“Like Moses on Sinai, Jesus gives these “new commandments” from a hillside. He does not impose them but instead proposes them as the path to true happiness in the future that God promises to His faithful people. Each Beatitude is composed of three parts: the opening word “Blessed,” followed by the situation in which those who are called blessed find themselves – poor in spirit, mourning, thirsting for justice – and finally the reason for which they are blessed. The Beatitudes teach that we are blessed not by our present situation, but rather by the new condition that is ours by God’s grace. This first sermon of Jesus thus presents eight “doors” through which we can encounter the power of God’s love to transform our lives and history.”

Pope Francis, Audience, 29 January 2020