The beatitudes pronounced so solemnly by Jesus stand, on the one hand, in antithesis to certain values that are instead honoured by the world and, on the other hand, in the perspective of a future and final fate, in which situations are reversed. They all stand or fall together; one cannot extract only one and cultivate it to the detriment of the others. All the saints have always been and are simultaneously, albeit to varying degrees, hungry and thirsty for justice, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, persecuted for the sake of the gospel. And so must we also be. What is more, on the basis of this Gospel page, it is evident that Christian beatitude, as a synonym for holiness, is not divorced from an element of suffering or at least difficulty: it is not easy to be or to want to be poor, meek, pure; nor would one want to be persecuted, not even because of justice. But the kingdom of heaven is for the non-conformist (cf. Rom 12:2), and the words of St Peter apply to us as well: 'Blessed are you if you are reviled for the name of Christ, for the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rest upon you.
Let none of you suffer as a murderer or thief or evildoer. But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; rather let him glorify God for this name' (1 Peter 4:14-16). Indeed, our perspective is not short-term, but endless. Written for us are the enlightening words of the Apostle Paul: "The momentary, light burden of our tribulation procures for us an immeasurable and eternal amount of glory, because we do not fix our eyes on visible things, but on things invisible. Visible things are momentary, invisible things are eternal" (2 Cor 4:17-18).
[Pope John Paul II, at Verano 1 November 1980]
