Originally written by the archbishop of Naples for his homily when ordaining three bishops last month, the eight "beatitudes of the bishop" loosely correspond with those spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

They provide encouragement and pastoral guidance relevant not just to the Italian conference but to the world's 5,000 Catholic bishops.

The beatitudes offer a portrait of how a pastor should be in the 21st century, in a world where there is so much poverty, injustice, conflict, suffering and human fragility.

They are a call to serve, TO work for justice, peace and reconciliation, to find goodness and to work to build fraternity.

They also highlight temptations bishops face.

The Bishop's Beatitudes

• Blessed is the Bishop who participates in poverty and the sharing of his lifestyle, because by his testimony he is constructing the kingdom of heaven.
• Blessed is the Bishop who is not afraid to mark his face with tears until they reflect the sorrows of his people and the difficulties of his priests, finding in embrace with those who suffer the consolation of God.
• Blessed is the Bishop who considers his ministry a service and not a power, making meekness his strength, and giving everyone the right of citizenship in his heart to inhabit the land promised to the meek.
• Blessed is the Bishop who does not close himself in government buildings, who does not become a bureaucrat more attentive to statistics than to faces, to procedure than to stories, who tries to fight at the side of men for the dream of the justice of God, so that the Lord, met in the silence of daily prayer, will be his nourishment.
• Blessed is the Bishop who has a heart for the misery of the world, who is not afraid to get his hands dirty in the mud of the human soul to find the gold of God, who is not scandalized by others' sin and fragility, because he is aware of his own misery, so that the gaze of the Risen Lord will be for him the seal of infinite pardon.
• Blessed is the Bishop who drives away duplicity of the heart, who avoids any ambiguous dynamic, who dreams of good even in the midst of evil, so that he will be able to rejoice in the face of God, finding its reflection in every puddle of the city of men.
• Blessed is the Bishop who works for peace, who accompanies the paths of reconciliation, who sows the seed of communion in the heart of the presbytery, who accompanies a divided society on the path of reconciliation, who takes every man and every woman of goodwill by the hand to build fraternity: God will recognize him as his son.
• Blessed is the Bishop who is not afraid to go against the tide for the Gospel, making his face "resolute" like that of Christ on his way to Jerusalem, without letting himself be held back by misunderstandings and obstacles because he knows that the Kingdom of God advances in the contradiction of the world.

Source

• America Magazine
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Catholic Outlook

It is not the silence of peaceful meditation. Rather it contains the crushing horror of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.

Once again, we walk with Jesus to Golgotha and feel helpless as the crowd yells, "Crucify him!"

It's as though time reinvents itself in our lives and we have to witness the event.

When I was a child, I wondered why Jesus didn't defend himself. He could do anything. couldn't he?

Why did he just stand there in front of his accusers and say nothing?

At 14, I was in a small church choir learning hymns for Easter.

The practise sessions were okay but on Good Friday, when I had to sing "O Sacred head sore wounded…" I started sobbing and ran out of the church.

The embarrassment was awful.

The crucifixion seemed to me like evil overpowering good.

Many years later, a wise priest said in a homily, "Why does God allow evil in the world? We don't know. It is a mystery".

I don't know either.

I am convinced, however, that if we were perfect, we would have no room for growth.

It seems to me that all growth, physical or spiritual, comes from the tension between opposite states.

I think Jesus, the Word made Flesh, knew this.

Years before in the desert, he was tempted by his ego to use his Godlike powers for himself. He resisted those temptations.

As far as we know, they didn't come again.

Crucifixion was huge.

This God-man who had lived a life of healing and caring for others, now had to face a horrible death.

It was not surprising that in Gethsemane he prayed for the "cup" to be taken from him.

We can count on our fingers the people who supported Jesus: his mother, a few women from Galilee, the apostle John.

The rest were either scared or hostile.

Why were so many howling for his death?

All I can say is, it was meant to be.

If we take evil out of this violent story, what have we got?

Judas did not betray Jesus.

The Pharisees and Sadducees got on well with him.

There was no crucifixion, no resurrection.

Jesus lived in comfort for the rest of his life and died an old man.

Let's think about that. Doesn't it sound like blasphemy?

So why does God allow evil in the world?

I still don't know.

But I find some of the answers in the Beatitudes.

• Joy Cowley is a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and retreat facilitator.

An apostolic exhortation is considered one of the highest ranking papal documents after Encyclical Letters.

The latest exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate ("Rejoice and be glad"), focuses on the call to holiness in the contemporary world.

The exhortation's title comes from the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:12).

This says: "Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven."

The exhortation is subtitled: "On the call to holiness in the contemporary world."

Since his election as Pope, Francis has issued two other exhortations: "Evangelii Gaudium" in 2013 and "Amoris Laetitia" in 2016.

He has often spoken of the call to sainthood.

On one occasion in St Peter's Square, he said: "Sanctity is not something we can procure for ourselves, that we can obtain by our own qualities and abilities.

"Sanctity is a gift, it is a gift granted to us by the Lord Jesus when He takes us to Himself and clothes us in Himself, He makes us like Him."

He also pointed out sanctity "is not a prerogative of the few" but a gift offered to all.

Francis says we don't have to be bishops, priests or religious, or to lead a life dedicated exclusively to prayer.

Rather, he suggests, we are all called to sainthood, regardless of our life status.

This means consecrated people can be saints by living out their donation and ministry with joy.

Married people can be saints by loving and taking care of their husband or wife, as Christ did for the Church.

Unmarried baptised people can be saints he says, by carrying out their work with honesty and competence and by offering time in the service of their brothers and sisters.

Some snippets from "Rejoice and be glad".

• Fighting abortion and poverty are equally sacred causes
• Christians must acknowledge and accept Jesus' command to feed the hungry and welcome the stranger
• Helping migrants cannot be seen as a lesser issue; the only proper attitude is to stand in the shoes of those brothers and sisters of ours.
• Holiness means loving, not boring.
• Holiness is present in people, in parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile.
• Holiness is not based on prayer alone but on also serving those in need and in self-control.
• Contrary to the promptings of the Spirit, the life of the Church can become a museum piece or the possession of a select few," the pope writes. "This can occur when some groups of Christians give excessive importance to certain rules, customs..."
• Francis does not believe in holiness without prayer, even
  though that prayer need not be lengthy or involve intense emotions.

Source

• Vatican News
• Crux Now
• La Croix
• Image: CNN.com

All three will take participants on a spiritual journey with Our Lady when she finds herself chosen by God.

World Youth Day (WYD) sees young people from all over the world work to build and strengthen the bonds of faith, friendship and hope.

Their work symbolises the union between people of different cultures and countries.

In 2017 and 2018 WYD involves diocesan-level events. The next international gathering is set for 2019 in Panama.

The international gatherings are held each three years. This year's was in Poland.

The WYDs are themed, with three years study culminating in the international event which the Pope attends.

Where WYD for the past three years looked at the Beatitudes, the next three will focus on Chapter 1 of Luke's Gospel.

This Chapter is about the Annunciation and includes the Magnificat.

This is Mary's response to Elizabeth who said "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of they womb".

When they start the new three-year cycle next year, participants will consider Mary's words where she says: "The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name".

In 2018, participants will contemplate the Archangel Gabriel's opening words to Mary at the Annunciation "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found great favour with God".

Then, in 2019 they will reflect on Mary's reply to Gabriel: "I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word".

Source

• Catholic Online
• National Catholic Register
• Image: Louvre

The Beatitudes are the saints' "identity cards" said Pope Francis. They were the subject of his homily in the Mass he celebrated in Sweden on All Saints Day.

He went on to say the best description of the saints is found in the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus begins, "Blessed are the poor in spirit."

Francis then introduced six new Beatitudes. These relate to modern Christian practice, he said. In his view new situations (such as the world today) need new energy and new commitment.

As Christians, he said we are expected "to confront the troubles and anxieties of our age with the spirit and love of Jesus."

His Beatitudes include blessings on those who remain faithful and forgiving even when being victimised, people who connect with the marginalised and abandoned, those who see God in others, those who pray for full communion between Christians and people who take care of our environment.

Source

• Catholic Herald
• Crux
• Image: Catholic News Agency

Speaking at his weekly audience at the Vatican on August 6, the Pope linked the beatitudes, the Ten Commandments and the Last Judgement.

Some 6000 people heard the Pope tell them he was so serious about Christians knowing Matthew 5:3-12, that he would read each beatitude out loud and then have them repeat it.

But one repetition of the text is not enough to "remember them and impress them on our hearts", the Pope said.

So he gave the crowd "homework", asking them to spend time in the coming days reading the text again, from the Bible "you always should have with you".

The beatitudes are "the path God indicates as his response to the desire for happiness present in each person and the perfection of the (Ten) Commandments", Francis explained.

But more than this, they are "a portrait of Jesus and his way of life".

But learning the beatitudes wasn't the only homework task the Pope handed out.

Alongside reading the fifth chapter of Matthew, Francis requested the crowd also study the Last Judgement in Matthew 25.

In addition to showing people the path to true happiness, the Pope said, Jesus gave "us the protocol according to which we will be judged".

No one, he said, is so important or has done so many other virtuous things that he or she can escape being asked the questions in Matthew 25.

"The Lord will recognise us if we have recognised his face in the face of the hungry, the poor, the marginalised, the sick and the lonely.

"These are fundamental criteria for verifying our Christian life," Francis continued.

The Pope said he uses the beatitudes and the questions from the Last Judgement in his own reflection on his actions at the end of each day.

He recommended this "simple" practice to others.

Living according to the beatitudes and the criteria listed in Matthew 25, he said, should fill each Christian with joy because together "they make our Christian life a beautiful and credible witness to the love of God for all the brothers and sisters we meet each day".

Sources

• Catholic News Service
• Catholic World News
• Image: Catholic News Agency

As Catholic dioceses around the world prepare for the international World Youth Day, the Holy Father is asking the dioceses in 2014, to reflect on Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven", and in 2015, on Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God".

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy" (Matt 5:7), is the theme for the 2016 international celebration.

Announcing the themes, the Vatican noted that during World Youth Day in Rio, Pope Francis asked young people to read the beatitudes and make them a blueprint for their lives.

Krakow is the former archdiocesan See of Blessed John Paul II.

It is also home to the Shrine of Divine Mercy, encouraging the devotion promoted by St Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who said she had a vision of Jesus, who said he would show mercy to those who pray for it and who share that mercy with others.

Sources

• CNS
• Pathos