The era in which we live is marked by noise, acceleration and dispersion. The human heart seems torn between multiple external demands and an inner emptiness that is difficult to name. Faced with this situation, the spirituality of the heart appears to be an urgent and necessary path: it refocuses human beings on what is essential, reminding them that deep down, something calls them to live, to love and to connect with others. The spirituality of the heart is an act of resistance. It invites us to slow down, listen to the silence and cultivate compassion. It offers a gentle but radical revolution: that of choosing kindness over judgement, interiority over dispersion, relationship over domination.
God loves us first, with a love that is unconditional,and creative. It surpasses all merit, all conscience, all human response. It is, as St. Paul says, ‘poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us’ (Rom 5:5). This love is the foundation of Christian spirituality: we do not become saints to be loved; rather, we accept being loved and that love leads calls us to sanctity.
Living the spirituality of the heart today does not mean distancing oneself from the world but entering it in a different way. It means looking at events, people and oneself with a penetrating gaze. It means living from a unified, silent center where God dwells. This spirituality is embodied in concrete life: in the way we listen to others, go through trials, love without possessing, and pray in secret.
Today, following Christ means entering this dynamic of the heart: learning to love truly, to welcome our wounds and weaknesses, to let God touch them. It means making our hearts places of hospitality, listening and communion. It means believing that even in a harsh, closed world, love can still spring from an open heart.
The spirituality of the heart is not proclaimed, it is lived. It is manifested in simple gestures: a sincere look at our brothers and sisters, a shared silence, a word of comfort. It reminds us that world peace begins with inner peace, and that this peace can only come about if we have the courage to descend into the sanctuary of the heart.
Similarly, the Bible affirms that ‘the word of God is alive and effective […] it can judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart’ (Heb 4:12). It thus speaks to us of a center, the heart, which lies behind all appearances, even behind the superficial thoughts that deceive us. The disciples of Emmaus, in their mysterious journey with the risen Christ, experienced a moment of anguish, confusion, despair and disillusionment. But beyond and despite everything, something was happening deep within them: ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us on the way?’ (Lk 24:32). (Pope Francis, Dilexit nos §4).
The summit of this spirituality of the heart is revealed in the Heart of Christ, pierced on the Cross (Jn 19:34). This gesture becomes the visible sign of invisible love. Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque received this revelation: ‘Behold this Heart which has loved men so much…’ And today, the Church, through devotion to the Sacred Heart, recognizes here the theological symbol of Christ’s saving love. The Catechism expresses it thus: ‘He loved us with a human heart’ (CCC §478). The spirituality of the heart is not only interior: it leads to mission. Pope Benedict XVI, of blessed memory, in Deus Caritas Est (2005), emphasizes that spiritual life cannot be separated from active charity: ‘God’s love for us is a call to active love of neighbour.’ (§14)
The biblical phrase ‘Dilexit nos’ (‘He loved us first’) (1 Jn 4:19) takes on prophetic force today. It affirms that love cannot be conquered: it is received. It shows us that the source of all inner transformation is not moral performance, but the acceptance of a first, gratuitous, inexhaustible love.
Dilexit nos is therefore the root of a spirituality of the heart that is theologically grounded: the human heart becomes the place where God’s love is welcomed, contemplated, internalized and then reflected in charity. The heart is not turned in on itself, but towards the Other and others, in a movement of communion.
This is why a heart touched by Dilexit nos becomes a heart sent forth. Christ sends his disciples with this message: ‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you’ (Jn 20:21). The spirituality of the heart then becomes for us the driving force of a life of compassion, justice and unity in the Church, the family of God.
Today, this spirituality is also expressed in a fraternal, humble and joyful community life, where each one is called to love his brother as Christ loved us. It urges us to go out of ourselves to meet others, on mission, with a heart that is open, welcoming and merciful. In this way, we become living witnesses to this unconditional love that heals, lifts up and gives meaning to all life. To live Dilexit nos is to allow oneself to be transformed by this love, and then to embody it in concrete gestures of compassion, reconciliation and solidarity, especially towards the poorest, the vulnerable, the marginalized and those wounded by life.
Living the spirituality of the heart and Dilexit nos means entering each day into the mystery of the love of “Christ who loved us” (Eph 5:2). This unconditional love becomes at once source, model, and mission. It begins with an interior life nourished by prayer, adoration and contemplation of the pierced Heart, sign of God’s total love for humanity.
Simon Lumpini MSC (Congo)