The Beatitudes: They Key to Joy

Film Focus: Bishop Robert Barron discusses the Beatitudes as the way in which we can properly seek to find joy in our lives. By looking at the Beatitudes in a new light, Bishop Barron shows how detachment from worldly goods, paradoxically frees a person to live a more authentically joyful life. He proposes the image of Christ crucified as a joyful man because he is doing the will of his Father.

Text Focus: Pages 274-276

Discussion Questions:

1. What are the four things that St. Thomas Aquinas says people use as a substitute for God? Discuss a time you have seen this in action in your own life or in the life of someone you know.
2. Listen carefully to the subtle variants that Bishop Barron suggests to the typical renderings of the Beatitudes. What additional insights does this give you about Jesus’ teachings in the Beatitudes?
3. What do the Beatitudes teach you about detachment? How does detachment grant greater freedom?
4. How is Christ crucified the “perfect exemplification of the Beatitudes”? Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

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