Are Valentine hearts just for kids and lovers?
We don’t think so for several reasons. First, we live in Worcester, MA where Esther Howland created the first mass-produced valentines made of embossed paper lace shortly after 1847.
Second, in the Bible, the heart is known as a source of thought, emotion, character and actions. Through the pages of Scripture we are often invited to receive the gift of a new heart, a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone. And at least two Saints in our history remind us of this offer from God; St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 1600s, who promoted prayer to the Sacred Heat of Jesus; and Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska who, in the early 1900s, gave us the image of light and mercy emanating from the heart of Jesus. So, yes, we want a Valentine Heart from God.
Third, what if we are suffering from a broken heart**, ruined relationships, or the taxing reality of a difficult daily life? Then it is time for Jesus, the cardiologist, who offers us the miracle of a health heart and soul, filled with love and thanksgiving. St. Frances Cabrini writes in her travel diary: “Let us warm our hearts with holy gratitude, which in turn will inebriate us little by little with divine love.”
But true love does not stop there. Jesus, along with the gift of a new heart, wants to gives us the ability to be instrument of God’s healing for those around us who need a spiritual cardiologist. Here is how we can both imitate Jesus and bring his healing love.
- Jesus listened with his heart, and so can we. Imagine the respectful attention that Jesus gave Nicodemus during their conversation in John 3:1-21.
- Jesus spoke from his heart. He took the stance of a friend who refrained from judgment during his encounter with two disciples on the way to Emmaus in Luke 24. Who do you walk beside?
- Jesus focused on dialogue. Remember the man with a partial healing of his eyes in Mark 8:22-26. “Can you see anything?” Jesus then asked (8:23), before he continued his prayers.
- Jesus was open about his relationship with his Father, the source of all life –when he taught the “Our Father” (Luke 11:1-8), when he approached the tomb of Lazarus (John 11) and even when he was dying on the cross (Matthew 27:46).
Will you bring Jesus, the cardiologist into someone’s life this St. Valentine’s Day? And in which of these four ways will you imitate Jesus our greatest valentine message made flesh?
**For More about Broken Relationships