Open Your Heart to God

Gospel Reflection for February 26, 2024

“Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” (Luke 6:36-38 NABRE)

Again and again, we catch ourselves being judgmental or unforgiving towards others. We may sometimes even be shocked by the cruelty of our hearts when we sometimes withhold mercy and compassion. When we are tempted to judge or condemn others, we must remember that what we measure out, will be measured out to us in return. So, we must cultivate merciful and forgiving hearts! Otherwise, holding onto grudges will create obstructions in our relationship with God.

In a book about Our Lady of Kibeho, by Immaculee Ilibagiza, a message from Jesus to a visionary named Segatashya is shared. Though this visionary has not been officially approved by the Church, as the three girls whom Our Lady of Kibeho appeared to have been approved, this message is still very moving and convicting, and worth contemplating.

To a crowd surrounding Segatashya asking for a miracle from Jesus, Segatashya replies, “our Lord says to stop asking for miracles… because your lives are miracles. A true miracle is a child in the womb; a mother’s love is a miracle; a forgiving heart is a miracle. Your lives are filled with miracles, but you’re too distracted by material things to see them. Jesus tells you to open your ears to hear his messages and open your hearts to receive his love. Too many people have lost their way and walk the easy road that leads away from God. Jesus says to pray to his mother, and the Blessed Virgin Mary will lead you to God Almighty. The Lord has come to you with messages of love and the promise of eternal happiness, yet you ask for miracles instead. Stop looking to the sky for miracles. Open your heart to God; true miracles occur in the heart.”¹

May we always seek God out, and truly open our mind, body, soul, and heart to Him. By handing over our lives to the Lord, and putting Him in control, we will become more like Him, and we will grow closer to Him. May opening ourselves up to God help us to become more merciful, loving, forgiving, and compassionate!

1. Immaculee Ilibagiza, Our Lady of Kibeho: Mary Speaks to the World from the Heart of Africa (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc., 2008), xvi.