Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (NIV)

You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. (MSG)
(Matthew 5:8)
 

 Matthew 5:1-12

Assuming a Christian identity and living according to the precepts set out in the Beatitudes is an ongoing journey of inner transformation. The journey calls us to holiness, to living the life we are called to as children of God. Jesus invites us to a conversion, a renewal of our hearts by love and a desire to love God above all things. It is about removing the noise, pride, and fear that cloud our vision of God.

We celebrated the feasts of All Saints and All Souls this week. 

Saints are ordinary people who responded to Jesus’ invitation, “Follow me and you will be blessed.” The saints lived with this inner clarity, to love God above all things. Whether in cloisters, hospitals, or city streets, they saw God in everything and everyone. Their holiness began not with grand gestures, but with quiet obedience —a yes to God in their ordinary, everyday, mundane, busy, and messy lives.

By keeping our eyes and hearts fixed on God, as the saints did, we begin to love God above all things. We change and recognise God in everything and everyone around us. 

We choose to keep looking at God, because looking away leads us astray.

What keeps my heart divided or distracted from God’s presence?

What inner attitude is God inviting me to change?

Jesus, my love, I ask only this: 

to love you as you deserve to be loved.
Make my heart ever pure and humble,
that I may see you in all things and all people.
Amen.

Prayer – St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Reflections by Ursula van Nierop

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