Mothers Group Reflection #3: Taking a Moment to “Breathe”

To the Sacred Heart of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I give myself and I consecrate my person and my life, my actions, pains, and sufferings so that I may be unwill­ing to make use of any part of my being other than to honor, love, and glorify the Sacred Heart.This is my unchanging purpose, namely, to be all his and to do all things for the love of him, at the same time renouncing with all my heart whatever is displeasing to him. I therefore take you, O Sacred Heart, to be the only object of my love, the guardian of my life, my assurance of salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for all the faults of my life, and my sure refuge at the hour of death.Be then, O Heart of goodness, my justifica­tion before God the Father, and turn away from me the strokes of his righteous anger. O Heart of love, I put all my confidence in you; for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty, but I hope for all things from your goodness and bounty.Remove from me all that can displease you or resist your holy will; let your pure love imprint your image so deeply upon my heart that I shall never be able to forget you or to be separated from you.May I obtain, from your loving kindness, the grace of having my name written in your heart; for in you, I desire to place all my happiness and glory, living and dying, in bondage to you.

by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque 

I have been walking the faith journey with a dear friend going through a particularly busy time in life and as we were bouncing ideas off each other recently, she sent me a link to a song that was really speaking to her and she couldn’t wait to share it with me. I burst into laughter when I opened the link and discovered that it was the very song that had literally become the theme song of my life in the three years since I moved from my home state. The title is “Just Breathe” by Jonny Diaz and somehow it seemed a fitting thing to share for our topic this month, of squeezing prayer into a busy life.

When I first heard this song, I was in a new state for the first time and feeling completely out of my element, and it stopped me in my tracks. I will include a link below and I encourage you to take a moment to really listen to it. What struck me the most is the point in the song where the music dies away to a few subtle notes and the sound of a heartbeat can be heard in the background. 

At that time, Jesus was calling me to consecrate my life to His Sacred Heart and this song was just one more of many little nudges from Him. He was patiently waiting for me to put my busyness aside for awhile and just listen to His heart. For those of you unfamiliar with this devotion, I will include a link to the prayer below and a little information about it, although there are many more good resources online regarding its history. I first discovered this prayer in my church back home and when I read it for the first time, it was the cry of my heart. If ever there was a prayer that could perfectly sum up the feelings of my heart, this is it. I didn’t entirely understand the idea of consecration and it was another year before I found a spiritual director that had also been down this path and could explain it to me. Many others have explained its mechanics better than I could, so rather than repeat what has already been said, I would rather say in my own words what this devotion means to me in particular. 

Jesus was both fully God and fully man. He had a human heart just as we do and He is fully able to understand all the pains of our lives here on earth. His heart is forever a refuge for sinners and the just alike as we turn from our sins toward His Love. As we contemplate the love and mysteries of His Sacred Heart, we will learn how to love both God and others with ever deeper devotion and uprightness of heart. His heart is the model for all of our lives. To me, this act of consecration is to fully surrender myself to Jesus, to dedicate myself, with His grace, to rest fully in His love and to make His love known wherever I go. Different people will be called to emphasize different aspects of Jesus' message with their lives, but my personal focus is on His deep love for all of us and to return that love to Him, particularly in Eucharistic adoration and in loving His image in those around me.

I kept a copy of the Consecration prayer taped to the wall above my kitchen sink where I continued to pray this prayer daily and I found new riches each day. The space over my kitchen sink has become my prayer altar of sorts as that is usually where I am during the day. I will include reminders to myself of newly learned concepts in my faith life, prayers, etc. Over time, different parts of this consecration prayer would speak to me and I began to better live out that call to love, and it began to bear much fruit in my own life. 

One thing I have loved about the Catholic Church in the 6 years since my conversion are the myriad of devotions and prayers. I was raised with spontaneous prayers, but sometimes I find myself struggling for the right words or to just sit in silence, and in those moments, I turn to the rich treasury of the Church. If you are struggling in your own prayer life this week, I encourage you to look for one of these prayers or a Scripture passage that particularly touches your heart and meditate with it throughout the week ahead.

In conclusion, I am forever amazed at all the little ways that Jesus communicates to us if we are tuned in and listening, when we just take a moment to “breathe.” He longs for us to open our hearts to Him, however small the opportunity. As St. Teresa of Calcutta would say, he “thirsts” for our love. I hope you are as blessed by this song as I am.

“Just Breathe” by Jonny Diaz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnjeMwxFuBA

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/prayers/devotions/to-our-lord-jesus-christ/act-of-consecration-to-the-sacred-heart-of-jesus

https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/scripture-and-tradition/devotions/the-sacred-heart

http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_19990611_consagrazione-sacro-cuore.html


Ideas for Further Reflection:

In what small ways is Jesus calling you into a deeper relationship with Himself right now? How is He speaking to you throughout the day? What prayers of the Church are particularly inspiring to you right now and why? How could you incorporate one of these prayers into your daily routine in the week ahead?

Memory Verse for the week:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” - Psalm 19:14 NRSVCE