Lecture 177

177. Beatitudes: Rewards, Enumeration, and Spiritual Life

Summary
This lecture examines whether the rewards promised in the Beatitudes pertain to present or future life, and whether the eight Beatitudes are suitably enumerated. Berquist works through Thomas Aquinas’s reconciliation of patristic authorities (Augustine, Ambrose, Chrysostom) and explores how beatitude can exist imperfectly in this life through grace while being perfected in the life to come. The discussion demonstrates how proper distinctions—between merits and rewards, active and contemplative life, and present and future fulfillment—resolve apparent contradictions in scriptural and patristic sources.

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

  • Temporal vs. Eternal Rewards: Whether beatific rewards are realized imperfectly in this life or exclusively in the future life
  • Reconciling Patristic Authorities: Augustine, Ambrose, and Chrysostom offer different perspectives on whether Beatitudes pertain to present or future life
  • Enumeration of Beatitudes: Why Matthew presents eight Beatitudes while Luke presents four, and how they relate to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
  • Merit and Reward Distinguished: The distinction between meritorious acts (present life) that dispose toward beatitude and rewards themselves (primarily future life)

Key Arguments #

Article 2: Do Rewards Pertain to This Life? #

Objections (Affirmative—rewards are future only):

  • Hope concerns future things; therefore rewards attributed to Beatitudes must be future
  • Luke 6:25 presents punishments as future (“you will be hungry”), so by opposition, rewards should be future
  • Kingdom of heaven is celestial beatitude, only fully realized in future life; full satiety comes only then (Psalm 16)
  • Vision of God and divine sonship pertain to future life (1 John 3)

Thomas’s Resolution:

  • Hope has two objects: (1) the ultimate end itself, and (2) the aids by which one is led to the end
  • Beatitude can be understood in two ways:
    • Perfect beatitude: Pertains to future life (as Ambrose says)
    • Imperfect beginning of beatitude: Can exist in present life in perfect souls (as Chrysostom says)
  • Example: Mary choosing the better part—she already possesses something of beatitude; it will be perfected, not taken away, in the next life
  • Evil suffer spiritual punishment in this life (disordered soul) even if not temporal punishment; good receive spiritual rewards (consolation of Holy Spirit, centuplum in this age) even if not bodily rewards
  • Different rewards address both present and future fulfillment

Article 3: Are Beatitudes Suitably Enumerated? #

Objection 1: Gifts of wisdom and understanding pertain to contemplative life, but no Beatitude is placed in the act of contemplation—all pertain to active life. Therefore enumeration is insufficient.

Objection 2: Gifts directing acts (science and counsel) are not directly represented among Beatitudes. Therefore enumeration is insufficient.

Objection 3: Among gifts carrying out active life, fear pertains to poverty and piety to mercy, but nothing directly pertains to fortitude. One of the three gifts is omitted.

Objection 4 (Sed Contra): Luke has only four Beatitudes, Matthew has eight, but there are only seven gifts. How can there be such discrepancy?

Thomas’s Resolution:

Structure of Beatitudes:

  • Acts of gifts pertaining to active life are expressed as merits (present life)
  • Acts of gifts pertaining to contemplative life are expressed as rewards (future life)
  • The Beatitudes remove three impediments of voluptuous life and perfect the active life, disposing toward contemplative life

Enumeration explained:

  1. Blessed are poor in spirit: Removes impediment of abundance of exterior goods (wealth/honors); perfects virtue against desire for earthly abundance
  2. Blessed are meek: Removes impediment of following irascible passions (anger, indignation); pertains to fortitude in moderating anger
  3. Blessed are those who mourn: Removes impediment of following concupiscible passions (pleasures); assumes voluntary mourning, withdrawal from world pleasures
  4. Blessed are those who hunger for justice: Active life toward neighbor; virtue of justice; gift of piety directs this
  5. Blessed are merciful: Active life of spontaneous gift-giving; gift of piety moves this
  6. Blessed are clean of heart: Effect of active life on oneself; cleanness from passions; disposes toward contemplative life; corresponds to gift of understanding
  7. Blessed are peacemakers: Effect of active life; work of justice is peace; corresponds to gift of wisdom
  8. Blessed are persecuted: “Confirmation” of all preceding; perseverance through suffering

Reconciling Matthew (8) vs. Luke (4):

  • Matthew addresses disciples on the mountain—fuller enumeration given
  • Luke addresses crowds on the plain—only four given (those more accessible to common people)
  • Beatitudes in Luke correspond to the most fundamental ones; later four perfect and extend the teaching

Reconciling with seven gifts:

  • First five Beatitudes can be attributed to all gifts as directing the acts
  • Among gifts carrying out active life, they are distributed: piety (justice and mercy), fortitude (meekness), fear of God (poverty and mourning)
  • Two final Beatitudes pertain to contemplative gifts (understanding and wisdom)

Important Definitions #

Beatitudo (Beatitude): The perfect operation or act flowing from virtues and gifts; not the habit itself but the fruit of the habit; represents fulfillment of the natural desire for happiness elevated by grace

Voluntas (Will): The capacity being perfected by charity; directed toward the ultimate end

Merits: Acts of virtue and gifts that dispose one toward beatitude (pertains primarily to present life through works of justice)

Rewards: The beatific goods promised as fulfillment of hope and fruit of merit (pertain primarily to future life, though imperfectly present in contemplative souls)

Vita voluptuosa (Voluptuous life): Life of pleasure-seeking, contrary to reason; false beatitude that impedes true beatitude

Vita activa (Active life): Virtuous action toward neighbor; disposes toward and participates in beatitude through works of justice and mercy

Vita contemplativa (Contemplative life): Union with God through knowledge; if perfect, is essentially the future beatitude itself; if imperfect, a beginning of it

Patientia (Patience): Endurance under suffering; virtue necessary for those persecuted

Examples & Illustrations #

Mary and Martha (Luke 10): Christ’s statement “Mary has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her” illustrates that contemplative beatitude begins imperfectly in present life through grace and will be perfected in future life. Mary already possesses something of beatitude; it will not be lost but made complete.

St. Teresa of Calcutta: Her statement “I don’t know what more I could have in heaven. Our union is already complete” demonstrates that perfect souls can experience imperfect beatitude in this life through intimate union with God.

The Tree and Grapes Analogy: Just as one can have hope for fruit in two ways—when the tree is green with leaves, or when grapes already begin to appear—so beatitude has two modes: preparation/disposition (merit) and imperfect beginning (in perfect souls).

Scripture on Spiritual Suffering: Wicked experience spiritual punishment even without temporal punishment (Augustine: “a punishment to each one is disordered soul”; Aristotle: the soul of the wicked draws them this way and that in internal war).

Scripture on Present Spiritual Rewards: “Centuplum in hac aetate” (Matthew 19, Mark 10)—the just receive a hundredfold reward even in this age through spiritual consolation, though not bodily abundance.

Notable Quotes #

“Those things which are touched upon in the attitudes as merits, right? The reason why you merit. Are certain preparations or dispositions for beatitude.”

“The Apostles have the fullness of the Beatitudes” (Augustine, in reference to those who achieve imperfect beatitude in this life)

“If they had seen this distinction, then all their ignorance would have been excluded” (Berquist, reflecting on how proper distinctions resolve patristic disagreements)

Questions Addressed #

Article 2: Do rewards attributed to Beatitudes pertain to this life?

  • Resolution: Yes and no—rewards pertain to present life imperfectly (as beginning of beatitude in perfect souls) and to future life perfectly (as full completion). This reconciles Ambrose (future) and Chrysostom (present beginning in perfect souls).
  • Key principle: Hope extends both to the ultimate end and to the aids by which one reaches the end; both can be realized imperfectly in this life through grace.

Article 3: Are the Beatitudes suitably enumerated?

  • Resolution: Yes. The eight Beatitudes (in Matthew) are suitably enumerated because: (1) first three remove impediments of voluptuous life, (2) next two perfect active life, (3) last two dispose toward contemplative life, (4) eighth confirms all preceding. Luke’s four Beatitudes address crowds with limited capacity; Matthew’s eight address disciples with fuller understanding.
  • The apparent discrepancy with the seven gifts dissolves when one recognizes that all gifts can direct the actions, but the gifts are specifically distributed among the Beatitudes, and contemplative gifts pertain to rewards rather than merits.