Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit.....

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

To be poor in spirit is simply to be humble. According to a Kenyan proverb, "It is humility that exalts one and favors him against his friends." God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Harithah ibn Wahb al-Khuza'i (Hadith of Bukhari, Islam) tells how he heard the Prophet say, "Have I not taught you how the inhabitants of Paradise will be all the humble and the weak, whose oaths God will accept when they swear to be faithful? Have I not taught you how the inhabitants of hell will be all the cruel beings, strong of body and arrogant?"

The one poor in spirit understands that everything he owns, everything he has accomplished, and all that he is, comes from and through the grace of God. Those who are poor in spirit are those who are humble and who acknowledge that God is the source of All.

Without merit am I; all merit is Thine. Thine, Lord, are all merits -- by what tongue have I power to praise Thee? (Sikhism, Adi Granth)

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain"; whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that." As it is you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (Christianity, James 4: 13-16)

The poor in spirit are not attached to their possessions but hold onto them lightly, realizing that the true owner of everything is God. The poor in spirit are willing to part with their possessions and to give to those in need.

Be humble, be harmless, have no pretension, be upright, forbearing, serve your teacher in true obedience, keeping the mind and body in cleanness, tranquil, steadfast, master of ego, standing apart from the things of the senses, free from self; aware of the weakness in mortal nature. (Hinduism, Bhagavad Gita 13.7-8)

It is difficult for those who seem most favored - those who have a lot of possessions or who are famous or gifted in some way - to possess this poverty of spirit; it is quite easy for them to become proud. The Bible says that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. Difficult, yes, but not impossible. What is needed is the ability to hold on loosely, to realize that all you have is a gift from God, and to be ready to give all if it is required of you.

The truly poor in spirit are not prideful or boastful of their gifts, whether intelligence, beauty, wealth, high position. possessions or their accomplishments, realizing that God gives to each according to his delight.

The gift of our very lives are in the hands of God, who could take this gift back at any minute.

The Lamenter cries, for he is humbling himself, remembering his nothingness in the presence of the Great Spirit. (Native American Religions. Black Elk, Sioux Tradition)

Be of an exceedingly humble spirit, for the end of man is the worm. (Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 4.4)

An attitude of genuine humility and a willingness to deny oneself are the first step on the path to the kingdom of heaven, and those who possess these qualities God calls blessed.

A Long and Winding Road...

"There is only one God and He is God to all; therefore it is important that everyone is seen as equal before God. I’ve always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic."

- Mother Teresa

--------------------------

My search for God began when I was quite little. I had been attending a Presbyterian church with my parents and was invited one day to attend church with my best friend and her family. It was a Baptist Church, and their service was a little different from what I had been used to; there was an altar call at the end of the service and I eagerly raised my hand and went forward. I felt a little different after that day, like God was somehow watching over me.


During my teen years distractions arose, and I stopped going to church altogether, not giving much thought to God other than wondering whether or not he existed as I lay on the grass looking up at the stars. After high school, I met a couple of cute guys who invited me to their church. (Of course I went.) This church was a non-denominational community church and it was there that I rededicated my life to God. Several years later I married and began attending Vineyard Christian Fellowship with my husband. I felt God's presence very strongly at VCF, especially during worship. I became an elder in the church and, along with my husband, was in charge of the Benevolence Fund, a fund used to help the poor. After my divorce years later, I left the church and began searching once again.


Several years later, I married again and in 1996 my new husband and I used an inheritance and opened up what became a wildly popular store called Whispered Prayers, a religious book and gift store which catered to all religions. For the next eight years or so I practiced Wicca and Buddhism, led rituals, taught classes, provided spiritual counseling and was heavily involved in the Pagan movement.


In 2005 we sold our store and I stopped practicing Wicca and once again (always looking for Truth) began exploring other religions. In 2008, after several years of study and contemplation, irresistably drawn in by those saints who had come before, I joined the Catholic Church.


I have finally come to realize that no one Church can satisfy all my needs - none has all the answers or contains all the truth. I believe that all sincere Faith leads to God, and that the various religions complement one another. I continue to practice Catholicism, but also study the scriptures of various religions, especially Buddhism and Hinduism.