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Show 202: The Beatitudes, How to Become a Saint - The Way of Christian Perfection, part 4 · The Uncensored Catholic

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  Speaker 1: A Hey, y'all, Welcome to this week's show. We are
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  continuing our discussion Father Sparago's exhaustive explanation of the Catechism
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  of Catholic Church, and we are under the topic of
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  the means to Christian perfection, in other words, how to
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  become a saint, very important topic. Today. We're actually going
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  to get into the beatitudes, really one of the well
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  heart of the matter in many ways, but of course
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  before then we'll turn to radio replies. And it's a
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  really interesting section of the book. There's someone you might
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  call modernists, a secularists, probably a communist, questioning the priests
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  about dogma, and he says, why are scientists of standing
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  so opposed to the Catholic Church? And they answer, if
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  some happen to be, it is not because they are
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  scientists of high standing. Hosts of scientists of high standing
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  have been excellent Catholics, and Perry Fillopio, Galvani, oh Linay, Magellan, Macaroni,
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  Mandel Pasture, La Parente Volta and hundreds of others were
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  convinced Catholics. And the person asks, is it not because
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  non Catholic scientists have superior intellects and better data? And
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  they answered no, it is because, perhaps being experts in
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  their own line, they consider themselves experts in every line,
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  and condemned the Church on insufficient data. Other scientists, equally
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  expert in their scientific lines, realize that they are not
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  therefore qualified in matters of religion anymore than they would
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  be fitted by a knowledge of medicine to speak on
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  economics as an expert. These sensible scientists have studied at
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  least the foundations of their religion, proved its reasonableness, and
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  have never dreamt of abandoning their religion. There is no
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  conflict between science rightly understood and Catholic dogmas rightly understood
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  Catholic dogmas rightly understood. Any apparent conflict is due to
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  a misunderstanding either of science or of Catholic dogma. And
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  the person says statements of dogma cannot be an exact science,
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  and ask him what is science? It is knowledge proved
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  by strictly logical demonstration from facts or from evident principles.
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  In religion, we start from the historical fact of revelation
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  and from principles guaranteed by God. By strictly logical demonstration,
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  we prove exactly what must be believed and what must
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  be done if we desire to fulfill the will of God.
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  Believe me, there is a most exact science of religion
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  to be found in the Catholic Church. And the person says,
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  your dogmas must cramp the free play of a man's intelligence,
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  And they answer they know more cramp a man's intelligence
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  than an excellent telescope diminishes his power of sight. They
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  give additional light upon the most important matters. For example,
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  the dogma that there is a hell saves me from
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  the mistake of thinking there is no hell. Surely a
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  vital matter. And the more a man uses his intelligence
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  and right studies, the more he will find that the
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  credentials of the Catholic Church are quite in order, and
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  that her dogs contain nothing against reason. Person continues, should
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  not a man be ruled by his own opinion? And
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  I answer not, where it is a question of revealed
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  religion by God. To decide what one will believe or
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  not to believe for one's self is faith in one's
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  own ability, but not faith in Christ. Christian faith believes
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  what Christ taught and because Christ taught it, without reference
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  to one's own likes or dislikes, and he continues, I
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  use my reason to think for myself in these matters,
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  And they answer, you will not get very far that way.
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  Christ never said, blessed is the man who thinks for
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  himself for such as the kingdom of heaven. If Christ
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  has done the thinking for you on a given subject,
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  all you have to do is accept his teaching. How
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  will you find it? He has left and authorized church.
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  Use your reason in order to discern this church and
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  then reasonably be taught by it. And that actually leads
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  rather well into the beatitudes. Blessed are they to be?
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  Be atific vision is the blessed vision these. This is
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  the blessings of God. And we will begin with the
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  ape beatitudes. Those who scrupulously keep God's commandment are happy
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  on earth. Hence our Lord in Matthew five three through ten,
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  pronounces the following beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
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  for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the
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  meaning of these words. Blessed are they, who, however great
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  their wealth, their dignity, their health, their learning, acknowledge that
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  before God they are poor. For in this life they
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  enjoy celestial peace, and after death are partakers of eternal felicity.
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  The poor and spirit are not fools, but the humble.
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  They are those who have the spirit of a little child.
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  The rich and spirit are proud, who think themselves because
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  of all they possess, who think much of themselves because
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  of all they possess. Yet the rich man may be
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  poor in spirit if he acknowledges that all his riches
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  are valueless in God's sight. And a poor man is
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  not poor in spirit if he pride himself on some
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  quality or other that he possesses. But as a rule,
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  the rich are not and the poor are poor in spirit.
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  The poor in spirit enjoys celestial peace, for our Lord
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  declares that theirs is the kingdom of heaven. They are
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  like rocks, externally barren and unproductive, but containing within rich
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  veins of pure gold. For while they appear to the
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  eye of man bereft of all joys, they possess noble
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  consolations of which the world knows nothing. The poor in
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  spirit are admitted to eternal felicity. Heaven belongs to the
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  poor in spirit, as the pearl belongs to a man
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  who has purchased it at a goodly price. For the
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  poor in spirit. By their renunciation of all earthly things,
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  have bought heaven at the cost of all they possessed.
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  Number two is Blessed are the meek, for they shall
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  possess the land the means. The meaning of these words
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  is Blessed are they who preserve their composure, who are
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  not provoked to anger by the wrong done to them.
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  For they will rule their fellow men. They will conquer
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  the hearts of men, and after death they will enter heaven.
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  Number three is Blessed are they that mourn, for they
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  should be comforted. But the meaning of these words is this.
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  Blessed are they who lament but little over the loss
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  of transitory things. For God will impart to them such consolations.
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  They will forget their sorrow, and after death He will
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  bestow upon them celestial in internal joy. They that mourn
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  are therefore not those who mourn of the loss of
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  earthly things e g. The enjoyment of some pleasure. Sorrow
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  such as that is a sign that the heart is
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  not detached from the things of the earth. It profits
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  us no more than a plaster would heal a wound
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  if it were laid beside it instead of on it.
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  Plaster is basically a band aid by the way sorrow
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  is the only cure for sin. Unless our sorrow is
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  an account of sin, it will only be harmful, as
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  a moth doth by a garment, and worm by wood.
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  So the sadness of man consumeth the heart Proverbs twenty
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  five twenty. Sadness incapacitates the soul for action. It is
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  the same. It has the same benumbing effect upon it
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  as excessive cold has upon the body. A season of
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  gloom and depression is an opportune moment for the devil.
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  He avails himself of it to tempt us and make
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  us fall, as birds of prey go out by night
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  in quest of spoil. Hence, Holy scripture exhorts us to
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  be cheerful. The joyfulness of the heart is the life
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  of man and a never failing treasure of holiness. That's
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  Ecclesiasms see Ecclesiasticus thirty twenty three. But sorrow for sin,
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  whether our owner that of others, is pleasing for God
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  to God, and succeeded by joy and gladness. What happy
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  witness awaited the prodigal sun when he returned home after
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  deeply deploring his sin? What joy the penitent thief experienced
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  when our Lord promised him paradise. What joy Magdalen felt
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  when Christ pardoned her and commended her love and David when,
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  after he had bewailed his transgressions and psalms one, the
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  prophet announced to him that he was forgiven. Mourning for
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  sin can hardly be called sadness, because it is not
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  incompatible with interior graces. Saint Jerome says, in spite of
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  penitential tears and heartrending sighs, I am sometimes so joyous
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  that I fancy myself already with the angels. Nor is
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  sorrow on account of the trial's providence sins to us reprehensible.
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  It too leads to joy in consolation. This was the
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  sorrow our Lord felt on the amount of olives the
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  approach of his passion, and an angel appeared to him
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  and strengthening him. This was the sorrow of the widow
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  Name felt when her son was carried off for burial,
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  and Our Lord consoled her grief by restoring him to life.
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  The apostles mourned when Christ left them and ascended into heaven,
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  and immediately two angels came to comfort them. When God
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  has happiness in store for us. He inevidently, inevitably sinds
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  some trial first to make us more humble, more grateful
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  for His gifts. Thus light is more welcome after darkness.
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  Health is better appreciated after sickness. They that morn will
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  also be comforted. Hereafter God shall wipe away all tears
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  from their eyes, and deaths shall not be any more
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  nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow, Apocalypse or Revelations twenty
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  one to four. They that so in tears shall reap
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  in joy. That's some Psalms number four is Blessed are
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  they at hunger and thirst after justice, for they should
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  be filled. The meaning of these words is this, Blessed
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  are they who strenuously strive after truth and moral perfection,
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  for they shall obtain it and shall be satisfied by
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  the beatific vision of God in heaven. The centurion Cornelius
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  sought after truth with prayer, fasting, and alms. God instructed
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  him first by an angel and subsequently by the mouth
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  of Saint Peter. The pagan philosopher Justinius made careful study
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  of all the systems of philosophy in order to discover
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  the truth, and God employed an old man on the
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  banks of the Tiber to teach him doctrines of Christianity.
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  He who strives earnestly after sanctity will obtain it. Clement Hofbauer,
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  a Baker's apprentice, set his heart too upon becoming a priest.
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  He attained this end in spite of all hindrances and
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  has been beatified. A man who is tormented by hunger
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  or thirst will do anything to obtain relief, as Esau
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  relinks was his birthright. The saints acted in like manner,
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  counting no exertion too great, no sacrifice too costly, in
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  order to satisfy the hunger of their soul, a spiritual hunger.
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  And this spiritual hunger and thirst, the craving for increased
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  knowledge and growth in holiness, is attended by joy and
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  causes no uneasiness to the soul. The aspiration after justice
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  renders us fit to receive communication of divine graces, for
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  by fervent desire our heart is enlarged. Eternal felicity or
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  happiness also awaits those who strive after justice here below.
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  They never think they have reached their goal. They say
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  they have done enough. Hunger They hunger continually and never ending. Hunger,
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  merits never ending satisfaction. Number five is Blessed are the merciful,
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  for they shall obtain mercy. The meaning of these words
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  is this, Blessed are they who help their neighbor who
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  is in need, for they will obtain from God pardon
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  for their sins and will be leniently judged at their death.
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  Number six blessed or the clean of heart, for they
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  shall see God. The meaning of these words is this,
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  Blessed are they whose heart does not cling to the
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  things of the earth, For they will have a clearer
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  perception of God in their lifetime, and after death will
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  behold Him face to face. This one Corinthians thirteen twelve.
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  The proud, the covetous, the intemperate are not clean of heart,
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  for the things of time and sense, honors, riches, and
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  pleasures of the table hold a place in their heart.
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  Only those who are conscious, conscious of no habitual sin
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  can be said to be clean of heart. What enabled
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  Saint John the events Angelus to penetrate so deeply into
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  the mysteries of religion, to gaze upon the subliminity of
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  the Godhead. The sensual man perceiveth not the things which
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  are the spirit or of the spirit of God one
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  Corinthians two fourteen. Wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul,
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  nor dwell in a body subject des sin. Wisdom one
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  four Truth does not reveal itself to the unclean. But
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  from a pure heart it cannot be hid, said Saint Bernard.
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  As a sheet of paper must be clean upon which
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  one is about to write, so that heart must be
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  pure from carnal desires, upon which God will set his
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  seal by the action of the Holy Ghost. Number seven
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  is Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
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  the children of God. The meaning of these words is this,
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  blessed are they who make sacrifices for the sake of peace,
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  and who promote peace among others. For here below they
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  enjoy special protection of God, and hereafter they will receive
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  reward of their self conquest. And finally, number eight is
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  blessed are they that suffer persecution for Justice's sake, For
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  theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. The meaning of these
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  words is this, blessed are they who have to suffer
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  at the hands of their fellow men for the sake
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  of their faith or for some Christian virtue. For even
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  in this life they will be filled with interior joy,
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  and after death, a high degree of felicity will be theirs.
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  What indescribable happiness Saint Stephen felt while he was being
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  stoned he saw the heavens opened and Christ's standing in
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  glory of God. In the glory of God, Acts seven
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  fifty five. Saint Lawrence, who was broiled upon a red
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  hot gridiron in Rome, must have experienced a similar consolation,
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  for while he was enduring the torture, he joked saying
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  to the pagan governor, I am roasted enough on this side.
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  Now turn me over to the other. Saint Paul declares,
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  I exceedingly abound with joy and all our tribune relations
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  two Corinthians seven four. How could the martyrs have suffered
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  torments so terrible with such equanimity unless they have been
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  mingled with celestial consolations. Our Lord says to those who
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  suffers for his sake, your reward is very great in heaven.
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  Matthew five twelve. Persecutions are the precious stones, wherewith the
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  crown of the saints are adorned in heaven. You must
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  suffer with Christ here if you would reign with him
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  thereafter there is no greater honor upon earth than to
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  suffer for God. The order in which the beatitudes are
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  enumerated indicates the existence of three degrees or stages in
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  the spiritual life. One, all sinful inclinations must be combated
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  by means of humility, meekness, and sorrow for sin. Two,
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  our sanctification must be affected by means of striving after
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  the perfection and the practice of works of mercy. We must. Three,
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  we must be united to God by cleanness of heart,
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  by peaceableness and patient endurance of suffering. The beatitudes begin
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  with the promise of the Kingdom of Heaven, and with
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  it they end. This is signified that eternal felicity is
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  the reward of all intervening beatitudes. What is promised to
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  the poor in spirit as their reward under the name
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  of the Kingdom of Heaven is the same as the
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  land which the meek are to possess, The comfort promise
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  to those who mourn, the satisfaction which is to be
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  the portion of those who hunger and thirst after justice,
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  the mercy to be attained by the merciful, the contemplation
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  of God which the clean of heart are to enjoy,
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  the adoption of the peacemakers as the children of God,
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  and the Kingdom of Heaven, which belongs to the persecuted.
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  The Church has appointed the eight Beatitudes to be read
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  as the Gospel on the feast of all Saints, because
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  it was the prospect of this eternal reward which urge
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  the saints onward on the path of virtue. The worldling
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  counts as the worldling counts those as fools whom Christ
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  declares to be blessed. The world has its own maxims,
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  which are utterly opposed to those of the Gospel. One
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  riches constitute the greatest happiness. Poverty is the greatest misery.
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  If a man has anything at all, he must make
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  a show with it, or the world will not think
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  much of him. Two one ought not to put up
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  with anything. Three happy as the man who is free
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  from care and sorrow. Four one must look to it
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  that one makes a lot of money. Five. Let everyone
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  study his own advantage. Six Let us eat and drink,
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  for tomorrow we die. Seven. One must take up arms
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  in one's defense whenever one is wrong. Eight blessed are
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  they who have nothing to suffer? Well. Indeed, might Saint
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  Paul say, the wisdom of this world is foolishness with
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  God one Corinthians three, nineteen, and that wraps up the beatitudes.
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  Very difficult to live, very hard to even strive after,
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  very opposed to human nature. I think we would definitely agree.
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  But that's the past to saintthood, and that actually wraps
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  up Part two on how to become a saint. Next
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  time we'll get into part three, the means of Grace,
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  which is very very interesting and really will emphasize all
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  the wonderful blessings we embraces we receive through the sacraments
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  of the Catholic Church. I think you're going to really
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  enjoy this one. So anyway, y'all have a great week,
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  and I'll talk to you next time.