The Heart Goes On...

Next week is the 112th anniversary of the sinking of the luxury steamship, the RMS Titanic. Many people know about this historic tragedy because of the famous 1997 film, Titanic. Besides the performances, cinematography, and special effects, the film is remembered for its award-winning soundtrack and theme song “My Heart Will Go On.” The song became a staple at proms, weddings, and even funerals. People responded to the idea that even when we lose our physical life, our spiritual life (our "heart”) will continue to reach across time and space. Our love, our relationships “will go on and on…”

During the next few weeks, Christians everywhere will continue to celebrate the great feast of Easter. The Resurrection shows us that the love of Christ goes on and on, it transcends time and space. Our lives, our hearts, are witnesses to the transformative power of the Resurrection. Francis de Sales tells us that the heart is the source of our actions. He exhorts us to engrave and inscribe upon our hearts the holy and sacred maxim to “Live Jesus.” 

“Salesian Spirituality is all about the heart. It is about relationships and transformations.”

Salesian Spirituality is all about the heart. It is about relationships and transformations. In the Salesian tradition, the heart is the source and object of continual conversion.  In the Easter season, we focus on conforming our hearts to the Heart of Christ. Still bearing the wounds of the passion, and eternally inflamed with love, the Sacred Heart of Jesus declares the transformative power of God. As we contemplated the passion of Christ during the days of Lent, we recalled the words of Scripture: “by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).” As we reflect on the Resurrection during these holy days of Easter, we realize that by His love we are forever changed.

On the road to Emmaus, the disciples recognized that the Risen Lord had walked with them and shared a meal. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us? (Luke 24:33).” During these days of Easter, may our hearts be opened to recognize the Risen Lord walking with us, speaking with us and transforming our lives.

Fr. Jack Kolodziej, OSFS

Provincial

Wilmington-Philadelphia Province