In a world such as ours, a world of war, famine, poverty, environmental degradation, maybe to have a “clean heart” (Psalm 51:10) would not really be to lead an untroubled existence.

In a world such as ours, a world of war, famine, poverty, environmental degradation, maybe to have a “clean heart” (Psalm 51:10) would not really be to lead an untroubled existence. Perhaps when we pray for a clean heart, whether we know it or not we are praying that we should be troubled, that we should suffer and be moved by the injustice and suffering around us, even if we don’t always know right away what to do about it, even if, while we may do what we can, we never feel that we respond adequately. Maybe a clean heart, in our world, is a troubled heart.

KAREN KILBY
FROM LIGHT BREAKS FORTH: THE CAFOD LENT BOOK 2012 (DARTON, LONGMAN & TODD, 2011)

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