Jesus took his disciples onto a mountainside and began his teaching in what has become known as the beatitudes. Blessed are the ……. for theirs is ……

The first beatitude is ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’. It can be read In Matthew’s gospel

In Luke 18 9-14 we read of two men going to pray. One was full of pride and thanked God that he was not like the tax collector. The tax collector looked down at the ground and prayed ‘God have mercy on me a sinner.’

Jesus said, ‘I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.’

To be poor in spirit is to approach God with humility.

Another example is Mary, the Mother of Jesus. In the Magnificat she says in Luke 1

“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me —
holy is his name….” (from NIV)