361. What is the relationship between the beatitudes and our desire for happiness?

The beatitudes respond to the innate desire for happiness that God has placed in the human heart in order to draw us to himself. God alone can satisfy this desire.


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1718. The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it:

We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated.13

How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you.14

God alone satisfies.15

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1719. The Beatitudes reveal the goal of human existence, the ultimate end of human acts: God calls us to his own beatitude. This vocation is addressed to each individual personally, but also to the Church as a whole, the new people made up of those who have accepted the promise and live from it in faith.


Acesse nossos estudos biblicos:

The Creation of the Universe and Man: What Does the Book of Genesis Teach Us? (Genesis 1:1-31)

What is the importance of obeying the Word of God? What does the Bible say about those who do not follow sound doctrine?

How to deal with conflicts and disagreements between brothers: the example of Joseph’s children (Joshua 17-19)?

What is Jeremiah’s message about God’s unconditional love?

What is the story of the celebration of the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) described in 2 Maccabees 10:39-45?

What is the story of Abimelech and forgiveness in Judges 9:22-57?

How important is the Word of God in the Christian life according to 2 Timothy 3:16-17?