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Tuesday, February 13, 2001

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Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10
Psalm 29
Mark 8:14-21

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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