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WordWord

ofof

LifeLife

November 2010

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Blessed are the pure of heart for

they shall see God. (Mt 5,8)

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Jesus begins his preaching with the Sermon on theMount. On a broad low hill a few hundred yards fromthe Tiberias lakeside, near Capharnaum, Jesus sitsdown as was customary for teachers, and proclaims

the beatitudes to the crowds.

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The word "blessed," that is, the exaltation of those whofulfilled the Word of the Lord in a variety of ways,

resounded a number of times in the Hebrew Scriptures.

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The beatitudes of Jesus were, in part, an echo of thosethe disciples already knew. For the first time, however,they were hearing that the pure of heart were not onlyworthy of going up the mountain of the Lord, as sung by

the Psalm, but they could also see God.

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What sublime purity was this that could merit so much?Jesus would explain it several times during the courseof his preaching. Let us try to follow him then, so as

to draw from the source of authentic purity.

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Blessed are the pure of heart for

they shall see God.

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First of all, Jesus says that there is one suprememeans of purification: "You are already cleanbecause of the word that I spoke to you."

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His word, more than the practice of religious rites,purifies man's inner self. The word of Jesus is not

like human words.

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Christ is present in his word, as he is present, although inanother way, in the Eucharist. Through his word Christenters within us and, provided we allow him to act, he

makes us free from sin and therefore, pure of heart.

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Thus, purity is the fruit of living all the words ofJesus. They free us from the so-called attachments,into which we inevitably fall if our heart is not in God

and in his teachings.

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These could be attachments to things, people,or our own selves. But if our heart is focused

on God alone, all the rest falls away.

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To achieve this, we may find it useful to repeatthroughout the day, to Jesus, to God, the invocation of

a Psalm which says: You, Lord, are my only good!

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Let us try to repeat it often, especially whenattachments of many kinds seek to draw our hearts tothose images, sentiments and passions which can blur

the vision of good and take away our freedom.

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Do we tend to watch unwholesometelevision programs?

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No, lets repeat to him: You, Lord, are my only good.Redeclaring our love for God will be the first step in going

out of ourselves. By doing so we will have gained in purity.

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Do we sometimes feel that a person or an activityis coming between us and God, like an obstacle

that affects our relationship with him?

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Thats the moment to repeat: You, Lord, are myonly good. This will help us purify our intentions and

regain inner freedom.

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Blessed are the pure of heart for

they shall see God.

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Living the Scriptures makes us pure and free because itis love. The divine fire of love purifies our intentionsand all our inner self, because the Bible considers the"heart" to be the deepest seat of intelligence and will.

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But there is one love which Jesus commands us topractice and which enables us to live this beatitude.It is mutual love, being ready to give our life for

others, following the example of Jesus.

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This love creates a current, an exchange, an atmospherewhose dominant note is precisely that of clarity, purity,because of the presence of God. He alone can make us

pure of heart. It is by living mutual love that the word of

God produces its effects of purification and sanctification.

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As isolated individuals we are incapable of resisting thesolicitations of the world for long. Instead, mutual loveprovides a healthy environment capable of protecting the

whole of our authentic Christian existence and, in

particular, our purity.

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Blessed are the pure of heart for

they shall see God.

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These then are the fruits of purity, obtained anew eachtime: we can "see" God, that is, we can understand hisaction in our own life and in history; we can hear hisvoice in our heart; we can discern his presence in the

poor, in the Eucharist, in his word, in brotherly

communion, in the Church.

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It is a foretaste of the presence of God whichalready begins in this life, for we walk by faith, notby sight, but whose presence then "we will see face

to face, for all eternity.

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Blessed are the pure of heart forthey shall see God. (Mt 5,8)

Text by Chiara Lubich