Devotion for today: Blessed are the pure in heart…

Our study today centers on those whose purity reflects that of God.

Scripture for meditation: Matthew 5:8

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

 

Scripture for reflection: Philippians 4:8

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us: 2518:  The sixth beatitude proclaims, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” “Pure in heart” refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God’s holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity, chastity or sexual rectitude, love of truth and orthodoxy of faith. There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith: the faithful must believe the articles of the Creed “so that by believing they may obey God, by obeying may live well, by living well may purify their hearts, and with pure hearts may understand what they believe.” (St. Augustine, De fide et symbol.) 2519: The “pure in heart” are promised that they will see God face to face and be like him. Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God. Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as “neighbors”; it lets us perceive the human body  - ours and our neighbor’s – as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty.

 

The Navarre Bible commentary tells us: Christ teaches us that the source of the quality of human acts lies in the heart, that is, in a man’s soul, in the depths of this spirit. “When we speak of a person’s heart, we refer not just to his sentiments, but to the whole person in his loving dealings with others. In order to help us understand divine things, Scripture uses the expression ‘heart’ in its full human meaning, as the summary and source, expression and ultimate basis of one’s thoughts, words and actions. A man is worth what his heart is worth” (B. J. Escriva, Christ is passing by, 164). Cleanliness of heart is a gift of God, which expresses itself in a capacity to love, in having an upright and pure attitude to everything noble. Helped by God’s grace, a Christian should constantly strive to cleanse his heart and acquire this purity, whose reward is the vision of God.

My thoughts: I must admit that I used to have a bit of a problem with the concept of purgatory until I came to understand this beatitude. I believed what many people said of their beloved dead, “They went straight to heaven because they were such good people.” This beatitude cleared up any misunderstanding I may have had. Jesus himself says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”: He did not say the good-hearted, but the pure in heart. We learn from the above teachings that “pure in heart” means our minds, bodies and souls are free of anything that is not God-like. God’s love is pure, without any motives. How can we possibly think that we live pure enough lives, every second of every day, to enter immediately into the beatific vision, which is pure love? I do believe some people have, and they are living saints. But for the most part, we can’t go one minute without judging, evaluating, condemning, preening our egos, putting ourselves ahead of others, doing whatever it takes to get to the top, entertaining ourselves or obsessing over a good bank account. Life is just like that. Our job is to force ourselves to step out of the world every single night and examine our minds, bodies and souls. How close did we come to our goal of loving everyone we encountered, no matter how difficult? How hard was it to sit in traffic and not entertain one thought of anger or frustration, to find ways to be kind to our fellow drivers? How hard was it to pass up movies and TV shows we know would entertain us but be offensive to God? How hard was it to take 15 or 20 minutes and just meditate on God’s word, seeking His direction for our lives, and surrendering our plan to His? How hard was it today to know we should pray before making a big decision, or saying an unkind word, or engaging in gossip? How hard was it to give God all the credit for our accomplishments and check our pride at the office or home door? See? If you died right now, could you honestly say you were so pure that you could let God see your mind, body, and soul? So how do we get that way? We all know the answer by now. We frequent confession and admit our guilt, do our penance and receive the outpouring of graces which will strengthen our lives. We give our minds over to prayer, our lives over to sacrifice, our wills over to God. We start with baby steps, and build to a life centered completely and joyfully on getting to heaven and bringing our worst enemy with us.  In other words, we live the beatitudes! Then we know we shall see the face of God, and live!!

Prayer: Psalm 51:10-12

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.