Jesus calls us to live from our hearts, acting with mercy and compassion. This week’s reflection invites us to persevere in this work of God and share the state of our hearts with our communities.

March 2, 2025: Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Sirach 27:4–7
Psalm 92:2–3, 13–16
1 Corinthians 15:54–58
Luke 6:39–45

Listening to Your Heart in Troubled Times

A reflection by Sr. Jane Aseltyne, IHM

I live in Chicago with a group of Catholic sisters around my age. All of us are from different congregations and come with our unique experiences of community life and prayer. One of the gifts of this community is learning to pray in the traditions of communities that are different from my own. One of the prayer traditions adopted into our routine of life comes from the Sisters of Saint Joseph, called State of the Heart.

When engaging in state of the heart prayer, we share where we experience God moving in our lives or where we might be struggling to see or feel God. The community listens to each person’s story, then reflects on a common theme we hear in the sharing, followed by naming an invitation we are sensing either for us individually or as a community.

There are times, especially recently, when I share the state of my heart with my sisters, and I notice that I have a lot of anxiety about the state of our world, especially as it relates to LGBTQIA+ issues. As a member of the queer community, it is easy for me to look out at our world and be discouraged. I often find myself fearful of what’s unfolding around me. I worry for the safety of my friends, strangers, neighbors, and family members who identify outside the gender binary. My heart feels weary at times, and I wonder if the work I am doing on behalf of the queer community is enough.

But as I reflected on this Sunday’s readings, I found encouragement for when things are difficult. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians reflects a struggle not so distant from our own. The people of Corinth are experiencing discord – questions are surfacing about how to be a Christian and whose way is the “right way.” Concerns are raised over liturgical practices, the role of women, and taking care of those made poor and the vulnerable. Paul addresses these questions and concerns, and towards the end of his letter, he offers encouragement to the newly formed Christian community: “Be steadfast and persevering, my beloved sisters and brothers, fully engaged in the work of Jesus. You know that your toil is not in vain when it is done in Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Paul's words struck a chord with me as I pondered them more deeply. How are we defining "work of God"? Those who identify with the Christian nationalist movement would say their work is on behalf of God. Those who push against Christian nationalism would say their work is on behalf of God. So, how do we navigate this tension?

I don't think this question is easily answered. But what I do know is that Jesus calls us to be tender-hearted toward the marginalized, to call out systems of injustice just as he did. Jesus calls us to live from our hearts, where mercy and compassion reside.

In today’s gospel, Luke images the heart as a storehouse for good and evil. He says that “people speak from the fullness of their hearts” (6:45). Scripture scholar Barbara Reid notes that this verse points to a well-known concept in biblical times, which is the centrality of the heart: “In the thinking of biblical times the heart is the center of a person’s life. It is the seat of the desires, emotions, thoughts, and plans from which come a person's deeds. It is the place where one meets God, and the locus for conversion.”[1]

Thinking about our hearts as the space from which all else flows brings me great hope because it points to the reality that no matter what is going on around us, we can journey within and take time to reflect on how God is calling us in this time and space. Today's readings are preparing us for Lent, which begins this week. Lent is a perfect season for us to take time to reflect on the state of our hearts.

This week, many of us may be considering what practices we want to take up during Lent. I suggest that we take time to reflect and ask God where we are being called to serve, grow, learn, and persevere. Perhaps you could gather with your community, friends, family, or loved ones to intentionally share the state of your heart. You might be surprised how doing so energizes you for the work you’re engaged in. You may notice that your spirits become lighter after sharing honestly with your trusted community.

As you consider this invitation, here are some reflection questions you could use:

1.    What is the state of your heart? Where has God been showing up in your life?
2.    What themes do you notice that are a part of your story and someone else’s?
3.    What are you being invited to attend to, either as a community or individually?

Let us hold space for each other as we journey together through these next forty days.

[1] Reid, Barbara E., Parables for Preachers: The Gospel of Luke, Year C, Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press (2000), 85.

Sr. Jane Aseltyne, IHM holds an MA in Systematic Theology and Spirituality from the Catholic Theological Union at Chicago. Her master’s thesis entitled, “Beyond the Binary: Expanding Understandings of the Imago Dei,” seeks to develop a more inclusive understanding of what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God, particularly concerning gender and sexual orientation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

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