Name: Barrera, Jeff Ray M.

Instructor: Ana Cacal

Course and Year: BSCE-1 Block: A

REL 102 Christology

Beatitudes, & 7 Last Words, and 14 Stations of the Cross

Beatitudes of Jesus Christ

In Matthew's Gospel, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus recounts eight blessings. The
eight blessings refer to the beatitudes. Everyone is a non-narrative declaration in the
style of a proverb. In Luke's Gospel, four of the blessings are repeated, accompanied by
four woes that echo the blessings.

The word beati, which means "happy," "rich," or "blessed" in the Vulgate, begins each of
these blessings (plural adjective). (Makarios) is the Greek term that has the same
meaning. Beati pauperes spiritu is the Latin equivalent of "Blessed are the poor in spirit."
Cicero invented the Latin noun betitd to describe a state of happiness, and it was later
inserted into the chapter headings for Matthew 5 in various printed Vulgate editions.
Following that, in the Great Bible of 1540, the term was anglicized to beatitudes, which
has since been the preferred spelling.

Although views differ about how many different statements the Beatitudes should be
divided into (ranging from eight to ten), most scholars believe the Beatitudes should
only be divided into eight. These eight Matthew passages follow a clear pattern: Jesus
names a group of people who are generally considered to be unlucky and blesses them.
The eight Beatitudes in Matthew:

 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth.
 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
satisfied.
 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven.
 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds
of evil against you because of me.
 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way
they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

There are two phrases in each Beatitude: the situation and the consequence. The
words used in the Sermon on the Mount are almost all familiar from the Old
Testament, but Jesus elevates them to new stages and teachings in the Sermon on the
Mount. The Beatitudes, taken together, offer a new collection of values that
emphasize love and modesty over power and exaction. They reaffirm Jesus' highest
moral and humane values. The meek, merciful, pure of heart, and peacemakers are
the Beatitudes that are special to Matthew; the other four have identical entries in
Luke, but are almost immediately accompanied by "four woes." Only Matthew uses
the word "bad in spirit." Whereas the Lucan version focuses on the poor's real
suffering, poverty, marginalization, and rejection, the introduction of the term "Poor
in spirit" spiritualizes or ethicizes the poor in their predicament (in line with Isaiah
61), while the Isaiah 61 version focuses on their actual hardship, poverty,
marginalization, and rejection.

7 Last Words

The Seven Last Words from the Cross are seven biblically attributed expressions
attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. "Words" has become the traditional term
for short sayings. They are taken from the four Gospels of the Canon. Three of the
sayings are only found in Luke's Gospel, and three are only found in John's Gospel.
Another quotation occurs in both Matthew and Mark's gospels, while another is
only explicitly quoted in John but referred to in Matthew and Mark's gospels. Jesus
prays to God in Matthew and Mark. In Luke, he forgives his assassins, comforts the
repentant thief, and commends his spirit to the Father. He talks to me in John. In
John, he talks to his mother, declares that he is thirsty, and announces that his
earthly life is coming to an end. The seven-saying tradition is an example of a
Christian approach to constructing a Gospel unity in which material from various
Gospels is incorporated to produce an account that transcends each Gospel.
 The seven proverbs are part of a Christian meditation that is commonly practiced
during Lent, Holy Week, and Good Friday. According to the King James Version,
the sayings should be read in this order:

1. Luke 23:34: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
2. Luke 23:43: Verily, I say unto you today, thou shalt be with me in paradise.
3. John 19:26–27: Woman, behold thy son. (Says to disciple) Behold thy mother.
4. Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34: My God, My God, why have you forsaken
me?
5. John 19:28: I thirst.
6. John 19:30: It is finished.
7. Luke 23:46: Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.

Traditionally, these seven sayings are called words of

1. Forgiveness

2. Salvation

3. Relationship

4. Abandonment

5. Distress

6. Triumph

7. Reunion
14 Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross or Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the
Via Crucis, is a set of pictures and prayers portraying Jesus Christ on the day of his
crucifixion. The stations arose from imitations of Jerusalem's Via Dolorosa, which is
thought to be the actual route Jesus took to Mount Calvary. The stations' aim is to assist
Christians in making a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of Christ's Passion.
The stations can be found in many Western Christian churches, including Anglican,
Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic churches, and it has become one of the most
common devotions.

Typically, a set of 14 images will be placed in numbered order along a route, and the
faithful will walk from image to image, stopping at each station to say the chosen
prayers and reflections. This will most commonly be done individually or in a
procession during Lent, particularly on Good Friday, in a spirit of reparation for Jesus'
sufferings and insults during his passion.

The stations differ greatly in design, shape, and placement. Small plaques with reliefs or
paintings are often used as stations and are located around the nave of a church. Easy
crosses with a numeral in the center can be used as minimalist stations. When the pope
leads the Stations of the Cross around the Colosseum in Rome on Good Friday, the
faithful can tell them without seeing any images.

The early set of seven scenes was usually numbers 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11 and 14 from the list
below. The standard set from the late 16th to 20th centuries has consisted of 14 pictures
or sculptures depicting the following scenes:

1. Jesus is condemned to death

2. Jesus takes up his Cross
3. Jesus falls for the first time
4. Jesus meets his Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the Cross
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7. Jesus falls for the second time
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls for the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments (sometimes called the "Division of Robes")
11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross
12. Jesus dies on the Cross
13. Jesus is taken down from the Cross
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb