By Father Mieczysław Piotrowski TChr,
Love One Another! 4/2004 → True Love Waits - Pure Hearts
Only love gives meaning to life, suffering and death. Only through love can Jesus lead us to eternal life. That is why God became a real man, and why, since His death and resurrection, He remains with us in the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist.
He wants to teach us to love with a pure heart and take us up with Him to heaven. More and more young people are deciding to join the Movement of Pure Hearts (MPH), for, in this school of Christ, they want to obtain those greatest of treasures – the gift of a pure heart and the joy of pure love.
Each has his road
“Everyone has his own road to walk in life” – writes Peter.
“Sometimes it is straight and smooth, but most of the time
it is full of intersections and looks more like a chessboard. That’s
because people chose such paths for themselves, often without giving
a thought to where their actions will lead. I thought that there
was nothing left for me in life, that I had lost everything. I was
unemployed and in debt. On top of that, I had been unsuccessful
in my love life. But, on talking my situation over with a friend,
I came to realize that there was still love in the world, and that
this was the most important thing, since it came from God. I reached
for the Scriptures and carefully read Saint Paul’s hymn of
love (Paul's
First Letter to the Corinthians 13). One verse in particular
jumped out at me: the one that says that love ‘never falleth
away.’ I decided that, despite all my failures in life and
the fact that I was already twenty-seven years old, all was by no
means lost. It was time to start a ‘new life.’ I thought
of the girl I had loved and how I had wounded her by hiding the
truth about myself. I think that, by joining the Movement of Pure
Hearts, I will be able to address my weaknesses and learn from Christ
what real love is, that is, pure love that ‘never falleth
away’.”
“I have decided to join MPH” – writes John. “My life has been full of emptiness, mainly because of my self-abuse, which I have been addicted to since I was very young. Now, at the age of seventeen, I want to build everything on the Merciful Christ, for I know that He will never disappoint me. Eventually, I want to have a loving family of my own, but I know that whatever one sows, one reaps. That is why I have decided to open my heart to God’s grace and live by to His precepts. Please pray for me, that I can persevere in my promise.”
“Love” – writes fifteen-year-old Ania – “is the one thing worth living for. The path of love is the shortest and surest way to heaven; in fact, it is the only way. After the evening liturgy last Holy Thursday (which is truly a feast day of love), I said the “Prayer of Pure Hearts” and entrusted my whole life to God once more. Keeping myself pure for marriage has never been a question for me for as long as I can remember. That is how my parents raised and taught me. I could never imagine it being any other way. I have always known that I would save sex for marriage. But now, for several important reasons, my decision has become more conscious and my own. I want to preserve my purity as a gift to Jesus, to my future husband, and to our future children. I know that this is the only way to happiness. Chastity teaches real, responsible, and unselfish love. I pray for this gift, and also that the man I will spend my life with may enjoy friendship with Jesus. It sounds funny, but I already love my husband and wish for his happiness, even though I do not know who or where he is. I thank God for him, and I pray that Saint Joseph will look after him. I gladly trust that one day I will meet him.”
Abide in My Love
To all those who feel discouraged by failure and setbacks, and who feel tempted
to give up, Jesus has this to say: Abide in my love! (John
15 : 9); Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless
you abide in Me (John
15 : 4). If, after joining MPH, you experience a setback, remember
that, in entrusting yourself to Jesus in the “Prayer of Pure
Hearts,” you promise to allow Him to raise you up each time
you stumble, and that you will immediately go to confession and
say the “Prayer of Pure Hearts” over again. This is
a serious part of your commitment. After each failure, no matter
how serious, you must, without hesitation and with great trust,
seize the hand that Jesus extends to you in the Sacrament of Penance.
Only then can He raise you up, treat the wound, and lead you along
the road of maturity in love. There could be nothing more foolish
than not to take advantage of this golden opportunity, which our
Savior offers every one of us. Remember that for Jesus there are
no hopeless or irremediable situations. With Him you will always
triumph; but you must trust in Him and continue each day to walk
the arduous road of faith. Saint Edith Stein – the world-famous
philosopher, who, upon discovering the treasure of the Faith, cast
off her atheism, was baptized, and became a Carmelite nun –
had this to say: We must always live in contact with God, hear the
words He reveals and conveys to us, and act in accordance with them.
Above all, we must pray as the Savior taught us to, and bear in
mind what He constantly drums into our heads. “Ask, and you
shall receive.” This is the most solid assurance possible
that we will be heard. The person who says “Thy will be done”
earnestly and every day can be certain he will carry out God’s
will, even though, subjectively speaking, he lacks assurance of
this.
Jesus invites everyone to join MPH. He wants us to admit our hearts into His Clinic of Pure Hearts. Only He can cleanse them and make us apt for pure love, which is a foretaste of Heaven. If you are willing to undertake this arduous yet exhilarating adventure of maturing in love with the MPH community, first go to confession, then, after receiving Holy Communion, say the following prayer of consecration:
The Prayer of Pure Hearts
Lord Jesus,
I am thankful that You love me with a love that rights the greatest wrongs and heals the most hurtful wounds. Cleanse my heart of any evil that prevents me from knowing and enjoying the gift of pure love. Lord, I give You my memory, my mind, my soul, my body, my sexuality; I promise not to engage in sexual acts until I am united by the Sacrament of Marriage. From this day on, I will not read, buy, or watch pornographic materials. I solemnly promise to pray every day, to read the Holy Bible, to go to Confession frequently, to receive Holy Communion as often as possible, and to live my life by the Ten Rules of the Crusade for Love. Lord Jesus, be the one master of my life. Teach me to control my sexual desires and emotions. Help me avoid everything that weakens and enslaves the will: cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. Teach me to put love at the center my life. Mary, my Mother, lead me along the way of faith, to the very source of Love, to Jesus, that I may trust and believe in Him alone. Help me to pick myself up every time I fall.
Blessed Karolina, pray for us. Amen!
We also encourage you to inform us in writing of this great event. Send us your address, date of birth, and also the date that you joined the MPH community. We, in turn, will send you a special blessing and enroll you in our Book of Pure Hearts.
Dear readers, Jesus clearly wishes you to write down and send us your testimonies. We do not have to tell you how much this helps others to return to the path of faith and seek the gift of a pure heart.
This Year of the Eucharist we wish that you would gaze into the face of the Risen Jesus through adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. May you accept with a pure heart all the gifts that Jesus desires to offer you.
We continue to surround you with our prayers.
The article was published with the permission from "Love One Another!"
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