Dear Friends,
Heart Speaks to Heart. This is the theme of our coming annual national meeting, obviously inspired by divine
providence. Just a few days after our executive committee had chosen this theme, it was announced that Pope
Francis had approved the canonization of John Henry Cardinal Newman. The cardinal’s motto was:
Cor ad cor loquitor, that is, “heart speaks to heart.”
Now the canonization date has been set for just a month after our national meeting; it will take place in Rome
on October 13, 2019.
One can almost feel the breeze of the Holy Spirit as he swishes by with his wisdom. Such “coincidences” are
messages from God that we want to take seriously, so let us meditate a bit on the truth that one heart speaks
to another heart. This is a beautiful definition of prayer, that deep connection between God and the human
heart, sometimes a unity that needs no words. Once in a while we might be graced by the prayer of just relaxing in the presence of the loving Father, feeling a bond that expresses the reality that we belong together, Creator and creature, Parent and child, Mercy and misery. The smaller cannot exist without
the greater.
Our consecrated life can also be described as “heart speaks to heart.” When the Lord
called you to be his very own in a special, exclusive way, that was his heart speaking
to your heart. Usually such a calling grows slowly, almost unperceptively, just as love
grows between a man and woman called to marriage. A few may have a dramatic,
instant insight, but is not that “spiritual explosion” just the moment when a person
comes to the realization of what love has been growing slowly?
Then there is the time when you found the right institute. Maybe you searched and
tried out a few. Perhaps you knew only one. But there came that moment when you
felt, “This is home. This is where I belong. Here is where I can secure my way in life,
or perhaps, here is where I can become a saint.” That is also the heart of a charism
speaking to the heart of a candidate.
I look forward to seeing you at the annual meeting in Marytown, at Libertyville, Illinois, on September 13-15, where we can continue the conversation of heart speaking
to heart.
With prayers and wishes for many blessings on each of you, Marcia Vinje
Mountaineer – Fall 2023
Dear Friends, At our annual conference this past September at
