As we continue through Delexit nos, this new section is striking. Pope Francis begins paragraph 9 by calling the world we live in “liquid.” The liquid world has made us consumers who have lost the path to an interior life.

We are a communion of persons. We find strength, conviction, and passion, and make decisions as a community.

In this liquid world, we need a return to the heart. Pope Francis notes in paragraph 11:

If we devalue the heart, we also devalue what it means to speak from the heart, to act with the heart, to cultivate and heal the heart. If we fail to appreciate the specificity of the heart, we miss the messages that the mind alone cannot communicate; we miss out on the richness of our encounters with others; we miss out on poetry. We also lose track of history and our own past, since our real personal history is built with the heart. At the end of our lives, that alone will matter.

He goes on to say that the heart tends to the greater good. We are people moved by the power of love. Pope Francis points out that any pursuit begins with an inner stirring. He gives us the image of goose bumps. That which helps us to stir our imagination and move us to deep emotion is the heart.

We live in a liquid world where everything will fade, evolve, and change. There is only one constant: love rooted in relationships. For my lived experience, I know this to be the family. Everything else will pass in life. The love nurtured and cherished within a family will be the one thing we carry into eternity. This is our “personal history.” This is our poetry. We carry it in the heart.

Let us pray. Lord Jesus, You gave your life for us. Your Sacred Heart is ablaze with love. Your hand extends towards me, and towards all, offering love, mercy, and healing. Sacred Heart of Jesus may your love transform me. Burn away my hesitation that I may become your love and radiate your mercy. Amen.