A Pure Heart: The Greatest Human Offering to God
O my God … You do not eat the flesh of bulls nor drink the blood of goats; you want the heart. Destroy my wicked heart; give me the heart of Jesus Christ, our Lord. In and through this heart … [I may] preserve your honor in everything. (OOCC, X, p. 690; STA, 522)
Our God is the living God. He is spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Therefore, the worship of the Old Testament times, that is the offering of the flesh of bulls and blood of goats, are not truly acceptable to God. What can a person offer to the King of kings? What is a person’s acceptable offering to God? It is nothing else but a pure heart: a heart that honors God; a heart that longs for God; a heart that is free from faults and failures; a heart that is ready to do his will; and a heart that tries to be as perfect as the heavenly Father. For God is the King of our hearts. St. Vincent Pallotti always desired to have such a heart and wished to offer it to God, for he believed that the greatest gift that a person could offer to God was his own heart. Since the heart was the greatest gift that he could offer to God, St. Vincent wanted to destroy his wicked heart and wished to possess the heart of Jesus Christ. Having possessed the purest heart of Jesus, St. Vincent could preserve God’s honor in everything, in and through his own Christ-like heart.
What is it that I offer to God? Am I ready to offer God a heart that is pure? What can I do to preserve the purity of my heart? Do I destroy the wickedness of my heart and attempt to possess a Christ-like heart? Do I preserve God’s honor by offering him my heart in its purest state?
As for you … my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a perfect heart and a willing soul … If you seek him, he will let himself be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will cast you off forever. (I Chro. 28: 9)