And In the Wind

There is change in the air as a storm approaches.  The wind picks up, clouds gather, there may be a distant clap of thunder.  As lightning flashes around us, we race for shelter.

Monastery grounds and walls are as subject to storms as those of any other building.  They get slapped with rain, pelted with sleet.  Inhabitants of the cloister might find themselves standing at a window looking out, maybe with a touch of concern.  What are those chunks of hail doing to the roof?  Are the windows secure against the wind?  

The monastery of my life is vulnerable, too.  I face storms, at times, of great magnitude.  Sickness, sudden disaster, an unnerving news report.  It helps me then to remember that I’m in the strongest cloister possible – the cloister of God’s loving embrace.  Everything that touches me must first come through His hands, through His “permissive will.”  I can do as St. Francis de Sales advised, and say amid my contradictions: “this is the very road to heaven.  I see the door, and I am certain the storms cannot prevent us from getting there.”

"The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe.”  (Proverbs 18:10)

“Happy is the soul established in God ... The winds of the storm are powerless to shake her.” (St. Jane de Chantal)

"When you hear about wars and threats of war, do not yield to panic.  Such things are bound to happen, but this is not the end.  Nation will rise against nation, one kingdom against another.  There will be earthquakes in various places and there will be famine.  This is but the onset of labor.  Be constantly on your guard.... because of My Name, you will be hated by everyone.  Nonetheless, the man who holds out till the end is the one who will come through safe."  (Mark 13:5-13)

"O Jesus, I am locking myself in Your most merciful heart as in a fortress, impregnable against the missiles of my enemies.” (St. Faustina Kowalska, Diary, #1535)

The cloistered heart is a place of refuge, no matter where I happen to be. A portable fortress, a place inviolate, where I can remain with Jesus in the midst of storms, traffic jams, persecutions, illnesses, fires, floods. It is an appealing idea. It is also (this being most important) theologically sound. "The heart is the dwelling place where I am, where I live... the heart is the place 'to which I withdraw.'  The heart is our hidden center,  beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. (Catechism of the Catholic Church #2563)

The cloistered heart is the heart of David dancing before the ark; of Mesach, Shadrach and Abednego in the fiery furnace; of Paul in prison, Daniel in the lions’ den, John on Patmos, Peter in chains.  The world is not safe from evil – even the body isn’t safe from harm – but within the cloistered heart there is refuge.

My heart, as long as He is in it, is safe.

(The above is a combined repost from our archives)

Revisiting My Refuge

I knew, when the idea of the cloistered heart first came to me in the 1980s, that monasteries of nuns or monks have special places not open to outsiders. I realized that these areas were called cloisters.  It was enough information to get me started. “The whole idea of a cloistered heart,” I wrote in 1988, “is that the part of me referred to as the ‘heart’ – meaning my spirit, who I really AM – should be detached from the world in its attachment to the Creator of the world."

A place of refuge, no matter where I happened to be. A portable fortress, a place inviolate - where I could remain with Jesus in the midst of snowstorms, traffic jams, persecutions, illnesses, fires, floods. It was an appealing idea. It was also (this being most important) theologically sound. "The heart is the dwelling place where I am, where I live... the heart is the place 'to which I withdraw.'  The heart is our hidden center,  beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. (Catechism of the Catholic Church #2563)

The cloistered heart is the heart of David dancing before the ark; of Mesach, Shadrach and Abednego in the fiery furnace; of Paul in prison, Daniel in the lions’ den, John on Patmos, Peter in chains.  The world is not safe from evil – even the body isn’t safe from harm – but within the cloistered heart there is refuge. The Lord is with me, He is within my cloister.  

My heart, as long as He is in it, is safe. 

"Remember… to retire occasionally into the solitude of your heart while you are outwardly engaged in business with others.  This mental solitude cannot be prevented by the multitude of those who surround you.  As they are not about your heart, but only about your body, your heart remains alone in the presence of God.”  (St. Francis de Sales).

This is a slightly edited repost from our archives. It is being linked to Reconciled to You and Theology is a Verb for 'It's Worth Revisiting Wednesday.'

© 2011 and 2016 Nancy Shuman
thecloisteredheart.org     

Cloistered Anytime. Even Now.

Among my re-discovered letters from friends, I found the following treasure. It was written by a woman who'd read the original The Cloistered Heart article when it was published in 1993, and now (twenty years later) was reflecting upon her own embrace of its ideals.

    "...I was drawn to the idea of a cloister in my heart. I longed for a place to retreat from the world, to be alone with Jesus. I not only longed for a place where I could escape the noise of life around me, but I also dreamed of providing a place in my heart where Jesus could find respite from this world.
    Visits to church or Eucharistic adoration were not an option for me at that time. The image of a cloister in my heart, a place for me and Jesus, was exactly what I needed. I could enter the cloister of my heart at any time or in any place.  It might sound foolish, even selfish, but at that time I lived such a busy, demanding and crowded life that I needed the hideaway. As time went on, it made perfect sense to me to adopt the image of the 'grille' to enclose my cloister and to protect it from the world.
    Is God 'saying' something to me about this now? I do believe He is. I think God is calling me back to my cloister. God has not abandoned me and I have not abandoned God. I am praying, but it feels so disorganized. I like organization in my home and in my life. I want my spiritual life to be organized too.
    So what am I doing to revitalize my cloistered heart? I am reading a prayer guide for active people, a back-to-basics kind of book. I am re-entering the cloister of my heart through the Eucharist and through prayer.
    I say my life is busy. It is, yet I am home alone quite a bit these days. So what is my excuse? I do this and I do that, but I am also guilty of squandering my time. A whole morning will get away from me before I realize I have done virtually nothing.
    I pray very well before I get out of bed in the morning. It is good prayer. It is spontaneous prayer. The same thing at night. I find it easy to 'talk' to Our Lord when all the world around me is dark and silent. I feel Jesus drawing me into His Sacred Heart. These are my best prayer times...
    When things happen around here, I want to get back to prayer as my FIRST recourse instead of prayer being an afterthought."

Revisiting the Hiding Place

I am appreciating more than ever the Refuge we have available to us in this torn, aching, wounded world.  If we don't realize that parts of our planet and our civilization are in great distress just now, we have been living under a rock.

Yet in the midst of troubling news, moral confusion, and input from a world going mad, we really do have a Rock to live in and on and under. Jesus is our Rock, our Refuge.  He is our Hiding Place, our fortress, our one true cloister.

I see the truth of this when I consider so many saints gone before us... martyrs who much preferred death to the possibility of turning away from Christ.  What grace they received - exactly when they needed it.  This gives me hope.

In Acts 16, for instance, we read of Paul and Silas thrown into jail after having been given many lashes.  Their feet were chained to a stake.  I can imagine myself there, whining and grumbling and feeling sorry for myself.   But were Paul and Silas wailing, angry, groaning?  No.  They were praying and singing hymns to God.

And consider St. Ignatius of Antioch, as he was on his way to be fed to lions.  "Leave me to the beasts," he wrote, "that through them I may be accounted worthy of God.  I am the wheat of God, and by the teeth of the beasts I shall be ground, so that I may be found the pure bread of God.  Greatly provoke the wild beasts so that they may be my grave and leave nothing of my body, so that I won't be a burden on anyone.  Then I will truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ."    

What grace!  The same grace that was given to St. Stephen as he was being stoned.   The same grace (we can believe it) that is offered to people undergoing persecution for Christ today. 

I see Stephen as a perfect patron for those of us who strive to view life "through the grille." If anyone ever saw and responded to circumstances in such a way,  it was he.  Even as his persecutors were preparing to kill him, he boldly exclaimed "'Look!... I see an opening in the sky, and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand."

I am sure this acute view of reality buffered the saint's agony as stones were hurled at him.  "As he was being stoned, he could be heard praying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'  He fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.'"  (Acts 7:54, 59, 60) 

"The cloistered heart."  I wrote some years ago, "is the heart of David dancing before the ark; of Mesach, Shadrach and Abednego in the fiery furnace; of Paul in prison, Daniel in the lions’ den, John on Patmos, Peter in chains.  The world is not safe from evil – even the body isn’t safe from harm – but within the cloistered heart there is refuge.  The Lord is with me, He is within my cloister.  My heart, as long as He is in it, is safe." 

I must remember this.  In the madness all around, I must remember.

Within the cloistered heart there is refuge.  The Lord Himself is with me.

My heart, as long as He is in it, is safe.

Text not in quotes © N Shuman 
thecloisteredheart.org

This is a slightly edited repost from our archives. It is linked to Theology is a Verb and Reconciled to You for 'It's Worth Revisiting Wednesday.'
 

Revisiting The Cove

'What heavier burden is there than that which makes the soul descend from its sublime dignity down to the underworld, where all holiness is held in contempt? Then, my brother, flee all this agitation and misery, and go from the storm of this world to the cove where there is tranquil and certain rest.' (St. Bruno) 

Storms of the world swirl around me. In this time, as in Bruno's, all holiness is held in contempt (I notice that the word used by Bruno is 'all,' not 'some' holiness). Faith is mocked and dismissed, Jesus is discounted, sin is normalized, the sanctity of life is compromised, perversion is used to sell books and music and TV and movies. We know how it goes. 

I grow so weary at times. I want to take Bruno's advice and go to a cove. But of course I can't do that, not in a physical way. As I ponder these words, however, I see anew the gift of heart-cloister, the gift of living in the haven of God's will. I see, in the swirling storm surge, a path before me. 

Jesus beckons toward a safe refuge. 

Even in the midst of agitation and misery, I can flee. Surrounded by shadows, I can place my heart in the bright, blazing Light of Jesus.  

In the Cove of His Heart, there is tranquil and certain rest.

This is a slightly edited repost from our archives. It is linked to Reconciled to You and Theology is a Verb for It's Worth Revisiting Wednesday.

Painting at top: William McGregor Paxton

Painting at bottom:  Jean-Bernard Restout, St. Bruno Praying in the Desert

To Be A Bethany

I was seven years old when I learned I had a soul.  This was where Jesus would come when I received Holy Communion, and I was to prepare the place carefully.  Sweep it clean and tidy, Sister instructed; no sin allowed.  

I pictured this item of my personhood quite vividly.  I saw it as oval shaped, pearly white, and resting in the center of my chest.  A venial sin would spot it, a mortal sin (heaven forbid) would turn it black as a lump of coal.  It was like a little house inside me, where Jesus could come and rest.

I’m now many years past seven.  I no longer envision a white oval, shining like a pearl.  I do, however, marvel at the truth embedded in this simple childhood picture. “Here I stand, knocking at the door.  If anyone hears Me calling and opens the door, I will enter his house and have supper with Him, and he with Me.”  (Revelation 3:20)

“Anyone who loves Me will be true to My word, and My Father will love him; We will come to him and make our dwelling place with him.”  (John 14:22)

What an astonishing reality.  There really IS a dwelling place inside me, set aside for God Himself.  A cloister of the heart, a sanctuary.  And it’s not a refuge for me alone. 

In the days when He walked the earth, Jesus found places of refuge.  Certainly He was in need of them, as He was hunted down, mocked, misunderstood, beaten, spat upon, and finally killed.  He found refuge in a womb, a manger, the arms of Mary and Joseph, with friends, and in a little house in Bethany.  In such places Jesus was cared about and loved.

As we know, misunderstanding of Jesus did not cease with His crucifixion.  The world has never, as a whole, reached out to embrace Christ and His teachings.  He is still “spat upon.” He’s discounted, laughed at, shunned in various ways – often before our eyes.  I may hear Him mocked this very day..  or dismissed as unimportant.  I might hear His Name used as a swear word. 

If that happens, can I remember to take a moment to offer a prayer of praise and love to Him in the solitude of my heart? 

“A cloistered heart accepts God’s grace to love Jesus Christ in the midst of a world that does not love Him; to embrace His will in a world which does not embrace it.  Thus the cloistered heart becomes a place of refuge not only for us, but for Christ Himself.  To create such a refuge is a primary part of the cloistered heart’s apostolate.” (from The Cloistered Heart (book)

“Jesus, here is my heart; let it be a little cozy resting place for yourself.”  (St. Faustina)

“Make my soul…Your cherished dwelling place, Your home of rest.  Let me never leave You there alone, but keep me there all absorbed in You, in living faith, adoring You.”  (Elizabeth of the Trinity)

"I want to repose in your heart, because many souls have thrown Me out of their hearts today." (Jesus to St. Faustina)

"I try always to be a Bethany for Jesus, so that He may rest here." (St. Faustina) 

Painting: Semiradsky, Christ, Martha, Maria

(the above is a combination of earlier posts from this blog)
Text not in quotes © 2011 and 2015 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      

Jesus, Come into Our Enclosure

'Come!  I am so bold as to invite You, Lord Jesus, to enter my heart.  I have prepared a place of refuge for You.  Come!

Come!  I ask that You shine Your light into all areas of my heart refuge; not just into the most easily accessible ones, but most especially into the hidden crannies and dimly lit areas.  Come!

Come!  Are there any areas that need cleaning, dusting, or polishing?  Are there areas in a state of disrepair?  Are there areas where trash or garbage have accumulated and need to be removed?  Come!

Come!  Lord Jesus, please show me what needs to be done to keep my heart a fit and pleasing refuge for You.  I want my heart to be as perfect a place for You to stay as I can prepare.  Knowing that I can never reach total perfection, I humbly ask that You accept my great desire for this perfection.  Come!

Come!  It is my desire to have a perfect heart refuge for You, and from that comes my boldness to ask You to enter and stay with me.  It causes me much sadness to know that I will always fall short.  Yet You stoop to Your child because of Your great mercy, to accept what my love can give.  Come!

Come!  With tears of joy and thanksgiving, I thank and praise You for coming to one so afflicted and poor as I.

Come, Lord Jesus!  Come enter my heart refuge!'

Written by Rosemary O.

May she rest eternally in the Heart of Christ.

Painting:  Winslow Homer, Girl in the Orchard

To return to the 'Monastic Adventure in Sequence' post, click here

Jesus, Here is my Heart

"I want to repose in your heart, because many souls have thrown Me out of their hearts today."  (Jesus to St. Faustina)

Imagine throwing Jesus Christ, my Lord and King and Savior, out of my heart!  Imagine Him living within me, and my suddenly saying one day: "I don't want You here, there's no room for You in my life anymore... here's the door."

Such a horrible thought.  It's tough for me to even write the words.   Yet, people push Jesus out of their hearts every minute.  Maybe not with full consciousness of what they're doing (although that does happen, of course).  But every time one of us makes a decision to ignore God's serious commands in favor of our own, Christ is being shown the door.  

How great is the mercy of Our Lord, for He persists, He comes back, He knocks and knocks again. 

"Here I stand, knocking at the door.  If anyone hears Me calling and opens the door, I will enter his house and have supper with Him, and he with Me.”  (Revelation 3:20)

In spite of His amazing persistence, there are some who never open (or re-open) the door.  It is a tragic, sobering thought. 

Is there anything I can do about this? 

I can pray intensely for those in whose hearts He is longing to dwell.  

I can share His love and mercy with those around me.

And, knowing He is unwelcome in the hearts of many, I can offer Him a place of loving refuge in my own.  

"I want to repose in your heart, because many souls have thrown Me out of their hearts today."  

Lord Jesus, here is my heart.  In it, may You find a refuge of love and praise.

Painting: Carl Bloch, Christ and Child, detail

This is a slightly edited version of a post from our archives.  Coming across it again today, I was again pierced by Our Lord's words to Sister Faustina.  As we approach the great feast of Divine Mercy, I pray that many hearts will welcome the One Who is Mercy and Love.  

Click this line to comment in 'The Parlor.'  A link there will bring you back here.  

This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Linkup Blitz 

A Primary Apostolate

'A cloistered heart
accepts God’s grace
to love Jesus Christ
in the midst of a world
that does not love Him;
to embrace His will
in a world which
does not embrace it.
Thus the cloistered heart
becomes a place of refuge
not only for us,
but for Christ Himself.
To create such a refuge
is a primary part of
the cloistered heart’s apostolate.'

(from book The Cloistered Heart, NS)

public domain photo

Click here to comment in the Parlor

This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Linkup Blitz             

For the Divine Outcast, a Home

I have set aside yesterday's reading in favor of a book that will be returning, tomorrow, to its owner.  Today I've tried to live, "several hours at at time," holy snippets of truth from Sheltering the Divine Outcast.  Again, the focus is on LIVING these words of wisdom as the day goes along. 

"Prayer!  The love of the soul for God!  The friendship of God with the soul!  Prayer is the greatest activity of the soul.  There is no occupation that can hinder this activity, unless the soul permits it.  It is a hidden power."  (p. 13)

I have had several things to do and schedule today.  I've managed some housework, done a bit of writing, dealt with a seasonal allergy attack.  In it all, I have reminded myself that no occupation can hinder prayer - unless I permit it.  I've asked myself, over and again:  am I giving my soul permission to abandon its "greatest activity?"  

Interestingly, giving up prayer is more of a temptation when I'm feeling sick and lazy than when I am outwardly busy.  Allergy attacks really throw me.  They can sometimes hit me like 'flu (that sounds dramatic, but it's not an exaggeration).  Do I expect myself to concentrate on prayer while my head pounds and my whole system feels drastically "unwell?"  No, of course not.  At least, not in the same way I might do otherwise.  But I can remind myself that no occupation - even that of lying back with a hammering skull - can keep me from having the intention of prayer.  I can "think" a mental aspiration no matter what my circumstances.   I can remember, even with a pounding head, that the thudding is outside the cloister of my heart. 

Prayer is a hidden power.  I think its power may be most hidden, at times, from the pray-er herself.    

Sheltering the Divine Outcast will go back to its owner tomorrow.  We have had a fruitful visit, this little book and I.  Like a squirrel storing up food for the winter, I expect to spend the rest of this evening just packing away more of its truth .... to be, one nugget at a time, LIVED.  

The book is leaving, but my sheltering is not over.  I pray to provide, for the Divine Outcast, a home. 

"The heart of a true servant of God is a Tabernacle where an unseen God constantly dwells." (p. 51)

"God reads our hearts and that is all He cares about.  He sees in a glance if there is room for Him there, and how much room we will give Him."  (p. 52)

"God chooses a 'Home' within us.  What about your house, your temple, your soul?  'Is it a den of thieves' or 'a house of prayer?'"  (p. 81)

"Do I retire from time to time, if only for a few seconds, into the inner sanctuary of my heart?  
What would Our Lord do now?
What answer would He give to this question?
How would He behave in my place?
What does He ask of me at this moment?
Such are the questions which will arise of their own accord in a soul eager for the interior life."  (p. 123)

(All quotes above are from Sheltering the Divine Outcast, compiled by A Religious, The Peter Reilly Co, Philadelphia, 1952)

Painting: František Dvořák, Thoughtful Reader

Click this line to comment in the Parlor 

This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Monthly Linkup

Looking for His Lights

Again I am reposting something written here earlier.  This time it's slightly "updated"..... 

Some years ago, during a torrential thunderstorm, I found myself alone in a tiny chapel.  Except for flashes of lightning coming through a stained glass window, only the glow of a sanctuary light provided illumination.  Yet how secure I felt.  How secure I was.

In the midst of the storm, I was in the Presence of Christ and I was safe. 

Thinking back to that night, I find myself comparing it to times of personal storm.  Where do I go, at such moments, for security?  When adversity strikes, when fear bares its fangs, where do I find refuge?

In the chapel, a sanctuary light stood as a reminder.  It assured me: “Christ is here.”  Golden Tabernacle, glowing light:  “Christ is here.” 

I saw no visions, felt nothing out of the ordinary.  But my faith assured me: “Christ is here.”

Jesus is with me.  But how easy it is to forget this truth, especially when the pressures of life bear down hard upon me, darkening my hopes and clouding my mind.  Are there ways in which I can help myself remember that Christ is really, genuinely here?   

What reminders, what "sanctuary lights," might be right before me.... if I can only learn to look for them?  

It is a challenge I feel like taking on, starting with a prayer that God will open my eyes to see "markers" of His presence, protection, and love.  

Yes.  I think I will try to remember to look for His markers, His lights.  It is a perfect project for the weekend.  

Anyone care to join in? 

"Faith tells us that our heart is a Sanctuary, because it is the Temple of God, the dwelling-place of the Holy Trinity.  Let us often visit this Sanctuary, and see that the lamps are alight - that is to say, Faith, Hope and Charity - and frequently stir up our faith when we are studying, working, or eating, when we go to bed, and when we rise, and make aspirations to God.” (St. Paul of the Cross)

Click here to come visit in the Parlor

This Post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Linkup Blitz 

© 2013 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      

As in a Fortress

In light of today's events, I feel drawn to concentrate on one particular aspect of heart-cloister.  So I'm re-running an earlier post looking at what can be, for us, a place of refuge.... 

There is change in the air as a storm approaches.  The wind picks up, clouds gather, there may be a distant clap of thunder.  As lightning flashes around us, we race for shelter.

Monastery grounds and walls are as subject to storms as those of any other building.  They get slapped with rain, pelted with sleet, covered in snow.  Inhabitants of the cloister might find themselves standing at a window looking out, maybe with a touch of concern.  What are those chunks of hail doing to the roof?  Are the windows secure against the wind?  

The monastery of my life is vulnerable, too.  I face storms, at times, of great magnitude.  Sickness, sudden disaster, an unnerving news report.  It helps me then to remember that I’m in the strongest cloister possible – the cloister of God’s loving embrace.  Everything that touches me must first come through His hands, through His “permissive will.”  I can do as St. Francis de Sales advised, and say amid my contradictions: “this is the very road to heaven.  I see the door, and I am certain the storms cannot prevent us from getting there.” 

"The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe.”  (Proverbs 18:10)

“Happy is the soul established in God ... The winds of the storm are powerless to shake her.” (St. Jane de Chantal)

"We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his decree." (Romans 8:28)

"I consider the sufferings of the present to be as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)

"God keeps his promise. He will not let you be tested beyond your strength.  Along with the test he will give you a way out of it so that you may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

"You may for a time have to suffer the distress of many trials; but this is so that your faith, which is more precious than the passing splendor of fire-tried gold, may by its genuineness lead to praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ appears."  (1 Peter 1:6-7)

"When you hear about wars and threats of war, do not yield to panic.  Such things are bound to happen, but this is not the end.  Nation will rise against nation, one kingdom against another.  There will be earthquakes in various places and there will be famine.  This is but the onset of labor.  Be constantly on your guard.... because of My Name, you will be hated by everyone.  Nonetheless, the man who holds out till the end is the one who will come through safe."  (Mark 13:5-13)

"O Jesus, I am locking myself in Your most merciful heart as in a fortress, impregnable against the missiles of my enemies.” (St. Faustina Kowalska, Diary, #1535)

Click here to leave comments in the Parlor


Text not in quotes is © 2013 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org   

This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Linkup Blitz

This post is linked to New Evangelists Monthly 

Lord, Here is My Heart

"I want to repose in your heart, because many souls have thrown Me out of their hearts today."  (Jesus to St. Faustina)

Since typing the above words into yesterday's post, I cannot stop thinking about them.  Imagine throwing Jesus Christ, my Lord and King and Savior, out of my heart!  Imagine Him living within me, and my suddenly saying one day: "I don't want You here, there's no room for You in my life anymore... here's the door."

Such a horrible thought.  It's tough for me to even write the words.   Yet, people push Jesus out of their hearts every minute.  Maybe not with full consciousness of what they're doing (although that does happen, of course).  But every time one of us makes a decision to ignore God's serious commands in favor of our own, Christ is being shown the door.  

How great is the mercy of Our Lord, for He persists, He comes back, He knocks and knocks again. 

Here I stand, knocking at the door.  If anyone hears Me calling and opens the door, I will enter his house and have supper with Him, and he with Me.”  (Revelation 3:20)

In spite of His amazing persistence, however, there are some who never open (or re-open) the door.  It is a tragic, sobering thought.  As a "cloistered heart," I take Jesus' desire to find repose in hearts quite seriously.  I pray for the individuals in whose hearts He is longing to dwell.  

Primarily, knowing that He is unwelcome in the hearts of many, I offer Him a place of loving refuge in my own.  

"I want to repose in your heart, because many souls have thrown Me out of their hearts today."  

Lord Jesus, here is my heart.  In it, may You find a refuge of love and praise.

(for our earliest posts about creating a refuge for Jesus in our hearts, click here 
and here)

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org