the broken-hearted god
"His heart was grieved." —Genesis 6:6
God was "depressed." "He regretted that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was grieved" (Gn 6:6). Jesus was frustrated. After multiplying loaves and fish twice, Jesus was exasperated that His disciples still did not understand (Mk 8:21).
Although God can never be depressed and frustrated, and although He can never regret what He has done, God, in a manner of speaking, has a vulnerable, breakable heart. When He became man, His heart was literally breakable and broken. Even after Jesus' resurrection and glorification, He can continue to be crucified (Heb 6:6). Thus, the prophecy of the image of Jesus' Sacred Heart depicts God with a broken, bleeding, wounded heart.
Although God doesn't need us — He is all-powerful and totally self-sufficient — God Who is Love (1 Jn 4:16) desires to be loved. Even if billions of people continue to reject His love, God is looking for the Noahs (Gn 6:8), Elijahs, Jobs, and Marys who love Him passionately even in this culture of death, sin, and selfishness.
Be a Noah; love Love. Kiss God's broken heart.
Prayer: Father, by Your grace I will never stop loving You. I will never love You less.
Promise: "Give to the Lord, you sons of God, give to the Lord glory and praise." —Ps 29:1
Praise: Fr. Joseph, a Ugandan priest serving as a missionary to the Sudan, has baptized 15,000 Sudanese people into the Catholic Church in the last six years.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Ralph J. Lawrence, August 9, 2000
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 18, 2000