The Beatitudes and Christ

The Beatitudes—a counterpart of the Ten Commandments—have been taught to us since we were little. We were taught to know them, but not about them. Pope Benedict wrote on The Beatitudes, explaining them and how they are related to Christ and the discipleship. He describes them with a deeper meaning to help us understand better.
Pope Benedict touches on six of the eight Beatitudes. The first Beatitude mentioned is “Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of God,” which is “the basic category of Jesus’ message.” The next Beatitude is “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,” a Beatitude that overlaps greatly with the first. This is the third of the Beatitudes, according to Pope Benedict, it is an essential aspect of what is meant by poverty lived from and for God. The next one that is discussed is “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.” This is an important Beatitude because, as Pope Benedict says, “Establishing peace is part of the very essence of Sonship.” There is a struggle for peace on earth, and as Pope Benedict points out, it begins with each person’s struggle with God.
The next Beatitude is “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Pope Benedict tells of two forms of mourning; the kind where one has lost hope and the kind that is one discovering truth. Pope Benedict gives an example of each by using Judas as an example of one who is mourning because he is in fear and hope is lost. Peter is his example of one who is mourning because of a realization, a truth. The next Beatitude is “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” It is said, that Jesus promises good to those who suffer for his sake. Another Beatitude similar to this one is “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” These two Beatitudes are very similar in that one is rewarded when it is needed, because of their faith. The final Beatitude mentioned is “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Pope Benedict says, “The organ for seeing God is the heart.” He says that in order to really see God, one must be pure of heart.
There is a big relation of the Beatitudes to Christ and Discipleship. First off, the Beatitudes display the mystery of Christ and call us to his communion. The disciple is bound to the mystery of Christ and is deep in communion with him. Pope Benedict says, “The Beatitudes are the transportation of Cross and Resurrection into discipleship and apply to the disciples because they were first live by Christ.” The Beatitudes are the directions for the Disciples of Christ.
Each of us has been taught the Beatitudes, but not about them. These are the directions of the disciples, and first lived by Christ and as followers of him, we should better understand them. Pope Benedict wrote on The Beatitudes, explaining them and how they are related to Christ and the discipleship