistakes of those other actions.

Moreover, all too often chastity, modesty, and purity are taught as a suppression of sexuality instead of what they truly are, which is a moderation of sexual desires and a mastery over sexual desires. So, they are teaching that sins against purity are good and the virtue of chastity is bad

In doing so, our society is really teaching that others are not people to be loved in the image and likeness of God, but objects to be used, and later discarded, for our own pleasure. Our society is giving our young people a very selfish and distorted view of love. Thus, we can properly say that our society’s ills area result of its sins against chastity.

While doing this, society is not just increasing its ills, but it is also endangering souls: Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5: 19-21).

Thankfully, evil never has the upper hand because we have the Power of the Cross behind us. We have the power to renew our society. We have the power to create a truly pure society. We can do it through constant prayer, the relentless proclamation of the Gospel, and through our Christian love. We can and will do it.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, pray for us!

St. Joseph, Patron of the Church and our Patron, pray for us!

Fr. Michael J Pawelko, Pastor