“God does not say, ‘Give me a heart like that of the angels’; rather, ‘Give me your heart.’ What He wants is your own heart; give it to Him as it is. He asks nothing more than what we are and what we have” (St. Francis de Sales).
Our current journey companion addresses us today with a comforting phrase, inviting us to approach our Father as we are. We do not need to artificially humble ourselves or present ourselves as great religious champions. We can and should come to Him as we really are and give Him our hearts. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and with our cooperation, the Father will make it into a heart like His own.
It is important to understand this well because our faith and holiness must become authentic and without pretense. This happens when we allow our Father to mold us into the image in which He created us. Each person is unique and never a copy of another. Certainly, we can learn much from the saints and imitate their virtues, such as the gentleness that characterized Francis de Sales or the very natural and simple relationship that St. Therese of the Child Jesus had with God. From heaven, the saints help us on our journey. In fact, our Father also wants you and me to be saints; He wants to glorify Himself in you and me in our own way.
And what can we do to make that happen? Very simple: give our hearts to the Father and follow Him day by day, our noble Lord and beloved Master of our lives. Sometimes we have to advance with great leaps, but many times with small steps. In this way we become wax in His hands, which He can mold into an ever-burning Easter candle, bearing witness to His love. And on this candle is inscribed the date of our life.
If we remain faithful to the end and reach eternity, we will find our name in the Book of Life and we will have become forever what we really are.