Hard hearts are a big problem in our world. They keep people from loving God and from loving each other. Hard hearts make walls that prevent reconciliation with God and each other, and growth in God.
One of the great heroes of the Christian faith is Francis of Assisi, who was given the recognition of sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church. Certainly, Francis modeled humility and faithfulness in such as way as to inspire us to follow Christ more closely. He preached against hard heartedness, and called on people to reach out to each other in service and love. He lived a life of humble, faithful service to Christ.
Francis is perhaps most famous for his blessing of animals and for affirming the animals as a reminder of our affinity for God’s creatures and creation. He saw all of God's creation as an interconnected blessing. I think St. Francis is an example of someone who was not plagued with meanness of spirit and hardness of heart, but rather had an open and willing heart, as we are called to have for the Lord. May the hard hearts become soft, molded by the Spirit.
There is a wonderful prayer attributed to St. Francis, a prayer that keeps your heart from becoming hard. It goes like this:
“Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
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