GUTD: Creating Supple Hearts

January 2025

Reflection

Creating Supple Hearts

Jesus prayed. It might seem like an obvious, and certainly fundamental, part of Jesus’ life, and yet I find myself captivated by the fact that amid everything else, the Gospel author chooses to make note that Jesus prayed.

I wonder what Jesus prayed about? How was the Spirit swirling on that hillside as Jesus looked out over the sea—having just fed the five thousand and watching his disciples struggle to understand everything that was happening? And if I were to sit with him in that moment, what might Jesus say to me?

Whatever Jesus prayed about, the example of his prayer reveals to us that remaining in God’s love is more than just a beautiful idea: it is essential to an active life of faith. The more we remain in God, the more supple our hearts become. Seated with Jesus in prayer, we sense the same calm that astounded the disciples—a spirit of Love so pure that it asks us to surrender everything to follow Christ. Offering this love in prayer and in practice, we are empowered to go out and do likewise—reconciling relationships, feeding the hungry, creating spaces of welcome, and listening deeply.

“No one has ever seen God.” The first letter of John attests. “Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” To remain in God, we have to be in relationship with one another. Only then do the words we pray take on flesh and the lives we live confront life’s storms, uttering a profound “amen” to the One who assures us “it is I, do not be afraid!”

Sr. Colleen Gibson

Colleen Gibson is a Sister of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia who currently serves as coordinator of pastoral care at St. John-St. Paul Catholic Collaborative in Wellesley, Massachusetts. A writer and speaker, she cohosts the podcast Beyond the Habit (beyondthehabitpod.com).

[CREDIT] Sr. Colleen Gibson, “Creating Supple Hearts” from the January 2025 issue of Give Us This Day, www.giveusthisday.org (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2025). Used with permission.