Introduction
Jesus said in His beatitudes, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” And this is a beautiful way for us to begin the year, because that is what the Sacred Heart of Jesus offers us…a way to “see God.” Saint John Paul II once wrote that the beatitudes are Jesus’ “self portrait” – they are like a painting that our Lord reveals to us, showing us who He is (the virtues of His Heart).
This is our third year of focusing of these virtues, and we aren’t even close to exhausting the depth and breadth of the virtues present in the Heart of Jesus. It’s like a well that never runs dry…there is always more to discover about the Heart of Jesus.
This year we are going to take time each month to connect the promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to these virtues of His Heart. There were 12 promises given to St Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French nun who our Lord called “the beloved disciple of the Sacred Heart.” Tonight we’ll look at two of those promises…and I hope that by the end of the year in May, we will all have a deeper and richer understanding of these beautiful promises that are for US and for ALL PEOPLE.
The Beatitudes
Jesus gave us 8 beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, which was recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew’s gospel was directed toward an audience that was very familiar with the Hebrew tradition. He stressed that Jesus is the Christ…the Messiah that Hebrew scripture (our Old Testament) had promised. Matthew wanted us to see that the Kingdom Christ spoke of is the Kingdom of Heaven…the promise of eternal life with our God.
The beatitudes are a series of brief little descriptions Jesus gives, that describe the “blessed life”…or in other words, they describe the basic dispositions or attitudes of the heart that we need to have in order to reach true holiness. So Jesus is really describing Himself…because it is when we become more and more like Him that we become more and more holy. More perfectly than anyone else, Jesus is “poor in spirit,” “merciful,” “meek”….and He is also perfectly “PURE IN HEART.”
By emphasizing purity of heart, Jesus isn’t taking away from the importance of being pure in mind and body as well, but He focuses on the HEART because it is the center of who we are. It is above all other things our LOVE that must be pure. That means that our love needs to be untainted by anything that is not of God…anything that is unworthy of God.
Authenticity
That is what PURITY means…to be untainted and free from all impurities or foreign elements that would diminish the authenticity of something. We can think of gold, for example. Pure, 24-karat gold doesn’t contain any foreign elements. It is just pure gold…what you see is what you get. The same can be said of pure maple syrup or pure single-malt Scotch…they are 100% pure…100% what they claim to be.
So we can say that purity means AUTHENTICITY. Maybe that’s not the first thing that pops into our head when we hear the word “pure” though…it really has nothing to do with Puritan ideas or hatred of the human body. It is authenticity...and that is what we see in the life of Jesus. He was 100% pure…100% what He claimed to be.
He wasn’t pure of heart just because He was celibate. His heart was pure because His love was pure and true and real…it wasn’t selfish or tainted by varied intentions. Jesus’ love was pure because He looked at others not as OBJECTS from whom He could gain something for Himself…but as PERSONS. He didn’t desire to PLEASE HIMSELF through others, but He loved them for their own sake.
The Sinful Woman
That’s why when Jesus approached others and really looked at them, His gaze didn’t bring shame or embarrassment…but a sense of peace and security…a sense of being loved. Look at the way He treated the woman who was known as a “sinner” by everyone in the town [Lk 7: 36-50]. Remember that Jesus was at the home of Simon the Pharisee when this sinful woman (some say it was Mary Magdalene) came in and sat at His feet. She weeps so much that she washes His feet with her tears. And then she dries them with her hair. She kisses the feet of Jesus and she anoints them with ointment. Simon the Pharisee is appalled by this and thinks to himself that Jesus couldn’t be a prophet or He would know what kind of woman was touching Him…a SINNER.
Let’s think for a minute about what must have been going on in this woman’s heart. How did she experience Jesus? Usually, in Jesus’ time, when women were referred to as “sinners” it meant that they were prostitutes or adulteresses. Surely this woman knew what it was to be USED by men. She could easily distinguish between a sensual sneer and a gaze of love. In Jesus, she found acceptance for who she was as a PERSON, which lead her to real conversion. She found love and forgiveness rather than self-interest and lust. And she poured out her own love in return…so much so that Jesus said to Simon that it was precisely because this woman had experiences great MERCY that she showed such great love.
No Additives
Jesus loved His Father with a pure heart…free from mixed intentions. He loved all people…men, women, children…with this same purity. His love was simple and untainted…we could say it was CLEAN. He didn’t allow anything to stain His love.
I’ve heard these phrases, especially hear in Minnesota. You say, “Pure as the driven snow,” for example. Or the bottled water says, “mountain spring water.” Especially in today’s health-conscious culture, we are suspicious of additives…we don’t want any preservatives or artificial coloring or hormones. Fr Adam is always trying to get us to drink soda without artificial sweeteners or caffeine. This was Jesus…the Savior without any artificial anything! Jesus was pure and simple. Little children were attracted to Him. The weak and the broken were attracted to Him. He didn’t take advantage of people or threaten them. He was just there for them.
The Need for Purification
This is the sort of purity of heart to which we are each called. It isn’t easy, because self interest always seems to sneek its way in to our relationships...even when we try our best to keep it out. Even when our primary motive is good, we can often discover secondary motives that are less pure (additives that stain our love). Relationships that start out pure can become tainted and corrupted over time. Surely this is why Jesus tells us to PRAY and WATCH, to work at keeping our love pure.
Our little human hearts need CONSTANT PURIFICATION. Scripture compares this purification to the refining of gold or silver, or to the bleaching of white garments. And I don’t need to tell you…this process is always PAINFUL. Do you know what it takes to refine gold? It has to be heated to very high temperatures so that the impurities will float to the top, so that they can be skimmed off. To bleach garments, lye is used…a highly concentrated chemical that BURNS the stains away. There is pain in purification, but over and over again our Lord tells us that the pain leads to our peace and happiness…and to eternal life.
Examining our Conscience
One way to work toward our purification is to be diligent in examining our conscience every day (in our community, we do it twice a day…at lunch and before we go to bed). When we examine our conscience, asking the Holy Spirit to help us, we unearth the impurities that can stain our love. But above all else we need the purifying power of God’s GRACE…the FIRE of His love. He will purify us if we ask Him with sincerity to do it.
Promises of the Sacred Heart
And this leads us to the first two promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which connect very beautifully with this quality of having a pure heart. As you may know, Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French nun who lived in the 1600’s. When she was 11, she became very sick and was bedridden for four years. During her suffering, she developed an intimate relationship with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. After being healed and entering religious life, our Lord appeared to Mary and revealed devotions to His Sacred Heart. She received many apparitions. In one of them, Jesus said to her, “Look at this Heart which has loved people so much, and yet they do not love me in return. Through you, My Divine Heart wishes to spread it’s love to all people.” Jesus made at least 12 promises to her, telling her how He would help those who honor His Sacred Heart.
The first promise was: “I will give them all of the graces necessary in their state in life.” Jesus promises to help us to obtain the pure heart we want so much. He promises us His grace…which means that we are not alone and we will have all the help we need to become a saint.
The second promise was: “I will establish peace in their homes.” Peace always comes from living the will of God. A Heart that is pure and authentic…a heart that is what it was made to be…will be a heart at peace. And when there is peace in our hearts, there will be peace in our relationships with one another…in our relationship with God and in our relationship with the members of our family and our friends. Peace does not mean the lack of contradiction and difficulty, but rather it means a peaceful and calm heart in the midst of struggle. Our Lord faced many difficulties and contradictions but was always at peace.
Conclusion
Let’s end with a prayer, as we prepare our hearts for the Mass and the renewal of our consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As the year progresses we’ll talk more about consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and there will be a special Mass in May when those who want to can have an image of the Sacred Heart blessed, for their homes, and can consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart. But each of us can participate in this consecration tonight at the Mass, asking our Lord to show us more and more deeply what it means to belong to His Sacred Heart.
We pray:
Lord, I admire the purity of your Sacred Heart. You were able to love to intensely, so passionately, and yet so purely. You never looked for personal gain or to see what was in it for you. You loved others for their sake. Blessed be Your Holy Name.
I love too Lord. You know that I do. But You also know how desperately I need You to purify my love. I want a clean heart like Yours. Grant me a pure heart…a free heart…a heart that is filled with love for God and for all souls.
Jesus, pure and clean of heart, make my heart more like Yours!
Songs:
Psalm 139 Alena Moore
Lyrics:
At the feet of Jesus my world changed,
Everything is brighter
I see a picture of what I can be
My life will never flee from what I've seen,
Your heart is my desire
I want to know You like the child You see
Where can I run from Your love?
You search me and know all my heart
If I climb to the heights, You'll be there
If I make my bed in Hell, You'll lead me home
Before the earth existed You knew me,
You called me to be holy
I will praise You for the way I'm made
How precious are the thoughts You think of me,
Could anybody count them?
They are greater than the sands by the sea
Where can I run from Your love?
You search me and know all my heart
If I climb to the heights, You'll be there
If I make my bed in Hell, You'll lead me home
You'll lead me home, lead me home
I open up my heart, please search me through
Does anything displease You?
Lead me in the way of Your cross
Where can I run from Your love?
You search me and know all my heart
If I climb to the heights, You'll be there
If I make my bed in Hell, You'll lead me home
Everything is brighter
I see a picture of what I can be
My life will never flee from what I've seen,
Your heart is my desire
I want to know You like the child You see
Where can I run from Your love?
You search me and know all my heart
If I climb to the heights, You'll be there
If I make my bed in Hell, You'll lead me home
Before the earth existed You knew me,
You called me to be holy
I will praise You for the way I'm made
How precious are the thoughts You think of me,
Could anybody count them?
They are greater than the sands by the sea
Where can I run from Your love?
You search me and know all my heart
If I climb to the heights, You'll be there
If I make my bed in Hell, You'll lead me home
You'll lead me home, lead me home
I open up my heart, please search me through
Does anything displease You?
Lead me in the way of Your cross
Where can I run from Your love?
You search me and know all my heart
If I climb to the heights, You'll be there
If I make my bed in Hell, You'll lead me home
"Unwavering" Matt Maher
Lyrics:
Blessed are the poor
The kingdom is theirs
Alive in the promise
To be dead to the world
Blessed are the meek
In honor of your Father
The Word at your right hand
The Spirit of truth
Unwavering is your voice
Unwavering is your hand
Unwavering is the heart that bled for the sins of men
Unwavering is your will
Unwavering is your plan
The fount of salvation on which we will stand
Blessed are the poor
The kingdom is theirs
Alive in the promise
To be dead to the world
Blessed are the meek
In honor of your Father
The Word at your right hand
The Spirit of truth
Unwavering is your voice
Unwavering is your hand
Unwavering is the heart that bled for the sins of men
Unwavering is your will
Unwavering is your plan
The fount of salvation on which we will stand
Blessed are the righteous
On bended knee
Found in this freedom
Committed to you
Blessed are those who see
The heights of glory
Found in the valley
And suffering for you
Unwavering is your voice
Unwavering is your hand
Unwavering is the heart that bled for the sins of men
Unwavering is your will
Unwavering is your plan
The fount of salvation on which we will stand
Send us out to be your hands and feet
Send us out to be your hands and feet
Send us out to be your hands and feet
Unwavering is your voice
Unwavering is your hand
Unwavering is the heart that bled for the sins of men
Unwavering is your will
Unwavering is your plan
The font of salvation on which we will stand
The font of salvation on which we will stand
Send us out to be your hands and feet
Send us out to be your hands and feet
Send us out to be your hands and feet
Send us out to be your hands and feet
Send us out to be your hands and feet
Send us out to be your hands and feet
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