“Gather all the forces of your heart and concentrate on one thing so that your heart does not become accustomed to a restless attitude” (St. Hildegard of Bingen).
On the spiritual path, we must educate our hearts as St. Hildegard suggests in today’s passage. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”, the Lord warns us (Mt 6:21). If God is our treasure—and he certainly is for all who love the heavenly Father—then we should focus our hearts on him permanently.
Although today’s phrase could be applied to many areas of life, the decisive point is this: we must focus the powers of our heart on God and turn them away from the many distractions that are offered to us every day, wanting to claim our attention and even seduce us.
How many distractions appear in moments of prayer! Here, however, we must distinguish between voluntary and involuntary distractions. The latter are a nuisance, but since they are not consented to, they cannot affect us deeply. The same is not true of voluntary distractions, which must be resolutely combated, and the heart must be educated to return again and again to the original intention of prayer. Sometimes this means forcing the heart, especially when it has found pleasure in distractions and allows itself to be carried away by them.
Undoubtedly, the heavenly Father surrounds us constantly with the fullness of His love. However, it is up to us to sincerely try to focus our hearts on Him, thus making them more receptive to His love. If our heart discovers more and more the delight of the Father’s love, it will become easier to focus it constantly on the one thing necessary. As time goes by, the restlessness of the spirit diminishes. However, this is a long struggle that requires self-discipline.