Of You My Heart Speaks

Homily for Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

There is a line in this morning’s Responsorial Psalm that I found to be truly beautiful. The psalmist says: “Of you my heart speaks.” Honestly, I think we could spend hours praying with what that phrase means and how it relates to each one of us personally. But at its core, it reminds us of something that is placed on each of our hearts from the moment that we are conceived, at the moment when we come into existence.

Because we are made in the image and likeness of God, we all have a desire for God implanted on our hearts. It’s a pull toward Him. We long to be with God for all eternity. We long to see Him face to face and to be in communion with Him. That is actually what we’re made for. It is our primary vocation to know, love, and serve God. That should determine everything that we do. And yet, we often times fail at giving our whole lives to the Lord.

The reality is that all of us struggle with sin. We have all done things that are not in line with the will of the Father. So many times, whenever we commit a sin, there is this inner voice that tells us that we have done something wrong, that there is something that we have done that isn’t in line with how we’re supposed to live. It’s the voice of our conscience…but also, it’s this voice of the heart. It’s the voice that’s reminding us of who we are – children of God.

The Psalm this morning is a prayer that we can pray whenever we realize that an aspect of our lives is not in conformity with God’s will. It not only reminds us of who we are and how we are called to live; it also makes us recall our reliance on the Lord. He is the merciful and compassionate God who calls us back to Himself. He is the one who gives us the strength to stay the course, to persevere in the way of faith, and to seek to strive after holiness, no matter what distractions might come our way.

Today, let’s make this Psalm our prayer. Call to mind the times that we have turned away from God in some way, ask Him for mercy and forgiveness, and beg Him for the grace and the courage to strive for holiness. Our hearts are constantly speaking to us and calling us to remember that we belong to God. We just have to listen to them.

Photo: Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash. Used under Unsplash License.