What Should Be Understood by ‘Poor in spirit’

1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 5:3)

2. Disbelief has made fun of the maxim, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” just as it has many other things without understanding them. By ‘poor in spirit’ Jesus does not mean persons devoid of intelligence, but the humble: he said the kingdom of heaven is for them and not for the proud.

Persons of knowledge and  intellect –  according to  the world – usually have such a high opinion of themselves and their superiority that they consider divine things as unworthy of their attention. Their gaze, focused on themselves, cannot lift itself up to God. This inclination to believe themselves to be above anything and everything quite often leads them to deny anything that might be above them – even the Divinity itself – and which could humble them. Or if they do consent to believing in the Divinity, they contest one of its most beautiful attributes: its providential action regarding matters of this world. They are persuaded that they are good enough to govern it well enough by themselves. Taking their own intelligence as the standard of universal intelligence, and deeming themselves capable of comprehending everything, they cannot believe in the possibility of what they do not comprehend. Once they have passed sentence, their judgment is unappealable.

If they refuse to believe in the invisible world and an extra-human power, it is not because it is beyond their ability, but because their pride revolts against the idea of something above which they cannot place themselves, and which would make them come down from their pedestal. Thus, they have only smiles of disdain for anything that is not of the visible and tangible world. They attribute to themselves too much intelligence and knowledge to believe in things which, according to them, are good for simple folk, and they regard those who take such things seriously as poor in spirit.

Nonetheless,  say what they may, like everyone else they will have to enter that invisible world that they now deride, where their eyes will be opened and they will realize their error. However, God is just and cannot put in the same category those who scorned the divine power and those who humbly submitted to the divinely established laws, nor can they be equal to each other.

In stating that the kingdom of heaven is for the simple, Jesus means that no one is admitted  into it without simplicity of heart and humility  of spirit; that ignorant persons who possess such qualities will be preferred to the learned who believe more in themselves than in God. In every instance, Jesus places humility in the category of virtues that bring us closer to God, and pride among the vices that distance us from God – and for a very obvious reason: humility is an act of submission to God, whereas pride is revolt against God. Therefore, it is more valuable for people’s happiness to be poor in spirit – in the earthly sense – and rich in moral qualities.