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WOF 025: The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached

It’s been widely hailed as the greatest sermon ever preached and a masterpiece of religious and social ethics. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7, commences with the “beatitudes”, a series of eight blessings that Jesus gives to those who suffer, mourn, and express purity of heart. Bishop Barron walks through each beatitude and unveils its deeper meaning. A listener asks whether, according to Thomas Aquinas, God loves everyone the same or has a special hatred for sinners.

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Topics Discussed

  • 0:26  – Bishop Barron’s new film series, CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players
  • 1:34 – What does “beatitude” mean?
  • 4:35 – How the beatitudes of Jesus are different than other religious teachings
  • 6:25 – How can the “poor in spirit” be blessed?
  • 7:32 – How will those who mourn be comforted?
  • 9:15 – The future promise of comfort for those who mourn
  • 10:06 – What does it mean to be “meek”?
  • 11:21 – How will the meek “inherit the land”?
  • 12:12 –  How God satisfied those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness”
  • 13:49 – What “blessed are the merciful” means
  • 15:09 – How the mercy we express is tied to the mercy we receive
  • 16:55 – How do we become “clean of heart”?
  • 18:39 – Pornography and the “clean of heart”
  • 19:37 – Why peacemakers will become children of God
  • 20:55 – Cardinal George and the eschatological dimension of peacemaking
  • 22:51 – Why religious persecution can be a form of blessing
  • 25:27 – Question from listener: Does God love everyone the same or hate sinners?

Bonus Resources