Beatitudes - a Carmelite Perspective: Blessed are they Who Hunger and Thirst

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied."

When Jesus spoke these words nearly 2000 years ago, there was indeed a great hunger and thirst for justice. The Jews were under the Roman yoke and were looking for justice in the form of a savior that would overthrow the Romans and restore the kingdom of David. They could not understand this talk of a "kingdom within" and were certainly not satisfied in "turning the other cheek."

Today, the innocent are still full of hunger and thirst for justice. The world still seeks a savior to bring justice for their causes and satisfaction for the masses. Most of humanity still has no understanding of the "kingdom within" and still find no satisfaction in "turning the other cheek."

We must presume that there is a reason for all the injustice of this world, since God has allowed its presence from the beginning of mankind. In fact, it seems to be co-existent with the human species. Although justice is one of the attributes of god, so man being in His image, has been given both the ability to cause it and to distort it. When I see an injustice being done to someone, do I try to help them or turn away saying, "it's none of my business?" When I hear the poor and innocent victims of unjust political wars, do I try to help through donations or simple prayer for peace, or do I shake my head and just say "poor people?" God in His eternal patience waits to see what we will do.

As contemplatives, it is our ideal and goal to "feed the hungry" through our prayer, to "quench thirst" through our meditation, and to appease justice through penance and sacrifice. We must, for mankind's sake, make this journey into the "kingdom within" in search of union with God. We must be prepared to "turn the other cheek" with very little apparent justice or satisfaction along the way. But this is where our virtue for this beatitude comes in - and it is plenty of PATIENCE! PATIENCE! PATIENCE! Patience for the journey within as our souls are drawn by a secret hunger and thirst that is never satisfied. Patience for the journey without that often brings trials and misunderstandings as "slaps" to the cheeks. patience as the spirit suffers the dark nights of St. John of the Cross, and patience as the spirit soars through the ecstasies of St. Teresa of Avila.

Our fir and primary model for this virtue is Jesus, Himself. The ultimate example of injustice was this loving and forgiving Savior being slapped and spat upon and nailed to the cross by the very people He came to save. Yet, the richest example of patience was His silent humility as He accepted the insults and physical blows to His most precious cheeks. If ever there had been a time for the vengeance and justice of God, it was then.

Knowing that God, the pure justice, could have destroyed us long ago, we should strive to emulate His patience in tolerating our own, and others imperfections. We know also that His justice is tempered with mercy and this aspect will be discussed in the next beatitude. Here I feel that the virtue of patience is the main intermediary between justice and mercy. Indeed, before mercy can take place, patience must have allowed time and circumstance to mitigate and soften the anger rightfully due by justice, thus permitting mercy to sneak in and the back door.

Justice can create opportunities for both good and evil. Good if it develops one's views of honesty and integrity. God if it promoted mercy and forgiveness when circumstances require it. But justice can be evil, too, if used for its own sake, as a cover for self-righteousness, or as a reason to ignore the needs of others. For instance, if we feel someone is not worthy of our assistance because of some differences in race, creed, or political beliefs. If justice is thought of in its good or proper aspect, it will lead us to the hunger and thirst spoken of in the beatitude. A hunger and thirst that desires to feed the starving, assist the downtrodden, bring freedom to the oppressed, peace where there is strife, unity and fellowship amongst all peoples. But we will not be able to be all things to all people, and our ways are not always God's ways, and not understanding or knowing His Divine plan in all this will require the virtue of patience. Patience that is born of Faith in God's ultimate victory, patience that is nurtured by Hope in His promise to be with us to the end, and finally a patience brought to maturity by a loving and merciful God.

I believe each beatitude is designed to assist us in the developing of a virtue. In this instance, because we cannot understand why so much injustice prevails, it is imperative that we learn of God's patience knowing that not a bird falls or hair of our head lost without His Divine purpose. Each seemingly injustice is, in reality, an opportunity for action on someone's part. If one nation is starving, then another should help feed it through their abundance. As contemplatives, our "action" is prayer. As contemplatives, our prayer is continuous night and day without ceasing. We, like the Little Flower, as missionaries of Justice by our example of honesty, integrity, morality, and spirituality in a world hungry for it.

Let us look at some of our Contemplative Saints for their views of justice. St. Therese in "The Little Way" says, "I know that the Lord is infinitely just; and this justice, so alarming to many, is the very reason for my joy and trust. Being just doesn't only mean being severe in punishing the guilty; it also means recognizing good intentions and the rewarding virtue." Here we can see that justice has two sides, not only the act committed, but the true intention for which something is done is considered so that it rewards as well as punishes. There are always emotional, physical, or environmental that we cannot or might not be aware of at the time. God sees all things and this is why He tells us not to judge others. God knows the total picture of this puzzling world, but for us who hunger and thirst, our lives are spent fitting our allotted pieces into that puzzle, each of us as a part of the whole. It is imperative then to be patient until Divine Justice reveals the ultimate Wisdom of His ways.

St. Therese was, and saw God as, a "bold lover." She was not afraid of Justice and presented herself simply and boldly at the feet of her Spouse trusting in His Mercy. She says, "That, my dear brother, is what I think about God's Justice; my way is all trust and love, and I do not understand souls who are afraid of such a loving Friend." She could trust and love, because she had developed patience and tolerance of her own imperfections and she practiced this virtue in many instances throughout her community life and illness. Her hunger and thirst were so intense that god privileged her among the few who's sacrifice as Victim of His Love brought her glory in her own time and presented a model in times to come.

Patience is not an easy thing to come by, even for Saints. St. Teresa of Avila, in the founding of her reformed convents, often had difficulty with this virtue, and usually because of injustices heaped on her due to the reformation of her Order. She even lost her patience a few times with God and was not afraid to speak of her frustrations to Him. But where she did excel in patience was in prayer, and this accomplishment allowed her to teach us about her prayer experiences with such knowledge that she became a Doctor of the church. For those who hunger and thirst through prayer and meditation, her wisdom and patience are beacons in the dark nights.

St. John of the Cross, on the other hand, was filled with patience. Through imprisonment and "dark nights," he never questioned the Justice of his God and to our benefit, created the most beautiful canticle to his Spouse, Jesus, which is about the patient search, the hunger and thirst, of the lover for its Beloved.

For our "contemporary contemplatives," I have chosen again Mother Teresa of Calcutta and the late Archbishop Martinez of Mexico.

What extreme example of injustice Mother Teresa faced every day, masses of people starving, dying and death in the streets, poverty and disease everywhere. How can the merciful God allow this? There is literal hunger and thirst for justice and very little satisfaction. Yet, Mother Teresa patiently began each day with prayer, prayer that the affluent world does not understand. Here was an opportunity for the world to provide justice in the form of giving, sharing, sacrificing, and yes, patiently praying, to a God who doe not want or desire suffering, but we humans do permit it and miss many graces that could be gained in answering God's call to be a savior to others.

And finally, from the late Archbishop Martinez, from his book, "The Sanctifier," he writes, "Thus the Holy Spirit bestows upon us a divine fruit, patience, in the midst of our ordinary struggles. But we not only have to endure afflictions, we have to suffer the defer expectation of good things needed and desired. This is the reason why the saints in the last stages of their spiritual journey, felt an unspeakable martyrdom; the martyrdom of desire."

And so, I close this beatitude with the hope that we will never stop having a hunger and thirst for God, our Divine Justice, and by our unceasing prayers, let us become the intermediary patience between His Justice and Mercy.

QUESTIONS:

Will the real God please stand up? Who is your God? Why do you fear? Why do we continue to predict misfortune and illness?

The worst sin is not asking for God's forgiveness: "Be doers of the law." The Sabbath is made for us, not man made for the Sabbath. Laws are made for our good. Can you think of some examples of how people twist laws to justify themselves?

* Few people ever reach the "nada" of which St. John of the Cross spoke. What does "detachment" mean to you?

- Excerpted in part from the writings of Sr. Patricia of Mary Magdalene