A: The Beatitudes are eight:
(1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
(2) Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land.
(3) Blessed
are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
(4) Blessed are they that
hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be filled.
(5) Blessed are
the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
(6) Blessed are the clean of
heart, for they shall see God.
(7) Blessed are the peace-makers, for they
shall be called the children of God.
(8) Blessed are they that suffer
persecution for justice' sake for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
A: Jesus Christ proposed the Beatitudes to us to make us detest the maxims of the world, and to invite us to love and practice the maxims of the gospel.
A: The world calls those happy who abound in riches and honors, who lead a pleasant life, and who meet with no occasions of suffering.
A: The poor in spirit are, according to the gospel, those whose hearts are detached from riches; who make good use of riches should they have any; who do not seek them too eagerly, if they have none; and who suffer the loss of such things with resignation when deprived of them.
A: The meek are those who act tenderly towards their neighbor, bear patiently with his defects, and accept the offenses and injuries they receive from him without contention, resentment, or vengeance.
A: They that mourn, yet are called happy, are they who suffer tribulations with resignation, and who mourn over sins committed, over the evils and scandals that prevail in the world, over Paradise because it is so distant, and over the danger there is of losing it.
A: They that hunger and thirst after justice, are those who ardently desire to increase daily more and more in divine grace and in the exercise of good and virtuous works.
A: The merciful are those who love their neighbor in God and for God's sake, compassionate his miseries, spiritual as well as corporal, and endeavor to succor him according to their means and position.
A: The clean of heart are those who retain no affection for sin and keep aloof from it, and who above all else avoid every sort of impurity.
A: The peace-makers are those who preserve peace with their neighbor and with themselves, and who endeavor to bring about peace and concord between those who are at variance.
A: They who suffer persecution for justice' sake are those who patiently bear derision, reproof, and persecution for the sake of the faith and of the law of Jesus Christ.
A: The various rewards promised by Jesus Christ in the Beatitudes all denote under different names the eternal glory of Paradise.
A: The Beatitudes not only procure us the glory of Paradise, but are also the means of leading a happy life, as far as this is possible here on earth.
A: Yes, certainly; those who follow the path of the Beatitudes do receive a reward even in this life, inasmuch as they enjoy interior peace and contentment, which is the beginning, even though an imperfect one, of the happiness of heaven.
A: No, because they have no true peace of soul, and are in danger of being lost eternally.