“Dilexit Nos” invites us to ask the truly important questions: “Who am I, really? What am I looking for? What direction do I want to give to my life?”
Continue reading “The Big Questions in Life”The Big Questions in Life
Author: Smitten With Goodness
A Lesson from a Grandmother’s Pastry
I was moved by the story about Pope Francis’s grandmother’s pastry in “Dilexit Nos”, which was fittingly called “lies.” The pastry would puff up in the boiling oil, looking big and impressive on the outside, but was completely empty on the inside.
Continue reading “A Lesson from a Grandmother’s Pastry”The Devious Heart and False Appearances
“Dilexit Nos” which I’ve been reflecting on doesn’t shy away from a difficult truth: “the heart is devious above all else.” It reminds me that our inner reality is often hidden behind “foliage”—a sobering thought, but also a call to action.
Continue reading “The Devious Heart and False Appearances”The Heart and Sincerity
The encyclical calls the heart “the locus of sincerity, where deceit and disguise have no place.” This has been a real challenge for me. How often do I put on a mask for the world, pretending to be someone I’m not?
Continue reading “The Heart and Sincerity”The Heart in the Biblical Tradition
The Bible has a beautiful and rich tradition of speaking about the heart. It’s described not just as a physical organ but as the “hidden core” of who we are—the very place where God sees our true thoughts and intentions.
Continue reading “The Heart in the Biblical Tradition”The Heart in a Superficial World
I often find myself caught up in the “superficiality of our modern age.” “Dilexit Nos” , which I’ve been reflecting on, offers a powerful critique, speaking of how we can become “insatiable consumers and slaves to the mechanisms of a market unconcerned about the deeper meaning of our lives.”
Continue reading “The Heart in a Superficial World”Christ’s Unconditional Love
The central message of “Dilexit Nos” is a simple yet profound one: “He loved us.” For so long, I spent my life trying to earn love, but this truth reminds me that I don’t have to.
Continue reading “Christ’s Unconditional Love”Finding Common Ground
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what truly connects us. In a world that often seems to focus on what divides us, Pope Francis’s encyclical “Dilexit Nos” on the Heart of Jesus reminds me that we are all united by the experience of the heart.
Continue reading “Finding Common Ground”Living From The Heart
Reflections on “Dilexit Nos”
I love the quote by St. Iremaeus “the glory of God is man fully alive.” Easter gives this truth its fullest horizon. The resurrection is God’s great declaration that life—not fear, not resignation, not the slow drift into comfort—is our true destiny.
Continue reading “Living From The Heart”Mercy For Every Heart, Everywhere
Divine Mercy is not a devotion for a select few. It is not bound by geography, culture, or creed. Mercy is the very heartbeat of God, and every person—wherever they live, whatever they believe, whatever their story—stands in need of it. We all carry wounds. We all carry regrets. We all carry places where we long to begin again.
Continue reading “Mercy For Every Heart, Everywhere”
Smitten With Goodness 