Living testament

Heart image

Seek With All Your Heart…

In the First Reading for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, it is written:

If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you;
if you trust in God, you too shall live;
he has set before you fire and water
to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
Before man are life and death, good and evil,
whichever he chooses shall be given him.
Immense is the wisdom of the Lord;
he is mighty in power, and all-seeing.
The eyes of God are on those who fear him;
he understands man’s every deed.
No one does he command to act unjustly,
to none does he give license to sin. – Sirach 15:15-20

Take some time to reflect on your words and actions this past week. Consider to what or to whom you “stretched forth your hand” as you went about the week. Invite Jesus to reflect with you. As you review situations that come to mind, how is your heart touched? How do you imagine Jesus’s heart is touched?

The final verse in this week’s Psalm is verse 34 of Psalm 119:

Give me understanding to keep your law, to observe it with all my heart.

There are 613 laws within the first 5 books of the Old Testament (the Torah), there are 10 commandments revealed by God at Mount Sinai, and there are Jesus’s words and example among which is:

You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments. – Matthew 22:37-40

Taking what you have learned through both Scripture and personal experience, how would you describe the heart of God?

In the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 2:6-10), St. Paul gives voice to the fact that knowledge born of the earthly is different than wisdom, pure and true, which is a gift that emanates from God.

But as it is written:
What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him,
this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.
For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. – verses 9-10

Contemplate these verses. Notice where your heart is drawn and what comes to mind. As you do so, enter into conversation with Jesus. Reveal your innermost thoughts and feelings and ask him for whatever you need (healing, peace, insight, etc.).

In the Gospel for this week (Matthew 5:17-37), Jesus tells his disciples:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” – verses 17-20

As you navigate the world around you, how is your heart informed and motivated by God’s laws and commandments, and the spirit of them, along with Jesus’s words and example?

The Gospel passage continues with Jesus stating a few examples of what the disciples have heard or what’s been said of the law of God followed by “But I say to you…”:

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you…”

“You have heard that it was said,
You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you…”

“It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you…”

“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.
But I say to you…” – excerpted verses 21-37

In these verses, Jesus is teaching the disciples a deeper understanding of what they have heard or what’s been said; what they’ve come to know. He’s shifting the focus to connect the law/commandments back to their divine intent—preserving the goodness of God in our hearts.

How might the wisdom of God bring a new understanding or bring greater depth to what you have heard or what’s been said? In what ways might your heart exercise more like the heart of God, the intent of God’s law and commandments, and the teachings and example of Jesus?

Lord, God, creator of all, stretch forth our hearts,
So that your goodness and mercy may shine through.
Let our words and deeds, give you honor and praise.
May they spread hope and love, light and peace, to all.

Heart image

Blessed those who keep the Lord’s testimonies, who seek the Lord with all their heart. – Psalm 119:2

Because it’s the right thing to do…

“Why? I don’t understand why we have to do this?” To which the father responded, “Because, it’s the right thing to do. I can do my best to explain it, but whether or not you, I, or anyone understands, we are doing it, because right here, right now, it’s the right thing to do.”

We all experience moments in life when it can be hard to put something into words or to provide reason or logic. However, even when one cannot understand, there is always a reason. At those times, the challenge is to take what is felt in one’s bones and trust it. Give it whirl, allowing it to have a voice, letting it come to life, and seeing what happens.

Oftentimes, sticking to what we “know,” what we think we know, or what we have been told, takes us further away and pales in comparison to what we may be headed toward or on the brink of discovering… learning… experiencing.

In June of 1949, Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard was buried in Notre Dame Cathedral, alongside archbishops by whom he was predeceased. He had entered formation, despite not having the support of his pastor. He went on to become a priest in 1897, professor, bishop, and eventually Archbishop of Reims in 1930.

In 1942, Cardinal Suhard found his way to using his voice publically against the Vichy government, its deportation of the Jewish people of Paris, and essentially its collusion with the Nazi government. The Cardinal was detained for his actions which went against the clergy and the government of his time and place. However, this was not the first time, he paid consequences for the doing what he felt was the right thing to do.

In his lifetime, Cardinal Suhard was also instrumental in the creation of what was referred to as the Worker-Priest movement. Although the movement was originally supported by the church hierarchy as a means to bring people, specifically the French working class, back to the church, it took on a life of its own.

The priests were sent out into everyday life in the everyday world. The ones who participated in the movement worked in the factories of Paris and other cities. As they experienced the environment and conditions of their fellow workers, they could not help but become involved in trying to make things better. In doing so, they came to be seen by the factory owners, and were reported to the church, as being divisive for their efforts to improve the injustice and wrongdoing they saw and experienced. As a result, the worker priests were told to return to their churches. Some did, and some did not. As for the movement, it went through various stages, including some years of being halted altogether, but has essentially carried on in one form or another.

Emmanuel Célestin Suhard became aware, discovered, and listened to what was in his bones, his God-given purpose. It is always the right thing to do.

“To be a witness does not consist in engaging in propaganda, nor even in stirring people up, but in being a living mystery. It means to live in such a way that one’s life would not make sense if God did not exist.” – Emmanuel Célestin Suhard