Pope Francis: the Beatitudes are an identity card of a Christian

The beatitudes are a path to the joy and true happiness traced by Jesus for all humanity, said Pope Francis.

"It is difficult not to be touched by these words," said the pope on January 29 during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI room. "They contain the" identity card "of a Christian because they outline the face of Jesus himself; his way of life ”.

Starting from a new series of discourses on the beatitudes, the pope said that the beatitudes are much more than just "passing joy or occasional enjoyment".

“There is a difference between pleasure and happiness. The former does not guarantee the latter and sometimes puts it at risk, while happiness can also live with suffering, "which often happens, he said.

Like God who gave Moses and the people of Israel the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, Jesus chooses a hill to "teach a new law: to be poor, to be meek, to be merciful".

However, the pope said that these "new commandments" are not just a set of rules because Christ did not decide to "impose anything" but instead chose to "reveal the way of happiness" by repeating the word "blessed".

"But what does the word 'blessed' mean?" churches. "The original Greek word" makarios "does not mean someone who has a full stomach or is well, but rather a person who is in a condition of grace, who progresses in the grace of God and who progresses on the way of God."

Francis invited the faithful to read the beatitudes in their spare time so that "they can understand this beautiful and very safe path of happiness that the Lord offers us".

"To give himself, God often chooses unthinkable paths, perhaps those (paths) of our limits, our tears, our defeats," said the pope. “It is the Easter joy of which our Easter Orthodox brothers and sisters speak; the one who carries the stigmata but is alive, who has gone through death and has experienced the power of God ”.