What if we looked at the things we see wrong in the world with empathy, dug below the surface of people's disappointing actions to experience their pain, and understood hurtful words as a cry for consolation? What if we responded with sorrow instead of outrage, and love instead of hate?
If we could do all that, we'd be living as Jesus taught us in the Beatitudes. Fr. Casey Cole, OFM--host of YouTube's Breaking the Habit--wants you to embrace the pain caused by anger and division in the world and then look to Jesus for hope through the Beatitudes.
"The only thing that evangelizes is love," Cole writes. "The only thing that will ever change someone's mind, cause them to turn from their evil ways, accept Jesus into their lives, and become a peacemaker themselves is love. If we want to make peace in our world, we must put down our weapons and take up the cross."
In The Way of Beatitude, Cole explores the meaning of the words Jesus preached at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 3-12) and shows you how to get beyond apathy and despair and help Christ bring about the Kingdom of Heaven in the here and now. The Beatitudes, he says, offer a path toward radical change.
You will learn how to:
- surrender to the mercy of God;
- face with courage the heartache caused by division and animosity;
- be patient and lean into God's providence;
- hunger always for justice;
- commit to solidarity with the powerless and the broken;
- be liberators of the oppressed; and
- lay down your life for the sake of God's Kingdom.
By sharing his own stories of striving toward supreme blessedness, Cole shows you how to surrender power and move beyond the harmful divisiveness of our world.
Chapters include reflection questions and practical ideas for living the Beatitudes. A free small-group guide is available to download from AveMariaPress.com.
