April 30, 2024

Our hearts don’t always feel what our minds know.

Blessed Pope John XXIII said, “The heart follows the mind almost as often as the mind follows the heart.” He certainly understood that it is hard to make our feelings match our minds! But sometimes, if we truly cling to what we know, the feeling does follow. When we live a life of love in action, we can find comfort in the fact that no matter what guilt our hearts contain, we abide in God. His knowledge of us overwhelms and overcomes our self-doubting hearts.

How blessed we are that God provides for everything! We may wonder why our prayers often seem to go unanswered. Saint Paul understood our frustration in his letter to the Romans when he said, “We do not know how to pray as we ought.” He then assures us that God, “who searched our hearts,” fully comprehends the Spirit’s prayers for us.

Later this month, we will celebrate Pentecost. This is a day that requires us to look within ourselves for a conversion. Even in willing hearts, soul searching is difficult. It forces us out of our comfort zones. We must remember that prayer is a way to enter into a fuller, closer relationship with the source of all life and hope.

The Spirit descended on those gathered in a small room and broke the doors wide open on that holy day. This reminds us that proclaiming Jesus’ message should not be restricted to those sitting next to you in your parish pew, but to those who have not awakened to His word. The Spirit is the ongoing declaration of the risen Christ’s presence in His holy body—the Church. And above all, the Spirit will be a teacher helping followers fully comprehend the meaning of all Jesus said and did during His time on Earth.

The Spirit is the gift of Jesus sent by the Father. Jesus’ ministry of teaching was not complete at the Ascension. He still had more to tell his followers that they could not yet bear to hear. It is the Spirit who guides Jesus’ followers into the fullness of truth. We will not always be certain of things. In fact, we cannot be certain of all things! So when Pentecost arrives, it is natural to become perplexed or amazed. If you find it isn’t this way for you, consider letting go of certain thoughts and making space for a spiritual revelation. Pentecost is a special time that allows us to fully experience the majesty of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. We must trust in something bigger than ourselves in order to remember even our imaginations cannot match up to the divine reality.

From the entire Mercy Home family, I wish you an open heart on Pentecost Sunday and all throughout the spring season!