Thursday 4th June – Thursday of week 9 of the year

Reflection: Tobit 8: 4-9

SINGLENESS OF HEART

“…I do it in the singleness of heart…”(Tobit 8:7)
The title of today’s reflection casts my mind back to my Chemistry lessons in Secondary school. We were taught the differences between homogenous and heterogeneous compounds. Basically, a heterogeneous compound is made up of two or more constituents while a homogenous compound is of a single make. The homogenous compound is essentially a pure compound. 

The human mind can also be related to a compound- It could either be homogenous i.e. pure and of a single make or heterogeneous i.e. impure; a jumbo mixture of many parts. Our Blessed Savior in the beatitudes calls the pure hearted blessed, for they shall see God ( Matthew 5:8) and from the first reading of today we hear these words of Tobit: “ …I do not take my sister for any lustful motive; I do it in singleness of heart.” Beloved in Christ, the place of motive is crucial in our actions or inactions in life. Except our hearts are pure and right with God, our motives will not be right. They will be nothing but inordinate and self-seeking.
Tobit said the above in relation to his newly wedded wife. As youths, prospective husbands and wives, how sincere is the love we profess in our relationships? It is a common phenomenon that some young men and ladies go about deceiving and exploiting the opposite sex in the name of “love.” Beloved in Christ, this must not be our line of action as sons and daughters of Light. The love our Lord calls us to in today’s Gospel demands that we have the fear of God and seek to honor Him in all our dealings. This is the only way we can access the blessings professed by the Psalmist today. To do otherwise is to walk in the path of deception which leads only to regrets!

PRAYER: Deliver me Lord from every grip of falsehood. Please make my heart pure and sincere like Yours that I may see your loving-kindness in all my ways. Amen.

KNOW YOUR FAITH: YOUCAT 463 – How does one achieve “purity of heart”?

The purity of heart required for love is achieved in the first place through union with God in prayer. When God’s grace touches us, this also produces a path to pure, undivided human love. A chaste person can love with a sincere and undivided heart.

When we turn to God with a sincere intention, he transforms our hearts. He gives us the strength to correspond to his will and to reject impure thoughts, fantasies, and desires. 

HIDE A TREASURE: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” Matthew 5:8 RSV-CE.

Today’s Readings: Tobit 6: 10-11, 7:1,9-14, 8:4-9; Psalm 128: 1-5; Mark 12: 28-34