With some of his companions St. Bernard once had to go on a long journey. As night fell they stopped at a certain inn. The landlady was infatuated with the charming appearance of the saint. She assigned him a room not far from her own, that when the household had retired to rest, she might go and talk with him. After all were in bed, the door of his room slowly opened, and the lady of the house tiptoed in. When St. Bernard saw her in his room, he suspected some evil purpose. He prayed for grace. Then suddenly, as loudly as he could, he shouted: "Thieves! Thieves! Robbers!"
The bold woman fled back to her room. But the rest of the house jumped up, seized whatever weapons they could find, and ran about the whole place in search of thieves. Not finding any, they returned to their rooms to get some sleep.
The same thing happened a second and a third time. No thief could be found. By the time they had retired for the third time, morning had dawned, and there was no further alarm.
As the group resumed their journey, his companions asked St. Bernard why he cried out so often. Surely he had been dreaming.
"No, friends," St. Bernard answered, "it was all too true; there was a robber in the house. Our hostess was the robber; she wanted to rob me of a treasure which I value more than all the treasures of the world - the treasure of holy purity. Thanks be to God, I escaped."
Would that everyone would follow the example of St. Bernard. Would that more could recognize temptation to impurity at once and cry out: "Thief! Robber!" Purity is a treasure. Anyone or anything that threatens to take it away is a thief and robber.
With purity we buy the sight of God, just as Christ promised in the Sixth Beatitude:
"Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God." St. Matthew, 5:8.1. Cleanness of heart means purity of the entire man, soul and body. It means chastity in our thoughts, words, and actions. It includes avoiding every idea or imagination, every word or story, every action or emotion, that might be impure in itself, or might lead to impurity. This purity of heart, which Christ calls blessed, is opposed to the merely external propriety or appearance of purity which the world requires.
"Man sees those things that appear; but the Lord beholds the heart." I Kings, 16:7.
Jesus Himself condemns this merely outward appearance when He spoke of the Pharisees as "whited sepulchres," white-washed outside, but full of dead men's bones within. That is why Christ emphasized purity of the heart, true, inner cleanliness of heart.
2. By the pure of heart we mean those:
A. Who carefully preserve their baptismal innocence. Comparatively, all too few have this singular grace of never being guilty of a deliberate sin against the virtue of purity. Would that the prayer of Mother Church at Baptism were always fulfilled! Toward the end of the baptismal ceremony, the priest places a white garment on the child as he says: "Receive this white garment, and see thou carry it without stain before the judgment seat of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that thou mayest have eternal life." Amen.3. The happiness of the pure in heart is a special joy:
B. Who keep themselves clean from even impure thoughts and desires. Impurity takes its start in the heart, in the mind.
C. Who especially avoid any impurity in action whether alone or with others.
D. Who avoid hearing and telling impure stories.
E. Who avoid suggestive movies and shows, and put aside the book or magazine which is off-color.
F. Who, though guilty of impurity in the past, have been sorry, have washed it away in confession, and are trying to keep their determination to lead a clean life from now on.
G. Who, whenever they recognize anything or anybody as a danger to this virtue, cry out with St. Bernard: "Thief! Robber!"
A. They see God, even here, by a strong lively faith. On the other hand, impurity chokes faith.4. But the rewards of the next life are most important:
B. They see God in all His works.
C. They have a peculiar power to see into the meaning of the mysteries God has revealed to us.
D. They see God's hand in every trial and happening.
E. They experience a closeness to God, which is one of the greatest joys of this life.
F. They have a delicate and sure conscience in other moral matters. In a word, the clear eye that goes with the pure heart is able to see the things of God even in this world.
A. The pure of heart will experience a special pleasure in the vision and sight of God.Jesus tells us in the Gospel that there will be joy among the angels of God over the sinner who is sorry. Perhaps you have sinned against purity. Today tell Christ that you are sorry, that you sincerely wish to repent, that you earnestly and honestly want to be pure of heart, so that you can enjoy the happiness, the blessedness of seeing God and the things of God more clearly in this life, and in the life to come, to join the pure in heart who see God face to face.
B. They will enjoy a special likeness to God, as they see Him "face to face." (1 Cor. 13:12).
C. They will follow the Lamb wherever He goes. (Apoc. 14:4)
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Adapted from Prayers, Precepts and Virtues
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (©1949)
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