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!

The Chosen One

“But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’”

Matthew 14:30

Have you sometimes questioned someone in authority, either in your mind or actually confronted them? How did it go? Hopefully not how things ended for Miriam and Aaron when they questioned Moses’ authority. Miriam was plagued with leprosy (see Numbers 12:1-13). Miriam and Aaron was arguing the point that God speaks through others too and not just through Moses. God explained to them that if He does speak through prophets, He does so through dreams and visions, but when He speaks to Moses, He does so face to face. Moses was someone special. He was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land (although he himself was not to enter into it). Moses stood in the presence of God and communicated with him as though with a friend. Prophets do not do that. So, Moses held a special place, but he was not the only one. Over a thousand years later, the greatest Prophet came into the world, God Himself became man, and Jesus entered into our fallen world to save us from it.

Jesus is sometimes referred to as the “New Moses.” The Son of God walked amongst us and He gathered people to Himself to bring them to His Father. Perhaps one of the most famous events in the Bible is when Peter walked on water but then later began to sink and drown because of the wind and waves. Jesus told Peter to come to Him while He was on the water. He encouraged Him and assured Him that He was there with Him. Yet, when the wind began to blow and the waves crashed he wavered and his eyes were no longer set on the Lord, and he began to drown. Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!” and He did. Jesus will always catch us and pull us up when we fall down or become overwhelmed by the storms of life, but we need to ask. We need to want Jesus to catch us and pull us up. He will not barge into our lives uninvited. We have nothing to fear. Jesus, the Chosen One, the Son of God, says to us, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” If our eyes are set on Christ, no matter how high the waves grow or how strong the winds blow, we will remain above water. Sin and death have no control over us because the Chosen One is with us. When trials and storms arise, may we call on the Lord, keep our eyes fixed on Him, and allow Him to lead us to dry land.

Action Required

“Manna was like coriander seed and had the color of resin.
When they had gone about and gathered it up, the people would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar, then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves, with a rich creamy taste.”

Numbers 11:7-8

In the desert, the Israelites complained about the food and lamented not being in Egypt where they had fish and other foods. They said now all that was before them was “this manna.” How ungrateful! They needed to gather it, prepare, and cook it. I guess they didn’t want to work. God gave them the ingredients, the ability to work and cook, and yet they complained. God does provide, but do we seize the opportunity?

God gives us everything we need to succeed, but do we use them? For example, if you want try this new recipe, and someone helps you purchase all the ingredients and lay them out before you, but if you do not prepare the ingredients, turn the stove on, and actually cook it, nothing happens. As a teacher I have often told my students that they have everything they need to succeed in front of them, but it is up to them if they want to make use of those resources. In the same way, God always provides for us, it may not always be in the shape that we would hope (all done and with no work needed), but God provides. God provides, but we must take action. Action is required on our part. We must act, but first we must pray and listen to what the Lord is saying to us. Just as a student ought to listen to his or her teacher’s instructions before completing an activity, so must we sit in the silence and listen to the Lord speak to us before we take any action. Action without prayer is reckless, and prayer without action is irresponsible. God calls out to you today. What is He saying? What will you do?