Broken hearts

By -

Have you ever felt like your heart was being pulled in separate directions?  Or that your heart was telling you one thing and your brain was telling you something else?  Or maybe that your heart actually hurt from the ache you felt inside?

There are many different ways we experience and describe a broken heart.  In the Book of Joel, Chapter 2 (Verses 12-18) we read:  

"Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments and return to the Lord, your God . . ."

Searching online for a little help with the "rend your hearts" phrase, I came across an additional way to think about our hearts.  This comes from "Got Questions":

"The idiom rend your heart expresses internal spiritual brokenness, which is vastly more important than any empty, hypocritical act of ripping apart one's closing.  Rituals of repentance mean nothing if the heart is unchanged."

When the Lord asks us to "rend your hearts," he is not asking for a superficial, turning towards him.  He's getting at our core.  This requires us to recognize the very ugliness in our words and actions--even in our character--that needs to be changed.  

We must consider the ways we offend, reject and turn away from God deeply, which is discoverable through a sincere (and healthy) examination of ourselves and our relationship to God and others.

"In Joel's day . . . The people performed rituals of tearing their clothing without experiencing true, heart-crushing remorse for their sin, which would lead to a change in behavior and genuine devotion to
God . . ."

As we begin our journey through Lent today, beginning with Ash Wednesday, let us be careful not to go through ritual practices without actually rending our heart. Let's open ourselves up to the loving, healing and mercy of God.

And while we are at it, hopefully we can join in with all of the catechumens (the unbaptized) who through the process of seeking entrance into the Church, will find their hearts and lives converted to God in very real, and sometimes painful (as well as joyful) ways.

And the journey begins . . .

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem
Read more

'Greater Love: Richie Fernando SJ', a joy-filled Filipino missionary

By -
Image
 I haven't been able to post for more than a week as I was giving an eight-day directed retreat to eight sisters of the Missionaries of Charity near Manila. While I had some access to the internet it was rather slow. I had intended to make a post here on the murder of Fr Fausto Tentorio PIME , a 59-year-old Italian priest, in the Diocese of Kidapawan, Mindanao, on Monday 17 October. I will save that post for a later date. As I was looking for a video about Father Fausto I came across one about Brother Richard Michael 'Richie' Fernando SJ, a Filipino Jesuit scholastic who died while trying to prevent a troubled and disabled young man in Cambodia from throwing a grenade. That was in 1996 - on 17 October. Father Fausto gave his life exactly 15 years later. I remember the mixture of sorrow and pride I felt when I read of the death of Brother Richie, pride as a missionary in the Philippines that a young Filipino seminarian had given his life so spontaneously in order to sav
Read more

Why Modesty Is Not Subjective

By -
Image
Hi there, ya'll!  The modest fashion world is one very diverse place.  Even among Catholics, the definition of "modest apparel" can vary greatly from person to person.  Recently I joined a Facebook group that advertised itself as a haven for Catholic women of all ages to share ideas for modest style and makeup and was hoping to learn more about modesty from my fellow Catholic sisters.  After a few days of being a member, though, I sadly left the group feeling a bit discouraged.  No two members seemed to agree on ANY aspect of modesty whatsoever, and the prevailing theme of the whole group was that modesty is subjective, it means something different for each woman and each woman gets to decide what she considers is "modest".  One woman very emphatically declared that she wears bikinis every summer to the beach and doesn't feel that this violates the virtue of modesty in the least.  The same woman also announced that she was never going to caution her d
Read more