Beatitudes

The camino is marked by a series of painted signs.  Wither a seashell (the symbol of baptism, which is at the start of the way), or a white and red stripe, sometimes with an arrow as the path turns.  The signs prompted me to have some scripture to meditate on as I walked.  I chose Luke 6:20-26 because the Beatitudes are the way of Christ's heart, and one of my goals on the pilgrimage is to grow closer to Him.  The Beatitudes are Luke signposts on the way.

Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom. Of God is yours.

In what ways am I poor?  Not materially, but there are areas of my life that experience poverty.  What are those places where I am destitute and needing God's grace?  Where am I humble and willing to yield to others?  Where am I trapped by those sins that I choose over and over again.  Where are the places where I can only depend on the grace of God.  It is when I choose to depend on Him that I begin to experience the Kingdom of God and His grace in my life.  Lord help me to identify and open to you the areas of poverty in my life.

Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.

What do I hunger for?  Where do I have a driving need in my life?  First and foremost this refers to those who are malnourished.  I am not, but I experience hunger in different ways.  One of the transitions I am going through is that of a single father whose children have (mostly) moved out.  After having spent 30 years of my life providing and caring for the comunity of my family, I now hunger for that type of community, both filled with chaos, hardship and joy.

Christ calls on us to provide for the hungry, and he will satisfy our other gnawing needs as well.  He did this for Mary as He died He entrusted her to St John and the church.  Then at Pentecost she was with the 12 as the church was born.  Her need for community was also satisfied.

Blessed are you when you are now weeping, for you will laugh.

When do I weep?  The church calls me to weep for my sins, to have a sorrowful heart when I have wounded others.  I weep when I lose a loved one to death.  I weep when I am aware of my wounds.  Mary wept at the foot of the cross and as she held Our Lord when he was taken down from the cross. 

Yet, behind this Beatitude is the fact that God enters into suffering and death out of obedience, and as a result of His sacrifice

God brings death to life.  This is a cause for laughter as God has the last laugh over death.

Blessed are you when people hate you, insult and exclude you and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.  Rejoice and leap for joy on that day.  Behold your reward will be great in heaven, their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

To bear insult, calumny, hatred and to be labeled as evil because of your willingness to be a Christian, or for your decision to follow Christ can be difficult.  These trials are dificult to endure, whether you experience them at work, from friends or family.  I understand these trials as the cross, which is an evil I that I would not wish on my worst enemy, but the Lord has asked me to embrace and endure.  Lord, grant me the grace to leap for joy on these occasions.