The pure of heart is simply the inwardly uncorrupted. Those who act with right motives devoid of corruption towards others. Those who act with sincerity towards God. Purity of heart is a state of inner goodness, a state of innocence and cleanliness, a state of being wholly integral, a state of sincerity and pure motives. (art 4)
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”, (Matt. 5:8), is from Christ’s Sermon on the Mountain, commonly called the Beatitudes. It has to be recalled that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus employed the beatitudes to address the prevalent unjust socio-political circumstances of his day. With the beatitudes, he presented God’s standard as he addressed the circumstances of the world of Augustus Caesar’s Roman Empire and the religious elitism of the Jewish society. (art 3)
My dear brothers and sisters, this reflection aims at advancing a concrete proposal for living out the Christian virtue of purity of heart in our contemporary society. In a time like ours when the world glorifies vengeful, hateful and lustful acts against each other, when forgiveness is thought of as weakness, chastity is considered outdated or idealistic, and the gentle-hearted is ignored or abused, it is our wish to invite the society to embrace the virtue of purity of heart. This purity of heart encompasses the purity of mind, purity of body and purity of the spirit. God is pure spirit and no one sees him without the necessary shedding off the baggage that leads to the transformation of heart. (art 8)
The second part of the statement of Christ contains the greatest promise ever made to man because there is no greater incentive to live for and no greater experience for man to anticipate than to see God and enjoy his company forever after this life. There is nothing more beautiful than to behold God and be with Him. This beatitude therefore gives us the best secret of how to achieve our purpose in this life: namely the Beatific Vision. (art6)
