Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice...
37 What Christian value is expressed by the fourth Beatitude?
The fourth Beatitude is: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice; for they shall have their fill.
This attitude of the Christian (that of "good relations" with God) is one of giving God and his creatures what is due to them. We recognize that we can stand with dignity in God's presence‹ because of God's gift of grace we are "justified" and our gratitude for this gift leads us to share it with others. Justice, then, means treating and respecting others with the same grace as God treats and respects them. We are to "hunger and thirst" for justice. "Do not say, 'What are we to eat? What are we to drink? . . .' It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness (justice), and all these things will be given you as well" (Matthew 6:31-33). In this way, those who hunger and thirst for justice shall have their fill.
If we take or steal another's life or property or good name or anything that is his or hers, we are obliged as far as possible, to restore it and to make restitution. A person's good name, for example, is more valuable than his or her property, and, if we take it away by rash (unjust) judgment, we are bound to make every effort to give it back.
There is a legend from the East that tells of a brave warrior who died, came before the gates of eternity, and was given the option of choosing to go to heaven or hell. First, he decided to visit hell; and, upon entering, he discovered a large table laden with exotic dishes. But those seated at the table looked miserable. On asking why they were sad, he was told that the only rule in hell was that all food had to be eaten with ten-foot-long chopsticks. Those at the table could not get the food into their mouths, hence the suffering.
The warrior, unhappy at the prospect of hell, then went to heaven. Here, he discovered a similar banquet. But this time the people were happy. Asking whether the rule of eating was different, he was told that people in heaven have to eat with the similar long sticks, but they have learned to feed one another across the table, instead of attempting the impossible task of trying to feed themselves.
The legend is crudely expressed. But the lesson is clear. It is the message of the fourth Beatitude: Those who are unselfish in fighting for justice will have their fill. Justice means having the interests of others at heart.
What does this mean in today's world , a world in which salaries and wages within a nation and within an industry are so finely weighed against each other, and the balance of payments between countries is so critical? The answer is not an easy one; but it lies in recognizing where the greatest injustices lie.
For the truth is that injustice is as inevitable as selfishness. From our infancy, when we try to match up to the different expectations of our parents through to old age when our own children fail to give us the respect we would like, injustice confronts us at every corner. These injustices are real.
But to a certain extent we have to learn to live with them. In our fight against injustice, our struggle should be directed primarily against the extreme inequalities in the enjoyment of individual and social rights, material goods' and spiritual freedom.
Time and time again Jesus reminds us of our obligations toward the poor and that it is no excuse to say we didn't notice them. We are not deliberately cruel. We don't kick them in the teeth. We don't do anything. And that was the sin condemned by Christ.
In more modern times the Church has continued Christ's warnings. In the encyclical Development of Peoples, 1967, quoting St. Ambrose, she reminds us that when we give to the poor "we are not making a gift of our possessions. We are only handing over to him what is his. The world is given to all, and not only to the rich."
Supplementary material
How does Catholic thought view social justice?
In Catholic thought, social justice is not merely a secular or humanitarian matter. Social justice is a reflection of God's essential respect and concern for each person and a effort to protect the essential human freedom necessary for each person to achieve his or her destiny as a child of God.
U. S. Bishops, To Do the Work of Justice
Because we believe in the dignity of the person, we must embrace every chance to help and to liberate, to heal the wounded world as Jesus taught us. Our hands must be the strong but gentle hands of Christ, reaching out in mercy and justice, touching individual persons, but also touching the social conditions that hinder the wholeness which is God's desire for humanity.
U. S. Bishops, Health and Health Care
Gerald Darring,
A Catechism of Catholic Social Teaching
"Suppose a brother or a sister is in rags and not enough food for the day, and one of you says, 'Good luck to you, keep yourselves warm, and have plenty to eat,' but does nothing to supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?" (James II, 15-16)
The Fascination of Jesus
I an many others find two things especially spellbinding about Jesus: (1) his remarkable concern for "people on the edge: and (2) his remarkable insistence that we all need to be forgiven, therefore, we all need to be forgiving.
As a scandalizing "friend of publicans and sinners," Jesus specialized in people who were the social, economic and religious outcasts of his society: sinners in general, prostitutes in particular, lepers (unclean!), unorthodox Samaritans (heretics!), hated tax-collectors, foreign mercenaries and poor widows with no financial power or security.
In a society that downgraded women, he took them very seriously. He idealized "unimportant" people, such as children. He praised the shepherd who leaves 99 safe sheep and goes looking for the one that is lost. He admired the housewife who wouldn't quit until she found the misplaced coin, the hardly worthwhile coin.
He himself was not easily discouraged. He let himself care about a soldier's servant on the verge of death, about a girl who had just expired, about the only son of a widow on his way to burial and about his friend Lazarus, already entombed and decaying.
Joseph Gallagher, Voices of Strength and Hope
Catechism of the Catholic Church #302-314
Quiz
Read the chapter indicated an answer each question with the best answer you can find in the text. Note ` Ythat the numbering of the Beatitudes in the Catechism may differ from other lists.
57- 1. Injustice is as inevitable as human selfishness.
a. True b. False
57-2. The attitude of giving God & His creatures what is due them is called justice:
a. True b. False
57-3. We are justified & can stand with dignity in God's presence because of his gift of hope:
a. True b. False
57-4. The pagans set their hearts on eating & drinking; Christians set their hearts on the kingdom.
a. True b. False
57-5. Rash judgment means that we take from another his property,
a. True b. False
57-6. If we have stolen, we are bound to protecting the stolen property:
a. True b. False
57-7. We are bound to restoring anotherıs property if we slander another (i.e. make a rash & unjust judgment about them).
a. True b. False
57-8. Another word for righteousness is justice.
a. True b. False
57-9. The document 'Development of Peoples' (Populorum Progressio) is called an Aposotlic Bull a. True b. False
57-10.To do nothing, to avoid being deliberately cruel, to ignore the needs of the poor means that we have avoided sin.
a. True b. False
Notebook
Vocabulary
The Moral Virtues
Prudence = saying or doing the proper thing at the proper time, and in the appropriate manner.
Justice = giving to others what is due them; respecting their property and good name.
Temperance = achieving balance in oour behaviors by avoiding exceses.
Fortitude = persevering in times of trial, tribulation, boredom or fatigue.
Providence = Godıs care for us.
Restitution = returning what we have unlawfully gained.
Calumny = telling a lie about someone with the purpose of ruining his reputation.
Detraction = telling the truth about someone toruin his reputation. Revealaing something embarassing or confidential.