Pope Francis: audience, Beatitudes are “a Christian’s ID”, “a message for the whole of humanity”

“The Beatitudes are the identity card of the Christian, for they define the face of Jesus himself, his way of life”. Pope Francis said this in the Paul VI Hall in front of 7,000 people as he began a new series of catechesis on the Beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel. The Beatitudes, which open the “Sermon on the Mount”, “illuminate the lives of believers as well as of many non believers”, Pope Francis recalled, noting that “it is difficult not to be touched by these words and it is good that people want to understand them and live them up ever more fully”. “Seeing the crowds following him, Jesus goes up the gentle slopes overlooking the Lake of Galilee. He sits there and, turning to his disciples, proclaims the Beatitudes”, the Pope recalled, stressing that “the message is addressed to the disciples, but the crowds, that is, the whole of humanity, are in the horizon”. “It is a message for all humanity”, he added off the cuff. Moreover, the “mount” is a reference to Mount Sinai, where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. “These ‘new commandments’ are much more than rules”, Pope Francis said, explaining that “Jesus does not impose anything, but reveals the way to happiness - his way - repeating the word blessed eight times”.
Valentina Bombelli