The Sermon on the Mount r 35

lar-and we shall return to him later-saw in it the perfect model for

the Christian life. In the thirteenth century, Franciscan theologians as
well as St. Thomas were to see in the Sermon on the Mount the dis-
tinctive text of the New Law, as contrasted with the Decalogue and the
Old Law. For them, as for the Greek Fathers, the Sermon was one of the
most characteristic texts of Christian moral doctrine.
6 I should add that the Sermon on the Mount has been one of the chief
sources of spiritual renewal known to the Church through the ages. Its
fruitfulness is amply attested by its constant reappearance. There are
few passages in Scripture that touch the Christian heart more surely and
deeply, or that have a greater appeal for nonbelievers. The Sermon on
The Sermon on the Mount and Christian Ethics the Mount was one of Ghandi's favorite texts; he reproached Christians
for their neglect of it. Bergson saw in it the very expression of "open
morality. "

1. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT- The Modern Problem with the Sermon on the Mount
VARIOUS INTERPRETATIONS
In our times, however, the interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is a Gospel text of prime importance for has caused considerable concern to theologians as well as exegetes. It is
Christian ethics. This seems to have been St. Matthew's intention in not only the classic problems raised by this or that verse that trouble
writing his Gospel. In this first of the five great discourses that form the them-problems that are often due to Jesus' language of imagery, which
body of his work, the Evangelist clearly wished to gather together the does not lend itself easily to translation. Rather, there is a major diffi-
teachings on the sort of justice that Jesus proposed to his listeners, culty that plagues interpreters, dividing them into opposite camps and
"higher than that of the Pharisees." These were to distinguish the con- occasioning many attempts at explanations. It even leads some to back
duct and moral standards of his followers. In this section we have a off cautiously from the Sermon.
summary of Gospel morality as it came from the lips of the Lord himself. The difficulty is this. The moral teaching contained in the Sermon on
It is one of the chief documents used in primitive Christian catechesis the Mount appears to be so sublime and so demanding that no one can
and stands out as a principal source for Christian moral teaching, in follow it in concrete reality, at least not the majority of people. Isn't it
both homiletics and theological reflection. challenging us to impossible heights? This is a serious objection to a
There is ample opportunity to find in the Sermon on the Mount an moral teaching that purports to be addressed to everyone. If it is im-
answer to our question on the specificity of Christian ethics. Jesus con- practicable, it falls short of its goal, which is to shape human action, and
trasts the principles of the Mosaic Law with the justice he preaches, and so it becomes useless. In the face of the Sermon, a person might say:
he asserts his authority: "But I tell you .... " He declares that his fol- "Isn't .it enough to refrain from murder and injustice to my neighbor,
lowers cannot be content to act as the pagans do. The concrete terms to aVOid adultery and keep my promises? Is anger a sin, that I should be
of Christ's preaching undeniably address the question of the specific na- called into court over it? Can I be forbidden to have impure thoughts?
ture of Christian ethics, as it differs from the morality of the Jews and And how can it be decreed as a law of our society that we should not
pagans. resist evil, that we should turn the other cheek?" In a word, does not
The Fathers of the Church and the great scholastics understood well the Sermon on the Mount preach impossible behavior, impossible, that
the importance of the Sermon on the Mount. St. Augustine in particu- is, for the generality of people?

134
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ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount 137

The problem is seen at its most serious when morality is defined as omission of the Sermon on the Mount in moral teaching, at all levels.
the sum of obligations imposed on us by the will of God. If the Ser- Moral theology is based chiefly, according to the manuals, on the ten
mon on the Mount is this kind of law, if each of its prescriptions-and commandments; the Sermon is viewed as a bit of spirituality. This ex-
they are stringent-expresses a binding command, as modern ethicists plains its relative neglect by Catholic authors: the Sermon is not essential
understand it, we can certainly ask if it is not laying on the shoulders of to ethics, nor, strictly speaking, to salvation. Its message, however beau-
the disciples an intolerable legal burden, a yoke harsher even than that tiful, is optional.
of the Old Law. Finally, it does not seem that the distinction between a form of mo-
The problem has ~voked many answers. Warren S. Kissinger counts rality destined for all and a morality reserved to a religious elite responds
thirty-four in his history of interpretations of the Sermon. 1 For the pur- adequately to the difficulty experienced in living out the Sermon. Can
poses of our research, we shall consider those that have a theological we be sure that the observances proper to the religious life-including
bearing upon the question. the support of ~ community that seeks to live the Gospel-are sufficient
to enable religious to put the Sermon on the Mount into practice any
I. The "Catholic" Interpretation better than simple Christian folk? Can these observances give them the
ability to do the "impossible"? Experience of religious life gives this the
First let us look at what is still called the "Catholic" position, the one lie and shows rather the need for other intervening factors such as faith
of immediate interest to us. It rests on a distinction between a moral and grace, which, far from separating religious from other Christians,
code designed for all Christians, expressed primarily in the Decalogue, unite them profoundly.
and a more spiritual and exacting doctrine reserved for an elite group
such as religious, who have freely chosen to strive for evangelical per- 2. An Idealistic Moral Theory
fection. The Sermon on the Mount therefore is not the concern of all
Christians and does not oblige them. It falls under the classification of The teaching in the Sermon on the Mount has also been viewed as the
counsels, not commands. This distinction bypasses an exegetical prob- expression of an ideal-unworkable no doubt, but still useful on the
lem: for whom was the Sermon intended? Christ was speaking not to practical level, since we need to ask a great deal of people in order to
the crowd, but to a group of disciples and apostles whom he called to obtain even a little effort and progress. The impossible is proposed so
himself. as to goad each into doing as much as he can.
This interpretation, which has become classic within recent centuries, We can hardly accept an explanation that places the Sermon on the
has an initial flaw. In restricting the Sermon on the Mount to a select Mount in the category of an imaginary ideal rather than a concrete re-
group, it opposes patristic tradition, to say nothing of the Evangelist's ality where the action is. The perception of ourselves as unable to follow
intention. St. John Chrysostom, in explaining the Sermon to his people, a moral teaching makes the teaching quite ineffective. We will soon
foresaw this danger and took care to explain: "Because it is said that abandon an ideal too far beyond us.
Jesus Christ was teaching his apostles, we do not have to think he was We can include here the interpretation of liberal theologians inspired
speaking only to them. In teaching them, he was teaching all of us" by Kant and nineteenth-century idealism. In contrast to Judaism's ob-
(Homily XV on St. Matthew, N. I). St. Augustine chose the Sermon on session with works, the Sermon presents us, they would say, with a new
the Mount as the subject of his first homily to the people of Hippo be- morality of sentiment, where benevolence and one's personal intentions
cause "this Sermon contains all the precepts needed for our guidance are central. This morality is altogether interior, in contrast to the ex-
in the Christian life." In the view of the Fathers, the Sermon was in- ternal morality of law.
tended for all people, even though the apostles were called to play the Beyond all doubt, the Sermon on the Mount brings a deepening of
role of intermediaries. interiority on the level of the "heart," but Protestant exegetes themselves
The second drawback to this interpretation is that it has led to the are becoming more and more convinced today of the need for the ef-
fective action demanded by the Sermon. The exterior dimension, in the
I. w. S. Kissinger, The Sermon on the Mount (Metuchen, N.]., 1975). sense of concrete action in our neighbor'S behalf, is as essential to the
 --
13 8 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount 139

Sermon on the Mount as the interior dimension, in the sense of the was directly social and political; he missed its distinctly spiritual level.
"heart" and the "hidden place" where only the Father sees us. The teach- For him the Kingdom of Heaven would come in this world if we followed
ing of the Sermon cannot be turned into a morality of sentiment or in- the Sermon. We simply wonder if Tolstoy's nonviolent interpretation
tention, any more than it can be considered as a purely formal morality perhaps prepared the way for the violent methods of communism, by
consisting exclusively of universal principles, separated from experience helping to weaken the resistance of the Russian people.
and practice. The problem of realization, or of the "impossible," remains
unsolved. 5. The Lutheran Interpretation

3. An Interim Morality Luther read the Sermon on the Mount in light of the Letter to the
Romans and its critique of the Law. He recognized that the Sermon con-
Early in this century, Albert Schweitzer, among others, proposed a fronts us with the impossible, but this was in order to make us aware
new interpretation of the Sermon along eschatalogicallines, basing it on of our sins and lead us through this revelation to repentance and faith.
the belief of Jesus and the first disciples that the end of the world was According to Luther, Christ alone fulfilled the precepts of the Sermon,
near. The Sermon on the Mount proclaimed a very demanding doctrine as a substitute for us all. He alone possessed the necessary justice, and
approaching heroism, but it was valid only for the short space of time could clothe us with it through faith. But this justice remained extrinsic
before the imminent return of Christ. It was an interim legislation, in to us, and there could be no question of requiring Christians to do the
preparation for a unique upcoming event. It could not be applied to a works indicated in the Sermon. This would be to fall back into the error
lengthy period of time or to life in the normal times that Christians knew of seeking justification through works. Luther also rejected the "third
as the Parousia delayed its coming. use of the law," which sees in the Law an indication of God's will for
Once again the Sermon was being excluded from Christian ethics. Its those who have faith and want to conform their lives to it.
teaching was meant only for a heroic era; it could not serve as the basis Luther's interpretation of the Sermon was merely an application of his
of moral theory for ordinary Christian life. It remained a morality of teaching on justification and the Law. The Sermon was treated as the
"the impossible." Old Law. It played the same role of prosecutor, with still stronger de-
It is true that we need to take the historical context into account when mands. This stress on justification by faith without works produced a
interpreting the Sermon. The expectation of the end time, the urging of break, an opposition in fact, between the Letter to the Romans and the
the Spirit, and the threat of persecution certainly contributed a special Sermon and between St. Paul and St. Matthew, in the heart of the entire
vitality and forcefulness to the Gospel precepts. Yet nowhere in the Ser- Protestant tradition. The Sermon was viewed as a law that promised
mon itself do we find any textual reference to a time limit for the ful- justice in return for works. No matter how excellent, such a text would
fillment of its injunctions. The preaching of love for neighbor and even be considered inferior to the Pauline doctrine of justification by faith
for enemies, for example, sets no limit as to time or persons; its thrust and would be interpreted in its light. Even if it were not suspect, it would
seems quite the opposite. So our problem is still with us. remain subordinate.
To our surprise, we thus find Protestant thought in agreement with
4. The Sermon, A Social Program post-Tridentine Catholic tradition, at least on this point: the relegation
of the Sermon on the Mount to a marginal position with respect to the
It seems appropriate to mention Tolstoy'S interpretation of the Sermon central teachings. The Decalogue now claimed first place in Catholic
here, even though it is not directly theological. According to him, the moral teaching and in Protestant morality, particularly that inspired by
Sermon was a blueprint for a new society ruled by love and enjoying Calvinism. On both sides we note a separation, too, between faith and
peace; it would be the Kingdom of Christ on earth. The Sermon was to morality as the measure of conduct.
be accepted and carried out literally, notably the phrase "Offer the
wicked man no resistance." Tolstoy saw as the logical result of the Ser-
mon the abolition of armies, courtrooms, and oaths. His interpretation
 --
ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount

II. FIVE MAJOR INTUITIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE IN

The Question of the Relation between the Sermon on HIS COMMENTARY ON THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
the Mount and Christian Ethics

Our study of various interpretations of the Sermon on the Mount The commentary on the Sermon on the Mount was St. Augustine's
raises a fundamental problem. How is it that this text, attributed to the first pastoral work. Scarcely had he been ordained a priest, at the be-
Lord himself and for long the privileged source for Christian moral ginning of the year 39 I, when his bishop, Valerius, put him in charge
teaching, has been brusquely set aside and largely ignored by ethicists, of preaching in Hippo. Augustine was thus the first African priest to
both Catholic and Protestant? Furthermore, the difficulty in interpre- assume this function, and his example served to spread the Western cus-
tation persists in spite of all the explanations proposed: Does not the tom of having priests preach.
Sermon challenge us to the impossible? Is it not impracticable? How then In order to prepare himself, Augustine asked his bishop for a few
can it to be included in a moral system? months of freedom. He spent this time in prayerful, reflective study of
To help us clarify these problems, I believe it would be useful to con- the Bible. He also set himself to commit the Scripture to memory, as he
sult one of the great architects of Christian ethics, St. Augustine, and had learned to do in the schools of rhetoric. It was a living process,
particularly his commentary on the Sermon of the Lord, as he loves to designed for meditation and the communication of the faith, and in har-
call it. mony with the style of the Gospel itself, composed as it is of brief sayings
St. Augustine is one of the principal witnesses to the patristic tradi- easily memorized. Thus Augustine's preaching, particularly in his first
tion and is in the best position to teach us how the Sermon was inter- work, would be sown with biblical quotations.
preted in the early Church. He can show us how to read the Sermon and We are dealing therefore with a "novice" at preaching. Augustine
will throw light on our problems. St. Augustine has the advantage of wrote out his first homilies and learned them by heart, then revised the
having been at the same time a theologian and an exegete, like the text for publication. His commentary thus combined two genres, being
Church Fathers, a preacher and a man of experience. His exegesis was written in book form and also delivered as a homily. It does not have
wholly the fruit of study, prayer and life, both his own and that of his the spontaneity of the later homilies on the Psalms and on John. Since
people. it was not a spontaneous work, we find in it the repetitions of the
St. Augustine's commentary on the Sermon of the Lord has a partic- preacher and digressions designed to satisfy the topical interests of his
ular interest for us. In my opinion it has unfortunately been eclipsed, hearers.
doubtless because it was considered a minor work in comparison to the I should add at once, however, that these homilies are the work of a
masterpieces that followed it. When we study it at close hand, however, first-class rhetorician and one of the geniuses of Christian thought, who
we see that it contains a preliminary sketch for a presentation of Chris- reached full maturity before the age of forty. The commentary contains
tian ethics in immediate contact with the Gospel, and some fruitful in- some very rich ideas, which created a tradition and exerted an 'influence
tuitions, which were to create a rich tradition. Almost all the medieval for centuries.
commentaries on the Sermon go back to Augustine's. St. Thomas, when Augustine's commentary on the Sermon on the Mount possesses, in
he was about to compose his Summa theologiae, re-read the commen- fact, more than one dimension. It is obviously pastoral in aim, which
tary of Augustine and drew from it (more successfully than his prede- places it in the ambience of the Lord's Sermon, addressed by Jesus to
cessors) the main ideas he would integrate into his own moral structure. the people. It is also personal, for Augustine applied the teaching of the
Rarely has any preaching had such resonance or brought such influence Sermon to himself and tried to live by it. It is his own experience that
to bear on theology. he communicates in his preaching. As A. G. Hamman writes, "In fila-
gree, the personal experience of Augustine is revealed; he is shaken by
the overwhelming discourse, the charter he has made his own. The con-
version he preaches is the story of his own life; the hunger for happiness
that devoured him has been appeased with the Beatitudes, beyond the
 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount

measure of his quest, beyond his thirst." The Confessions, which re- a complete, perfect teaching on Christian morality. In his introductory
count this experience for us, were written some years later. paragraph he returned to this idea of perfection three times: "I think
Because of Augustine's genius, the commentary on the Sermon also that whoever meditates in earnest love upon the Lord's Sermon on the
possessed a specifically theological dimension. Its structure was formed Mount, found in St. Matthew's Gospel, will find there a perfect model
by several major concepts, which marked a preliminary organization of for Christian living [perfectum vitae christianae modum], in respect to
evangelical moral teaching and would pass into theological tradition. the most fitting way to act." He then added: "At the close of the Sermon
Obviously, the commentary had its exegetical dimension. It was one we see that it has brought together all the precepts we need for our
of the earliest examples of Augustinian exegesis; the method would be guidance in life [quae ad informandam vitam pertinent]." And in his
described in his De doctrina christiana several years later. Here Augus- conclusion he affirmed: "I have made these observations to show that
tine's first principle of theological thought was clearly explained: Scrip- this Sermon is perfect, since it gives us all the precepts needed for Chris-
ture was the wellspring, the direct source of Christian teaching, preach- tian living [quibus christiana vita informatur]."
ing, catechesis, and theology as well, a hearth of light and life for all The moral perfection of the Sermon was the unifying theme of his
Christians. From these perspectives, the Sermon on the Mount held a discourse, found first of all in its content: it assembled all the necessary
privileged place for Augustine. precepts with a kind of amplitude. We need to note here that the term
We shall consider here the five major theological intuitions that in- precept was used in a broad sense, for it designated not only the Bea-
spired St. Augustine's commentary on the Sermon. They will provide titudes but also the precepts of the new justice that followed them, such
the principal features of the model we are trying to discover: a Christian as the prescriptions on fasting, prayer, and forgiveness.
ethics based on the Sermon on the Mount. Augustine found further perfection in the sevenfold form the Sermon
takes. For him, as for patristic tradition, the number seven was a symbol
I . The Sermon on the Mount, A Charter for Christian Living of perfection and plenitude. This was not Augustine's invention. He
drew it from Scripture, from Psalm I I, as he remarked at the end of his
St. Augustine's first intuition was that the Sermon on the Mount is commentary: "The words of the Lord are chaste words, silver mined
the perfect model of Christian life, a summary of the Lord's teachings from the earth, purified by fire, seven times refined. This number has
on fitting conduct for his disciples. This perception determined his inspired me to relate these precepts [the entire Sermon on the Mount]
choice of the Sermon as the subject of his first preaching. to the seven Beatitudes, which the Lord places at the beginning of the
His choice was an original one; St. Augustine was the only Church Sermon, and also to the seven works of the Holy Spirit mentioned by
Father to make his own commentary on the Sermon, apart from general the prophet Isaiah." The idea was not new to St. Augustine, for in his
commentaries on St. Matthew. Augustine realized he was departing commentary on Psalm I I he had said, "There are seven degrees of
from the common way. He felt the need to excuse his audacity on the blessedness noted by the Lord in his Sermon on the Mount as reported
grounds of the Lord's authority: "This affirmation [that the Sermon is in St. Matthew: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, etc.... blessed are the
the perfect model for Christian living] is not really rash; it is based on peacemakers.' You can see that the whole Sermon flows from these seven
the Lord's own words." sayings. Because the eighth one, where it says, 'Blessed are they who
His choice was guided, clearly, by pastoral considerations. Augustine suffer persecution for justice's sake,' refers to the fire in which the silver
wanted to speak with the people of Hippo about what would be of the is seven times refined."
greatest interest and value to them. The Gospel teaching on right con- Augustine's appeal to the symbolism of the number seven was not as
duct brought them Christ's answer to their deepest questions about hap- artificial from the exegetical point of view as we might be tempted to
piness, a way of life, virtues, and precepts that would lead them to God think. In connection with the seven petitions of the Our Father, the Je-
and help them to solve their daily problems. It was a moral catechesis rusalem Bible notes: "The Lord's Prayer in its Matthaean form has seven
he planned for his hearers, in perfect harmony with the Evangelist's own petitions. The number is a favorite of Matthew's: 2 x 7 generations in
purposes. the Genealogy (1:17); 7 beatitudes (5:4££); 7 parables (13:3££); for-
But Augustine's viewpoint was also theological. He saw in the Sermon giveness not 7 but 77 times (18:22); 7 woes for the Pharisees (23: 13££);
144 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount

7 sections into which the Gospel is divided. Matthew may have added Studying the content of the New Law, he started with a summary of
to the basic text (Lk I I :2-4) the third and seventh petitions in order to a quotation from the beginning of Augustine's commentary on the Ser-
get the number ?" (Mt 6:9, note b). mon: "We should notice that when [the Lord] said 'He that hears these
Augustine's intuition was clear and firm: the Sermon on the Mount my words,' his words signify that the Lord's discourse is perfect [be-
was the perfect rule of life for Christians. It could be called the charter cause it contains] all the precepts that make up the Christian life." In
of the Christian life. To gauge the value of this intuition we need to see his response he continued, "As Augustine shows, the Sermon which the
that Augustine did not isolate the Sermon from the rest of Scripture but Lord gave on the Mount contained everything pertaining to the Chris-
saw it as a summit upon which all revealed moral teachings converged. tian life [totam informationem vitae christianae continet]. It sets in order
The Sermon was said to be the perfection of this teaching, in the sense perfectly all the interior movements of the human person." We recognize
that it contained and fulfilled all its precepts. We can say of it what in these terms the guiding thought of Augustine, notably in the word
Augustine was to say of the Lord's Prayer in his letter to Proba, where informationem, which designates formation or the orientation of life and
he remarked that every Christian prayer should flow from and harmo- activity to perfection.
nize with it. Regarding this Father Guindon wrote: "It was not enough for St.
Augustine had a very strong sense of this living concentration of Scrip- Thomas to quote this rich Augustinian intuition. He made it his own,
ture within certain texts of the New Testament, texts that emphasized and in assimilating it gave it an even loftier interpretation than St. Au-
Scripture's immediate orientation to Christ, to his Word, his actions, gustine .... " I would simply say that in this concept of the Sermon as
his person. Augustine's art consisted in showing us Scripture as it stood the perfect charter for the Christian life, St. Thomas met St. Augustine
out in bold relief against its background. Thus we see the Sermon on on a personal level as a disciple, at once faithful and creative.
the Mount as the culminating point of evangelical moral teaching.
Here we are sounding the depths of Augustine's thought. The Sermon
on the Mount had such import and resonance for him because it was 2. The Beatitudes, Seven Stages in the Christian Life
the Word of the Lord, as the Our Father was the prayer of the Lord.
Augustine took up the theme of the Evangelist when he reported that Augustine's second intuition was his interpretation of the Beatitudes
Jesus spoke with an authority that struck the crowds, and gave us the as representing seven degrees or stages leading the Christian from hu-
characteristic expression, "You have heard ... but I say to you." The mility or poverty in spirit to wisdom and the vision of God.
Sermon was the word of Christ who elicits our faith and enlightens it. St. Ambrose had preceded him, between 388 and 392, in expressing
Augustine's teaching was also an expression of his own faith seeking to this view in his commentary on St. Luke (PL IS, 5.1734-39). He there
understand and then communicate the word of Jesus as one plays a interpreted the eight beatitudes of St. Matthew as the progressive ascent
searchlight over a darkened terrain. His preaching was but a prolon- of the Christian from detachment from the goods of this world to the
gation of the Lord's. The Sermon on the Mount thus became the basis crown of martyrdom, with each stage or virtue leading to the next. At
for preaching and the wellspring of Christian ethics. We arc at the source the same time St. Ambrose connected the four beatitudes in St. Luke
of Augustinian evangelism, which was to continue through the Middle with the four classic virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and for-
Ages. titude.
I should like to mention briefly its historical prolongation in theology. St. Augustine took up St. Ambrose's idea but developed it in his own
St. Thomas grasped the significance of Augustine's intuition more personal way.) He first considered the beatitudes as a group of seven;
clearly than all the theologians who preceded him. He referred to it ex-
3. Cf P. Rollero, commentary on the Expositio in Lucam in Augustinus Magister, vol.
plicitly when he declared that the Sermon on the Mount was definitively I (Paris, 1954), 2II-2I. Also, the Expositio evangelii secundam Lucam of Ambrose as
the representative text of the New Law (laIIae, 108 a 3).2 the source of Augustinian exegesis (University of Turin; published by the Faculty of Letters
and Philosophy, Oct. 4, 1958). A. Mutzenbecher gives as Ambrose's source for the in-
terpretation of the eight beatitudes according to the stages of the ascent to God, St. Gre-
2. He was preceded in this by the summa of Alexander of Hales, but he reestablished gory of Nyssa's commentary, dated 387. Did this have a direct influence on Augustine?
in a new way the connection with St. Augustine's commentary. There are similarities between the two commentaries, but the dependence is not certain.
Cf. Gregory of Nyssa, The Beatitudes (Westminster, Md.: Newman Press, 1954).
14 6 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount

in his mind the eighth was a summation of all the others and fulfilled The Stages of Christian Life Portrayed in the Beatitudes
them by returning to the initial promise of the Kingdom. This clearly
fits in with his penchant for the number seven. In Augustine's view it The action opens with the conflict between humility and pride. Hu-
was in no way a lessening, but rather an indication of plenitude, since mility, moved by the fear that is the beginning of wisdom (Sir I: 16),
these seven beatitudes affected the entire life of a Christian, from con- humbly submits to divine authority, while pride opens the door to every
version to the vision of God, where they reached their fulfillment. They sin (Sir 10:15). Augustine turned aside from the pride of the philoso-
had their place throughout the whole life of the Christian. phers to follow the way of humility traced by Christ (Confessions,
In his interpretation of each beatitude and their mutual relations, St. 7.18.24, 20.26-21.27). His choice was made concrete in his attitude
Augustine was equally original, for here he made use of his wealth of toward Scripture and in his docility and openness to the Word of God,
personal experience, described in the Confessions a few years later. The which consisted in his readiness to be judged by it rather than to judge
connection between the explanation of the Beatitudes and Augustine's it himself, when it appeared difficult or obscure. Augustine had been "a
first masterpiece is so close that we could almost propose a division blind brute, barking fiercely at holy writ," until he discovered, under
within the Confessions, beginning with the journey of the soul described Ambrose's influence, that it was "sweet with the honey of heaven and
in the commentary on the Beatitudes. 4 The discussion of certain bea- luminous with God's light" (Confessions, 9+8-12).
titudes clearly evokes Augustine's experience-for example, the relation The light of Scriptures shows us our sins and makes us weep for them,
he notes between the beatitude of meekness and the reading of Scripture. accepting whatever correction we need, especially the giving up of those
For Augustine also, the Beatitudes describe his own journey following "old friends," which clung so to the young Augustine (Confessions,
his conversion. The road was leading him toward the wisdom of God, 8.9.21, 8.9.26). At the same time Scripture fills us with a hunger and
for which he longed with all his heart and which he discussed in the thirst for justice, spurring us on to great efforts and courageous work.
closing books of the Confessions. The evil allure of the passions is replaced by an attraction for the sweet-
Yet we need not think that Augustine's personal experience slanted ness of God (Confessions, 9.1.1).
his reading of the Beatitudes. Actually it was reciprocal: for Augustine But we cannot reap the fruit of our moral undertakings without the
the Beatitudes came first; they were the words of Christ that lit up his help of a higher power, the mercy of God. The surest way to receive it
whole life and named his experience; they taught him how to read and is to show mercy to those who are weaker than ourselves. The heart of
understand his own story. The Gospel words direct practical life, and the Christian is purified by openness to Scripture, repentance and re-
putting them into practice deepens our understanding of them. This give nunciation, personal effort and the mercy of God. We understand
and take characterized Augustine's interpretation of the Sermon and "through experience ... that it is only normal for weak eyes to shun the
made it also an interpretation of experience. The practical aspect was same light that healthy eyes find delightful" (Confessions, 7.16.22). We
essential, as Augustine himself reminds us at the end of his commentary: grow in the ability to look upon God's light and to welcome his wisdom.
"Whether a person accepts this division [of the Sermon according to This establishes us in a peaceful submission of ourselves and our emo-
the seven beatitudes, as I have suggested] or some other, the important tions to God. Such was the wisdom Augustine longed for. He saw it
thing is to act upon what we have heard from the Lord, if we would symbolized by the highest heaven in the Book of Genesis, identified it
build upon rock." with the heavenly Jerusalem, city of peace (Confessions, 12. I 5.20-
Because it found resonance in the words of the Beatitudes, St. Au- 17. 2 4).
gustine's experience transcended the unique, personal sphere of his in- The beatitude of the persecuted, listed outside of the series, sums up
dividual circumstances. It possessed a broad, general value, a signifi- all the Beatitudes as they are ordered to the Kingdom and shows their
cance for all believers whom he addressed, and it thus shared in the united strength, which no attack can overcome.
spiritual universality of the Sermon on the Mount. If we consider the interpretation of the Beatitudes as a whole, we see
that it follows Augustine's own progressive experience in his conversion
4. U. Durchow, "Der Aufbau von Augustinus Schriften Confessiones und De Trini- and life as a Christian, yet it is summarized in a few bold strokes to
tate," in Zeitschrift fur Theologie und Kirche 62. (1965): 338-67. serve as a guide for all Christians. Two major experiences are coordi-
14 8 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount

nated here: conversion first, found in the first three beatitudes, then the
search for wisdom, from the fourth to the seventh . 3. Interpreting the Sermon in the Light of the Beatitudes
This recalls the division of the first two parts of the Confessions: the
confession of faults, of what Augustine has been (Books I-IX); and then "The Lord described seven stages of happiness in his Sermon on the
the confession of what he is at present, of his search for wisdom (Book Mount recorded by St. Matthew.... The entire Sermon grows out of
X). Another underlying theme is the division between the active life, these" (Homily on Psalm II). "The number seven has inspired me to
dealt with in the first five beatitudes, and the contemplative life, in the relate all these precepts to the seven beatitudes with which the Lord
last two. S began his Sermon" (conclusion of the commentary on the Sermon).
This is a model for the spiritual journey. Its stages are not isolated, The third great intuition of St. Augustine was his interpretation and
but bring out in ordered progression the principle elements of a Chris- division of the entire Sermon, beginning with the Beatitudes. The Bea-
tian's personal life. Whether or not our hypothesis of a division of the titudes are not simply an introduction to the Sermon, as has sometimes
Confessions according to the series of beatitudes is accurate, we can still been thought, but a sort of keystone which dominates and divides it.
find in it a preliminary sketch and general outline for the later work. Some interpreters hesitate to create this division in the Sermon as the
We should note, too, that the way of the Beatitudes is also a way of commentary does. A. G. Hamman writes: "Some editors, such as A.
virtues. It introduces a series of virtues appropriate to this interpretation Mutzenbecher, go so far as to discern in the two books that make up
and different from the classical list of theological and moral virtues: the Commentary a redistribution of the material to fit the eight (seven)
humility, docility, repentance, hunger for justice, purity of heart, peace, beatitudes. This is pushing the author's systemization a bit too far. From
and wisdom. This less systematic series harmonizes well with the de- their viewpoint, the first book corresponds to the first five beatitudes
scription of Christian progress. and the active life; the second to the last two and the contemplative life,
culminating in the vision of God. Accordingly, Augustine comes up with
Carried on through History a numerical structure, to the delight of the Middle Ages." Father Ham-
man is unduly sceptical here, for a simple reading of the commentary
We find the explanation of the Beatitudes as seven stages of the Chris- shows the division of the Sermon according to the Beatitudes; it is done
tian life throughout the Middle Ages, up to the advent of scholasticism. in broad outline but is nonetheless quite apparent. Father Hamman him-
In the ninth century there were, for example, Raban Maur and Paschase self gives the division in a note: Book I: first beatitude, 5.13-10.28;
Radbert, in the eleventh St. Peter Damian, and in the twelfth St. Anselm, second beatitude, 11.29-32; third beatitude, 12. 33-3 6; fourth beati-
Hugh of St. Victor, and John of Salisbury, all of whom reveal their de- tude, 13.37-18.54; fifth beatitude, 18.55-23.80; sixth beatitude, Book
pendence upon St. Augustine. Scholasticism, which organized morality II, 1.1-22.76; seventh beatitude, 23.77-25.86.6 Actually the material
in the context of the theological and moral virtues, was to replace this division of the Sermon is less important than the precept. The Beatitudes
genetic and psychological interpretation with a more speculative per- pervade the whole Sermon as does the moral teaching it dispenses.
ception. St. Thomas saw in the Beatitudes the culmination of a succes- Augustine did not give us in his text the reason for this division. The
sion of human responses to the question of happiness. Yet in his own number seven in Psalm I I gave him the idea of relating all the precepts
way he took up Augustine's concept by associating with each beatitude of the Sermon to the seven beatitudes. In reality, this ordering was de-
a virtue attained through the corresponding gift. For him, too, the Bea- termined by a basic idea: the Beatitudes give us Christ's answer to the
titudes applied to the entire Christian life. primary human question about happiness, which is at the origin of the
search for wisdom. Also, Augustine saw the Beatitudes as the principal
part of the Sermon, just as the question of happiness dominates philos-
ophy and morality.
St. Augustine expressed this view on numerous occasions. I shall sim-
5. Cf. A. Multzenbecher, ed. Brepols, Introduction, pp. xii-xiii, De consensu evan-
gelistarurn, 1.5.8: two virtues are proposed, one active and the other contemplative. 6. Explication du SerrnO/I, Introduction (Paris, 1978), 15- 16.
 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount

ply quote from De moribus Ecclesiae catholicae (387-88), where he

explains the moral teaching of the Church against the Manichaeans. 4. The Beatitudes and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
"Let us inquire reasonably, then, how man ought to live. Indeed, we all
want to be happy; there is not a person who would not agree with this The most original note in St. Augustine's commentary on the Sermon
even before the words are uttered" (3.4). In The City of God he wrote: was the connection he made between the Beatitudes in St. Matthew and
"Since I must now discuss the appointed ends of the heavenly and earthly the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 11 according to the Septuagint. This
cities, I ought first to explain ... the arguments men use to create hap- prophetic text had already been used frequently by the Greek Fathers,
piness for themselves in the midst of the sorrows of this life, and the but they, in line with the same text, attributed the gifts to Christ, the
vast distance between their hollow pleasures and the hope held out to shoot from Jesse's stock. Augustine was the first to have linked the texts
us by God, whose object is that blessed bliss he will one day grant us. of Matthew and Isaiah, and consequently to have attributed the gifts of
This can be illustrated not only by revelation but also by the light of the Holy Spirit to the very Christians to whom the Beatitudes were ad-
reason, for the sake of those who do not share our faith" (1.19.1). dressed. That Augustine was fully aware he was being innovative is sug-
In many of his works addressed in part to unbelievers, Augustine gested by his discreet "It seems to me, therefore ... " (4.rr).
treated the question of happiness from the point of view of reason. He The connection between the Beatitudes and gifts might seem con-
gave, in the De moribus for example, the Christian answer based on trived if we read only St. Matthew's text, for he makes no obvious ref-
the charity that unites us to God and on the four classic virtues of pru- erence to the passage from Isaiah, but rather to chapter 61, which speaks
dence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. He showed how these acquire of the Spirit resting upon the Anointed One of Yahweh and sending him
a higher excellence in Christians and become forms of charity. to "bring good news to the poor ... to console the afflicted." This fact
In his preaching at Hippo, Augustine felt freer to speak as a Christian. does not detract from Augustine's profoundly scriptural intuition, rich
Explaining the Gospel to the faithful, he could begin with the Beatitudes and fruitful.
as the perfect answer to the question of happiness and make them the What is the point of this connection, if not to show that the Christian
framework of his moral teaching. This perspective had, among other cannot follow the way of the Beatitudes without the grace of the Holy
advantages, the possibility of throwing light on typically Christian vir- Spirit accompanying each stage of the journey? Augustine's idea, original
tues such as humility, penitence, mercy, and purity of heart, which do in its form, was actually a development of the thought of St. Paul, fre-
not stand out so clearly in the classifications of virtues found in Greek quently commented on by the Greek Fathers, that the Christian life is a
philosophy.? life in the Holy Spirit. 8 In his preparatory retreat Augustine had medi-
Such was the basic idea, still in the outline stage, that makes division tated much on St. Paul, whose words (Rm 13: 13) had occasioned his
of the Sermon effective and fruitful. The symbolic use of the number conversion. His very numerous quotations of St. Paul show how he con-
seven was merely a way of expressing it. centrated on the Apostle's description of life in the Spirit, especially in
St. Thomas adopted this idea. He made it the principle of his inter- Romans 8 and Galatians 5. Thus, in pondering the text of Isaiah, Au-
pretation of the Beatitudes, and especially of his plan of moral theology gustine linked Paul with St. Matthew. According to him, the Beatitudes
in the Summa. Here again St. Augustine and St. Thomas have profound described the stages of the Christian life through which the Holy Spirit
rapport: the Beatitudes are Christ's answer to the question of happiness guides us progressively. Concerning the need for the Holy Spirit's help,
and thus, together with the whole Sermon on the Mount, dominate we should ponder the lengthy meditation in Book 13 of the Confessions
Christian ethics. St. Thomas was undoubtedly the first scholastic theo- on the verse in Genesis depicting the Holy Spirit as moving over the
logian to have adopted this intuition of Augustine, giving it, in his trea- waters. It is through charity and through his gifts that the Holy Spirit
tise on the Beatitudes, the place of honor in Christian moral teaching.
8. St. Irenaeus had already, in the second century, represented the Holy Spirit as a
7· For St. Thomas, in I1aIlae for example, humility is related to modesty, a virtue falling ladder whereby we ascend to God: "Spiritus Sanctus, arrha incorruptelae et confirmatio
under temperance (q 161); penitence is not included among the virtues of I1aIlae, and is fidei nostrae et scala ascensionis ad Deum" (Adv. Haereses, 3.2.4.1). The first rung was
discussed with the sacrament of penance (IlIa q 85); mercy is an interior effect of charity fear of the Lord according to Sir I: 16. In his De Sacramentis, St. Ambrose calls the Holy
(q 3 0 ). Spirit the guide to perfection (3.2..8) .
 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount 153

leads us to rest and peace in God. Without him, charity cannot over- begin in Isaiah with wisdom, the highest, and end with fear of the Lord,
come the languor caused by earthly cares and the impurity of our which corresponds to poverty and humility. He returned to this paral-
thoughts. 9 lelism on two occasions: in De doctrina christiana 2.7.9-II, that is, in
In every sense the overriding theme of Augustine was indeed Christian his first years as a bishop; then in sermon 347, undated. Each time there
and notably Pauline: the Christian's life is a life according to the Bea- are variants, for Augustine's thought was too vital to be simply repeti-
titudes and the Holy Spirit. Augustine developed this theme by com- tive.
paring the way of the Beatitudes and the way of the gifts in detail. He The gift of fear corresponds to poverty and humility because it makes
thus used his intuition in an interpretation at once exegetical, theolog- the heart humble and contrite. It also alerts us to our human condition,
ical, artistic, and poetic. Augustine truly offered us " a new song," in the so that we will accept the challenge of the cross.
sense of Psalm 149, whose first verse he commented on so finely, show- Filial piety is associated with an attitude of docility to Scripture. It
ing how such a song is born of love and given by the Holy Spirit. It is inspires us to follow God's will as revealed in his Word and in all the
small wonder if in this song of Beatitudes and gifts, St. Augustine's happenings of life, even when they go against the grain, as they so often
thought took liberties with staid reason or textual logic. If he was upheld do, since they fall under his Providence.
by the Holy Spirit, who could prevent him from displaying the riches he The blessedness of those who weep is paired with the gift of knowl-
had discovered in his meditation on the Scriptures? edge, which reminds us that we are sinners before God and shows us
We should note in passing how easily St. Augustine passed over the how we are to love God for his own sake and to love our neighbor in
chasm later created by Protestant thought between the Sermon on the God. This knowledge inspires us to do penance but shields us, too, from
Mount and the Letter to the Romans. The relation between Beatitudes despair.
and gifts unites Matthew and Paul closely through Isaiah. We shall come The gift of fortitude sustains the efforts of those who hunger and thirst
upon the same seamless convergence in St. Thomas's teaching on the for justice. The world is crucified to them and they to the world. Their
Gospel Law: he defined it by citing chapter 3 of Romans, which speaks love leads them toward eternal goods, toward the Holy Trinity.
of the law of faith, and chapter 8, which tells us of the law of the Spirit. The association of the gift of counsel with the blessedness of the mer-
Further on, he assigned the Sermon on the Mount as the proper text of ciful is unexpected, but in the light of experience it is a happy choice.
this law (IaIIae, q 108, a 1 and 3). Far from seeing opposition between The best advice the Lord gives us is that if we want his help in our
these great texts, these doctors experience the need to unite them, in- weakness we must be merciful ourselves and forgive others. This advice
terpreting them by means of each other. is based on the typically evangelical connection between love of God and
love of neighbor, which we meet again in the petition for forgiveness in
The Beatitudes and the Gifts the Lord's Prayer.
The gift of understanding befits the pure of heart, for their clear gaze
Let us look briefly at the relations of the Beatitudes to the gifts. Our penetrates the mysterious wisdom of God, "the things that no eye has
understanding of them depends far more on experience and meditation seen and no ear has heard" (1 Cor 2:9). In his De doctrina christiana,
than on textual study. The first thing St. Augustine saw was that in order Augustine makes it clear that this perception remains imperfect, "as in
to establish a correspondence he had to reverse the order of gifts, which a mirror," for we walk more by faith than by sight (2 Cor 5:6-7). This
purification consists in preferring truth to one's self and to all attach-
9. Let me quote this marvelous passage: "In this gift of yourself [the Holy Spirit] we ment to neighbor.
find repose. Here we rejoice in you, we dwell in rest. Love lifts us up, your good Spirit
lifts our lowliness above the gates of death .... My love is my weight; this it is that bears The goal of this progressive pilgrimage is attained through the gift of
me aloft, wherever I am borne. The gift of yourself sets us on fire and carries us aloft. It wisdom which corresponds to the beatitude of peacemakers. Wisdom
enkindles us and we ascend. We mount the steps within our heart and we sing the gradual is appropriate for those who are interiorly at peace, as far as is possible
psalm. Your fire, your good fire inflames us and we mount, for we are going up to the
peace ofJerusalem .. ." (13 .9. I 0 ). In this beautiful text we can perceive the interpretation in this life. Sermon 34 7 adds: "And what is this goal, if not Jesus Christ?
of the Beatitudes as tracing the gradual ascent from humility to peace under the guidance What is the wisdom of God, if not Jesus Christ? Who is the Son of God,
of God's word, seven times purified in the fire of the Spirit. if not Jesus Christ? It is in him, therefore, that we attain wisdom and
--
154 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount ISS

become children of God when we receive this grace; and herein is perfect the Galatians. He would work out precise definitions of the gifts and
and eternal peace." Beatitudes, which became classic and, in the seounda secundae he would
Notice here how three great themes in Augustinian thought are evoked have one beatitude correspond to each virtue, adopting the relationships
and converge: wisdom, which is truth and charity; peace and repose in established by St. Augustine. We could never understand these connec-
God, on which Augustine dwelt at the close of the Confessions and The tions in the Summa without some knowledge of St. Augustine's com-
City of God; justice, described in the Sermon on the Mount but already mentary on the Sermon.
present in the commentaries on Genesis, where it is seen as a human Once again we witness the encounter of the two great theological ge-
quality in Paradise. The seventh beatitude and the gift of wisdom gather niuses of the Western church. It is true that some historians, such as
up all the yearnings of Augustine's heart and all the divine promises, Dom Lottin, have thought that St. Thomas's teaching on the gifts of the
which shall fulfill them. Holy Spirit was determined by the weight of tradition. However, the
To complete his exposition, Augustine explained the rewards attrib- Angelic Doctor was hardly passive in his use of Augustine's ideas. In the
uted to each beatitude. He saw them as different names given to the one, Summa his discussion of the commentary on the Sermon is highly per-
unique reward that is the Kingdom of heaven, names appropriate to each sonal, far more so than that of any of his forerunners or of his own earlier
stage of the journey. The Kingdom was identified with wisdom; fear was works.
its beginning, the peace of God its culmination. It was also presented as
an inheritance, consolation, replenishment, mercy, and the vision of
5. The Seven Petitions of the Our Father
God.
The eighth beatitude included and confirmed all the others. It repre-
St. Augustine's fifth intuition was to establish the connections (2.1 I.
sented humanity in all its perfection. Augustine, using the symbolic fig-
38) among the seven Beatitudes, the gifts, and the petitions of the Our
ure of fifty days, related it to the feast of Pentecost. This is the final
Father. This idea, too, was introduced with the words "It seems to
achievement of the work undertaken and brought to completion by the
me ... ," suggesting that Augustine once more saw himself as an in-
Holy Spirit.
novator. In his division of the Our Father, St. Augustine had already
Throughout this schema, full of life and spiritual sensitivity, the main
shown his originality. As Mutzenbecher observes (op. cit. P. XII), he
intuition is developed like a musical theme: the ongoing action of the
was the first to have spoken of seven petitions. The Greek Fathers saw
Holy Spirit as the Christian pursues his course from beginning to end
only six, for they combined the last two on temptation and evil. As with
along the way of the Beatitudes. I should add that to speak of a spiritual
the Beatitudes, St. Augustine's interpretation inclined to the number
journey as if it were something external to the moral life would be a
seven. He maintained this division of the Our Father in his later works
betrayal of Augustine. His text does not give the slightest evidence of
(except for Sermon 58.10.10 and his De dono perseverantiae 5.9). Here
any distinction between morality and spirituality. The moral life is in
again the sevenfold stands for plenitude. The Our Father is the perfect
continual need of the Holy Spirit's help and grace, as St. Augustine later
prayer and should accompany the Christian throughout life.
affirmed so forcefully in his writings against the Pelagians.
Even if St. Augustine did not say so explicitly, we can easily guess the
The parallel between St. Matthew's Beatitudes and the gifts of the
source of his inspiration. The Christian cannot follow the way of the
Holy Spirit in Isaiah 11 was St. Augustine's own concept and illustrates
Beatitudes and virtues without the help of the Holy Spirit, and we cannot
his influence on the numerous medieval writers who would comment on
obtain this help without continual prayer, the model for which is the
the Beatitudes. Scholastic theologians were to retain the idea, giving it
Lord's Prayer.
a new form. Taking as their moral foundation the theological and car-
This, then, is the profound import of the parallel Augustine estab-
dinal virtues, they would relate them to the gifts and Beatitudes in the
lished: the need for prayer at each stage of the Christian's journey. This
manner of St. Augustine. St. Thomas, notably, would introduce this con-
being said, we can no longer be so brash as to accuse him of artificiality
cept of morality into the very structure of his Summa. He would base
or ingenuousness. 10
morality on the connections among the virtues, gifts, and Beatitudes,
adding to them the fruits of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Letter to
10. Cf. Father Buzy's article "Beatitudes" in the Dictionnaire de Spiritualite, col. 1309:
 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount 157

In the letter to Proba (Letters, I30) we have Augustine's entire think-

ing on the importance of the Our Father: "Whatever words we use (in Gifts and Beatitudes Petitions of the Lord's Prayer
prayer) ... there is nothing we can say that is not found in the Lord's 1. Fear of the Lord gives happiness to the T. Hallowing of the divine name through
Prayer, as long as we pray fittingly. But if anyone says something not in poor through the promise of the King- chaste fear.
accord with this prayer, even if there is nothing intrinsically wrong with dom.
his prayer, it will be somewhat carnal. For I don't know how you could
call it good, since all who are reborn in the Spirit ought to pray only 2. Piety gladdens the humble of heart, 2. That God's kingdom may come.
who will inherit the earth.
according to the Spirit." The Our Father was therefore the prayer of the
Lord inspired by the Spirit; this is why all Christian prayer should be in 3. Knowledge gives joy to those who 3. That God's will may be done in our
accord with it. It could be called a universal prayer. mourn, through the consolation it brings. ~ouls and bodies, so that we may be es-
To develop this idea, Augustine related each petition of the Our Father tablished in peace and comforted in our
to a beatitude and a gift. We note that he moved from the gift to the inner struggles.
petition, doubtless because of the direct link between the Holy Spirit 4. Fortitude gives happiness to those who 4. Request for daily bread to sustain us
and prayer. (The accompanying chart illustrates his plan.) hunger and thirst, and satisfies them. with sufficient nourishment.
St. Augustine concluded by drawing attention to the Lord's fifth pe-
tition, for mercy, which is our only escape from misfortune. 5. Counsel gives joy to the merciful. 5. Forgiveness of others' debts to us and
It is obvious-and Augustine was fully aware of this-that this is not of our own by God.
a hard and fast arrangement. It is comparable to the development of a 6. Understanding delights the pure of 6. Avoidance of temptations which create
musical theme, which is not necessarily the only possible one. The im- heart with vision. duplicity of heart; the simplicity of a
portant thing is that an arrangement should be balanced and expressive, heart fixed on God.
meaningful for meditation and action.
We should also note that Augustine was not speaking here of a succes- 7. Wisdom brings happiness to the peace- 7. Deliverance from evil frees us to be
makers, the children of God. God's children, crying out: Abba, Father!
sion by stages. The petitions of the Our Father form, rather, an accom-
paniment to all the gifts and Beatitudes taken together.

Prolongation in History petition, deliverance from evil, and leading up to the highest, the hal-
lowing of God's name. We can see from this how much liberty can be
Later tradition, up to the seventeenth century, adopted the parallelism taken with a tradition that is truly living. In this instance, St. Augustine
of the Our Father with the gifts and Beatitudes. We find it in Raban perhaps hesitated to reverse the Lord's Prayer, as he had done with Isaiah
Maur (PL 107, col. 822) and in St. Peter Damian (PL 144, col. 814). I I, since it was the prayer of the Lord himself.
But with Paschase Radbert (PL 120, col. 220f£.) there was a surprising Scholastic theologians knew the parallelism of the Lord's Prayer and
reversal of the order of petitions, so that the beatitude of the poor in classified it as one of the numerical symbolizations so dear to the twelfth
spirit and the gift of fear were made to correspond with the final petition century. But they could not fit it into their own structures, which fol-
for deliverance from evil, and so forth. This new order reappeared in a lowed a different logic, more rationally rigorous but perhaps more dis-
homily of St. Anselm (PL 15 8, c~ls. 595-97), as well as the commentary tanced from the experience of the Christian life.
on St. Matthew by Godfrey of Angers, attributed to Anselm of Laon. St. Thomas, for example, did not add the petitions of the Our Father
This interpretation had the advantage of beginning with the humblest to the virtues, gifts, and Beatitudes discussed in the plan of the Second
Part. The Augustinian interpretation of the Our Father is found in his
"This time, with the interweaving of exegesis and theology, we have reached an apex of study of prayer, connected with the virtue of religion (q 83 a 9).
cleverness. Let us say that this [system] has succeeded in pleasing those who love intricate
combinations; but it is so artificial that there would be little point in trying to include it In III Sentences, dist. 34, q I a 6) where he discussed the gifts, the
in the current spirituality of Holy Church." Beatitudes, and the petitions of the Lord's Prayer, St. Thomas adopted
 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN
The Sermon on the Mount I59

the Augustinian interpretation but followed a descending order. He be-

gan with the first petition and related it to the gift of wisdom, according Summary
to the order inaugurated by Paschase Radbert, and he ended it with the
seventh petition, corresponding to the beatitude of the poor in spirit.
Our study has shown the fruitfulness of Augustine's commentary on
He then added the relation between the active and the contemplative
the Sermon on the Mount. Rarely has any preaching had such rt:sonance.
life, with a few other considerations.
This commentary was to be the principle source of numerous expla-
In the Summa, St. Thomas repeated the affirmation in the letter to
nations of the Sermon, from the sixth to the thirteenth century. Its dom-
Proba, that all Christian prayer, which expresses our desires, should be
inant concepts would be adopted by scholasticism and introduced, with
in harmony with the Our Father. The latter teaches us not only what we
variations, into the new theological structures. The utilization of this
ought to ask for but also in what order. Thus the Our Father is the prayer
work was particularly important for St. Thomas in the composition of
that forms all our affections (informativa totius nostri affectus). It gov-
the Summa theologiae. Augustine's intuitions contributed to the deter-
erns the whole realm of affectivity and desire. The order of the petitions
mination of the New Law's place in the Sermon on the Mount and to
follows the structure of the prima secundae: the relation between God's
the basing of Christian morality on the foundation of the treatise .on
ultimate end and all that is ordered thereto. The same kind of interpre-
beatitude. They inspired the arrangement of the Second Part accordmg
tation was used for the question of happiness as for the Beatitudes
to the parallelism of virtues, gifts, and Beatitudes, and reappeared in the
(IaIIae, q 69, a 3). The Lord's Prayer expresses the desire that impels
interpretation of the Lord's Prayer as the "form" of every prayer together
us toward the divine beatitude as our ultimate end. It dominates our
with the virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
entire moral life.
History has proved the richness of Augustine's commentary on the
In this article the correspondence of petitions with gifts and Beati-
Sermon through facts, which a simple reading of the text does not yield.
tudes appears only in the ad 3 (q 83 a 9), where St. Thomas deemed it
It is a valuable source for preaching, exegesis, and theology, and can be
sufficient to cite St. Augustine's text in the commentary on the Sermon,
considered as a model for Christian meditation on Scripture.
following Augustine's order this time: first beatitude, first petition, and
so forth. Contrary to the opinion of Father Buzy ("Beatitudes," in the
Dictionnaire de spiritualite), St. Thomas truly adopted the Augustinian The Role of the Commentary Today
parallelism of the petitions of the Lord's Prayer with the gifts and used
What was the ultimate destiny of St. Augustine's commentary on the
the original text. However, in the more rigorous ordering in the Summa,
Sermon? It continued to be read, certainly, and is still cited today as a
which follows its own logic, he could not accord it primary consider-
classic commentary. Nevertheless, it hardly produces the same fruits in
ation.
our time that it did in the Middle Ages. The advent of nominalism and
Nonetheless when St. Thomas preached on the Our Father in Naples,
the concentration of moral teaching on obligation have made this im-
toward the end of his life, he explained each petition in the Lord's Prayer
possible. After morality became mainly a matter of commands and pro-
in the light of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and followed the exact order
hibitions-without any consideration, among its basic elements, of the
used by Augustine in his preaching in Hippo, thus showing his deep
Beatitudes and the action of the Holy Spirit, and finally with the sepa-
esteem for it. Yet it is surprising that he mentioned the gifts only after
ration of morality from spirituality-the full theological and moral sig-
the second petition. This is due to the fact that the first part of the text
nificance of St. Augustine's commentary was no longer understood.
in our possession, up to the first petition, is not authentic.!!
Ethicists saw in it merely a work of spirituality with some interesting
interpretations of problems such as divorce. What they did not realize,
however, was that this attitude marginalized the Sermon on the Mount
itself as something extrinsic to morality. This was in direct opposition
to Augustine's initial affirmation that the Sermon of the Lord was the
I I . Cf. B. G. Guyot, "Aldobrandinus de Toscanella : source de la la Petitio des editions perfect model or charter for the Christian life. Moral teaching would
de S. Thomas sur Ie Pater," Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum 53 (1983): 175-2.01. once more center around the Decalogue. No one seemed to realize that
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160 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount I6I

such a conception carried with it a serious risk of regressing to the level moral theology, today's ethicists lose the specifically Christian principle
of Old Testament justice. that should enable them to answer the question about the practicability
of the Sermon.
In his answer, Augustine united St. Paul's teaching on life in the Spirit
The Augustinian Response to the Question of the Impracticality
and St. Matthew's on true justice so closely that they became insepa-
of the Sermon on the Mount
rable. His association of the two concepts flowed from his meditation
In this context, the difficulty that obstructs and divides modern exe- on Scripture and tradition and on his personal experience. This is what
getes in regard to the Sermon carries greater weight than ever. With all we might call experiential exegesis, in which understanding is acquired
its precepts, surely the Sermon commands the impossible? We can sur- by living the faith and reflecting upon it.
mise how St. Augustine would have answered this question, if today's Again, it is significant that modern theology has eliminated the pa-
scholars had put it to him. tristic tradition in separating St. Matthew and St. Paul, either by the
He would certainly have begun by clarifying the origin of ethics: it Protestant split between faith and works or by the Catholic concentra-
originates with the question of happiness, not with obligations. This has tion on obligation. The result is the same for both: Christian ethics loses
a direct bearing on the relation between ethics and the Sermon. If ethics the Sermon on the Mount and has no way of answering the difficulty
is a matter of obligation5, it cannot possibly assimilate the Sermon. The about putting it into practice. Yet the Lord's word could hardly be more
Lord's teaching penetrates the depths of human nature far too intimately explicit and imperative: "Everyone who listens to these words of mine
to be viewed as a body of strict commands imposed by an external law. and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house
On the other hand the question of happiness gives rise to an ethical on sand" (Mt 7:26). Does this not apply to ethicists and theologians?
system based on the attraction to truth and goodness, which readily
harmonizes with the promises of the Beatitudes and the paths traced A Specifically Christian Ethics
out by the Gospel precepts. Linked with the desire for happiness, the
teaching of the Sermon penetrates to our inmost souls and responds to St. Augustine's answer to the question of whether or not there is a
our deepest aspirations, purifying them and directing them to God. The specifically Christian ethics was very clear. He gave a preliminary outline
inner logic of the two systems is born out by history. The Sermon played drawn straight from the Gospel and based on a few dominant ideas. It
a major role in the happiness-based morality of the great Christian tra- was concentrated in three textual blocks: the Beatitudes, followed by
dition. Later moral constructs of obligation, whether Catholic or Prot- the precepts or ways leading to them; the gifts of the Holy Spirit ac-
estant, have been incapable of adopting or adequately explaining the cording to Isaiah; and the Lord's Prayer. It is wholly remarkable that St.
teaching of the Sermon. Thomas, having personally re-read the commentary on the Sermon, used
To the question of how the precepts in the Sermon could possibly be precisely these "intuitions" of Augustine to shape the Second Part of his
carried out, St. Augustine would answer in the words ofJesus: "For men, Summa. It can be proven historically, moreover, that Augustine's text
this is impossible; for God everything is possible" (Mt I9:26)-by re- on the Beatitudes was the principal and most profound source for his
course to the gift of Christ's grace, which is proper to the New Testa- own treatise on happiness, even before Aristotle's Ethics. St. Thomas
ment, as the entire patristic tradition teaches. In our commentary, grace always read the Sermon on the Mount looking over Augustine's shoul-
refers specifically to the action of the Holy Spirit working through the der. If he occasionally took liberties in his interpretation, he still shared
Beatitudes and gifts. Thus we could say that the main lesson of the Ser- the principal themes and gave them their entire theological weight.
mon is about the works the Holy Spirit wishes to accomplish in us
through the power of his grace, with our humble and docile cooperation, Toward a Renewal of Christian Ethics
as described in the Beatitudes. The Sermon gives us the Spirit's promises
and calls us to hope before telling us what we must do. Through the By way of conclusion, we can draw a few lessons from the teachings
work of the Spirit, the precepts prompt us first to the inner obedience of St. Augustine that may contribute to the contemporary elaboration
of love. By removing the study of grace and the gifts of the Spirit from of an ethical system that is Christian.
 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount

I. The Sermon of the Lord is a perfect model or charter for Christian purity of heart, if we are to acquire a vital understanding of the Sermon
living. The Sermon must once again become a basic text and primary and to build up theology.
source of moral theology, ahead of the Decalogue, natural law, or an
assemblage of norms or rights established by pure reason. In the face of 4. The correlation of Beatitudes to gifts. This leads us to abandon
the rationalism of our times, this demands of us an audacious faith in the separation between morality and spirituality (ascetical and mysti-
the solidity of the Gospel, both at the intellectual and at the moral level. cal), in order to give morality a truly spiritual dimension, as "life in the
This is our only real chance to shore up today's moral edifice, shaken Spirit." It is through the gifts, in fact, that the Holy Spirit inspires Chris-
as it is to its very foundations by the winds, storms, and floods of tian life, giving believers interior light and impulse. The gifts are far
our age. more important for Christian living than all the charisms we hear so
It is less a matter of returning to Augustine and St. Thomas than of much about in the Church today.
going back to the actual Word of God, the Gospel text inspired by the
Holy Spirit in faith. In doing this we shall be following those two masters 5. The relation between the Lord's Prayer, the gifts, and the Beati-
who made themselves servants of the Lord's Sermon. Their words are tudes. There must be a link between personal and liturgical prayer-
no substitutes for the Gospel, but they lead us to it. This is how we ought where the Our Father was placed-and theology. Today we realize more
to read and exploit them. and more the need for prayer in theological reflection. Under the influ-
Neither is it a question of reshaping moral theology in the material ence of rationalism, we have too long believed that theology was a work
form of the Sermon on the Mount. These are two distinct literary genres, of pure reason and prayer a matter of emotion. We have forgotten that
different types of teaching. Theology should express in its own language the theologian cannot acquire an experiential, accurate understanding
the dominant ideas of the Sermon, which convey the new justice. Moral of what he teaches without the light of grace and therefore of prayer,
theology would thus become the fruit of the Sermon on the Mount. without his share in the gifts of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and
counsel.
2. Interpretation of the Sermon and consequent shaping of moral the- Actually, whether or not we integrate prayer in the process of theo-
ology in light of the Beatitudes. Reintegrating the study of happiness logical reflection is going to affect the essence of theology itself and its
in moral theology and giving it the primary role in light of the Beatitudes insertion into the current of faith. The principle underlying St. Augus-
implies a veritable revolution for contemporary ethics. Duty-driven, tine's own research convinces us of this. His assertion, "Unless you be-
compelled by obligations and commands, modern ethics is faced with a lieve, you will not understand," can easily translate into: "Unless you
dilemma: either conform to morality and give up the idea of happiness, pray, you will not understand."
or seek happiness and abandon morality. The choice is crucial. As a final remark, let me say that we have no need to fear presenting
The Sermon, and St. Augustine'S and St. Thomas's interpretations of the Sermon on the Mount to nonbelievers, on the pretext that only a
it, can help us to reconcile morality with the desire for happiness. The natural ethic is appropriate for them. Experience shows, and the reading
reconciliation will not be easy, for it postulates an in-depth reshaping of commentaries confirms it: the Sermon touches non-Christians more
of morality. The concept of duty will no longer be central, but will be deeply and has far greater appeal than any moral theory based on natural
subordinated to that of virtue, and virtue's vitality and dynamism will law in the name of reason. It is as if the Sermon strikes a human chord
have to be rediscovered. more "natural" and universal than reason by itself can ever do.
However this may be, we can never stop preaching the Sermon on the
3· The interpretation of the Beatitudes as seven stages of the Christian Mount to everyone. Theology is at the service of this kind of preaching.
life. St. Augustine's interpretation is one of many. Its advantage is that It is, in its own way, a commentary on the Gospel, designed to show us
it shows the historic dimension of the Beatitudes, their integration in how to apply it in all the dimensions of life. And it is here that the works
Christian history and in the history of the pilgrim Church. It harmonizes of St. Augustine and St. Thomas can be our models. This is precisely
therefore with salvation history and lived experience. It also alerts us to why they were written.
the fact that we need to practice the Gospel virtues, from humility to
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ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN

The Sermon on the Mount 16 5

III. TOWARD A REDISCOVERY OF PRIMITIVE Christ's answer to the search for happiness. This teaching deepens the
MORAL CATECHESIS precepts of the Decalogue, penetrating to the "h~art," where actions are
conceived in the depths of a person and where virtues are formed, rang-
ing from humility and gentleness to love for enem~es.. ,
The two studies we have just made, on St. Matthew and St. Paul, put The style of the Sermon is typical of a catechesls With Its short sen-
us on the way to a rediscovery of primitive moral catechesis. Once we tences summing up the doctrine and its carefully worked-out compo-
realize that morality is not limited to the narrow confines of obligations
sition, easily memorized and passed on to others.
and commands but includes as its best part the study of happiness and
the virtues, the moral teaching in the New Testament stands out in all
its rich fulness. Biblical texts abound to illustrate this and have pride of Apostolic Exhortation or Paraclesis
place in the Scriptures, as the neces~ary supplement to the preaching of
the faith. Obviously we are dealing here, as the Fathers of the Church Moral teaching was expanded with apostolic exhortation, called par-
saw clearly, with the earliest authentic sources of catechesis and Chris- aclesis rather than parenesis. We have to admit that the kind of apostolic
tian moral theology. We need to return to these again and again, to exhortation found in the Sermon of the Lord is almost entirely rejected
enrich our thought and our lives. A summary of the main texts of ca-
by modern ethicists. It is now considered as a mi~or, un,important ~e~re
techesis in apostolic times follows. useful only for people who are aiming at perfectIOn. It IS sharply dlstm-
guished from a duty-driven morality or ethic, and is given the name
The Primary Text: The Sermon on the Mount paranesis to indicate that it is optional. ,
Once again, the mistake is a serious one, for exhortatIOn seems to have
been the characteristic mode of apostolic moral teaching. If we are faith-
The primary text is none other than the Sermon on the Mount, pro- ful to the primitive Christian vocabulary, we will replace paranesis, a
posed by St. Matthew as a summary of Jesus' teaching on justice and term very rarely used, (three times only: in Luke 3: 18 and in Acts 27: 2
the moral precepts appropriate for his disciples. We have in this a clearly and 22) with paraclesis, which designates an earnest exhortation. We
defined catechesis, which has been called a charter of the Christian life. might think of it as a technical term in St. Paul, for he often uses it to
The Sermon is unique in its authority; it enjoys the authority of the Lord introduce moral teaching in his letters. For example, "Think of God's
himself, expressed in the clearest terms: "I have come not to abolish but mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you" (Rom 12:1. See also
to complete .... It was said ... but I say this to you .... " "His teaching Phil 2:1; Eph 4:1 and I Peter 2:11). Paraclesis puts us in a relationship
made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with with God that has passed beyond legal justice to mercy. It is the most
authority" (Mt 5:17, 21-22; 7:28). Clearly in the mind of the apostolic appropriate mode for the apostle when he is transmitting the doctrine
community this was a primary source of moral teaching. It would have of the Lord's mercy to his disciples, who have become his brothers and
to be included in any theology fully faithful to the Gospel. whom he addresses with the tenderness of a father. He does not give
We should note that the Sermon, like the entire Gospel, is addressed them orders as if they were servants, for he has already opened their
to all, beginning with the poor and humble. St. John Chrysostom and hearts to love. He exhorts them by word and example, as his brothers
St. Augustine knew this well and said it to the people. It can hardly be
and friends.
viewed therefore simply as a counsel reserved for the chosen few. The Pauline paraclesis is therefore definitely a part of moral teaching. It is
teaching is unequivocal: if you wish to enter the Kingdom of heaven, catechesis similar to the Sermon of the Lord, but given in a manner
you must practice Gospel "justice." If you do this you are building on suited to the apostle, whose authority is delegated. It is phrased in a
rock; if not, on sand. chiseled style to insure its being passed on. The sentences are short and
The Sermon of the Lord is a model of the moral teaching of the prim- rhythmic and make use of assonance, as for example in Romans 12:9-
itive Church. It begins with the gift of the Beatitudes, which fulfill the
13·
promises of the Old Testament. With St. Thomas, we see them as We have here a principal source of moral theology, constantly adopted
166 ETHICS, HUMAN AND CHRISTIAN The Sermon on the Mount

by the Fathers of the Church in their teaching. The liturgy too provides awaiting the Day of the Lord, as children of the light, in imitation of
this regularly. Christ, who lives anew in our fraternal imitation of him.
It is important not to separate these moral passages from the dogmatic We should also note in their entirety: The Letter of James and his
ones preceding them; for example, the paraclesis of Romans, chapters sapiential teaching, so delightfully concrete; The First Letter of Peter,
12 to 15, should not be separated from the earlier chapters on the faith which is a real gem of moral exhortation (its teaching is often reminis-
that justifies. This kind of separation is an arbitrary cutting, due usually cent of St. Paul and the Sermon on the Mount); The First Letter of John,
to some later theological problematic, Catholic or Protestant. The vir- with its great themes of light, sin and the world, charity and faith.
tues taught by the Apostle in his paraclesis are the direct and necessary In my opinion, there can be no renewal of moral theology today with-
result of the faith that justifies and the love of Christ poured into our out the rediscovery and exploitation of these Gospel sources. They alone
hearts by the Holy Spirit. They are always related, often in an explicit
can restore to moral theology its true dimension and spiritual vitality.
and profound way, to the mystery of Christ: "In your minds you must
Finally, we should not overlook the riches of moral experience found
be the same as Christ Jesus" (Phil 2: 5). in the Old Testament, notably in the sapiential books. These are fre-
A listing of the principle passages containing moral catechesis found
quently used by the authors of the New Testament.
in the letters of the apostles, in biblical order, follows.
Romans 12-15. The Christian life is presented as a liturgy, a spiritual
worship we give to God by offering him our bodies and our persons
within the Body of Christ. We have become Christ's members through
baptism, and his charity animates us.
1 Corinthians. After having discussed a series of "cases of conscience"
solved mainly in their relation to Christ and having to do with incest,
appeal to pagan courts, fornication, etc., chapters 12 and 13 give us the
hierarchy of the gifts of the Spirit. These are ruled by charity, which
binds together the Body of Christ, the Church, and inspires all the other
virtues, ministries, and charisms.
Galatians 5. A description of the spiritual combat, in which the flesh
is opposed to the fruits of the Spirit, of which charity is the first.
Ephesians 4-5. An exhortation to unity in one Body and one Spirit
and to the putting off of the old man to be reclothed in the New Man,
"created in God's way, in the goodness and holiness of the truth."
Philippians 2:1-17 and 3:1-4, 9. An exhortation to imitate the sen-
timents of Christ in the humility and obedience of the cross in order to
share in his glory, and to become imitators of St. Paul, stretching for-
ward on his course to win the prize of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3: 1-4, 10. An exhortation to live a life hidden in Christ,
to put on the new man, "a new self which will progress towards true
knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator." (Notice
too, in Colossians and Ephesians, the two great initial hymns describing
the mystery of Christ, given for Christian hope and contemplation: they
show us our destiny in the divine plan.)
1 Thessalonians 4-5. An exhortation to holiness and vigilance while