A BIBLICAL SPIRITUALITY OF THE HEART A BIBLICAL SPIRITUALITY OF THE HEART Jan G. Bovenmars, MSC _____________________/aiaaT_____________________ ALBA HOUSE Muse NEW YORK SOCIETY OF ST PAUL 2'BT VICTORY BLVD STATEN ISLAND NEW YORK 10314 Library of Congress Cataiogingm-Pubhcation Data Bovenmars. Jan G. 1923- A biblical spirituality of the hean / Jan G Bovenmars p cm. Includes bibliographical references ISBN 0*8189-0584-0 1 Heart — Biblical teaching. 2 Heart — Religious aspects- -Christianity — History of doctrines 3 Sacred Heart. Devotion to- -Historyot doctrines. I Title BS680 H416B67 1991 233 5 — dc20 91-7738 CIP Designed. printed and bound m the United States ol America by the Fathers and Brothers ol the Society of St Paul. 2187 Victory Boulevard. Staten island. New York 10314. as pad ol their communications apostolate c, Copyright 1991 by the Society of St Paul Printing Information: Current Printing - first digit 123456789 10 11 12 Year ol Current Printing • first year shown 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Excerpts from The Jerusalem Bible copyright © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Bantam, Doubleday, Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Used by permission of the publisher. Excerpts from The New Jerusalem Bible copyright © 1985 by Doubleday, a division of Bantam, Doubleday, Dell Publishing Group, Inc. and Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. Used by permission of the publisher. Excerpts from A New Heart for a New World used by permission of St. Paul Publications, Homebush, NSW, Australia. Excerpts from With a Human Heart, E.J. Cuskelly, MSC, ed. used by permission of Chevalier Press, Kensington, NSW, Australia. Excerpts from Heart of the Saviour, J. Stierli, ed. used by permission of Verlag Herder, Hermann Herder Strasse 4, 7800 Freiburg, Breisgau, Germany. Abbreviations OLD TESTAMENT Genesis Gn Nehemiah Ne Baruch Ba Exodus Ex Tobit Tb Ezekiel Ezk Leviticus Lv Judith Jdt Daniel Dn Numbers Nb Esther Est Hosea Ho Deuteronomy Dt 1 Maccabees 1 M Joel JI Joshua Jos 2 Maccabees 2M Amos Am Judges Jg Job Jb Obadiah Ob Ruth Rt Psalms Ps Jonah Jon 1 Samuel IS Proverbs Pr Micah Mi 2 Samuel 2S Ecclesiastes Ec Nahum Na 1 Kings 1 K Song of Songs Sg Habakkuk Hab 2 Kings 2K Wisdom Ws Zephaniah Zp 1 Chronicles ICh Sirach Si Haggai Hg 2 Chronicles 2 Ch Isaiah Is Malachi Ml Ezra Ezr Jeremiah Jr Zechariah Zc Lamentations Lm NEW TESTAMENT Matthew Mt Ephesians Ep Hebrews Heb Mark Mk Philippians Ph James Jm Luke l.k Colossians Col 1 Peter 1 P John Jn 1 Thessalonians 1 Th 2 Peter 2P Acts Ac 2 Thessalonians 2 Th 1 John 1 Jn Romans Rm 1 Timothy 1 Tm 2 John 2 Jn 1 Corinthians I Cor 2 Timothy 2Tm 3 John 3 Jn 2 Corinthians 2 Cor Titus Tt Jude Jude Galatians Gal Philemon Phm Revelation Rv PREFACE “Heart” is a keyword in the Bible. Father Jan Bovenmars has chosen a text from the Book of Proverbs as his starting point; one of 1,163 examples of the use of the word in the Bible: More than all else, keep watch over your heart, since here are the wellsprings of life. (Pr4:23) This text makes clear immediately that, in biblical usage, the word “heart” means more than a bodily organ. The heart is the wellspring of life. It indicates what is present and living in the depths of a person. It refers to the origin of what we feel and think, of what we decide, say and do. The quality of a person depends on the quality of his or her heart. An attentive reading of the Bible reveals how rich and varied are the meanings it gives to the human heart with all its positive and negative possibilities. For the human heart can harden, remain closed in itself and become the heart of a fool. The Bible warns about the “uncircumcised” heart, the heart of stone. But God too has a Heart, a Heart that is greater than our hearts. His Heart is open to us, concerned for us. He wants to change our hearts and give us “a heart of flesh.” In the writings of the Prophets, the promise of a new heart and a new spirit stand out as a culminating point in God’s plan. After examining Old Testament usage, the author turns his attention to the Heart of Jesus Christ as revealed in the New X A BIBLICAL SPIRITUALITY OF THE HEART Testament. The Lord, gentle and humble of heart, source of living water, invites us to become his disciples, disciples with an open and listening heart, ready to follow him and to share in his love for the Father and for all. Father Jan Bovenmars’ biblical reflection on the heart throws light on the Sacred Heart tradition in the Church in ways which at times may surprise us and which enable us to see more clearly its richness. With a skilled hand the author summarizes the main lines of this tradition throughout the ages and opens up fruitful perspectives for the future. The author is convincing when he writes of the actuality of a spirituality of the heart inspired by the Heart of our Lord. His study is clearly future orientated. Not without reason, in the final paragraph of his Introduction he dedicates his study to the young people in formation in the more than two hundred congregations and institutes dedicated to the Heart of Christ, hoping that it will help them discover the beauty and relevance of their vocation. Other readers too will be able to deepen their knowledge of this tradition of spirituality by reflection on the contents of this book. The Vatican Council did not mention “devotion to the Sacred Heart” and some have taken that as a sign that this tradition of spirituality has little or nothing to offer the modem Church. Father Bovenmars draws attention to the fact that the term “heart” is used 119 times in the Council documents: five times in reference to the Heart of Christ, 114 times to our hearts. A renewed spirituality of the heart, as explained in this book, forms part of the Council’s program for the Church’s mission to the world. The Council has invited us to “a change of heart,” especially in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modem World, Gaudium et Spes: a change of heart which will enable us really to share “the joys and the hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the people in this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted.” Together with my confrere Jan Bovenmars, I am deeply convinced that an integral spirituality of the heart inspired by