The Gospel Reading from the Mass for today (Monday of the 10th Week in Ordinary Time) is the “Sermon on the Mount”, or the beatitudes.

Matthew 5:1-12: “When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.
Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’“

(Via USCCB.)

I’ve heard them called the “Be-Attitudes” as they reflect a proper attitude “to be”. With a proper, serene state of mind and a right orientation of behavior, we are blessed and in a state of grace in our relationship with God.

By a “right orientation” I mean attitudes and actions that are formed and guided by Catholic moral and social teachings. The Catechism of the Church, and obviously Sacred Scripture are the sources for these. There are links in the sidebar for online versions of these.

Read and quietly meditate on today’s Gospel Reading. Try to read them as if you have not read or heard of them before.

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