The BEATITUDES

 1. The Beatitudes.
     The Beatitudes are the 8 degrees of holiness. They are, also, the eight degrees of happiness that can be experienced  here on earth and in heaven. They are, also, the eight different virtues that must be attained to merit everlasting life. Lastly, they are the 8 degrees of membership within the Catholic Church. 
     The Beatitudes are degrees; it begins with a little at the beginning and progresses as one rises in the degrees of the Beatitudes. The first Beatitudes is the first degree of happiness. The second is a higher degree of happiness. 
     The next Beatitudes are unattainable unless one has the previous one. 
     The Beatitudes guarantee the souls that they will attain everlasting life. Some beatitudes are meant for subjects and others are for leaders. As long as a soul has a beatitude, that would be sufficient for such to merit heaven. The very first beatitudes says so; ‘for yours is the kingdom of heaven.’ So much more for the eight beatitude; ‘for great is your reward in heaven.’

2. Requirement for membership in the Catholic Church.
    Last Sunday’s Gospel (the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary time) described the first requirement for membership in the Catholic Church. The Gospel narrates that Christ went and called Andrew and Peter, then James and John. And commanded them to leave their nets, their boats…..and in the case of the latter, their father. The first Apostles were told to leave practically all things. It was the requirement before Christ could consider them as His disciples….and more so as His first apostles. Apostles must first be disciples. 
     Since leaving all things is the first requirement for discipleship, the is emphasized as the first Beatitude. No one enters the Catholic Church unless he has the first Beatitude. It is the presence of the first Beatitude that enables a soul to be ‘poor in spirit’ and enter the Catholic Church……..and not the other way around. 

3. Wrong concepts of happiness.
     Everybody have gotten it wrong. St. Thomas of Aquinas wrote that everybody have gotten their ideas of happiness all wrong. The two common wrong ideas on happiness are, first, everybody thinks that happiness consist in the possession of worldly goods, like money. And secondly, that happiness is getting what you want. 
     Some parts of the world are known for satisfying these erroneous sources of happiness, like the popular American Dream. The attractions is that this is a place where you can possess so many worldly things and do whatever you want.
     Well, the Beatitudes states that this is all wrong. True happiness is doing the exact opposite; the first Beatitude in place of desire for unlimited possessions and the second Beatitude in place of doing what you want. 

4. The first Beatitude – the ‘poor in spirit.’
     To attain the first degree of happiness here on earth, Christ taught that we must be ‘poor in spirit.’