Na mBeannaíochtaí (The Beatitudes)

Na mBeannaíochtaí (The Beatitudes)

Patrick Cassidy

It is the day of Christ’s suffering and crucifixion, the ultimate sacrifice of someone completely pure and innocent, a day that constitutes a deafening cessation, an earth-shaking hiatus in the course of historical time.

And yet, out of that speechless stillness and loss of sense of what is right, the memory of the nobility and precious potential of human existence is reborn when Christ’s Logoi—sacred words of the higher mind—resound.

This is the intention of today’s Music of the Week, a piece taken from the movie Calvary, to change aggression into healing and to demonstrate the victory and blessing of anyone who tries to live their life in the image of the Son of Man.

In our lives, from time to time, we may be faced with utter calamity. On such days, let us remember the Beatitudes—the blessings of the meek, the merciful, and the peacemakers—to transform the wrongfulness of this world into the justness of the Divine.

Matthew 5:1-12 – The Beatitudes

¹ Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.