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Hi, Vincent —
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church #2518:
“Pure in heart” refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God’s holiness, chiefly in three areas:
- charity
- chastity or sexual rectitude; and
- love of truth and orthodoxy of faith.
There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith:
The faithful must believe the articles of the Creed “so that by believing they may obey God, by obeying may live well, by living well may purify their hearts, and with pure hearts may understand what they believe.” St. Augustine, Defide et symbolo
In a certain sense, it means to have a heart that is wholly motivated to act for the right reasons. For example, if you pretended to be nice to someone, merely in order to get what you wanted from them, that would not be a pure motivation; it's selfish rather than selfless; selflessness being linked to charity.
If you decide how to act in such a way that serves other people rather than the self, you are being pure of heart.
This also pertains to sexual matters. If you are using another person to gratify your sexual needs, you are acting in an impure fashion.
If rather you are, in the context of marriage, seeking union with your spouse, as a person, and giving your total self to them in the conjugal act in a self-forgetful manner, you are acting in pureness of heart.
Eric
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