From the Heart

“God looks neither at long nor beautiful prayers, but at those that come from the heart.”

— St. John Vianney

How often do we hear that — from the heart. Do it from the heart. Speak from the heart. Follow your instincts. Go with your gut. All of these expressions point to the fact that we are most genuine and real when we speak and act from the place of our vulnerability. That is how we are with our closest friends and family members. We tell them things we wouldn’t want others to know for fear of judgment or disappointment. We tell them because we know they truly love and care for us, and that they want what is best for us. We tell them because we trust them. We tell them because we know that whatever we tell them, they will listen to us, and will respond in love. Jesus wants to be one of these people for you.

Today we celebrate St. John Vianney who is known as the “Curé of Ars” because for most of his priestly life he spent it there at the parish. He became the Patron of Parish Priests. In the quote that is written above, St. John Vianney is telling us that prayer ought to be from the heart. Now some may say “He is saying that the rote prayers like the ‘Our Father’ and the ‘Hail Mary’ we say are no good!” Of course that’s not the case. The “Our Father” was given to us by Jesus Himself, so how can St. John Vianney say it’s no good? Perhaps he was saying that whatever prayer we are praying, it must not just be words on a page, but that our heart must be in it. It is the heart that speaks to the heart, as St. John Henry Newman once said, “Cor ad cor loquitur.” No matter how beautiful the words may be — either written by the Church or by ourselves, it means nothing if we are just reading it. Reading is not praying.

Reading can be a solitary activity, but praying is always within the context of relationship. We do not pray to ourselves. We pray to God and ask for the intercession of Mary and the saints because we believe in the One to whom we pray. So, yes, let our prayer — our relationship with Jesus, our relationship with others, and all that we do and say — be from the heart, for only then will it be meaningful, and only then will it bear fruit. Look at the Cross. Look at Jesus. Imagine His pierced heart from which water and blood flowed. Jesus gave of His entire Self to us. He gave of Himself from the heart. May we do the same.

St. John Vianney, pray for us!