True purity of heart promotes peace and integral health

The year 2026 has begun and, with it, you may have made a list of priorities for the current period. It's likely that on this list you've prioritized physical health care, attention to financial needs, planning and seeking new work opportunities, relationships and even spiritual care. This is very welcome, no doubt about it.

Nowadays, we live in countless situations that have brought a lot of stress and anxiety. According to the American Psychological Association (APA, 2020), factors such as personal health, the cost of medical care, wars, financial issues, climate change, loneliness, discrimination and a polarized political and social climate fueled by anger are exacerbating the levels of stress experienced.

Faced with this, we need to change our mental and attitudinal attitudes. To do this, let's reflect on a passage from the Gospel of Matthew (XV: 1-20), which recounts Jesus“ conversation with the scribes and Pharisees, when they question the supposed violation of the tradition of washing hands before meals. Obviously, no one questions the fact that good hand hygiene is appropriate everywhere and is a healthy attitude. However, the Master Jesus wanted to signal something more significant: purity of heart. In it, Jesus shifts the focus from external purity to the so-called ”ethics of the heart", which advocates that we do to others what we would like to be done to us. It's as simple as that!

The process of moral and spiritual evolution takes place as we develop the best qualities of the heart

In a recent and quick search on PubMed, a database of scientific literature, I aimed to find topics related to “true purity of heart”, such as kindness, inner peace, humility, compassion, gentleness and respect for others. And I found some interesting data in the light of science.

Firstly, positive interpersonal connection (manifested through kindness and gentleness) is a proven way of promoting resilience and happiness. It is associated with lower mortality and better health indicators. Secondly, kindness and caring are pro-social behaviors that benefit both those who practice them and those who receive them (Fryburg, 2021).

Pro-social values are defined as beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that promote the well-being and quality of life of others, with an emphasis on cooperation, helping, sharing and altruism. They are crucial for prioritizing the common good of society in general. They include cognitive, moral and socio-emotional processes that place collective well-being above individual interests, enabling strong communities, positive social interactions and a sense of belonging.

Kardec teaches us in The Spirits' Book (OLE), in question no. 879, that the man who practices his justice in all its purity is the one who is called “truly just, after the example of Jesus”, because he practices love of neighbor and charity, “without which there is no true justice”. The process of moral and spiritual evolution takes place as we develop the best qualities of the heart.

And how can we tell if we're on the real road to progress? Ah, that's an excellent question, dear reader. We learned in question no. 918 of OLE that, when penetrated by the feeling of charity and love for his neighbor, man does good for good's sake, without expecting a return, and sacrifices his interests for justice. He is kind, humanitarian and benevolent towards everyone, because he sees brothers in all men, without distinction of race or belief. If God has given him power and wealth, he considers these things to be a deposit, which he must use for good. He is not proud of them, because he knows that if God has given them to him, he can also take them away. If social circumstances have made other people dependent on him, he treats them with kindness and complacency, because they are his equals before God.

Therefore, my friends, I hope that in 2026 we will have the good will, effort and support needed to develop loving kindness, tolerance, resilience and compassion, in witness to the call of the Divine Friend, who invites us to purity of heart and greater integral health.

Luís Gustavo Mariotti is a doctor specializing in Geriatrics at the Escola Paulista de Medicina, with a specialty in Palliative Medicine, and coordinator of the Palliative Care Department of the Associação Médico-Espírita do Brasil (AME-Brasil).

References

AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION (APA). Stress in America™ press room. Stress in America 2020. A national mental health crisis. Oct. 2020. Available at: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2020/report-october. Accessed on: 20 Dec. 2025.

FRYBURG, David A. Kindness as a Stress Reduction-Health Promotion Intervention: A Review of the Psychobiology of Caring. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, v. 16, n. 1, p. 89-100, 2021. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827620988268.

KARDEC, Allan. The Spirits' Book. Translation by Guillon Ribeiro. 93. ed. Brasília, DF: FEB, 2019. Available at: https://www.febnet.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/WEB-Livro-dos-Esp%C3%ADritos-Guillon-1.pdf. Accessed on: December 20, 2025. PENNER, Louis A. et al. Prosocial behavior: multilevel perspectives. Annual Review of Psychology, v. 56, p. 365-392, 2005. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.56.091103.070141.