Clean The Inner Eye
Ordinary Time
Office of Readings · St. Leo the Great, Sermon on the beatitudes
The blessedness of seeing God is justly promised to the pure of heart. For the eye that is unclean would not be able to see the brightness of the true light, and what would be happiness to clear minds would be a torment to those that are defiled. Therefore, let the mists of worldly vanities be dispelled, and the inner eye be cleansed of all the filth of wickedness, so that the soul’s gaze may feast serenely upon the great vision of God. It is to the attainment of this goal that the next words refer: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. This blessedness, dearly beloved, does not derive from any casual agreement or from any and every kind of harmony, but it pertains to what the Apostle says: Be at peace before the Lord, and to the words of the prophet: Those who love your law shall enjoy abundant peace; for them it is no stumbling block. Even the most intimate bonds of friendship and the closest affinity of minds cannot truly lay claim to this peace if they are not in agreement with the will of God. Alliances based on evil desires, covenants of crime and pacts of vice, all lie outside the scope of this peace. Love of the world cannot be reconciled with love of God, and the man who does not separate himself from the children of this generation cannot join the company of the sons of God. But those who keep God ever in their hearts, and are anxious to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, never dissent from the eternal law as they speak the prayer of faith. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. These then are the peacemakers; they are bound together in holy harmony and are rightly given the heavenly title of sons of God, co-heirs with Christ. And this is the reward they will receive for their love of God and neighbor: when their struggle with all temptation is finally over, there will be no further adversities to suffer or scandal to fear; but they will rest in the peace of God undisturbed, through our Lord who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
Leo starts with a strange kind of optics. The pure of heart are promised the vision of God, he says, because an unclean eye simply could not bear the brightness of the true light. Read that again. The same vision that is happiness to clear minds would be torment to those that are defiled.
God's light isn't defective or absent. Our vision is clouded. Sin, disordered attachment, the slow drift toward worldly vanity: these are what obscure the view. The fullness of seeing God belongs to the transformation of the human person in glory, when we will see him face to face. So Leo gives a concrete spiritual exhortation: turn away from worldly vanity and allow the inward eye to be purified from wickedness, so that the soul can gaze serenely on the great vision of God.
Then he pivots to peacemakers, and he refuses to let us off easy. This blessedness, he says, does not come from any casual agreement or every kind of harmony. You can have the closest friendship, the tightest bond of minds, and still miss it entirely if you are not in agreement with the will of God. Alliances built on evil desires, covenants of crime, pacts of vice: all of it falls outside this peace. Love of the world cannot be reconciled with love of God.
So the real peacemakers are not the people who smooth things over. They are the ones who keep God in their hearts and pray, and actually mean it: your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That prayer gathers the whole posture of the peacemaker: a heart turned toward God's will and willing to be purified, corrected, and made an instrument of true peace.
Today's intention
Today I'll name one attachment or habit clouding my inner eye, ask God to purify me, and take one small step toward conversion.