Do not leave our pure hearts empty..

Day 19. Admonition 16   Of Cleanness of Heart.   “Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.” People are clean in their heart, when they despise earthly things.  Always seeking those of heaven, and who, with a pure heart and mind, never cease to adore and contemplate the Lord God Living and True.

I don’t know about you, I have a rather delightful image of a cherub sweeping out its heart, and polishing it to make sure it is clean.   Little eyes and little heart looking to heaven, adoration on their lips and bright shining faces, poised to do the will of the Lord.   In Francis’ time the Christian world was dichotomous - being clean of heart automatically implied despite of earthly things. Today we can fall into the same trap, wanting to divorce ourselves from anything to do with the everyday world so that we can purify ourselves and seek heavenly things.   We must do both, at one and the same time clean up our language and raise our thoughts, give ourselves high ideals and all the while adoring and contemplating God.   And think about this:   “When the evil spirit arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Matthew 12:44,45 NIV)   Do not leave our pure hearts empty.