It has been said if you took all the good advice on how to live ever given by any philosopher, psychiatrist or counselor - took out the foolishness and boiled it down to the real essentials - you would be left with a poor imitation of the great message given by Jesus in Matthew 5-7, known as The Sermon on the Mount.

Today we focus on The Beatitudes. In nine consecutive verses Jesus uses the word Blessed. But instead of a focus on an emotion directed on outward circumstances, He refers to the distinctive spiritual joy of those who share in the salvation of the Kingdom of God.