A New Heart
“For the Souls in Purgatory – Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord”
Ezekiel 36:26-27
I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, keep my ordinances, and observe them.
Grace Prayed For
Lord, continue the work of giving us a new heart — removing whatever is stony and replacing it with a living, responsive heart that beats in rhythm with yours.
Reflection
As we enter the final days before Pentecost, we pause to receive one of the Old Testament’s greatest Pentecost texts — the promise of a new heart.
Ezekiel is writing to a people in exile. They have experienced catastrophic failure — national, spiritual, moral. They are far from home, carrying the weight of what they have done and what has been done to them. Into this exile comes the extraordinary promise: I will change what is most deeply you.
A heart of stone. We know this condition from the inside. The heart that has closed in self-protection. The heart that has been wounded so many times it has wrapped itself in armor. The heart that has grown cynical, dry, unmoved by what should move it, unable to respond to what deserves response.
God does not ask us to soften our own hearts by trying harder. He says: I will remove it and give you a new one. The initiative is divine. The transformation is offered as gift.
The placement of this reflection just before Pentecost is intentional. The Spirit who will come in fire and wind at Pentecost is this same Spirit whom Ezekiel promises — placed within, enabling faithfulness not by external law but by interior transformation. The law written on stone tablets gives way to the law written on the heart.
For retreat groups, this is worth extended prayer. Where is my heart still stony? Where have I grown hard, or numb, or defended in ways that prevent God’s love from reaching the depths? Offer those places to the One who promises not just to chip away at the stone, but to replace it entirely.
A new heart. A new spirit. Before Pentecost, let this be your prayer.
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Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post