Holy Saturday
Ez 36:16-17a, 18-28
The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, when the house of Israel lived on their own soil, they defiled it with their ways and their deeds; their conduct in my sight was like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual period. So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for the idols with which they had defiled it. I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries; in accordance with their conduct and their deeds I judged them. But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.
Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I display my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Transform Our Hearts
The promise of Easter is also the promise of a new heart. A heart that has been changed and modeled after Jesus’ Sacred Heart. I am deeply moved by Ezekiel’s description of God’s desire to transform our hearts. God desires to transform them from stony hearts into new hearts, hearts of flesh. The ultimate model for how to let our hearts be formed and transformed is the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A heart which loves, which is tender, and which is dependent always on God’s love and mercy. We see in Ezekiel that through the transformation of our hearts we are brought together as God’s people. God speaks to our hearts, saying – “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.” In a time where we can question whether we truly “belong,” take heart, we belong to each other and we belong to God through the transformation of our hearts.
Allow your broken and sorrowful heart to be renewed and transformed this Easter weekend, looking to Jesus’ Sacred Heart for guidance.
—Michael Pederson, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province teaching environmental science at Arrupe College in Chicago.
Prayer
Lord, you deserve all honor and praise,
because your love is perfect and your heart sublime.
My heart is filled to overflowing with gratitude
for the many blessings and graces you have bestowed upon me and those
whom I love.
Forever undeserving, may I always be attentive
and never take for granted the gifts of mercy and love
that flow so freely and generously from your Sacred Heart.
Heart of Jesus, I adore you.
Heart of Jesus, I praise you.
Heart of Jesus, I thank you.
Heart of Jesus, I love you forever and always.
Amen.
—Prayer of Thanksgiving and Praise to the Sacred Heart, posted on FranciscanMedia.org