“I think Christ is whispering to each of you: ‘Give me your heart! (…) I will purify it, strengthen it, and direct it to those who have need of it.’” (Saint John Paul II)
“So love, in essence, means giving yourself to others. Far from being an instinctive inclination, love is a conscious decision of the will to reach out to others. In fact, in order to be able to love, one must separate oneself from many things, especially one’s self. It means giving of one’s self freely—loving ‘to the end.’ This self-renunciation, which requires long and hard work, is both exhausting and stimulating. It is the source of equilibrium—the secret of happiness.
“Direct your gaze more often on Jesus Christ! He is the One who loves the most, who loves the most consciously, the most freely, the most unselfishly!
“Do not be afraid! Jesus did not come to condemn love, but rather to free love from its ambiguity, from its false image. (…) I think Christ is whispering to each of you: “Give me your heart! (…) I will purify it, strengthen it, and direct it to those who have need of it.”
These are the words of Blessed John Paul II. Let us strive to live them out, by entrusting ourselves totally to Jesus in the Movement of Pure Hearts—the clinic of ailing hearts and the school of love.
Here are a few extracts from the MPH forum:
Magda:
“I have been a member of the Movement of Pure Hearts for over ten years. During this time I have experienced God’s great power in my life. Above all, Jesus freed me from the sin of impurity. He healed me through daily Communion and frequent confession.
Now I feel God is leading me through His word. Here is one of many instances. There was a time I had conflicted attitudes toward a certain boyfriend. I was tormented by all kinds of negative feelings toward him—anger, indignation, terrible aversion. Then I came across these words: ‘Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God’ (Rom. 15-7)). I realized then that though it seemed to me that this boy was not worthy of my love, I had to love him anyway—just as Jesus loves me, even though I am not deserving of His love. I discovered that God’s love is always ahead of us and that Jesus wants me to imitate Him.”
Gregory:
“I will avoid everything that enslaves…” I make this pledge a reality by imposing periodic fasts on myself. The idea came to me six months ago when I was getting off the train and I was putting on my earphones. I suddenly realized I had no desire to listen to this music and that I had begun to do this almost unconsciously. I decided that for a time my Mp3 player would remain in the drawer during the day. And so the days passed. Then came Advent. Later I borrowed my girlfriend’s CD player to listen to an audio version of my school readings. You have no idea how pleasant music was after such a long break. I saw the fruits of my self-imposed fast. I was more open to my friends, and my thoughts no longer beat to the pounding rhythm of a piece of music.
“I am now giving up other things. This month I decided to pass up sweets and alcohol. What are the gains? I am becoming master of my body and not the slave of my wants. I feel good about myself. My own experience shows me that when I give in too easily to my wants, my conscience becomes less sensitive.”
Martha:
“I have to admit I don’t find it easy to come up with an ideal daily plan. For now I make a point of jotting down my most important daily tasks in a notebook. Prayer and Scripture reading are always part of this plan. When there are several tasks to be carried out, I usually number them in order of priority. For example, I will first study for my economics exam and only then write emails to my friends.
“At the end of each day I try to run a quick eye over what I have managed to carry out and what I need to pay more attention to. I also take into account my failures. Sometimes it’s the result of laziness on my part or a total lack mismanagement of my time. Other times I may have wanted to help a friend in her studies and so I was unable to do something in the allotted time or day.”