God has a human heart. And He is moved by you.
Jesus chose to have a human heart – forever.
Jesus really wants to be with us — in everything. He not only forever united Himself to our human flesh when He became man, He forever united Himself to our human experience. And He united Himself not just to any human experience, but to my human experience, going to my darkest depths and placing His divinity there. Loving with a truly human heart, He experienced all that we do, even the gut-wrenching things that seem to shatter the heart apart — grief, loneliness, and rejection. But He didn’t live there. Instead, He lived in the embrace of His Father, with total reliance on Him. That’s our path to freedom.
What does God’s heart really look like?
Jesus has a compassionate heart.
“And Jesus wept” (Jn 11:35).
He wept over the death of Lazarus, was moved by the cry of the sick, and was filled with pity at the sight of the hungry, weary crowds. He is our friend. He cares about what we care about. His heart burns with love for us.
Jesus has a heart of light and truth.
“I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12).
Christ didn’t shy away from asking His disciples hard things, like loving their enemies and leaving everything to follow Him. He sheds light on what it really means to be human, made in God’s image.
Jesus has a gentle heart.
“For I am gentle and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29).
The Lord healed those who came to Him with a simple touch. We’re safe in His hands.
Jesus has a merciful heart.
“And the one who comes to me, I will not cast out” (Jn 6:37).
Jesus holds out His wounded heart as a beacon of hope for anyone who has experienced heartbreak, rejection, and failure. “We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures,” said St. John Paul II, but “we are the sum of the Father’s love for us, and our real capacity to become the image of His Son.”
Letting your heart be moved by Him, the One who waits for you.
Despite the pain that Jesus’ heart experienced in being rejected by the world, He just doesn’t know how to hold back. Instead, He continues to pour forth His love on the world with reckless abandon, hoping that you might return it.
He waits to see you in the Blessed Sacrament.
Jesus longs for your friendship. He has made Himself totally vulnerable, poor, and intimately accessible in the Eucharist, so that you can be with Him. He thirsts for you, for the unique love only you can give. Spending time with Him in Eucharistic Adoration not only radiates grace to the world and gives life to your soul, but it gives His heart joy!
Tip 1: Prioritize.
Find an Adoration Chapel nearby and try visiting Jesus as often as you can. Even ten minutes a week can be life-changing and will bring consolation to the Lord’s heart. By making this act of faith and letting Him have all of your attention, you are saying, “You matter to me, Jesus.”
He waits to hear your needs and concerns.
Jesus wants to hear about what is important to you. Like Veronica wiping the face of Jesus, when you look at the Body of Christ, wounded in its members, and confidently bring to Him in prayer all of the pain and sorrow, it moves and consoles His heart.
Tip 2: Talk to Him as your best friend.
Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. Bring to Him all the needs and intentions of your heart. He cares about you.
He waits to encounter your look of love.
Jesus said, “What you do to the least of these, you do to me” (Mt 25:40). Jesus is present in every person whom you encounter. He longs to receive your look of love, your kind word, your forgiving smile, your act of generosity.
Tip 3: Reach out each day with acts of kindness to others.
Kindness transforms hearts. It helps others to tangibly experience the goodness of God.
Originally printed in IMPRINT Magazine Spring 2019.
