by: John Paul Ursua
Today, one can see how sins such as stealing, cheating and being corrupt has already become quite common in the lives of the people. "Blessed are those persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." This line struck me the most perhaps because I grew up seeing how sinful acts changed our world so much that even the people who used to be righteous were forced to tolerate sins just so they won't be rejected by the people that surround them. This particular beatitude encourages us to remain righteous despite the presence of oppressive forces around us.
In our lesson on vocation, we were taught that everyone is called to be united with Christ regardless if we choose to be single, married, or devoted to being a part of the clergy. In that way, we will be able to discover our true personal calling. The beatitude I chose can be related to vocation in a way that we are called to become righteous Christians. It is by being righteous that we can be united with Christ. Although it may be hard, I believe it is the path that God would want us to take, and it is our duty as Christians to follow what He wills. For one to be able to live a life similar to that of the saints, perhaps being righteous would be a good way to start a truly holy life.
For the past sixteen years of my life, I believe I have already encountered quite a number of experiences that transformed me into the kind of person I am today. One of the most memorable experiences that I had was when my family had a major issue that made me quite mad at my father. While it is true that he had his own faults, I still forgave him, and it made me feel good. There was also a time when I had friends who had issues with each other. Although it took some time before they could forgive each other, I'm glad that I made an effort to help. Moreover, there were also times when I learned how to be humble enough to give way to others due to certain circumstances. These are just a few of the experiences that taught me how to be more Christ-like. Personally, I think the beatitudes can really help a person to become a better christian if only he or she will learn to become open to Christ's teachings.
"Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God." Personally, I think this is the hardest beatitude to follow. I admit that I'm not a perfect person. There will always be times when I get tempted to prioritize myself over the others, and this prevents me from having a pure heart. This beatitude is difficult to follow maybe because people have a natural tendency to become selfish. They want to make sure that their needs and wants will be satisfied. Jesus Christ then calls for us to do the opposite. Instead of having selfish intentions, it is better if one would learn to have the pure intention to help the others without expecting any personal gain.
Because of all the technological breakthroughs we are having, our world has changed into a stubborn one. I'm not saying that technological breakthroughs are bad though. My point is that because of all the convenience we are experiencing, more people are lured into doing sinful acts. If only people learned to be concerned enough to hear what Jesus wants us to be. If everybody followed the eight beatitudes, our world would most probably be a more peaceful and united one. To think, life isn't that hard after all. In fact, God has been doing ways to make life tolerable for us. It is just because of our insecurities and selfishness that we make life hard not only for ourselves but also for others.
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