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DO YOU HAVE A HEART?

By Ramon Martillano

 

This is the question that caught my attention during a talk given to the Community on April 8, 2003 by Fr. Jose Goopio, a Filipino priest visiting Surabaya who has been assigned in East Timor for the last 25 years.

 

In my mind, I answered, of course I have a heart! As the talk went on, he actually meant something else as he quoted several reflections from Fr. Jerry Orbos’ book: Shared Moments. (Fr. Orbos is a famous Filipino priest.)

 

He said that the heart is represented as something oval that is pointed at the bottom and deeply dented on top. Further, he narrated that a small boy once made this description: a heart is two question marks facing each other, each asking a question, each hoping for an answer. Incidentally, if you look at the February 2003 issue of the GNB, it has these two question marks on its cover page.  Fr. Joe further emphasized that we as Christians can say that the heart of man is made up of two partners facing each other: one is God, the other is man; each asking a question, each hoping for an answer.

 

Going back to the question, “Do you have a heart?”, I suggest you don’t answer this question without first reading this.  Quoted from Fr. Orbos’ book, the reflection is titled: H-E-A-R-T. Please take a moment and seek from your heart the answers to the following questions:  First Question:  DO YOU HAVE A HEART?  Is there no more space for matter of the heart in your hard, stern, dysfunctional and cold life?  Second Question:  WHAT KIND OF A HEART DO YOU HAVE?  Do you have a stony heart, a wooden heart, or perhaps a plastic heart?  Third Question:  WHAT ARE THE SINS IN YOUR HEART?  There is no real peace in your heart as long as you hold in it the following sins of the heart, H = Hatred, E = Envy, A = Anger, R = Resentment, T = Timidity.  Now, what is your answer to the title question? Of course, we all have hearts, but what kind of heart do we have?

 

Our body, primarily the heart, is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  It is written in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God?”   Will you therefore allow your heart to be inhabited by hatred, envy, anger, resentment and timidity? Let me end this article by sharing to you a beautiful song, Stir My Heart, which goes this way: 

 

Stir my heart oh Lord

Let Your holy fire burn

Spark a flame within me

Strengthen my desire.

 

May my heart oh Lord

Be so tender in Your hand

Breathe Your life within me

Stir my heart oh Lord.

 

Lord, let this be our prayer. Amen.

E-mail the author: ramon@genesis.faithweb.com

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