THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE HEART HAS NO DISTANCE

During this time of the pandemic, when we are asked to observe social distancing of six feet apart. I brought this to prayer and what came to mind was the Gospel of Matthew 11:25-30. Jesus, having been rejected by the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum because of their refusal to believe in him and in the Gospel he proclaimed (just as many in the world do today), he leaves the history and geography of the hostility and rejection of these towns, and enters into a mystical time and space, so to speak, that is, into eternity time and the internal geography of the heart where there is no distance. Jesus invites us and the disciples to witness him in this most intimate  prayer with his Father. 

We along with the disciples enter the intimacy of his dialogue with the Father. In this prayer we realize that we can abide in Christ's most Sacred Heart. There we find no distance between him and the Father and us. Abiding in his Sacred Heart we transcend all distance and all boundaries. Fr. Simeon, a Trapist monk, says that we pass into this internal geography of unbroken gladness (which is beyond feelings), based on a perfect harmony of minds and hearts between Father and Son. 

Jesus turns to his Father, the sole source of his mission, his strength and joy, and exclaims: "I give praise to you, Father... for you have hidden these things from the wise and the sophisticated of this world, and have revealed them to the childlike." (Mt.11:25) Along with the disciples you and I become privileged witnesses of their divine dialogue of love, which is the very substance of the interior life of God.

Resting in this intimate prayer of the very Heart of Jesus, we also are invited to partake in what Jesus has always been and is, as an integral member of the Community of Divine Persons, the Blessed Trinity. In Jesus' Sonship we experience Jesus revealing to us the unconditional and unreserved surrender of himself to the Father. Jesus finds great delight in his Father being his Father, and in himself being Son.(Would that we take such delight in being God's child!) 

This is the basis of knowing the mind of God. God's mind and heart is revealed to those who are truly His children, and are willing to fully surrender in utter dependence on Our Father. Jesus points out to us, his disciples, that our hardness of heart and rebelliousness is what exhausts us and therefore we need to come to him.

Paradoxically, our genuine freedom is gained only by becoming totally dependent and obedient to the Father. Christ's ongoing surrender to the Father is the way that we come to rest in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

This pandemic can be quite worrisome if we are anxious to jump back into the "busy-ness" of our lives in order to escape the deeper search and meaning of our existence. Jesus gives us a simple invitation: "Come to me!" We must respond to Christ's invitation with perfect freedom and trust. Only in his most Sacred Heart can we transcend our fears and worries about this pandemic, and open ourselves to Christ's transforming Light of the Resurrection and to his peace that surpasses all understanding.

Jesus, you are the source of our joy and hope during this time of trial and suffering. Help us to find rest in your most Sacred Heart. And as we listen to your heartbeat, may we be transported to the bosom of our Father as you were, even while here on earth. We entrust ourselves and our families to your Blessed Mother. May she help us to trust you completely, knowing that you only want the very best for us and our world. Amen