In the context of the pandemic of Covid-19 and in the month dedicated to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, we wanted to reflect on five key words of our charism (heart, adoration, reparation, internationality and family spirit) with the help of five of our brothers who hail from different latitudes of the Congregation.
The Heart: "We beat the pain together"
I am writing this at a time when we are preparing to celebrate the ascension of Jesus and I believe that this feast very spontaneously moves us to enter into contact with a word that is so fundamental to our spirituality: the Heart. In our God beats a heart, a heart that is human. It is a passionate heart, which has experienced joy and pain, tiredness and hunger, bewilderment and fear, which has suffered the loss of loved ones, and which has been moved to tears more than once. A heart in front of which, our own heart cannot hesitate to feel deeply in tune and absolutely welcome.
This certainty can be a source of light for living our shadowy present. This has been a time that has pushed us to find ourselves alone many times, with no other company than our weak heart. But it has also been, and still is, a particularly opportune time to remember that our heart never beats alone. It has been in this hour of pain that our beating hearts have also felt in tune with so many other hearts and with that human heart of God that bears our pains. As one beating heart, we bear the pain together
But our hearts do not only beat in pain, they also beat more deeply in love. Today more than ever we are becoming aware that our hearts were made to love, and for that reason, in the midst of frustration, we look for creative ways to be close, though they can never replace the simplicity and warmth of a real embrace. The embrace expresses, like few gestures, the joy of being Incomparably close for those who love each other.
In our yearning and our searching we gratefully acknowledge that we "no longer have a heart of stone, you have given us a heart of flesh", a heart that tirelessly seeks to meet and welcome each other. We can also re-intuit our spirituality, we believe in a God with a heart, we want to be people with open, welcoming hearts.
At times, when it seems to us that there is little left to do but wait, we can say that we still have a heart that loves. It is true that this conviction is leading us to find new ways to be close to the people we accompany and to serve those who are suffering most, but it can also lead us to rediscover the joy of being communities of the heart. It is with my brothers and sisters that I first live this reality. It is in this home that I am called to give a channel to this heart that loves. In the midst of this journey, may we be able to say to each other, "Does not our heart burn as He walks beside us? May our heart of flesh continue to burn in this dark hour, with love for Him and His people.
Oscar Casanova sscc (Chile)
06/03/2020