The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 51, “Create a clean heart within me” (vs. 10). This gives us a very practical view of what God seeks from us. He goes on to say that “a sacrifice, God, does not delight in (16).” As twenty-first century Catholics, we need to understand what that means for us today. A modern-day version of these texts would be something like this. “God, you desire more from us than just going to Mass. You desire that we give ourselves to you.” What does this really mean?

Although this does not appear to be anything new, many of us have never really done this. We have grown up participating in this faith as our parents did. It is almost as if we simply inherited this faith. So we do what we learned from our parents and nothing more. “If it was good enough for them, it is good enough for us!” We have learned how to add Jesus to our lives.

The Psalmist again gives us more clarity for what God really desires from us. “A sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite and heart, O God, you will not despise. One only needs to meditate on these words, and you begin to see what God really wants. He wants your heart! He wants your very life! Why? LOVE! True love is the donation of self. Giving yourself to God is the love response God wants. It is the same response we always want when we love others. Why should it be different with God?

“But Deacon Ralph, I have already received my entrance sacraments, what else should I do?” God’s act of love for us was to give his very best – himself. Jesus’s sacrificial death on the cross was the greatest act of love the world has seen. He freely gave himself for us, and now. He desires for us to respond in a similar fashion. To give this gift of love, we must choose to reject our pride that makes us sinfully reject God’s authority over us and humbly return to the truth of our identity. We are only Sons and Daughters of God.

Taking that first step of authentic repentance is vital for regaining heaven. In fact, we can’t get there until we repent first! Choose who you will serve, will it be God or will it be Satan (Self). To reject God as God is to continue the work Satan began in the garden when Adam and Eve first rejected God.