“Jesus said, Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.
Blessed are the consistent in heart; they shall see the One.
Healthy are those whose passion is electrified by deep, abiding purpose; they shall regard the power that moves and shows itself in all things.
Aligned with the One are those whose lives radiate from a core of love; they shall see God everywhere.
Healed are those who have the courage and audacity to feel abundant inside; they shall envision the furthest extent of life’s wealth.”
-Neil Douglas-Klotz, Prayers of the Cosmos: Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus
While I certainly appreciate the spirit of this piece, it seems to me to set a standard for being “pure of heart” this is too high and, therefore, potentially guilt creating. Which one of us can claim to be “consistent in heart,” to have “passion… electrified by deep, abiding purpose” or to “have the courage and audacity to feel abundant inside”? I, for one, have moments such as these, but do not live there. Yet I would claim, in at least an aspirational sense, to be “pure of heart”. So perhaps the whole piece should be understood as aspirational.