Blessed are the pure in heart!
59 What Christian value is expressed by the sixth Beatitude?
The sixth Beatitude is: Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.
This attitude of the Christian is one of purity of intention. The gift of God's Spirit frees our actions from motives of pride or self-interest. The disciples once complained to Jesus that the Pharisees had been "shocked" by his statement: "What goes into the mouth does not make a man unclean; it is what comes out of the man that makes him unclean." And Jesus later explained: "The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is these that make a man unclean. For from the heart come evil intentions: murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, slander" (Matthew 15:11,18-19).
Purity of intention is evidenced in the chaste heart, free from lust. For such an attitude means love for the other person's sake rather than one's own. "You have learnt how it was said: 'you must not commit adultery.' But I say this to you: 'If a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart"' (Matthew 5:27-28).
In this way, those whose hearts are focused on God will enter into his presence.
Sex and sin are so often placed side by side - so often, in fact, that many find it hard to separate them. Two commandments deal with the sin side of sex: "Thou shalt not commit adultery... Thou shalt not covet thy neighborıs wife."
Jesus' words express the Christian attitude to sex in quite different terms: "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." In all his moral teaching, Jesus' primary concern was with the heart. This Beatitude clearly expresses the Christian's fundamental attitude, If our heart is set in the right direction - if it is a "pure" heart - there will be no sexual sin.
The point, quite simply, is that our sexuality is an essential part of our personality. In her recent Declaration on Sexual Ethics (1975), the Church began by stating that "the human person is so profoundly affected by sexuality that it must be considered as one of the factors which give to each individual's life the principal traits that distinguish it." This is why the church has always been so concerned with sexual morality. Our attitude to sex is a sensitive thermometer which measures the quality and direction of the heart. Sexual sin is a sign that the heart is sick.
What, then, is the right attitude to sex? What is the right direction for the heart? What is 'purity' of heart?
The answer is not easily stated. After all, we are penetrating our innermost nature - our very dignity and destiny. Briefly, however, the answer is that the 'pure in heart' are concerned for 'wholeness.' They want 'holiness.' In a world, they are people who love.
The truth is that sex can be understood only in the contest of love. Sex becomes sinful when it is removed from this contest - when it is displayed and exalted as anything less then a part of our innermost personality. Sex is part of our 'holiness' by which we express our deepest union with the one we love. this is the union of marriage - a sign of the union between Christ and his Church.
Any divorce between sex and the "holiness" of marriage is a sign of a disordered heart - a heart turned in on itself. And a disordered heart is as powerful a force for destruction as is the ordered heart a power for building up. the Church is almost alone in placing the sexual side of our nature in its right context, giving it the importance it deserves.
It is the greatest tragedy, then, if we can only place sex side by side with sin. It means that we have totally failed to understand the wonderful mystery of the human personality: we have failed to see God.
Supplementary Material
"Human Sexuality: Wonderful Gift & Awesome Responsibility" Catholic Update CO 892
"What the Church Teaches aboout Homosexuality" CO 799
Quiz
Read the chapter indicated an answer each question with the best answer you can find in the text. Note that the numbering of the Beatitudes in the Catechism may differ from other lists.
59-1. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see:
a. the sunset
b. God
c. even though they are nearsighted.
d. have no further need to see.
59-2. Purity of intention means that God's spirit frees our actions from motives of:
a. pride and self-interest
b. lasciviousness
c. prurience
d. lust
59-3. Which of the following is not in the list of sins Jesus gives in Matthew 15:18-19:
a. Adultery
b. Fornication
c. Sodomy
d. Perjury
59-4. The chaste heart means that we love:
a. for the other person's sake
b. for our own sake principally
c. with lust and vigor
d. without counting the cost
59-5. If a man looks at a woman with lust, he has already (Mt 5:27-28):
a. Been condemned to hell
b. Committed adultery in his heart
c. Been sentenced to castration by the Holy Inquisition
d. Shown that he reads Penthouse magazine
59-6. This passage also applies to women who look at men.
a. True
b. False
c. Depends on how long she looks
59-7. In all his moral teaching Jesus' primary concern was with the:
a. Liver
b. Kidneys
c. Brain
d. Heart
59-8. Sex can only be understood in the context of:
a. Faith
b. Hope
c. Love
d. Purity
59-9. We have totally failed to understand the mystery of sex if:
a. We equate sex with sin
b. We don't practice birth control privately
c. We are not liberated by the Feminist Movement
d. Don't buy condoms on St. Valentine's Day
Vocabulary
Adultery =marital infidelity; when two partners of whom at least one is married to another have sexual relations. (#2380)
Chastity = governing one's passions and self-mastery of our human sexuality to achieve the end designed by God (#2339)
Fornication = carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman (#2353)
Sodomy = homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered and contrary to the natural law (#2357).
Daily Prayer
INSTRUCTIONS
Select a colored pencil to mark each of these passages in your Bible so that you can relate them to each other. In you notebook write the scripture reference and then summarize it in a short sentence.
Day 1: Ezech 22:10-16
Day 2: Rom 13:11-14
Day 3: Hosea 2:4-7
Day 4: 1 Thess 4:3-8
Day 5: Col 3:5-17
Day 6: Eph 4:17-24
One Who Cares
My child, I love you.
I love you unconditionally.
I love you good or bad with no strings attached.
I love you like this because I know all about you. I have known you ever since you were a child.
I know what I can do for you
and I know what I want to do for you.
My child, I accept you.
I accept you just as you are.
You don't need to change yourself.
I'll do the changing when you are ready.
I love you just as you are.
Believe this, for I assure you it is true.
My child, I care about you.
I care about every big and little thing that happens to you.
I care enough to do something abut it.
Remember this.
I will help you when you need me. Ask me.
I love you. I accept you. I care about you.
My child, I forgive you.
I forgive you and my forgiveness is complete.
It is not like that of humans who forgive but cannot forget.
I love you and my arms are open with love that asks:
Please come here! come here to Me.
I forgive you.
Do not carry your guilt another moment.
I carried it all for you on the Cross.
Believe this. It is true.