The Movement of Pure Hearts — A God-Given Opportunity
By the Publisher,
Love One Another! 5/2005 → True Love Waits - Pure Hearts
“After reading about the Movement of Pure Hearts in your magazine, I gave the matter some thought. After a few more days’ reflection I decided to come out of my selfishness, to entrust myself to God and allow myself to be healed in His ‘clinic for pure hearts.’” Joanna
Your magazine has convinced me that the Movement of Pure Hearts is an opportunity offered to me by Jesus Christ Himself. It took me a while to come to this conviction. I was afraid I would be unable to keep my promise, so I kept putting it off. But Jesus won out in the end. I have placed my trust in Him and accepted his gentle invitation to join MPH. When I feel alone, I try to pray more and listen to His voice. He assures me He is with me always. I find great help in the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which I am glad to say every day. God is my friend. Before Him I feel free to cry my eyes out. I seek comfort in Him. He guides my footsteps and shows me His fatherly love. Sometimes, though, I am afraid I will not be able to manage. I lose trust and fall prey to evil influences. That is why I wish to give myself to Jesus entirely. I want to walk through life with Him, to live by His commandments, and pick myself up every time I fall to the ground. Jesus will never disappoint me. Only with Him will I overcome my weaknesses. I give Him my heart so that He may fill it with His love, heal it and purify it. I do not want to pass up this chance that Jesus is offering me. That is why I am joining MPH. Jesus, grant me the joy of a pure heart! Dorothy;
Two months ago, I decided to join the Movement for Pure Hearts. At first I was afraid my promise would ring hollow with no effect on this great emptiness, which the sin of impurity has wrought inside me. So I asked Almighty God for the grace of mature perseverance in carrying out the decision I made. Today I feel a great joy. That prayer taught me that Someone finds me indispensable and important. God has healed me! I believe this! Jesus was always close to me during those times of my greatest failures, my flights from life, disappointments in love and painful rejections. Now He is even closer, drawing me ever more tightly into his loving embrace, and healing all those wounds. I know that my trust in Him is still very weak, but I also believe that with the intercession of Our Lady I will learn to accept Him ever more fully into my life. I will learn to fear Him no longer and witness to Him in today’s world. Everything I have is a grace from Him and I do not wish to squander His gifts. The prospect of a beautiful love lies before me and I do not mean to ruin it! I pray for a good husband who will love and respect me just as Saint Joseph loved and respected his beloved Mary. I also pray that I may receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit since I know that without His help I cannot be a faithful, good and loving wife. Christ conquered our weaknesses. He stands over and above everything that we find so hard and difficult. I believe God is like the tenderest father, drawing each one of us to His loving heart. He renews our hearts and shows us the way to perfect happiness. We do not realize how much He wishes to be close to each one of us! Trust in Him! Give Him your hand! He conquered everything. He conquers even now! Agnes, 22 years old;
A few months ago I was still hesitant about joining the Movement of Pure Hearts, but, with each passing day, the closer I drew to God the more I felt like thanking Him for all He had done and does for me in precisely this way. I used to see my life as a series of misfortunes and failures. I thought of God as someone distant. Then came a difficult time when I had to take two exams before a board. I went to church and prayed, “Lord Jesus, I entrust my whole life to You. Now everything depends on You.” But I still didn’t go to church on a regular basis. I passed the exams. I understood then that despite my being away from Him, he was always close to me. He wanted me to come back. For the longest time He sent me signals; but I was unable to read them. Then I returned; and my whole life turned around. I began to realize my dreams. I got to see a friend of mine after five years. I met a wonderful girl. Many other beautiful things happened. My life is better now, because I know Jesus is always close to me. I can always talk with Him. In Him I have a real Friend. I love Him! I can say this without any embarrassment! He is the one that gives me strength every day. The moment I entrusted my life to Jesus, I began to learn to forgive, to see the good in others, and help them. This is beautiful! So please send me your blessing and enroll me in your “Book of Pure Hearts.” Peter;
My girlfriend Ania and I are both joining MPH. We have been together for four months and often talk about purity and becoming chaste again. We trust that Jesus will now help us, so that the next time we offer ourselves to each other fully will be the day of our wedding. We believe that through this act of dedication, Jesus will purify us of our past failures, and that, although our sin will leave its mark on our bodies, our souls will become pure once more. Ania and Andrew;
I would like to tell you about my difficult, several-year-long struggle with the sin of impurity. I’d like to, but I’m still not able to. I have been abstaining from sex for only two months (though it seems like a lifetime!) Anyway, just yesterday I got up the nerve to entrust my whole life to Jesus by saying the Prayer of Pure Hearts. Yes, I truly desire to become a member of MPH. So please send me your special blessing and say a prayer for my intention. I need your prayers so much. Isabelle;
Greetings and thank you for Love One Another. Your magazine helped me see the light. I was a selfish person rushing from one pleasure to another. But there came a time when I realized something was missing in my life. It made no sense. I found meaning and joy in Jesus, who has become for me the way, the truth and the life. Thanks to Him, I have been reborn. I still suffer setbacks every now and then, but He is always there to love and lead me. Please enroll me in the MPH, since it is my wish in this way to build up the civilization of love. Arthur.
Dear Reader!
John Paul II stated many times that our central task in life is to grow in love on a daily basis. Boundless prospects of spiritual joy, emotional health and an experience of love’s metaphysical beauty await those who take this path. The thirst for love so deeply rooted in the human heart is the voice of God Himself, who created man “in his own image and likeness” precisely “as man and woman.” This call flows from the Gospel and makes itself heard in the voice of young consciences, if they have preserved their simplicity and purity: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). Yes, through that love which is born in you — and wishes to become a part of your whole plan of life — you must see God who is love (Letter to Youth, 10).
Dear reader, this love “which is born in you” is the voice of Jesus Himself. He invites you to walk the difficult path of faith and growth in love with Him every day. In deciding to undertake this spiritual adventure you automatically become a member of a community called the Movement of Pure Hearts. Jesus invites everyone without exception. Satan and those who serve him are doing everything they can to discourage you, to get you to give up struggling for the gift of a pure heart. In joining MPH you pledge to pick yourself up after each fall by going to Confession. If you fall still again, do not be discouraged. Simply redouble your efforts. Persevere in your daily quest for a pure heart. The day will come when you will finally triumph — thanks to Christ who gives you His strength through prayer and the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist.
MPH is also a “clinic for pure hearts.” It is there that Jesus heals us of every incurable (humanly speaking) spiritual ailment, wound, addiction or dependency. All we have to do is place our trust in Jesus and pledge ourselves to the daily effort of walking in faith. To live in faith every day we must have self-discipline. We need to make concrete demands of ourselves, pledge ourselves to daily prayer, solid study, work and rest. In this, John Paul II sets us an admirable example. His busy life had much to teach us about the importance of organizing and planning our daily activities. Above all, our daily schedule needs to include time for prayer. It is vital that we set aside regular times for saying the rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, scripture reading, Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration or other forms of prayer. The point is to have set times for talking with God at least once in the morning, during the day, and in the evening. In the same way, we need to allocate suitable time for study, work and rest, and keep to this timetable with all resolve we can command.
To make a daily plan is one thing; to put it into action is another. Our greatest obstacle here is our own sloth and self-will. No doubt the action of the Devil further undermines our decision to carry out our plan. But it is precisely in these ordinary, everyday situations when we must make concrete decisions that the decisive battle for our future, our character and purity of heart is played out. We proceed to action by an act of the will. It is precisely when we least “feel like it” that we need to will to act. There is no other way of breaking through our sloth and disinclination. I do not what I feel inclined to do but what I have earlier decided is genuinely good for me. Here, then, is a concrete way of mastering our unruly ego and striking out in faith with Christ. We need to remember that time is an invaluable gift. We cannot afford to waste it through idle T.V viewing, surfing the net or other useless activities. We also need to learn the art of rest. Most people require eight hours of sleep. We should strive to rise early, at a regular time, and go to bed at a suitably early hour. Recreation and regular physical exercise are also very important: gymnastics, sports (preferably outside) and contact with natural beauty.
Above all, we must put effort into everything we do. Feelings and state of mind do not determine the value of our prayer, work or study. Regardless of how we feel at the present moment we make a free, uncoerced decision to carry out the duties planned for the given day: i.e. we always pray, study, work, train, rest, etc. to the best of our ability It is precisely this attitude that has the greatest value in God’s eyes. Only in this way can we grow in love and become the persons that God wishes us to be.
If you are interested in becoming a member of MPH, 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. I offer You my memory, my mind, my soul, my body, my sexuality. I promise not to engage in sexual acts until I am united with my spouse in the Sacrament of Marriage. From this day on, I will not read, buy or watch pornographic materials. I solemnly promise to meet You every day in prayer, scriptural meditation, frequent reception of Holy Communion and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I also pledge to avail myself regularly of the Sacrament of Penance, not to give in to discouragement, and to pick myself up immediately after every sin. Dear Jesus, teach me to work systematically on myself, to control my sexual desires and emotions. Give me the courage to go “against the current” in my daily walk through life. Help me avoid everything that weakens and enslaves the will: nicotine, alcohol and drugs. Teach me to place love at the center my life. Mary, my Mother, guide me in faith, to the very source of Love, to Jesus, that I may trust and believe in Him alone. After the example of Servant of God, John Paul II, I desire to entrust myself entirely to you: Totus Tuus, Mary! Blessed Karolina, procure for me the gift of a pure heart. Amen!
We 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, which will serve as living monument in honor of John Paul II.
Write down and send us your testimonies. It is Christ’s wish that you help others in this way to embark on a life of faith and join the fight for a pure heart. Let us remember each other in our daily prayers.
Fr. Mieczyslaw Piotrowski, SChr & the editorial team
The article was published with the permission from "Love One Another!"
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