Sunday, November 1, 2009

All Saints Day, 2009

MATTHEW 5:1-12A
THE GOSPEL TODAY RECOUNTS THE BEATITUDES. ST. MATTHEW TELLS US HOW JESUS WENT UP TO A MOUNTAIN, WHERE HE PROBABLY CLIMBED UP HIGH ENOUGH TO BE SEEN BY THE CROWD. HE THEN SAT DOWN, AND BEGAN TO TEACH. ST. MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO THINK ABOUT ANOTHER MOUNTAIN, AND ANOTHER TEACHER – MOSES, MT. SINAI, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. AND FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE REAL TEACHERS ALWAYS TAUGHT SITTING DOWN. THAT WAS THE POSITION ASSUMED BY THE RABBIS.
AND THEN JESUS DELIVERS THE EIGHT BEATITUDES – SORT OF THE COMMANDMENTS FOR THE NEW AGE, THE AGE THAT JESUS WOULD USHER IN BY HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. IF YOU REMEMBER THE COMMANDMENTS, THEY ARE THAT – FULL OF “THOU SHALT NOT'S”. EIGHT OF THE TEN HAD TO DO WITH EXTERNAL OBSERVANCE; IF YOU FOLLOWED SOMEONE AROUND LONG ENOUGH, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE OBEYED THE COMMANDMENTS. BUT YOU COULDN'T TELL IF HE OR SHE WAS COVETING A NEIGHBOR'S GOODS, OR A NEIGHBOR'S WIFE. THE IDEA HERE WAS THAT COVETING, WHICH IS A MUCH STRONGER IN HEBREW THAN IN ENGLISH, SUGGESTS THAT ONE'S WHOLE BEING IS TIED UP WITH DESIRE; IT IS ALMOST OBSESSIVE. AND AS SUCH, COVETING – WHETHER GOODS OR WIFE, MAKES YOU LESS THAN HUMAN, AND MAKES YOU NEGLECT THE THINGS YOU SHOULD BE DOING; IT CAPTURES YOUR IMAGINATION AND YOUR WILL, AND PARALYZES YOU, UNTIL YOU EITHER SHAKE IT OFF WITH GOD'S HELP, OR GIVE IN TO IT.
THE BEATITUDES, IN CONTRAST, DO NOT SAY, “THOU SHALT” OR “THOU SHALT NOT.” THEY SIMPLY SAY, “BLESSED” OR IN SOME TRANSLATIONS, “HAPPY” OR “MOST FAVORED” AND IF YOU FOLLOWED A CHRISTIAN AROUND FOR A WHILE, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE WAS LIVING THE BEATITUDES. EXCEPT FOR TWO – BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, AND BEING OF PURE HEART. THE OTHER BEATITUDES HAVE TO DO WITH RELATIONSHIPS, WITH HOW ONE INTERACTS WITH ONE'S NEIGHBORS, OR HOW ONE STANDS UP TO ENEMIES. BUT THE TWO IN QUESTION HAVE TO DO WITH SOMETHING INWARD, SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE OBSERVED. THE FIRST BEATITUDE, BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, LIKE BEING PERSECUTED, HOLDS THE PROMISE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT? THE EARLY MONKS RECOGNIZED THIS RELATIONSHIP– THEY TALKED ABOUT RED MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU SHED YOUR BLOOD, AND WHITE MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU VOLUNTARILY REJECTED THE WORLD AND PUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN THE HANDS OF GOD. I THINK THIS IS A CLUE. A PERSECUTED PERSON UNDERSTANDS THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT IN CHARGE; IF YOU ARE BEING PERSECUTED, THINGS ARE NOT UNDER YOUR CONTROL. A PERSON WHO IS POOR IN SPIRIT IS SOMEONE WHO RECOGNIZES THIS AS WELL. MOST OF US LIVE AS THOUGH WE ARE IN CONTROL, AND OUR GREATEST PAIN IS IF WE HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO US THAT TAKES AWAY OUR CONTROL. AND YET, IN REALITY, WE ARE NEVER IN CONTROL, ONLY GOD IS. AND THE RECOGNITION OF THIS FACT DEEP IN OUR SOULS IS BEING POOR IN SPIRIT. AND AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER CAN'T TELL WHETHER SOMEONE IS POOR IN SPIRIT.
THE OTHER INVISIBLE BEATITUDE HOLDS OUT THE GREATEST PROMISE; TO SEE GOD. BLESSED ARE THE CLEAN OF HEART. AND YET, WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN? AND HOW IS IT THAT BY BEING CLEAN OF HEART, IT FOLLOWS THAT WE WILL SEE GOD? IF WE COULD FIGURE' THIS OUT, MOST OF US WOULD GLADLY DO WHAT WAS NECESSARY, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, TO SEE GOD IS EXACTLY WHY HUMAN BEINGS WERE CREATED. ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT THIS IS HEAVEN, THE BEATIFIC VISION, THE TIMELESS MOMENT WHEN WE ARE COMPLETELY FULFILLED. OUR BUDDHIST FRIENDS SAY THAT ONCE WE LOSE OUR DESIRE FOR EVERYTHING, WE WILL ENTER A BLESSED STATE. CHRISTIANS SAY THAT THAT BLESSED STATE IS FULFILLMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE LACK, CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS, IN OUR WHOLE BEINGS.
SO WHAT IS CLEAN OF HEART? THE HEART, TO THE JEWS, WAS THE CENTER OF A HUMAN BEING. AND IT IS IN THIS VERY CENTER THAT EVERYTHING LIVES THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HAPPY. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE HOLD GRUDGES. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE DWELL ON THE MISTAKES WE'VE MADE IN THE PAST, TO THE DETRIMENT OF DEALING WITH THE PRESENT. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE REACT TO DISRESPECT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, WHERE WE FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING NEGLECTED BY THOSE WHO SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE FEAR THE FUTURE, THAT WE WORRY ABOUT WHETHER WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE IT THROUGH OLD AGE. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE ALLOW THOSE ATTITUDES AND TENDENCIES TO EXIST WHICH LEAD US TO SIN. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE CONSTANTLY COMPARE WHAT IS WITH WHAT COULD BE. AND HERE JESUS' TEACHING IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE THAT OF THE BUDDHA, BUT ONLY A LITTLE BIT. BECAUSE THE BUDDHA TAUGHT THAT IF YOU COULD GET RID OF ALL DESIRES, WHICH OF COURSE ARE THE REASONS PEOPLE HAVE HEARTACHES OF ANY SORT, YOU WOULD ALSO GET RID OF YOUR PERSON, THAT WHICH YOU CALL YOURSELF, AND THIS WAS THE BEST A HUMAN BEING COULD HOPE FOR, THAT WAS NIRVANA. BUT JESUS TELLS AS THAT IF WE CAN CULTIVATE THAT INNER PEACE, THAT SILENCE, THAT DETACHMENT FROM ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH DISTURB US AND KEEP US FROM BEING FULLY HUMAN, WE WILL GAIN OURSELVES, WE WILL FIND THAT COMPLETENESS THAT ONLY CAN BE FOUND IN UNION WITH GOD, IN THE VISION OF GOD, BECAUSE AS ST. AUGUSTINE SAID, “OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS, UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE, OH LORD.”
TODAY AS WE PREPARE FOR THE EUCHARIST, AS I PREPARE THE BREAD AND WINE, AND FATHER REILLY OFFERS THESE GIFTS TO THE GLORIOUS GOD WHO GIVES US EVERYTHING, INCLUDING HIS ONLY SON, YOU AND I SHOULD ASK OURSELVES IF WE ACTUALLY DO PUT GOD AT THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, IF WE ACTUALLY ARE CLEAN OF HEART; AND WE SHOULD OFFER TO GOD ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN OUR HEARTS WHICH ARE THE SOURCE OF SIN, OF WORRY, OF ANXIETY, OF DISTRACTION -- ALL OF THOSE INNER DISPOSITIONS WHICH KEEP US FROM TRUE HAPPINESS AND LEAD US TO SIN. BECAUSE JUST AS GOD WILL TRANSFORM THE SUBSTANCES OF BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, IF WE WILL LET GO OF ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE SO ATTACHED TO OUR HEARTS THAT THEY SEEM TO BE PART OF US, GOD WILL ENTER INTO OUR HEARTS AND GIVE US THAT PEACE THAT YOU CAN ONLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE IT. AND THEN WE WILL BE CLEAN OF HEART, AND THEN WE WILL SEE GOD.

All Saints Day

MATTHEW 5:1-12A
THE GOSPEL TODAY RECOUNTS THE BEATITUDES. ST. MATTHEW TELLS US HOW JESUS WENT UP TO A MOUNTAIN, WHERE HE PROBABLY CLIMBED UP HIGH ENOUGH TO BE SEEN BY THE CROWD. HE THEN SAT DOWN, AND BEGAN TO TEACH. ST. MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO THINK ABOUT ANOTHER MOUNTAIN, AND ANOTHER TEACHER – MOSES, MT. SINAI, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. AND FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE REAL TEACHERS ALWAYS TAUGHT SITTING DOWN. THAT WAS THE POSITION ASSUMED BY THE RABBIS.
AND THEN JESUS DELIVERS THE EIGHT BEATITUDES – SORT OF THE COMMANDMENTS FOR THE NEW AGE, THE AGE THAT JESUS WOULD USHER IN BY HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. IF YOU REMEMBER THE COMMANDMENTS, THEY ARE THAT – FULL OF “THOU SHALT NOT'S”. EIGHT OF THE TEN HAD TO DO WITH EXTERNAL OBSERVANCE; IF YOU FOLLOWED SOMEONE AROUND LONG ENOUGH, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE OBEYED THE COMMANDMENTS. BUT YOU COULDN'T TELL IF HE OR SHE WAS COVETING A NEIGHBOR'S GOODS, OR A NEIGHBOR'S WIFE. THE IDEA HERE WAS THAT COVETING, WHICH IS A MUCH STRONGER IN HEBREW THAN IN ENGLISH, SUGGESTS THAT ONE'S WHOLE BEING IS TIED UP WITH DESIRE; IT IS ALMOST OBSESSIVE. AND AS SUCH, COVETING – WHETHER GOODS OR WIFE, MAKES YOU LESS THAN HUMAN, AND MAKES YOU NEGLECT THE THINGS YOU SHOULD BE DOING; IT CAPTURES YOUR IMAGINATION AND YOUR WILL, AND PARALYZES YOU, UNTIL YOU EITHER SHAKE IT OFF WITH GOD'S HELP, OR GIVE IN TO IT.
THE BEATITUDES, IN CONTRAST, DO NOT SAY, “THOU SHALT” OR “THOU SHALT NOT.” THEY SIMPLY SAY, “BLESSED” OR IN SOME TRANSLATIONS, “HAPPY” OR “MOST FAVORED” AND IF YOU FOLLOWED A CHRISTIAN AROUND FOR A WHILE, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE WAS LIVING THE BEATITUDES. EXCEPT FOR TWO – BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, AND BEING OF PURE HEART. THE OTHER BEATITUDES HAVE TO DO WITH RELATIONSHIPS, WITH HOW ONE INTERACTS WITH ONE'S NEIGHBORS, OR HOW ONE STANDS UP TO ENEMIES. BUT THE TWO IN QUESTION HAVE TO DO WITH SOMETHING INWARD, SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE OBSERVED. THE FIRST BEATITUDE, BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, LIKE BEING PERSECUTED, HOLDS THE PROMISE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT? THE EARLY MONKS RECOGNIZED THIS RELATIONSHIP– THEY TALKED ABOUT RED MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU SHED YOUR BLOOD, AND WHITE MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU VOLUNTARILY REJECTED THE WORLD AND PUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN THE HANDS OF GOD. I THINK THIS IS A CLUE. A PERSECUTED PERSON UNDERSTANDS THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT IN CHARGE; IF YOU ARE BEING PERSECUTED, THINGS ARE NOT UNDER YOUR CONTROL. A PERSON WHO IS POOR IN SPIRIT IS SOMEONE WHO RECOGNIZES THIS AS WELL. MOST OF US LIVE AS THOUGH WE ARE IN CONTROL, AND OUR GREATEST PAIN IS IF WE HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO US THAT TAKES AWAY OUR CONTROL. AND YET, IN REALITY, WE ARE NEVER IN CONTROL, ONLY GOD IS. AND THE RECOGNITION OF THIS FACT DEEP IN OUR SOULS IS BEING POOR IN SPIRIT. AND AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER CAN'T TELL WHETHER SOMEONE IS POOR IN SPIRIT.
THE OTHER INVISIBLE BEATITUDE HOLDS OUT THE GREATEST PROMISE; TO SEE GOD. BLESSED ARE THE CLEAN OF HEART. AND YET, WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN? AND HOW IS IT THAT BY BEING CLEAN OF HEART, IT FOLLOWS THAT WE WILL SEE GOD? IF WE COULD FIGURE' THIS OUT, MOST OF US WOULD GLADLY DO WHAT WAS NECESSARY, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, TO SEE GOD IS EXACTLY WHY HUMAN BEINGS WERE CREATED. ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT THIS IS HEAVEN, THE BEATIFIC VISION, THE TIMELESS MOMENT WHEN WE ARE COMPLETELY FULFILLED. OUR BUDDHIST FRIENDS SAY THAT ONCE WE LOSE OUR DESIRE FOR EVERYTHING, WE WILL ENTER A BLESSED STATE. CHRISTIANS SAY THAT THAT BLESSED STATE IS FULFILLMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE LACK, CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS, IN OUR WHOLE BEINGS.
SO WHAT IS CLEAN OF HEART? THE HEART, TO THE JEWS, WAS THE CENTER OF A HUMAN BEING. AND IT IS IN THIS VERY CENTER THAT EVERYTHING LIVES THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HAPPY. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE HOLD GRUDGES. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE DWELL ON THE MISTAKES WE'VE MADE IN THE PAST, TO THE DETRIMENT OF DEALING WITH THE PRESENT. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE REACT TO DISRESPECT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, WHERE WE FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING NEGLECTED BY THOSE WHO SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE FEAR THE FUTURE, THAT WE WORRY ABOUT WHETHER WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE IT THROUGH OLD AGE. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE ALLOW THOSE ATTITUDES AND TENDENCIES TO EXIST WHICH LEAD US TO SIN. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE CONSTANTLY COMPARE WHAT IS WITH WHAT COULD BE. AND HERE JESUS' TEACHING IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE THAT OF THE BUDDHA, BUT ONLY A LITTLE BIT. BECAUSE THE BUDDHA TAUGHT THAT IF YOU COULD GET RID OF ALL DESIRES, WHICH OF COURSE ARE THE REASONS PEOPLE HAVE HEARTACHES OF ANY SORT, YOU WOULD ALSO GET RID OF YOUR PERSON, THAT WHICH YOU CALL YOURSELF, AND THIS WAS THE BEST A HUMAN BEING COULD HOPE FOR, THAT WAS NIRVANA. BUT JESUS TELLS AS THAT IF WE CAN CULTIVATE THAT INNER PEACE, THAT SILENCE, THAT DETACHMENT FROM ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH DISTURB US AND KEEP US FROM BEING FULLY HUMAN, WE WILL GAIN OURSELVES, WE WILL FIND THAT COMPLETENESS THAT ONLY CAN BE FOUND IN UNION WITH GOD, IN THE VISION OF GOD, BECAUSE AS ST. AUGUSTINE SAID, “OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS, UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE, OH LORD.”
TODAY AS WE PREPARE FOR THE EUCHARIST, AS I PREPARE THE BREAD AND WINE, AND FATHER REILLY OFFERS THESE GIFTS TO THE GLORIOUS GOD WHO GIVES US EVERYTHING, INCLUDING HIS ONLY SON, YOU AND I SHOULD ASK OURSELVES IF WE ACTUALLY DO PUT GOD AT THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, IF WE ACTUALLY ARE CLEAN OF HEART; AND WE SHOULD OFFER TO GOD ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN OUR HEARTS WHICH ARE THE SOURCE OF SIN, OF WORRY, OF ANXIETY, OF DISTRACTION -- ALL OF THOSE INNER DISPOSITIONS WHICH KEEP US FROM TRUE HAPPINESS AND LEAD US TO SIN. BECAUSE JUST AS GOD WILL TRANSFORM THE SUBSTANCES OF BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, IF WE WILL LET GO OF ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE SO ATTACHED TO OUR HEARTS THAT THEY SEEM TO BE PART OF US, GOD WILL ENTER INTO OUR HEARTS AND GIVE US THAT PEACE THAT YOU CAN ONLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE IT. AND THEN WE WILL BE CLEAN OF HEART, AND THEN WE WILL SEE GOD.

All Saints Day

MATTHEW 5:1-12A
THE GOSPEL TODAY RECOUNTS THE BEATITUDES. ST. MATTHEW TELLS US HOW JESUS WENT UP TO A MOUNTAIN, WHERE HE PROBABLY CLIMBED UP HIGH ENOUGH TO BE SEEN BY THE CROWD. HE THEN SAT DOWN, AND BEGAN TO TEACH. ST. MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO THINK ABOUT ANOTHER MOUNTAIN, AND ANOTHER TEACHER – MOSES, MT. SINAI, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. AND FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE REAL TEACHERS ALWAYS TAUGHT SITTING DOWN. THAT WAS THE POSITION ASSUMED BY THE RABBIS.
AND THEN JESUS DELIVERS THE EIGHT BEATITUDES – SORT OF THE COMMANDMENTS FOR THE NEW AGE, THE AGE THAT JESUS WOULD USHER IN BY HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. IF YOU REMEMBER THE COMMANDMENTS, THEY ARE THAT – FULL OF “THOU SHALT NOT'S”. EIGHT OF THE TEN HAD TO DO WITH EXTERNAL OBSERVANCE; IF YOU FOLLOWED SOMEONE AROUND LONG ENOUGH, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE OBEYED THE COMMANDMENTS. BUT YOU COULDN'T TELL IF HE OR SHE WAS COVETING A NEIGHBOR'S GOODS, OR A NEIGHBOR'S WIFE. THE IDEA HERE WAS THAT COVETING, WHICH IS A MUCH STRONGER IN HEBREW THAN IN ENGLISH, SUGGESTS THAT ONE'S WHOLE BEING IS TIED UP WITH DESIRE; IT IS ALMOST OBSESSIVE. AND AS SUCH, COVETING – WHETHER GOODS OR WIFE, MAKES YOU LESS THAN HUMAN, AND MAKES YOU NEGLECT THE THINGS YOU SHOULD BE DOING; IT CAPTURES YOUR IMAGINATION AND YOUR WILL, AND PARALYZES YOU, UNTIL YOU EITHER SHAKE IT OFF WITH GOD'S HELP, OR GIVE IN TO IT.
THE BEATITUDES, IN CONTRAST, DO NOT SAY, “THOU SHALT” OR “THOU SHALT NOT.” THEY SIMPLY SAY, “BLESSED” OR IN SOME TRANSLATIONS, “HAPPY” OR “MOST FAVORED” AND IF YOU FOLLOWED A CHRISTIAN AROUND FOR A WHILE, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE WAS LIVING THE BEATITUDES. EXCEPT FOR TWO – BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, AND BEING OF PURE HEART. THE OTHER BEATITUDES HAVE TO DO WITH RELATIONSHIPS, WITH HOW ONE INTERACTS WITH ONE'S NEIGHBORS, OR HOW ONE STANDS UP TO ENEMIES. BUT THE TWO IN QUESTION HAVE TO DO WITH SOMETHING INWARD, SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE OBSERVED. THE FIRST BEATITUDE, BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, LIKE BEING PERSECUTED, HOLDS THE PROMISE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT? THE EARLY MONKS RECOGNIZED THIS RELATIONSHIP– THEY TALKED ABOUT RED MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU SHED YOUR BLOOD, AND WHITE MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU VOLUNTARILY REJECTED THE WORLD AND PUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN THE HANDS OF GOD. I THINK THIS IS A CLUE. A PERSECUTED PERSON UNDERSTANDS THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT IN CHARGE; IF YOU ARE BEING PERSECUTED, THINGS ARE NOT UNDER YOUR CONTROL. A PERSON WHO IS POOR IN SPIRIT IS SOMEONE WHO RECOGNIZES THIS AS WELL. MOST OF US LIVE AS THOUGH WE ARE IN CONTROL, AND OUR GREATEST PAIN IS IF WE HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO US THAT TAKES AWAY OUR CONTROL. AND YET, IN REALITY, WE ARE NEVER IN CONTROL, ONLY GOD IS. AND THE RECOGNITION OF THIS FACT DEEP IN OUR SOULS IS BEING POOR IN SPIRIT. AND AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER CAN'T TELL WHETHER SOMEONE IS POOR IN SPIRIT.
THE OTHER INVISIBLE BEATITUDE HOLDS OUT THE GREATEST PROMISE; TO SEE GOD. BLESSED ARE THE CLEAN OF HEART. AND YET, WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN? AND HOW IS IT THAT BY BEING CLEAN OF HEART, IT FOLLOWS THAT WE WILL SEE GOD? IF WE COULD FIGURE' THIS OUT, MOST OF US WOULD GLADLY DO WHAT WAS NECESSARY, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, TO SEE GOD IS EXACTLY WHY HUMAN BEINGS WERE CREATED. ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT THIS IS HEAVEN, THE BEATIFIC VISION, THE TIMELESS MOMENT WHEN WE ARE COMPLETELY FULFILLED. OUR BUDDHIST FRIENDS SAY THAT ONCE WE LOSE OUR DESIRE FOR EVERYTHING, WE WILL ENTER A BLESSED STATE. CHRISTIANS SAY THAT THAT BLESSED STATE IS FULFILLMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE LACK, CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS, IN OUR WHOLE BEINGS.
SO WHAT IS CLEAN OF HEART? THE HEART, TO THE JEWS, WAS THE CENTER OF A HUMAN BEING. AND IT IS IN THIS VERY CENTER THAT EVERYTHING LIVES THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HAPPY. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE HOLD GRUDGES. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE DWELL ON THE MISTAKES WE'VE MADE IN THE PAST, TO THE DETRIMENT OF DEALING WITH THE PRESENT. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE REACT TO DISRESPECT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, WHERE WE FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING NEGLECTED BY THOSE WHO SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE FEAR THE FUTURE, THAT WE WORRY ABOUT WHETHER WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE IT THROUGH OLD AGE. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE ALLOW THOSE ATTITUDES AND TENDENCIES TO EXIST WHICH LEAD US TO SIN. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE CONSTANTLY COMPARE WHAT IS WITH WHAT COULD BE. AND HERE JESUS' TEACHING IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE THAT OF THE BUDDHA, BUT ONLY A LITTLE BIT. BECAUSE THE BUDDHA TAUGHT THAT IF YOU COULD GET RID OF ALL DESIRES, WHICH OF COURSE ARE THE REASONS PEOPLE HAVE HEARTACHES OF ANY SORT, YOU WOULD ALSO GET RID OF YOUR PERSON, THAT WHICH YOU CALL YOURSELF, AND THIS WAS THE BEST A HUMAN BEING COULD HOPE FOR, THAT WAS NIRVANA. BUT JESUS TELLS AS THAT IF WE CAN CULTIVATE THAT INNER PEACE, THAT SILENCE, THAT DETACHMENT FROM ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH DISTURB US AND KEEP US FROM BEING FULLY HUMAN, WE WILL GAIN OURSELVES, WE WILL FIND THAT COMPLETENESS THAT ONLY CAN BE FOUND IN UNION WITH GOD, IN THE VISION OF GOD, BECAUSE AS ST. AUGUSTINE SAID, “OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS, UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE, OH LORD.”
TODAY AS WE PREPARE FOR THE EUCHARIST, AS I PREPARE THE BREAD AND WINE, AND FATHER REILLY OFFERS THESE GIFTS TO THE GLORIOUS GOD WHO GIVES US EVERYTHING, INCLUDING HIS ONLY SON, YOU AND I SHOULD ASK OURSELVES IF WE ACTUALLY DO PUT GOD AT THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, IF WE ACTUALLY ARE CLEAN OF HEART; AND WE SHOULD OFFER TO GOD ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN OUR HEARTS WHICH ARE THE SOURCE OF SIN, OF WORRY, OF ANXIETY, OF DISTRACTION -- ALL OF THOSE INNER DISPOSITIONS WHICH KEEP US FROM TRUE HAPPINESS AND LEAD US TO SIN. BECAUSE JUST AS GOD WILL TRANSFORM THE SUBSTANCES OF BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, IF WE WILL LET GO OF ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE SO ATTACHED TO OUR HEARTS THAT THEY SEEM TO BE PART OF US, GOD WILL ENTER INTO OUR HEARTS AND GIVE US THAT PEACE THAT YOU CAN ONLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE IT. AND THEN WE WILL BE CLEAN OF HEART, AND THEN WE WILL SEE GOD.