Purity penetrates into the innermost recesses of the soul, dissolving the scum of egoism, the accumulations of wrong desires, the mixture of fear, suspicion, and baseness which prejudices had formed in us in spite of ourselves. Purity passes through them, and out beyond. For the pure in heart the world has no murky depths; they penetrate through to the well-spirng of life...
From them there is no difference between appearance and reality. What they show us is the perfection of their nature, in all its poise and equilibrium, a perfection which indeed renders it invisible, like God, water, light, and virtue.
The opposite of purity is anxiety, which unfailingly creates a division in the soul; but purity abolishes all strife between the soul and herself. A pure soul is at all times everything that she is. Purity is the quality of the child who freely shows us his inner self, before the process of repression and distortion has set in...
The perfection of purity is precisely that instead of seeking to protect itself by keeping apart from the world, it proves its strength and efficacy by passing through all uncleanness in the world without receiving any taint, but rather leaving in its midst its own radiance. Even hostility becomes a new source of strength, a trial which is never long absent.
- Loius Lavelle, prominent Christian philosopher
Dearest Lord,
Please purify me to the very depths so that I may see you and hear you and recognize your presence in everything and everyone around me.
My soul is so thristy for your grace...my heart hungry for your love...my mind longing for your truth...with all that I am, I seek your face and reach for your hand to lift me up from the ground where I kneel at your feet.
It's your peace that I need, the serenity I have missed, the great joy in loving you that I desire again for the sake of my life with you.
I die many deaths and rise as many times as I strive to overcome my self and live for you alone. It can be so difficult, Lord, to remember why I am here, but it has been through the enlightenment of your Spirit that I have been able to realize how much I miss you.
Yet you have been here all of these years, waiting for me to come back...to start searching again for meaning and purpose...to understand that I can be loved by you and those who also want to love me.
So for every temptation I face that threatens to draw me away from you or harm the relationships that you have given me, I pray for the strength to battle with the great weapon of love. I want not only to turn away from sin and selfishness, but to choose what is good and holy.
I am a week away from being inaugurated into a new ministry, where the demands are much and the pressures more than taxing.
But it is more than just a ministry...it is a Sacrament...a vocation...a calling from God.
I told myself that I didn't want to be a leader anymore because of the warfare and the exhaustion that comes with being on the front line.
Marriage, however, is more serious than any organization I have ever been a part of. Being a wife and mother (God willing) is much more important than any position I have ever held in my life. I say this because Gary and I will be joining the millions of men and women in the world who have answered this call and chosen this vocation for themselves.
The challenge presented to us in these times is to restore the dignity of this noble relationship...this covenant that society has debased to a legal contract.
And for us, it all is determined by how much I love him...how much he loves me...how much we are willing to sacrifice for each other in this lifetime...and how much we will strive for heaven as our ultimate destination.
I've been thinking about him all day, and praying for your grace, Lord, to stay sensitive to his needs and serve him well. Please help me always remember that he is your gift to me. He is your love made physically real, the salve to my wounded heart, the melody to the song I had forgotten how to sing.
We will soon be joined as one to give glory to you through our union together. May we and all married couples keep the fire of your love burning bright in our lives, so that the reality and essence of marriage will be made the standard again in this world.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
Amen.
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