One evening recently, while I was playing the piano in the chapel, I ran across the ancient Irish hymn, “Be Thou My Vision.” It is one that I have always liked, but this time I was particularly struck by the last lines:
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
God, you are the Heart of my own heart. You are the One without which my heart would have no heart — I would be heartless. You are the Heart toward which my heart longs, the fulfillment of my heart’s desire and my heart’s very being.
And — too amazing for me to grasp — your Heart is the heart that longs for me, and has longed for me even before I could begin to desire you.
It is in your Heart that, at rare moments, I catch a glimpse of the world as it truly is. In your Heart I am given the grace, occasionally, to see myself more nearly as I am and the privilege of beholding others in your love.