MERCY AND PEACE

Gospel Reflection for November 1, 2010

by Patricia Coronel Sr-C 

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” This very simple fifth beatitude can be understood in two ways. Its denotative meaning is obvious: those who are merciful to their neighbors here on earth will be shown mercy when their time comes. However, there is also a connotative meaning to it and it a restatement of the golden rule: that you will be treated the way you treat others. Those who are merciful on earth will receive mercy in heaven. Therefore, those who are kind, loving, compassionate and all other positive traits that a Christian can exude will be shown as much in heaven. 
One should not do good deeds as a means to an end. Therefore, becoming a saint should not be one’s driving force when one is doing something kind for others, because then one will be doing it for all the wrong reasons. The intention must be the kind act, and not what praises one might receive when the act is done. By being merciful to others, one shows the amount of compassion they have within themselves. Being merciful entails being kind hearted and forgiving, and forgiving is one of the most admirable traits a person can have. Being forgiving/merciful allows the forgiven to move on with their lives and no longer carry the burden of knowing that they hurt someone; being forgiving/merciful means that you have lifted an enormous burden off your neighbor’s shoulders. Saints are known for what they have accomplished while they were on earth, as well as their character. What better trait to be known for than being merciful?
The beatitudes speak of your reward in heaven when you do something good. These “be-atitudes”  and their inspiring rewards help me in life because they let me know what type of person God wants me to be and what type of things He wants me to do. Most of the the beatitudes listed are small things, things that we probably don’t remember doing in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. However, it is inspiring to know that we have done such things and that there are rewards waiting for us in Heaven.
The last beatitude seems the most difficult to picture myself successfully going through. Being mocked and insulted for your faith in a world where you are free to believe in anything you want is very unreasonable, and I believe that it will be a challenge and it will take a lot of courage for me to be going through that on a regular basis. I believe that your faith is something between you and your god, and no one has the right to persecute you for it.
If every person on this planet would follow these beatitudes, whether inspired by the reward or not, then simply put, there would be a lot less mess and would mean one important thing: openness. People would be more open and they would get along better, therefore ending a lot of conflicts. People would have the same goal in mind and the same means to achieve it because of their openness that was dictated by these beatitudes.