The First Beatitude: poverty

I decided to offer a Capital of Grace to Our Blessed Mother, She knows why.

Every day I will write about the beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount.

I am not a theologian and what is said here is not doctrinal. They are my feelings, and should be seen as such and not in any other manner.

I hate poverty.

Not having money to buy a pair of shoes, that's poverty, or wanting to make a gift to your wife and end up realizing that you can´t pay for it, that's poverty, or that your daughter needs to pay something in her school and you do not have the money to cover it, that is poverty.

I hate that poverty.

I cannot believe that Jesus blessed these shortcomings, I can´t.

He said:

Why fret about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow without fatigue or weaving. I assure you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the fields that exist today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith!

But how I can reconcile that with this other phrase which was also spoken by the Lord:

Blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of God.

If I do not care what I wear or even for what I should eat, because God will take care to provide us, how can I be poor?

I searched and searched without finding the answer until, almost exhausted, I found an explanation that made sense:

The "poor" for Jesus, is not he who does not have things, but rather one who does not have his or her heart set on things.

Notice the difference

• You may be a person who does not have material things but you are mostly thinking about what you have and what you don’t have. Then you are "poor at heart."

• But you can be a person that does have things but your mind is set on pleasing God, to work for him, to help others, to give your time and sharing your wealth. When you live like that and share what you have, when you're not ambitious, envious, boastful, when you trust in God and not money, then you're free and happy!

This is written in: http://laverdadcatolica.org/F33.htm

That gave meaning to the words of Jesus:

Trust in God, the Father who cares for his children and provides them, and not even Solomon with all his wealth would be like us.

Let us set our hearts to God's service, it is good to have but not being possessed by what you have.

Then the first beatitude makes sense, written in other versions in this manner:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That is, blessed are those who do not have their hearts set on material objects, because they already own the Kingdom of God.