We Need More Soft Hearts

Comfortably in my 50’s I realize it has become too easy for my heart to grow cold and hard. The more I am cheated and taken advantage of, the more difficult it is to remain open. I’m not alone. I hear many confessions of people who suffer the same reality. Just how much can one heart take before it grows cold? As a result, divorce continues to skyrocket.

At that time, Pharisees came up to Jesus and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” He said to them, “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.” But he said to them, “Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.”

Matthew 9.3-12

Throughout human history the battle between a soft and hard heart has plagued society. Wars continue to be waged against former allies. Families continue to suffer generational feuds. Our society is collapsing around us which only tends to intensify betrayal and mistrust.

In today’s Gospel lesson Christ once again has revealed His love to us. “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives.” From Adam and Eve, to Moses, Saint Paul, and up to today, God is continually expression His love nd compassion on our failings.

Today’s blog is not about divorce or global war. Today’s blog is about our hearts. Our hearts have turned cold and hard toward each other. Some of us trust our enemies more than our families. We expect our enemies to betray our trust. When our families and friends turn against us, our hearts break.

A soft heart cannot break. A soft heart bounces back. A soft heart grows stronger in love. A cold and hard heart cracks under the pressure. A cold and hard heart shatters under the slightest attack. A cold heart is dead.

Lucky for us, God has already perfected the heart transplant. As the Creator, God can hold a cold heart and breath new life to soften it. God can receive our broken hearts and mend them through His grace and love. He can…. but He won’t if we don’t ask.

God’s grace is healing power for those who approach Him in faith and love. God’s grace is present in the Sacraments (Mysteries) of the Church. God’s grace is present every time we pray. If our hearts have grown cold and heart, God is the only One who can soften them again. But He won’t if we don’t ask.

There are many stories in the lives of the saints, especially the martyrs, when cold hearts were softened by God. It takes just a willing soul to experience God’s grace for our hearts to begin to soften. If you’re looking for God’s grace, you can find it in His Church as He has always promised.

When God was commanded Moses to build the Tabernacle, He said, And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory. (Exodus 29.43) God is waiting for you in Church. His grace will be poured out upon your heart in the Church.

It will be difficult for your heart not to soften in Church. It won’t be impossible because God will still wait for you to ask. But if you enter Church tomorrow for Divine Liturgy, and ask Him to soften your heart, He will.