Blessed Are The Meek
By DON FIER
In the second Beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4), Christ principally advocates sorrow for sin. As we saw last week, this disposition is in direct contrast to the attitude of the world which revels in seeking pleasure and the noise of empty laughter.
As encapsulated by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, in The Question and Answer Catholic Catechism (QACC), our Lord “especially praises the mourning of repentance for one’s own sins and of reparation for the sins of others; and the mourning of sorrow over the loss, by death or separation, of someone who is loved” (n. 854).
The comfort Christ promises to those who mourn is not like human consolation, superficial and transitory; rather, it consists of “the spiritual strength they need to remain firm in their tribulation and, in fact, to grow in God’s friendship because of their trials” (QACC, n. 855).
As expressed eloquently by Archbishop Luis M. Martinez (d. 1956) in his classic work on the Holy Spirit entitled The Sanctifier (TSa), the second Beatitude “is characterized by the luminous explosion of the gift of knowledge” (p. 309). Archbishop Martinez goes on to affirm that in order to fully realize this Beatitude, the soul must be totally empty of self and of earthly things (cf. TSa, p. 312), and that “the solace of tears [in this life] is a prelude to eternal joy” (TSa, p. 314).
We now shift our focus to the third Beatitude: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5). In this Beatitude, explains Fr. Hardon, “Christ praises meekness and gentleness, while the world belittles them and praises those who succeed by crushing anyone who stands in the way” (Basic Catholic Catechism Course [BCCC], p. 103).
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen similarly states: “The world blesses not the meek, but the vindictive; it praises not the one who turns the other cheek, but the one who renders evil for evil; it exalts not the humble, but the aggressive” (The Cross and the Beatitudes, p. 13).
As a preface to our consideration of this Beatitude, Fr. Hardon’s blunt words — that the way of the world is to succeed at any cost, even if it means “crushing anyone who stands in the way” — triggered a memory. What came to mind is an incident from my engineering career in the semiconductor industry, specifically of my participation in a management seminar in the mid or late-1990s. As I remember, there were about 20-25 attendees hailing from several major U.S. companies, all enrolled to learn the latest in effective management practices.
One of the sessions was on personal advancement, on how to climb the corporate ladder. The specific scenario eludes me, but it was most likely the post-mortem analysis of a major problem in the context of a meeting with executive management. The advice offered by the seminar leader was to “go for the jugular” if you could legitimately assess blame for the problem on a peer (or the group he or she managed). In other words, vigorously disparage potential competitors for a promotion to which you aspire; furthermore, leave no room for recovery.
A paraphrased version of the instructor’s recommendation is: “Do not just injure or cripple, but eliminate; ensure that the other person cannot regain favor and thus later be in a position to retaliate.”
My recollection is there was no objection from the class — the recommendation seemed to be accepted. I felt uneasy, but after several tense moments was able to summon up the courage to say: “Is not our goal in this life to one day reach Heaven? Would it not be better to seek a solution rather than assess blame and ‘take out’ our peers in the interest of improving the chances for a future promotion?”
My discomfort, I am certain, was apparent. What followed was deathly silence, a glare from the instructor, and an abrupt change in the topic of discussion.
Let us now examine more closely the meaning of the word meekness. As Fr. Benedict Groeschel attests, “In Scripture [meekness] refers to a quality that has no exact corresponding term in the English language” (Heaven in Our Hands, p. 117).
As further indicated by Fr. Hardon, it is translated from mites in the Vulgate of St. Jerome and “means both meek and gentle, or humble. Although meekness and gentleness are not synonymous in the English language, the third Beatitude addresses both” (BCCC, p. 103).
In English usage, the term is often associated with weakness or shyness, which is far from the meaning of meekness in the Beatitude.
To better understand, let us look at meekness as exemplified by Jesus. He says of Himself in the Gospel of St. Matthew: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Matt. 11:29; New American Bible).
He not only preached meekness but practiced it. On two occasions in St. John’s Gospel, the people picked up stones to throw at Him, but He did not react in anger. In the first case, He simply “hid himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:59). On a second occasion, after trying to reason with them, He again simply “escaped from their hands” (John 10:39). His meekness reached its pinnacle on the Cross — despite the horrible tortures He endured, His dying plea for His executioners was: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
Yet Jesus, who is Meekness itself, also “drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons” (Matt. 21:12). Likewise, He scathingly rebuked the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees (see Matt. 23:1-38).
In the Old Testament, Moses is described as “very meek, more than all men that were on the face of the earth” (Numb. 12:3). Yet, he exclaims to the people of Israel: “Do you thus requite the Lord, you foolish and senseless people?” (Deut. 32:6). In these examples, Jesus and Moses acted in the interest of loving, fraternal correction, not from the passion of anger.
St. Thomas Aquinas connects meekness with the cardinal virtue of temperance (see Summa Theologiae [STh] II-II, Q. 157, art. 3). Just as temperance acts to restrain the senses, meekness moderates the passion of anger and its disorderly effects.
As characterized by Fr. Hardon, “[the virtue of meekness] holds in check every inordinate movement of resentment at another person’s character or behavior, the desire for revenge, and the physical manifestations of anger. Rooted in pride, the vice of anger is marked by an inordinate self-love and a faulty notion that one is somehow superior to others” (BCCC, p. 103).
At the same time, however, meekness is opposed to failing to recognize the gifts God has given us; we must use them according to His will.
Gentleness, on the other hand, is connected to the virtue of charity. It is love that expresses kindness and moderates justice when faced with provocation; it is acting toward others with charity and humility; it is responding without contempt or impatience when confronted with the shortcomings or character flaws of others (cf. ibid.).
Gentleness might be described as strength restrained by love; it is the opposite of weakness, for only a strong person can restrain himself from doing what nature urges. The most perfect example of love moderating justice can be seen in a previously cited Scripture verse (Luke 23:34), precisely in “God’s response to the murder of His own Son — a murder, and a selfless love, which resulted in our salvation!” (ibid.).
Piety is the gift of the Holy Spirit connected by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas to the third Beatitude. “The [third] beatitude has a certain congruity with piety,” says the Angelic Doctor, “inasmuch as meekness removes the obstacles to acts of piety” (STh II-II, Q. 121, art. 1). Christian meekness often serves to disarm the person who is irritated. As a popular saying attributed to St. Francis de Sales suggests: “More flies are caught with honey than vinegar.”
The meek win the trust of others; they attract souls. Jesus Himself, always filled with zeal for the salvation of souls, is the model for the supernatural meekness we are called to imitate.
Moral Power
What is the reward promised by Christ to those who are meek and humble of heart? We see it alluded to in the Book of Psalms: “The meek shall possess the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity” (Psalm 37:11). But these words must be rightly understood, for it is not in a literal, physical sense that the meek will inherit the earth.
It means, rather, that the meek will be able to prevail over others with the help of God’s grace. In other words, they will have a certain moral power over the hearts of others. “The meek will melt the hardest hearts,” says Fr. Hardon. “They will be able to convince unbelievers to accept the Truth. They will merit repentance, convert sinners, lead others in the apostolate, and have a supernatural influence over others” (BCCC, p. 103).
The recommendation given by the seminar instructor, as described early in this installment, is the antithesis of the meekness and gentleness to which we are called by the third Beatitude; it represents a false, worldly stratagem.
Let us strive, rather, to seek to attain realization of the closing invocation of the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like to Thine.”
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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is a Consecrated Marian Catechist.)
