Fr. Frank Majka, SJ – The Bridge

Heart Characteristics

In one of his sermons, Pope Leo the Great urged his hearers to have hearts which are “faithful and enlightened.” What does that mean?

I think a faithful heart is one that keeps faith, stays loyal, and remains committed. It is a heart that may meet temptation but doesn’t yield to it. It also realizes that saying yes to God may require saying no to what is not godly, but it says yes anyway.

I think an enlightened heart isn’t so much one that knows a lot of things (the usual meaning of “enlightened”), but one that has let the light in, that is, opened up to God all the rooms and all the nooks and crannies of our lives and wants God to have access to everything about us.

As we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, it’s not a bad idea to ask the Holy Spirit to give us, and the Church, too, hearts that are loyal and open.