Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study & Apologetics Online via Meetup/Zoom or in person at St. John Neumann Catholic Church 11900 Lawyers Road, Reston, VA 20191 https://saintjn.org/ House rules/notes… 1. Meetup is www.meetup.com/catholicbiblestudy Zoom Meeting Logon info is the same every week: Zoom ID: 861 1782 2081 Password: 406952 2. I send out Meeting Recaps the same night as our sessions – they are unedited versions with no pictures. An edited version with pictures is posted on our website at https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/recaps by Taylor before the next meeting - she notifies everyone who signed up. 3. Questions encouraged. If you have questions about anything, you can ask in the chat, email the Meetup group, or me directly at ron@hallagan.net. 4. Respectfulness. We will be discussing differences between religions and between Christian denominations, and agree to be respectful at all times. Specifically, Protestants are our friends and brothers in Christ; in fact, I personally owe part of my return to the faith to them! 5. No politics. It would be easy for us to self-destruct, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to learn/understand/apply the Bible and our Catholic faith. 6. Catholic Prayer & Fellowship. Are you interested in praying with other Catholics during the week? Fellow member Jason Goldberg has started just this at “Catholic Prayer, Fellowship, and Spirituality Meetup.” Sign up at: https://www.meetup.com/online-catholic-prayer-fellowship-and-spirituality/ 7. “The Chosen” TV series. All of us seek a relationship with Jesus Christ, which is not always easy at first. It helps when we can relate to Him if we have seen and heard Him. The Chosen has captured the real Jesus as close as any show I have ever seen. Just watch the first two with Mary Magdalene and you will see what I mean. 8. RSVP Reminder: Please RSVP whether you are attending the meeting or just reading the Recap notes afterwards. The more RSVPs, the more Meetup will give us exposure, which will draw more people to us, which is our way of evangelizing! Please RSVP when you get the Meetup invite weekly. Our Bible Study Format: 5 min greeting/prayers, 10-15 min Catholic topic, 40-45 min on the main topic from weekly List below: Week 1: Feb 7 - Gospel Week: The Eight Beatitudes Week 2: Feb 14 – Bible Week (Gen àRev): We are in EXODUS, the 2nd book of Moses. Week 3: Feb 21 – Survey Topics Voted on by Members: We are currently beginning Christian Comparisons/World Religions.
Ö 1) Jesus’ Greatest Parables Ö 2) Hell, Purgatory, Heaven 3) Christian Comparisons/World Religions 4) Great Women in the Bible 5) World Religions 6) Book of Revelation 7) Major Heresies and Church Councils
Week 4: Feb 28 – Member Questions 1. The History of the Mass going back to Cain & Abel, all leading to the sublime meaning of the Eucharist. 2. Can you review origin and meaning of the 12 statements of belief in the Creed? 3. Since you said that Gen 1-3 is likely mostly allegory, how do you think The Fall actually took place? 4. “Who am I?” It seems we all ask this question at some point in our lives. Some ask it all the time. How do you answer this? 5. Are Charity and Love synonymous? How are they different? What are the 4 highest forms of Charity? Here are some of the Members’ Questions from the last year you can find summarized on the Catacombs Website:
- Can you explain the Crusades? - Can you provide an elevator response for the Inquisition? - Can you explain papal infallibility? - What is intercessory prayer and is it supported in Scripture?
- Why did Christ say on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
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Next major upcoming events in the Church
Lent – Wed, Feb 22 – Thurs April 6
Triduum – Friday, Apr 7–Sun Apr 9
Easter – April 9
“The Bible is like a flashlight that shines light on certain places in our lives. Other times, it is like a mirror and
reflects us back to ourselves. Still other times, it is like sandpaper that smooths some of our rough edges.”
– Fr. Mike Schmitz
Opening Prayer
As the prophet Micah wrote,
“O people! The LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you:
To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Our prayer is that we, too, learn to be open and walk humbly with You.
May the Holy Spirit guide us as we learn from your famous sermon tonight.
And as You taught us to pray:
Our Father
Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily Bread;
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us all.
Amen.
Handout – first night at St. John Neumann
BIO
My name is Ron Hallagan. I was born in Michigan, raised Catholic, and attended Catholic schools including two years at a seminary. I also became atheist for about a decade. In my journey back to the Catholic Church, I spent time in, or investigated, Judaism, Eastern religions, and Protestantism (Episcopalian & Presbyterian); this experience – including the atheist stint – has been helpful to my Catholic apologetics.
I have been leading the Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study & Apologetics group for five years. At first, it was in-person at St. Michael in Annandale, and then moved to online on Zoom after Covid hit. Now it has moved back to in-person here, although we are retaining the online participation since the study group has expanded beyond this area.
I also volunteer at the Fairfax Adult Detention Center mentoring prisoners and scheduling the other Catholic volunteers for the past ten years. Prior to this, I taught Catechism/CCD for twelve years at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown.
I have certifications in Catholic philosophy, Catholic theology, and Catholic apologetics from the New Saint Thomas Institute, and my regular job is running a pet care business in Northern Virginia and Maryland. I am in my 40th year of marriage to a wonderful woman named Patsy, and we have three grown children, two with families of their own in Asheville, and one who still lives in this area and is our Bible Study Group Coordinator – Taylor!
Terminology
What is Catholic Bible Study?
Catholic Bible Study is where we learn about the Word of God which was delivered to humanity and for humanity, by the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, to his Apostles and the Catholic Church that Jesus himself began 2000 years ago.
“The Bible is like a flashlight that shines light on certain places in our lives. Other times, it is like a mirror and reflects us back
to ourselves. Still other times, it is like sandpaper that smooths some of our rough edges.” – Fr. Mike Schmitz
What is Catholic Apologetics?
“Apologetics” is a branch of theology that deals with the intellectual defence of the Catholic faith and its teachings using reason, Scripture, and tradition. It comes from the Greek word apologia, meaning “to speak in defense of.”
Our modern slang use of the word “apology” – to say you are sorry for something – actually has the same Greek root. I think it morphed from “explaining yourself” to just “apologizing.” However, the original term is still used in the art of argumentation. For example, “free market apologetics” would be the defense of free markets or capitalism.
What is Exegesis?
It is the critical explanation of interpretation of a text or portion of the Bible. It is a Greek word that means explanation. Another way to remember this: when I first explained exegesis to Taylor, she thought about it and said, “It’s kind of like having eggs with Jesus.”
Week One is Gospel Week
The opening 12 verses of the Sermon on the Mount are The Eight Beatitudes (Matt 5:1-12)
The Sermon on the Mount has been referred to as the Magna Carta of the Kingdom of Heaven. This might be a lot for our first meeting but this is when it shows up in our Liturgy.
But why is it so difficult? Do we have to be poor? Meek? Persecuted?
Their meaning is not always so obvious, so we have to unpack it.
Jesus came not to cancel Jewish teachings but to fulfill them. At the time, the Jewish religion – the priests, scribes, and Temple elders – were stuck on material interpretations of the faith, particularly rules, rituals, and sacrifices. These were means to an end, not ends in themselves. They had lost the meaning, or heart, of God’s teachings, and taught that if you could check the boxes on all the rules and ritual requirements, you were saved. Jesus said no, you have it backwards.
The Sermon on the Mount was a shot across the bow of the Jewish leaders at the time – that getting right with God was not about checking the boxes. The Jewish priesthood and leaders were highly respected socially and they were usually well-off financially, so it was no surprise that they didn’t want to hear Jesus’ criticisms. Many things Jesus said threatened to turn their world upside down.
Of course, the Sermon on the Mount was not just a shot across the bow for them. More importantly, Jesus was providing a spiritual map to Heaven. Some call it a stairway to Heaven.
Let’s get digging.
The Sermon on the Mount is Matthew Chapters 5-7
The Eight Beatitudes – Matthew 5:1-12
Now, when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him and he began to teach them.
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
3. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall have their fill.
5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons and daughters of God.
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted on account of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
9. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely speak all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
Q: Why are nine beatitudes listed when we the heading for today says there are only eight?
The 8th and 9th are technically one, but many times they are split into two because there are (sort of) two messages.
Q: The first thing to be noted is Jesus going up the mountainside. Who does Jesus get compared to often who also went up the mountain 1300 years earlier?
Moses, when he when up Mt. Sinai to get the Ten Commandments from God. Jesus is considered the New Moses for many reasons. This is just one of the comparisons.
Q: Moses brought the 10 Commandments down to the people. What was different about what Jesus did?
Jesus brought the people up the mountain. He was about to give them a higher law.
Moses was to teach Jews the rudiments of justice and goodness and focusing their lives on the earthly Temple in Jerusalem.
Jesus’ teaching was the next, transcendent step – justice not just measured in worldly terms but justice originating in the heart; and their lives were being ordered not to the Temple but to the eternal Kingdom.
Q: What does “Blessed” mean?
The Greek word is makarioi – and a more accurate translation for our purposes is “happy.” So below we will use happy.
Note: these are stairs to heaven, so “happy” first applies to our eternity. It can also apply to our temporal lives here, but not always (i.e., if one is under persecution; even then, happiness is an internal state of mind).
Now, there are some pretty strange statements made in the nine “Blesseds” above, so let’s tackle them.
1) Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. (Or Happy are the poor in heart…)
Q: Is this referring to being materially poor?
No, although the poor have easier access to God by virtue of less comforts and distractions. Nevertheless, there are poor people who are envious of the wealthy and hate their neighbors, and there are also wealthy people who love God and neighbor and try to help the poor.
Q: But the idea of “poor” has a special spiritual characteristic that we want to explore here. What is it?
Detachment from things – in our world of consumerism and desire for worldly gratifications, things are addictive. They easily replace the “apparent need” for God in our lives. This is why God made this the first commandment, “Thou shalt not have other gods before me.” Whatever we give more time and thought to in our lives than God, those are our gods before God.
Another way to frame this issue is “dependence.” We love being independent, however, God didn’t give us spiritual gifts to unplug from him and run off (Prodigal Son). He gave them to teach us how to use them and to remain plugged into God’s family.
Another fact: Our independence from God is the definition of the Fall of Man. After God breathed into humans giving us our spiritual gifts (free will, conscience, awareness, etc.), we basically said, “Thanks, God! Don’t call us, we’ll call you – we’ve got this!” The remedy for this break from God is what the Prodigal Son did: not greater independence from the Father but dependence and partnership.
Q: This world would have us believe that we are nothing but a composite of our accomplishments. If that were true, then if we stripped away all our “things” and “accomplishments,” then we would become nothing, right?
We know this isn’t true. We know there is more to “who” we are. But our who isn’t hiding inside our bodies somewhere. God gave us our who. Without our worldly trappings, we might fear we would be vulnerable – naked, so perhaps we hesitate to search too hard. In fact, we would be naked at first. Our true poverty is our spiritual poverty, which only God can clothes us with, but like the Father in the Prodigal Son, He wishes to provide for us abundantly.
Q: What is another way this dependence on God relates to the poor?
A poor person depends on others for survival. Without God, we not only can’t attain all that we can be in this life, we cannot enter heaven after this life. We depend on the Father for our eternal survival.
Q: What is the most highly prized virtue, which is the key to becoming “poor in spirit”?
Humility. Humility is a true openness which requires keeping egos on a short leash or in a cage.
Humility was Jesus’ and Mary’s greatest spiritual virtue.
I wouldn’t belabor this first beatitude except that it is the linchpin for all the rest. Without actively putting God first in your daily thoughts and activities, none of the other Beatitudes can take root.
Q: The Israelites with Moses in the desert also had to learn dependence on God after 400 years of exposure to Egypt’s gods. Who recalls one of the ways God did this?
It was the manna in the desert. Every day they would wake up and there would be bread (manna) from heaven scattered on the ground. They were instructed to only collect enough for one day. Those who tried to take more – what happened? It became maggot-infested. They had to learn to trust God one day at a time, every day.
Have you noticed how the Our Father says: Give us this day our daily bread? This is so much more than a material statement.
… for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. “The Kingdom of Heaven” provides the bookends for the first and last Beatitude, for actually it is the goal of all of them. To know that “good” already wins in the end gives substance to our hopes. To know this gives substance to our faith. To know this also gives us equanimity in this life.
2) Happy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
We can speak of two kinds of mourning. We mourn because of someone’s suffering or death and we can also mourn over our own sin. Let’s go deeper.
· The death or suffering of someone is a question of loving the other in such a way that we are bound to him or her to the extent that we share their pain. In fact, the pain we feel usually corresponds to our love, so if you are in a lot of pain, it means your love runs deep. Ensure your mourning is accompanied by prayer and it will not be for nothing. When we bring God into our affairs, everything gains meaning and all prayers have an effect. Of course the knowledge that this life is not the end should help, but it will not stop the pain because saying good bye in this lifetime is never easy. Even Jesus wept over Lazarus.
Q: Why is this rewarded in the afterlife?
Because our mourning is a manifestation of love. Remember, there are people who remain distant, cold, or one step removed; it is important that others are able to make a dent in our hearts. If one does not mourn for others, it’s the sign of a problem, usually tied up with one’s “self.” Blessed, then, are those who mourn.
· The second meaning of this paradoxical Beatitude: weeping over sin.
Think of Peter after denying Jesus three times. What did he do after this? He went out and wept bitterly.
This aspect of mourning is the shedding of tears over our own sins – when the heart bleeds for the pain of having offended God and one’s neighbor.
Here we must distinguish: there are those who are angry because they made a mistake; but this is pride. Instead, this beatitude is about those who mourn the wrong that they did, the good that they omitted, and the betrayal of their relationship with God and/or others. This type of mourning is for not having loved, which actually springs from caring about the other more than oneself. We are saddened by the realization of the good not done. We are essentially saying, “I have wounded the one I love,” and it pains us to tears. God be praised if these tears come!
Can you see that this kind of mourning over our sins represents an important first step in detaching from sin? For if we don’t mourn our sins, will we not remain in them?
3) Happy are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth.
We tend to think meek means weak, submissive, and unwilling or unable to stand up for oneself. That would be incorrect.
The correct description would be patient, willing to listen, and gentle in our responses, especially so when knowing our responses could be far more deadly. It is being in control and maintaining equanimity.
Abraham was meek, and he defeated 5 armies. Moses was meek, but only because he learned it after killing and Egyptian guard with his bare hands. Jesus was meek even though he could have crushed his opponents like bugs.
Meekness is a learned strength.
Q: What other teaching of Jesus’ is similar to this?
“Turn the other cheek.”
Evil loves a fight. Satan counts on it. Tit for tat is his favorite pastime.
One small offense deserves another, which deserves another, which escalates out of control.
Relationships end up on the rocks and sometimes neither one can remember how it started. Satan remembers.
However, fighting fire with fire is a bad strategy.
Fire needs oxygen. It craves oxygen. When we attack back, we feed it oxygen.
We can starve the fire. Jeff insults you, but instead of giving it back, we say, “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Suddenly, the opponent has no oxygen. Evil can’t grab hold of anything, and if you maintain this stance, it will slip away and die.
This is what is meant by turning the other cheek. It’s a meek strength.
“… for they shall inherit the earth.” We have to hand it to Jesus for his expert paradoxes. Of course, you aren’t going to inherit more land when you are meek, but you will in Heaven. But why this reward? The opposite of meek is aggressive, headstrong, and power hungry – the exact kind of people who seek to take over the earth. How much earth will they receive after this life?
I’m not positive of the meaning of this, but I think we can assume it is a righteous cake.
4) Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall have their fill.
When we think of righteousness, we tend to think of goodness or holiness, but the emphasis is on justice. Yet, if we look around, we don’t see justice being met very often. We see good people getting hurt and bad people getting ahead all the time. Yet, every human still wants, or demands, justice – in our relationships, in our jobs, and in every world event in history. We seek justice in some way every day of our lives and we don’t get it, and we will never get it – except for perhaps fleetingly – while we are here.
How is it that humans have never seen perfect justice throughout our entire history, but we act like it is as natural as the sun coming up? The reason we can’t help it because we are made in the image and likeness of God, who IS perfect justice, when God breathed His spirit into us (Gen 1:27/2:7). It’s spiritually encoded into us.
Then why do we not see justice happening all around us?
Let us recall that justice has been suspended on our behalf, to give all humanity a chance – an entire lifetime, actually – to get right with God. If God hadn’t suspended justice, it would have extinguished the human race within a week. Think of every wrong you ever thought or acted upon, every erroneous judgment you made about others, every time you hated others and/or didn’t forgive.
When God gave us another chance after The Fall, he was suspending justice. When our life ends, perfect justice will resume.
Further to our fallen nature, one can easily see it in our demands for justice. It’s always about the injustice of others, but never our own injustices. If it were up to humans, every one of us would be innocent in our own minds, and everyone else would be guilty. Is this surprising? Even when we do get caught in the wrong, what do we do? We look for a way out, an exception – who do we know who can get us out of this? When justice comes to us, we seek a free pass because we have extenuating circumstances, etc.
God is trying to teach us that justice and judging people are two different things. God’s way is to stop judging others and looking for our own justice and start seeking justice for others. If we make looking out for others our goal in life, whether we are at home, at work, out playing, or winning others to the Lord, then we will begin to experience true justice in this life and God promises we will experience the fullness and greatness of perfect justice in Heaven.
5) Happy are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Q: What is the difference between mercy and forgiveness?
Forgiveness involves a change of heart. It is more internal than external. It is not just words. It is about letting go of the hurt, the anger, and the hostility.
Mercy comes from the Latin merces, which means “price paid.” Mercy means giving compassion or forgiveness to someone who doesn’t necessarily deserve it. It is more external than internal (i.e., “I throw myself at the mercy of the court” implies guilt but asks for another chance).
Mercy is the compassionate or charitable treatment of those in distress, especially when it is in our power to help them or not.
Q: Speaking of granting forgiveness regardless of whether we deserve it or not (mercy), what does this resemble to you?
It is exactly what Jesus does for us.
Q: Is there anything in the Our Father than compares to this?
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
God is teaching us how to be like Him.
And of course, the better we get at this, the more of it we will receive after this life. We write the script for our own justice.
6) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Pure of heart refers to integrity, which means whole, one, or uncompromised. It’s best adjective would be honesty, but not just to others but with oneself first. We all know what it means to ‘say one thing but do another,’ right? That is a compromised heart, where our inside does not match the outside.
Q: What is another word for saying one thing but doing another?
Duplicity. Hypocrisy. Two-faced. Talking out of both sides of our mouth. The apostle James called it “double-minded.”
Jesus criticized the Pharisees for this more than once.
“For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” – James 1:7-8
A person who strives to be pure of heart always seeks greater honesty and transparency between their words and their behavior.
“…for they shall see God.”
The Beatific Vision we will have in heaven will be unique for all of us, for each of our relationships with God is unique. We will be able to see God to the best of our spiritual capabilities. Those who pursue a pure heart will see Him better.
On earth, those who strive for purity of heart will also be better able to see like God here and now, which is like gaining instant wisdom – just like making instant hot chocolate.
7) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons and daughters of God.
Those who seek reconciliation with others, and those who seek reconciliation between others. This is the Christian way.
In first century Judaism, “Shalom” was an important greeting that meant “peace to you.” So Jesus was speaking about something his audience knew well. Except now Jesus was saying, “Don’t just say the words, make it happen.”
Part of humanity’s lower animal instinct is to fight when attacked; or sometimes even when we’re not attacked. Our spiritual natures call us to put a leash on this and rise above it. It takes work and it’s an art.
God will help us if we ask.
When we do so, we are indeed children of God.
8) Blessed are those who are persecuted on account of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Falsely accused, slandered, reviled for the cause of truth, for the cause of what is right, or to help those who nobody else is helping.
Jesus tells his disciples often – and again here – that being ridiculed or persecuted for the sake of righteousness is par for the course. The world likes everyone to get in line and speak the same language. Nobody wants to be called out. The more bad behavior becomes accepted in society, the more it doesn’t want a light shined on it. Evil thrives in darkness and abhors the light.
So Jesus is saying that your place in the Kingdom is written in stone if you are in this category; your name is written on the gate!
9) Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely speak all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
Again, this is part of #8 with the only difference being falsely accused, slandered, or reviled for the cause of Jesus Christ and the Gospel, for then you are in the same category as the Prophets of old! If you are ridiculed for defending Christ, you will know you have arrived and will get to hang out with Moses, Elijah, and Isaiah in Heaven.
Congratulations on your study of the Eight/Nine Beatitudes! The rest of the Sermon on the Mount (remainder of Ch 5, all of Ch 6, and part of Ch 7) similarly requires some “discovery” on our part. We will continue that at our next Gospel Week.
To finish up, we discussed at the beginning that in the Beatitudes Jesus provided us a ladder of sorts for spiritual growth – for becoming more like Him – which is our goal. Let’s discuss this metaphorical “ladder.”
The first three Beatitudes are like Heaven’s high school. In the spirit of humility, they all involve some sort of diminishment or detachment. This prepares our inner selves to venture out with confidence into the next four, which we might call Heaven’s college. The final two we would call Heaven’s graduate school. Note, you only need a high school diploma to get into Heaven, but your experience in Heaven grows along with your progression up the ladder.
First Three: Dying to Self Diminishment/Detachment à Abundance
1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. things/this world freedom/heaven
2) Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. one’s own sins freedom/heaven
3) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth. self freedom/heaven
Q: Can we do the next steps without the first three steps?
Yes, but not well. The first three ensure that the proper spiritual roots exist inside us first, so we are projecting outward what is already inside of us, not just something we understand superficially. Superficiality can lead to duplicity (not walking the talk).
In the process of detaching ourselves from this world, from our sins, and from “self,” we begin rising to the next level.
Second Three: Adopting the Mind of Christ
4) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall have their fill.
5) Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
6) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
7) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons and daughters of God.
We not only gain experience in these previous activities but we gain many graces which prepare us to move on to the last two – imitating Christ.
Acting as Christ Would
8) Blessed are those who are persecuted on account of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
9) Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely speak all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
Kind of an important footnote: God does not expect anyone to perfect any of these. He only expects us to keep moving in this direction and to ask his help along the way. He will forgive in an instant, no matter how many times we fail. He just wants the relationship!
Conclusion
Our Lord reveals to us that a happy life, a blessed life, is not measured by what a person owns or his influence or success. On the contrary, the blessings of God’s kingdom belong to the poor in spirit. Whether we are monetarily rich or poor, we experience poverty when we find ourselves in a situation in which we must rely on God. That’s when we discover true riches in the goodness and salvation of our God. That’s when we discover the blessedness of the kingdom of Heaven.
Closing Prayer
Dear Lord
Tonight we studied your new commandments you gave at the Sermon on the Mount –
The Magna Carta of the entire Bible.
May we learn to incorporate your teachings into our daily lives
For we know that in doing so we are become children of God
And will inherit your Kingdom on the last day.
To assist us in this journey,
We are going to enlist the help and prayers of your very own mother!
Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
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