Throughout life we have seen people who on the outside appeared calm and settled, then out of the blue exploded into a fit of violent anger. Some even ended up doing stuff of a magnitude that was simply unimaginable. The question on every one’s lips was “Where did that come from? What triggered it?” The implicated person was of course arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced for their actions. However, the question “Where did that come from?” was never properly answered.
The Depths of Our Hearts
In our gospel today, the Lord invites us to reflect on what goes on in the deepest recesses of the human heart and not merely focus on the actions. He wants us to address the root causes of many human actions. What we see dramatized in human action are simply symptoms of what is going on in the deepest cockles of the human heart.
In the gospel the Lord said - “You have heard it said that you shall not kill, however I say to you” that whoever is angry with his brother is not in a good place either! The action of murder is symptomatic of a disorder at the core of the human heart. He invites us to look at the roots of all human action and address each action at its roots.
Small Beginnings
The founder of Holy Cross Family Ministries Venerable Patrick Peyton, among the messages he left us was that - “A World at Prayer is a World at Peace.” Sometimes people cannot figure out how global conflicts can be resolved through Prayer. His wisdom was that whatever large-scale conflict we have witnessed in any part of the world, likely it started as something small inside someone’s heart. It started out as a negative attitude, a hateful feeling, a negative thought that snowballed into something big.
The negative thought or hateful feeling was then shared with others, and it snowballed into something huge that caused a conflict of the magnitude of the Second World War where there was massive loss of lives and property. The wisdom of Venerable Patrick Peyton was that if we desire to see global peace, we need to address what is going on inside people’s hearts.
Disorders of the Heart
It is the disorder at the core of the human heart that is the source of relational problems or global problems. It is the pride, the greed, the envy, the anger, or untamed appetites in the recesses of the human heart that spill over into our interpersonal relationships, intercommunity relationships, or even into international relationships. When we allow God inside our hearts through prayer, we let His light shine in every corner of our heart and consume any hidden darkness we have. We let His love, forgiveness, or kindness to drive our life and actions.
Let the Lord Work
The good news we have from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel is that the Lord does not derive any pleasure from our destruction. He loves us and desires to work with us on fixing anything that is broken at the center of our lives.
One reflection question we can ask ourselves this Lenten day is – “What hidden intentions, impulses, or interior movements do I desire to see purified or refined by God this Lenten season?”
May the Lord of Mercy and Forgiveness visit our hearts and reconcile us to Himself.
- Father Fred's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
