The Beatitudes: The Key to Joy (by Bishop Robert Barron)

Summary

The script delves into the concept of spiritual longing and the human tendency to seek fulfillment in worldly substitutes like wealth, pleasure, power, and honor, which Thomas Aquinas identified as classical distractions from God. It discusses the idea of 'concupiscence' or addiction to finite goods, leading to spiritual emptiness. The speaker reinterprets the Beatitudes through the lens of detachment from these worldly attachments, suggesting that true happiness is found in aligning with God's will, as exemplified by Christ's crucifixion. The narrative challenges conventional views on happiness, advocating for a life of detachment and service to achieve spiritual freedom and joy.

Takeaways

• 🔍 The human soul has an infinite longing that cannot be satisfied by worldly things like wealth, pleasure, power, and honor, which are referred to as 'classical substitutes'.
• 💭 The emptiness felt from seeking fulfillment in worldly pursuits can be understood as 'concupiscence' or, in modern terms, 'addiction'.
• 🌟 True fulfillment paradoxically comes from emptying out the ego and embracing love, which aligns with spiritual traditions.
• 🙏 The 'Blessed are the poor in spirit' beatitude is about detachment from material things and placing the kingdom of God as the ultimate concern.
• 😔 The 'Blessed are those who mourn' beatitude suggests that not being addicted to good feelings or pleasant sensations leads to true happiness and spiritual freedom.
• 🕊️ 'Blessed are the meek' implies that detachment from worldly power allows one to follow God's will and become a conduit for divine power.
• 🏆 The final negative Beatitude, 'Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness', is about overcoming the addiction to honor and maintaining detachment from worldly recognition.
• 🗿 Thomas Aquinas suggests that Christ's crucifixion is the perfect exemplification of the Beatitudes, showing detachment from wealth, pleasure, power, and honor.
• ❤️ Jesus' love on the cross was for doing the will of his father, seeking righteousness, and being a peacemaker and bearer of divine mercy.
• 🤔 The portrayal of Christ's crucifixion in Mathias Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece is a powerful depiction of spiritual reality, devoid of sentimentality.
• 🔑 Detachment from worldly goods and recognition, as exemplified by Jesus, is a path to true joy and freedom, as understood through the lens of the Beatitudes.

Q & A

What are the four classical substitutes for the longing for God according to Thomas Aquinas?

The four classical substitutes for the longing for God, as named by Thomas Aquinas, are wealth, pleasure, power, and honor.

What does the speaker suggest is the result of attempting to fill the void with something less than God?

The speaker suggests that attempting to fill the void with something less than God leads to frustration and a cycle of addiction, where one obsessively seeks more of the finite good that can never truly satisfy.

How is the term 'concupiscence' translated in the context of the script?

In the context of the script, 'concupiscence' is translated as 'addiction', highlighting the idea that people are hungry for God but try to fill that hunger with something less, leading to a form of addiction.

What is the first of the negative formulations discussed in the script?

The first of the negative formulations discussed in the script is 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven', which is a call for detachment from material things.

What does the speaker mean by 'detachment' in relation to the beatitudes?

In relation to the beatitudes, 'detachment' refers to not placing material things, good feelings, or worldly power at the center of one's concern, allowing for a focus on the kingdom of God and spiritual freedom.

How does the speaker interpret 'Blessed are those who mourn' in terms of addiction?

The speaker interprets 'Blessed are those who mourn' as a call to be free from the addiction to good feelings and pleasant sensations, suggesting that these should not replace God as the center of one's life.

What does Jesus mean when he says 'Blessed are the meek' according to the script?

According to the script, when Jesus says 'Blessed are the meek', he is showing a path of detachment from worldly power, allowing one to follow the will of God even in a state of powerlessness.

What is the significance of the painting 'Isenheim Altarpiece' in the context of the script?

The 'Isenheim Altarpiece' is significant in the context of the script as it provides a brutally realistic depiction of the crucifixion, illustrating the detachment of Jesus from wealth, pleasure, power, and honor, and his love for doing the will of his father.

How does Thomas Aquinas suggest we understand the happiness of Christ on the cross?

Thomas Aquinas suggests that we understand the happiness of Christ on the cross by recognizing his detachment from the things in which we typically seek joy—wealth, pleasure, power, and honor—and his love for doing the will of his father, which is a picture of true happiness and freedom.

What is the final beatitude discussed in the script and what does it signify?

The final beatitude discussed in the script is 'Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, signifying a detachment from the addiction to honor and a commitment to righteousness.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 The Quest for True Happiness and Detachment

This paragraph delves into the human longing for fulfillment that can only be found in God, contrasting it with the futile attempts to satisfy this void with worldly substitutes like wealth, pleasure, power, and honor. The speaker introduces the concept of 'concupiscence' or 'addiction' to describe our tendency to seek happiness in finite goods, leading to frustration and spiritual panic. The script references the Beatitudes, particularly focusing on detachment from material things, good feelings, and worldly power as a path to true spiritual freedom and happiness. The discussion is grounded in the teachings of Thomas Aquinas and the spiritual tradition, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and overcoming these addictions to achieve a state of inner peace and joy.

05:18

🙏 Embracing the Beatitudes Through Christ's Example

The speaker stands before Mathias Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece, reflecting on its raw depiction of Christ's crucifixion as a profound illustration of the Beatitudes. Thomas Aquinas is quoted, suggesting that to achieve happiness, one should despise what Jesus despised on the cross—wealth, pleasure, power, and honor—and love what Jesus loved. The paragraph highlights Jesus' detachment from these worldly desires and his love for doing God's will, righteousness, and being a peacemaker and bearer of divine mercy. The portrayal of Jesus' crucifixion is used to demonstrate that true happiness and freedom come from embracing the Beatitudes and following Christ's example of selfless love and sacrifice, even in the face of extreme suffering.

Keywords

💡Longing

Longing refers to a deep and often unsatisfied yearning for something. In the context of the video, it is the infinite desire within us that is often mistakenly filled with worldly things rather than the divine. The script mentions that we attempt to fill this 'longing for Ghana' with wealth, pleasure, power, and honor, which are inadequate substitutes for the fulfillment that can only come from God.

💡Substitutes

Substitutes are things that take the place of something else, often of lesser value or importance. The video script identifies four classical substitutes—wealth, pleasure, power, and honor—that people mistakenly use to fill the spiritual void that only God can truly satisfy. These substitutes are highlighted as inadequate because they cannot provide the deep fulfillment that comes from a connection with the divine.

💡Ego

Ego, in the context of the video, represents the self-centered aspect of an individual's personality. The script suggests that it is only through the 'emptying out of the ego' that one can experience true fulfillment. This concept is tied to the idea that selflessness and love paradoxically lead to a more profound sense of self-fulfillment than self-centered pursuits.

💡Concupiscence

Concupiscence is a term from classical spiritual tradition that refers to an inordinate desire, particularly for earthly or temporal things. The video script uses this term to describe the errant desire for worldly goods that distract from the pursuit of a deeper, spiritual connection. The concept is further explained by comparing it to the modern term 'addiction,' illustrating how seeking worldly pleasures can become an unhealthy fixation.

💡Addiction

Addiction, as used in the script, is a term that describes a compulsive, often unhealthy dependence on something. The video draws a parallel between the spiritual concept of concupiscence and modern understanding of addiction, suggesting that our pursuit of wealth, pleasure, power, and honor can become addictive behaviors that ultimately lead to frustration and unfulfillment.

💡Detachment

Detachment in the video is presented as a spiritual practice of letting go of attachment to material things, good feelings, and worldly power. It is suggested as a formula for spiritual freedom and effectiveness in using worldly goods for God's purposes. The script explains that detachment allows individuals to focus on the kingdom of God as their ultimate concern, rather than being consumed by the pursuit of finite, worldly goods.

💡Beatitude

Beatitudes are blessings mentioned by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, and the video script interprets them as paths to spiritual freedom and happiness. Each beatitude discussed in the video—poverty in spirit, mourning, meekness, and persecution for righteousness—represents a form of detachment from worldly desires and attachments, leading to a deeper connection with the divine.

💡Meekness

Meekness, as discussed in the video, is the quality of being gentle and humble, particularly in the face of power. The script suggests that those who are meek, or not attached to worldly power, can become conduits for divine power. This concept is illustrated through the reference to J.R.R. Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings,' where the ring of power is a symbol of the worldly power that should be avoided.

💡Persecution

Persecution, in the context of the video, refers to the suffering one may endure for adhering to righteousness. The script explains that being blessed in persecution means being detached from the need for honor and recognition from others, allowing one to focus on the pursuit of righteousness and the kingdom of heaven.

💡Crucifixion

Crucifixion is the act of execution by nailing or binding someone to a cross. In the video, the crucifixion of Jesus is presented as the ultimate example of detachment from worldly desires and the embodiment of the beatitudes. The script suggests that by despising what Jesus despised on the cross—wealth, pleasure, power, and honor—and loving what he loved, one can achieve true happiness and spiritual freedom.

💡Divine Mercy

Divine Mercy is the compassion and forgiveness that comes from God. The video script mentions that Jesus, even in the midst of his crucifixion, was the ultimate bearer of divine mercy. This concept is tied to the idea that true happiness and peace come from aligning oneself with the will of God and embodying love and righteousness, as exemplified by Jesus on the cross.

Highlights

The concept of an infinite longing within us that is often filled with substitutes less than God.

Thomas Aquinas' identification of four classical substitutes for God: wealth, pleasure, power, and honor.

The emptiness of ego and the paradox of love filling us up instead of material substitutes.

The spiritual tradition's term 'concupiscence' and its modern translation to 'addiction'.

The frustration that arises from attempting to satisfy spiritual hunger with finite goods.

The spiritual panic that sets in when finite goods fail to bring happiness.

The negative formulation of the Beatitudes as a lesson in detachment from material things.

The reinterpretation of 'blessed are the poor in spirit' as a call for non-attachment to wealth.

The beatitude 'blessed are those who mourn' as a critique of addiction to good feelings.

The societal issues of drug abuse, pornography, and conspicuous consumption as manifestations of addiction.

Jesus' words on the meek inheriting the earth as a path to detachment from worldly power.

The connection between detachment from power and becoming a conduit for divine power.

The negative Beatitude 'blessed are those persecuted for righteousness' as a barrier to the addiction to honor.

Thomas Aquinas' view on Christ crucified as the perfect exemplification of the Beatitudes.

The depiction of Christ's crucifixion in Mathias Grunwald's Isenheim Altarpiece as a symbol of detachment and joy.

The idea that true happiness can be found in despising and loving what Jesus did on the cross.

The paradoxical nature of Christ's crucifixion as a representation of freedom and joy.

Transcripts

we sense within ourselves this infinite

longing for Ghana but we attempt to fill

it up with something less than God

Thomas Aquinas named these four

classical substitutes as wealth pleasure

power and honor we know that we need God

but we try to fill the void with

something less than God some combination

of those four things in point of fact

it's only the emptying out of the ego

and love that paradoxically fills us up

now the classical spiritual tradition

refer to this errant desire as

concupiscence but I think we could

translate the idea very effectively with

our more modern term of addiction and

here's why we're hungry for God but we

try to fill the hunger with something

less than God and so necessarily we are

frustrated in our frustration we

convince ourselves we need more of that

finite good and so we strive and strive

and strive and we get it and find

ourselves necessarily frustrated at this

point a kind of spiritual panic sets in

and we find ourselves obsessively

turning around some finite good that can

never in principle make us happy

[Music]

we are very happy to see you thank you

for those songs beautiful the first of

the negative formulations is lesson of

the poor in spirit for theirs is the

kingdom of heaven this is neither a

romanticizing of economic poverty nor a

demonization of wealth but rather a

formula for detachment let me suggest a

somewhat variant rendition how blessed

are you if you are not attached to

material things if you have not placed

the goods that wealth can buy at the

center of your concern when the kingdom

of God is your ultimate concern not only

will you not become addicted to material

things you will in fact be able to use

them with great effectiveness for God's

purposes under the same rubric of

detachment we should consider the

beatitude how blessed are those who

mourn for they shall be comforted now I

know this can sound like the worst kind

of masochism but we have to dig deeper I

think a very legitimate translation

would be how lucky you are how happy and

blessed you are if you're not addicted

to good feelings good feelings pleasant

sensations physical emotional

psychological are wonderful but they're

not God and if we turn them into God

they become in short order the focus of

an addiction which can be seen clearly

enough in the prevalence of drug abuse

and pornography and conspicuous

consumption in our society again this

has nothing to do with Puritanism it has

to do with detachment and therefore with

spiritual freedom

[Music]

Jesus says blessed are the meek for they

will inherit the earth

what's more Jesus is not so much passing

judgment on institutions of power as he

is showing a path of detection how lucky

you are if you are not a task to the

finite good of worldly power j.r.r

tolkien the author of the Lord of the

Rings trilogy experienced at firsthand

the horrors of the First World War and

witnessed those in the second it's no

accident that in his great work he

proposed as the most tempting talisman

precisely a ring of power but when

you're detached from worldly power then

you can follow the will of God even if

it means walking a path of extreme

powerlessness meek uh addicted to

worldly power you can become a conduit

of true divine power to the world

and the last of the negative Beatitudes

is blessed are those who are persecuted

for righteousness sake for theirs the

kingdom of heaven

we must read this once again in light of

Thomas Aquinas analysis if the call to

poverty holds off the addiction the

material things and the summons to more

counters the addictions of good feelings

and the valorisation of meekness blocks

the addiction of power this last

beatitude gets in the way of the

addicting attachment to honor

[Music]

[Music]

I'm standing in front of Mathias

Grunwald's great painting the isenheim

altarpiece it's one of the most

spiritually powerful and brutally

realistic depictions of the crucifixion

in Western art look at Jesus mouth just

a gape and speechless anguish look at

the terrible wounds in his hands and his

feet the blisters and wounds all over

his body there's nothing the least bit

sentimental about this portrayal I'm

here because of something Thomas Aquinas

said Thomas said if you want the perfect

exemplification of the Beatitudes look

to Christ crucified he specified if you

want to be happy

despise what Jesus despised on the cross

and love what Jesus loved on the cross

what did he despise those four things in

which we typically seek our happiness

wealth he has none of it he stripped

naked pleasure he's at the limit of

psychological and physical suffering

power he has none he's nailed to the

cross he can't even move honor they mock

him as he's publicly displayed crucified

at the end of his life Jesus is detached

from the four things in which we

typically seek our joy and what did he

love on the cross he loved doing the

will of his father he was on the cross

the single-hearted one he was on the

cross the one who hungers for

righteousness and therefore on the cross

he was the ultimate peacemaker he was on

the cross

the ultimate bearer of the divine mercy

though it's very strange to say though

it's a very high paradise

if Aquinas is right that is a picture of

a happy man

there's more notice please how John the

Baptist to the right indicates Jesus but

in this odd contorted way it's as though

all of our expectations have to be

turned around and then we can see that

that indeed is a picture of freedom that

indeed is a picture of joy

[Music]

[Music]