Because I'm Happy

My RCC upbringing still makes things a bit confusing in my bible studies, I have to relearn  a lot of stuff, and there's some notions still floating around in my head that came from my days learning the catechism. One of these instilled notions is 'Don't worry about what the bible says, we'll tell you what you need to know.' 

So when I read the word "blessed" it means one thing to me: someone who has been beatified or canonized. Beatified means to determine that a dead person is holy enough to be worshiped and canonized means to determine that a dead person is holy enough to be worshiped and carries the RCC rank of Saint. And do not let the RCC apologist tell you they venerate and not worship, that is incorrect, they certainly do worship dead people. Catholic Encyclopedia defines Beatification as:

Beatification is a permission for public worship restricted to certain places and to certain acts.

Interesting how Revelation 22:9 escaped the RCC. So with this nonsense stuck in my head how can I possibly properly appreciate the Beatitudes?  I have to make a conscious effort to remember that "blessed" does not involve an ancient ceremony and worshiping a false god. 

When looking at the beatitudes I've recently discovered that the Greek word that got transliterated into blessed is actually makarios:

Makarios: a prolonged form of the poetical makar (meaning the same); supremely blest; by extension fortunate, well off :- blessed, happy (× -ier).

If I take out 'blessed' and all of its expired connotations for me and replace blessed with other adjectives that makarios covers, the beatitudes now appear a lot clearer to me:

³ “Prosperous are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Fortunate are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “Happy are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Well off are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Happy are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ “Happy are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “Fortunate are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:3-12)

I'm not re-writing the bible, I'm using appropriate meanings from the original word used. It does not sound as pretty as the KJV wording, but the meaning is clearer to me with my 21st century vocabulary. Sometimes we have to dig to get to the meaning of the words God laid down for us. It's worth it.