February 23 - Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

Habits & Purity of Heart

Today's Readings

My name is Nicole Cancel and I am a young adult at Holy Name Cathedral. I have been attending since this past June, and have partaken in the Young Adult group since. The trickiest thing about moving to a new area, is developing a new routine. Not just any routine but a prayer routine. Sometimes when we practice faith, pursuing Christ through things like prayer, the rosary, and mass can become a checklist of things to do. You go to mass on Sunday because… its Sunday. Or you pray before bed because it’s a habit. Sometimes you even begin to pull away from prayer or mass because of the fact that it has become just a routine. When we practice our faith in our daily life, what are we doing it for? Who are we doing it for? In today’s reading, Matthew 23:1-12, there is a distinct difference between the Pharisees and Jesus’s disciples. The Pharisees are in a habit of doing prayer, and doing it in public. To the world they may seem like the holiest people. However, no matter how we look to the world, even to our family and priest, God can see our hearts… and this is what he focuses on. The disciples are humbly listening and literally following Jesus everywhere. They ask questions and are willing to learn. If you look into the hearts of the Pharisees and the disciples, the Pharisees are prideful of their prayer. Pride comes into our hearts when we let our thoughts and the thoughts of others become more important than that of God. The disciples, however, are so focused on following Christ that their hearts are formed in humble submission. If there is one thing I get from this passage it is this: purity of heart. Christ cares more about our purity of heart more than the sins of our past. Are we going to mass out of routine or for Him? Are we praying because we are just looking for something out of it, or do we want to converse with our Father? Even if we notice the pride lurking in our heart, because we all have it, do we openly tell God that we want to desire to become more purely in love with Him?

Lent is a special time to get closer to Christ, so our observances and our penances should be done with the purity of heart to only desire him through this process. 

1. What Lenten penances did you choose, and how can you observe them with a greater purity of heart? 
2. Do you talk to God about the things holding you back from pursuing Him deeper? What do you say to Him when you pray?
3. What are your motivations for going to church every Sunday?