beatitudes with attitude

“The text i like best” – share your favourite version of the beatitudes here, and be inspired by the readings others have made. Please email your words to andrew at wecan.be (if you’re copying from a book or another website, please credit the original author)

From the brave, the bold, the battered

It’s coming through a crack in the wallOn a visionary flood of alcoholFrom the staggering accountOf the Sermon on the MountWhich I don’t pretend to understand at allIt’s coming from the silenceOn the dock of the bayFrom the brave, the bold, the batteredHeart of ChevroletDemocracy is coming to the USA. Democracy by Leonard Cohen

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Get up, go ahead, do something, move!

Makarios is the ‘blessed’ or ‘happy’ of the Beatitudes. Ashre is the very first word of Psalm 1. The idea of flourishing is implicit in the Psalm, where the life of the blessed is likened to that of a tree planted by the water, which flourishes year in year out. Psalm 2 also uses ashre […]

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First Nations Beatitudes – “Blessings Of The Good Road”

Matthew 5:1 When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) saw this great crowd, he went back up into the mountainside and sat down to teach the people. His followers came to him there, 2so he took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and began to share his wisdom with them and teach them how to see Creator’s […]

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One Unrecorded Beatitude

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Eightfold Path Of The Buddha And Jesus

Recently I partook in discussions about whether or not the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, (when Jesus said “blessed are the merciful for they shall be shown mercy” for example), are the same as the eightfold way of Buddhism, which is one of the four noble truths of Buddhist belief. Afterwards I happened […]

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Blessed Are The Pure in Heart

Richard Rohr We can’t risk walking around with a negative, resentful, gossipy, critical mind, because then we won’t be in our true force field. We won’t be usable instruments for God. That’s why Jesus commanded us to love. It’s that urgent. It’s that crucial. True religion is radical; it cuts to the root (radix is Latin for root). […]

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The Dark Beatitudes

Woe unto the proud of heart, for a great fall awaits them. Woe unto the glib of soul, for they can only be comfortably numb. Woe unto the greedy graspers, for they shall end up empty. Woe unto those content with injustice, for the kingdom of God will disturb them. Woe unto the cruel, for […]

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Kahlil’s Version of Jesus’ Beatitudes

‘Blessed are the serene in spirit. Blessed are they who are not held by possessions for they shall be free. Blessed are they who remember their pain, and in their pain await their joy. Blessed are they who hunger after truth and beauty, for their hunger shall bring bread, and their thirst cool water. Blessed […]

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Blessed Are the Persecuted

Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of justice: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. —Matthew 5:10 I guess we should not be surprised that this Beatitude follows the previous ones. The first and last Beatitudes are present tense: Theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Until this statement, Jesus has said “happy are the . . .,” speaking […]

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Blessed Are The Peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognized as children of God. —Matthew 5:9 In Jesus’ teaching and in his life, we see modeled nonviolent, peaceful action. He encourages us to likewise “turn the other cheek” and not return vengeance with vengeance. There is no way to peace other than through peacemaking itself. But many think […]

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Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God. —Matthew 5:8 When the heart is right, Jesus says, seeing will be right. He ties together heart and sight. Consider the saying, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” So is God. All we need to do is keep the lens clean, the heart pure. […]

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Blessed Are the Merciful

Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. —Matthew 5:7 I believe with all my heart that mercy and forgiveness are the whole Gospel. The Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79) says we’ll have knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sin (1:77). The experience of forgiveness or mercy is the experience of a magnanimous God who […]

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