Purity of Heart

“Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” – Matthew 5:8

For most of my life I thought that the “purity of heart” line from Matthew was just a reminder to practice chastity in romantic relationships. In fact, it seemed like that was the standard line of thinking for most young Christian people—that the word “purity” was synonymous with physical chastity. We were taught that we must remain “pure” for our future spouses, that we must not sully ourselves with sexual sin, and that we must be spotless and clean if we had any shot of happiness in our marriage vocations. It was lot of pressure and emphasized only one small piece of such a beautiful and penetrating virtue.

It wasn’t until I had matured and journeyed through different seasons of my my life that I started to understand a deeper meaning of what it meant to have a pure heartsomething that was entirely outside the call to physical chastity. In a much realer sense, it meant living life with pure intentions, without malice, and with as much authenticity as possible. I realized that in the Beatitudes, Jesus was speaking about so much more than just “saving yourself for marriage”.

As an adult, living with a pure heart means something much different than what was taught to me in Catholic school. Along with pursuing sexual purity, it also means striving to be the woman that God created me to be, wholly and without pretense. It means growing in virtue and avoiding sinful behaviors that end up fostering anger, hostility, or fear within me. I find when I try to live this way, I feel a much deeper sense of “purity” than anything that ever came from an abstinence talk.

Of course, that’s not to say that sexual purity isn’t relevant. Part of what it means to be chaste is to also have pure intentions in your romantic relationships—that is, not using others, not leading them (and yourself) into sexual sin, and generally helping them to grow in holiness. Those things are very important and absolutely necessary. But it’s also crucial to look at purity in a holistic sense instead of turning it into a list of sexual things we have or have not done.

If you struggle with physical chastity, focus on living other areas of your life with pure intentions:

  • Be kind.
  • Be sincere.
  • Be honest.
  • Stay true to your word.
  • Serve others.
  • Love genuinely.
  • Have integrity.

You’ll find that when you operate from a truly pure heart in these ways, physical chastity will come much easier. It will be a natural byproduct of living a virtuous life free from selfishness and bitterness.

Possessing a pure, untainted heart means radiating the joy and peace of the Gospel. It means truly and authentically living the tenents of Christianity, resting in God’s goodness and mercy, and extending that to those you encounter. Yes, the pure of heart shall see God. And when we live this way, we can let others see Him through our own as well.

“Create in me a pure heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” – Psalm 51:10

Photo Credit: Wonderfully Made

Amy Atkinson

Amy Atkinson

Amy Atkinson is a lifelong member of the Diocese of Arlington located in Northern Virginia. She is active in several of the diocese's young adult programs and has worked with many Catholic organizations throughout the DC/Metro area including Endow and Birthright, focusing primarily on ministry for young women.

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2 thoughts on “Purity of Heart”

  1. Great as usual. Unfortunately according to Pew research, 60% of weekly Catholic Mass goers accept gay acts as not sinful and 45% affirm gay marriage. That 60% becomes 85% among millenials.
    In short, Catholics have drifted far from the traditional and very far from Romans chapter one on gay acts of both genders.
    Why the gay topic? It augurs badly for chastity in general. In several places, the New Testament refers to sins of worldliness
    like lust or covetousness as idolatry….metaphorically. But that use of “idolatry” for lust or for coveting thy neighbors Porsche Cayman…is extremely instructive…extremely. It means lust is competitive with loving God. It draws one away from loving God because as Aquinas noted, sex is the most vehement pleasure on earth. Lust then is a threat to the first commandment. That’s major. I used to wonder why sex was such an important topic with certain groups of Catholics. But it is important because done outside the proper time and place…sex is COMPETITIVE
    with loving God and with the first commandment….and that is huge.

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