Open Source Edition

In Brief

1725

The Beatitudes take up and fulfill God’s promises from Abraham on by ordering them to the Kingdom of heaven. They respond to the desire for happiness that God has placed in the human heart.

1726

The Beatitudes teach us the final end to which God calls us: the Kingdom, the vision of God, participation in the divine nature, eternal life, filiation, rest in God.

1727

The beatitude of eternal life is a gratuitous gift of God. It is supernatural, as is the grace that leads us there.

1728

The Beatitudes confront us with decisive choices concerning earthly goods; they purify our hearts in order to teach us to love God above all things.

1729

The beatitude of heaven sets the standards for discernment in the use of earthly goods in keeping with the law of God.