tvc.dsj.org | November 19, 2019
COMMENTARY
9
The Beatitudes: The Path to Sainthood!
By Tony Magliano
Internationally syndicated
social justice and peace columnist
[email protected]
You are called by God to be a saint! And that all
important calling from the Lord is not just to be seri-
ously considered on All Saints Day – but every day!
It is no coincidence that the Catholic Church pro-
claims the Gospel passage of the Beatitudes on the
Solemnity of All Saints. For in this most wonderful
teaching from the Son of God, we are shown the way
to holiness, to blessedness, to joyfulness.
Situated in Saint Matthew’s Gospel within the Ser-
mon on the Mount, the Beatitudes chart a sure course
on how to be “blessed,” that is, how to be joyful!
The deeply spiritual scientist and theologian Jesuit
Father Teilhard de Chardin said, “Joy is the infallible
sign of the presence of God.
“In our hearts, you and I long for joy, that joy to the
full that Jesus promises us, the joy that only he can give us.
And the Beatitudes teach us the way!
“And so it is that when we are “poor in spirit” – totally
trusting and dependent on God; when we allow God to
comfort us when we ‘mourn’; when we are ‘meek’ – living
with gentle strength; when we ‘hunger and thirst for righ-
teousness’ – striving to live in right relationship with God,
all others and ourselves; when we are ‘merciful’ to all; when
we are ‘clean of heart’ – thinking, feeling and acting with
purity and honesty; when we are ‘peacemakers’ – praying
Blessed are those who live
the Beatitudes, for they are
experiencing a wonderful taste of
heaven right here on earth!
and working for peace within ourselves, within our families,
within our nation and within our world; and when we are
persecuted for faithfully living out these Beatitudes, let us
rejoice and be glad, for our reward will be great in heaven!
(see: Matt. 5:1-12).
Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete
et Exsultate (Rejoice and be Glad) urges us to apply
the Beatitudes to the life and death situations facing
our world.
He writes, “Our defense of the innocent unborn,
for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for
at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always
sacred and demands love for each person, regardless
of his or her stage of development. Equally sacred,
however, are the lives of the poor, those already born,
the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged,
the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert
euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new
forms of slavery, and every form of rejection.
“We cannot uphold an ideal of holiness that
would ignore injustice in a world where some
revel, spend with abandon and live only for the lat-
est consumer goods, even as others look on from
afar, living their entire lives in abject poverty”
(see: https://bit.ly/2C2vSNP).
Daily I receive in my inbox the “Saint of the Day” from
Franciscan Media. I always find the brief biography and
reflection interesting and inspiring. You can sign up at
https://info.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-media-
newsletter-sign-up.
Blessed are those who live the Beatitudes, for they are ex-
periencing a wonderful taste of heaven right here on earth!
Letter to the Editor
May we raise children who love the un-
loved things – the dandelion, the worms and
spiderlings. Children who sense the rose
needs the thorn & run into rainswept days
the same way they turn towards sun… And
when they’re grown and someone has to
speak for those who have no voice may they
draw upon that wilder bond, those days of
tending tender things and be the ones.
-Nicolette Sowder
This quote so perfectly describes
how my beloved parents, Jim and
JoAnne Arnold, raised us kids. Their
parenting technique was so often based
on modeling the behavior they wished
to see in their children, including
kindness and compassion for all living
things, great and small.
Another behavior that my parents
modeled so well was finding mean-
ingful work based on your God-given
talents. And for this, I would like to
express my deepest gratitude here.
My mother retired just this year
after more than sixty years of playing
beautiful music for the Archdiocese.
Her first piano teacher, her beloved
Grandmother Sophia, must have seen
the potential in my mother at such a
young age and cultivated that gift with
love and encouragement. Thus began
her lifelong music ministry journey,
in her teen years. She would go on to
play for many, many parishes in the
Bay Area, including for her most recent
church community, Saint Athanasius in
Mountain View.
I always knew my mother was an ex-
ceptionally gifted musician and artist.
I also knew that her gifts were unique
to her, gifts that needed to be shared.
Her strong commitment to God, her
Church, her faith, her family, and her
music ministry has inspired me my
whole life. And my mother’s Christian
devotion continues to inspire me to this
day, as she finds new ways to express
her amazingly creative God-given gifts.
A big THANK YOU to my mother
for her service to the Church all these
years. You are a gift, Mom!
-Juli Arnold
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Deadline for the January 21 edition is
December 17.