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

First of all, Jesus points out the very best way to be purified: ‘You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.’ (Jn 15:3) His Word, more than the practice of religious rites, is what purifies our inner self. The Word of Jesus is not like human words. Christ is present in his Word, as he is present, in a different way, in the Eucharist. Through his Word Christ enters within us and, provided we allow him to act, he makes us free from sin and therefore pure in heart.

Thus purity is the fruit of living the Word, of living all the Words of Jesus which free us from our so-called attachments, which we inevitably fall into if our hearts are not in God and in his teachings. These can be attachments to things, to people, to ourselves. But if our heart is focused on God alone, all the rest falls away.

To succeed in doing this, it can be useful at different times during the day to say to Jesus, to God: ‘You, Lord, are my only good!’ (see Ps. 16: 2) Let’s try to say it often, especially when various attachments seek to pull our heart towards those images, feelings and passions that can blur our vision of what is good and take away our freedom.

Are we inclined to look at certain types of posters or television programs? Let’s stop and say to him: ‘You, Lord, are my only good’ and this will be the first step that will take us beyond self, by re-declaring our love for God. In this way we will grow in purity.

Do we realize sometimes that someone, or something we do, has got in the way, like an obstacle, between us and God, spoiling our relationship with him? That is the moment to say to him: ‘You, Lord, are my only good.’ It will help us purify our intentions and regain inner freedom.

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

Living the Word makes us free and pure because the Word is love. It is love, with its divine fire, that purifies our intentions and the whole of our inner self, because our ‘heart’, according to the Bible, is the deepest seat of our intelligence and our will. But there is a type of love that Jesus commands us to practise and that enables us to live this beatitude. It is mutual love, being ready to give our life for others, following the example of Jesus. This love creates a current, an exchange, an atmosphere characterized above all by transparency and purity, because of the presence of God who alone can create a pure heart in us (see Ps. 50:12). It is by living mutual love that the Word acts with its purifying and sanctifying effects.

As isolated individuals we are incapable of resisting the world’s temptations for long, but in mutual love there is a healthy environment that can protect purity and all other aspects of a true Christian life.

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

So, then, the fruit of this constantly re-acquired purity is that we can ‘see’ God, which means we can understand his work in our lives and in history, hear his voice in our hearts, and recognize him where he is: in the poor, in the Eucharist, in his Word, in our communion with others, in the Church.

It is a foretaste of the presence of God which already begins in this life, as we ‘walk by faith, not by sight’ (2 Cor. 5:7), until the time when, ‘we will see face to face’ (1 Cor. 13:12) forever.

Chiara Lubich

Each month a Scripture passage is offered as a guide and inspiration for daily living. This commentary, translated into 96 different languages and dialects, reaches several million people worldwide through print, radio, television and the Internet. Ever since the Focolare’s beginnings, founder Chiara Lubich (1920–2008) wrote her commentaries each month. This one was originally published in November 1999.

This monthly leaflet is a supplement to Living City, the Focolare magazine (livingcitymagazine.com). People’s life experiences as they put the monthly sentence into practice can be read in Living City or in books published by New City Press (newcitypress.com).

For information and to subscribe to this leaflet or to the magazine, write to: Living City, 202 Comforter Blvd, Hyde Park, New York 12538; tel: 845-229-0496; e-mail: livingcity@livingcitymagazine.com. Visit focolare.org (international); focolare.us (U.S.). © 2014 by Living City of the Focolare Movement, Inc.

Read more on this topic:

• Leahy, Brendan. “Living the Word Together,” Going to God Together, New City Press, 2013.
• Lubich, Chiara. “Enlarge our heart,” Essential Writings, New City Press, 2007, p.81.
• Lubich, Chiara. “Until love is mutual,” The Art of Loving, New City Press, 2005, p.87.

Next month: March 2014

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (Jn 15:10)