Today’s liturgy speaks of the “heart matters”. Collectively all the readings tell us that we as God’s children are invited to be mindful of the state of our heart at all times.

It is a fact that the shaking of the sieve through the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years has sifted a lot of rituals and routines that played a significant part of our spiritual life. Many feel-good activities have been brought to a halt. How does this make us feel about our own relationship with the Lord? Do we feel alone, dry and somewhat lost, or have we moved to a better place in our intimacy with the Holy Spirit? In short, what is left behind in our sieve, after the shaking?

Through the Gospel proclamation, the Lord Jesus stresses the importance of filling our heart and mind with good things, at all times. Pretence is short-lived and benefits no one. I remember writing on a handcrafted simple card our class teacher – a nun dearly loved by all – presented to every 10th-grade student; “What you are, speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” Later I learned that it was a modified quote by a famous American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. Four plus decades later those words are still fresh in my mind.

The Lord Jesus assures us if we store up heavenly realities in our heart, we will bring good out of our life even in bad times. He manifested this truth on the cross, while the crowds were jeering at Him and mocking Him, allowing the words of forgiveness and mercy to flow from His mouth.

Is this how we have responded to fear, anxiety and uncertainty of the current season? Was it in the reality of heaven that we responded to the pandemic, or did we lose our sense of fairness, compassion and generosity in the face of scarcity and risk of loss and death?

Now is a good time to revisit our realities. Most of us have been Christians for generations. We might have advised others to be Christ-like in their times of trials. Now the test is upon everyone! Is Christ seen, heard and experienced by others through us during this time? Or, are we still clinging to perishables? What is real to us right now? Do we trust our savings, or do we bank on the Word of God that gives a fortune of promises for our future?

The pandemic teaches us that we cannot wait till that “one day”, when we are old and grey, to let go of the perishable and hold onto the imperishable. It needs to be our way of life now, as citizens of heaven while still living on the earth.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for being my refuge and fortress. Amen.