REVIEWER IN RELIGION 4 th GRADING

The Beatitudes (The Sermon on the Mount) Matthew 5:1-12

 All of the 8 Beatitudes start with the word “blessed,” often translated into English as "Happy," but the Greek
word means to be spiritually approved by God.
 Jesus gives the encouraging promises of the Beatitudes, listing the values in life which will lead to prosperity
and salvation.-Each of the beatitudes explains the blessings of following the teachings of Christ.
The 1st Beatitude
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3)
 it means materially poor or it may refer to those who are oppressed, downtrodden and without influence
Blessed are the POOR IN SPIRIT, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”
 it refers to those who are humbled and lowly of heart
 it interprets poverty in spiritual and moral sense
 it does not speak as much of the lack of material wealth and possessions but of the condition of being
completely dependent on God
 it means they who live in radical trust in and with dependence on God
 it does not mean an acceptance of poverty; poverty is not an idealized state of life to be glorified and blessed
as its worth dehumanizes persons
 Poverty deprives persons of their right to decent human life where they have enough food to nourish their
bodies, a basic education that will form them as good persons in society, a land or space and a house where
they can grow in the care and security of a home.
 We automatically resist and reject poverty whenever we experience it because it denies the goodness and
providence of God, who wills that we have life- life to the full
“Blessed are the POOR IN SPIRIT, for theirs is the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN”
 the promise of the Kingdom of God is the promise of the presence ad work of God in one’s life- the lordship
of God ruling one’s life, bringing about peace, freedom, and well-being
The call to be “poor in spirit” is addressed to all, RICH and POOR alike.
FOR THE POOR
 It tells those that live in material poverty that their human dignity must be preserved and that their
inviolable human rights must be cherished and protected.
 It tells them that they themselves can achieve much if they use their skills and talents and especially their
own determination to be the artisans of their progress and development.
 They need to be open and to grateful for the workings of God in their lives so that in their poverty they grow
in generosity and magnimity as they share even of the little they have with others.
 They are called to rise above their poverty by their determination and by the use of their human potentials
and gifts.
FOR THE RICH
 It tells the rich who enjoy material well-being or who accumulate a disproportionate share of material goods,
that persons are great not by reason of what they possess, but by what they are, not by what they have but
by what they share with others.
 The rich person who does not rest so long as a brother or sister is entrapped in injustice and powerlessness.
 They must share what they have with those who have less and to work towards a more just and equal
distribution of wealth and power through change of systems and structure in society.
POOR IN SPIRIT
 Is the one who holds political power and remembers that it is given for the common good only.
 Is the one who never ceases to devise means to organize all sectors of society according to the demands of
the dignity and equality that is the birthright of every man, woman, and child that God has called into
existence.