Beatitudes - a Carmelite Perspective: Blessed are the Pure of Heart
"Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God."
Modern theologians have reinterpreted this Beatitude to say, "Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall see God." Pure, or clean or heart as it is also quoted, has now been thought of as single-hearted, because pure means complete, absolute, without taint of vitiation, and with one, single purpose. It is with this theological interpretation, then, that we will treat this beatitude.
Happy are we who have one, single, pure and simple goal in our heart, and that is to belong to, be in the presence of, and "see" our Beloved. This beatitude assures us that our persistent and steadfast pursuit of god will be rewarded. For this reason, I have felt the virtue best suited for this beatitude is the godly virtue of diligence, also known as perseverance. Diligence and perseverance are needed in order to be complete, absolute, without vitiation, and maintain a single heart or purpose.
First of all, we will delve into the pure and single heart to see what its goal or purpose is, or should be, as contemplatives. Then secondly, we will find out how we can pursue this goal with diligence and perseverance. And finally, we will se why, and the reward for, persisting in our single-hearted beatitude.
The heart has always been a symbol of love, and St. John the Apostle in his Gospel said: "God is Love." Also, the heart is the center of our life force, the strongest muscle of the body, and the prime mover of our liquid being. It seems that love, life, God, and heart are one, single, and same necessary part of our nature.
God created humanity, with all its faults, for one single-hearted purpose: to share in His eternal love. Furthermore, God's will is that we, too, have that same pure desire to share His love in return. All the Saints recognized God's call to love and followed after it. What makes a saint different from the rest of humanity is their undaunted diligence and perseverance in answering that call with al their heart, minds, and souls.
We now know what the purpose and goal is of the single-hearted, so let us turn to the second part of how this is accomplished. How does one determine the call of God and how does one follow it without vitiation?
God's call, or will for us, is ALWAYS to love. The vocational differences lie in how we respond, and these ways may vary as many as there are individuals. We certainly can't all respond in the same way and each of us brings a unique quality or aspect to God's designs. Although each of us has different personalities, talents, and walks of life, our one common vocation is to love. Sometimes we do not feel so lovable, or like being loving towards others, and this is where our perseverance and diligence come into play. We must set our eyes on Love and tenaciously walk in that direction.
Christ told us that the two main commands of life are to love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. Since we have joined together here on this "Mount of Carmel," it should be hoped that we have already placed God above all things and that He is our single-hearted goal. But do we love our neighbor as ourselves? Indeed, do we really love ourselves? Do we think that the saints all loved God and everyone else and not themselves? Since Jesus said to love our neighbor as ourselves, then it is a "Gospel truth" that we should love ourselves as much as our neighbor. Actually, to love ourselves and our neighbor is loving the same God that is in us all.
How do we love? To love is to give, share, accept, and to take as well. The giving and sharing is part of the accepting and taking. Each is a balance for the other. We give and we share so that others can come to know the God within us. Then we take and accept the god within others that is offered to us. The balance is created as the Holy Spirit uses the love of us all for the glory of the Body of Christ, which Jesus has offered to the Father.
The world offers many detours from the path of love and this is why diligence and perseverance are so necessary. A hundred intersections cross our goal and we mustn't take the wrong turn. Examples are not taking the time for prayer and meditation, or missing Mass without a good reason, or failing to support our Parish whether monetarily or through our services, or avoiding the sick and needy. But these are all obvious Church-related detours. There are also civil matters such as exceeding speed limits, cheating on taxes, or failing to give a just day's service to our employers.
True love, the essence of real spirituality, goes much deeper and beyond the superfluous rules and regulations of the world we live in. It is an inner presence that helps us walk that extra mile, give our cloak as well as our coat, turn the other cheek, invest our talents, or sell all to buy the pearl of great price. This must be our one hope, our single-hearted goal, and our undaunted and diligent desire. Though money, property, ambition, prestige, and security will enter our life, we must not let them turn us aside from the road to love, or even detour us slightly from the path. Pray that the God of love will provide us the grace and virtue to remain steadfast.
Now that we have talked about the what and how of being pure, or single-heart, we will continue on the why. Why should we work so hard at love when so few seem to care or appreciate us? Why should we diligently do our duties and persevere in pursuit of beatitude, "for they shall see God."
To see GOD!!! What joy and enviable ecstasy!! What ultimate beatific vision!! If we could know how much God wants us to see Him, we would count the frustrations of this life as a pittance price. Yet, even now, His presence is before us, around us, within us, and we do not see. With the help of this beatitude, we can begin to see God now. We will not have to wait for the next life, but He will surely let us "see" Him in the countless activities or our day where He has always been, moving and drawing us in previously undetectable ways, which we did not notice before our heart was purified.
What do our Carmelite Saints and contemporary contemplatives have to say about this beatitude of love and vision? We will take from St. Teresa's "Interior Castle," St. John of the Cross' "Ascent of Mt. Carmel," and Thomas Merton's "New Seeds of Contemplation."
First we will see what our Carmelite Mother, Teresa of Avila, has to say in the "Interior Castle." In the Second Dwelling, Chapter I, she says: "Yet this Lord desires intensely that we love Him and seek His company, so much so that from time to time He calls us to draw near Him. His Majesty knows well how to wait many days and years, especially when He sees perseverance and good desires. This perseverance is most necessary here. One always gains much through perseverance."
In the Third Dwelling, chapter I, she said: "What shall we say to those who through perseverance and the mercy of God have won these battles and entered the third stage? Certainly we are right in calling such a man blessed, since if he doesn't turn back he is on the secure path of salvation."
Finally, in the Fifth Dwelling Place, Chapter IV, she says: "I say that if this soul were always attached to God's will it is clear that it would not go astray. But the devil comes along with some skillful deception and, under the color of good, confuses it with regard to little things. The diligence on our part that comes to my mind as being most effective is, we must always ask God in prayer to sustain us. Love is never idle."
Thus, we can see that throughout her "Interior Castle" diligence and perseverance are spoken of continuously as vital in order to reach the center and ultimate union, which is "seeing" God in the most intimate way possible this side of Heaven.
Next, we will look at our Carmelite Father, St. John of the Cross, concerning this beatitude and assisting virtues. In the "Ascent of Mt. Carmel," Book I, Chapter 10, he speaks of the necessity of perseverance in practicing virtue in order to being the climb up the spiritual ladder. In Book II, Chapter 13, he speaks of the lack of diligence in spiritual matters as a sign that one may not be called or ready to ascend the heights of spirituality. In Book III, Chapter 3 and 44, he discusses how temptations of the "world, flesh, and the devil" overtake souls on their journey up the ladder and how perseverance in prayer is most necessary. Like Teresa, his climbing of the spiritual ladder is likened to her finding the center of the castle, and the virtue of diligence and perseverance are like friends that accompany and assist us on the way. The further up the ladder, or into the castle we go, the more the devil will try to sway us, therefore, these virtues will be practiced more and more until perfected in the final stages.
One thing I did not mention before about this Beatitude that should be considered, because St. John of the Cross brings this up often, and that is the purification aspects of being "pure of heart." Each beatitude represents another stage of spiritual growth and this one stresses the purification of our souls, becoming of one mind with god and a single heart joined to our Beloved. The reward is seeing God as He really is and not with false or unrealistic notions.
Finally, for our contemporary contemplative, Fr. Thomas Merton. His book, "New Seeds of Contemplation" has a chapter called "The Pure Heart."
His perspective of this was diligence in not allowing even rightful pleasures of this life to become overly important to us or taken for grants, either. Part of our purification is the discipline of forsaking even natural pleasures occasionally. He states, "The contemplative life certainly does not demand a self-righteous contempt for the habits and diversions of ordinary people. But nevertheless,..Noo man who seeks spiritual freedom can afford to yield passively to all the appeals of a society of salesmen, advertisers, and consumers." His concepts of diligence and perseverance are reflected in the care we should have in avoiding sinful circumstances, as well, in this statement, "Do everything you can to avoid the noise and business (busy-ness) of men. Keep as far away as you can from the places where they gather to cheat and insult one another, to exploit one another, to laugh at one another, or to mock one another with false gestures of friendship." These are the subtle ways St. Teresa spoke of when she said the devil would come along with some "skillful deception, under the color of good," as he confuses us on even slight sins against love and charity.
In conclusion, we can see the importance of this Beatitude in three important aspects:
1) As a single-hearted desire for the love of God;
2) As a way of loving ourselves and our neighbor through God; and
3) As a means of purification against the temptations of this world.
The strength and virtue of the pure of heart lies in its diligence and steadfast perseverance towards the goal of the Beloved; and the reward is a true apprehension and inner vision of the One Loved.
I close with a part of Psalm 51, which was the last words of St. Teresa before she died: "A pure heart create for me, O God. Put a steadfast spirit within me."
- Excerpted from the writings of Sr. Patricia of Mary Magdalene
posted by Lynden Rodriguez, OCDS at 2:14 PM
