AECI Lenten 2025 Reflection: 'Steer Us From Hardness Of Heart' (Week Six: Purity Of Heart)

AECI Lenten 2025 Reflection: 'Steer Us From Hardness Of Heart'

Week Six, Day 1: Purity Of Heart

'Let us make ourselves very small,

allowing Him who is our All,

to carry us in His arms as a mother does a child.

Yes we are very weak,

I would even say we are nothing but misery,

but He knows that very well,

He delights in forgiving us,

in bearing us in Himself,

in His purity and infinite holiness.

In this way he purifies us with continual contact with Him.'

(St Elizabeth of the Trinity)

If we were to focus a little on the chain of action and reaction that can take place within us, leading to a 'hardness of heart' , to a misperception or a 'misunderstanding' of our true nature, it might be something along these lines:

Experience - Judgement - Emotion - Restlessness - Inflexibility

It is no surprise that we find in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) regular passages where Jesus makes references to our senses - our eyes, our ears - so as to check any gradual slide from hasty judgments into emotional reactions and a fixed intransigent outlook or inflexibility. We have to use all attributes in our armoury.

In St. Elizabeth of the Trinity's words above we are reminded of two very practical elements of any religious commitment.

The first is acknowledgement of our 'weakness' as human beings in terms of how rigid we can easily become on most matters, before ever realizing it!

The second is an emphasis on 'continual contact with Him', the sense that, even in any chain of response to any human experience, we should regardless keep our hearts open to the touch and influence of the divine, to the guidance and the comfort of the divine.

And so to build relationship and dialogue with the eternal into our natural resilience and our hopes for ourselves and for the world.

Week Six, Day 2: Purity Of Heart

It is striking that Elizabeth uses the analogy of a 'mother' in bringing to our attention the sense of dependency and devotion to God 'who is our All'.

Of course she is entirely focused in her writings upon the indwelling nature of the Trinity (the Father, the Son. the Holy Spirit) but has no issue in identifying the strength of the feminine. Her own mother (Madame. Marie Catez) reared her and her younger sister Marguerite after the sudden death of her husband and her own father within a very short space of time

If we observe the many duties of a mother, we come to realize the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bonds that exist with the child. The mother is at the centre of the child's universe and she responds accordingly with an unconditional love.

The 'contact' the child has with her at such a tender age will determine much in the future about the value of interaction and belonging.

Today we shall take a moment to study the image below of Mary and the Child Jesus by the Italian artist Sassoferrato (1609 - 1685).

What might this painting say about human weakness and human strength?

What might it reveal about 'purity' in the sense of 'sincerity' or 'integrity' behind our character?

Week Six, Day 3: Purity Of Heart

Today, we shall take an opportunity to reflect more upon the term 'purification' , often a very loaded and complex word in relation to religious ritual and practice.

About 70% of the earth's surface is covered by water. Human beings have a dependency on water for their survival. It can regulate body temperature, help with our movement and our circulation, and it holds healing and soothing properties. We are conscious that it is a natural resource which is 'good for us' in the right amounts and at the right time.

And yet, we are conscious of those many substances that are harmful and affect our outlook and behaviour. Plus, we become aware over time and through life's lived experience that emotions and thoughts can dictate patterns of behaviour. Jealousy, rage, ambition, indifference can creep in to affect our natural balance, our inner peace.

For some eastern religions bathing in a holy river is important for 'purification' because it offers cleansing. For Islam there is the practice of 'wudu' before intense prayer.

Other faiths adopt other 'natural elements' to help us reconnect with our true identity. In Judaism a simple 'sukkah' is a dwelling place during the festival of Sukkat. In the Christian calendar, tomorrow marks 'Palm Sunday' where many believers hold a palm to show that they too welcome Jesus Christ into their lives, into their homes, into their hearts.

There are indeed more extreme 'purification rituals' within some ascetic religious traditions , but the emphasis today is upon our individual and collective need to tackle the more persistent damaging character traits we display. 'To cleanse' or 'to clean'... yes, but also 'to clarify' what it harmonious for our development and what is not.

With this in mind we shall focus over the next four days on the following demands or 'trials' we might face in coming to terms with who we are and the direction we are heading:

An Empty Heart

An Angry Heart

A Lonely Heart

A Fearful Heart

Week Six, Day 4 (Palm Sunday): Purity Of Heart

'Overleap thy mental powers

and spring into the heart of God'

(Meister Eckhart)

We can only imagine the scenes of expectation and anticipation in the city of Jerusalem as the figure of Jesus and his disciples approach its perimeter. The Gospel of St. Matthew records it as follows: 'A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road ... the whole city was in turmoil'.

As we are to see later in Holy Week, crowds shall play a key part in the final hours of this man's life, but for a minute let us reflect on the emotions and the behaviour of those individuals residing in Jerusalem at the time, those whose lives were dominated by Roman occupation but also by the rigidity and the demands of 'the law' as defined by the Pharisees (known for their strict adherence to both written and oral traditions) and the Sadducees (known more for their close association with ritual and priestly matters).

The Gospel of Luke gives us some insight into the curiosity and enthusiasm of these individual men and women, with a small segment (in Luke 19: 1-10) referencing Zacchaeus (a wealthy tax collector), who 'ran ahead' and climbed a sycamore tree to have a vantage point of the approaching Jesus! Jesus responds with a call to offer him a room for the night.

Zacchaeus pledges that he will change his ways, that he will reimburse those who he has treated unfairly, be a model of new hope, of a 'new heart', in all his future interactions and dealings.

Interestingly, Jesus defines this new found identity of Zacchaeus now in very simple terms. He is 'a son of Abraham too...' because faith in the eternal source of goodness has been restored. The company was enough for Zacchaeus to 'empty' himself of his old priorities and his old behaviours.

An Empty Heart

The quotation from Meister Eckhart (d.1328) above is pertinent to the Zacchaeus incident, but it might apply too to the path we take to free ourselves of past regret and of future fear.

From the height of the sycamore tree, Zacchaeus feels the gentle breeze, observes the joy of the landscape and of natural growth. He might so prepare himself for taking the step (or 'the spring' or leap as Meister Eckhart calls it) to 'move beyond' understanding, beyond our unsettled mental powers, to anchor himself to the message of love and renewal.

Human 'hearts' can tire in the face of so many life challenges. Yet, an 'emptiness' can bring balance and focus. It is an 'emptiness' that allows for divine love to take root. That is open about what it is we can control and what in truth we can not.

The second reading for today's 'Palm Sunday' services is taken from St Paul's Letter to the Philippians. It begins:

'Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God

did not regard equality with God

as something to be grasped

Rather, he emptied himself'

(Philippians 2:6-7)

Week Six, Day 5: Purity Of Heart

If an 'empty heart' can free us from some of the burdens that we carry with us in our day to day life - our obsession with failure and with success, with blame and with 'strife' in its broadest sense - then an 'angry heart' can turn our perceptions and frustrations into something much more damaging and destructive.

We read of the determination of those fuelled by anger at Jesus, his teaching and the practice of healing on the Sabbath, as early as Mark 3:6 in the New Testament: 'At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to discuss plans for killing Jesus'.

It would not be untrue to say that their 'hardness of heart' was the result of their fixation on existing principles of power. There was, literally, no 'space' within them (what Carmelites refer to as 'Vacare Deo') to receive a spiritual vision that accounted for 'good deeds' as just that! Deeds that overflow with the source of goodness. That point 'beyond' the workings of our comprehension and our structures of influence.

An Angry Heart

By the time Jesus enters Jerusalem and heads for the Temple, the religious leadership of the day have been overtaken by rage. Any course of action to rid themselves of him is justified.

The Buddha many years before Jesus, had warned of the dangers of grasping any initial fury we feel too tight:

'Holding on to anger is like

grasping a hot coal with the intention

of throwing it at someone else;

but you are the one who gets burned'

It is a message we might reflect on for our Monday meditation.

Have there been times when we have been 'burnt' or harmed by our own anger?

Have we thrown our anger towards people who did not deserve it? Who had no place in its origin or its escalation?

Have we been angry at ourselves , pouring out blame and losing sight of the 'Now'?

Can we, acknowledge our anger and our frustration, leave it before the divine and so enter the potential, the energy and the mercy of the present day?

Week Six, Day 6: Purity Of Heart

If one has ever experienced a level of 'Mercy', a restoration of hope, of renewal and 'right' relationship at a given point within their lives, then Elizabeth's phrase, from the beginning of week 6, 'He delights in bearing us in Himself' , might well resonate.

In another extract she writes about our need to preserve that inner joy and spiritual inclination despite our weaknesses and mistakes, 'Noise reaches no further than the surface, deep down there is only Him'.

This leads us nicely on to consider today the difference between a sense of 'loneliness' and a sense of 'solitude'. In a continually busy and bustling world where technology and financial strains can drive our minds to the point of distraction and disturbance, it can be difficult to still our human faculties and dwell within a deeper level of peace,

Again in this, our final week of reflection before the Easter Triduum, we find an episode in the Gospels that can illuminate our own direction of travel.

A Lonely Heart

Many a poem, a prayer and a song have hinged on the outpourings of a lonely heart. We know only too well how 'loneliness' can take hold when we grow older and we can lose those beloved family and friendship networks. When our social interactions become limited after bereavement, sickness, after changes in job and living circumstances. You might know of people who have been victims of crime who remain fearful of rebuilding relationships and of course many who are separated from those they love as they seek to escape poverty, persecution and war.

Loneliness is real and when it grips us we might feel as though our heart is 'hardening' towards others, towards ourselves, or in the stark words of Jesus have 'grown dull' (Matthew 13-15).

As Jesus remains in the city of Jerusalem, now at the end of his earthly ministry, he takes a moment to stress the importance of vigilance, of 'watchfulness':

''Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down

with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life,

and that day does not catch you unexpectedly,  like a trap.

 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength

to escape all these things that will take place'

(Luke 21:34-36)

As with any of our human faculties, it is a call for 'the heart' to keep perspective. To unite ourselves with the forces of goodness and truth at periods where hope seems to fade and the sacred nature of life forgotten.

We each need an opportunity to replenish the heart, our time in solitude and in silence, our time to withdraw, so as to 'strengthen', to 'keep awake' in the presence and the proximity of the Eternal.

Week Six, Day 7: Purity Of Heart

In our final reflection before Easter Thursday (Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday) let us take a minute to look again at those words from the Gospel of Luke: '... so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation'.

Although there is some discussion around the interpretation of the word 'dissipation' (careless or reckless use of energy) Jesus links it directly to a burdensome or weakening influence. The Greek verb diaskorpizo, 'to dissipate' , suggests an action of throwing away, of squandering or scattering.

The city of Jerusalem in the first century CE was undoubtedly a place where one might struggle to 'escape' the negative and acrimonious energy. It was both a volatile and a violent place. Its inhabitants were bound by defining layers of worldly identity. Roman occupation created real and everyday tensions. There seemed such little respite.

Groups like the 'Pharisees' and the 'Sadducees' postured for dominance . There were the more ascetic 'Essenes' and the revolutionary 'Zealots'. And of course those from the royal household of Herod (Herod Antipas) who revelled in the recent rebuilding of the Temple in the city by Herod the Great, approximately 50 years earlier.

A Fearful Heart

'All mankind is divided into three classes:

those that are immovable, those that are movable

and those that move'

(Benjamin Franklin)

Not so unlike today, human hearts can become attached to personalities, to ideologies, to privilege, to superiority. Against this background Jesus calls on those across generations, borders and identities to live as 'friends ... because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father' (John15:5)

Just a day or so before his arrest and subsequent crucifixion we read, in those detailed passages in the Gospel of John, how he tenderly expresses our capacity to grow and to give, informed by such 'a knowledge' , saying 'I am the vine, you are the branches'.

It is a message to quieten the fears we feel within , the fears that control our movement. That prevent discovery and a reawakening. The fears that some will play upon to divide and to sow mistrust.

Benjamin Franklin (1706 -1790), another great contributor like Goethe to a range of human disciplines, acknowledges the harsh truth that some are so set in their own sphere of thought and emotion. Some are yet to be convinced. And some embrace the simplicity and purity of a change in direction.

To conclude this week, we take a moment to recite the AECI prayer,

AECI Prayer

'O Spirit of God

Guide us in the triumph of humility

Over competing worldly identities;

Steer us towards the joys of trust

Away from indiscriminate and recurring fears;

Direct us to a quiet compassionate presence

To know the gifts of love

Free from the noise of blame and strife;

There to abandon our anger, our frustration,

our restlessness, our confusion

Before the divine light of this dawning and present day'