Fr. Ed Broom, OMV Oblates of the Virgin Mary

Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality

BATTLE FOR PURITY OF HEART

 

 

In 1917 Our Lady of Fatima appeared six times to three Shepherd children, Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia.  She spoke to them and revealed to them
important truths that are today relevant more than ever.
PURITY.  Our Lady of Fatima, the most pure Virgin-Mother of God, spoke about purity several times.  She said that most souls  are lost  due to the sins of the flesh, or if you like, sins against the virtue of purity.
MARRIAGES AND FASHIONS.  Also, Our Lady stated that many marriages are not good; they are not pleasing to God.  Finally, The Blessed Mother stated that many fashions in the world are not pleasing to God.
These words of wisdom from the Mother of God were expressed close to 100 years ago—Our Lady appeared in 1917 in Fatima, Portugal during the course of the Second World War.   She also stated that wars come due to the lack of prayer and the proliferation of sin.
In this short article we would like to set up a spiritual strategy for all of us to attain the very demanding but necessary virtue of purity. May we live out the Beatitude, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.” (Mt. 5:8)

 

1.   DETERMINATION.  Once the sister of Saint Thomas Aquinas asked him how she could become a saint.  The Angelic Doctor, known for his concise and to the point style, responded with two words: “Will it!” In Psychology there is an all important principle, the principle of motivation. This means the following: nobody will ever achieve or attain any noble or worthy pursuit unless he has a proper and strong
motivation. Successful athletes, superb musicians, first-class writers, and great saints all have one thing in common: MOTIVATION FOR A CAUSE!  In sum, we should all have an earnest desire in the depths of our hearts to attain the virtue of purity.
2.   PRAYER.   Of course attaining virtue, and especially the virtue of purity, can never be acquired by mere willing it.  The reason being is that purity, like humility, and mercy are not natural virtues but supernatural virtues. This means that they transcend the flesh and the mere-natural man. Determination is indispensable, but the grace of God is even more necessary.  Jesus invites us:  “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  (Mt. 7:7)  Saint Augustine, who battled into his early thirties, to attain purity stated that we are all  beggars  before God.  Why not beg for purity of heart?  The Lord Jesus wants to give this virtue to you even more than you want to receive it!
3.   CAREFUL: THE MODERN ELECTRONICS MEDIA!!!!   All that God created is good, as we read in the first Book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis. We are called to use creation for the honor and glory of God and to avoid “abusing” creation for our own sensual pleasure.  T.V.,
Radio, movies, the written word, and especially the Computer and access to the Internet can all be used for the honor and glory of God and for our eternal salvation. However, the electronics media is in the words of the Apostle Saint Paul, “A two-edged sword”.  Sad to say, the most sought after websites, by far, are pornographic. Therefore, to attain the virtue of purity, one has to strive for a strict vigilance over oneself, especially the sense of sight, in the use of the Internet.  The Proverb rings so true:  “The eyes are the mirror or window to the soul.” Parents must be vigilant over their own personal lives, but even more so over their children who have only known the electronic media
age and culture!

 

4.   MODESTY.   As stated earlier, Our Lady of Fatima stated that many immodest fashions will be introduced that will highly offend
God.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church asserts that modesty is the guardian of chastity.  All of us, but especially women, must be
exceedingly demanding on cultivating the virtue of modesty. Saint Paul teaches us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Also, he states that we are “Ambassadors for Christ.”   St. Leo the Great, in his Christmas homily, reminds us:  “Christians remember your dignity.” 
A poorly dressed ambassador puts to shame the country that he represents. Through Baptism we become members of the Mystical Body of Christ. As ambassadors we do not represent an earthly King, but Jesus, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. For women who have been confused due to contact with the modern way of seeing things should contemplate Our Lady.  Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Perpetual Help— all of these Marian images reflect a remarkable beauty, but at the same time a modesty beyond compare.
5.   CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY.  On one occasion, while still young Saint Anthony Mary Claret, lay sick in bed. All of a sudden, like a violent storm, he was assaulted with a strong temptation against the virtue of purity. Being a young man of prayer and discipline, almost instinctively he called out to Mary in humble prayer to resist the almost over-powering temptation. Instead of disappearing the temptation seemed to increase. But the saint called out all the more to Mary for purity. Then something happened!  Mary appeared to him, to console him and dissipate the temptation.  At the same time, the future saint saw an army of angry devils fleeing from his room.   The saint attributed the victory, not to his own strength, but to the powerful intercession of Mary.   Saint Anthony made this observation. All too often beautiful and provocative women would cause bad and impure thoughts. However, Mary, being the most beautiful woman in God’s creation, would by contemplating her beauty would actually take away bad thoughts and inspire the most noble and pure of thoughts.  St. Anthony, later on in his life, would found the Claretians, honoring in a special way the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
CONCLUSION.   We have outlined five basic steps to take to strive for the virtue of purity.   The reward for living out purity is great: HEAVEN! 
Jesus promises us: “Blessed are the pure of heart, they will see God.” (Mt. 5:8) St. John Berchmans, S.J. encourages us with these words:  “I want to keep my eyes pure in this life so as to contemplate with the utmost clarity the beauty of Mary in heaven.”
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FORMATION OF ONE’S CONSCIENCE

 

CONSCIENCE. All of us are endowed with a conscience, by which we are obliged to form, to cultivate and to follow. However, this follows upon a properly formed conscience.
If we do not form our conscience properly most likely we will end up with a bad conscience, or we might call it a mal-formed conscience.  To arrive at a well formed conscience requires much work and a constant vigilance.
MAL-FORMED CONSCIENCES: WHAT ARE THEY????
1.LAX. Is a conscience that picks up only the most egregious sins. Killing somebody, committing adultery, plotting a terroristic attack— the “Lax” conscience admits these to be wrong, but not much more!
2. SUPPRESSED CONSCIENCE.   A conscience that lives in denial and rationalizes sin. After David committed adultery with Bathsheba and, worse yet, ends by killing an innocent man, David temporarily rested: all was at peace. Until God in His goodness sent the prophet Nathan, who through a parable broke through David’s rationalization and unlocked his suppressed conscience. Often, after we sin, the devil tries to get us to suppress our conscience, but God like the Hound of Heaven (Poet, Francis Thompson) pricks at our conscience and moves us to the light of the Truth.
3. DEFORMED  CONSCIENCE.   If somebody has no contact with the Word of God in any form, he never reads the Bible, never hears a sermon, never talks to a religious person, then his moral formation will only be of a secular, worldly or even pagan source and terminate with a deformed conscience. A good conscience must have contact with the Truth; if not, most likely the conscience will be deformed!
4. DOUBTFUL CONSCIENCE. In the whirlwind of life’s events we might find ourselves in a quandary wherein we do not know what decision to take.  Doubtful of what is right, we really do not know what to do!  Truth always does exist, but we may not be aware of where it is!  In this circumstance what should we do? Act on a doubtful conscience? No! Because if we do, then we risk the possibility of making a wrong moral choice and offending the Lord.  In this dilemma, the best course of action is to consult a source to help us to discover what really is the true and noble
decision and path to take.  Consultation of a priest or spiritual director, a well-informed friend, or an orthodox text-book on moral theology could be the best course of action!
5. SCRUPULOUS CONSCIENCE.  This is a sick conscience. The person suffering with this conscience can see almost everything as sin and suffer
perpetual guilt. At the same time the scrupulous person is blind to objective sin. According to spiritual theology the remedy is unequivocal!  The scrupulous person must seek out a good spiritual director or a good and patient  confessor and submit humbly in obedience to the direction and decisions of this lawful and competent spiritual authority!  Both St. Therese of Lisieux as well as St. Maximilian Kolbe traversed a period of scrupulosity.
6. DEAD OR CAUTERIZED CONSCIENCE.  Endowed with free will, all of us can eventually say “No” to the beckonings of conscience and gradually
kill the conscience. One of the best Biblical examples of this is the case of PHAROAH: Moses and the many plagues that Pharaoh and the Egyptians were visited with. God knocked on the door of Pharaoh’s heart with various forms of tribulation and suffering. Obstinate, resistant, head-strong and proud, Pharaoh tenaciously resisted God through Moses and the plagues.  We can resist God’s invitations through grace and end up by killing our conscience and live physically alive but with a “Dead” conscience.
7. ILL-INFORMED CONSCIENCE.  Most-likely during the course of our life, somebody has mis-informed us on some pertinent moral topic.  Due to our ignorance quite possibly we followed this advice. Once informed it is incumbent upon us to renounce and repudiate the error and walk in the light of the truth. By the way, adults as well as the young must carefully choose their friends with whom they decide to spend their time and associations.
8. GUILTY CONSCIENCE.   Very simply this is a conscience that does not experience peace.  The reason is crystal clear: sin has been committed and guilt invades one’s interior life and conscience.
9. HEALTHY CONSCIENCE.  Up to this point we have basically been explaining the deformed or unhealthy consciences.   What then are clear sign-posts of acquiring the so called “Healthy conscience”? To start off, all of us are morally obliged to strive to form a healthy conscience and all of our lives. Otherwise we fall into the sin of omission—not doing what we are obliged to do!   A healthy conscience is a well-formed conscience that responds in the proper manner to good actions as well as evil actions that we call   “Sin”.  A healthy conscience after the commission of some sin experiences an inner sense of guilt. What follows the sin is sadness, anger, confusion and disorientation.  All manifest signs of a healthy conscience. At the same time, the person with the healthy conscience when he does good actions, actions that are pleasing to God, then the Holy Spirit intervenes to console him and give him the peace that surpasses all natural aspirations!
10. DELICATE CONSCIENCE.   It would be remiss if we did not mention and briefly explain another type of conscience, which is actually the best of all consciences— that is to say the “Delicate conscience.”  This is the conscience of the saints!  Indeed we should all aspire to attain to this
most noble of consciences! What are manifestations of this “Delicate conscience”?  A delicate conscience not only detects grave sin and less serious sin but also picks up inspirations and when these inspirations are rejected.  It is a highly-refined conscience that does not want to offend God in even the slightest forms. As said earlier, it is the conscience of the saints and the conscience that all of us should be aiming to attain with the help of God’s graces!
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ROADBLOCKS ON THE HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN.

 

The purpose of our life is simple: to get to Heaven.  Jesus warned us that the way to heaven is narrow and there are few that follow that path. However, the path that leads to destruction is wide and many choose it!
Highlighting the obstacles on the path to heaven can be of great help to us. The Shepherd must know where the wolf is hiding; the soldier must know where the enemy’s attack is planned; the athlete must know the weak point of the opponent.  The soldier of Christ indeed must detect his
major obstacles.
1.   LAZINESS.   The Book of Revelation warns us of an attitude highly displeasing to God— that of apathy and laziness.  “You are neither hot nor cold, I wish you were either of the two, but lukewarm. I will spit you out of my mouth. (Rev. 3)
To lose our first love, to surrender to apathy, to give in to discouragement,
to lose the fire of passion for Christ—all is so easy!  Why? Original Sin and its effects, an
environment of apathy, and the devil— all contribute to laziness.   The saints were keenly aware of the
shortness of life and the price of our salvation—the Precious Blood of Jesus.
They did all they could to serve the Lord with a generous spirit.

2.   DISTRACTIONS.  Never in the history of the world have there been so many distractions.  What do we mean by
distractions? T.V., the internet, sports, parties, social activities, long-phone conversations, vacations, pets, cosmetics—these are all
distractions!  Not that these distractions are necessarily sinful, but how easily can they crowd God out of our lives!  How easily can distraction become the principal focus of our lives and God becomes more and more distant like a ship leaving the port and disappearing into the midst of the sea!
             
3.   SENSUALITY.    Sensuality in all its forms can easily put God at a distance in our lives!  Eating, drinking, smoking, drugs, disordered sexual appetites, a life of ease—these are manifestations of sensuality. A key example of the pernicious effects of sensuality is the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich man.   Overtly the Rich man did not seem to be evil. However, he did end up in the fiery pit.  Why?   Not so much for what he did do but for what he failed to do, the sin of omission, catapulted this piteous man into the fiery furnace.  His luxurious and sumptuous meals, his expensive wardrobe, and high-class living blinded him from seeing Jesus who was truly present in Lazarus, the poor, raggedy, and wound-covered man outside the gate.
    
4.   RESENTMENT AND LACK OF FORGIVENESS.   Too many people today live as modern slaves.  Their chains are not so much physical as moral shackles. One of the most common bondages today is resentment and lack of forgiveness. In the Our Father we pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us….”   In other words, for me to be forgiven and to be a recipient of God’s mercy,  I must forgive and be merciful to others. It is a two-way street!  Jesus came to set captives free. Forgiving those who have wounded us is setting the captive free. That is me!  I free myself of the cage of unforgiveness and experience the freedom of the sons of God.
 
5.   IGNORANCE.   How can we love somebody that we do not even know? Impossible!  How can we love an “Unknown God?” Impossible! Both agnosticism and atheism are two theological ideologies spreading like wildfire, especially in the USA.  An atheist denies the existence of God. An agnostic lives in perpetual uncertainty.  Ignorance, on any topic can only be dispelled by serious study.  Professionals must be up to date, on the cutting edge and constantly in “Permanent Formation.”  Christian-Catholics must be “Professionals” with respect to religion and God.  It should be their most ardent desire and longing to get to know God better which will lead to loving God more ardently, which in turn will lead to following Him more closely, and then in bringing others to Him.
In conclusion, beware of these five major roadblocks on the Highway to heaven: laziness, distractions, sensuality, unresolved resentments, and ignorance.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary who gave her whole self to God with total generosity help us to surmount the obstacles along the path and attain to the eternal happiness of heaven. Mary Gate of Heaven, pray for us!
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WALKING IN A LANDMINE OF IDOLS! WATCH YOUR STEP!

 

St. Thomas Aquinas so correctly asserted that if we do not adore the one true God then we will end up by adoring the false god.  So true!  Another name for a false god is an IDOL.
IDOL—we may define as placing any person, place or thing above God. Our God is a jealous God and will not take second place to any person, place or thing, or idea.
MOSES.   As Moses descended the mountain after receiving the Ten Commandments from God, he saw the people worshipping an idol,
a false god and it was a golden calf.  Infuriated by this scene, Moses broke the tablets of the Law, tore down the golden calf,
destroyed it by pulverizing it and threw the remains in the water. How many so called “golden calves” are being publicly displayed and worshipped today?  Almost impossible to count! But here are  three!
1.   MATERIALISM. How many people today have chosen to place material things over God Himself?   The created being prevails and is given more importance than the “Creator.”  Blessed Pope John Paul II reminds us of the proper order of things with these words:  “Being is more important than having…. And…. Doing flows from being.”  The modern psychologist-writer Erich Fromm put it succinctly:  “If you are what you have and you lose what you have, then who are you?”   The Rich man in the Parable was lost not so much for what he did but for what he failed to do. Why? His material possessions blinded him from seeing Jesus present in the poor and neglected Lazarus. (Lk. 16: 19-31)   Thanks be to God that our new Pope Francis, taking the name of St. Francis of Assisi, displays a sincere lifestyle of humility, detachment, and evangelical poverty.  Jesus Himself taught the world at large with one of the Beatitudes:  “Blessed are the poor for theirs is the Kingdom of God.” (Mt. 5:3).  To counteract the idol of materialism we all have to look honestly at our own lives and see if we have “too much”. Do we have superfluities? Is our wardrobe full to overflowing? Is our refrigerator always bursting and we end up by throwing away excessive food—let’s say it, “wasting”!   Then the next challenging question is how can I give to the poor?  What are some concrete gestures or ways that I can manifest my solidarity with the poor?  Never forget what Jesus says: “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers that you do unto me.” (Mt. 25).

2.   CONSUMERISM.   Intimately connected with the idol or false-god of materialism is that of “Consumerism”.  The modern maxim:  “Shop until you drop” summarizes consumerism.  The famous “Black Friday” following  Thanksgiving has become one of the most famous days for buying in the USA. Lines of hundreds wait outside stores, even camping out the whole night, to be among the first to buy and buy and buy with the best discount prices! A few years ago in New York a sad but true tragedy occurred. The doors were opened at Wal-Mart for buying and people stampeded in like Buffaloes, furious, frantic and frenetic to “shop until drop.” One of the employees of Wal-Mart was run over, by a freight train of people; worse yet, he was killed. The owner of the store closed down the store to mourn the loss of one of his workers.  However, irate buyers exploded in anger because the store was closed down. This scene says a million!  It clearly manifests where the hearts of many are today.   The thing prevails over the human person. Buying, purchasing, having, obtaining, CONSUMERISM, has primary importance in life for many.  As disciples of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we firmly believe that the human person has more innate
value than all of the created universe put together.  Actually all of creation is a gift of God to man so that man may attain eternal life.

3.   ELECTRONIC MEDIA.   Of course all that God created is “Good”.  The explosion, in the past twenty-five years, of electronic devices has radically changed the world far and wide!  T.V., computer, internet, Black-berries, I-pad and I-phones, Kindle, the Smart-phone, Simul-cast programs, Skype-all of these are manifestations of the progress of technology which can be used for immense good in promoting the Gospel and Gospel values. However, there is the other side. Pornography has become the number one addiction in the country. Countless numbers of people have huge addiction problems and the situation is going from bad to worse! Furthermore, communication between spouses, communication between parents and children has suffered immensely. One of the principle reasons is the disordered and excessive use of electronic devices and games.  A typical scene that all of us have sadly witnessed is the whole family sitting together on the couch at night—all are closely knitted and almost locked together. But really? Dad is watching T.V.  Mom is busy sending an e-mail, Daisy, the eldest
daughter has her headphones on; Billy is wildly texting; even the Dog Petie is playing with his paw with some electronic device.  We laugh at this scenario but also weep because we know that, at least to some extent, maybe this has been our family scenario or it could be in the near future!

 

CONCLUSION: THE CHALLENGE IS OURS!   We have mentioned three modern idols that huge numbers have enthroned in their hearts as their modern gods—idolatry!   There is another path that we can take. This path is to choose deliberately to place God, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in the very center of our lives. This must be a clear and deliberate choice that we must make. Also, temptations to fall into idolatry abound; the deliberate decision must be made and renewed on a daily basis.
We conclude with a few Gospel verses that can set the tone, pave the way, and clear the path and illuminate our minds to be Counter-cultural and Christ-centered.   Jesus teaches us the greatest Commandment:  “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”(Mk. 12:29-31)  Every day we should start off our day with these words of Jesus in mind and at the end of the day make an examination of conscience to judge our faithfulness. May Our Lady, Mother of Good Counsel, attain for us to avoid at all costs the modern idols and have our lives focused on Jesus, the Son of the living God, our Way, Truth, and Life.
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WHY? WHERE? WHO? WHEN? HOW? OUR PURPOSE IN LIFE!

Why? Where? When? Who?  How?  These five words summarize what is called a “Philosophy of life”.  Every person in this world embraces a philosophy of life either explicitly or implicitly.
Why?  You were created out of the pure love of God!  Where? Our destiny is heaven! Who? To be with God for all eternity! When? Start right now because Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is within us! How? Follow this brief catechetical explanation of the authentic philosophy of life!
One’s philosophy of life manifests itself by decisions and actions.  Our exterior actions reflect the interior decisions in our hearts witch begin with
thoughts in our minds.
The adage “You are what you eat”, rings at least partially true. However, you are what you think, even resonates more fully as the truth.  A parallel to this maxim is “The thought is the father of the deed.”  Often what we think terminates in an idea that culminates in an action.

 

SAINT AUGUSTINE.  One of the greatest thinkers in the history of the world was St. Augustine.  For many years his philosophy of life was motivated by pleasure. He himself admits in his classic CONFESSIONS that he was a slave of lustful desires, until he was in his thirties.
After his conversion the center of his life was no longer the carnal desires of the flesh, but rather the person of JESUS CHRIST. Jesus would become the center, purpose and motivation of all of his desires.  In the Confessions we read the longing heart of the saint:  “O Lord you have made our hearts for thee and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.”
In another brilliant and profound passage Augustine urges us to choose carefully our philosophy of life, with these words worthy of deep meditation:  “We must all love, but must choose wisely the object of our heart and then to love with all of our heart.”
Philosophies of life can be true or false. Hedonism, Materialism, Consumerism, Agnosticism, Atheism, Reincarnationism, Nihilism,  New-ageism,
Rationalism, Stoicism—all are philosophies of life, but they all end in a one-way, dead end street.
CATECHETICAL PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION FOR ALL…
One of the first and basic catechetical truths that all should know and embrace as their philosophy of life is the following: “We are here to
know God, love God and serve God in this life so as to be with Him forever in heaven.”
May this simple but profound catechetical truth permeate and imbue our lives and motivate all of our actions. 
If we know where we are heading then we can place all of the energy of our wills to arrive at that destination. 
If not we are destined to be like the ship without the port, or the arrow without the target, or the chicken with his head cut off, or the dog fiercely running after his tail that he will  never  attain, or the little one running after his shadow, always beyond his grasp.
How can we grow into living out our Christian philosophy of life?   Four quick suggestions to start the ascent of the mountain that leads to eternal
happiness!
First, KNOW GOD!  Impossible it is to love somebody that you do not know or only know in a vague and partial manner. GOSPEL READING.  Form the transforming habit of meditating prayerfully on some passage of the Gospel. Any easy way is to take the Gospel that the Liturgical Year offers daily. If you like use the “Magnificat” that gives the daily reading. Before reading ask the Holy Spirit to inspire you to encounter the Person, the feelings and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Second, LOVE GOD!   The greatest of all commandments can be summed up in one word: LOVE!   Seeking for the greatest of all commandments the Scribe spelled it out clearly: “To love God with all one’s heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself.”(Lk. 10:27)
Jesus approved the insight of his answer.
Jesus asked Saint Thomas Aquinas to beg for one gift. The Angelic Doctor responded with: “Lord I beg for the grace to love you more each day.”
In the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola the grace that is most sought after in the entire program of the Exercises is the following: “Beg for the grace of intimate knowledge of Jesus that you love Him more ardently and follow Him more closely.”
A practical suggestion to attain to the love of Christ is the most Holy Eucharist. After receiving this great Sacrament into your heart, tell the Lord that you love Him and that you want to love Him more and more each day and to die loving Him as did the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Third, SERVE GOD!  Love to be authentic must translate into concrete actions. Why not read Mt. 25:31-46 which is the Parable of the Last Judgment. Here we have a Program of life that if lived out will lead us to eternal salvation. Outlined with utter clarity, Jesus gives us the Corporal
works of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, and to visit both the sick and the imprisoned. However, the key to the proper interpretation of this passage is that when we help out any of these people we are indeed helping out Jesus. In the words of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta:  “We must recognize Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor.” Jesus is not far away, but as close as the person that you willingly serve in his needs! May Our Lady who served Saint Elizabeth, attain for us the grace to see Jesus in all those we serve.  (Read Lk. 1: 39-45— The Visitation of Mary to St. Elizabeth, the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary).
Fourth, HAPPINESS IN HEAVEN.  As a motivational dynamo the frequent thought of heaven can help and encourage us to grow in the knowledge, love and service of God. Every day we should ponder and reflect at least briefly on the reality of Heaven. Saint Paul reminds us with these encouraging words:  “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the mind of man the wonderful things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” Enduring the many trials, crosses and tribulations of even a long life is really nothing in comparison with the immense joy, peace, happiness, and love that we will experience in Heaven. Furthermore, Heaven is forever and ever and ever. May Our Lady, gate of Heaven, attain for us an ardent and constant yearning for heaven our true destiny and permanent resting place!
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