The Church opens the last month of her liturgical year with a celebration that makes us consider her ultimate state, the definitive eschatological reality (Latin novissimus), that is to say the society of the saints, of those who have been fully transformed by God’s agape (even though some of her members may need to undergo some purification, once this is done their transformation will be complete). Today’s second reading states it clearly: “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is.” We will be like Him because of being transformed by Love, agape.
The Gospel passage chosen for this solemnity is deeply significant. It is the very well-known text called the Beatitudes, according to the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus gives a list of people whom He qualifies as Blessed. The Greek word used here is makários, a term used to express in common language the type of life Olympus’ gods had. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, makários translates the Hebrew word ‘ashrē (found in passages like Psalm 1: “Blessed are those who … meditate day and night on the Lord’s law”), which describes the deep state of well-being that comes from walking in alignment with God… because “we shall be like Him.”
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The categories of people considered by Jesus to be blessed are really the opposite of what we usually call happy. Jesus’ declaration is completely counter-cultural, which should make us pause and ponder about our lives. The Latin translation brings beatus, which refers to somebody who enjoys the vision of God, the beatific vision. (Beatus-factum is “made blessed,” and beatus refers to internal bliss, spiritual contentment, and divine blessing, while the other Latin term, felix, “happy,” refers to external luck, success, and fruitfulness). The Alleluia verse points out the reason of their beatitude: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.” The key element is that Jesus Himself is He who gives rest. (The first reading also says it: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.”) Rest must be understood according to the biblical conception. The different rewards mentioned in the beatitudes are variations of the essential reality, God’s Rest (because God’s nature is simple, hence indivisible, and the essential reward is the same for all). In that, “we shall be like Him” as well.
A few weeks ago, I was honored with US citizenship. In my application for it, I had to answer a number of questions and assume a series of commitments that made me think about what it means to be an active participant in a society and, thus, contribute to the common good. What is a society or, even more, a civilization (from Latin civitas, “city”)? How is the political realm built (from Greek polis, “city”)? What are their foundational, fundamental, and constitutional elements? (Four weeks ago, we heard Jesus quoting Psalm 118: “the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”)
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When pondering today’s celebration, I recalled those questions and commitments. It made me think precisely of what I am supposed to do in order to contribute to the growth of the Kingdom of Heaven, to the building of the Heavenly Jerusalem that “gleams with the splendor of God” (Revelation 21:11), and that contains “nothing unclean” (Rev 21: 27), because Love has created it. The Responsorial Psalm is very clear: “Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? / or who may stand in his holy place? / One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, / who desires not what is vain.” This can be terrifying, for who of us can say he or she is fully clean, sinless? The second reading reminds us that this is not our achievement: “We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
Everyone who has this hope based on Him makes himself pure, as He is pure.” Our hope is based on Him. He is the one who grants all the saints the grace to be able to rejoice in their communion, as Jesus says, “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.”