The Heart of the Pilgrim

Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

Hidden within the breast of every living man beats an organ no larger than his closed hand. It asks for no applause. It labors while we sleep, grows weary without complaint, and continues faithfully from the first moments of life until the hour appointed by Divine Providence. Few men think of their hearts while they are healthy. They become aware of them only when something is wrong.

Thus God teaches another lesson.

The greatest gifts are often the quietest.

The sun rises without asking to be admired. The air sustains life without demanding gratitude. The heart serves every member of the body while remaining hidden from sight. So too does charity quietly sustain every virtue within the soul.

The heart was not created to live for itself.

With every beat it sends life to every member of the body. The eye cannot say that it has no need of the heart. Neither can the hand, the foot, nor the smallest finger. Every part depends upon that hidden source from which life continually flows. Should the heart cease its labor, every member soon loses its strength.

Charity occupies the same place within the spiritual life.

Faith enlightens the mind.

Hope strengthens perseverance.

But charity gives life to them both.

Without charity, knowledge easily becomes pride. Zeal becomes harshness. Discipline becomes severity. Even good works, admirable in the eyes of men, lose their supernatural merit when they no longer proceed from the love of God.

For this reason the Apostle teaches that though a man should possess extraordinary gifts, understand mysteries, distribute all his goods to the poor, or even surrender his body to be burned, without charity he profits nothing. God measures not only what is done but why it is done. The smallest act performed out of pure love for Him outweighs great works performed for vanity or human praise.

The world often mistakes charity for mere kindness.

It imagines charity to consist in pleasant words, agreeable manners, or the refusal to offend. Yet a physician who smiles while neglecting his patient's illness is no true friend. A shepherd who remains silent while wolves approach does not love his flock. Charity seeks the true good of another, and the highest good is always union with God.

Our Divine Lord showed perfect charity not only by comforting the sorrowful but also by correcting the erring, forgiving sinners, driving the money changers from the Temple, and calling men to repentance. Charity is never separated from truth because God Himself is both Truth and Love.

There is another lesson hidden within the heart.

Its labor is constant.

It does not beat only when the day is pleasant. It does not cease because the body is weary. It serves faithfully through sickness and health, youth and old age, consolation and suffering.

So also must charity remain steadfast.

Many souls love God while consolations abound, yet grow cold when prayer becomes difficult or trials increase. Their devotion rises and falls with their feelings. Such love resembles a heart that beats only when it finds the task agreeable. No body could live under such a condition.

The saints loved differently.

They loved God when He seemed near and when He seemed silent. They loved Him in times of peace and in times of persecution. They loved Him in poverty no less than in abundance, in obscurity no less than in honor. Their charity rested not upon passing emotions but upon a will firmly united to the Divine Will.

The physical heart also teaches impartiality.

It sends blood to every member without preference. It does not nourish the eye while neglecting the foot. It strengthens the weak no less than the strong because every member belongs to the one body.

The Christian heart must learn the same generosity.

It is easy to love those who return our affection. It is easy to serve those from whom we expect gratitude. But charity reaches farther. It remembers the forgotten, forgives the offender, comforts the sorrowful, instructs the ignorant, and prays even for enemies. Such love exceeds the measure of nature because it participates in the very charity of Christ.

Yet charity must always remain rightly ordered.

To love another does not mean approving his errors.

To show mercy does not require surrendering the truth.

The mother who prevents her child from touching the fire acts from love, not severity. The physician who removes corruption from a wound causes pain in order to restore health. Likewise, Christian charity sometimes admonishes, corrects, or warns, not from anger but from sincere concern for the salvation of souls.

The heart also teaches vigilance.

Wise men care for their hearts because they know that hidden disease may slowly threaten the whole body. They do not wait until every strength has failed before seeking healing.

How much greater care should the pilgrim give to the heart of the soul.

Pride rarely enters with great noise.

Neither does resentment.

Nor envy.

Nor vainglory.

They often begin as small movements scarcely noticed. Left unchallenged, they quietly spread through the interior life until prayer grows cold, humility weakens, and charity becomes difficult.

Therefore the Christian examines his heart frequently before God. He does not ask merely whether his outward actions appear good before men. He asks whether his heart has remained faithful before the eyes of his Creator.

One day the heart shall beat for the last time.

The pulse that accompanied every joy and every sorrow of earthly life shall become still. Yet if charity has remained alive within the soul, death shall not conquer it. Faith shall give way to sight. Hope shall be fulfilled in possession. But charity shall endure forever because it is already a participation in the very life of God.

Thus the faithful heart becomes the Creator's continual lesson.

As the heart silently gives life to every member of the body, so charity quietly gives life to every virtue of the soul. Blessed is the pilgrim who guards this hidden sanctuary well, for within it God prepares the soul for the everlasting life of Heaven.

For Meditation

Ask yourself not only whether your works are many, but whether they proceed from love of God. A single hidden act of charity performed for His glory is more precious in His sight than great accomplishments sought for the praise of men. Guard your heart, for it is there that eternity quietly begins.

Rule for the Pilgrim

Guard your heart more carefully than your earthly possessions. A thief may steal what belongs to this world, but only sin can rob the soul of the charity by which it begins even now to live the life of Heaven.