Roots

A tree’s fruit should reveal the quality of its root. What a man says and does should reveal the quality of his heart. The root of a righteous act is a heart converted to God. Rooted like this, one’s heart … Continue reading

Many Hearts, One Love

To gaze on Mary with Mother Teresa and her sisters is to look into Mary’s Immaculate Heart. “I put all my trust in her heart,” Mother Teresa confided (Come Be My Light, 135). Writing to a spiritual director, she pleaded, … Continue reading

Many Hearts, One Love

To gaze on Mary with Mother Teresa and her sisters is to look into Mary’s Immaculate Heart. “I put all my trust in her heart,” Mother Teresa confided (Come Be My Light, 135). Writing to a spiritual director, she pleaded, … Continue reading

Cultivating and Tilling the Heart

Cultivating and Tilling the Heart In gardening, one speaks of both cultivating and tilling. The two activities are similar, but there are some differences. Cultivating is the process of breaking up and loosening the soil in a garden. The purpose … Continue reading

From the Lips of Babes

“Who is that?” “That is Jesus on the cross.” “Why is He all beat up?” “He loved us so much that he came all the way from heaven to suffer and die to save us, even when we killed Him.” … Continue reading

Loosing the Tongue

Speaking does not imply saying anything, though maybe it should. Someone can talk a lot and yet have said nothing at all—think chitchatterers, depleted athletes, and political geniuses. This is because real speech reveals what is in the heart: truths … Continue reading

“Barb, I Love You?”

Theodore is in a dilemma. Over the past few months, he has fallen head-over-heels in love with Barb. She is the woman of his dreams: beautiful, affectionate, gentle, and compassionate. Whenever he treads in Barb’s presence, Theodore’s heart is close … Continue reading

A God Who Cannot Feel

In this season of penance, we ask God to have mercy. Human mercy involves compassion, looking upon someone’s misery and feeling it as your own. But God, in his eternity, can’t feel misery—he can’t feel anything. I don’t mean that … Continue reading

Hearts Like His

You’re always hurt most by those closest to you. The sharpest knives are wielded by family, religious brothers, or intimate friends, for they have a particular access to our hearts that is born of the strength of the bond between … Continue reading