2518 The sixth beatitude proclaims, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”307 “Pure in heart” refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God’s holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity;308 chastity or sexual rectitude;309 love of truth and orthodoxy of faith.310 There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith:
The faithful must believe the articles of the Creed “so that by believing they may obey God, by obeying may live well, by living well may purify their hearts, and with pure hearts may understand what they believe.“
3112519 The “pure in heart” are promised that they will see God face to face and be like him.
312 Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God. Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as “neighbors”; it lets us perceive the human body – ours and our neighbor’s – as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
This faith and obedience, the two sides of the same coin is something that I learned early on in my ‘reversion’ to the fullness of the Catholic faith. I remember shortly after falling in love with the Lord anew. I was in my bedroom and had finished praying and was attempting to meditate on the days readings. So I just sat there for a while and spoke to Him. I plainly asked Him ‘so what now’? This sitting around in prayer thing still seemed pretty ‘boring’ to me at the time. I was wondering if this was it…did leading a Catholic Christian life simply mean sitting around praying all day.
His answer was so profound that even after two decades I remember it still. He told me…”you’ve prayed, now be attentive to ME and obey what I ask of you.” Well, let me tell you, my life has been anything but boring. Obeying Him has lead me on the most amazing adventures…my life to the reader may not seem very adventurous…I’m simply a homeschooling mom…but the path that lead me here was totally and completely amazing. It reminds of the following poem
This poem reflects the beautiful relationship that He wants with us.
At first, I saw God as my observer,
my judge,
keeping track of the things I did wrong,
so as to know whether I merited heaven
or hell when I die.
He was out there sort of like a president.
I recognized His picture when I saw it,
but I really didn’t know Him.
But later on
when I met Christ,
it seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride,
but it was a tandem bike,
and I noticed that Christ
was in the back helping me pedal.
I don’t know just when it was
that He suggested we change places,
but life has not been the same since.
When I had control,
I knew the way.
It was rather boring,
but predictable . . .
It was the shortest distance between two points.
But when He took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts,
up mountains,
and through rocky places
at breakneck speeds,
it was all I could do to hang on!
Even though it looked like madness,
He said, “Pedal!”
I worried and was anxious
and asked,
“Where are you taking me?”
He laughed and didn’t answer,
and I started to learn to trust.
I forgot my boring life
and entered into the adventure.
And when I’d say, “I’m scared,”
He’d lean back and touch my hand.
He took me to people with gifts that I needed,
gifts of healing,
acceptance
and joy.
They gave me gifts to take on my journey,
my Lord’s and mine.
And we were off again.
He said, “Give the gifts away;
they’re extra baggage, too much weight.”
So I did,
to the people we met,
and I found that in giving I received,
and still our burden was light.
I did not trust Him,
at first,
in control of my life.
I thought He’d wreck it;
but He knows bike secrets,
knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.
And I am learning to shut up
and pedal
in the strangest places,
and I’m beginning to enjoy the view
and the cool breeze on my face
with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.
And when I’m sure I just can’t do anymore,
He just smiles and says . . . “Pedal.”
— author unknown
You can go to this page—> Jesus My Lord and Savior to read more about faith and obedience and how both are required.