Word of the Week

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Blessed: Makarios (Gk.): meaning “A favorable standing in the grace of God's covenant”

Blessedness is the state of living in accordance with the will of the Trinity; achieved with and in Christ (CCC 1025, 1722). “Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme and definitive blessedness” (CCC 1024). Blessedness is attained through an obedience of faith, which springs forth from goodness, joy, and a persevering Beatitude. In this way, we “participate in the divine nature of God” (2 Pet.1:4) and become more like Christ (CCC 1721).

Blessed is found 50 times in the New Testament. Blessings are New Covenant gifts that the Father bestows on his children (Hahn and Minch , 24). In the Old Testament, we read Moses promulgating the law of the Old Covenant on a Mountain (Ex.24:12-180). This law for the Israelite nation of family ethics was the prescription for the people to live in harmony with YHWH—Adonai. Similarly, in the NT, we read Christ, as a new and greater Moses, promulgating the law of the New Covenant on a mountain that is ordered to kinship by covenant. We can rightfully call the Sermon on the Mount, the New Sinai for a new family. These laws are the Beatitudes. In Matthew, the Beatitudes (Mt.5:3-10) announce what it takes to live in an ‘ A favorable standing in the grace of God's covenant' by embracing the cost of discipleship that comes with the law of the New Covenant (Mt.5:11-12). “These blessings are introduced on earth but fully realized in heaven (cf. 1 Jn.2:15-17; 1 Pet.3:14; Jas. 1:12). The blessed are those who sins are forgiven (Ps.32:1-2), who have faith in God (Ps.2:12), and who receive God's life as their family inheritance” (Hahn and Munch, 24). Ultimately, Christ as the giver of the new dispensation of grace offers an instruction manual in how to be a light in the darkness.

Blessedness does not mean happy as an entirely subjective attitude, but denotes one's holiness before God. The blessed soul is one who acts in accordance with his conscience informed by the truth of God's divine will. This often entails the distinct character of humility and suffering. These two virtues act as a moral compass into the correct ‘standing' of the faithful Christian in peace. The Christian journey is always full of surprises and mystery. It is only when we are rooted in the ‘ grace of God's covenant' that we begin to peer into the mystery of faith as an opportunity to grow and receive His blessing.

"To be blessed is to walk with the saints"

Unknown

Primary Texts Consulted

•  Catholic Bible. Suggested trans. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
•  Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 1997.
• Hahn, Scott and Minch , Curtis. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew, RSV, 2nd ed. San Francisco : Ignatius Press, 1998.

 

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