Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

sent to me by my friend  in Dublin…

The idea of the Pierced Heart

Mary’s Heart was pierced with a sword as was foretold by Simeon in Luke’s Gospel. A sword of grief not of metal.

“So that the secret thoughts of many would be revealed”

Have you ever had the experience of love rejected or spurned?
It pierces your heart and soul and opens you up. It leaves you feeling raw and vulnerable. Empty.
Similarly, when an offer of reconciliation is rejected, it hurts at a
very deep level. The more you love your friend, the keener the pain of
losing the relationship.
But such an experience creates a great understanding in your heart
which is immediately sensed by other people eager to share their own
grief.
It is the price of empathy. The key to sharing.

Jesus’ Heart was also pierced in a real way.
The soldier at the Cross speared him in the Heart and we are told that
Blood and Water poured out from the wound. (John’s Gospel)
This symbolizes how God’s Love comes to us from His broken, rejected Heart. A very great mystery.

Anyone who wants to imitate Jesus and Mary in their way of self-giving
love is sure to experience heart break of some sort. Maybe not too bad
or maybe extreme.
Mercy comes from the pierced heart. Compassion comes from the pierced
heart. The gift of listening comes from having a heart that is wounded.
Thus healing is given by God through our woundedness.