Here then in short is what we have to gather from this passage: that all those
CHAPTER 2: Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit and Those Who Mourn
Here then in short is what we have to gather from this passage: that all those who are rich in spirit, that is to say who esteem themselves and bathe in their earthly delights, and who want to be something here, who attribute much to themselves because of their possessions and their nobility, their honors and credit: that all such people are under a curse and shut out from Jesus Christ, as it will be expressed then afterwards, and we will see him in his place.
So this is what we have to observe in short. And we have already seen the reason why in the song of the Virgin Mary, when she said that God casts down the mighty and the kings of this world from their seats, and puts them to the ground, and that he raises up the little ones, and those who before were despised. If she had only said that, there would have been little argument, How then? Does God take pleasure in making such changes, to toss men about like a ball, or like a coin passed from hand to hand, or like dogs from which we can make the most of what we want: one will be worth twenty sous, and then a hundred, and then a thousand, and then it will be put in such a place that it will only be worth a single denier. If therefore God dealt with men in this way, it would seem to us to have some absurdity. For this cause the Virgin adds, that God fills the hungry, and may he send away all those who were full. It therefore shows the cause why God makes such changes in the world. For it is very difficult for a man who will have enough to feed himself, even in delights and pomp, when he will be honored by all, when everyone will applaud him, not come to become puffed up: as we also see the great ones of this world swollen with ambition. There will be such arrogance that they are like people who are drunk and almost dying: who when they have filled themselves with bread, wine, and meat, they are so full that they can hardly turn around. The virgin Mary therefore says, that inasmuch as men thus abuse the goods which God gives them, it is necessary that after having been drunk, they return empty, and that God teach them that it is to be thus emptied of their vanity: and on the contrary, that he satisfies those who are hungry. Now this word hunger here carries the sense of humility of spirit. There are indeed some who are hungry: but they have no appetite for any meat. But when a poor man, feeling his scarcity, has recourse to the one who can provide for it, and in all humility he asks humbly to be relieved, this is true poverty of spirit. So then, when we are poor in spirit or our afflictions, that is to say, we will feel our need and be driven to seek help from God: there lies our blessedness.