Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Give me the lowest place; not that I dare
Ask for that lowest place, but
Thou hast died
That I might live and share
Thy glory by thy side.”
The quest of happiness is universal. Men’s conceptions of happiness differ and they seek it along widely divergent paths: yet in every heart the desire is for the same end.
The beatitudes give the secret of happiness and tell us where and how it may be found. The word blessed means happy. Of course it means more than men usually understand when they use the word. Happiness as the word indicates is the pleasure that comes from things that happen. It is on the surface, chiefly, and is affected by every disturbing influence, while blessedness has in it a divine quality and is not dependent on circumstances or conditions. Yet blessedness is that which human hearts really crave, and here in the beatitudes are marked out the paths which lead to it.
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