S
smilesky
Guest
may i have a lion,s heart ,tore up all dark . i pray .
amon
amon
If I understand correctly: you feel torn up, things seem dark and you would like to have the heart of a lion.
If that is the case, I certainly join you in praying for your intention. :hug3:
If I understand correctly: you feel torn up, things seem dark and you would like to have the heart of a lion.
If that is the case, I certainly join you in praying for your intention. :hug3:
I’m glad you askedHEART----mind, soul, this your ideas?
+JMJ+
I’m glad you asked
The Catechism says:
CCC 2563 The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place “to which I withdraw.” The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant.
That is, the heart is (as the name implies) the centermost part, the deepest part, the most essential part of your soul.
The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place “to which I withdraw.”
Many people think that in the deepest recesses of your soul is the unconscious. In actuality the Church teaches the very opposite: the heart is your consciousness, where your free will resides.
Therefore, what really defines you, what really makes you you, is not your memories, is not your reasoning, is not your feelings, is not even your choices that you have made, but is your capacity to make choices.
The heart is the place of decision…It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death…
For the will to be free, it must be able to choose even against reason, even against emotions and passions, although it may assent to them too.
…beyond the grasp of our reason…deeper than our psychic drives…
When it comes to prayer (from which this passage was lifted off), it is totally the intention, the desire of the will, that is the most important.
That is why the Greatest Commandment starts with loving the Lord with all your heart; that is, to decide fully, to give your whole assent to loving God.
…only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully…It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant.
Thus, it is totally wrong to say the the heart is the seat of emotions. What the emotions can do is enter your heart, to let them influence your decisions and actions.
That is why Jesus said in the New Testament (for example, Matthew 14:27): “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid!”
To be afraid is to let fear enter your heart; that is, to let fear color your decisions, thoughts, and actions. Therefore, Jesus says, “Take heart!” That is, take back your heart! Get it out of the clutches of fear!
Other translations say, “Have courage” or “Take courage” instead of “Take heart,” but it is exactly the same. “Courage” comes from the Latin word cor, meaning “heart.” Courage, in other words, is to be in full control of your heart, to not let fear enter your heart, to do things even in the presence of fear.
Does that mean that fear is bad? No, fear is very good, like all emotions and passions. God made our emotions like everything else in this universe, and remember what God thought of His creation: “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Fear is a very good adviser, but it is a very bad master, and whatever enters your heart becomes your master.
Indeed, it is wise to be careful with what emotion, passion, or thought that you let into your heart. It is actually a virtue, called purity of heart.
So how to have courage, how to have purity of heart? It is hard to just drive out fear or any other passion out of your heart. Instead, you must push it out, crowd it out of your heart with something else. And what is this something else? It is not a what, but a Who. Jesus said it: “Take heart,** it is I**; do not be afraid!”
You must let Jesus in your heart.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)
You must love Him with all your heart. You must pray to Him constantly. You must trust Him unconditionally.
But first of all, ask from Him a new Heart: His own Heart.
CCC 1432 The human heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man a new heart. Conversion is first of all a work of the grace of God who makes our hearts return to him: “Restore us to thyself, O LORD, that we may be restored!” God gives us the strength to begin anew. It is in discovering the greatness of God’s love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and being separated from him. The human heart is converted by looking upon him whom our sins have pierced:
And He will surely not disappoint.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)