February 17 – The Pure in Heart . . . Work At It!

Jesus said, “The pure in heart shall see God,” and we pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” How does a monastic keep a pure heart? By keeping it according to the Word! (Psalm 119:9) We say and acknowledge again, the Word of God is powerful in our lives!

As has been said, we might scan the Scripture daily, read our portion and tick the box, and it might well have power to work good works in our souls. What if we in Cor Unum were to read the Word of God as though we were seated at the feet of God, daily, and more than daily . . . returning to the Word of the Lord at least once or twice each day.

We can do it! We return to our computers, to our email and social network accounts more than once each day! We can do this! Beloved Sisters and Brothers! Let us consider how it may be done. At a certain age, we would expect our children to consider how they must obey our instructions: finish your homework; keep your room clean; remember to water the dog! Let us look to see how we may return to the Lord at least twice each day, bringing our love and devotion, presenting ourselves before the Throne of Grace, receiving grace and mercy, that we might have all the more grace and mercy to share!

The liturgical season of Lent is upon us. The essence of Lent is to “surrender” something for the love of God, from Ash Wednesday (February 22 this year) until Easter, and for the purpose of preparing the soul to remember the passion of Jesus Christ. Shall we order our days for Lent, that we might order our souls, bringing them into a revival of wonder, gratitude, and humility as we fix our love upon the love of God in the gift of His Son?

Tomorrow, a word about the resistance we will surely face . . . and how to overcome it!