Purification of Heart

Purification of Heart
Purification of the heart is the endless struggle of seeking a more God-centered life. It is the minute-to-minute discipline of trying to be so aware of God's presence that the heart has no space for our own worries, ambitions, or attention to appearances. (Jim Forest, The Ladder of the Beatitudes. Orbis Press, Maryknoll.1999. Pg. 96)
It has often seemed to me that the best way to do this is through prayer, especially the walking prayer, that is, having a prayer phrase that we say whenever we are walking. It can be just a short walk, up a flight of stairs., or whenever we are walking anywhere. There are some tasks during which it is easy to pray. For me that might be setting the table. And sometimes intermittently while I am cooking. However, I know I have to be careful there. The other night I was cooking a new recipe. The base was familiar so I launched out. And did the first part. Then I looked down at the new part and did it, but alas, I had skipped an important phrase. Right after the familiar part it said “instead of this, do that! So the unused part is still in the frig! Many of us have work that requires total attention. Then we seek to find short intermissions in which to say a word to God, or simply acknowledge God’s sustaining Presence.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Mt 5:8. Moses begged to see the face of God. And God had him stand ‘in the cleft of a rock’, and God covered him with his hand while God’s glory passed by. Later Elijah too wanted to see God and he experienced God in a still voice. In the Transfiguration, the three apostles saw Jesus surrounded with light and Moses and Elijah talking with Him.
These strong experiences tell us that God wants to reveal Himself to us. So it is immensely worth our while to try to pray always, and let go of worries and critical thoughts and any other garbage that floats into our conscious mind. It is by having prayers and hymn phrases and memory gems from Scripture or poetry that we call upon whenever possible that we gradually find our hearts and minds less congested.
The desert fathers and mothers used a verse from Ps 70: O God come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me. Many over the years have used some variation of a prayer with the Name of Jesus. As simple as Jesus, Mercy. Or as a friend of mine says: Jesus, Jesus, help, help, help. He likes it because he can say it rhythmically as he walks. Find a phrase - often from Scripture that you can repeat as you go about your day. Remember: Blessed the pure of heart, for they shall see God