Beatitudes – Guiding Principles to True Happiness

What makes a life truly successful? In a world that measures success by power, wealth, and recognition, the readings today invite us to look at life through the eyes of God. They remind us that God chooses the humble and calls the weak ‘blessed,’ revealing a very different path to true fulfilment… to true lasting happiness. 

The first reading is taken from the prophet Zephaniah who lived during the reign of King Josiah of Judah, a time when the people had drifted away from God.

So, Zephaniah urgently calls the people to “seek the Lord, to seek righteousness, to seek humility.” To “seek the Lord” means more than performing religious duties; it means turning our hearts toward God with honesty and trust. 

Righteousness calls us to live justly, to choose what is right, and to care for others. Humility reminds us that we depend completely on God and not on our own strength or status.

In the second reading taken from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, St Paul reminds the Christians in Corinth to look honestly at themselves and remember how God called them. Most of them were not rich, not powerful, they were not highly educated by the world’s standards. Yet God chose them - this was not an accident. Paul wants them to understand that God’s way of choosing is very different from the world’s way.

It is the weak, not the strong - It is the lowly, not the exalted – whom God chose. God chose those who count for nothing in the eyes of the world – God chose them to show the world the things that really count… what really matters in life.

The world values success, intelligence, strength, and status. People often measure their worth by wealth, achievements, titles, or recognition. But God looks at the person’s heart. God chooses what the world calls “weak,” “foolish,” and “lowly” to reveal His power and wisdom. By doing this, God shows that salvation is not something we earn by our own abilities; it is a gift of grace… everything is by the grace.

Even when we feel ordinary, inadequate, or unnoticed, God can still work powerfully through us. At the same time, it challenges us to let go of pride. There is no room for boasting before God, because everything we have is a gift from God. Our joy and confidence should come not from who we are; not from what we have done, but from who God is and what He has done for us. The passage invites us to humility, gratitude, and deep trust in God’s surprising ways.

Today's gospel reading is the well-known Beatitudes – the guiding principles for the journey that lead us to the kingdom of God. The Beatitudes are the attitudes that every Christian needs to be happy and to find peace which the world cannot give and which the world cannot take away.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus completely changes our idea of what it means to live a blessed and successful life.

The worst mistake we can make about the Beatitudes is to see the Beatitudes as another list of rules: such as: “Now, I have to try my very best to be poor in spirit; now, I have to mourn; now, I need to be meek, and so on” . It is NOT.  Note that the word Beatitudes means blessings. These are not commandments to be obeyed but blessings we need to seek and aim for.

The Beatitudes is a royal announcement – so to speak - that God is turning the world upside down – or, rather, the right way up.

God gave us the ten commandments through Moses on Mount Sinai. Jesus gave us the Beatitudes also on a mountain. In the Scripture verses following our Gospel reading today – verse 17 – Jesus said: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" – Meaning – Jesus brought the laws given to Moses to their intended goal, purpose, and complete expression… shifting the focus from just strict adherence to the laws -  to walking in faith… obeying the commandments with the right intention… for the purpose they were given. 

The Beatitudes reveal the goal of human existence; why we exist. God calls all of us to his own beatitude.  The Ten Commandments talks about the law – observance of the law on how to live a good life - while the Beatitudes speak of God’s own attitude for us to imitate because one’s attitude determines one’s behavior or observance of the law.  It is a matter of the heart.

As an illustration – People go to Mass out of sense of obligation - in obedience to the commandment or the law - out of fear of hell or out of fear not to go to heaven compared to the better Beatitude attitude of going to Mass out of love for God and out of love for one another. We go to Mass to give praise and thanksgiving to God… who deserves all our love. That should be the reason why we come to Mass. 

The Greek word ‘makarios’ which is translated as “blessed” as used in the Beatitudes and the word “Blessed” in Hebrew conveys a state of blessedness - to describe the condition of those who are in a right relationship with God, experiencing God’s favor and guidance. This term is not merely about external circumstances but reflects an inner joy and contentment that comes from living according to God's will. Being blessed is more than just being happy in the worldly sense. 

We cannot and should not pursue happiness for its own sake…It has been said: “Make happiness your pursuit, and it leads you on a wild-goose chase.”

Meaning - Happiness is not the goal of life.  Happiness is actually what we discover or experience as a result of pursuing something higher or more noble…  Happiness is God’s gift to those who have found the true goal of life…. which is knowing and doing the will of God and loving other people. 

The only real sadness is not to find God’s will for your life and therefore failing to live your life according to God’s will which brings about the real sadness more than all the other sadness you might experience in life.

The Beatitudes describe the way a follower of Jesus lives in everyday situations. A Christian is someone who trusts God rather than power, shows mercy rather than revenge, seeks peace rather than conflict, and remains faithful even in the midst suffering.

 The Beatitudes are not rules to earn heaven. They are signs of a heart that already belongs to God. When we live with these Beatitudes attitudes, we become witnesses to God’s kingdom in the present world. Our lives quietly proclaim that God’s values are different from the world’s values. The Gospel invites us to examine ourselves. That is why we also use the Beatitudes for our examination of conscience before we go to Confession… or at the end of the day before you go to sleep. 

Those who are truly happy are those who found happiness not in the tables in the world’s finest restaurants but in the Lord’s Eucharistic table… Holy Communion with God and with one another – through Christ, with Christ and in Christ.  True happiness is within the person whose heart has been transformed by the living Christ. … whose heart has become like the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Beatitudes or blessedness - speak of having faith in God – Faith that is deep enough to find something good in every circumstance, whatever it may be – good or bad.  The Beatitudes speak of a joy which pain, sorrow, grief, loss – and even death itself cannot steal from us.

So, do you see your problems you are going through now or struggles in your life as obstacles to your happiness? Beatitude perspective is to see problems as opportunities to grow in virtue like patience, courage… to grow in holiness… to grow in trusting God more and more for everything… in everything in every situation.

For Christians, the key to happiness is putting God first in our lives, placing our trust in God because only God can guarantee the true happiness and peace that our hearts really deeply long for.

 St. Augustine beautifully said: “You created us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you…”

So - Let us know and live the Beatitudes – so that we will be truly blessed – truly happy - that even in the midst of our brokenness – in the midst of life’s struggles and pains - we will continue to celebrate and even give thanks and therefore continue to share our blessedness – continue to be blessings also to others – living a life of true and lasting peace and happiness.

 On that note…God bless…

 (Based on Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 5:1-12a for Cycle A – Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 1, 2026)