Lent 2026: Cor ad cor Loquitur - Heart speaks to heart.

If you are wondering how to circumcise the heart during Lent then look no further than at the Church's teaching. The Church invites us to do three things during Lent namely, pray, fast and to give alms. The three pillars of this season. It is Christ who teaches us how to pray, prays with us and prays in and through us; it is Christ who teaches us how to fast, fasts with us and purifies our fast; Christ, it is who teaches us how to give, He has made the ultimate sacrifice on the Cross. Today, I would like to offer a little reflection on prayer. 

There is the tendency to pray more during Lent. The popular stations of the Cross devotion take on a prominence or a life of their own to the point where some people actually pray the Stations and leave before mass. It seems fitting to pause and ask ourselves not just if we pray but even more so if one knows how to pray. This season of Lent is a good time to sit at the Master's feet and say: Lord, teach us to pray (Lk.11:1). It is not just about learning prayers but also how to pray. It is always interesting when Catholics are invited to pray during public events. Many either just shy away or simply avail of the more familiar formulaic prayers. There is nothing wrong with formulaic prayers like the Our Father, Hail Mary and the Glory be to the Father. And one should not learn how to pray just because they would “impress” when called upon to. The problem is many of us have remained Catholic infants. We must strive to grow to maturity with our prayer life. Lent presents a great opportunity to grow in prayer. Take your prayer one notch up. 

The Gospel tells us that Christ was led by the Holy Spirit to the desert. This season of Lent then provides us the opportunity to invoke the Holy Spirit who in St Paul's words helps us to cry out “Abba, Father.“ What is your relationship with the Holy Spirit? 

One of the best expressions of prayer is what St John Henry Newman took as his motto: Cor ad cor Loquitur - Heart speaks to heart. In Dilexit Nos (DN), Pope Francis explains the significance of this by saying: Beyond all our thoughts and ideas, the Lord saved us by speaking to our hearts from His Sacred Heart. The realization led him, the distinguished intellectual, to recognize that the deepest encounter with himself and with the Lord came not from his reading or reflection, but from his prayerful dialogue, Heart to heart with Christ alive and present. Our Lenten experience then should be this prayerful Heart to heart dialogue. We must create space and time for the Sacred Heart of Jesus to speak to our heart. If Lent is a time of circumcising the heart, then prayer is the way to it. 

One prayer I would encourage everyone to learn and to practice is the Holy Hour. Remember when Christ came back in the Garden of Gethsemane and found his disciples sleeping and asked: So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test? (Mtt.26;40). Lord, teach me how to spend time with you. Transform my heart. This should be our prayer this Lent. One place where we can start is before the Blessed Sacrament. Begin with spending just five minutes then gradually increase the time as you become comfortable. Our hearts are the ground zero of the transformation Christ affords us. Christ is waiting for us in the Blessed Sacrament. He is inviting us to come. Coincidentally, this year 2026 is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. The Bishops of the United States have launched 250 Holy Hours prayer for the healing of this country. This Lent we can and should learn how to pray for an hour with the Lord. There are many opportunities for us to learn and pray the Holy Hour. It is not just for priests and religious men and women. It is for all of us. 

It is not a time to be vocal. It is not a time for us to fire off our laundry lists of needs. A holy hour is an uninterrupted hour with the Lord. We can learn the basics of the Holy Hour by watching this video:

https://youtu.be/ZGu7MUG3oeI?si=jwrPTEX-uOzkZZVY

Lent is a time to listen. In his Lenten message for 2026, Pope Leo XIV  invites us all to learn to listen. He exhorts us to return the listening part to the prayer equation. We are too flippant, too noisy and very busy reciting prayers. This Lenten season invites us to slow down, to show up and to listen. We would then be able to hear the Sacred Heart beating within our hearts. Let this Lent be a Cor ad cor Loquitur - Heart speaking to heart.