Prayers for all Occasions, Needs, and Intentions

LAWS - THE LAWS OF ALMIGHTY GOD

"Teacher, what must I do...?"

WHAT IS A LAW?

According to Scripture the Law is a fatherly instruction by God which prescribes for man the ways that lead to the promised beatitude, and proscribes the ways of evil.

THE EIGHT BEATITUDES - Matthew 5:3-11; Luke 6:20-26

The Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus' preaching. They take up the promises made to the chosen people since Abraham.

The Beatitudes fulfill the promises by ordering them no longer merely to the possession of a territory, but to the Kingdom of heaven:

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

• Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

• Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

• Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 

• Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the glory of his Passion and Resurrection; they shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life; they are the paradoxical promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations; they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ's disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints.

THE SEVEN BEATITUDES - Book of Revelation

• Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and...those who hear and who keep what is written in it...(1:3).

• Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord...(14:13).

• Blessed is the one who stays awake...(16:15).

• Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb...(19:9).

• Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection...(20:6).

• Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book (22:7).

• Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates...(22:14).