Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 These words of Christ are very familiar to us. They form the first beatitude in the first part of the Sermon on the Mount. In this part of the sermon Christ gives the characteristics of the child of God as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, characteristics which are found in every Christian. The first three beatitudes show us that the citizen knows his sins and his misery. The fourth reveals that he seeks his...