For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/091207.shtml
The beatitudes are the commandments of the new and everlasting covenant offered to us today in this Holy Eucharist. When we hear the beatitudes, we see that the Decalogue given to Moses is just a starting point. The Decalogue was given to restore right relationships. It was given so that those damaged by original sin would know how to do good and avoid evil while on this earth. But the beatitudes pertain to a happiness not confined to this life only; the beatitudes point toward a happiness that is in store for those who truly love the things of heaven more than the things of earth.
Paul reminds us that in baptism, we have all died to things of this world. Instead, we are now to use our freedom not to choose things that will make us comfortable for a lifetime, but to choose things that will make us happy for eternity. The difference between a lifetime and eternity is great, and so is the difference between the Decalogue given to Moses and the Beatitudes taught by Christ. Through the Decalogue, we live in right relationship to each other while on this earth. Through the beatitudes, we make visible the divine life that is hidden with Christ in God.
The more we are willing to be poor, hungry, weeping and insulted, the more we will be willing to love the kingdom of heaven more than the kingdom of this world. This is how we teach others to trust God’s promise of eternal life – by living not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
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