Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10)

This verse from this Psalm known as "miserere" is an invitation to turn our hearts toward the Lord. We implore Him to strengthen our will so we may let ourselves be renewed by His Holy Spirit who waits within us.

The composer of the psalm asks for nothing less than a new creation!

“Create in me a pure heart, O God”:  an untainted, truthful and honest heart. One that walks freely and purposefully on the path of Goodness, without parting from it. Inspired by the psalmist, let us ask the Lord, who guards our souls, to purify us from everything that might hinder our freedom and the unreserved gift of ourselves to Him, our brothers and our sisters.

Clare urges and encourages us remember:

Always remember your resolution and be conscious of how you began. What you hold, may you always hold. What you do, may you always do and never abandon. But with swift pace, light step, and unswerving feet, so that even your steps stir up no dust, go forward securely, joyfully and swiftly, on the path of prudent happiness, believing nothing, agreeing with nothing which would dissuade you from this resolution or which would place a stumbling block for you on the way, so that you may offer your vows to the Most High in the pursuit of that perfection to which the Spirit of the Lord has called you.

Prayer

Spirit of Holiness, come and cleanse my heart of what defiles, divides and tears it! Put upright what has been twisted! Strengthen my will to do Good and allow me to persevere as I follow the footsteps of Christ.

Descend with all Your gifts; enlighten the young people in particular, for they try to discover what their calling is within the Church. 

Strengthen those who hesitate, fortify those who doubt, let Your Fire set alight those You call to give themselves totally for the glory of the Father, for their own joy and for the life of the world.

Meditation of the Day

In my life I keep an eye on what hinders or threatens to hinder my path to Happiness.

In the Bible, the opposite of purity is not impurity but hypocrisy. A pure heart is unified.

Where lies the distance between what I think, what I do and what I say? Where do my contradictions lie? Am I dependent on the perception and opinion of others? Or do I fervently desire for everything to be accomplished in me according to the loving design of the Father, following Christ and obeying the Holy Spirit? What hinders my freedom? In what fields do I feel the need to unify my life?

What if I took advantage of this novena week to experience the Sacrament of Reconciliation?