The Paradox of the Beatitudes (StVdP)

The Paradox of the Beatitudes
Reflection for St. Vincent de Paul Meeting, Monday, November 2, 2015
By Dcn. Bob Bonomi

As we celebrate All Soul’s Day today, let us pause and ponder the paradox that is reflected in the Beatitudes as we look at our earthly goals here and now, and compare them to our goals for eternal life in the hereafter.
 
The Beatitudes from yesterdays’ Gospel sounds so – foreign – when we compare them to what we’re told by our commercialized society: “You cannot be happy if you do not own a new car.  You need a bigger house.   Your TV isn’t big enough, or your computer isn’t fast enough, or your smart phone isn’t smart enough …”.  The list goes on.  And yet, merely owning these or other earthly things cannot guarantee happiness either.  If they did, then why does it seem that so many people who “have it all” often end up dependent on drugs or other addictions, live extreme lifestyles, fight depression, or are even suicidal?
 
Therein lies the paradox:  the Beatitudes tell us that blessedness – and thereby happiness – comes from NOT having the “good things” of life, and that it is in the struggles that we share with others less fortunate than ourselves that we can discover the hidden happiness that comes from being a child of God and a member of the Body of Christ.
 
Which brings us to All Souls Day, where we pray for and honor those who lived less than perfect or saintly lives but believed in their faith and who now await those heavenly rewards promised by the Beatitudes.  (Unlike those we recognized on All Saints Day as those living lives of heroic virtue.)  They may not have experienced the earthly treasures that our society says they needed to have in order to be happy, but they remained faithful in their trust in God and so are worthy in God’s eyes of the greater blessings to come. 
 
As Vincentians, you all are part of the Body of Christ that serves those who are the “Blessed” in the eyes of God.   It is through your efforts on the behalf of your clients here on earth that YOU a share in those heavenly rewards.  But as important as your work here is, we should not forget that no less important are your prayers for those who have gone on to God before us and have no need of material aid, but who continue to need spiritual aid.  Your prayers continue to bring forth those bound for heaven and who are becoming “pure” by their time in Purgatory. 
 
So tonight, and this week, take time to pray not only for those you serve here on earth but also for all our “dearly departed”, and remember that as you do, you are indeed also praying for yourselves.  For we all part of the Communion of Saints, and so are one in Christ – Vincentians, your clients, and our loved ones both living now and those awaiting heaven.
May God continue to bless you in your ministry.