cl reviewer

the beatitudes are a set of declarations that jesus delivered in his sermon on the mount (mt
5:3-12). they are ethical and spiritual standards that jesus set for those who want to follow him.
they present solemn pronouncements of blessings for those who have embraced jesus'
attitudes and values.
the beatitudes give us jesus' formula for a worthwhile and happy life. they are as relevant to us
today as they were when jesus first preached them, for the beatitudes express what ordinary
people truly desire deep in their hearts.

the beatitudes (kabisaduhin mo word per word hehe)

1. blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven - the first beatitude
recognizes our complete dependence on god. material possessions, friends, and talents have
real value in our life, but they must be put in the proper perspective. money and means, not an
end; it is important, but not the most important the same goes with our friends and our talents.
we must not place our ultimate trust in anything or anyone other than the living god this is what
it means to be "poor in spirit."
2. blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted - it is comforting to know that
jesus is there for us when pain, suffering, or sorrow enter our lives. when a loved one is sick, a
grandparent dies, or a best friend moves to a new school, we are driven to reflect on the deep
realities of life. god, together with the holy spirit consoles us.
3. blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land - some of us have a distorted idea of
meekness and humility. in school, some students are often hurt by bullies. should the student
being bullied tolerate the bullying and endure in silence, thinking it is the christian thing to do? is
the third beatitude really telling us that we should allow people to use and abuse us? indeed, it
is not christian to encourage evil acts. bullying is unkind. it is a form of oppression. jesus would
never approve of such a behavior. to be meek is to be humble, gentle, and patient. the meek
are happy because they realize that they shall inherit the land.
4. blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied - we
all know what it is like to hunger and thirst for our favorite food and drink. that is trivial compared
to the hunger and thirst for righteousness, or doing what is right and just.everyone wants to do
what is right, or at least what they believe is right. however, to hunger and thirst for
righteousness is to have an intense drive for justice. it is similar to having a sharp craving for
food after days of not eating. however, spiritual hunger or thirst for justice is much different from
craving for food and drink; it cannot be appeased by a simple trip to the nearest canteen.
spiritual hunger or thirst can push us to radical persevering actions that modify our whole life.
5. blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy - being merciful often involves two
virtues: compassion and forgiveness. the word compassion comes from the latin words cum
passus, meaning "suffer with." compassion is empathy accompanied by an urge to help. it is not
pity, which can be demeaning. it brings out a positive uplifting attitude.
6. blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see god - the old testament teaches that "the
clean of hand and the pure of heart" are those who are not devoted to idols or do not swear
falsely. they are those who "go up the mountain of the lord" and "stand in his holy place" (ps
24:3). for present-day christians, the clean of heart are those who seek what is authentically
good with pure intentions and who can detect what is false. they strive to avoid sin, such as
lying, because they value the truth. to be clean of heart, we have to commit ourselves to live as
christ's disciples, and we must always seek to do god's will.
7. blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of god - the peacemakers
will be called children of god. "how can i be a peacemaker? i am not the pope nor the president i
am just a teenager. a peacemaker does not need to have a position of authority or great power.
all that is needed is the willingness to act for peace.
to merely love or want peace is to passively desire peace. a true advocate of peace "makes
peace" even during difficult situations. he or she settles quarrels between friends, resolves
disputes between classmates, or reconciles family members who have had a misunderstanding.
8. blessed are they who were persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven - those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness will inherit the
kingdom. martyrs in our school may be the students who refuse to have their homework copied,
who do not drink alcohol or smoke, and who do not engage in idle talks or gossip. these
students may experience real persecution. they may be laughed at, ridiculed, and even
maligned.

the liturgical calendar is the cycle of seasons in the roman rite of the catholic church. the church
year begins each year with advent, the season of awaiting christ's coming, and ends with the
final saturday of ordinary time. within the standard calendar year, the church year starts in early
december (or sometimes the end of november) and goes through the following november. the
church year consists of six liturgical seasons: advent, christmas, ordinary time after
epiphany, lent, easter, and ordinary time after pentecost. seasons begin or end based on a
movable feast and so some seasons vary in length from year to year, and vary as to the
calendar dates. the following is a brief overview of the catholic liturgical seasons: their durations,
their purpose and focus, and the liturgical year colors.

advent: first sunday of advent through december 24th

advent begins the sunday closest to the feast of st. andrew, which is november 30th. therefore
advent always falls sometime between november 28th and december 3rd, and lasts until the
nativity of the lord. the season always has somewhere between 21 and 28 days.
the advent season is the time of waiting and preparing for the coming of jesus. this refers both
to the anniversary celebration of the incarnation, as well as the second and final coming for
which we are waiting and preparing.
the liturgical colors of advent are purple and rose, with rose being used only on the third sunday
of advent.
christmas: december 25th through the feast of the baptism of the lord
the christmas season begins with the celebration of the birth of jesus, christmas day, or as a
vigil on christmas eve. the feast of christmas lasts 12 days, until epiphany. however, the time
from epiphany until the baptism of the lord is also included in the christmas season. traditionally,
epiphany had been fixed to january 6th, and the baptism celebrated on the octave of epiphany,
which was january 13th. in most countries, the epiphany is now celebrated on the sunday
closest to january 6th, and the baptism celebrated the following sunday. the christmas season is
a time of rejoicing in the incarnation.
the liturgical color of christmas is white.

ordinary time after the baptism: monday after the feast of the baptism through shrove
tuesday
after the celebration of the feast of the baptism of the lord, ordinary time begins. ordinary does
not mean plain. the name comes from "ordinalis" meaning "showing order, denoting an order of
succession." it is used in this sense to refer to the order of the counted weeks. that is to say, it is
a season of counted weeks.
ordinary time after the baptism focuses on the early life and childhood of christ, and then on his
public ministry.
the liturgical color of ordinary time is green; however, as in all seasons, other appropriate colors
are worn on particular feast days. (for example, white is typically worn for marian feast days,
except in some spanish countries where blue is an approved liturgical color.)

lent: ash wednesday through holy saturday

the season of lent begins with ash wednesday and lasts until the final saturday before easter,
holy saturday. lent is a penitential season. it recalls the 40 days jesus spent in the desert, and
the 40 years the israelites wandered in the desert. lent focuses on the events leading up to
christ's passion, and finally on the passion itself.
lent is 40 days long. this does not include sundays, as sunday is always a day for rejoicing in
the resurrection. altogether, it covers 46 calendar days, the 40 days plus the six sundays.
the liturgical colors of lent are violet or purple, traditionally more of a red-violet color than the
deep purple of advent. rose may also be used, where it is the custom, on laetare sunday (fourth
sunday during lent). on passion sunday (palm sunday) and on good friday (which has no mass
but a service remembering christ's passion) the color is red. white or violet is worn on holy
thursday and holy saturday (once again, there is no mass but there are other services on holy
saturday).

easter: easter vigil though pentecost

the easter season begins with the easter vigil, which is celebrated after night falls on the
evening before easter sunday. the season of easter is a joyous, celebratory season. it begins
with celebrating christ's resurrection and ends by celebrating the descent of the holy spirit upon
the apostles and other followers of jesus. christ's ascension into heaven is celebrated just prior
to pentecost. the easter season last 50 days, from easter sunday through pentecost.
the liturgical colors of easter are white, for most days, and red for pentecost.