The Beatitudes
“When he saw the crowds he went up on the mountainside. After he had sat down his disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them :
How blest are the poor in spirit : the reign of God is theirs. ;
Blest too are the sorrowing ; they shall be consoled.
Blest are the lowly ; they shall inherit the land.
Blest are they who hunger and thirst for holiness ; they shall have their fill.
Blest are they who show mercy ; mercy shall be theirs.
Blest are the single-hearted for they shall see God.
Blest too are the peacemakers ; they shall be called sons of God.
Blest are those persecuted for holiness’ sake ; the reign of God is theirs.
Blest are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you because of me.
Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is great in heaven ; they persecuted the prophets before you in the very same way.”
The Beatitudes in the Sermon on the mountain – Mt 5 : 1-12
The Beatitudes, a path to happiness !
« The name « Beatitudes » given to us highlights and sums up Christ’s teaching and reminds us of our vocation to Happiness. In effect, the Beatitudes proclaimed by Jesus on the Mountain show the way to eternal happiness to which the heart of man aspires to (CCC n. 1697 ». Book of Life§ I *
« The Beatitudes are the path we have been called to follow in response to a universal call to holiness in Christ’s footsteps. We wish our whole life to be permeated by the Beatitudes. In order to testify to the hope and joy of the world to come, we choose to become men and women of the Beatitudes » Statutes of the Community.
Christ of the Beatitudes
It signifies letting ourselves be fascinated by « Christ of the Beatitudes » and following in His footsteps that we may become more and more like Him.
The Beatitudes describe Jesus Christ : his thinking, his feelings and his actions. He was poor, mild, compassionate and merciful ; he hungered and thirsted for justice. He had a pure heart and imparted peace. He was ready to endure suffering and persecution that He may give us Eternal Life
He has shown us what it means to live like children of God
« The Beatitudes reveal the face of Christ to us who alone fulfilled them totally. He is the Lion of Judah and the Slain Lamb, who through his Passover draws us into the Father’s glory. » Book of Life.
We contemplate the face of Christ which is both strength and weakness, God Almighty and weak, true God and true man, abundant life and annihilation as He reveals himself to his disciples on Mount Thabor and on the mountain of the Beatitudes. A call to follow the Beatitudes is nothing other than a call to life in Christ through whom God predestined us from all eternity to be his adopted sons to the praise and glory of his grace (cf. Ep 1, 5-6)
*« The Book of Life » of the Community is the ‘foundation’ text of the Community’s spirituality . You can telecharge it or order it from Editons des Béatitudes
The Lion of Judah and the Slain Lamb
The first name of the Community was The Lion of Judah and the Slain Lamb, the lion being the emblem of the tribe of Judah, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, of which Christ is a descendant.
The two faces of Christ, Lamb poor, mild and humble in his Passion and Lion victorious over the Cross remain, however, central to the message of the Beatitudes. That is why the Community has kept as its emblem the figure of a lion and a lamb