What does “blessed are the poor in spirit” mean? Analysis from Bishop Thomas Gumbleton [emeritus] and Father Charles Grondin

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Bishop [Emeritus] Thomas Gumbleton with parishioners in 2007
Photo: National Catholic Reporter

… To be “poor in spirit” is to be humble, recognize our sinfulness, and to trust in more in God than in the things of the world.

Beatitudes

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

Matthew 5:3-10

In order to understand the first of the beatitudes, we have to look at the words of Jesus Christ and what he meant by them. 

When he says that the “poor in spirit” are blessed and will reach heaven, is he saying that only the poor economically can reach heaven?

Not really, because he talks about the poor “in spirit.”

So, what does poor in spirit mean?

To understand this, I turned to one of my favorite bishops, Thomas Gumbleton, who is now retired but still writes and delivers sermons at the age of 90. A man who is focused on the words of Jesus in his ministry, Bishop Gumbleton wrote about the meaning of those words, using the Books of Matthew and Mark in doing so. 

However, first look at a more contemporary interpretation by a man whose analyses are much shorter than those of the bishop emeritus,

In the Scriptures the literal poor are considered especially close to God because of their complete dependence upon Him.  They place their trust and confidence in God rather than material possessions and worldly power.  In the Gospel of Matthew this “blessedness” is extended to all people, regardless of their status in the world, who recognize their complete dependence and reliance on God.

To be “poor in spirit” is to be humble, recognize our sinfulness, and to trust in more in God than in the things of the world (see Matthew 6:25-34).

Father Charles Grondin, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in Mount Pleasant, Providence, Rhode Island, Catholic Answers.com

I love that last paragraph: Be humble, recognize our sins, and trust God rather than money and wealth. 

Humility: A virtue that so many people ignore, yet it is one of the most important ones that we should recognize in Jesus and should include in our lives.

That does not mean that we do not stand up for ourselves, just that love of God should be more important than our ego [acronym Edging God Out]. 

Bishop Gumbleton’s analysis

In order to introduce the bishop’s analysis of the meaning of the “poor in spirit,” Bishop Gumbleton looks to both Matthew and Mark while liking the story in Mark a little more,

Mark tells us [that] just as Jesus was setting out on a journey again, a man ran up to him, knelt before him, and asked, "Good master, what must I do to have eternal life?" Jesus answered, "Why do you call me good? Nobody's good but God alone. 

But you know the commandments: Do not kill; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not cheat; honor your father and mother," and the man replied, "I have obeyed all these commandments since my childhood."

Then Jesus looked steadily at him, and loved him, and he said, "For you, one thing is lacking: Go, sell what you have, give the money to the poor, then come and follow me." On hearing these words, [the man's] face fell and he went away sorrowful, for he was a man of great wealth.

So clearly illustrated there is what Jesus means when he says, "Change your lives." 

Thomas Gumbleton, “Blessed are the poor — but what does 
that mean?” National Catholic Reporter, Feb. 6, 2014

Change your life: That is the message.

The bishop explained that what Jesus is asking us to do is making a significant change in our lives, but more important, in our value systems,

The beatitudes -- the blessings that really proclaim the way of Jesus. It goes far beyond merely keeping the commandments, trying to gain eternal life. It's undergoing a profound change in all of our attitudes, our value system, to really come to know Jesus, to hear his message, to imitate his way of life, to follow him. That will require profound conversion.

Thomas Gumbleton, National Catholic Reporter, Feb. 6, 2014

Beatitudes must be taken as a whole — and individually

In order to look at the first of these, we have to look at the overall theme of what Jesus is saying in all of them, and then break down each of them,

Today, of course, we can't take apart all the beatitudes and reflect upon all of them individually. Each is so important, though: hunger and thirst for justice; be peacemakers -- those who go out to reconcile, to draw back and give up violence; be sincere of heart. All of these. 

But today, what is the foundation for all of them and for the whole value system of Jesus? I think it's found in the very first one. As Matthew puts it, "Blessed are the poor in spirit. The reign of God is theirs."

In Luke's Gospel, it just says, "Blessed are the poor," and sometimes people think, "Well, Matthew modified that. Poor in spirit -- that takes a little bit of the edge off of it." But it really doesn't. It simply helps us to realize that when Jesus is talking about "Blessed are the poor," he's talking more about an attitude, a way of knowing one's need for God, which is a disposition of the heart and not simply economic deprivation.

Poor in spirit means that we understand a profound truth about ourselves -- the truth that none of us is responsible for our own existence and our own continuance of existence. Poor in spirit means we understand our need for God and who God is and who we are. Poor in spirit means we understand that without God and God's gift to us of existence, of life, [that] we would not be. God has loved us into being. God has loved all of creation into being, and it's only God's love that sustains all of creation as it continues to evolve and develop in each one of us God's continuing love.

Thomas Gumbleton, National Catholic Reporter, Feb. 6, 2014

You can read the entire piece on this at this link:


Analysis

Bishop Gumbleton says that we have to remember that we cannot take material goods with us when we pass. We have to make more fundamental changes, things that will be vital to us later, not now,

We understand that material goods are not a be-all and end-all for anyone, or should not be. We understand that we need enough to have a full human life, but we don't need excess. We understand that God made the world for all and not just for a few, and so we need to find ways to share the goods of the earth and the goods of our world so everyone has a chance for a full human life.

There's so much that will change in our thinking and in our way of acting once we have that deep sense that we need God and that our very being depends upon God's constant, infinite, unlimited, unconditional love for each one of us. That will change our lives when we begin to have that as the foundation of the value system that Jesus lays out for us in these beatitudes that we hear proclaimed today.

Thomas Gumbleton, National Catholic Reporter, Feb. 6, 2014

Remember humility, giving to others, sharing our gifts of all kinds with those who have less … this is what Jesus is saying. 

So, to me, this is a great analysis of the first of the beatitudes. 

And both Matthew and Mark are a part of this conclusion. 

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