Thursday 24 May 2012

C.S. Lewis and the broken heart

 It is great to see people reading C.S. Lewis again.  Bookshops all seem to have copies of his books nowadays.  Reading The Four Loves recently, it seems to me, that when you cut through all the philosophy and theology, Lewis perfectly expresses what the Sacred Heart is all about: Jesus  shows us that God loves us so much  that  He became utterly and totally vulnerable and open.  His heart is open to us and is open to the pain and wounds of love. When we meditate on the Sacred Heart, we being called to live a life of loving God and trusting in and being open to that that love, and loving and trusting and being open to our neighbour.  And as Lewis reminds us, that hurts:

'To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.'  C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves.

Christ calls humanity to live with an open and tender heart.  We must live a life with a heart that is open, vulnerable and selfless. Christ's heart, like the bread at the last supper, is broken for us.

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